Sempre (Forever Series #1)(98)

Her brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m not an idiot, Haven,” he said, his voice low. “I have no intention of dying any time soon, that’s for sure. I know how to keep my mouth shut, but I can’t hold it in anymore. You told me you were from California, when not long ago Carmine said you were from Chicago. And they don’t just invite people to live with them. They don’t let anyone get close unless they can control them some way, and it freaks me out what that means for you.”

She felt queasy. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you aren’t some friend of the family. I think you had no choice whether you came here.”

“I had a choice,” she said, remembering Dr. DeMarco’s words that first day. “We always have a choice.”

“Look, it’s not like I can do anything. I’m just a kid, and I don’t know your situation. For all I know, you could’ve been kidnapped and are being held for ransom, or, hell, maybe you’re in hiding. I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad knowing you might be trapped.”

She was nervous to talk about it in public. “They’re nice to me.”

“I’m sure they are, but that doesn’t make it right, and it makes me sick that Carmine’s taking advantage of you.”

Her fingernails dug into her palms as she tried to keep from reacting. “Carmine loves me.”

“I have a hard time believing he loves anyone.”

“I love him.”

“Let me guess, he’s the first person to treat you that way? He smiles at you and whispers sweet nothings in your ear? He speaks Italian and makes you swoon? Yeah, he did that to every girl in this building at some point. That’s who he is.”

“Nothing’s going to change my mind.”

“Fine, but like I said, that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. If you need to talk, I’m around.”

“Why do you care so much?”

“Because somebody should.”

She opened her mouth to tell him Carmine cared, but before she could, Carmine’s seething voice rang out behind them. “Leave her alone!”

“Nicholas helped me,” Haven said right away, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

Carmine wrapped his arm around her waist as he glared at Nicholas. “Helped you with what?”

“Lisa cornered her, so I did what any man would do,” Nicholas said. “Actually, most would’ve watched two chicks going at it, but I didn’t want Lisa to get her ass whipped at prom. I’m hoping for a little action tonight.”

Carmine looked at her. “Lisa tried to fight with you? Again?”

“I see it’s not a one-time occurrence,” Nicholas said.

Haven held up her corsage. “She broke my flower.”

He took it from her and cursed under his breath, pulling her away when Nicholas’s voice called out. “Knock, knock.”

Feeling guilty, she looked at him once more. “Who’s there?”

Carmine stopped moving, not amused.

“Tank,” Nicholas said.

“Tank who?” She got it the moment the words rolled from her lips. Tank who . . . Thank you.

Nicholas smiled. “You’re welcome, Haven.”

Soft music played and people paired up to dance as Carmine put his hands on Haven’s hips, drawing her closer. “You okay, tesoro? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gazed at him. “No, Nicholas stopped her.”

“Nicholas,” Carmine sneered under his breath, his eyes darting across the room to where Haven knew he still stood. “He’s always involving himself in shit.”

“I’m grateful for it,” Haven said. “Lisa punched him instead of me.”

Those words sparked a smile on Carmine’s face. “Good.”

Haven rolled her eyes as Carmine licked his lips, kissing her slowly as they swayed to the music. Love swelled inside of her. This was her Carmine, the one who wasn’t afraid to let his guard down and let her inside. In the middle of a crowded room, no one existed but them. He was all she saw, all she was aware of—his face, his smell, his warmth, his love.

The emotion took control of her as tears threatened to spill over. The song wound down, and the two of them stood in the center of the dance floor, staring at each other. “Can we . . . ?”

“Yeah, let’s go home.”

Carmine was all over Haven the moment they stepped foot onto the third floor of the house. His lips captured hers in a fiery kiss as he pulled her tightly against him. It had been a while since he had kissed her this way, as if he needed to siphon the air from her lungs to breathe.

“Carmine, we should . . .” She shivered when his lips moved to her neck. “. . . I think we really should . . .” She let out a whimper as he nipped at her skin with his teeth. “. . . It’s just that . . .”

She didn’t know what she was saying, what she meant, why she was even trying to talk. She couldn’t think straight. Every cell in her body yearned for him, wildly rejoicing at the feel of his hands on her again, yet the words kept spilling out on their own.

“Maybe we should just, you know . . .”