Jared felt his aggravation with the night grow as he sat on the front bench with the driver. The driver had politely told him that he was aware that he might be joining them, and that Chad preferred he sit on the bench in the back of the carriage. It looked like the driver had done everything he could to make it comfortable, but Jared had refused as politely as he could and told the man he would receive a generous tip for allowing him to sit up front.

When Chad had referred to him as Ally’s guard dog he almost snapped. All night he watched as the man treated Ally like some mindless female. He watched as she pretended to eat the food that was ordered for her by a shifter who obviously didn’t take the time to get to know her. When Ally was petting the horses in the front she was the happiest Jared had seen her since the date had started, and Chad had put that to an end quickly.

Jared tried to block out the sound of them talking and focus on what was ahead of them. They rode around the park twice and from the way Ally was talking she was enjoying herself. She loved the crisp night air and when Chad had presented the chocolate covered strawberries she expressed her delight with a bite and a moan. Chad had bought the ones that were infused with champagne, and the hot chocolate he had given her had a liberal dose of rum, from what he could smell.

Jared didn’t know what was worse, the sound of them talking, or the periods of silence where he was forced to keep his head straight and not turn around to see what was going on behind him. It was torture and at one point he knew they were kissing because his dragon heard Ally’s heartbeat increase in concert with the sound of her breathing. Jared gripped the bench under him tightly. Eventually he heard the driver chuckling and when he looked over, the older man gave him a knowing look. He opened his mouth to say something but Jared cut him off. “Your horses are beautiful.”

“Thank you. They’re third generation purebreds. They’re actually siblings,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice.

Jared went to open his mouth and heard Chad clear his throat behind them letting them know he wasn’t happy about them talking. The driver smirked as they came back around to the restaurant, slowly coming to a stop. Jared got down on his side before walking around to the valet to have the car brought around.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Chad helping Ally down. His hand on her hips lifting her up and setting her on the ground. Chad kept his hand on her waist and stood way too close, forcing Ally to look up at him.

Jared heard the driver of the carriage chuckle again. “I’m not sure why you are following them around, but you’ve got it bad. Either tell her how you feel or walk away. Life’s too short to not tell someone you love them.”

“I don’t love her,” Jared said surprised that he would even think such a thing. “She just gets into trouble and I’m…”

The man chuckled again, shaking his head. “Whatever you need to tell yourself young man. And the best ones are always trouble. I’ve been married for over fifty years. There’s no one more troublesome than my wife, and no man has ever been happier.” With that he walked away going back to his horses.

Jared shook his head thinking he was crazy when the car was pulled around. Chad and Ally walked over and Jared opened the door waiting for them to say their goodbyes.

“I’m not ready for our time to be up. Why don’t I ride with you back to the hotel and we can spend a bit more time together. I can catch a cab later, I’m sure Jared here wouldn’t mind taking the long way back.” Chad said with a dismissive look toward Jared that he assumed meant he expected privacy.

Ally smiled at him. “I’d like that. The hotel has a lovely bar and sitting area.”

Jared watched as Chad’s face changed at the mention of the hotel bar. There was a look of disappointment that Ally missed before Chad helped Ally into the back seat. Jared closed the door, taking a deep breath before going around to the driver’s side. The car was a Lincoln and was larger than most luxury sedans. When he got into his seat he noticed that the glass divider was suddenly up and he knew Chad had done it. Thinking to himself that he was glad that he couldn’t see what was going on. Jared started to drive back to the hotel.

Jared tried his best to ignore the fact that he was annoyed that he couldn’t see what was happening in the back seat. There was a moment when he debated using his dragon’s hearing to know what the two of them where doing. An image of Ally in Chad’s arms kissing him made him growl and grip the steering wheel.

After about thirty minutes, when he decided that was enough of taking the long way to the hotel. Jared turned and decided it was time to head back when a distinctive loud, “No!” was heard coming from the back.

He let his dragon come to the surface and listened needing to make sure she was okay when he heard her, “No, Chad––please––get off me.”

He could hear struggling and with her words he knew Chad wasn’t listening. Jared slammed on the breaks, stopping the car right there on the road. In a flash he was out of the car and throwing open the back door. Ally looked up at him over Chad’s shoulder. There was a mark on her face where the asshole must have hit her. Her eyes were wide and bright with terror.

Without a thought, he reached in and yanked Chad up and off her and threw him out of the car. Traffic had stopped, and everyone was honking as they watched. Luckily for Chad the driver in the other lane had stopped to see what was going on, so he wasn’t in danger of being hit. There woman in the vehicle watching everything with her mouth open wide.

Chad got up sputtering in protest and Jared pulled back and punched him. The crack of his jaw as he hit him with a right hook satisfied Jared more than it should have and without a second look he closed the door to the back of the vehicle before getting back in the driver’s seat.

Jared drove to the hotel, quickly. Driving around to a back entrance, he smiled at the security guard he had met earlier as he got out of the car.

“Jared, what are you doing back here?”

Reaching into his jacket pocket he grabbed his wallet and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and slid it into the guard’s hand. “I need a favor. I need to use the back elevator up to the penthouse suite and I need you to make sure this car gets parked in the garage for me. Just leave the keys with the valet, will you? Under my name please.”

The man nodded eagerly when he glanced at the tip in his hand. Jared took off his jacket and opened the door in the back. The image of Ally, her eyes puffy from crying and her makeup streaming down her face had pulled at his heart. Jared saw that her dress had a tear in it and he wrapped her up in his jacket before picking her up and carrying her out of the back.

When the security guard saw him pull a girl out of the back he stopped him. “Jared, you are taking that girl to her room right. You aren’t ––”

Jared gave him a polite smile as his voice trailed off. He could understand why he would be worried about a woman whose dress was torn. “I’m just a helping a friend who had a bad night.”

He nodded, giving him one last look as if hoping he were telling the truth. One of Jared’s duties as security was to always know the back exits. Through the kitchens was a server’s elevator that went to the very top. Jared got a few looks but the staff was trained to “not notice things like this” and just kept going on about their jobs.

Ally occasionally made a sniffling sound but was silent in his arms and Jared held her tight until they got to her room. Shifting her slightly, he opened the door and carried her into the room. She had gone so silent and still in his arms he began to wonder if she had gone into shock.

The best thing he could think to take care of her was to put her in a nice warm bath. He walked into her room and sat her on his lap as he let the water warm before filling the tub. Once it was ready he managed to unzip her dress and remove her shoes while holding her as he took the dress off her. He decided to leave on her stockings and undergarments and as he picked her back up to put her in the tub she held him tightly whispering, “Please don’t go.”

Jared bit back a moan before kicking off his shoes and stepped into the tub fully dressed. Setting her on his lap, adjusting her so she was comfortable, he reminded his body that he was comforting a girl who had been attacked and that now was not the time to react to the curvy body curled up on his chest.

Jared held her until she fell asleep in his arms. Brushing her hair back from her face he looked down at her. She was beautiful. Everything about her drew him to her but the life she wanted was the one he was desperately trying to walk away from. He carefully dried her off and removed the wet undergarments from her body before he tucked her into her bed. Not wanting to be too far from her, he stripped off his wet clothes and put on a pair of sweat pants before lying on the couch and falling asleep listening to the sound of her breathing from the other room.

Deep in sleep Jared jumped from the couch when he heard Ally crying out like she was being attacked. He ran to her room and saw her in the bed. Her words were a mixture of Celtic and English and he knew that whatever she was dreaming had happened a long time ago and she was being hurt. Carefully he approached her side of the bed and brushed back the hair from her face as he whispered, “Ally.”