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“You’re going to regret doing that,” he growls. And then, just as he is about to advance on me, someone leaps out of the darkness and slams into him.
It looks like my knight in shining armor might be here.
Chapter Fourteen
Wes
Who the hell is this stranger trying to force himself on my girl? Whoever he is, he’s seriously going to regret messing with her. She’s mine, even if things are hard right now. And seeing him literally forcing himself on her has made me angrier than I could ever explain to anyone.
I shove him again. Just because she’s wearing a swimsuit, he seems to think she’s being suggestive, and I won’t accept it. She brings out this primal instinct in me to protect her and I’m not about to stand here and let him get away with this. He looks shocked as I push against his chest, causing him to stumble again.
“What’s your problem, man?” he asks indignantly. “Can’t you see we’re having a private moment?”
“Not with my woman, you’re not,” I growl. “Who the fuck said you could talk to her? Who said you could touch her? Without her permission, she’s mine!”
“Look man, I didn’t know-”
“You’re not getting away with this,” I growl, advancing toward him. The dickhead grins at me, holding his hands up in mock defense.
“Alright, grandpa, what do you think you’re going to do to me? I can take you any day.”
I almost laugh. The guy is the same height as I am…six foot five, but there’s no way he can take me. The chances of two guys that tall showing up at the same party were slim. The chances that he’ll cause me any trouble…none. Sure, he’s buff, but with my primal anger on my side, not even the biggest guy on Earth could beat me. I shake my head at the dumb kid. He has no idea who he’s dealing with.
“We’ll see about that,” I hiss. With that, I throw the first punch with adrenaline coursing through my veins. He cries out as blood spurts from his nose. He stumbles back in shock.
“You broke my nose!”
“I’ll break more than that in a minute,” I say, showing him my fists once again to prove that I’m serious about this. “Or would you prefer I tell Lawrence that you were being inappropriate with his daughter? Then you will have us both to answer to. How about that, huh? Still feeling like a tough guy?”
Zooey is shaking, her arms wrapped around herself as she watches the fight unfold. The guy stands for a few moments, quietly seething with blood running down his face. Then, finally seeing sense, he walks away, glaring at me with pure unadulterated hate. I have half a mind to chase him down and give him more than a broken nose, but I don’t want to scare Zooey off. Even with the anger in my heart, I have to hold back.
I calm down a little when Zooey rushes to me and hugs me hard. I let her hold me for a while, stroking her hair gently. She’s still shaking and I don’t blame her after the way that prick acted. I know I shouldn’t have gotten so aggressive, but he started it. I couldn’t let him get away with that. When Zooey pulls away, she has tears in her eyes.
“You alright?” I ask gruffly. I didn’t want her to have to get caught in the middle of a fight like that, but right now, I’m glad I could protect her. It’s brought us closer together, for one thing. That can only be a good thing.
“I can’t believe you did that for me,” she whispers. “I thought he was going to do something...something really awful.”
I touch her cheek gently. “No matter what, you’re always safe with me. Even if you don’t want me.”
Her eyes look full of pain as she looks up at me. “You know I want you...I want you so bad. I just got so scared.”
“I know.”
“But...but you’re the only guy who has ever looked out for me. I know if my father was here, he would have laughed this situation off or something. He would have claimed it was just boys being boys...the guy was a creep, but he wouldn’t have seen it that way. He wouldn’t have wanted to upset a customer.”
“Oh, Zooey…”
“It’s true,” she says, wiping her eyes. “He cares more about the business than he does about me. But you...you were willing to risk everything for me. Who else can say that? And right now, I don’t know why I’m trying to prioritize him over you...you’re the one good thing that has come from this ridiculous weekend.”
I hold my breath. Our relationship feels so fragile, so breakable, that I’m worried if I move an inch, this will all fall apart again. But she steps forward and wraps her arms around my waist, looking up at me with her beautiful eyes. I allow my hands to tangle in her midnight curls.
