Spectacular Rascal: A Sexy Flirty Dirty Standalone Romance by Lili Valente Read Free Book Online Page B

stand on the sidewalk with my arm around her waist, doing my best to look bored until the limo is out of sight.
    Dicks like Nico love rapping the glass until the animals start freaking out and hurling themselves against the bars, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction.
    So I turn to smell the shampoo and sunshine smell of Cat’s hair and think smug thoughts about how clearly turned-on she was while I was kissing her and how satisfying it is that Nutjob Nico heard at least part of our hot-as-fuck conversation. But the second the sleek, black Mercedes turns the corner, I release Cat with a growl and jab a finger toward the subway entrance.
    “Subway. Now, Catherine .”
    She wrinkles her nose so hard the bridge turns white. “It’s Cat. Red or Panties if you’re on my good side. Ms. Legend if you’re nasty.”
    “Thanks, Janet,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I thought your last name was Jones.”
    Her gaze shifts to the right as she picks nervously at a loose thread on her purse strap. “Well, it’s not. I gave Bash a false last name. For me, and for Nico.”
    “And why’s that?” I drive a clawed hand through my hair. “Just to fuck this up before we even get started? Or is lying something you do to entertain yourself when being stalked by a psycho starts to get boring?”
    “None of this is entertaining,” she snaps, her cheeks flushing pink before she lets out an unexpected stutter of laughter. “Okay, so maybe the part where you called Nico a sack of amputated goat anuses was a little bit fun. But that’s it.”
    “Bash and I have a running contest to see who can come up with the best insults for our clients’ exes.” I concentrate on keeping my scowl firmly in place, refusing to let her husky laugh throw me off course. “So why the fake name, Cat ?”
    It really does fit her, and not just because of the green eyes and the mischief factor. It fits her because she’s sneaky as shit and diabolically unpredictable, just like a fucking feline.
    “I did it for your own good,” she says. “To protect you. And Bash.” She glances over my shoulder before turning to peer over her own, back toward the café where a line has formed as the tables fill up for lunch. Finally, when she’s sure the coast is clear, she adds in a soft voice, “I didn’t want to put anything in writing, just in case he’s still reading my email.”
    “Nico?”
    She nods, tugging harder on the purse string. “I change my email password every day, but I’m not sure that’s enough to stop him, and I don’t—” She cuts off, wincing as the string snaps off in her hand. She shakes it onto the ground with a rush of breath. “We shouldn’t talk about this here, and we shouldn’t fight in public, either. There’s a chance we’re being watched. Just because Nico drove away doesn’t mean he didn’t leave someone behind to keep tabs on me.”
    I stand up straighter, fighting the urge to turn and scan the crowd beginning to clog the street as the office buildings set their cubicle jockeys free for the lunch hour. “You’re sure you’re not being paranoid?” I ask, though my gut says she’s not. Nico is clearly crazy and also clearly has the funds to pay someone to follow his ex around and scare her shitless.
    “I’m sure,” Cat says, teeth worrying her bottom lip. “He sent photos to my office last week. He said his associate was following me to keep me safe until he could protect me himself, but the real message came through loud and clear.”
    My jaw tightens. “That you’re being watched.”
    She shakes her head. “No, that Nico can get to me anywhere. There were shots of me inside a closed courtroom where I was representing a client and at a friend’s restaurant where you need a secret code to get through the door.” She crosses her arms, her shoulders hunching as if against the cold, though it’s at least eighty-five degrees outside. “There was even a shot from inside the dressing room at my gym. I was