I was on my own.

“Come and have a drink with me?”

No!

My mind completely shut off. I felt myself floating away from reality. My body reacted before I could comprehend what I was doing, before I could stop myself. The threatening tone in his voice and the burning of his fingertips into my flesh made me shift into survival mode and I knew I had to protect myself by allowing my body to say yes. Just like I had for the past four years. I rose on shaky feet, his hand gripped tightly around my arm causing a shot of pain to roar through my body and he jerked me away from the bar.

We moved away from the main bar and the dim lights above that were intended to add an ambience were now providing the perfect cover for me to be taken into the shadows. He pulled me towards a vacant couch and proceeded to push me down until I was practically sitting on his lap. I had to allow my mind to shut off, to take me to a place of solitude and bliss, away from the reality pressing into me in the form of his over eager hands. My eyes darted through the club and they fell to the man from across the bar.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

I jumped at the harsh statement that threatened in front of me. The voice was thick with a velvety tone that oozed confidence and intimidation and the undertones of a growl weren’t missed. If a voice could cause a shiver to run down your spine that would ignite every part of your body then his voice was exactly that. Safety had arrived. Safety that was the man from across the bar.

 

The moment Eden walked back into the bar I took her in without reluctance. She was a perfect example of uniqueness; a vision of nervousness while desperation to leave floated off her. I watched with increased interest as she made her way back across the bar with …Ashlyn. Fuck me.

I sat by the bar completely engrossed by this girl. The moment our eyes first connected I immediately turned into a fucking dog in heat. Josh had disappeared to god only knows where and as beer after beer passed my lips, my gaze never faltered.

My body stiffened, and I watched in complete horror as Chris Edwards slithered up behind Eden just after she had given me the sweetest of smiles. It felt like it happened in slow motion. Eden stood from the bar stool and allowed Chris Edwards to lead her to the far corner of the club without question, his hand gripping her arm with force.  His other hand was all over her; fawning her body like a piece of fucking meat. Her eyes darted furiously around the bar looking for something or someone to latch on to. Panic filled her face. She didn’t want to be there. My legs moved before my brain kicked in. I think I heard Ashlyn’s voice behind me, and I think she was yelling for Josh but I couldn’t be sure. I marched across the floor like a possessed caveman or something just as fucked-up. My eyes never moved from her. No one deserved to be in the presence of Chris fucking Edwards.

“Don’t!” Ashlyn appeared beside me and grabbed hold of my arm desperate to stop me and my manic thoughts. It was no good, I was like a charging bull, with only red in my sight. It was pretty fucking accurate considering I was storming toward the girl in the red jacket.

“Leave it,” I snapped back, and continued toward the girl who looked frozen stiff with fear.

Her eyes rose from the floor and found mine amongst the crowd and for a brief moment hope flashed before me as she locked onto my gaze. I shuddered at the thought that this would be our introduction, but I couldn’t let that stop me. I felt bile rise from the pits of my stomach as Chris’s hand skimmed up the length of her thigh. When his lips fell to her neck and his fingers brushed over her crotch, I felt a fury pulsate through me that I never knew existed. Fuck this! I increased my pace until I was almost at a jog.

I’ve come to believe that your past shaped your present and your present influenced your future, and right now it was slapping me in the face. My past had molded me into the person I was today; a man whose faults, regrets, and worst mistakes swam through his veins and were so ingrained in his memories that there was no chance of hiding. But it had also made me the type of man who refused to stand back anymore; it made me not give a fuck; it made me storm across a crowded room to save a girl who didn’t know who the fuck I was.

The moment I stood before them I exploded.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I roared with such fevered intensity that even the stripper on stage froze for a moment. “I turn my back for two fucking minutes, and it’s just enough time for you to disappear and let this guy feel you up? You are mine. Stand up.” I glared at her as my teeth gritted shut. Eden’s eyes widened and the color fell from her face as she took in my words. I was yelling in this poor girl’s face. I heard Ashlyn inhale sharply behind me, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh standing with the woman I had earlier seen with Eden.

Chris put his filthy hand on Eden’s ass as she attempted to stand and pulled her back into his lap. “Piss off Crawford. This one is mine. Go back to your preppy little office and leave us the fuck alone.”

I saw red. “Get. Your. Fucking. Hands. Off. Her.”

“She wants it, and she certainly hasn’t said no. Look at this tight little body, the little slut was begging for it.” His hands tauntingly ran up and down her thighs, running higher than they should as a smug look took over his face. I reached out and snatched her hand pulling her away from his grasp with all of my strength until she crashed into my chest.

“Stay here,” I growled into her ear, hauling her close to my body which allowed me to feel her thudding heart against my chest. I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist locking her in and then turned my attention back to Chris. “Get the fuck out of here Edwards and stay away from my fucking girlfriend.”

A cocky laugh boomed from him. “She isn’t your girlfriend.” He looked knowingly between us. “I know what this is. You just want to dive into that sweet pussy yourself, don’t you Crawford?”

I unlocked Eden from my embrace and moved her so she was standing behind me. With one step I was chest to chest with Chris. I didn’t hesitate. “I don’t just dive into her pussy Edwards. I fuck it hard, I taste every inch of it, and I savor every shudder that she makes. That pussy is mine so just remember that when you are fucking some three dollar hooker tonight.”

I didn’t stick around to hear anything else Chris decided to spit. My hand encased Eden’s, entwining our fingers in some protective move that I couldn’t put into words. I tugged on our joined hands, and she instantly followed me though the crowd toward the far corner of the bar where we were still close enough to the action yet able to be hidden from the fuckwit likes of Chris. My mind raced with what I could possibly say to explain my irrational actions. Since when had I become some knight in shining armor? When we reached a vacant couch, I halted and promptly dropped her hand from mine. Stepping back, I collided with the hard wall of Josh’s body and over my shoulder I found him staring at me with curious eyes. I ran my hands through my unruly hair and groaned in frustration.

“Do something dickhead. All eyes are on you after that little performance. You don’t go caveman and grab your woman and then just stand beside her like she’s a stranger.” Josh threw at me, and his eyes darted between me and Eden.

He was right. I looked back toward the sleazy corner of the bar and wasn’t surprised to find Chris and his crew watching with knowing smirks on their faces. I had two choices. I could walk away right now, leave the bar knowing that I had done a good deed and hope to Christ that Eden could take care of herself, or I could man the fuck up and finish off what I started.