followed him toward the exit. The crowd parted to avoid Joseph’s hulking form. He walked ahead of me, his big body shielding mine. I squeezed his hand tighter, and his thumb rubbed across my palm in a reassuring caress.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jayme just before we stepped outside. She barely paused her carefree dancing to give me a thumbs-up. She’d been so deep in the crowd that I doubted she’d seen what’d happened with Stu. My bestie would’ve come to my rescue alongside Joseph. And she’d have a lot more questions about my decision to leave with the gorgeous bartender so early in the evening if she’d seen the scuffle.
As it was, Jayme had no inkling that Stu had freaked me out, and she was simply happy to see me holding hands with Joseph. I suspected she wouldn’t be coming back to our apartment for a while, granting me plenty of alone-time with my crush.
Now that he was actually going to take me home after weeks of sexual tension building between us, it seemed surreal. I’d second-guessed his interest in me so many times, but there was no longer any doubt in my mind. Joseph wanted me.
Chapter Three
Joseph
There was no going back now. When that entitled asshole put his hands on her, I hadn’t been able to restrain my more violent urges. And by the time she placed her hand in mine, trusting me to protect her and take her home, her fate was sealed.
“Do you want to get an Uber?” she asked when we stepped out into the crisp autumn air.
I finally turned to look at her, and any lingering doubt left my mind. I didn’t give a fuck about the complications that might keep her from me. For tonight, she was mine. I’d be a gentleman and take her home, but I’d steal a goodnight kiss, at the very least. If she invited me in after that, I wouldn’t hold anything back. I wouldn’t be able to, not after weeks of fantasizing about her soft body pinned beneath mine.
“I’ll drive,” I said, realizing I’d waited a second too long to answer. Her flushed cheeks and sparkling sapphire eyes were very distracting. I’d only ever seen her in the dim lighting of the bar, but now her ivory skin was illuminated by the streetlights. She practically shined, every bit the angel I’d envisioned.
“Okay,” she agreed, seemingly unconcerned at the prospect of getting in the car with a near-stranger. I should’ve pointed out that her decision-making could put her at risk with another man, but I didn’t want to spook her. So I said nothing, swallowing the urge to correct her.
There were other, darker ways I’d like to reprimand her. More times than I could count, I’d envisioned the way her shapely ass would bounce beneath my hand as I spanked her.
But she was far too pure and perfect to be subjected to such perversions. For her, I could hold back that particularly savage part of myself. I’d spare her from the worst of my animal urges.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to touch her.
I allowed her to catch up a step, and when she was within reach, I placed my hand at the small of her back. She didn’t protest. Instead, a light shiver raced through her body.
“Are you cold?” I asked.
“Y-yes,” she stuttered slightly, and I suspected she wasn’t simply chilled from the cool night air. “Um, I’m still not used to this weather. I’m a Georgia girl.”
“What year are you?”
Please don’t say freshman. If she was eighteen or under, I couldn’t justify fucking her. Not if she was more than five years younger than me.
“Sophomore,” she replied. “This is my second year at Harvard, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the cold.”
I took the invitation to wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to my body heat. She leaned into me, tucking herself against my side like she belonged there.
I couldn’t hold back the satisfied smile that twisted my lips.
“You should wear a jacket,” I admonished, although I was grateful for the excuse to hold her.
“I wear about five layers or more to class, but I don’t like to wear a coat to the bar. I don’t want to lose it. I usually jump in and out of an Uber, so it’s not too bad.”
I didn’t say it aloud, but I’d appreciated her more form-fitting dresses many times. I didn’t at all mind that she decided to