I sat up, wanting to prepare everything for the presentation of the sheets—and Durant.
Kiara jerked awake, eyes wide and terrified as they settled on me. Her body coiled tighter before she swallowed visibly and then finally relaxed. “Sorry.”
“For what?” I asked. She said sorry a lot for her body’s natural reactions. I wasn’t sure why she thought her fear would offend me. After what she had been through, and considering who I was, it was natural for her to react the way she did. Killing her uncle and not laying claim on her body wouldn’t change that.
She didn’t say anything, and I couldn’t read her expression. I swung my legs out of bed and stood.
Kiara gasped behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at her. I was naked because I preferred to sleep without clothes. “I’m going to take a shower. Does my nakedness bother you?”
She moved her head in a twitchy mix of nodding and shaking, looking down at the blankets.
“Is that a yes or a no?”
“You are my husband.”
“I am. But that doesn’t answer my question.” I turned, fully facing her, to try and coerce a stronger reaction.
She swallowed, her cheeks turning red. “It doesn’t bother me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Being trustworthy means no lies, Kiara.”
Her eyes snapped up to my face, and she pursed her lips in … frustration? “Okay. I lied. It bothers me very much. You scare me when you are naked. Happy?”
“I can’t see how that would make me happy.”
She shook her head. Then her eyes darted to my groin area, and she tensed again and looked away.
“My nakedness doesn’t pose a risk to you. It doesn’t make me more dangerous nor would clothes offer you any kind of protection. It’s a matter of physical strength, not layers of clothing.”
My words didn’t have the intended effect. She slumped her shoulders, making herself smaller. Fear. I wasn’t sure how to handle her. My lack of emotions had never been much of a problem when dealing with my brothers or Fabiano; they weren’t offended easily, and even harder to scare. With others, my lack of emotions had been a useful asset.
“Kiara,” I softened my voice, something I had never done. Her hazel eyes flickered up to my face. “I’m stronger than you. That is fact. If I wanted to hurt you, nothing would stop me. That is also fact. But as I told you, I have no intention of hurting you. My being naked doesn’t change that in any way. Nor would you being naked around me change it. I’m more than capable of controlling my urges just as any other man would.”
“My uncle,” she murmured.
“Your uncle didn’t want to control his urges, and he paid for it with his life.” For me the topic was settled, so I turned and headed for the shower.
When we were both dressed, I checked the time. It was only seven-thirty. Still early. “Why don’t we head for breakfast before the presentation of the sheets?”
Kiara’s eyes widened. “What sheets?”
“The sheets your uncle bled out on,” I told her.
“Everyone will realize what happened to me,” she whispered, her face scrunching up.
“Are you ashamed?” I asked, because I still had trouble reading her face and eyes. It would take me a while to link her facial expressions to the appropriate emotions.
She gasped out a laugh and swallowed hard. “Of course I am.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did nothing wrong. Don’t turn yourself into the aggressor when you were the victim.”
She shook her head at me, eyes wide. “You don’t understand. It doesn’t matter that he did this to me. They will blame me. Somehow the victims always end up being treated like accomplices. You are a man. You don’t understand.”
Her voice and words made me realize that the emotion her face displayed was anger. “It’s not a matter of being a man. It is fact that you did nothing wrong. He forced you.”
“Don’t you understand? I’m a woman. I’m guilty by default. It’s always like that. They will say I asked for it. A smile means I’m flirting. A nice word means I’m asking for it. Revealing clothes mean I’m inviting touch. That is fact, Nino.”
I regarded her, surprised by her vehemence. The women my brothers and I dealt with weren’t prone to wordy comebacks, but Kiara was eloquent and intelligent, and she could hold her own if she got past her fear of me and men in general.
“If you feel ashamed, if you allow them to make you feel that way, you cement their ignorance. Fight it.”
“I fought once in my life, and it only made him hurt me worse!” she screamed. She swallowed again. I assumed it was her attempt to control her emotions, to stop her tears, but they had gathered in her eyes anyway. Maybe I should have prolonged her uncle’s torture over a few days, but we were supposed to return to Vegas today.