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“Really?” I knew I looked older than twenty-one.
He finally made eye contact, and when his gaze moved down, I felt chills at the base of my spine. “Gotta scan it in.”
“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” I spun around and rushed into my apartment, grabbed my license, took a step into the hallway, and screamed. “Shit, you scared me.” I backed away when I nearly ran into him.
“Sorry about that.”
I handed him my license. He took a photo of it, then handed it back. “Thank you.” I didn’t offer a smile and tried to dismiss him. “Have a good night.”
“You have a lot here, I can carry it inside for you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
I reached for one of the bags on the floor, but he bent down and took it from me, pushing his body forward like he was trying to get past me. “I insist.”
All right, I was annoyed, but now a little freaked out. No more entertaining his antics. “I don’t need help. Leave.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that yet.” He took a step closer, and that chill shot up my spine and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He reeked of body odor, but I stood my ground, refusing to let him think I was intimidated by him even though I was. He didn’t seem strong, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t subdue me if he really wanted. I wasn’t ever afraid of men until the last guy I went on a blind date with attacked me. Now I was leery of all of them. “I don’t want to leave. I’m going to help you with this stuff, and then maybe you can help me.”
“I don’t want your help, and I’m not going to tell you to leave again. Now.”
“Please. Don’t be scared.” He held up his hands as best he could and actually moved away. His eyes flickered to the side, and there was something oddly familiar about it. I wondered if I knew him from somewhere. Maybe he worked at the company at one time. I wasn’t going to ask him, though. “I promise I’m not gonna rape you. I just want to—”
One second, he was there, and the next, he was against the wall with Scotty’s arm at his throat. He’d stepped between us, and I could see the tension in his body, his back muscles tight and his triceps threatening to bust the sleeve on his T-shirt. “You have ten seconds to get in your car and disappear. If you don’t do that or if I see you near her again, you’ll wish you ran away while I still allowed you to have working legs.”
“But I’m not—” He started, but Scotty cut him off and dropped his arm, then reached behind him and curled his fingers around my waist like he had eyes behind his head.
“Nine, eight…” The driver took a hesitant step toward Scotty, and I gasped. He was probably three inches taller and a whole lot wider, but Scotty didn’t flinch. “Six, five…”
It wasn’t until Scotty got down to three that Scotty finally moved. And when he did, Gordon scrambled away and said. “Bye, Paris, sorry if I scared you.” I didn’t blame him for running. The rage radiating off Scotty’s being was so strong it was palpable.
He let me go and stood at the door with his arms crossed. Tires screeched as the vehicle peeled away, and before I could say a word, I was being shuffled into my apartment. Scotty grabbed the bags, slammed the door, then he set my stuff on the counter. “Give me your phone.”
“What?”
“Give me your phone so I can deal with that motherfucker.”
Oh man, I’d never heard him like this. The rumbly rasp in his voice was a little scary, but a lot sexy. God, what was wrong with me. “What are you going to do?”
The deep movement of his chest made his shoulders raise and lower, and when he got control of himself, he quietly vowed, “I’m going to show you that I can and will protect you from anyone.”
“I think you did enough, he looked like he was gonna pee his pants.”
“That’s not good enough. Any man who would corner a woman and tell her he wasn’t going to rape her needs to be taught some fucking manners. Not only did I hear him say that, but he said it to you, so I’m going to make sure he learns in a way he’ll never forget. I’ll also let him know that he’s on my radar, and babe, that is not a place you want to be.” He held his hand out. “Phone.”
His alpha attitude was a total turn-on, and not that I didn’t think of him as a strong man before, but seeing his conviction firsthand left no room for doubt. I pulled my cell out of the waistband of my shorts and handed it over.
“Lock this behind me. I’ll be right back.”
He was gone before I could blink, and since I was freaked out by that guy, I flipped the deadbolt and put the chain on.
I stood there, a little dismayed at the last five minutes. “Meow.”
“I know, right?” I replied to Henry as he rubbed against my ankles. “That actually happened.”
My fingers started trembling, and I shook them out, then opened the bags, faintly hearing Scotty’s muffled voice through the wall. I dipped into my savings to pay for my order of three bottles of wine for me, and whiskey, gin, and tequila along with a couple of kinds of beers for Scotty. I wanted to thank him for his help with Henry but didn’t know what he liked to drink.
I took out the wine, then grabbed a bottle and nearly dropped it when I read the label. I didn’t order this. It was champagne, the same kind I drank yesterday. What the hell? It had to have gotten put in accidentally. I ordered stuff all the time, and mix-ups happened every once in a while… that was it. Right? Just a mix-up. A mistake. That was all.
