Page 50 of Reckless Desires

That is a low blow, and I won’t let anyone ever speak to me that way. I bring my palm down sharply against his cheek, the sound echoing in the stable. His eyes flash with anger, and in an instant his hand is grabbing my hoodie. I can feel the heat radiating from his body, his breath heavy with danger that is getting me wet.

“Hey! We are going out to the open field.” Izzy comes in out of nowhere, breaking up the tension.

He lets go of me. “It’s not safe,” Killian says to her. “Just look at the stars from here.”

“No way!” Izzy ignores him. “Liliana, I’m sure you won’t see a beautiful night sky like this back home!”

“No,” he says, walking out of the stable and pulling out a cigarette.

“Ugh,” Izzy pouts. “Feeling rebellious?” she whispers conspiratorially.

“What do you have in mind?” I reply.

“We’ll wait till everyone is asleep then sneak out.”

“Your brother, Killian, doesn’t seem like an easy person to get around.”

“Scared?” she challenges.

“Never.”

Her face lights up. “I’ll tell JoJo to get us flashlights.”

And like teenagers, that’s what we do. Once the house is quiet, I sneak downstairs to meet Izzy and JoJo. Quietly, we exit the house and make a run for it. I have no idea where we are going, but I haven’t felt this free in so long. We make it to an open field where we lie on the grass and look up at the most beautiful night sky I’ve ever seen. It’s breathtaking. The sky is lit up with thousands of stars.

Eventually, we hear JoJo snore away and we laugh.

“You have anyone back home waiting for you?” Izzy asks me as our eyes are glued to the sky.

“I guess I have a few people.”

“No, I mean like a guy. Or a girl, if that’s your thing.”

Alessio pops into my head, but he’s not really mine, so he doesn’t count. “No,” I reply.

“A pretty girl like you, and you don’t have men lining up?” she challenges.

“None worth running home to,” I admit. “You?”

“Just broke up with a longtime boyfriend.”

“How come?”

“He wants a thousand kids.” She laughs. “I mean, just because my mum had a litter doesn’t mean I want to.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Fair. My mom’s reputation rubbed off on us too. So I get it. You don’t want kids at all?”

“Nah. You?”

“Yes, just not sure if it’s in my cards.” I don’t know if it’s the calming of the night sky, so peaceful and bright, that I open up about my ailment. “I have stage three endometriosis, so the doctors say fertility won’t be easy.”

“Shit, sorry to hear that.”

“There they are!” We hear a voice in the distance, making us sit up.

“Shit!” Izzy says. “We need to run.”

Shaking JoJo violently, he jolts awake. “Run!!” Izzy shouts.