Page 55 of Passenger Princess

"Come on, Princess," Jaime says a few moments later, his arm going to my waist and guiding me towards a chair. "Let's get you in a seat."

"I've got it, big guy," I say, fighting his arm around my waist. "I can walk, and I won't run off to go slap another asshole who absolutely deserves it."

"I know. Trust me, I know. You're a tough, capable woman. But please, give me this."

I don't have it in me to argue, not with Jaime, so I just let him lead me to the chair, sit me down, and manage the rest of the evening with gratitude.

TWENTY-SEVEN

JAIME

Tension fills the car as we drive back to the hotel after filing a report and picking Peach up from the pet sitter. All I can think about is how I should have been there the entire time, regardless of what anyone insisted on, how I should never have agreed to be in the other room, and what would have happened if I had been just another minute longer.

"Okay, so next meet and greet, you're in every picture," Ava says with a small, self-deprecating laugh. "Attached at the hip for a while, okay?"

I look at her quickly, seeing her holding the cat tightly to her chest like a security blanket.

"If it were up to me, you wouldn'thaveanother meet and greet." Unfortunately, it'snotup to me.

"What? Stop, Jaime, you're insane." I can hear the eye roll in her voice.

"You were almost hit today, Ava. Someone assaulted you. We're lucky it wasn't worse. Why are you acting like this isn't a big deal?"

"Because it's not, Jaime."

"You've got to bekidding me," I murmur.

"I just…this kind of shit, it's going to happen. I signed up for it knowing what I was doing, putting myself on this stupid pedestal, and then I got on social media doing the same. I got into this…job, knowing I would basically be a doll for people to look at and pick apart. I'm okay with it. Sometimes, people think that means I'd be okay with more, which sucks, but that's why I have you, right?" Her smile is uneasy, but not because of the man. It's because of me and what my face must look like. I want to change it, to shift my expression, but I just...can’t.

"That's fucked, Ava."

She shrugs. "That's life, Jaime," she says in a counterargument.

"Not for you," I say, shaking my head and pulling into the hotel parking lot.

"What?"

Everything I was thinking about in the two hours I was away from her came crashing into me: the possession, the need, the want. Followed by everything I felt as I watched that man lunge for her, watched her hit him, and watched her sit silently and in shock as she filed a report with the police.

It's all clashing in my chest, and I need air.

I need air, and I'm realizing I need Ava as if shewereair, and we need to get out of here before I do something stupid.

After putting the SUV in park, I turn it off and step out, slamming the door as I walk around the front. I take a deep breath to steady myself. When I reach her door, I open it, reach over to unbuckle her, then grab the cat and place her in the carrier.

Ava steps out of the car, and I hold Peach's carrier in one hand while I place my hand on her lower back, moving us both toward the hotel entrance without a word.

"Jaime," she says, but I keep walking through the quiet hotel lobby until we're at the bank of elevators, pressing the up button and stepping in when the doors slide open.

"What is going on?" she asks as the doors close us in, her scentfilling the small area and making it impossible for me to breathe again. "You're freaking me out."

I hit the button for the top floor and wait for the doors to shut, turning to her. "The fact that you're not freaked by what happened is freaking me out even more, Ava."

She rolls her eyes before she steps back and crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her tits up a bit. "It's just some weirdo, it's fine."

I shake my head and take a step closer to her. "No, it’s not." My voice is low, even to my ears.

"It's just part of this gig. It happens to all the girls. We have things in place—likeyou, Jaime—to make it less dangerous." She takes a step back, her back hitting the metal of the elevator.

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