WARNING: This excerpt contains explicit adult content!
She was humiliated. She wasn't a child. She could open her car door without supervision. With obvious reluctance, Travis moved away, heading back to the club, but she could sense his gaze still on her. It was late, and though she couldn't see anyone around her, she still could never quite calm the nagging sensation of someone watching her, or of danger lurking right around the corner.
Swallowing her own disgust, she faced her car door again, fumbling a moment with her keys and so absorbed in mortification over what she'd done that she wasn't aware of anything else around her until a large body plowed hard into her, knocking her to the ground.
The night air went peculiarly still. Not a single sound broke the silence hanging so thick Ainsley thought she might choke on it. Spots danced before her eyes. She couldn't suck air into her lungs. Panic began to take hold. She knew she'd fallen to the ground, hard, and with assistance. Her landing, however, puzzled her. It was...cushioned?
Memory began flooding back, the arms that grabbed her, the descent. Realizing what had cushioned her fall -- a human body -- Ainsley's fear grew until it became incapacitating. Recognizing what held her tight -- strong and unquestionably male arms -- she began the fight for her freedom, and maybe her life, but he pulled her even tighter.
"It's me, Blue Eyes. Be still."
The hushed whisper filled every cell of her body. She went completely lax in his arms.
Baye. It was Baye.
Matching his hushed tones, she asked, "What are you doing?"
"Saw someone sneaking up on you. I saw Travis chasing him as I grabbed you. Stay put a minute until I'm sure it's safe."
His warm breath sailed across her skin, sending shivers to the core of her heart. He allowed her to twist in his arms until she lay flat on top of him and could see his face. Against every instinct, she lay still in his arms. The dark made it hard to see his features, but she'd long since memorized them. The high forehead, arched brows, the way his grin always seemed slightly lopsided. Resting on him like this was somehow quite intimate, but to her amazement, no wave of panic came. She felt safe. In spite of the fact that he told her someone was after her.
She wiggled one arm free of his grasp and brushed hair from his eyes. The moon provided enough light to see their depths, but she'd known he was staring at her before she had the proof. He seemed to search her soul, but contrary to what her gut told her she should be feeling, she welcomed it. She wanted him to see her for who she really was, all of her, even the parts she'd never shown anyone else. She wanted Baye to see everything.
"You all right?" He asked. His smile seemed full of relief. The concern she originally saw etched into his brow and the creases around his eyes were gone. His lightened mood allowed her to do the same. She let out a small laugh. "Yeah. How about you?"
He hesitated. "I think I landed on a bottle."
"Oh, God!"
Ainsley tried to move, but he pulled her back down on him, grimacing with the pain as the movement ground more glass into his back. "Not until we hear from Travis."
That made no sense, and he must have known it, so why on earth would he want to stay on the ground with glass in his back, holding onto her... Oh. A knowing smile floated across her face, and a surge of feminine power left her emboldened. "If I promise to let you hold me later..." She actually had the nerve to bat her lashes at him. "...will you let me up so I can look at your back now?"
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