She turned her face to squint at him while still resting her head in her hands. “This has nothing to do with liking him. I do like him. A lot. You’re right. He’s a sweet, funny, smart, brave guy. If I was into guys like that, I might actually be jealous of you. But I’m talking about you and him together. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Then it’s because he’s a mercenary, and you know he’s probably doing illegal things.”
She snorted as she straightened. “There’s no probably about it. But I don’t care. He’s doing these things to help people. When the system is broken, sometimes you have to bend the rules to help people in need. After talking to him and his friends, I don’t get the impression that they are doing these things to hurt anyone. However, I do know how overprotective you can be when you care about someone.”
Isidore visibly winced. He and his sister had suffered through many conversations and many arguments over the years about his overprotective nature. She understood where it stemmed from and he had learned to rein it in, but it was still a constant battle of him fighting his need to protect and Athena’s desire to experience the world on her own.
“Are you going to tell me you’re not going to have a problem with Kairo’s job? He’s already put himself in danger to protect us. After he helps us, he’s going to move on to his next job, where he will be in danger again. Are you going to be able to deal with that? Or are you going to demand he give up this line of work? Go play at the vineyards with you.”
“No! Of course not! Kairo’s job means a lot to him, and I would never stop him from doing what he loves. But I don’t feel the need to protect him the same way I do with you.” Athena stared at him as though she didn’t believe a single word he was saying. “I’m serious. Yes, I worry about him. Of course I worry about him, but it’s not the same. With you, it’s almost an all-consuming panic. I’m confident that you can handle the vast majority of day-to-day problems, but when it comes to being outnumbered by men who weigh twice as much as you and are carrying guns, I’m going to be afraid.”
“But not with Kairo?” she asked skeptically.
“No, because since I’ve met him, I’ve seen him outnumbered and outgunned. He still wins. He’s been trained for this. He kicks ass, and it’s awesome.”
Athena’s harsh expression softened as she watched him, and he hated to see the sadness and worry invading her dark-brown eyes. He didn’t want to worry his sister. This was supposed to be a happy time for her. They were supposed to be laughing and relaxing as they enjoyed their last days before she went off to graduate school. He could feel their lives being pulled into separate directions and part of him howled at the idea of more distance slipping between them, but at the same time, he was excited to see her start this next stage of her life. He wanted to watch her move on to do big, great things. But to do those great things, he couldn’t have her looking back at him in worry.
“What about Kairo? Does he know how you are?”
This time it was Isidore’s turn to sigh heavily and roll his eyes at his sister. “Do you have any idea how loaded that question is? Can you be more specific? Do you mean does he know that I’m neurotically overprotective?”
“I mean,” Athena said with heavy emphasis, “does he know that you don’t casually date? That you don’t sleep around. That you have a heart bigger than the ocean but you don’t let people get close to you.”
“No, probably not. We haven’t talked about that kind of stuff. And what you walked in on was the first kiss.”
Athena wrinkled her nose at him and frowned. “Well, that sucks. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s first kiss. You’re going to have to do that whole thing over.”
Isidore threw up his hands. “I thought you’ve just been arguing that I shouldn’t be kissing him at all.”
“You really shouldn’t, but if you’re going to kiss him, you should at least get it right.”
Lowering his head, Isidore pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. Athena had a knack for giving him the worst headaches. “You’re killing me, and I think you’re doing it on purpose.”
Athena looped her arm through Isidore’s and snuggled close, laying her head against his shoulder. “I’m not trying to be a pain in the ass. Just tell me whether you’ve thought any of this through.”
“No, I haven’t. Not at all. I kissed him on impulse. He said I needed to stop putting everyone else first and take what I wanted for once. So I did.”
A low groan lifted from his sister and she smashed her nose into his arm. “Stop. Just stop. Quit giving me new reasons to like him. One of us needs to use common sense right now.”
A smile finally returned to Isidore’s lips as he kissed the top of his sister’s head. She was constantly complaining that he wasn’t thinking of his own needs enough. “Common sense has little effect on the desires of the heart.”
There was no question in his mind. His heart wanted Kairo. He didn’t have everything figured out yet, like exactly what it wanted from Kairo or how this was all going to work out. Okay, so maybe he didn’t really have any of those answers. Wasn’t it enough that he knew that he wanted Kairo? He wanted to kiss the man. He wanted to kiss him until their lips were swollen and sore. He wanted to explore every centimeter of Kairo’s body with his eyes, fingers, and mouth—in that order. He wanted to hear him laugh, gasp, and moan in pleasure.
It was even getting to the point that he wanted those laughs, gasps, and moans to belong to him alone.
But Athena wasn’t worried about that part. She wanted to know about the aftermath of their sexual fun. Was it possible for them to have a relationship? Was that something Kairo would even be interested in? Particularly with him?
It was a bitter truth to swallow that he wasn’t brave or especially good in a fight. He couldn’t use a gun or other weapons. He’d taken basic self-defense, but that was only going to carry him so far in a real fight. Why would Kairo even be interested in him in the first place? Yes, he knew he was attractive and rich, but that only made for a good one-night stand. While he might not know what he wanted for their future, he did know that he wasn’t interested in a quick fling.
But he could learn. He could learn how to use weapons and be more assertive. He could learn to be good in a fight, and then maybe Kairo would let him tag along on their jobs. He could be useful.
Yes, this was going to work. He could do this for Kairo.
With that settled in his mind, he smiled at his sister, who was now watching him with a new questioning look. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure this out and I’ll be careful. I want him, Athena. I want him, and I’ve never wanted anyone before. Let me at least try.” His grin turned a little lopsided. “Even if I can’t have him, I want to at least enjoy this for a short time. Make a good memory.”
Her smile seemed a little helpless, but some of the sadness had leaked from her expression as she stared up at him. “If I didn’t think he was a good guy, I would be making a much bigger stink about this. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
Isidore leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Sometimes that can’t be helped, but I appreciate your concern.” When he straightened and looked down at her, he finally realized something was missing. “Where is Joey?”