Off Limits Read online

  Off Limits

  by Roma Simone

  For my husband, who never stops believing in me.

  Copyright © 2020 Roma Simone

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Cover design by: Roma Simone

  Editor: Correxions Editing

  Publisher: S & M Publishing

  Chapter 1

  Holy shit! I can’t believe I actually done it! I finally left him, Kat thought to herself. Her hands were gripping tightly to the steering wheel of her little yellow Bug, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. A mix of fear and adrenaline was making her shake a little. She considered pulling over on to the hard shoulder to take a few calming breaths but she was afraid that if she did he would catch her, or worse, she would talk herself out of it and turn back. She had to keep going. No stopping. So aside from a few glances in the rear-view mirror to make sure he wasn’t following her; she didn’t look back.

  With the road stretched out ahead of her she breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she contemplated all of the new adventures that awaited her in London. She felt a surge of excitement come over her which was overshadowed by apprehension. She was planning on staying with her brother, making sure to put many miles between her new life and the past.

  Matthew was Kat’s younger brother, but he had always protected her as if he was the older of the two. He had moved away a few years earlier for work, leaving Kat on her own with Rob, her now ex-boyfriend.

  Kat and Matthew had lost their parents in a car accident when they were younger. That meant that for most of their lives the only family they had was each other. When Matthew moved away Kat was devastated, she felt like she had lost everything. She was with Rob, but it still felt like Matt had took her whole world with him when he left.

  Rob had never been good for Kat, but she hadn’t realised how bad things were between them until she moved in with him. That’s when things changed. He changed. Matt had never met Rob in person, they had only ever spoken on the phone, but Matt had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t like him nor did he agree with the way he treated his sister.

  Kat had tried many times to leave him, but he had destroyed her confidence and self-worth so much so that she believed she only deserved to be with someone like him. The day she finally left things had gotten particularly heated after he had finished off an entire two-litre bottle of whiskey. When he eventually passed out drunk, she got into her car and just kept on driving, leaving almost everything she owned behind.

  In the safe confines of her car Kat allowed her mind to dance over all of the possibilities that her newfound freedom would bring her and how she couldn’t wait to see Matt.

  Matt!

  He didn’t even know she was on her way. In her rush she had forgotten to call him. Reaching over she set her phone on handsfree mode and pressed the button to call her brother. After the third ring he picked up.

  “Matthew?” Just saying his name made all the emotions that she had been suppressing come flooding out.

  “Kathrine? What has he done? Are you okay?” Matt's voice was filled with worry.

  “I’m. In. The. Car.” Kat struggled to say between sobs.

  “Okay. Take a deep breath sis and calm yourself down.” Kat inhaled deeply, held it for a moment and then let it out. “Now tell me what’s going on?”

  “He-” She trailed off. How could she tell him what he had done to her? She couldn’t bear to hurt her brother and she knew the truth would do just that.

  “He what?” Matthew’s voice was a mix of rage and concern. He really hated Rob and who could blame him. Unable to bring herself to tell him what had happened she decided to change the subject instead.

  “Can I come and stay with you Matthew?” she cried.

  “Are you kidding me? Of course, you can. Get your arse down here. I’ll meet you at the café on Covent Garden. I’ll text you the address.” The text came through quickly after ending the call. Kat grabbed a pen and quickly scrolled the address on the back of a receipt, her battery was on two percent so she knew it wouldn’t last all that distance.

  Just as Kat was approaching the outskirts of the city she felt a pull, followed by a judder before the car finally came to a complete halt.

  “Oh, come on!” she shouted, hitting her hands against the steering wheel in frustration.

  Shit! This is just perfect, she thought to herself. She was stuck on the side of the road in a strange city. Her phone battery had died so she couldn’t even call Matthew to let him know or call someone for help.

  She made her way around to the back of the car and leaned over to check the damage. Growing up Matt had taught her a thing or two about cars but there was no way she was going to be able to fix it at the side of the road.

  After a few minutes of aimlessly poking around, the sound of a motorbike pulling up beside her made her tense up.

  Oh god I’m going to die on the side of the road! A voice in her head screamed.

  She spun around quickly to face whoever it was who had decided to stop. She was mentally preparing herself to fight off some creep. Instead the most gorgeous man she had ever seen was walking towards her. Not that a psychopath couldn't look equally hot but this guy didn't seem scary at all. He was tall with dark hair, his eyes just as dark and smouldering. He had a round black stud in his ear, Kat didn’t usually like piercings but on him it just made him look even more appealing. His leather jacket lay open and his tight, white shirt beneath it clung seductively to the defined muscles of his chest. He had a real dangerous, bad boy vibe going on, complete with a cocky smile but his eyes were kind and he didn’t seem threatening in the slightest.

  He was just as taken aback by her, his eyes taking in every inch of her slim, curvy figure. She was shorter than he was at around five foot six with dark hair pulled up on top of her head, exposing her neck and shoulders perfectly. Her full lips were accentuated by her red lipstick, yet the rest of her face was makeup free. She looked so innocent standing by her car. Not to mention sexy as hell.

  Kat was very aware of this strangers eyes on her, but he wasn’t leering at her, rather, he was admiring her, taking every inch of her in as if she were a magnificent piece of art that he wanted to own. Realising that leaning over the car had made the bottom of her dress ride up a little too much for her liking, she tugged at the hem in an attemt to pull it lower as his eyes scanned the length of her legs.

  “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes” he spoke in a playful cockney accent, a devilish smile curving at the corners of his mouth. Somehow his smile made an unfamiliar confidence rise up in Kat, a confidence she had long forgotten existed.

  “Yeah, but you couldn't handle me” Kat replied mockingly.

  Where did that come from? She thought, shocked at her own tenacity.

  “Hmmmm, I do like a challenge” he laughed. “I’m Justin.” He held out a gloved hand for her to shake.

  “Kat and I warn you, it will be quite the challenge” she smirked shaking his hand.

  What was she doing? She had never openly flirted with a complete stranger before nor had she ever exuded so much confidence until now either.

  “Well Kitten, what seems to be the problem?” Justin winked as he moved closer to Kat's car.

  “Honestly, I have no idea and please don’t call me that.”

  “Really? You looked like you knew your way around an engine for a minute there. Whe
re’re you headed?”

  “I know some stuff but not enough. I’m supposed to be meeting my brother in Covent Garden in an hour.”

  “Okay. Just a sec-” Justin took his phone from his pocket and punched in a number. “Hey…it’s Justin. Any chance you can come pick someone up just outside city limits?.... uh hu…uh hu…a shitty little beetle….” He shot a cocky grin Kat’s way and she returned his smile with a disapproving look. “Cheers mate!”

  “I’ll have you know my bug is my baby. She is not shitty” Kat pouted playfully as Justin pushed his phone back into his pocket. She had had her car since she was old enough to drive and she was one of the only things she hadn’t left behind, that and her handbag which she had managed to stuff with a hairbrush, some toiletries, make up and two light weight dresses and underwear.

  “Yeah well, your baby is going to have to stay put for a few hours I’m afraid, but if you hop on I can give you a ride to wherever you need to be, I’m headed that way anyway.” Kat looked between Justin and her car.

  “You mean I have to leave my car here, alone?”

  “Well, yeah. Don’t worry, it’s a nice day, she won’t get cold.”

  Her second question was a joke but there was a hint of seriousness hidden in there too. “Are you going to kill me?”

  Justin let out a low chuckle. “I might, but I could think of way more pleasing things that we could do instead” he winked. Kat’s cheeks flushed and he laughed at her embarrassment. “In all seriousness though, no I won’t kill you. I will give you a ride if you need one though, but I have somewhere to be myself, so I do need a decision from you now.” He held out a helmet which she took hesitantly.

  “Will it fit?” she asked eyeing it suspiciously.

  “It should do but it might not be a perfect fit. It’s my sisters, I just dropped her off. It’s the only one I have I’m afraid.” Taking a deep breath, Kat put on the helmet. It hugged her head like it was made for her and she climbed up on to the back of the motorbike behind Justin.

  “I knew it wouldn’t be long before I had your legs wrapped round me” he teased as her thighs pressed against his hips and she swatted his arm playfully.

  “Where to, Kitten?” Kat handed him the receipt with the address of the café scrolled on the back of it. He eyed it suspiciously, an amused smile tugging at his mouth.

  God she is so cute! He thought.

  “You know we live in the digital age, right?”

  “Shut up!” Kat laughed. “Do you know it?”

  “Yeah. Hold tight Kitten.”

  “Don’t call me Kitten!”

  ∞∞∞

  Pulling up outside of the picturesque café about half an hour later, Kat admired her surroundings. It was a stunning building with large windows framed with black wood. Outside were four carefully placed tables and it reminded Kat of a quaint French café. It was the kind of place you could imagine a writer sitting in, working on their latest novel. Justin climbed off the motorbike and held out a hand to help Kat off before climbing back on and getting ready to leave.

  “Here, before I forget” he said passing her a card with the details of his friends’ garage on. “Give him a ring later for an update on your baby” he winked. He really needed to stop winking at her like that otherwise she might not be able to hold herself back.

  “Thanks and thank you for the lift.”

  “No problem.” He winked again. “See you around Kitten."

  She watched crestfallen as he rode away. Was she actually sad to see him go? She shook her head. Ofcourse she wasn't sad. He was a complete stranger. She didn't know him. Yes she had enjoyed his company and was grateful for his help and the distraction but aside from that. Well, she wasn't sure but she did know she couldn't possibly be bothered by his leaving.

  With one last glance down the road Kat headed inside the café; it was just as beautiful inside as it was outside, ornate almost. She was a little early, so she took a seat by the window and quietly sipped on a Thai Chi Latte, enjoying the silence while she waited for her brother to arrive.

  It wasn’t too long before Matthew joined her where she was sitting. He leaned over the table and hugged her tightly. She winced, still sore from the events of earlier. He held her at arms length, his hands resting on her shoulders and looked her up and down.

  “You look like shit” he teased trying to make her smile.

  “Well thanks very much, I missed you too.”

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you finally left that dickhead. How are you doing?”

  “I’m still a bit shook up but to be honest…I still can’t believe that I’m here. I really thought I would chicken out and turn back around.”

  “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. You’re here now and you’re safe. He can’t get to you here, and even if he did turn up, he’d have to go through me to get to you.” Kat nodded in response; her eyes filled with unshed tears.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you sis, if I knew what was going on, I would never have left you up there in the first place.”

  “Don’t apologise Matthew, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Wiping tears from her face she looked around to make sure that no one had noticed that she had been crying.

  “How about we go back to my flat and get you settled in?” Matt offered, noticing Kat’s discomfort. Kat nodded and got to her feet slowly, her chair squeaking a little too loudly across the floor.

  “Sounds like a plan” she agreed forcing a smile.

  “Where are you parked?” Matt asked as they stepped outside, he was looking around for Kat’s bug.

  “Oh. I’m not. My car broke down on the way here, I had to have it towed. Well, actually, she’s on the side of the road at the minute but is getting picked up later. I managed to get a ride off some guy.”

  “Hold on, are you telling me that you hitched a ride with a complete stranger?” He didn’t sound too happy about this revelation. “He could’ve been a psycho. What if he had killed you Kathrine?”

  “Then I wouldn’t have had to sit through this lecture from my baby brother, would I?” Kat smiled mockingly and Matthew sighed in exasperation.

  “I see you’re still as sarcastic as ever,” he laughed as he led her to his car which was parked just around the corner.

  Matt’s flat was only a short drive from the café. The ride was quiet, but Kat enjoyed the silence and simply being with her brother for the first time in a very long time. It had been such a long time since she had been able to just be like this with him. She hadn’t been allowed to see him in so long and she had really missed him.

  Stepping into his flat Kat took in a deep, cleansing breath. She instantly felt safer than she had in years. It was a good size flat, much bigger than she had been expecting. The front door opened up into a small entrance space with an old-fashioned telephone table against the wall to the left, it housed a lamp and a key bowl instead of a telephone. On the right was a decent sized kitchen with an island in the centre and even room for a small round dining table. It was all open plan and the living room was straight ahead. To the left was a hallway with one bedroom and to the right was a bathroom and two more bedrooms. It felt homely and Kat felt herself silently rejoicing at the fact that she was there.

  “Jay!” Matthew shouted. “Are you in?”

  “Who’s Jay?” Kat asked confused.

  “My flat mate.”

  “Oh, I thought you lived alone” Kat replied feeling a bit nervous at the prospect of meeting someone she hadn’t been expecting to meet, let alone live with.

  “Nah, I couldn’t afford a place like this on my own sis, especially with the business still in its early days.” Matt walked up the hall and called out for his flat mate again, louder this time.

  “Yeah, what’s up?” a voice came from one of the rooms to the right.

  “Come and meet my sister.” The sound of a door closing and footsteps walking towards them made Kat nervous. She looked at the floor trying to calm her alread
y frayed nerves. “Jay this is Katherine. Katherine this is Jay” Matt said.

  “Kat” she corrected him raising her head to look at her brother's flat mate.

  “Well hello Kitten, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again quite so soon” Justin beamed, a huge grin teasing across his lips. He couldn’t believe that this girl was stood in his flat. He wasn't sure he'd ever see her again, let alone have her in his home barely two hours after meeting her. He felt like he’d just won the lottery.

  Kat smiled inwardly as she took in this magnificent man in front of her. He was even hotter than she remembered and this time he was stood in just some lounge pants, his perfectly toned torso and tattooed arms on display.

  Gulp!

  “I told you not to call me that!” Kat responded dragging her eyes away from the piercing that hung seductively from Justin’s nipple.

  “Wait, how do you two know each other?” Matt asked confused.

  “Oh, he’s the psycho I shouldn’t have let help me when I was stranded at the side of the road.”

  “Hey” Justin retorted; feigning upset.

  “His words” Kat said pointing an accusing finger at Matt.

  “Yeah well, you’re lucky it was Justin that found you and not some crazy axe murderer!”

  “See Kitten, you’re lucky to have met me” Justin smirked, and Kat rolled her eyes at his remark.

  “Stop hitting on her Jay. She’s not some random lass from the club. She’s off limits. You’re not making my sister another notch on your bedpost.” Matt's voice was stern and serious, and Justin raised his hands defensively.

  “Okay mate” he laughed.

  “I’m serious Jay. Back the fuck off!”

  “You don’t need to worry Matt.” Kat flashed a look at Justin, “I’m not interested.” There was that cocky smile again and Kat could feel her cheeks flush under his gaze. He looked at her like he was accepting the challenge they had joked about earlier.