Page 1 of Catch My Fall

Prologue

Five Months Ago

The bass of the music pumps from De La Rosa’s sound system so loud the vibrations ripple through me like waves. There’s not a single part of my body that isn’t pulsing. The strong throbs alone could defibrillate my heart should I happen to go into cardiac arrest. Pair that with the strobe lights and the four glasses of God knows what I’ve already drank tonight, I’m beginning to feel heady as the music carries me through my dance.

Today I finally turned twenty-one, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am right in this moment, dancing with one of my best friends, Reese.

I’ve never felt so free.

I let my arms fly above my head as I twirl in circles with Reese. Her flaming red curls that cascade down her back are a stark contrast to my jet black locks that fall just past my shoulders. It’s one of the many things I have in common with my mom, so I’m told. That, and my smile, my self-confidence and compassionate nature. I can’t say how much of it is true seeing as how she died when I was only eight, but I’d like to think it is.

“So, how’s your first day of freedom going?” Reese shouts, her voice just about audible over the music.

“Let’s just say I’m in for one hell of a hangover tomorrow!” And if I play my cards right, drinking won’t be the only first I encounter tonight.

A tingle zips up my spine as the sense of someone watching me steals my attention. I let my gaze drift over the crowded dancefloor to the far wall where it collide with eyes I’ve been dreaming about since the first time I saw them.

Alec McKenna, my eldest brother, Gage’s bodyguard. He’s a six-foot-four Greek God of a man that has my lady parts humming to a tune only he knows. With a head of thick brown hair, storm cloud grey eyes and chiselled jawline, the man is a danger to the female population.

I don’t know exactly what it is, but my heart always skips a beat, my stomach flipping upside down and all around when ever he so much as looks at me. His gaze on me is always steady, with an intensity that has me blushing way more than I’d like, it has me wondering what he’s thinking. He never gives anything away, he’s always so calm and collected and it irritates me that I can’t tell what he’s thinking. It’s the same look I’m met with now, staring at me from across the dancefloor, his grip tight around the neck of the beer bottle he’s holding.

My other brother, Rafe is talking to him, and Alec nods along, not really listening because his focus is trained on me. All the while our eyes are connected, I never stop dancing.

I don’t have much experience where men are concerned, and when I say not much experience, what I actually mean is, I have none. Zilch. Nada. And while Gage still considers me a child, the thoughts that swirl around my head are anything but those of a child, because one thing I know for certain—I want Alec McKenna.

I’ve wanted him since the first time I saw him when I literally bumped into him in the hallway of our house about half a year ago. He was hired as my brother’s head of security and he’s consumed my thoughts ever since.

“Ugh! Alec is looking so hot tonight,” I say to Reese, and she follows my eyes to where he’s standing with Rafe.

She leans in close to my ear. “So, go get him! You’re both adults, go get your man and jump his bones already.”

I take a sip of the vodka and coke. “Gage would literally kill me, and then him.”

“Gage has no right to interfere with your life, or your happiness,” Reese points out.

I know she’s right, but tell that to Gage. He’s always been the overprotective one, and since our dad died a few months back, he’s taken overprotective brother to a whole other level.

I glance over to Reese as she eyes up my brother, who’s also giving her the ‘fuck me’ eyes. Something passes between them, and I’m not sure what it is, but it makes me wonder if it’s something more.

“Rafe literally can’t keep his eyes off you. Is there something going on between you two?”

Her eyes snap to mine. “What? No. Of course not.”

“I just wondered.” I shrug.

“Let’s skip boy talk and let’s dance!” she yells, taking my hand.

“Hell yes!” I know she’s trying to deflect and I don’t protest it. Whether something is happening between them or not, there soon will be, I’m sure of it.

The song switches to a more seductive one and I let her spin me around as we move to the music, twirling and swaying as the song’s tempo turns seductive, using everything we’ve got to catch the attention of the men across the room.

And it’s working.

Rafe watches my best friend with rapt attention as she gyrates her hips, letting her hands drift up her body, dancing as if the only ones in the room were her and my brother. And Alec… his eyes are burning into my skin so hot I’m bound to catch fire some time soon. His gaze sets my body alight, and I welcome the burn. It makes me feel alive. Sexy.

It’s not long before Reese is approached by a good-looking guy with blonde hair and the two of them begin to dirty dance in the middle of the dancefloor. She grinds her ass against his dick while his hands grope her body, and I can’t help but steal a glance at my brother who looks about two seconds away from dragging the blonde dude out by his hair.

I dance for a few more minutes before I weave through the crowd in the direction of the bathrooms. Pain stabs at me like someone took a knife to my bladder, and the pain only grows when I notice the line is seven people deep. I don’t think my bladder can hold out for much longer, it already feels like it’s about to explode.

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