One moment, Glen was working on the zipper of his pants, the next he was flying across the room. I needed a moment to understand what was going on, my pulse racing. My eyes met Carlos’s for a brief moment before he noticed my ripped blouse, and to say he was furious would be an understatement.

“Hijo de puta!”

He lunged at Glen, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and punched him directly in his face, which sent Glen flying down to the floor. “I’m going to teach you not to treat her like that, you filthy piece of shit.”

He straddled him, preventing him from moving, and hit his face until Glen was all covered in bruises and blood.

I couldn’t move, observing him through my blurry eyes with horror that still coursed through my veins. If it hadn’t been for Carlos, Glen would have… No.

Carlos dragged him up to his feet and pressed him against the wall. “Don’t come near Lindsey ever again.”

Glen smiled—actually smiled—and spat the blood from his mouth on the carpet. “You can forget it, latin lover-boy. I have no intention of letting you have her. If Lindsey’s not with me, she won’t be with anyone else either.”

“Pendejo!” Carlos punched him in his stomach, the force of the hit lifting Glen from the ground.

“Carlos!” I found the strength to move and reached them on my shaky legs. At this rate, Glen was going to end up in the ER. I placed my hand on Carlos’s shoulder. “Please, stop. No more.”

He looked at me, worry written all over his face, but he didn’t let go of Glen, pressing his forearm against his neck. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”

“He didn’t hurt me, but if you keep going on like this, he’ll suffer serious injuries. Please, stop. He’s not worth it.”

He nodded and released him. He stopped right in front of me, shielding me from Glen. “You’ll leave right this second if you don’t want me to break your jaw or worse.”

Glen glared between Carlos and me, sneering at us. “This isn’t over yet, Lindsey. You’re making a huge mistake. You’ll see.”

I shivered at the hint of warning in his words, and I hugged myself. I just wanted him gone from my life. Was that too much to ask?

Carlos reached for him to drag him out, but Glen smacked his hands away. “I can go out by myself.” He spit his bloody saliva at Carlos’s shoes and looked at me one last time. “See you soon, cupcake.”

Carlos tried to pounce at him, but I grasped his upper arms and managed to keep him in place. “Let him go,” I told him.

Carlos slammed the door behind Glen as soon as he walked out, and the reality of what just happened finally hit me.

I ended in a heap on the floor, trembling hard, and broke into tears.

“Mi amor.” Carlos dropped on his knees next to me and cradled me against his chest. “It’s alright. I’m here. You’re safe now.”

I clutched his shirt and buried my face into his shoulder, sobbing. To think that I was seconds away from that heinous act… To think that Glen would go through with it…

“I’m here, preciosa.” He caressed my back in slow moves that were supposed to soothe me, but I felt cold. So, so cold. “I’m not going anywhere. Cry all you want.”

I snuggled up to him, seeking his warmth and strength. I felt like I had no way out.

“I can’t believe he was actually ready to go through with…” I hiccupped, my chest throbbing. “I was terrified.”

He caressed my hair, keeping his other arm around me. “I know. I was scared myself when I heard you scream. Thank God that your door was unlocked and I was able to get inside on time.”

I didn’t reply, clutching his shirt like it was my lifeline. I was ashamed that Carlos had to witness that. I was ashamed that I had to drag him into this.

“Don’t worry. I’ll always be here to protect you.”

At this, I broke down, crying louder. I didn’t deserve this. I didn’t deserve any of this, yet Glen wouldn’t leave me alone. And Carlos… He saved me. I’d left his studio without a word, but he was here now and he saved me from Glen.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered into his shirt after a couple of minutes.

“What are you sorry about?”

“Because you had to see this and deal with Glen.”

“Por Dios!” He made me look at him and cupped my face. “Don’t even say something like that. There’s no way I would let that bastard get away with that. There is nothing you should feel sorry about.”

“But… What are you doing here?”

He sighed. “I came to see if you were okay because you didn’t respond to my calls or texts. You ran away without any explanation, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

He planted a soft kiss on my forehead, but I pulled away, confused from my emotions and erratic thoughts. He saved me, but that didn’t change the way he looked at Tanya, did it?

“Lindsey, what’s wrong? Did I do something?”

I ran my hands down my face. “I don’t know, Carlos. I’m so confused. You saved me from Glen, and I’m so grateful to you, but…”

“But what?”

“But I can’t be with someone who wants me only for sex. I don’t want just sex with you. For me, what we have is more than just that.”

He frowned. “What are you talking about? I don’t want you only for sex. How could you even think that?”

“But I saw the way you danced with that girl, Tanya. You know she likes you, and she flirts with you pretty often.”

“Yes, but I don’t care about that.” His lips curled into a half-smile. “Wait. Are you jealous?”

“Carlos, I’m serious here. You two were dancing together and it looked so… intimate. Like it was much more than a simple dance. Like you were ready to take each other’s clothes off right there. And the look you had in your eyes…” It hurt just thinking about this. “You wanted her.”

He caught my hand. “No, preciosa, you got it all wrong. I wanted you.”

“What do you mean?”

“All that time, I was thinking about you. I was looking at her the way I did because I wasn’t seeing her in front of me. I was seeing you. This way I was able to communicate the true passion in dance—dancing as if your heart is in unison with the person you’re dancing with. As if that dancing partner is your whole life.”

He cupped my cheek and kissed the back of my hand. “That’s why I seemed that way. I don’t care about Tanya or any other girl there, because I have eyes only for you. I care only about you, Lindsey, and that’s not going to change.”

“I… I’m not sure I can believe you.” I let out a long exhale. “I really can’t trust my judgement anymore. I can’t help but see a threat even when there is none. Even if what you say is true, that doubt in me never goes away and it tells me you’re lying. I’ve been pretty hurt in the past, and it was all Glen’s fault, so now… Now, I’m trying to collect the pieces of my broken self.”

“You mentioned him before, but I couldn’t even imagine it was that bad. Look.” He made me look at him. “I’m not him. I don’t know what that bastard did to you, but I don’t want to hurt you. I’d never do that.”

He smiled tenderly. “Ever since I met you, I feel different. You make me feel alive. With you, I feel like I’ve finally found that missing piece of me that I could never find, and I feel complete. I know you probably don’t trust a word of what I say and feel like I’m going to hurt you, but I hope you’ll give me a chance to prove myself. I care so much about you.”

My eyes filled with tears again, and I broke into giggles. “You must think I’m a crybaby or something.”

He returned my smile. “I don’t. You can cry all you want. I’ll be here to take care of you.” Once more, he pulled me into his embrace, and I let him. “However long it takes to you to trust me, I’ll wait.”

“Why?”

He kissed the back of my head. “Because I fell for you, Lindsey. I know it’s probably not the good time to say this, but that’s how it is.”

I pulled back to look at him, flabbergasted but also overjoyed. “You… You fell for me?”

His smile was tender, his eyes soft and affectionate. “Yes. And it hurts me seeing you like this. I want to protect you from everything. I want you safe.”

I looked away, twisting my hands on my lap. “Glen… He obviously won’t stop harassing me.”

“Then we’ll deal with him.”

“I don’t want you to get in my mess.”

“And I don’t want you to deal with it alone. You have me now.”

“Do I?” I searched for any indication that he was lying in his eyes.

“Yes.” He placed his hand on my cheek. “Only you.”

I smiled at him and took his hand into mine, feeling silly for acting so suspicious of him. He didn’t deserve that.

“I’m sorry. I’m trying my best here to beat my insecurities, but I’m obviously failing.”

“No, you’re not.” He planted a kiss on my forehead, his gaze ever so warm.

“It’s just that I’ve been through a lot of shit with Glen. What started as a perfect relationship, ended with something that left me feeling lonely, unloved, and misunderstood.”

“Did he ever hurt you physically?”

I shook my head. “No. He never assaulted me in any way. Oh, but he found other ways to hurt me. He used to control me, he manipulated me, and he was never there when I needed him. When I broke my hip in a car accident, he didn’t even care. I had to go through my physical therapy all alone, while he claimed to be super busy at his work. So in the end, I couldn’t take it anymore and I broke up with him.”

“El bastardo,” Carlos said, clenching his fists. “He couldn’t even be called a man. I’m sorry that you had to go through that, mi amor.”

“That was why I left the class the way I did last night. I couldn’t fully trust you, and I just didn’t want to get hurt again.”

“No, mi amor. I assure you that what I feel for you is real, and I’ll help you overcome everything.”

He embraced me again, and I leaned into him, seeking his body. “Thank you. You can’t possibly imagine how much this means to me. Especially now that Glen is worse than ever, and I have no idea what he’s going to do.”

“I’m here. Whatever he intends to do, he won’t be able to do it, because I’ll be there to protect you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“About that, I thought about getting a restraining order against him and changing my phone number. I think it’s the only way to deal with him now.”

“That’s a great idea. We’ll go together to the court tomorrow and do that. Also, you should probably come to my place and stay there for a few days. Or at least until you get that restraining order.”

I gaped at him. “Are you actually offering me to stay at your place?”

“Si. Yes. For as long as you want.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t, because I was instantly overwhelmed with happiness. Carlos was all that I asked for in a man and much more.

My shivers were long gone, and now that I was in his embrace, I could feel a different kind of heat taking place in the pit of my belly, and I couldn’t ignore it. I wanted him so much. I wanted to lose myself in him and feel all that pleasure that only he could make me feel.

“Carlos?”

“Hm?”

“Make love to me.”

He flashed me a smile. “Your wish is my command.”