Watch Me

I was so caught up in my fantasy that I didn't notice the hand on my arm until well after its owner had pressed up against my side.

"Hey gorgeous, you looking for some fun tonight?" a tall, thin man with pink hair asked. His fingers danced up the length of my arm for a moment before sliding down my side. It was easy to keep my eyes on Jude because Pink Hair wasn’t doing anything for me.

The young man Jude had bestowed his graces on was all over Jude, grinding against him like they were already fucking in the bathroom or behind the club. I doubted the kid was much more than barely legal, but that didn't stop me from wanting to stride across the club and yank him away from Jude. Jude chose that moment to look at me. It took every ounce of willpower I had to pull my mask into an expression of nothingness. I held his gaze for just a moment before he turned his attention back to his date. The guy at my side was making progress southward, but he must've noticed me watching Jude because he chose that moment to shift his body so he was standing in front of me, blocking my view. His long fingers skimmed over my cheek. "If you're looking for something special, I'm right here, beautiful," the man said. “My name is Angel."

I almost asked Angel how old he was but didn’t.

"Maybe some other time, Angel," I said easily. While the guy in front of me was young and I had no illusions about why he was there, I didn't want to hurt his feelings. His touch did nothing for me and there was only one reason for that. And that reason was standing not fifty feet from me getting his groove on with some random stranger. Or what I could only assume was a random stranger.

"You sure, honey?" Angel asked. There was only mild disappointment in his voice.

I nodded. He took out a pen and then pulled my hand toward him. He wrote his phone number on my palm and pressed it against my chest.

"If you change your mind," he said with a wink and then he was off to the next guy. The old man in me wanted to tell him to go home and grow up a little bit before he played around with meaningless sex and nameless conquests. I smiled at my own ridiculousness. The kid had probably had more sex in his lifetime than I had.

I turned my attention back to Jude only to realize he wasn't where he’d been just seconds earlier. The guy he'd been dancing with was still there, but Jude was gone.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself as I began striding through the crowd. Thankfully, since I was taller than many of the people there, I was able to get a good look at the surrounding dance floor. I spied Jude along the far wall. He was barely visible because some guy who easily had a hundred pounds on him was blocking him from my view. The bear of a man had Jude pressed up against the wall. Adrenaline coursed through my body as I struggled to reach them. I didn't see a weapon, but as big as the guy was, he could easily inflict a decent amount of damage on Jude with just his fists.

From my position, it looked like he had his meaty fingers wrapped around Jude's throat. That fact had me shoving people out of my way as I closed the distance between us. I overheard the guy’s words as I neared them.

"You fucking let anyone else here touch you and I’ll—"

That was all he managed to get out before I grabbed him by his greasy ponytail and yanked him backward. He was wearing motorcycle gear, but it looked new instead of worn from the elements. The fact that he was likely only a biker wannabe was confirmed when he tried to take a swing at me, missing me by a mile. I slammed my fist into his jaw, knocking him to the floor in one punch. But one punch wasn't enough. Not when I looked at Jude and saw the red marks around his throat. I leaned down and grabbed the man by his shirt and dragged him upright just so I could knock him back down again. I hit him over and over until someone was dragging me backward.

It turned out to be more than one someone. It was both Jude and one of the bouncers.

"He's had enough!" the bouncer yelled at me and then he was pointing at the door. "Out!"

Since the biker was still conscious, I wasn't done. I took a step forward even as Jude's fingers closed around my arm and he tugged at me.