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My body burned, and I wasn’t sure if it was entirely from embarrassment over Sara’s inappropriate question.
“George and I are very happy together,” I hedged. “Sorry, I’ll be right back.” I waved in the direction of the restrooms and quickly made my escape before she could ask any more sordid questions.
It didn’t matter that the fiery passion Sara described was utterly foreign to me. The stability and trust I had with George were far more precious to me than orgasms. I didn’t need to one-up her inappropriate stories to prove my love for my fiancé.
I edged around the small crowd of people who were dancing to the vibrant music, swaying and twirling to the beat. The bar was a bit raucous, but I enjoyed observing the smiling revelers. I wished I had my camera with me to capture the moment, but I didn’t dare so much as snap a shot with my phone. George was just across the room, surrounded by his fellow DEA agents. I was safe here, but I still wouldn’t indulge in my art. George wouldn’t approve.
“Hello, beautiful.”
I jolted at the proximity of the masculine voice behind me. I whirled, ensuring my back was to the wall this time; no one would sneak up on me again.
I shook my head at the dark-haired man with the bushy black beard, arranging my features in a carefully pleasant expression. “I’m sorry,” I replied in English. “I’m here with my fiancé.”
If he thought I was a tourist who didn’t speak Spanish, he might leave me alone.
“You’re American?” He beamed at me as he replied in English, and my stomach sank. “I love your accent. Have a drink with me.” He offered me one of the two bottles of beer he was holding.
I took half a step back, shaking my head again. “I really can’t, but thanks, anyway.”
Maybe he hadn’t understood the part about my fiancé. I’d give him the benefit of the doubt and politely extricate myself from the awkward situation. I didn’t want to cause a scene and distract George, not when he was working so hard to secure his promotion.
The man mirrored my step. “I bought this for you,” he insisted, offering me the beer again. “Come on, just one drink.”
My stomach dropped as another masculine form entered my personal space, far too close. He was massive, at least a foot taller than my five-foot-five frame. For a moment, all I could see was his back; broad shoulders completely blocked my view of the man who’d been nagging me.
I took a hasty step back, edging away from the menace that rolled off the man like a palpable force. When his profile came into view, my breath caught. His strong, stubble-shadowed jaw might’ve been carved from granite, and those sensual lips were peeled back in a contemptuous snarl. His muscular arm bulged and flexed with barely leashed violence as he reached out and plucked the beer bottle from the smaller man’s hand.
Those fierce wolf’s eyes fixed on his prey as he tipped the bottle back and took a long draw of beer. Then he gestured at the drink that’d been meant for me, still clutched in the other man’s hand.
“That one is for you,” he told the man who’d been harassing me. Something about his gravelly voice made my belly flip. His accented English was out of place, but I couldn’t pause to process anything other than witnessing the tense scene that was unfolding before me.
He leaned in slightly, and the smaller man seemed to shrink by a few inches. “I—I didn’t realize she’s with you,” he stammered. “My mistake.”
“Drink it,” the stunning stranger commanded, voice rumbling like thunder. “Or don’t you like the taste of whatever drug you put in her beer?”
My skin pebbled, the fine hairs on the back of my neck rising in response to the presence of a predator. I wasn’t sure if the fearful reaction was because of the man who’d tried to slip me a roofie or an instinctive wariness of the dangerous, beautiful stranger who’d come to my rescue.
It was the same man I’d seen in the market over the weekend, the man I’d dreamed about; I was sure of it. Those eyes…
The sound of glass smashing on the hardwood floor jolted through my body, making me cringe. The drugged beer splashed my jeans and pooled around my shoes.
My savior growled his frustration, white teeth flashing in a feral expression that made my insides quake.
“You think that will save you?” he seethed. “Now you’ll have to taste broken glass too. I will make you lick it up like the dog you are.”
My would-be assailant shuddered in revulsion and backed away, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. “I’m sorry,” he gasped out. “I’m leaving now.”
The beautiful, terrifying stranger swelled with fury, his massive body tensing to attack.
“Wait!” I gasped, instinct driving me to stop the violence before I could think better of my actions. My fingers wrapped around my ferocious savior’s corded forearm, as though I could somehow hold back this beast of a man.
Shock thrummed through me when he went still as a statue, his hard muscles bulging beneath my desperate touch. My skin sparkled with awareness, and electricity arced through my body: a giddy response. Somehow, I’d harnessed the attention of the powerful stranger, staying his hand before he could carry out his threat to brutalize the weaker man who’d tried to drug me.
Those silvery eyes flashed as he watched his enemy hastily retreat. When he’d almost made it to the door, I felt powerful muscles shift beneath my hand, and I knew my savior was about to snap and go after his prey.
“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “I’m okay.”
It was all I could think to say to soothe his protective fury. I was grateful he’d come to my rescue, but I couldn’t bear to witness the carnage of what he’d threatened to make the man do. After my ordeal with the cartel, the prospect of more violence made my blood run cold.
