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  “You think what?” I challenged. “Think you can just snap your fingers and I’ll come running?”

  “That’s exactly what I think,” he said with a smirk.

  Adam forced me back to the edge of the balcony, and for a second I thought that he might push me over in an unthinking frenzy. But his hand pressed between my legs, and I squirmed around the feel of his finger pushing inside me.

  “Please don’t do this,” I hissed looking over his shoulder and hoping that we wouldn’t be seen.

  “You know you missed this,” he said huskily. “You know you missed me.”

  No, I thought. There were good times. But it was all a lie. And now the feel of his hands on my skin caused my blood to boil.

  “Adam, stop…” I said, loudly this time.

  And the look in his eyes sent a shiver up my spine.

  “I need you to look ahead, Caroline. I need you to forgive me and come home.”

  He buried his free hand in my hair, and I had no choice but to linger in his smug gaze. Adam licked his lips as his finger kept pushing its way inside me.

  “No way anyone’s ever gonna do you better than this,” he said. “So just stop fighting it.”

  My breath caught in my throat, and a small part of me wondered if he might be right. Sabrina liked to say that I was the full package. Money, brains, and blonde to boot. It should be enough to keep any man interested. But Adam needed more. Translation? I wasn’t enough. Maybe I would never be enough for any man. I started to go limp in his harsh hold.

  “Good girl,” he said. “I have so much more to show you.”

  Adam pressed his lips against my neck, and I imagined all the women, the countless women, that he had bedded behind my back.

  “I bet you do,” I hissed. “But I think I’ll pass on any tricks you might have learned from your stable of skanks.”

  Adam’s face morphed into a mask of confusion, and I seized the chance to slam my heel into his shin.

  “Why can’t you just…?” he started to say.

  As he doubled over in pain, I scampered from his side and started to take off. But I only managed a few steps when he was on me again.

  “Caroline…” he growled.

  “I said no!” I screamed.

  I formed fresh fists, but Adam corralled my wrists in his hands and glared at me hard.

  “I’d say that you’ve been lost without me,” Adam said.

  “That’s a lie. That’s not true…”

  “Then why are you even talking to me right now?” he challenged.

  “To spare Danny this… this scene on his big night,” I looked him straight in the eye.

  “Fuck your faggot friend and his eyes on the walls. I’m taking what’s mine, and no one’s gonna stop me.”

  I turned my head from his forced kiss, and tried to kick him again as he pressed his lips to my flushed cheek. He was wrong. Danny would seek me out. If he wasn’t tied up with another buyer. Or Sabrina…

  …if she hadn’t had one too many in the span of my absence. Adam dragged me into the shadows, and he grabbed my face, forcing my stare into his eyes.

  “No one,” he threatened. “You got that, Caroline?”

  I shuddered as he pressed a kiss full of malice to my neck, and I started to think that he might be on to something when a strange voice lifted me from the vile sensation of his hands.

  “Oh yes, they are,” the voice said. “I am.”

  Chapter Three

  Adam turned away from me with a start, and I peered over his shoulder at the tall form which was creeping into view. He loomed large even in the distance, and I trembled some as he took a sure step forward.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Adam demanded. “And what has she got to do with you?”

  One more step, and the moonlight hit his face. Rugged and sculpted, I sighed at the sight of his angular jaw dotted with the beginnings of a beard, and his dark eyes sparkled as he looked past Adam and centered his gaze on mine. I had no idea who he was or what his intentions were. But I knew that I needed help, and I shifted my eyes back to Adam’s fuming face and pleaded silently. The stranger looked from me to Adam and back again. I sensed that he could read my thoughts, and he gave me a nod so slight that Adam didn’t see it as he charged forward.

  “This is a private conversation,” Adam spat. “So how about you just turn around and…”

  Without missing a beat, the stranger formed a fist and smashed his hand into Adam’s unsuspecting middle. Crying out in pain, Adam fell to the ground, and I couldn’t help but relax at the sight and the sound. Free of Adam’s hold, I instinctively ran to the stranger’s side and hid behind his broad back. The man’s muscles seemed to heave through the lines of his tailored suit, and I stopped short of touching him when he leaned down and pulled Adam up by his collar.

  “How about you just shut up and listen,” the stranger said.

  He forced Adam back to the space where he had nearly held me captive, and I placed my hand to my mouth as he slammed him into the column. He landed a sharp blow to Adam’s face, but even as his head lolled into his chest, the stranger curved his fingers under Adam’s chin, and he forced him to look at me as he wrenched Adam’s arm behind his back.

  “Now, correct me if I’m wrong,” the stranger started. “But from where I stand, that’s a lady.”

  Adam grunted, and the stranger twisted his arm harder, causing him to cry out in greater pain.

  “I said it’s a lady,” the stranger said. “Don’t you agree?”

  “I… sure,” Adam said shakily. “Whatever you think…”

  “What I know,” the stranger said. “And you’re going to say that you agree.”

  I saw Adam’s lips curl into a frustrated scowl, and when his arm seemed at the point of bursting out of its socket, he cried out and honored the stranger’s request.

  “A lady!” he said in obvious agony. “Sure. Total lady.”

  I watched with baited breath as the stranger spun Adam around to face him, and the mystery man shot me a quick glance over Adam’s shoulder. His stare seemed to ask me if I was okay, and when I gave him a quick nod, he flashed me a slight smile. The curve of his lips brought a buzz to my chest, and I felt some force pulling my body closer to his despite the danger still present.

  But the stranger stopped me in my tracks as he forced Adam to his knees and hoisted his face to my gaze.

  “Never forget it,” the stranger said. “And you’d be wise to remember that when a lady says no, she means it.”

  The stranger met my eyes again and cocked his head to the side as he scanned my quivering frame.

  “Probably with good reason,” he added.

  I felt almost naked under his dark eyes. He was seeing things that no one knew, at least no one outside of our circle, and yet even as I narrowed my gaze, I definitely didn’t recognize him. I basked in the glow of his eyes, and my stare ran up his long limbs, stopping for a second at his barrel chest, before I returned my stare to his face.

  “Isn’t that right?” the stranger said.

  Maybe he had just overheard me talking. Maybe the sight of Adam pushing into me as I struggled set his radar to stun. But whatever the reason, he knew that I didn’t want Adam’s hands on me. Not now. Not ever again.

  “It is,” I whispered.

  “Just what I thought,” he smiled at me.

  I studied his face. Not one wrinkle. But the small patches of gray dotting his temples told me that he was older than he looked. Far from ancient, but his face carried the mark of experience. And when Adam tried to bust out with a brand new leer, I was in thrall to the wisdom of his years.

  “Down!” the stranger ordered. “Right now.”

  He pushed Adam back to the ground, the heel of his shoe grinding into his neck. The stranger kicked Adam’s side for good measure. Adam winced under the force of the blow. I saw him dragged back to his feet, and then the stranger wrapped his arms around Adam’s middle.

  “Now you bother her or a
ny other lady again…” the stranger promised as he pushed his fist into Adam’s chest. “And you’ll have me to answer to. Are we clear on that?”

  Adam shot me a smirk, and I trembled at the thought that he might be fool enough to test his luck. But the stranger’s grasp tightened, and Adam hung his head and reluctantly nodded.

  “Clear,” Adam echoed. “Are we done here?”

  The stranger kicked Adam away and as he walked past me, the stranger’s dark eyes followed his retreating back into the gallery. When he slipped form the space of my view, I relaxed. He was gone. He wasn’t going to hurt or confuse me. No, no I wasn’t confused. I was glad that he was gone, and as I sighed, I felt foreign hands on my quaking shoulders as he stood behind me.

  “You okay?” the stranger asked.

  I didn’t turn my head, but I also didn’t resist the feel of the fingers trailing down my neck.

  “Yes, I’m okay,” I said. “I’m okay now.”

  I longed to spin round and look at him. But I suddenly felt frozen where I stood, and tears filled my eyes. Adam had hurt me. He would have done a lot worse if… if…

  “Come here.”

  The stranger’s husky voice and the feel of his hands brought me back to him. He held me tight for several minutes and then he let me go. I met his eyes for all of a second, and I nearly smiled when I saw his fierce face melt into a compassionate stare. I wanted to fall into him when he seized hold of my arms.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, my body trembling anew.

  Was it out of the frying pan and into the fire? For a fleeting moment, I envisioned him causing me greater harm than Adam could have ever imagined, but then the stranger released me and patted my cheek.

  “Just had to be sure that you wouldn’t follow,” he said. “Because you have to know that you’re worth more than whatever that freak thinks he’s offering.”

  “I… I do know that,” I whispered.

  The stranger nearly let me loose, but his hands were still in mine as he held me just beyond his chest and sent me a smile.

  “Good,” he said. “That’s all I needed to hear. And if you need my help again, all you have to do is call.”

  The stranger turned his broad back to my face, and I suddenly wanted to keep him close. To feel his hands in mine again. At the very least…

  “Thank you,” I managed before he got too far.

  The stranger paused, but then he looked back at me. His grin was soft, and I smiled back as he returned to my side, my heart flipping without knowing why at the nearness of him.

  “You don’t have to thank me,” the stranger said. “Just trying to be a gentleman.”

  My fingers stretched towards his face. I longed to stroke his sharp stubble, but I pulled back and pressed my hands to my thighs.

  “You were that,” I started. “And a hell of a lot more.”

  He gently grasped a single lock of my hair and spun it around his fingers. Lifting my hair to his Roman nose, he sniffed my essence, and I was suspended in anticipation until he spoke again.

  “Any time,” he promised.

  The stranger let my hair fall to my shoulders, and I didn’t flinch. Not even when he took hold of my arms and pressed his brow to mine.

  “You need some more help now?” he asked.

  My eyes rested in his, and I focused on all the ways in which he wasn’t Adam, could never be Adam. This man was strong without making a show of it. He simply took charge and got the job done. Adam’s absence was proof of that.

  But he might have his own motives. And I had to be careful to just not trust anyone.

  “I… I should get back in there,” I said.

  He didn’t try to stop me. Didn’t grab my wrist and pull me back to his broad chest. But I suddenly stopped where I stood and looked back at him.

  “Can I get a name?” I asked.

  The stranger brushed his hands across his suit and bowed his head.

  “Peter,” he said. “And I take it you’re Caroline?”

  I nodded at his recognition, and when he moved back to my side, I didn’t try to get away.

  “Peter,” I said as he took my hand in his and curled his fingers across my palm and up to my wrist. I sighed at the feel of his hand there, and when he eased me closer, I sighed as Peter’s touch met my hair.

  “Caroline…” he said as if he was relishing the word.

  His mouth was close enough to kiss, and I started to sway towards the lure of his lips when he let me go and smoothed his hands down my arms.

  “Don’t ever sell yourself short,” Peter said. “You’re worth more than that.”

  He leaned closer, and I kept my eyes open as his gaze pierced mine.

  “You’re so sure?” I asked.

  Peter slid his fingers around my neck. I should be scared that he would push down and deprive me of the air that I was trying to gather into my aching lungs. But I wasn’t.

  “I am,” he said. “But I need to know…”

  His voice trailed off as he gathered me into his embrace and brought me back to the edge of the balcony. I felt no fear of falling under his hold, and I stared out into the vastness of the night.

  “I need to know why you would even think that with him was where you thought you had to be.”

  I lifted my gaze to his, and when I saw his eyes, I felt strong enough to speak. To tell him the truth.

  “It’s… it’s a long story,” I said. “But it’s over now.”

  “Is it?” Peter asked as his arm tightened around my waist. My head drifted back to his shoulder, and I kept my gaze on the night as I spoke.

  “And I’m sure you don’t want to hear it,” I continued. “It would only…”

  “Don’t be so sure,” he whispered.

  Peter pulled me away from the ledge, and as I rested in his arms, he caressed my hair and smiled down at me. I knew nothing more than his name. But I wanted to trust him. Part of me felt certain that I could do that much, and I lifted my hand to his stubbled cheek.

  “You really want to know?” I asked, my voice cracking around the words.

  When he nodded, I started to sink into him. But then Sabrina was right there with Danny on her heels.

  “You okay?” Sabrina asked as she pushed Peter away as if he was nothing more than a piece of stray lint. Sabrina folded me into her arms, and I accepted her embrace even as I kept my eyes on his.

  “I am,” I said, stunned yet sure of the tone in my own voice. Peter backed away, but I reached for his hand and caught it in mine before he could get too far.

  “Thanks to Peter.”

  Peter shrugged me off and shook his head.

  “He was already in his place,” Peter said. “Long before I was on the scene.”

  I started to tell my friends that there was nothing to fear when I looked at him again. He could have told them the whole truth. That I was losing the battle up until the moment he swooped in like a knight out of a fairy tale. But he didn’t do that. He let me stand tall and claim the victory all for myself. And it was mine. Because there was no way that I’d ever let Adam in again.

  But the mystery man was suddenly a different story.

  Peter’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and as soon as he pulled the cell from his pants, I watched his strong smile, his sparkling eyes, morph into a slate mask. Whoever was trying to contact him had obviously hit a nerve, and my first instinct was to return his kind favor, ask him what was wrong, see if there was some way that I could help.

  He switched gears again and concealed his phone as he met my eyes with a bright smile.

  “I really should be going,” he said. “But I…”

  As his voice trailed off, I felt my legs melting underneath me even as I strained closer to the place where he stood. What was he thinking? Was he going to ask me if I’d care to join him for a nightcap? Wally’s would do in a pinch or any place he suggested. But maybe the message was truly pressing and demanded his immediate attention. Did he want to lock down a date so that w
e could see each other again? At the very least, he had to want my number.

  I smiled as I waited with baited breath.

  And then he turned his eyes to Danny.

  “The artiste, right?” he asked.

  Danny smiled proudly and extended his hand.

  “Daniel Jones,” he said. “Did you like what you saw in there?”

  I caught Peter glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

  “I liked the whole show,” he said. “But do you just do the ocular thing?”

  Danny’s face started to fall, and I was slammed back to reality at warp speed. This was his night, and I wouldn’t see him sad for a single second of it.

  “It’s just the tip of the iceberg,” I promised.

  “Caroline…” Danny began.

  “I’m serious!” I continued. “You should see the pieces in his studio.”

  Peter arched his eyebrow as he folded his arms across his broad chest.

  “That a fact?” he asked with a gentle smirk.

  “I don’t lie,” I promised.

  His eyes ran up and down my body as I kept Danny’s hand in mine. Sabrina stood between us, her eyes shifted backing and forth, and she finally sighed as she started to raise her glass to her lips.

  “So are you just asking, or are you buying?” she asked cheekily.

  Peter seemed put off for a moment by her boldness, and I silently cautioned Sabrina to lay off for just a second. This could be big for Danny. And I certainly didn’t want to scare Peter away.

  “I might be in the market,” Peter said. “Here.”

  He retrieved a leather wallet from his breast pocket and flicked an ivory card with raised type under Danny’s eyes.

  “Call me tomorrow,” he said. “Your work intrigues me. But I think I’d prefer to see some stand-alone pieces. Not that the eyes aren’t fascinating.”

  He punctuated his statement with a sharp stare focused only on my eyes, and I relaxed under his warm gaze.

  “Perhaps… perhaps you could join us?” he offered. “Give me your insight. You seem to be quite the champion of your friend’s work.”

  So he wanted my insight. Did it start and stop there? And if he wanted a chance to see me again, why not just come out and ask? But maybe it was all in my head. He would have helped any damsel that he happened to find in distress.