Page 53 of Passenger Princess

And then he leans down, placing a quick peck to my lips like he can’t resist himself before he moves to let me go. His hand gently moves as his fingers linger like he doesn’t want to let go. Once he knows I won't fall on myself once more, he crosses his arms on his chest and nods, then tips his head toward the other room.

"Fine, I'll go with Anne, but not because Regina wants me to. Because you asked me to. But I'll be having a talk with the security here, warning them about how you are."

I smile because how could I not?

"Thanks, big guy."

TWENTY-SIX

AVA

The fan meet and greet was fun for the first two hours, but I'm ready to have the spotlight off me.

I'm smiling so much my jaw is starting to get tired, but when I look at the clock above the door, we've only got about five more minutes before we'll be out and headed to dinner, where I can eat, and then sneak out quietly and head back to the hotel for the night.

"Big fan, Ava," a man says after a group of young girls walks off, giggling. He puts his hand out to shake, and I accept it with my gracious pageant smile plastered across my face, but it slips just a bit when he uses the handshake to tug me into him, forcing me into a hug. His cheap cologne envelopes me, and when I step back, it clings to me. I don't say no to hugs since I usually don't mind it, especially with young fans, but now I'm contemplating adding it to the rules.

In this moment, when my eyes drift to the corner Jaime was going to stand in, I regret not pushing Regina to let me keep him at my side.

This man makes me feel uneasy.

"You're gorgeous, which you know, of course. I'd love to take you out tonight and help you get a more intimate feel for the city of Augusta."

Absolutely the fuck not.

I give him a kind but closed-lip smile, the type women give just to appease creeps, and shake my head. "Unfortunately, I've got so much going on, I don't have time for anything else. Thank you so much for the offer, though," I say apologetically. The door to the room closes, indicating that this man and the three groups behind him are the last of the meet and greet.

He reaches into his pocket, grabs his wallet, and pulls out a card. "My number, in case you change your mind." He hands it to me with a wink, and I grab it with as small of a smile as I can manage with the cameras still on me before setting it on the small table next to me we used for holding the small gifts or letters people have given me or signing things.

I shift back to the creep, facing the assistant who is holding his phone, and turn for a photo. As I do, his hand moves behind me, landing on my lower back, and even though I want to tell him to fuck off, I grin and bear it, ready to do whatever it takes for his turn to be done. Cameras click all around as I smile, tilting my head a bit, and then it happens.

His hand moves down and then out, and he slaps my ass.

It's not hard, the angle strange, but he does it all the same, and I step back, shocked. I don't register anything other than the wide, proud grin on his lips.

"Did you just slap my ass?" I ask, still in shock. The side door opens and closes as I do, but I don't move my gaze, continuing to stare at this man.

"Oh, come on, it was just a love tap," he says with a chuckle and that same self-satisfied dude-bro look on his face.

"A love tap? Alove tap?"

"Don't make it a bigger deal than it was," he says, hands raised in that way asshole men do when they feel like a woman is overreacting.

He wants overreacting? I'll give it to him.

I pull my hand back and slap him across his cheek, staggering a bit as I do, my heels putting off my centerof gravity.

"What the fuc—" he says, then stops when someone comes behind him, grabbing his arms and pinning them behind him. I barely even registered that the man had started to lift his hand to strike me.

And holding him back is Jaime.

I don't even know when he came back or when he walked into the room, but for the first time in a long time, I feel safe.

Relieved.

Jaime's eyes are on mine as he holds the man's arms back behind his back with ease, regardless of how much he fights, jerking against the hold.

"What the fuck, man?" the man spews.

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