CUL-DE-SAC (On The Edge Book 1) (35 page)

CHAPTER 42

Catalina knew that the celebration aside,
her grandmother was going to summon her any following day after in order to
talk through her observations and share her general point of view about the
whole event.

It became kind of a ritual between the two
of them and sometimes she couldn’t decide which part of those linked affairs
was harder on her nerves, because a big part of their meetings was dedicated to
Florence pointing out and emphasizing every single
faux pas
Catalina
committed.

It was hardly surprising her stomach
clenched with nerves in an automatic response when she found a message from her
grandmother awaiting her on her answering machine the very next afternoon.

She took a deep breath and decided she
could listen to it as well and be done with it. Cat’s eyebrows jumped up when
not a word of a cryptic message was related to the events from the previous
night.

Instead, Florence was telling her to wear
something
‘adequate’
, take her portfolio and head to one of Santa
Monica’s leading restaurants to meet up with a
‘dear friend’
of hers.

Catalina glanced at her watch, instructing
herself not to get excited, but it was hard not to since the whole arrangement
looked suspiciously as if Florence had organized a meeting with a potential
client.

She had never really acknowledged Cat’s
lifestyle, treating photography as nothing more than her hobby. Now this… was
big
,
she decided and smiled to herself, sending a short message to Xan letting him
know she might be late for his training.

She congratulated herself on updating her
portfolio recently, thinking that her life seemed to be taking a turn toward
the better.

She was in love, her work was going well
and as of a few minutes before she started to believe that perhaps a
breakthrough in her relationship with Florence was heading her way.

The only shadow on this pretty picture was
Chloé, but she pushed the thought aside, determined to focus on the positives
alone for a change.

***

Xan’s lips lifted up at the corners in a
small smile after reading Catalina’s message. He sent her a reply wishing her
good luck with her meeting and put the device aside, ready for his pound of
flesh.

Waiting for Kel to get ready, he looked
around the gym, thinking of all the improvements he would like to have in their
own school compared to the place they were renting now for their sparring
sessions.

He couldn’t believe he was well on his way
to making his long-term dream come true.

Xan knew he wouldn’t be able to pull this
off without Kelton. They’d come a long way individually and as a team both.

When he first signed up for the lessons with
the ex-Marine, he had no idea where it would lead to. He was looking at the
fighting purely from a physical point of view. It was all about surviving and
kicking ass; nothing else mattered to him at the time.

He suspected that some part of that guy
still resided in him but after years filled with training he knew it was more
than just learning self-defense techniques, throwing proper punches and kicks,
or working up a decent sweat.

If anyone asked him, gaining inner strength
and self-confidence were the ultimate rewards for all the effort. And for the
frightened battered kid that he was back then, it was an invaluable lesson.
Same as understanding that sooner or later hard work had to pay off and that
perseverance was the key.

He supposed it was the part Catalina could
relate to, because he saw within her the very same traits that helped him
through doubts and uncertainty she had to feel herself at one point or another.

He was so used to seeing all the differences
between them that whenever he stumbled upon similarities he was taken aback by them,
not knowing how to proceed.

His head snapped up when he saw Kel coming
out of the locker room and thought that Muay Thai wasn’t his only teacher.

It was Kelton who helped him the most,
although the stubborn son of a bitch would have said it was the other way
around, Xan smirked inwardly.

Fine, so they helped each other out, he
decided.

He could have never imagined that by
pushing his physical and mental limits, he was going to learn how to harness
body and mind, not only in training but also in everyday life.

Xan didn’t think he knew the meaning of the
word
‘discipline’,
but he had to because he would have never committed
to those trainings in the first place otherwise, and by doing that, he had made
a commitment to Kel as well.

They pushed through when the odds were
stacked against them and now was the time to collect the fruits of their labor.
That, and if they were lucky, they could help somebody who was as lost and
scared as the boy he once was himself, Xan thought.
“Are you done with getting pretty for me?” He called out to Kel and laughed
when the man flipped him the bird.
“I needed fresh air in order not to barf when I saw you were ready to make out
with your cell just because your girl sent you a message. Spell out
embarrassing
for me?” Kelton smirked, then laughed when he managed to avoid a jab Xan threw
his way.

***

“Catalina?”

She smiled politely if a bit
absent-mindedly at the man across the table. She blinked in order to bring him
back into focus.
“Yes, Timothy, sounds like a fabulous idea,” she agreed, hoping he had asked
her opinion about a wine that could go well with their dinner and not something
entirely different.

Cat berated herself for not paying
attention because it was unacceptable, no matter how much she wanted to be at
Xan’s training right now snapping pictures while he was sparring with Kel.

But truth be told, she would rather be
anywhere else at this moment because Timothy Rodney was exactly the type of a
man she was used to, having met males similar to him throughout her life during
never-ending social events. It was not his fault really that he represented
everything she disliked the most simply by being a product of his upbringing.

She brought up a glass of water to her lips,
studying her companion over the rim of it.

He was tall, dark haired and classically
handsome in the way most women would have found more than pleasing to their
senses.

She hadn’t, Cat thought, wondering what was
wrong with her.

But the answer to that was an obvious one;
her personal preferences ran much darker and rougher now. More to the point
–
they were limited
to one man only.

The simple, if brutal, truth was that Xan
had ruined her for any other.

He was untamed in a way that sent a loud
and clear message he was feeling just fine in his own skin and didn’t see any
reason to change anything about himself.

And why would he? Catalina asked herself.

She wanted him exactly the way he was and
given a chance wouldn’t change even one thing about him, either.

She sighed softly when she thought that it
was unlikely he would have ever believed the claim she just inwardly admitted
to.

He had told her about the people who didn’t
deserve to be called parents and about the place he came from, but there were
many more unspoken stories in his eyes and they kept her spellbound.

He was temperamental and used to having his
way, focused on getting what he wanted and she couldn’t not admire that,
not
admire him,
knowing it was something Xan wouldn’t understand either.

Her lips twitched when she thought he was
all bark and no bite. Oh, there was no doubt he was an aggressive and dangerous
man and it was ill-advised to cross him, but there was also the other side of
the coin, the side she loved to divulge when he dropped his guard.

That was what she considered winning, Cat
decided, even though there was no fight.

She gazed up at the male in front of her,
so at odds with the one her heart belonged to now. Timothy was a surgeon and
from what she understood, a promising one at that, with a bright future ahead
of him. The type of man she should feel comfortable with, having so much in
common.

That was another problem, she admitted; she
didn’t want comfort, having learned she had a natural inclination toward
exciting and dangerous instead. She would have been better off if she could
deny it, she thought, but easy ways had never held a particular appeal to her.

While Timothy had been nothing but
solicitous, eager to please her and had been hanging on her every word, she was
not really able to enjoy his company, focusing on her unpredictable man
instead.

As a result she was more than happy the
meeting was not of a romantic nature, because as much as she was forced to
endure countless similar ones in the past, they would undoubtedly send her
running for the hills now.

She glanced at her watch discreetly,
deciding it was time to bring up the real reason she came here for. Cat wanted
to learn what kind of a project he was interested in so they could decide
whether they were going to cooperate, and then be on their merry way.
“Would you like to see pictures now?” She asked and he blinked, as if taken
aback by her question.
“Ah, Florence mentioned you like to play with your camera.” He smiled pleasantly
and Catalina tried not to show how she felt about this belittling description.
“Lucky for me, some people actually pay for my little hobby.” Oops… okay, maybe
she did let him know what she thought about it after all.
“I apologize if I offended you; I had no idea your interest reached deeper,”
Timothy said.
“No, I am the one who is sorry, but I have to admit I am confused: why would
you want to meet with me otherwise?” Cat decided that adopting Xan’s straightforwardness
would work the best in this situation.
“Well, your grandmother thought we had a lot in common and that it was a good
idea if we met. Why do I get the feeling you were ambushed?” He looked at her
with a somber expression on his face.
“I’m very sorry, Timothy, but it seems it was a misunderstanding. I thought I
was meeting someone interested in my work; why would I bring my portfolio with
me otherwise?” She asked rhetorically.
“I’ve been wondering about that myself. No, Catalina, I am interested in you
and not your work. I’m… sorry?” He hesitated.
“I am involved with someone,” she informed him shortly. “I am sorry I’ve wasted
your time.” She got up. “I wish you the best, Timothy. Goodbye.”

Her head was spinning from all those sorry’s
as she made her way through the crowded restaurant to the exit.

Anger was a vibrant, living thing within
her because Timothy was right; she had been ambushed.

How stupid she was, how naive thinking that
for once Florence had taken her photography seriously and as something more
than a leisure pursuit. It was yet another betrayal, not any less than Chloé’s,
only of a different nature. Its strength was enough to fray the edges of the
temper she was unaware of having. How little did people think of her, since
they felt free to walk all over her? Cat wondered.

She kept pondering it the whole drive to
the gym, and evidently her inner turmoil did bleed to the outside this time
because Kelton took one look at her and raised an eyebrow.

She berated herself inwardly for not taking
more care in hiding her feelings–these kinds of slip-ups were happening more
and more often. However, it was getting increasingly harder to maintain all the
pretenses, since the new reality she was living in didn’t care much for
hypocrisy.
“Are you okay, Catalina?”

A loaded question if she ever heard one,
she thought.
“Did I miss the whole training?” She asked instead.
“Yeah, Xan is in the shower. Why don’t you grab a bottle of water and tell me
who needs to have my size eleven shoe stamped on their ass?”

She nearly choked hearing the question and
then laughed out loud.
“Thank you, I needed that.” She walked closer and kissed him on the cheek.
“And I definitely needed
that
.” He grinned at her.
“What I
need
is to kill Kelton now; good going, Kitten.” Xan smirked,
emerging from the locker room.

He was already fully clothed, but water
droplets were still shining in his hair. He smiled lazily at her and
withholding her love declaration started to feel like the hardest thing to do.

Cat realized she wouldn’t have had to, if
only they had been alone at the moment.
“What am I going to get, if his sorry ass landed with a smooch on the cheek?”
Xan demanded.
“Why don’t you come here and learn?” She shot him a haughty look and it hit him
like a jolt of a challenge, just as her words did.

A challenge he couldn’t wait to oblige.

He stalked her with seemingly slow and
prowling steps, not taking his eyes off of her, but she knew he could spring to
action at any given moment. He had no idea she had zero intention of running
away, Cat thought and smiled brighter, which only made him narrow his eyes.
“Well?” Xan raised an eyebrow expectantly stopping before her.

Catalina rose on her toes wrapping her arms
around his neck and laid her lips on his arrogant mouth. For once he let her
set a leisurely pace without trying to take control.
“Hi,” she managed to say, ending the kiss.
“Hey, Kitten, how did your meeting go?” Xan asked raising his hand to toy with
the ends of her hair.
“Not worth mentioning.” Trying to keep up the smile cost her a bit, but she saw
no reason for getting into the whole setup and drama that would follow. “How
about your training?”
“I’ve worked up quite an appetite.” He gave her a wicked look that instantly
brought forth the memory of his insatiable hunger after the first sparring
session she had ever witnessed.

The sound of Kel clearing his throat
disrupted the ever growing sexual awareness between them and Cat flinched,
realizing she had forgotten about the other man’s presence.
“Let’s get out of here and I will tell you in great detail about the plans we
have for tonight.” Xan offered with a nefarious gleam in his eye.
“Alex!” Cat slapped his chest and Kelton laughed.
“Whaa? I don’t know what kind of warped thoughts you two have, but I meant
street racing.” His smile was too innocent for Catalina’s peace of mind.
“Give Dante my regards,” Kel said. “It’s been a while since I saw that smooth
operator.”
“Will do,” Xan chuckled at the description.
“Who is Dante?” Cat wanted to know.
“I think it’s best to leave it for you to decide,” Xan grinned.