Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Three seconds until I kick your ass, bitch.” Catalina got to her feet, hands on her hips as she stood tall in her wedges.
“Catalina,” I said quietly. “Let it go.”
“Fuck no.” Catalina shoved him in the shoulder.
Liam moved slightly, probably because he wasn’t expecting a woman to actually attack him.
“Catalina.” I got to my feet quickly. “You don’t understand. He’s a fighter—”
She slapped him across the face, kneed him in the dick, and then kicked one of his knees with her massive shoe. It was like a Jackie Chan movie, hit after hit happening within seconds. “I’m a fighter too.”
Liam moved with all her hits, falling down because she’d struck him so quickly, hitting all his most vulnerable places.
Now everyone in the restaurant was staring.
“You’ve got three seconds to get out of this restaurant.” Catalina stood over him, victorious. “Or I’m gonna kick you in the face and knock out those two front teeth.”
He looked up at her, a scowl on his face and his expression full of the promise of retribution. “Fucking bitch.” He rose to his feet, staring at her with menace. “I don’t hit women, but I’m about to—”
She punched him so hard in the face, he fell back and fell on top of a table. The couple sitting there jumped out of their seats and backed away as the wooden table broke under his weight. Everyone gasped at the scene.
“Come near my girl again, and I’ll pluck your balls from your body like cherries off a tree. Bitch.” She flipped her hair then stormed off, strutting out of there like a queen who had just conquered a land.
I didn’t linger. I followed her and got the hell out of there.
When we were in the entryway of the house, I finally spoke. “Where did you learn to do that?” I was disturbed by what had just happened because I knew Liam had intended to whisk me away, to make me disappear so Damien would never be able to find me. I couldn’t believe we got away. The only reason we did was because Catalina surprised us both. I never would have moved against him that way because I knew I couldn’t win. He would have grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of there. But with Catalina…she knew how to kick ass.
She answered so nonchalantly, like it wasn’t a big deal. “This guy I was seeing taught me a few things.”
“Was he a professional fighter?”
“No. He was just really into martial arts.”
“Maybe I should learn some things…”
“It wouldn’t hurt.” She pulled her sunglasses off her face. “Big men like that fight like brutes. But martial arts are about striking quickly and using the least amount of energy. He may be bigger and stronger than you, but you’re much smaller and quicker. It’s not about always landing a knockout punch. It’s about wearing him down until he’s incapacitated.”
“Good to know.”
“I’m sure Damien could teach you.”
“He knows martial arts?”
She shrugged. “My brother knows everything, so probably.” She pulled her hair over one shoulder and then returned her sunglasses to her face. “I should get going. If you see my dad, tell him I said hi. And sorry I asked you to lunch. Didn’t think that loser was stalking you like that.”
“Yeah…neither did I.” That meant he was watching the house, waiting for an opportunity once I walked out the front door. I guess it was smart that I wasn’t going to work anymore. If Liam had intended to grab me in the middle of a public restaurant, he wouldn’t give a shit about the hotel. “Damien is gonna be so mad at me…”
“Why? Don’t tell him.”
“I can’t not tell him.”
“Whether he knows or not doesn’t make a difference, right? He assumed Liam is watching the house, and he was right. My personal opinion is this. The less men know they’re right, the better.” She blew me a kiss before she walked out. “Don’t stress about it. No point in worrying about things you can’t change.”
I heard Damien walk down the hallway. His footsteps were so distinct, it was obvious it wasn’t Patricia entering his bedroom to make the bed and gather his dirty laundry.
I left my bedroom and joined him. I would have waited in there for him to come home, but I hadn’t officially moved in to his space, so I didn’t want to cross the line. It might be an invasion of privacy.
His back was to me as he stripped off the jacket to his suit and tossed it over the back of the chair. He must have heard the door shut behind him, but he didn’t turn around. He loosened his tie and pulled it free from around his corded neck before tossing it on top of his discarded jacket. “I told you not to leave the house.” His fingers moved to his chest, and he unbuttoned his white collared shirt, allowing the fabric to fall free and slide down his arms. His muscular back was tense, all the lines separating groups of muscles as distinct as if outlined by the ink of a permanent marker.