medical treatment, but Finn is right. In about five seconds, that club is going to empty when the news starts spreading, and every single person in there is going to be hovering over Layla, taking pictures and asking questions, not caring for one minute that she was just attacked.
Taking one last look at the hordes of people already gathering on the sidewalk, I curse under my breath, slide one arm under Layla’s neck and the other under her knees, and scoop her up into my arms, rushing over to the backseat of Finn’s vehicle. Getting inside as quickly as I can, I situate Layla on my lap, cradling her to me as Finn guns the engine and takes off down the street, narrowly missing a parked car.
“WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?” I yell at Finn as he weaves in and out of traffic. “You were supposed to be watching her. You are NEVER to let her out of your sight. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
My body is vibrating with rage as I think about what could have happened to the woman lying in my arms. She’s sweet, beautiful, smart, and funny, and in just one minute, her life could have been snuffed out. I can’t help but take my anger out on the one person in her life that is supposed to protect her.
“I don’t know! Fuck! I turned my back for one minute, I swear. I saw you come up behind her on the dance floor so I figured she was fine,” Finn rambles nervously before his guilt turns to fury that matches my own. “Where the hell were YOU?You were standing right there next to her! How the hell did she get outside alone?”
Not that I owe this guy any fucking explanation, but I give it to him anyway so he will shut the hell up.
“She stormed off and made her way through the crowd before I could stop her. I got people out of my way as fast as I fucking could. That guy must have been standing there, watching, waiting for her. She wasn’t out that door for more than thirty seconds before I got outside.”
I ignore my own anger with myself; directing it towards Finn is easier. I should never have said what I did, done what I had to her. I should have kept my cool and remained professional.
Thinking back to earlier in the evening, standing in the shadows watching her dance with all those men all night long filled me with an emotion I'm not used to—jealousy. No one should get to be that close to her, touch her, and hold her. No one except me.
A guttural roar almost slipped out when the last guy put his hands on her hips. Without thinking about what I was doing, I stalked across the dance floor and shoved him away, but not before leaning in close to him and telling him that if he so much as looked at Layla again, I would wipe up the dance floor with his bloody face.
I’m silent in the back seat of the car as I process those last few minutes on the dance floor and how every cell in my body screamed for me to just pull Layla against me and kiss her. Kiss that sweet, smart ass mouth and just forget about all of the reasons why it's a bad idea. Holding her soft, warm body against mine instantly flooded me with need, and I was hard as a rock as soon as she pushed her ass into me. I told her it was all just to prove a point, but that was a lie. I wanted her close to me. I wanted to touch her, taste her.
So I did.
And now I’m completely fucked because one taste of her skin isn’t nearly enough.
I feel her squirm in my arms and lower my head to look at her as she slowly starts to wake up. I see flashes of her face illuminated by the street lights outside as we rush through traffic and watch as her eyes slowly blink open and come into focus.
“Ow.” She winces and her hand comes up to cup the side of her face with the nasty bruise and small cut on it.
“We’re almost home Lay, hold on,” Finn tells her, glancing quickly over his shoulder to check on her while he maneuvers the SUV into another lane.
Her chin quivers and I watch the streetlights cast sparkles in her eyes as they