Page 72 of Untouchable

“Oh.” Her brows pull together slightly then she smiles. “Right.” Then she places her hand in mine. Her movements are stiff, a little unsure, as we walk hand in hand for the building, then she wraps her other hand around my forearm, leans into me and everything feels natural again. I open the door for her when we get to the building and the cute little smile on her face makes me want to push her against the wall and kiss her until her lips are numb.

“How many?” The waitress seats us and hands us our menus, and after we place our order Katarina folds her hands on the table, looking like a contestant on a game show.

“Okay, so tell me about how you, Mikey, and Bodine became such good friends.” She smiles, sipping her diet soda.

“Jeez.” I sit back in my seat and rub my hands along my jeans, laughing as I recall the memory. “When I came back, your dad sat me down and told me he had every intention of moving me into a place of leadership in the club if I proved myself worthy of it. He wanted to make sure my behavior and intentions were in line with the integrity of the club since things had changed from when we were little. I kept my head down, did what I needed to do to prove to him that that wasallI wanted, and I’d do anything to earn it. I think he gave me Mikey andBodine as a test or something, because oh mygod, they were a lot.”

“Were?” Katarina teases, making me laugh.

“Right. Anyways, they were just kind of everywhere I was from then on. It was easy to see that they were trustworthy and reliable, even with all the fucking shenanigans they can get into sometimes. We just fell into this groove where the three of us were together more often than not.”

“I love when friendships happen like that. Tabitha and I kind of fell into friendship that way. Now, I can’t imagine my life without her.”

“Yeah, I’ll deny it if you ever tell them I said it, but I’m not so sure what I’d do without those two idiots either.” Katarina smiles at me and shakes her head just as the waitress brings our food to the table. We both stay pretty quiet while we eat, watching Katarina put her pasta away makes me think she was just as hungry as I was. By the time we finish the waitress comes back to give us our check.

“Hey, Ace?”

“Yes, Reaper?” I slide my wallet back into my pocket as her face grows more nervous.

“What…what are we doing?”

“We just had dinner,” I answer playfully, hoping to help ease some of the obvious discomfort she’s feeling.

“No, I mean. What arewe? Am I like your old lady now or something?” The very idea of having Katarina as mine andonlymine makes every nerve ending in my body feel electric.

“You wantto be my old lady, Reaper?” She chews on the inside of her cheek and I lean in closer across the table. “Do you want to see how I would treat you if you were? To make an educated decision?” She nods her head yes and I beckon her over to my side of the booth. She slides out of her side, joining me on mine and I quickly wrap my hand around her throat and kissher the same way I would if we were alone. In a restaurant full of people, I’m staking my claim, letting them know she’smine.I hear her whimper and grab her thigh with my free hand, sliding it up until I feel her press her hips closer to me. Then I let her go, swiping my thumb across her wet lips, and wink at her.

“If you’re gonna be my old lady, Katarina, not a damn soul on the planet is going to question it.Van a saber que eres mía.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a bad gig.” I watch her throat as she swallows and I smirk.

She’s nervous.

Once our tab is paid, I motion for her to slide out of the booth and I stand behind her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer, to kiss her temple. When we make it to the bike, I see her wag her eyebrows at me and I already know what she’s going to ask. I grab my keys from my back pocket and everything that happens next feels like a flash of lightning.

I hear tires screeching, a semi-truck horn honking, and then headlights brighter than the sun coming directly at us. I wrap my arm around Katarina and throw myself on top of her as I jump out of the way. I shield her head with my arms, and try my best to cover her ears from the loud crash happening only a few feet away from us. Glass shatters on the ground next to us and Katarina’s screams fill my ears and shatter my heart.

“Katarina!I’m right here. You’re okay, you’re okay.” I check her body for any dislocations, broken bones, or deep cuts to ensure everything I’m telling her is the truth, and when I see that she truly is okay, I take her face in my hands and see her eyes full of fear. Her eyes blink rapidly as she looks to her left, seeing the car completely destroyed by the brick wall lining the parking lot. Then she squeezes her eyes shut and the tears roll down both sides of her face. I pick her up, squeezing her closer to my body, hoping to bring her mind back.

“Come back to me, Katarina. You’re not in that car, you hear me? You’re safe.” She shakes her head up and down, and I know she’s with me. “Can you stand up?” She shakes her head again and I help her to her feet, squeezing her as tightly as she squeezes me while she cries. “Let’s go, okay? You okay to ride?” She pulls her face away from my chest, looking over at the car as her voice shakes.

“Shouldn’t we stay and—” I look around at the parking lot full of bystanders, some of which I know saw everything happen.

“There’s enough witnesses, we don’t need to stay and re–live it. Let’s go.” We get on the bike and when Katarina wraps her arms around my waist, it feels like she’s trying to crawl beneath my skin, and the only thing on my mind is getting her back to the cabin as quickly as possible so she can do just that.

CHAPTER 40

Katarina

“REPLACING THE FEAR”

Ikeep my eyes closed the entire ride back to the cabin, which feels a lot faster than the ride to the restaurant earlier. When the bike turns, followed by the feel of gravel beneath the tires, I know we’ve made it back and I peel my eyes open. I’m still in a bit of shock from everything that happened, and how quickly it all happened when Ace cuts the engine and throws his leg over the seat, turning to face me. I look up at him and he takes my helmet off of me. I can practically feel the mascara smeared on my cheeks from crying so hard, but it’s hard to care when the only thing on my mind is the way Ace threw himself on top of me to protect me. When his knuckles brush my skin, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, I look up at him. He has a way of replacing my fear and making me feel safer than I’ve ever felt before.

“You saved me.” My voice is hoarse and tears spring to my eyes as he reaches down to take my face in his hands.

“Tú me salvaste primero.” My eyes fall closed at his soothing voice and his gentle touch. “I will always protect you, Katarina.” I fist his shirt near his abdomen and pull him closer to me, tilting my head back hoping he can suddenly read my mind. I’m not sure if he can or not, but he gives me what I want when his lips land on mine. There’s something earth-shattering about theway Ace kisses me. Completely controlled but ferocious at the same time. He pulls me to my feet, picks me up to wrap my legs around his waist, and my fingers run through his hair. I have no idea where he’s walking, but it could be off a cliff and I wouldn’t care. As long as I go down with Ace, I’ll go down happy. Then I hear the door open, Ace steps inside and quickly kicks it shut behind us. I can feel my fingernails gently scratching his scalp and he moans into my mouth. My hips grind against him and he pulls his lips away.

“Slow down,Mi Luz.Are you okay?”

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