I watched Alan’s back as he walked away. I was tempted to reach out and grab him, beg him not to leave me alone. It wasn’t like I’d never been by myself in a club before, it was just… I didn’t want him to go.

“Dammit,” I muttered to myself, taking a sip of my cocktail before setting it down with a sigh. “You don’t even know this guy…”

There was no mistaking what I was feeling, though, no matter how new it was to me. I was smart enough to figure out that I liked him, a little too much, too soon.

I was a little overwhelmed by my strong attraction to Alan. He’d danced with me, bought me drinks, and flattered me. He also actually listened when I talked to him. The only other person I had that really listened to my problems and took them seriously was Marc. Most of my friends just thought I was a spoiled brat.

So, either Alan was a really good actor, or I needed better friends. There was probably a lot of truth in the latter, but I couldn’t figure Alan out.

“Well, that, and I definitely want to sleep with him,” I mused aloud, then felt my face warm. I looked around, grateful there wasn’t anyone close enough to have heard that.

It was true, though. I thought he was interested in me, too. He wasn’t exactly hiding it, with his little touches and warm smiles. It made me wish I’d gone with a dressier outfit, something that showed more skin, so I could feel his touch better.

I was so turned on, I was tempted to go off and sleep with him right then. It was something new to me, but unmistakable, the way my skin felt warm with him so close, and I couldn’t look at him for too long without imagining the two of us in a more private setting. Hell, a part of me had wanted to follow him to the bathroom. I’d heard of people getting frisky in clubs, but I wasn’t quite that adventurous. Yet.

Still, it was tempting. Alan was tall, his muscled body showing deliciously under his jeans, tank top and leather jacket. He had wavy, dark brown hair, soft gray eyes and boyish good looks. My eyes had strayed down to his lips more than a few times, pink and a little thin, looking so pretty when he smiled at me, getting me hot when he smirked.

Not to mention how his whole frame simply oozed confidence. He was a man that was aware of his own appeal, and compared to some of the guys I’d had crushes on… Well, most of them would still be considered boys, but Alan was definitely a man. I put him around twenty-five, and I reminded myself to ask.

Why is he interested in me?

That was one thing I didn’t get. I had been serious when I’d mentioned before that he could probably find a better catch if he looked. Compared to him, I didn’t feel like a grown-up at all, and I’d felt embarrassed when I continuously found myself whining about my poor pathetic life to someone so desirable. If his own interest wasn’t somewhat obvious, I would have thought he was with me for pity. Maybe he was. But I was pretty sure I’d still try to sleep with him even thinking that.

Although it wasn’t like I could take him home. Even if I could find a way to sneak him inside the mansion, I didn’t have as much privacy as I would like. I had meals with my dad in the dining room when we were both home, and if I deviated, it would be noticed. When I didn’t get there on my own, someone would be sent to get me, and though I could keep my door locked, hiding a person in my room wouldn’t be quite so simple.

I’d need to find a way to sneak him out, after all, and that wouldn’t be easy. I was pretty sure Marc would try to hurt Alan rather than help him after I stowed him away in my room for a night. He was as fiercely protective of me as my own father was, and in his eyes, I would probably always be an innocent little girl. If only he and my father could read my mind, they would know how wrong that was.

I was also out on a time limit, so I wasn’t so sure about going home with him, if he even asked me. And besides, I had almost no experience with anything sexual. I’d kissed before, and there had been a little touching, but everything was over clothes.

Alan didn’t seem like someone inexperienced. Even in the way he’d danced, all I could think about as he pressed our bodies close and we moved to the beat of the music, was how much better it would be if we were naked and in bed together. He was getting appreciative looks from other women, and even a few guys. If he wanted, he could have just about anyone in the club.

But he said he’d rather be with me, a smug voice in my mind reminded me.

I winced and pushed the thought away. I didn’t need to be so over-confident just yet. It could just be that I was seeing what I wanted to see, and there was no way to know what he would do or say at the end of the night.

He might not ask me.

I had his number now, at least, so he wouldn’t just disappear on me. Or at least I hoped. I’d just have to wait for him to come back. Maybe I could be the one to make the first move this time…

Unfortunately, he was in the bathroom for a while. I was sipping slowly on my drink, and it wasn’t until I had the last sip that I started to wonder what had happened to him. I looked in the direction he’d gone with a frown. Surely, he wouldn’t have just left me here, right? But I hardly knew him, so there was no way I could tell…

Relax. He hasn’t been gone that long. He’ll be back, I tried to reassure myself.

“Hey there, gorgeous.”

I looked up at the unfamiliar voice and wrinkled my nose in distaste.

Oh, great.

Some drunk creep had wandered up to my table, and was clearly trying to hit on me.

“Can you please go away?” I asked, keeping my voice polite, when he sat down in Alan’s seat. Like I wanted him anywhere near me. “I’m with someone and he’ll be back any minute.”

He blinked at me a couple times, looking confused, before his grin was back. He swayed a little, and I held back a sigh. It didn’t happen often, but I’d seen a few of my friends fend off unwanted advances from drunks when we’d gone out. I wasn’t looking forward to it myself.

“That’s just fine, baby. I can keep you company until your guy comes back.”

I arched an eyebrow at the “baby,” but didn’t say anything. I wanted to, though, so badly. I hated that little endearment, and I’d gotten my dad to stop calling me it only when I hit high school.

“Uh, thank you, but I’m all right.”

“Oh, come on,” he said loudly. “I’m fun to have around.”

His hand reached across the table to where I had my arms folded. He moved faster than I expected, and got ahold of my arm before I could pull away, refusing to release me when I tried to move.

I sighed in annoyance. “Look, whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested. My date will be back any second now, so please just get lost.” I tried to be nice, but I was losing patience.

He lost the smile, his eyes narrowing. “Hey, now. That isn’t a nice way to talk, young lady. I’m doing you a favor here.”

I would have retorted with a few choice words, but his hand on my arm tightened, and I froze, suddenly feeling wary.

“Is it too much to ask for a little courtesy? I just want to talk.”

But he started to lean close to me, and I didn’t believe his claim at all. I leaned away from him, suddenly feeling cold. I wanted to look around and call for help, but my eyes wouldn’t move from him. Like if I wasn’t watching him, he would attack me. He didn’t seem to like me leaning away, because his hand tightened on my arm even more and tugged me forward.

I whimpered. Oh, shit.

“Hey!”

My head snapped toward the sound of the shout, relief rolling through me when I saw Alan making his way through the crowd. The drunk looked up, just in time to see Alan grab his shirt and pull him away forcefully. I yelped a little when he tugged on my arm as he went, but his hold was loose enough that I got free.

“What the hell, man?” the drunk shouted, pulling away from Alan and giving him a shove, though he unbalanced himself more than his opponent. “Fuck off, would you? We were busy over here.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so. That’s my date, so I’m asking you nicely to leave.”

They were catching attention, and I wondered if they even realized. Probably not, but all I could do was stare at them in awe.

The drunk paused and eyed Alan, before his eyes slid to me, and he snorted. “Whatever. You can have her, the fucking whore,” he muttered.

He wasn’t exactly being quiet about it, though. I heard him clearly, and I couldn’t help but flinch at the insult. Some of the crowd was paying attention to the scene, and a group of girls were looking at me and giggling. I grimaced, suddenly feeling like I’d rather be at home. I turned to Alan to let him know I wanted to leave, only to pause at the scowl on his face.

Alan responded to the insult, closing the space between them and punching the man out. My breath hitched in my throat. The whole situation reminded me of an encounter with a man, Gamble, I’d had at age fourteen.

Dan “the Man” Gamble wasn’t quite a friend of my dad’s, though they ran in the same circles. He was my dad’s chief rival among jewel collectors, and had on more than one occasion conveyed his envy of the pieces my dad had in his collection. There were a few particular pieces he’d had an eye on that my dad got to first.

It wasn’t the first party I’d been to, but it was the first time I paid any attention to the man at all, and only then because he approached me. I was modeling some of my dad’s jewelry when he approached me, drunk, and started flirting with me. The whole thing had been so repulsive, I would have walked away from it, if the bastard hadn’t caught my arm.

My dad stepped in to protect me. It was one of my favorite memories of my dad, because he hadn’t let his security handle it. He’d left whatever he’d been doing to see to me. He called Gamble out for his behavior publically, then punched him out when the man called me a “Lolita.”

According to my dad, Gamble didn’t do morality or self-restraint. I’d met him a few more times since that incident, and he never failed to give me looks and words that made me uncomfortable, or bothered to hide his resentment of my dad for the public humiliation. Dad didn’t seem to care, though. He just set his security to look after me and make sure the man wasn’t anywhere around me at parties.

I would have liked not attending the parties at all, especially decked out in expensive jewelry, but my dad almost always had his way.

Seeing Alan, this man who didn’t even know me, defend me so fiercely… Well, to say I was attracted to Alan’s protectiveness would be an understatement. When he turned to me, his expression softening as he held his hand out, I forgot all about wanting to go home.

“Come with me,” he offered. “Leave with me.”

I did.