We walk through the hallway as the lights of the club flash in time with my heart’s steady beat. Ba Boom. Ba Boom. Ba Boom. I interlace my fingers through his and he gives my hand a firm squeeze. Where are we going? I don’t even care. All I can think of is him. Holding my hand. Coming to my rescue.

Alec Gabriel cares about my safety. He knows who I am.

He walks up to the bouncer at the front of the club. “Desiree punched Rue. She’s trapped in the bathroom.”

Dark Shades doesn’t lift an eyebrow or miss a beat. “I’ll take care of it.” He raises his dark hand and makes a signal like a catcher to the pitcher at the bottom of the Ninth.

As we walk away from the club, I glance behind to see two guys heading in to handle the problem, the word SECURITY in bold white letters across the backs of their black shirts. Security. That’s exactly what they offer.

Alec and I walk in silence past the valet who does a double take as he recognizes Alec. I feel like I’m in a dream, so when the guy smiles at me, I don’t smile back. I just keep following the leader. My leader.

We turn a corner. As soon as we’re out of sight of the club, Alec backs me up against a graffiti’d wall and lets go of my hand to touch my face and turn my chin from side to side, checking if I’m bruised. His body is five inches from mine. His face is close enough that if I leaned forward just a little bit, we’d be kissing. The deep timber of his voice ricochets through my body. “Does it hurt? Are you okay?” As I look at his lips, they part. We don’t speak for a few heated seconds.

Oh, did you ask me something?

“I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” I sound like I’m saying Take me to bed, but I can’t help it. He’s formed a human shield around me and the sense of protection is a tonic I’ve never known. “You’re so warm, Alec.”

He smiles just for me, his eyes locked on mine. “You’re a couple steps above that.” His hand goes up on the wall above my shoulder and he looks at my lips. I back into the wall as though it’s pliable. It isn’t. He looks down at my cleavage and holds there. His hand comes up. With shortened breaths, I look down at his fingers and watch.

“Oh my God. Yes…” I whisper.

His eyes meet mine, a flicker of something heavy behind them. “What?”

With shortened breaths, aching for him everywhere, I can’t believe I hear myself saying, “Please touch me.” My breasts rise in anticipation, breath caught in my chest. Frozen, tingling all over, I watch his thick fingertip drift ever so slowly across my soft curves of naked flesh, dipping just a little into my cleavage. I look up and meet his smoldering eyes. He reaches under my dress and tucks his finger into the soft, flimsy fabric of my panties, stroking me softly. He brushes his lips against mine as his finger slips inside my folds just enough where he can touch the most sensitive spot on my whole body.

“You’re gushing.”

“Mmmhmm,” I moan, parting my lips as he stares at them, hypnotized by my need for more. I’ve never felt this much hunger before. He’s about to kiss me. I can feel it.

“ALEC!” Sean yells. I gasp and look over, dipping out of Alec’s reach, and pulling down my dress. Alec takes a longer time to react. He’s in no hurry. Sean is not his master. He’s his own master and he wants to make that very clear.

But I’m not nearly so confident.

“Oh God. I’m sorry,” I mumble and squirm away from the invisible, sensual grip this beast of a man has me in. Sean has closed the distance to us now, his face a mask of foreshadowing and irritation. “He saved me.”

“Saved you?” Sean frowns deeply from me to his friend like he’s the one doing the saving, not Alec. “Is that what he was doing?” The sarcasm drips from every word.

“Desiree cornered her in the bathroom and punched her. I saw them going in together and knew there would be trouble,” Alec explains, his manner unhurried, unapologetic.

Sean isn’t impressed.

“Come on, Rue.” Sean holds out his arm to invite me to walk beside him.

I glance to Alec, wishing badly I could stay with him, that he might object and whisk me away to somewhere very, very private. There’s an ache in my chest that feels like it might burst if I can’t touch him. But the look in his eyes tells me silently to go with my brother.

I lower my chin, eyelashes falling to the ground as I walk into Sean’s outstretched arm. I steal a furtive glance at Alec as the three of us walk back toward the club, but he’s not looking at me. His body is relaxed, but his eyes are rigid as he strolls with his hands tense in his pockets.

I glance down and see he’s hiding an erection.

Suddenly my body fires up, and I turn to face the world with a smile of wonder on my face. Is it possible that Alec Gabriel wants me? Stupid little old nobody Rue Calliwell?

No fucking way.

Sean stops at the valet and gives him the ticket. Behind me, I feel Alec’s departure before I even see it, like a cord is attached to us and it’s being pulled taut. My head swings around to watch him walking back toward the entrance, the crowd behind the ropes watching him, too.

“Isn’t he coming with us?” I ask, my eyes locked on his back. Jack walks out of the club’s entrance just in time to fist-bump his best friend, wordlessly saying they’ll catch each other later. As Jack meets my eyes with a devilish glitter, Sean warns me, “Forget him, Rue. He’s not the one for you.”

I look up at my new brother and say nothing, because inside I know my response is a loud and resounding Oh yes he is.