Naughty Girl (8 page)

Will laughed and turned to me. “You
can’t be serious.
This guy, Alex?
Really?”

He was still holding me tight and
all I could do was nod as his fingers dug into me.

“Dead serious,” Paul said, quietly,
his voice rumbling as he tried to maintain control. “Let Alex go. Then I think
you should leave.”

Will finally released his grip on my
hair and wrists, tossing me backwards against the wall. “Fine, you whore. You’ll
come crawling back.” He looked over at Paul. “Have fun with this slut.”

Paul caught me in his arms, his
strong body holding me up. He made sure I had my balance and then stepped
toward Will, swinging at him with his right fist. “That is no way to treat a
lady, asshole!”

“Alex’s no lady, you asshole. She's
nothing more than a whore,” Will spat. Paul's patience with him was wearing
thin, I could see his nostrils flaring as he took deep breaths, trying to
maintain his composure. When Will made a move towards me, Paul's fist flew
threw the air, catching will completely off guard.

Two security guards grabbed him and
led him out the door as he yelled, “This isn’t the end of this, dickhead.”

Paul came back over to me, a look of
concern on his face. “Are you ok, princess?”

I smiled at him wryly and nodded. “Yes,
I’m ok.” I rubbed my wrists where Will had been gripping them so tight. “Thank
you for coming over. Unfortunately, he probably means what he says when he
claims this isn’t the end of this.”

He nodded. “You’re probably right. Guys
like him don’t go quietly.” He pulled out a bar stool for me to sit on. “Water
here, please,” he called out to the bartender. He turned back to me. “Are you
sure you’re ok?”

I looked down. My hands were
shaking. “Yes, I am. I think I’m going to call a cab though and head home. Enough
fun for the night.” I gave him a tight smile. “I’m sorry for all the trouble.”

The bartender handed him a bottle of
water. He opened it and handed it to me. “Here, drink.” He commanded as he
brought the water up to my lips so I could take a sip. “It’s no trouble, Alex. I
would protect you from anyone.” The cool water passed my lips as I looked over
at Paul, my heart rapidly beating at his words. I had to resist the urge to sob
and climb on his lap to let him hold me.

He pulled the water away, putting
the cap back on. “Let me take you home.”

I shook my head. “You don’t have to.
A cab is fine.” I was embarrassed by the whole thing and wasn’t sure if Paul
was just being nice or not.

He held up a finger to my lips. “Shhhh
..
.No arguing.” I opened my mouth to protest again. He
laughed and held up a hand. “We need to talk anyway.”

He was right. We needed to talk,
even more so after that little fiasco. “Fine. You’re right.”

Paul raised an eyebrow at me. “Did
you just say I was right?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I did. Don’t
get used to it.” At least he still had his sense of humor.

He stood up. “Oh, I won’t, trust me.
Let me go tell Max I’m leaving and I’ll meet you by the front door.”

I nodded, butterflies forming in my
stomach. I knew we needed to talk, but how would it go? Would he be mad about
Will? Would he not want to be with me now? Maybe some fresh air would calm my
nerves. I grabbed my purse and headed out the door. I’d wait for Paul in the
parking lot.

After combing the club for what felt
like forever, I finally found Max standing in the corner, talking to another
Dom. “Hey man, I hate to interrupt you, but we had an issue a bit ago with Alex
and some old Dom, Will? I took care of it, but I have to go. I’m going to take
Alex home. Not sure if I’ll be back.”

Max opened his mouth in surprise. “Will’s
back? What happened?”

I ran my hand through my hair. Apparently
everyone knew about Alex and
Will
except me. “Will was
giving Alex a hard time; wouldn’t take no for an answer. Grabbing her, calling
her all sorts of names. It wasn't good. I finally had to intervene and kick him
out.” I looked down at my bruised knuckle. “After I hit him.”

“Shit, really? Will has been coming
here forever. He and Alex were play partners. And you hit him?” Max looked
panicked.

“Yeah. He was pulling her hair and
almost broke both of her wrists. Then he pushed her so hard she almost fell. She
would’ve if I hadn’t been standing there.” I felt my blood boil again at the
thought of how he’d treated Alex.

Max ran his hand over his face. “Wow,
interesting. I wonder what he is doing back in town.”

I gritted my teeth. “I asked him to
leave nicely, but he wouldn’t listen. Two security guys took him out.”

Max sighed. “Great. I can’t imagine
that’s the last we’ll hear from him.”

I shook my head. “Probably not. Sorry,
man. I hope he doesn’t cause troubles here.”

“It’s ok. I’m pretty sure you did
what you needed to. There are plenty of people here that can vouch that he’s a
hothead. Thanks. Is Alex ok?”

“I think so. A little shaken up
maybe. I’m going to take her home. We need to talk anyway.”

Max grinned. “Yeah you do. What’s
going on with you two? I thought things were going well, but I haven’t seen you
guys together for a few days. And you look like hell.”

I scowled at him. “Yeah, they were. I’m
not sure to be honest. I think maybe I was ready to take things to the next
step, but she wasn’t. I don’t know.” I couldn’t wait to sit down and talk to
her and figure this all out.

“I also want to make sure he’s not
sitting at her place. I’m sure he won’t leave her alone. I also told him that I
was her Dom now. He really didn’t like that.”

Max whistled and chuckled. “Shit
man, you’re in trouble. Will has always been one possessive son of a bitch. I
know he didn’t have a collar on Alex, but he acted liked he owned her all the
same. He didn’t take it very well when she told him she wasn't interested in
playing anymore. It was a good thing for her he moved halfway across the
country.” A look of concern passed over his face. “Let me know if you need me
when you get there.”

“I will. Hopefully I’m worried for
nothing. And hopefully he won’t show up here. Have a good night.” I shook Max’s
hand and went to find Alex.

Will was lucky I was able to control
myself and not beat him senseless. I hated seeing men mistreating women. Being
a Dom didn’t mean being bossy, or give you an excuse to abuse women. I hated
assholes that confused being an abusive prick with being a Dom. Then to see
someone do it to this strong woman I cared about only made me more furious.

I got to the door of the club and
panicked when I didn't see Alex.
Had she changed her mind? Had Will shown up when I was
talking to Max?

I bolted out the door and found Alex
standing there looking so vulnerable in the dim light of the parking lot. I
felt a tug at my heart. There was no doubt I loved this woman. She had managed
to melt the icy walls I had put up around my heart after Jessica.

“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” I
scolded her, walking up behind her, rubbing her arms with my hands to warm her
up.

She jumped, slightly startled at my
words. She must still be on edge. “I was waiting for you. I needed the fresh
air.”

I moved next to her, looking down at
her. She had thrown her hair back in a ponytail and her eye makeup was smeared
just a little. She didn’t look so tough all of a sudden and it took all I had
to not to scoop her up in my arms and carry her to my car.

“My car is over here,” I put my hand
on the small of her back, guiding her in the direction of my car parked in the
back of the parking lot. When we arrived at my vehicle, I unlocked the doors
and opened the passenger door for her.

“Thank you,” she murmured as she
slid into her seat.

“You’re welcome.” I shut the door
behind her and headed to the driver’s side. I got inside and started the car. I
was suddenly so nervous. Did I want to profess my love for her and let her
shoot me down again?

As much as it surprised me, I
realized I wanted that more than anything. It was a chance I had to take.

I gave him my address and he put it
in the GPS. Funny, we had been together all this time and he didn’t even know
where I lived.

We drove in silence for a while. I
finally sighed as my head fell back against the headrest. “Thank you for coming
to my rescue. Will isn’t my Dom. Usually I can handle him, but he must have had
some pent up aggression tonight.”

“He seemed to think you belong to
him. Why? And what do you mean by ‘usually you can handle him’?” It hurt that
Paul wouldn't look me in the eye. His hands tensed on the steering wheel as he
stared straight ahead.

“We’ve played some in the past, but
it’s been awhile. Before you got here, he moved to California for work. I
hadn’t planned on continuing our relationship, if you could call it that, in
any way. I haven’t even talked to him at all since he left - not a call, not a
text, not even an email. I didn’t know he was back in town and I certainly
didn’t know he was going to be at the club tonight.” I slumped down in the
seat, feeling defeated.

Paul glanced over at me, the vein
twitching in his neck. “I thought Will was going to drag you out of the club
caveman style tonight.”

I snorted, “He probably would have
if you hadn’t stopped him. Sadly, his reaction didn't surprise me. It’s not the
first time he’s gotten
all-possessive
on me. I made it
clear I didn’t want a collar from him and he didn’t own me back when we were
together, but I guess he had other ideas.”

“I hated seeing you get mistreated,”
he said quietly. “I wanted to do a lot more than punch him for laying his hands
on you.”

My jaw dropped a little in surprise.
Did that mean he was still interested in collaring me? Or was it just the
protective Dom in him coming out. I wasn’t sure.

“Look, about the other night,” I
started to apologize for leaving him when my phone chirped. It was Will.

 
We are not done yet, slut.

My hands started to shake again.

Paul must’ve noticed my tremors. “Was
that
- ?
”

I looked over at him, “Yes,” I
interrupted him, biting my lip, as he parked his car in front of my condo.

“What does it say?” He reached for
my phone. His gaze darkened as he read the text. He glanced up at me, the vein
twitching in his neck again. “You aren’t staying here alone tonight; don’t even
argue with me, Alex. You can’t be here alone if he shows up.”

I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t.
For some reason, Will’s text scared me. I knew he had a darker side; that’s
what had drawn me to him in the first place. The thought of Paul being in my
condo with me tonight made me feel safe. “Ok, thank you.”

As the adrenaline started to wear
off, I felt exhausted. I just wanted to get into some comfortable clothes, have
a glass of wine, and go to bed.

I got out of Paul’s car and headed
to my door. As I unlocked it and started to walk in, Paul grabbed my arm. “Let
me go first just in case. Wait here.”

I stood in the doorway, mesmerized
by him. I was used to his commanding side, but seeing him the comforting and
protective side of him surprised me. Part of me wanted to wrap myself around
him and never let go. Stephanie was right; I was a fool to fight this.

My phone chirped again and I jumped,
nearly dropping it. Looking down, I saw it was just Stephanie.

 
Are you ok? I heard what happened with Will.

Paul walked over to me. “Everything
looks fine.” He nodded at my phone. “That’s not Will again, is it?”