Chapter Eleven
Amber opened her eyes and stared at the man who had been in her dreams since the first day she’d met him.
He was relaxed back against the chair, but in no way did that take away from his dominant personality. There was nothing soft about the man.
His black hair was cut short, making it possible for her to see the tattoos on his neck. He’d rolled his shirt sleeves up, and she saw he had a few more. It made her extremely curious to see how many more he had, where they all were, and what they were.
His dark-brown eyes held an intense persona that made her feel shaky and nervous at the same time but mostly made her feel safe.
She had no idea why she thought that way since she hardly knew the man.
His straight white teeth shone even brighter against his dark complexion, and his body was huge and so muscular his shirt was stretched tight against his chest and biceps she was afraid the material would rip in two.
Her gaze slid back up to his face, and a fiery blush spread over her complexion when she realized he was awake and watching her. He’d seen her staring at him, and she was horrified she’d been caught gawking at him.
“Hello, pequeña. How are you feeling?”
“I think I feel better, but I haven’t moved yet. I still feel sore.”
“You’ll hurt for a while. You are badly bruised, but you don’t have any broken bones.”
“Thank God for that.”
“There were some cops here earlier to ask you some questions.”
She stiffened and almost groaned when pain shot up her spine. “What did they want?”
He stood and then sat beside her hip on the mattress before he smoothed the hair from her face. “They want to know what happened?”
She looked away. “I fell.”
“Yes, you told me that you fell down the steps, but how?”
“I’m clumsy.”
He cupped her cheek and turned her head. “You’re lying to me again.”
She felt tears fill her eyes and roll down her cheeks. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why, chica?”
“They already hate me.”
“Who? Your mother and sister?”
She sniffed and nodded.
“If they harmed you, they have to be held accountable.”
“They’re all I have.”
“That’s not true. You have me,” Cesar said.
“I’m afraid that once you get to know me, you’ll hate me, too.” She was almost certain when he got to know more about her, he’d find her as lacking as her family did, and that would kill her.
He smoothed the hair from her face again. “That won’t ever happen.”
She looked away again and stared at the wall. “You don’t know me. They’ve seen all the bad things I do and my bad traits.”