Page 4 of Falling for the Forbidden Fighter
He pulls Louis aside as I start retrieving bands, small medicine balls, and a few small weights out of my bag. My dad speaks quietly, holding Louis’s gaze.
Yeah, I know what thisman-to-manis about, too.
It’s the Golden Rule that anyone who trains here must follow. Betray it, and you’ll have two seasoned fighters going open season on you.
The rule was set down by my father, upheld by him and my brother, and respected by all.
Keep your hands off Don ‘The Blizzard’Winters’s daughter.
CHAPTER 2
LOUIS
I’m fighting for my life.
The second I saw this girl, I knew it.
I’ve been fighting since I was a kid. On the streets, I ran my fist through anyone who gave me trouble. It’s always been a struggle…
Somehow, I’ve never been more afraid than I am right now.
This girl,Catherine, is fuckingeverything.
All my life, I’ve taken whatever steps necessary to move forward. To live. To survive. And, sometimes, to do the right thing, even when it hurts me. I’m a brick kicked down hill, bouncing and colliding, always moving without a clue as to where I’ll end up.
One look, and I finally feel like I have something to live for.
If there’s any prize on Earth worth winning, she’s standing right in front of me in a pair of tight orange gym shorts and a high-cut sports top. She’s got the body of a fighter—lean, muscled, thick in the legs, curvy in all the places I shouldn’t look. Makes sense if she grew up aroundThe Blizzard.
Her old man pats me on the back, finishing up his spiel. Somehow, I knew exactly what he was going to say.
Touch my daughter, and I’ll break your fucking nose.
I’ll let her brother work you like that bag. Kid, you won’t even be able to see past all the blood.
Look at her wrong, hit on her, or try anything I deem inappropriate, and you’re done here. You won’t fight for me. Never.
To be fair to him, he ended the talk friendly enough.
“I’ll leave you to it,” he says, clapping me on the back. “Catty, I’ll be in the office. Don’t go easy on him. Potential is wasted when we’re weak.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Catherine says, throwing me a friendly smile. “So… you ready to get to work?”
Work? What? What the hell am I even here for, again?
Training seems like some distant, silly dream. Unless part of that training is sparring with her… I’ll do anything to feel her touch, even if it’s at the end of a jab.
Luckily, her touch comes quickly.
Catherine kneels, working a thick band around my legs. The tension rests on my knees, and she pops up to face me.
“All right,” she says, avoiding eye contact. “I want you to squat slowly, hands out.”
I shoot my arms out, fingertips grazing her shoulders. “Like this?”
“Y-yeah…” She takes a step back. “Now squat, maintain that tension in the band.”
I do as I’m told, keeping my gaze on her, memorizing the birthmarks on her tanned arms. Girls back in Philly are pale, ghostly. She’s been perfectly sun-kissed, and I find myself desperate to taste what the sun has already sampled.
