Page 83 of Fitch

I spun around to see a guy I’d never seen before.

He looked me up and down with a familiar sleazy gleam. “You working tonight?”

“No, sorry. I’m just waiting for someone.”

“You’re waiting for me, ain’tcha,” sleazeball said.

“No,” I said, firmly this time. He was bigger than me, though most men were. But I’d dealt with hundreds of guys like this. He’d move on soon enough. I nodded across the street. “Try the next corner down, you might have some better luck.”

He took a step closer and raised his hand, finger grazing my shirt. I batted his hand away before he could grab me, but then in a flash, there was a wall of expensive suit in front of me. Dominic’s big hand wrapped around the man’s wrist.

“He said no,” Dominic snapped, his voice sharp as a razor. He stood tall, commanding, protecting me. Then his voice got quiet and threatening as he inched closer to the guy. “If you need a lesson in manners and consent, I’ll be only happy to give it to you.”

Jesus H. Christ.

The guy backed off, muttering as he stumbled down the street, and my heart was thundering.

I pulled on his sleeve, and he turned to face me.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, his eyes scanning my face, my chest.

“I’m fine,” I managed. “Are you okay? That was pretty intense.”

“Intense?” Dominic asked, confused. “He was about to?—”

“I meant intense as in hot,” I clarified. “You went all daddy bear on his arse.”

He glowered at me. “I fail to see the humour, Fitch.”

“Don’t be alarmed, shit like that happens all the time. But, while I could have handled him by myself, I do appreciate you coming to save me. Very chivalrous of you.” I leaned up on my toes. “I think you earned a reward.”

“Fitch?” Mr Stephanopoulos called out from the doorway to his store. “You okay there?”

I grinned at him, putting my hand on Dominic’s chest. “I am, thank you, Mr Stephanopoulos. I’m gonna be a whole lot better in about twenty minutes, if you know what I mean.”

The kind old man rolled his eyes and waved me off, and Dominic sighed. He took my hand and stalked off to the corner, pulling me along. I had to hustle to keep up.

“Your legs are longer than mine, remember,” I said. Then I saw his car on a bit of an angle, how it looked like he’d come to a stop in a hurry. “Why are you parked in the bus zone anyway?”

“Because when I got here, I saw that man propositioning you, so I stopped.” He opened the passenger side door for me. He was still mad, and I hoped that possessiveness would carry over into the bedroom.

“Thank you, daddy,” I whispered, giving him a bright smile and a little butt wiggle before I got in.

I watched him walk around the front of the car, and when he got in behind the wheel, I noticed something else.

He looked tired and stressed, and I’d just added to that. “You okay, Dominic?” I asked. It always got his attention when I used his name. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

He shot me a look, then his expression softened as he sighed. “Just been a long two days, that’s all. Then that filthy man...” His words trailed off to a growl.

I frowned, taking his hand and lifting it to my lips. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I deal with guys like that all the time.”

His jaw clenched as he drove. “That’s not helping.”

“Most are pretty harmless,” I tried, realising that probably didn’t help either. But it was a fact of life for me, something I dealt with all the time.

He clearly wasn’t in a patient mood. “I’m sorry you’ve had a rough couple of days,” I said gently. “I’m going to make tonight all about you.”

It took a second or two, but he tried to smile. “Oh, yeah? And how are you going to do that?”

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