“That’s funny, I remember it differently,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I thought I saved you the first time we met, brought you gas when you were stranded, but I don’t want to fight. I wasn’t talking about sleeping together, although I wouldn’t say no if you offered. I was talking more about going out on a date, you know, go see a movie, grab something to eat, that sort of thing.”
“You’re asking me out?” she asked, the reality of what she’d been doing hitting her. “I thought you didn’t trust me? Is this your way of keeping an eye on me?”
“I’m not asking you out, I’m not free to do that,” Ryan said, his voice patient. “I’m sorry, I guess I should have explained…”
“You have a girlfriend,” she said, not sure why she was shocked. “I let you kiss me, I thought…I should have asked…”
“It’s not your fault, it’s mine, I should have told you about Erin,” he said. “But I try to forget about her whenever I can, and she’s the last thing on my mind when I’m with you.”
“That doesn’t make it any better,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not that kind of girl, Ryan, I don’t date cheaters. I need some fresh air.”
He didn’t stop her when she jumped to her feet and headed to the back of the ballroom, where big French doors opened up onto a patio and the grounds. Walking over to the railing, she sucked in deep breaths until her heart rate calmed down and she could think clearly again. It had been one of the worst days of her life, and all because of men; they were all just little children with big sex drives, and she wondered if it was possible to avoid them for the rest of her life.
The thought made her feel a little better, even if she knew it wasn’t possible, and she started to calm down. Neither situation was her fault; Alex overstepped; it was just that simple. AndRyan…well, he’d tricked her, let her believe he was single, hadn’t he? The question hung in her mind as she replayed both kisses in her mind, but she realized the first had been pure circumstance and the second one…a tingle deep in her belly told her she’d better not think about that one.
With a sigh, completely calm once again, she wondered if she might have overreacted, a couple of kisses didn’t make her a cheater, and Ryan had said he was going to break it off with his fiancé. She probably should have stayed around to listen to what he had to say, she just hated the idea of being the other woman, never pictured herself as a man stealer. Deciding that she was being a little dramatic, something she accused Ryan of being several times. She shook her head and turned to go back inside, but ran right into a hard chest.
Strong arms wrapped around her to keep her from falling, and she held on for a second, thinking it was Ryan, then realized something felt off. “Oh, excuse me,” she stammered, untangling herself and stepping back. “I should have been paying more attention.”
“I’m not complaining,” Alex said, grinning down at her. “Having you in my arms just now has been the best part of the night. You look incredible, Paula.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, feeling trapped between him and the railing. “I was just going to go back inside and find Ryan.”
“You’re not really with him, are you?” Alex asked, then looked around before focusing on her again. “I mean…well…you know about Erin, don’t you? They’re unofficially engaged; everyone knows about it…”
“Ryan and I are just friends, he can be engaged to anyone he wants,” she said, looking for a way past Alex. “But he is inside waiting for me.”
Alex studied her for a second. “I don’t think so. I saw him get up and leave a few minutes ago,” he said. “I saw you two fighting.I saw that kiss, too, so you don’t have to play games with me. You deserve more than that, Paula, you deserve a guy who only wants you, a guy who will treat you the way you deserve, a guy like me.”
She saw it in his eyes, knew what he was going to do, but couldn’t move fast enough to get away from him, and before she knew it, Alex grabbed her, pulled her roughly into his arms, and slammed his mouth down on hers. A wave of what she could only describe as evil washed over her. She instantly felt nauseous and instinctively began to fight against the arms that pinned her to his body. All the self-defense classes her father had forced her to take kicked in, and a few seconds later, Alex was lying on the ground in front of her, flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him.
Not willing to stick around to see how hurt he was, she started for the ballroom, but Alex was already on his feet. “You little bitch, get back here. No one, especially a woman, treats me that way,” he said, closing the distance between them in only a couple of strides.
Her hand closed into a fist the moment his hand clamped down on her shoulder, and when he spun her around as she knew he would, she used that momentum along with her own strength to punch him square in the jaw. He staggered back a couple of steps and stood there swaying for a few seconds, but recovered quickly and came at her roaring with anger. She didn’t try to flee this time, just braced herself to fight with everything she had, hoping that someone would hear them and come to her rescue.
CHAPTER 14
***RYAN***
Cursing the distance between them, Ryan raced toward Paula, his dragon screaming with rage at what he’d just seen, the urge to kill throbbing in his veins thanks to the need to protect his mate. If he’d had any doubt about Paula being his, it was completely abolished now as he raced to protect her from Alex, barely holding his dragon back from emerging right there outside the ballroom. He slid between them just as Alex raised his fist, and the other man hesitated just long enough for him to push Paula away from them.
“Alex, you’re all dirty,” he said. “Are you having some trouble?”
“This is none of your business,” Alex growled. “That little bitch needs to be taught some manners.”
“You’re the one who needs to learn some manners,” Paula called from behind him. “You can’t just go around kissing anyone you want. You got what you deserved, and you’ll get worse if you try to touch me again. I know how to defend myself.”
“You heard the lady, back off, Alex. You don’t want to tangle with either of us,” he said, taking a few steps toward the other shifter. “Don’t push this, Alex. We’ve got an audience. I wouldn’twant to have to do something that would attract the kind of attention we don’t want.”
“Get out of the way, you pathetic little wimp, I’m going to teach that bitch a lesson,” Alex said, lunging for Paula, his eyes full of rage. “When I’m done with her, she’ll know her place. No one challenges me.”
Ryan was prepared for Alex to charge him in an attempt to get to Paula. What he wasn’t expecting was that he would shift first. It took him several precious seconds to react, and by that time, the other shifter had already grabbed her in his sharp talons as he rose into the sky. Without hesitation, he shifted, then in the next breath launched himself into the sky like a bullet splitting the air, and flew after them.
He caught up to them a second later and drove Alex back down to the ground, where he was forced to release Paula, who landed in a heap on the ground. A second later, Cooper landed next to him, and Alex started to back away, then with a whoosh, he shifted back into his human form, clearly realizing that he was outnumbered.
“Hey, I got carried away back there. I shouldn’t have shifted,” Alex said, backing away a couple of steps. “Let’s just talk this out, I’m sure we can come to an agreement…”
After a quick glance over at Cooper, they both shifted back into their human form. “I think this is your fight, but I’ve got your back if you need me,” his friend said, stepping behind him. “Don’t worry about Paula, Stephanie is with her.”
