“Where’s that fine ass,” he snickered. “Under these silly skirts. You should be naked and crawling on your knees.”
He tried to snatch a handful of hair, but misjudged the distance. She sank her teeth into his finger.
He hollered. “You—”
“Unhand her!” The man’s voice was breathless. “You’ll not lay a finger on her.”
Rasser stiffened. She opened her mouth and he withdrew his hand, pushing her off his lap. She rolled off and onto the hard floor. Looking up, she recognized her rescuer—Gawen. The huge man towered upward, filling the archway, and his hands were bunched into fists.
“You’ll not strike a senator, would you?” Rasser taunted, rising to his feet.
In the dim light, Paige couldn’t see Gawen’s face, but she heard his heavy breathing.
“I would protect her, as my senator asked me to do. I am loyal to him and the Empire. You have no honor. This girl is here with the emperor’s permission.” Gawen took a step forward and held out his hand to Paige.
She hesitated for a brief second. It wasn’t a hard decision. Gawen might not have taken to having her around, but he was a man of his word. He pulled her up onto her feet. Seeing the tear in her dress and her glowing cheek, he lurched toward Rasser, shoving her behind his back at the same time.
“If you were not a senator…” he seethed. “Consider yourself lucky. Jamen will have you censured for this.”
Rasser snorted. “Let him try.”
“I will bear witness—”
“For a human?” Rasser scoffed.
“For a human, yes,” Gawen said firmly. “Go!”
Rasser brushed past Gawen and Paige scuttled to stand to one side as he marched out of the little alcove. Only when he disappeared out of sight did she flop against the giant.
“Thank you,” she murmured, fighting back the tears.
Gawen cleared his throat, stiffening next to her, his arms kept to his sides. “Are you hurt?”
She ignored her throbbing cheek and shook her head. “He hates me.”
Gawen eased her off his chest. “He hates all but the Vendu. He will not change. Some of us are different,” he added quietly.
She wiped her eyes. “Jamen asked you to look out for me?”
He nodded. “He feared this might happen. Although, I don’t think he imagined it would be another senator.”
“You’ve been following me, when I walk in the streets.” She hadn’t imagined him being there after all and the reason for his presence shocked her.
“Yes. Wherever you might be at risk. The lobby is open to the public, so he was concerned somebody might try to assassinate you.” He cocked his head toward the light as she digested the ramifications of what he was saying—somebody might want her dead? How serious was the threat? “Let me escort you back up.”
As they approached the elevator, he halted and lowered his voice to a near whisper. “I want to say, I am sorry. I was not watching you close enough. I looked away, then you were gone.”
“You stopped him, though,” she said. “I will tell Jamen you saved me.”
His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Thank you. I will not fail you again.”
Jamen knew immediately something was wrong. He pressed her into his chest and she heard the pounding of his heartbeat, the rapid breathing. He contained his anger as Gawen explained what had happened.
“Gawen intervened,” she said, but from the furrows in Jamen’s forehead as he inspected her cheekbone, she knew he wasn’t convinced Gawen had acted quickly enough.
“We’ll speak later,” he said to Gawen and abandoning his work, he took her to their apartment.
Alone, she disintegrated. The tears she held back, but the sense of fear and indignity consumed her. The bar