Love Bites

by Aleera Anaya Ceres

  “Katheryn? Hello? Are you there?” The sound of her mother’s voice was like a hole punching into her heart. She missed her; she missed being able to share anything with her. Before all of the money had invaded their lives, she would have sat around with her mother talking about anything and everything. Now, she just seemed like a distant woman.

  “Hey, mom.”

  “Oh, Kathy, are you okay? We’ve been calling for days, and you haven’t answered! We had a mind to call the police!” The worry in her mother’s voice and the use of her old nickname had Katheryn clutching her fist to her heart.

  “I’m fine, Mom,” she said. “I’m sorry I haven’t answered your calls. I’ve been trying to sort through some stuff. You see—”

  “Yes, dear, we know what stuff you’re sorting through.”

  Katheryn raised an eyebrow, even if her mother couldn’t see it. “What?”

  “Hunter told us everything, dear. He told us you walked in on him and his mistress, and that you ran off to get back at him.”

  “He told you that?” The nonchalance in her mother’s voice gnawed at every nerve in Katheryn’s body. She didn’t even sound upset about Hunter cheating on her daughter.

  “Yes, he told us, and I have to say, Katheryn, I’m very disappointed in you.”

  “Disappointed in me? What?”

  Katheryn practically saw her mother through the receiver, nodding, crossing her arms against her chest in disapproval and looking down her nose at her daughter.

  “Very much so. I mean, really, Katheryn, did you think all men are immune to the lure of their secretaries?”

  Katheryn couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her mother was totally fine with Hunter cheating on her. It struck no chords, caused no anger or disappointment toward the guilty party. She clenched her fists tightly. “I thought he’d show at least a little restraint considering we were going to get married!”

  “What childish nonsense! Really, Katheryn, that’s all fairytale stuff. Men aren’t perfect in the art of restraint. Not like women are. Let me tell you a fact of life, his whores mean nothing to him— or to any man, really. They’re useful for only one thing. Just remember, it’s the wife he will always come back to.”

  Katheryn clenched her teeth.

  “So stop pouting and come back home, dear. Work things out with Hunter.”

  “No,” Katheryn spat. “I won’t come back and live with a cheating fiancé. Our engagement is over. I’m done with him!”

  “You silly, foolish girl!” The anger in her mother’s voice was almost palpable. “Why do you think we wanted you married to him in the first place? His family helped wrench us out of poverty. He gave you your job and your money, and he could just as easily take it away. Don’t be ungrateful. If you leave him, we’ll lose everything. Think of us, think of what it will do to us—your parents.”

  She counted in her head, took deep breaths, but nothing seemed to calm her anger. This is what it always came down to. It had always been about them and the money. They didn’t care about the hurt Hunter put Katheryn through, the betrayal. All they wanted was to stay on top, to tie their daughter to an unfaithful prick just to keep their newfound social status.

  “Don’t be selfish. Just come back and make peace with him. Where are you, anyway?”

  Katheryn tried hard not to let the tears fall, but her voice shook when she replied. “No. I won’t go back to that. Call me selfish if you want, but I won’t go back to him. Anyway, I just called to say I’m fine, and I’ll be back soon.”

  “Wait! Where are—”

  Katheryn hung up and shoved the phone in her purse. There in the dark alley, she sank to the ground, rested her head on her knees and let a sob wrench from her throat. Her shoulders shook violently with her pain.

  Oh, how wrong Rosa was. Parents were supposed to be worried about their children. Hers were worried, all right, just not about Katheryn. No, her parents were more worried about money and losing it than they were about Katheryn’s pain.

  Disappointment wrapped its tendrils around her broken heart and crushed the pieces together, causing her to clutch her chest and struggle for breath. Lights flashed behind her eyelids then darkness.

  She was drowning in the darkness of her tears. Her lungs exploded, cried out for air, but what she breathed was thick and unsatisfactory. Panic set in, causing her to wheeze and choke on her sobs.

  There was no comfort. None in her ex-fiancé, in her family, in this country.

  There was nothing and no one to make her feel better.

  9

  Ignacio had spent a few days at Antonio’s house, heaving and sweating the disgusting human food from his system. He was a puddle of sweat, but at Antonio’s request, he left the house for sustenance. He’d founded a willing donor, drank his fill and hidden himself back in the house.

  Many times, Antonio had suggested drinking from a woman during sex, considering heated blood during coitus was heightened in nutrients. Antonio claimed it would have had Ignacio back on his feet in minutes. But Ignacio couldn’t. Not now that he knew his Soul Mate. If he slept with another, it would be as if he were betraying her.

  And, oh, how he longed for her. It had been too long, and the gap in his heart could only be filled with her presence. It took all he had not to run straight to her hotel when he was back on his feet.

  Antonio had convinced him to calm down, lest he freak her out. Tonight, he’d dragged Ignacio out to the bar they usually frequented. With a heavy heart, he followed his young friend down the dark streets.

  They slipped around the corner, heading in the direction of the bar. He passed a dark alleyway and felt the pain before he heard it.

  Darkness filled his heart then suffocating pressure descended around him. He clutched at his chest, nearly losing his balance.

  “You okay?” Antonio went to steady him.

  Ignacio pushed him away when he heard it. A gut-wrenching sound that tore at his insides.

  Sobbing.

  He turned to the alleyway where the sobs came from, and he recognized the person behind them. The sound matched the hurt in his heart.

  Ignoring Antonio’s calls, he rushed into the alleyway, gasping and struggling for breath as he did so. Fear tugged at his heart as he realized this familiar feeling, as he felt the emotions and turmoil that weren’t his.

  It had only happened once before, and this time was much worse.

  He found Katheryn in the alley, huddled on the ground in the darkness. Her sobs filled the air. Her shoulders shook violently. She was so wretched, crying into her knees that she didn’t even notice Ignacio standing in front of her.

  His heart clenched. An unrecognizable anger overpowered all other emotions. But above his anger was worry at the sight of her. Who had hurt her like this?

  “Katheryn?” he whispered.

  She jerked up her head to stare at him with tear-filled eyes. But, the sight of him had her eyes swimming with more tears. She choked out a sob and buried her head against her knees again, shaking violently.

  She looked so small. His worry only grew.

  He pulled her to her feet. Gripping her upper arms, he shook her slightly, but she refused to look at him, burying her face in her own shoulder. His grip tightened in rage, but he eased it.

  “Did somebody hurt you, Katheryn?” he demanded, adding as much gentleness to his voice as he could muster. “Who hurt you? Who was it? Which way did he go?”

  He touched his palm to her cheek and pulled her face toward his, to meet her gaze. Her eyes were red and swollen, the makeup she’d added around her eyes now smeared in smudges. “Katheryn, please talk to me. Did someone hurt you?”

  She trembled and threw herself into his arms, burying her head in his shirtfront. Ignacio held her and let her shoulders shake against him, rattling his chest and his heart. He felt her pain and sadness all the way to his core.

  He waited until her sobs diminished into whimpers, the panic receding into small, shaky breaths. She broke a
way from him and attempted a smile. When it faltered, she sighed and shook her head.

  He cupped her cheek with his palm again, wiping away the stray tears with his thumb.

  “Katheryn?” he questioned softly. He was going crazy. He wanted to know what had happened to her, why she was crying, alone, in a dark alleyway.

  “I’m fine,” she replied. Then, realizing their proximity, chest against chest, she took a step back from him. “Sorry, sorry.” She took in another shuddering breath. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “What happened, Katheryn? Who attacked you?” He wanted to reach for her, fill the empty space between them to comfort her. But she had stepped away for a reason.

  “Attacked? No one attacked me, Ignacio. Is that what you thought?”

  For a moment, relief whooshed from his lungs. She hadn’t been attacked. She was fine, unharmed physically.

  For the first time, he noticed her attire. A green halter top that left the flat of her stomach bare and inviting. A short, black skirt hugged her hips sexily, and to top it off, she wore thigh-high black boots. Sexy as hell, but they were clothes for clubbing. That raised an even bigger question.

  “Then, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

  Her face heated with embarrassment. “It’s nothing important. Don’t worry about it.”

  He looked at her with a raised brow. “If it weren’t important, you wouldn’t be feeling this way.” Then he observed her, took a step forward until they were nearly touching again. “Do you want to talk about it, love?” he asked, his voice husky and sweet.

  Katheryn swallowed and took a breath. She obviously didn’t want to talk about it. But, instead of replying, she leveled her face up to his. Their lips were only inches apart. He held his breath at the flare in her eyes, the sudden heat that passed between their gazes.

  When she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, ever so softly, he felt everything else fall away, His mind reeling.

  Dear God...

  10

  Could she do this? Could she let go? The answer came when his fingers trailed sparks against the bare skin of her arm. Yes. Yes, she could. From one second to the next, their lips were meshed together.

  A little flame, a tiny spark suddenly blazed into a heated inferno between them: fire and ice. A wave of fireworks crashed down on them.

  Everything flew from her mind. She couldn’t remember what had made her upset. All she could feel or think about was Ignacio, right in front of her. The way his thumb softly caressed her cheek, the way his lips were so gentle on hers, the heat rising from their bodies and blending together.

  Katheryn suddenly wanted to be closer to him with no space separating them. She felt if she didn’t hold on, he’d fall away from her. So she gripped tight. She twined her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. Wrapping one leg behind his thigh, she thrust her hips up to meet his then curled her other leg around him.

  Ignacio palmed her bottom, lifting her up to him. The skirt rode higher up her thighs. She rocked her hips against him, nibbled at his bottom lip. He sucked in a breath and moaned.

  Smiling against his lips, Katheryn slipped her fingers beneath his shirt. He groaned.

  “Wait,” he broke apart from her. “Wait a moment.”

  Katheryn breathed heavily. “It’s okay,” she whispered huskily. “I want this.” She tried kissing him again but he turned his head away. She flushed.

  “So do I,” he assured her. “But we can’t. Not while you’re heartbroken.”

  “How do you know I’m heart—” she protested, but he put a finger to her lips.

  “I recognize what those tears are, Katheryn. They are the tears of a broken heart. And I will not bed you as a mere distraction while another man is on your mind.”

  She flushed profusely, but he kept going.

  “When and if I do bed you, Katheryn,” he said, pressing his nose to hers, “it will be because I am not only in your mind but in your heart, as well.”

  She closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against his. Embarrassment assaulted her. He was right, of course. She had tried using him to distract herself. She’d needed to feel close to someone in that instant, to get rid of the pain, to live. Everything else had fallen away, and it had been just Ignacio. She couldn’t get enough of him.

  A moment of silence passed between them before Katheryn sighed and said, “I suppose you should put me down, then.”

  “I suppose I should.”

  Another minute of silence passed, and they stood frozen in their position. Her legs hooked behind his waist, his palms resting comfortably on her ass, their breaths mingling together. He didn’t appear to want to let her go, and she didn’t want him to, either. But it had to be done.

  His fingers were warm on her bare flesh. She shivered. Very slowly, and reluctantly so, he slid her back to the ground. His hands traveled up the length of her backside, fingers splayed across her bare back, toying with the strings of her halter top. She could tell from his body language he regretted putting her down and would have loved nothing more than to have had her right there in the alleyway. But he was being respectable, responsible, and Katheryn’s heart swelled because of it.

  “Sorry,” she murmured shyly, a little embarrassed. Heat crept up her neck to her cheeks.

  “Do not apologize,” Ignacio chuckled softly then pressed a kiss to her forehead. His voice was husky, sweet and slightly accented. His golden eyes burned so intensely they held Katheryn captive, taking her breath away.

  The urge to lean forward and kiss him again was strong. But she couldn’t deal with being rejected a second time. She laid her hands against his chest. It was suddenly difficult to breathe, her heartrate accelerated at his proximity. Awareness struck deep to her core. His nearness lit something afire in her, something she’d never experienced before with anyone.

  “Do you want to talk about it, love?” His hand found her face, swiping away a stray red curl that twirled on her cheek.

  Katheryn’s walls reconstructed around her at his question. Mistrust reentered, and her body tensed up. She didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want him to know. If she gave too much of herself, how much would he make away with? If she trusted him, would he break that trust?

  Raging doubt clashed against the feeling that she could trust him. A tornado and a tsunami fought against each other inside of her, and she didn’t know which would win. They raged back and forth.

  Trust him. The fact that he stopped himself from making love to you and thought with a rational mind should say a lot about him.

  No! Didn’t you hear what he said? He said he’d make you fall in love with him THEN he’d bed you. He’ll probably leave you after that, just like they all do. Men are all the same!

  Not all men are the same. Especially not Ignacio. He’s here every time you need someone to lean on and he’s asked for nothing in return. In fact, he’s given more than any stranger would have. All he wants to know is what’s wrong. He’s not asking you to give anything else.

  Oh, yes he is. He’s asking you to open your heart about what happened. That information is glass in his hands. He could use it to manipulate you. He could crush it beneath the weight of his fingertips. Don’t tell him anything.

  Let go, give yourself a chance at fun. That’s why you came here, isn’t it? The first step to healing is accepting.

  The first step to healing is accepting...

  Katheryn swallowed the lump in her throat. Her inner voice was right. If she wanted to move on, stop wallowing in self-pity and not be so mistrustful of everyone who crossed her path, she’d have to accept what had happened. She needed to talk about it with someone other than her mother, someone who wouldn’t guilt trip her, maybe someone who wouldn’t say anything about it at all.

  But was Ignacio this someone? “I called,” she whispered, her tone accusatory.

  His eyes softened. “I am sorry love. My phone died and I left my charger at my mother’s and I was—ind
isposed.”

  She looked into Ignacio’s eyes, felt something inside her spark at the honesty. His gaze was as smooth and as lovely as honey. A soft yellow-brown that was all too bright, but not at all blinding. She sighed. Perhaps she could trust him with the information. Maybe it would help her move on finally, and let go. Then she’d be able to have a good time.

  “Is there somewhere else we could talk?” Katheryn asked quietly.

  Ignacio observed her worriedly before nodding. Placing his hand on the small of her back, he led her out of the alleyway. At the mouth of the alley, the friend who had called her fat was waiting.

  “You okay?” The boy looked from Ignacio to Katheryn. She wanted to sneer at him for staring at her in such a vulnerable state, but there was no sarcasm in his eyes. There was only concern. So she kept her rudeness to herself.

  Ignacio nodded at his friend. “Everything’s fine,” he said then gestured at her. “Let me officially introduce you. Katheryn, this is Antonio Santiago, my best friend. Antonio, this is Katheryn Meyers.”

  Antonio’s concern washed away in an instant, and his sarcastic expression was back. One side of his mouth quirked up as he gave Katheryn a once over. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle defensively. There was something about that stare that irked her, and she couldn’t say why.

  “What are you smirking at?” she snapped at him.

  “Nothing, nothing at all.”

  But his smile told her he was lying. She wanted to retort, but Ignacio waved Antonio away and gently guided her in the other direction.

  “See you later, Ortiz!” Antonio called out to their backsides.

  “What’s his problem?” Katheryn asked as they walked away.

  Ignacio shrugged. “Antonio is sixteen years old. He’s not exactly mature. Nor do I think he ever will be.”

  Katheryn shot him a look. “Why are you hanging out with a sixteen year old? How old are you anyway?” God, I hope he isn’t an infant.