Read Online Thin Lies (Donati Bloodlines #1) by Bethany-Kris - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Bethany-Kris
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always been her best protection, after all.
“What
do you find so funny?” she asked.
Calisto
quieted. “Well …”
“Well, what ?”
“You
looked fit to tear that fucking store down for a second. Like you were thinking
you could set the place on fire just with your glare alone. Who knows? Maybe
you would have, if I hadn’t interrupted you. Sorry to break up your hate-fest.
Please, resume. It amuses me when you’re annoyed at something.”
Emma’s
hackles rattled at his teasing. “I’m not annoyed.”
“I
beg to differ, dolcezza . You’re ten shades of annoyed and ready to rip
someone’s face off. A stubborn woman can never hide her anger, no matter how
hard she tries. It’s a sign of a passionate person—I didn’t say there was
anything wrong with it, only to work on hiding it.”
“No,
I’m not annoyed. I’m pissed off. If I were annoyed, I’d push on through with a
fucking smile on my face. Right now, I can’t even muster up something like that
to get me through this.”
“It’s
just a wedding dress,” Calisto said quietly.
“Right.
Just a wedding dress. It’s not the end of my freedom or yet another pair of
shackles for them to wrap around my leg to keep me contained.”
Calisto
laughed deeply. “My God, you are …”
Emma
stiffened when Calisto’s gaze traveled over her body like he was taking her red
dress, leather boots, and the curves of her body in for his memories. It didn’t
feel innocent, not with the way his throat bobbed with a swallow, his teeth
bared a little, and his eyes narrowed.
“I’m
what?” Emma asked, trying miserably to hide the air in her voice.
How
could someone turn her on just by looking at her?
Worst
fucking crush ever.
“You
are one dramatic girl, Emmy,” Calisto finally said with a sigh. “But dramatics
won’t get you out of the marriage or the dress shopping. It won’t change your
future or the decisions that have already been made for you. I suggest you
plaster on a fuck-you smile and do what you have to do.”
Emma
wanted to scream out her frustrations. “I wish it were that easy.”
“Unfortunately,
that’s life. It’s a part of growing up and being an adult. We don’t get what we
want just because we want it, and nobody is looking out for you right now.
They’re all looking out for them and what they can gain from this. The easier
you let it be done, the quicker it will be over.”
“And
then I’ll be married to a man I don’t like, want, or could ever possibly love.”
Briefly,
Calisto frowned before his face returned to its usually passive state. “My
mother once said she learned to love my father. Their engagement lasted three
years before they married; however, so I suppose it isn’t the same thing.”
Stunned
at his candor, Emma struggled for a response. “Your mother and father had an
arranged marriage?”
Calisto
nodded. “ Sì . She was eighteen. He was twenty-four. Young, but they
apparently got on quite well. I know in the early years my father didn’t settle
down with her. He ran with a lot of women for a while. Then things changed and
they became closer. Best friends, my mother used to say.”
“What
kind of things changed?”
“My
mother was in an accident that almost killed her. A motorcycle that my father
had bought her. He kept promising to teach her how to ride.”
“But
he was too busy with other women to remember his promises.”
Calisto
smiled, but the sight was sad. “Something like that. Anyway, she decided to go
on ahead and teach herself when my father didn’t come home again one night. It
ended terribly.”
Emma
shuddered. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t
be. A couple of broken bones later, and my father finally figured out what was
important in his life. My mother said it made the pain worth it, just to see
him come home every night to her and not run to someone else.”
“And
then you came along, right?”
Calisto’s
features darkened.
There
was no hiding it.
“Shortly
after
“What
do you find so funny?” she asked.
Calisto
quieted. “Well …”
“Well, what ?”
“You
looked fit to tear that fucking store down for a second. Like you were thinking
you could set the place on fire just with your glare alone. Who knows? Maybe
you would have, if I hadn’t interrupted you. Sorry to break up your hate-fest.
Please, resume. It amuses me when you’re annoyed at something.”
Emma’s
hackles rattled at his teasing. “I’m not annoyed.”
“I
beg to differ, dolcezza . You’re ten shades of annoyed and ready to rip
someone’s face off. A stubborn woman can never hide her anger, no matter how
hard she tries. It’s a sign of a passionate person—I didn’t say there was
anything wrong with it, only to work on hiding it.”
“No,
I’m not annoyed. I’m pissed off. If I were annoyed, I’d push on through with a
fucking smile on my face. Right now, I can’t even muster up something like that
to get me through this.”
“It’s
just a wedding dress,” Calisto said quietly.
“Right.
Just a wedding dress. It’s not the end of my freedom or yet another pair of
shackles for them to wrap around my leg to keep me contained.”
Calisto
laughed deeply. “My God, you are …”
Emma
stiffened when Calisto’s gaze traveled over her body like he was taking her red
dress, leather boots, and the curves of her body in for his memories. It didn’t
feel innocent, not with the way his throat bobbed with a swallow, his teeth
bared a little, and his eyes narrowed.
“I’m
what?” Emma asked, trying miserably to hide the air in her voice.
How
could someone turn her on just by looking at her?
Worst
fucking crush ever.
“You
are one dramatic girl, Emmy,” Calisto finally said with a sigh. “But dramatics
won’t get you out of the marriage or the dress shopping. It won’t change your
future or the decisions that have already been made for you. I suggest you
plaster on a fuck-you smile and do what you have to do.”
Emma
wanted to scream out her frustrations. “I wish it were that easy.”
“Unfortunately,
that’s life. It’s a part of growing up and being an adult. We don’t get what we
want just because we want it, and nobody is looking out for you right now.
They’re all looking out for them and what they can gain from this. The easier
you let it be done, the quicker it will be over.”
“And
then I’ll be married to a man I don’t like, want, or could ever possibly love.”
Briefly,
Calisto frowned before his face returned to its usually passive state. “My
mother once said she learned to love my father. Their engagement lasted three
years before they married; however, so I suppose it isn’t the same thing.”
Stunned
at his candor, Emma struggled for a response. “Your mother and father had an
arranged marriage?”
Calisto
nodded. “ Sì . She was eighteen. He was twenty-four. Young, but they
apparently got on quite well. I know in the early years my father didn’t settle
down with her. He ran with a lot of women for a while. Then things changed and
they became closer. Best friends, my mother used to say.”
“What
kind of things changed?”
“My
mother was in an accident that almost killed her. A motorcycle that my father
had bought her. He kept promising to teach her how to ride.”
“But
he was too busy with other women to remember his promises.”
Calisto
smiled, but the sight was sad. “Something like that. Anyway, she decided to go
on ahead and teach herself when my father didn’t come home again one night. It
ended terribly.”
Emma
shuddered. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t
be. A couple of broken bones later, and my father finally figured out what was
important in his life. My mother said it made the pain worth it, just to see
him come home every night to her and not run to someone else.”
“And
then you came along, right?”
Calisto’s
features darkened.
There
was no hiding it.
“Shortly
after
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