Page 3 of Love Bites
Like the fact that she was actually in Spain! Madrid, of all places! It was beautiful, and she loved every minute of it. Even the hotel room was nice with its plush carpeted floors, soft bedding, and the jeweled walls of the bathroom. She’d taken advantage of the jacuzzi tub the moment she’d stepped inside that morning. By early afternoon, she’d gotten out and dressed, ready to prowl the streets.
Yet curiosity had gotten the best of her, her sadness an ache in her chest that she couldn’t bring herself to ignore. So she’d turned on her phone, listened to her voice messages, and regretted that decision immediately.
Sighing, Katheryn stood and grabbed her purse, which held a travel guide, her money, and all of the basic necessities she’d need while spending her day walking around the beautiful town. She’d be damned if she was going to sit in her room all day, depressed over an asshole who couldn’t stay faithful to her.
With a grumble, she walked out the hotel door, closing it behind her.
* * *
Katheryn lookeddown at her map in confusion, turning it over and over in her hands.Where the hell am I?
The moon was high in the sky, stars twinkling brightly. Darkness enveloped her, filling her with unease. The night had never really frightened her before, but for the first time she felt… unsettled. There was something dangerous in the air, she could feel it in her bones. Goosebumps rose over her arms, and she cursed herself for getting lost. She looked around. There were plenty of people she could ask for help, but what were the chances any of them spoke English? She would figure it out on her own—shewouldfigure it out.
Exasperated, she stood back and looked around at the buildings then down at her map once again. Tears stung at the back of her eyelids, but she forced them away.
Maybe coming here was a bad idea, she thought bitterly. The whole day had been a complete disaster! She had been lost most of it, had almost gotten bit by some crazy woman’s dog, then she had almost been mugged by some guy in a dark alleyway. A swift kick to the groin and sprinting the hell away from him had worked in her favor.
She just wanted to get into her hotel room, take a nice hot bath and sleep the rest of the night away. She walked down the streets with no idea where she was going, looking from the map to all of the stores and complicated names. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Maybe her mom had been right. Maybe she should just go home and face all the questions—just get it over with.
“Excuse me, miss. Are you lost?” a heavily accented voice asked in perfect English. She looked up and realized she’d stopped walking. The boy who had spoken had dark caramel skin and black curls matted with sweat across his face. His eyes were fathomless black and almond shaped. He was tall and thin, with a round, young face; Katheryn thought he could have been at least eighteen.
He was a handsome kid, she decided. Then her eyes strayed to the man who appeared next to him and her heart banged hard against her chest at the sight of him. Holy hot balls, she thought as her eyes raked over his figure.
The man was shorter than the teen, with a wide—and incrediblynaked—chest that gleamed with perspiration. His hair was straight and light brown, his honey colored eyes fixated intently on her with an expression she couldn’t quite decipher.
The moment their gazes connected, a jolt zapped straight through her bones, heightening every sensitive nerve in her body, causing tingles to rise from her toes all the way to her face, making her blush a deep crimson. She wondered why he was shirtless—not that she was complaining, holy fucking hell, he was hot—but noticed the soccer ball he had tucked under the crook of his arm.
He was incredibly built, with hard muscles she wanted to run her fingers down and trace designs with the tips of her nails. His physique was nothing like Hunter’s—
She screeched her thoughts to a halt and immediately felt a surge of anger that she tamped down. She scowled up at the curly haired kid then forced the expression away.
“I’m not lost.” She tilted her chin up, daring him to question the lie. After nearly being mugged, she wasn’t sure she wanted to take the chance with two strangers helping her. “If you’ll excuse me…” When he didn’t move, she glared. “Excuse me. You’re in my way.”
The curly haired boy smiled widely, and she noticed he had two pointed incisors. “Technically, you’re in our way since we were just walking along the road, and you were hogging the whole lane.”
Katheryn narrowed her eyes. “Are you calling me fat?”
His grin faded, his eyebrows came together in confusion. “I didn’t say that.”
She pointed an accusing finger at his chest. “I am not fat.” Sure, her hips were a little wide and her stomach jiggled, but she did her best to stay healthy. Hunter had always been on her case about losing weight and it made her insecure.
She knew the teen hadn’tactuallyinsulted her, but the panicked look on his face made her want to mess with him a little bit.
“But I didn’t call you fat!”
“Do you know what calling a girl fat does to her self-esteem?” She tried to fight back the snicker that wanted to rise and replaced it with a mock-offended look. “You hurt my feelings!” He hadn’t, really, but his expression was priceless. That being said, she gave a small harrumph and marched past him, hiding her grin behind a curtain of bright red hair.
“Hey, wait!” A strong hand gripped her forearm, whipping her around. The movement was so sudden, it made her gasp and memories flashed through her mind. Memories of Hunter, pulling her a little too hard for comfort. He’d never harmed her before, but thinking back now, there were instances when she saw violence flash through his eyes. It was an expression that frightened her and made her into a meek, submissive woman that shewasn’t.
She looked up at him, his curls in wild disarray on his forehead. Had she imagined it or did his eyes flash red? His grip didn’t hurt, but the brief contact was enough to make her blood boil, and for a moment, it wasn’t some strange teenage kid in front of her.
It was Hunter.
She looked from his hand to his face. She clipped her voice tight when she muttered, “Get your hand off me before I cut it off and shove it down your throat.”
Without hesitation, he released her arm as if it were a hot stove he had accidentally touched. Enjoying the look of anger that passed over his face, she harrumphed again, gave his attractive friend one last once-over, then turned and walked away.
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