“So…who is she?” Shana asked as Jared continued to pace in the small suite. He didn’t want to go outside and see Thad putting his hands on Felicity. It would be too much. He’d lose it.

“What?” He was barely paying attention to anything around him.

“The girl. The one you brought here.” Shana’s accusatory tone was laced with hurt. That, and nothing else, got his attention. He stopped pacing. His feet were rooted to the expensive white carpet. He was hurting Shana, his ex-girlfriend, his friend. This was not who he was. He didn’t hurt people.

“Shana, she’s…Felicity,” he said. There weren’t words to describe what she was, and as a lawyer if he was at a loss for words, it meant something.

Shana smoothed her red satin dress and looked away as she eased into one of the chairs by the door. For a long moment, her gaze was distant, seeing things he could not. A rueful smile finally played with the corners of her mouth.

“You’re with her?”

“No…yes—I don’t know.” He flung himself into the chair beside her and raked his hands through his hair, tugging madly at the strands.

“I think you want to be,” Shana said as she moved to face him directly.

“Even if I do, it doesn’t matter. She’s afraid, Shana. Afraid to be with me, afraid of a relationship. I don’t know why. She’s young, maybe that’s it.”

Shana frowned, tilting her head, and he knew she wasn’t pleased with him. How had he managed to upset the two women in his life he cared about outside of his own family?

“So you let Thad waltz in and steal her while you play it safe? Don’t do that. If you do, then you’re a coward.” She’d buried her own pain and was forcing him to face his own. God, what a friend she was, and he’d done nothing to deserve it. She was always brave for others, never herself.

“I’m not a coward. I won’t force her to be with me. Not when she’s agreeing to go out with Thad. I think that’s an obvious message she’s sending, don’t you think?” He nearly snarled, but he controlled himself at the last minute.

“Or she’s testing you. Women do that sometimes.” Shana placed her hand on his arm and made him look at her. “Sometimes a girl wants to know if a man will fight for her. So if you want her bad enough, fight for her.” Shana’s eyes shimmered, and that flash of pain, so sharp, so clear, was a knife to his own heart.

“Shana…” he whispered.

“Don’t.” She shook her head. “Just don’t, okay? I need a drink.” She stood, picked up her purse and coat, and left the suite.

There was no point in going after Shana. She needed him to leave her alone. It was for the best. He’d ruined her night because he was a selfish bastard, and he had no right to push her further. But she was right about Felicity. He couldn’t let her push him away, not when it was only her fear of the future that made her hesitant to be with him.

He had to go find Felicity. He abandoned the suite and started pushing his way through the dancers and partiers. He caught a flash of silver, a hint of sequins, and he bolted in the direction he’d seen it. No one else had been wearing a dress like hers.

A booming song took over, and the DJ encouraged the dancers to jump in sync, which made it nearly impossible to see over the bouncing bodies.

Where is she? Panic flashed through him, and he jerked to a halt when the crowd parted and he saw Thad holding Felicity. Was he too late? They were embracing passionately. The sight made his stomach turn. Fury and despair welled up inside him. He needed to get away from them before he did something he’d regret, like deck his best friend in the face when Thad had done nothing wrong. Jared nearly turned to leave, but then he saw Thad glance around, his lips parted and his eyes wide. Thad had never looked like that in all the years he and Jared had been friends. He looked…afraid.

“Thad!” he shouted, and his friend turned his way, relief brightening his eyes.

Felicity went limp, practically dangling from Thad’s arms, her head falling back. Jared reacted instantly, shoving bodies aside as he fought to get to them.

“What happened?” he demanded as he reached them. Thad cradled the girl in his arms, but when Jared got close enough, he held Felicity out and Jared took her from him.

“Take her back to the suite. I’m going to call an ambulance.” His friend reached for his phone once he was sure that Jared had a secure grip on Felicity. Then he started clearing a path back to his private room as he called 911. Jared shifted his burden in his arms, lifting her up so he held her behind her knees and her back. Her head rolled inward to touch his chest. She was completely unconscious, but breathing. Other than that, he couldn’t tell if she was okay or not.

For a second he was rooted to the spot, panicking inside as a thousand terrible thoughts shot through him with a force that almost knocked him flat. What if she wasn’t okay? What if…?

No! He snapped himself out of that dark spiral. If he fell apart now, he’d never be man enough to take care of her, and that’s what mattered most.

The moment he got her inside the suite, he laid her across the couch and lifted her chin. When he placed two fingers against her throat, her heartbeat was slow but steady beneath his touch. He counted the beats while keeping time on his watch. Slow, but not too slow. That was a small relief.

The suite door flew open, and the burst of noise made him jump, and his entire body grew rigid. It was only Thad, and he took one look at Jared before shutting the door, sealing them off from the sound.

“How is she?” He crouched down by her head, studying her.

“She’s breathing. Her heart rate is okay, a little slow. What did you do?” He didn’t even try to hide the accusation. Felicity had been his to watch over, but Thad had put her in danger. Jared was only able to tamp down his fury by focusing on the terror that thrashed inside him like a wounded beast.

Thad sighed and ran a hand over his jaw. “We were dancing, talking, and then she just collapsed.”

“She didn’t drink anything, right?” Jared asked. It wouldn’t be the first time some asshole had tried to roofie a girl at a dance club in Chicago.

“No. I wouldn’t have let her. You know my rule about that. It’s why I keep bottled water in the suite.”

Jared did know. Thad was a player, but he wasn’t an asshole.

“I’m going to go wait for the paramedics. You stay with her.” Thad left the suite. Jared was flooded with relief that Thad had gone to get help, but being left alone with Felicity and unsure of what to do made him feel helpless…adrift.

“Hurry up, Thad,” he muttered.

Jared forced himself to remain calm, but every muscle in him was tense, and a headache thrummed just behind his eyes. She had to wake up. She had to be okay. He would not accept anything else. His heart couldn’t take it if anything happened to her.

“Come on, princess, wake up. Let me see those beautiful gray eyes,” he pleaded as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

As though his words or perhaps his touch awakened something in her, her lips parted and her lashes fluttered. He clung to that small movement like a tiny boat in a vast storm. Fingers digging into the wood of the boat, sucking in breaths between the pounding waves of the sea, he prayed she was okay. That flutter of her lashes was his only hope. She had to be okay.

Two paramedics rushed into the room followed by Thad just as Felicity came fully around.

“Jared…” Her lips formed his name, and he swallowed the lump in his throat as he tried to remain close as the suite filled up with people.

“I’m here, sweetheart. I’m here,” he promised softly, stroking her cheek.

“Please give us some room,” one of the emergency medical staff instructed.

Jared stepped back, allowing the man and woman in the medical jumpsuits to kneel by Felicity. She blinked, then struggled to sit up as she took in the scene. The female paramedic set her bag down and was digging through it for a stethoscope.

“Can you tell us what happened, miss? We received a call that you fainted.” The man clicked a small pen flashlight and pointed it at her face. “Follow my finger, please” He moved his index finger back and forth, and Felicity’s beautiful eyes tracked it without problems. The man shined the light more fully into her eyes, and she blinked again, turning her face away from the brightness.

“I’m sorry. I sometimes get dizzy in crowds and I can’t breathe. One minute I was dancing, and then…” Her shoulders rose and then slumped in a helpless shrug.

When the male paramedic took out a blood pressure cuff, Felicity’s gaze locked on Jared’s. Another swell of relief moved through him. He hadn’t realized until that second how much he needed her to look at him, to show him she was okay. He was stepping in her direction before he even realized his feet were moving. Abruptly, he forced himself to stay back.

“BP is a little elevated.” The man removed the cuff from her arm.

“How are you feeling right now?” the woman asked.

“Okay. Just light-headed. It helps when I get away from the crowds.” Felicity glanced at Jared again, her gray eyes shadowed with anxiety and her cheeks red with mortification.

Screw it. Jared abandoned his plan to stay back and walked quickly over to the back of the couch and leaned over it to touch her cheek and then stroke her hair. He wanted to say it was to comfort her, but it was more of a comfort to him.

“Do you have episodes like this frequently?” The woman put the stethoscope back and waited for Felicity to answer.

“Not that often. Never so bad before. I think the music made it worse.” Felicity licked her lips, and her hands were clasped together in her lap in a white-knuckled grip. “I usually can get somewhere quiet and get myself together. Not this time, I guess.”

The two paramedics got to their feet, and the man reached for her. “We should take you to the hospital and get you checked out by a doctor.”

“No!” Felicity lurched up from the couch.

Jared reached over and caught her by the waist. “Easy,” he murmured softly in her ear.

She didn’t seem to hear him. “No hospitals. I’m fine. Really. I just need to eat something and rest in a quiet place. I’m sorry, I just hate hospitals,” she added.

The medical team exchanged looks, but when Thad coughed politely, they looked his way. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. I promise we’ll watch over her the rest of the night, and if we think she needs medical help, we’ll bring her in to the hospital immediately.”

Jared could see that the two medical personnel were reluctant to agree, but all it took was a glance at Felicity’s terrified face and they didn’t press her to go with them.

They packed up their gear and let Thad escort them out. When Jared was alone with her, he came around to the front of the couch and pulled her down to sit beside him. He wrapped his right arm around her body and cupped her face with his other hand.

“Are you really okay? You scared the shit out me, princess.”

A weak laugh bubbled forth as she closed her eyes and curled into his embrace. That single act of trust eased the last bit of tension in his muscles.

“I just have these attacks sometimes. Too many people and too much noise usually brings them on.”

Jared bristled protectively. “So you decided to go clubbing? This is the worst place for noise and crowds.” He didn’t mean to sound admonishing, but he heard it in his voice too late to be stopped. “Why did you come out here, anyway?”

“It’s a long, stupid story. I really don’t want to talk about it. Can you take me home? Please?”

He would have to get the story later, when she didn’t have those damned defensive walls up, but not tonight.

“Sure. I’ll take you home.” He picked up her clutch purse and helped her stand, holding her a little too long against him as she stood. She tried to tug her dress down, but her hands shook. She lifted her face up to his, and he couldn’t breathe for a second. He lost himself in the depths of her gray eyes, so dark and heavy with worries and embarrassment.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” His voice was a little rough as emotions choked him.

“I—”

Thad entered the suite, silencing whatever she might have said.

“You taking her home?” Thad asked.

Jared nodded. “Yeah. I’ll watch over her tonight.”

“Good. Let me know if you need anything.” Thad took Felicity’s hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. “Sorry this night didn’t go as planned.” His eyes flicked from her to Jared, a flash of knowing in their depths.

“No, I’m sorry. I ruined your night. It’s my fault,” she said. Her pale face was now tinged with a rosy blush.

“Nonsense. Go home and rest so I don’t have to worry about you.” He patted her hand, and then with a cocky grin he opened the suite door. “The night isn’t over for me yet.” With a nod at Jared, he walked off toward a group of young women who cooed and shrieked with excitement when they saw him. Thad would be just fine. Too bad Felicity didn’t know him like Jared did.

As he led Felicity toward the club exit, she slipped her arm through his, her fingers digging slightly into the fabric of his coat. The simple connection, the reliance she had on him in that moment, filled him with a rush of relief. She wasn’t a weak woman, nor was she some damsel who needing rescuing, but she was leaning on him, trusting him to support her when she’d always had to look out for herself in the past. He wouldn’t let her down.

She’s still mine. The caveman thought was foreign but not unwelcome. Something about Felicity brought out primal urges Jared hadn’t thought he was capable of. Urges to claim and protect. His relationships with women before had always been good and the sex hot. With Felicity, though, his every thought, every desire was keyed in to her and what she needed.

Anything she needed, he wanted to be the one to provide it. Pleasure, protection, happiness. He didn’t want to think about why that mattered so much. Hell, the idea of wanting and needing this one woman was terrifying. Was that what Felicity felt for him? Was that why she was scared to be with him? If it was, it made perfect sense, and he couldn’t be angry with her for running. But perhaps he could convince her that all of this—the two of them—would be worth the risk. It was worth it to him. She made him feel alive, real, and that was worth fighting for.