She stepped forward, but he was suddenly there, invading her personal space. He leaned over her, palms to the wall over her head, caging her in. His cologne drifted to her, something rich and musky that reminded her of fine cigars and whiskey. She choked on it.
“Hey, beautiful. Did your lover run out on you?”
Her stomach clenched. “No. He’s picking me up.”
The stranger raised a brow and glanced at the elevator. He smirked. “So you spent the night alone? No one to warm your bed?”
She pushed against his chest. Her shove didn’t move him. “Back off. I’m not interested in talking to you.”
He grabbed her wrists, dragged her hands down his stomach, and pressed them to the bulge in his pants. With his mouth at her ear, he whispered, “Talking isn’t what I want to do, little female.”
She gritted her teeth. She would not freak out. They were in public. Everything was fine. He couldn’t do anything to her with people only a few feet away. The rationalization gave her courage. “Move or I’ll scream.”
“Is that a promise?”
He directed her hands, forcing her to stroke him.
Oh no. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be.
She opened her mouth to yell for help, but he swallowed her cry. He kissed her while he used her hands to stimulate him. She bucked and squirmed, but her cries were muffled.
And nobody came over.
She dug her nails into his groin, squeezing his trapped shaft as hard as she could. He only groaned and shoved his hips closer. Tears ran down her cheeks. Tremors shook her body. She didn’t know how to stop him. He was too strong.
“Get your hands off her.”
The man kissing her pulled back at Josh’s bellowed order. “We’ll finish that later, sweet thing. I’m patient. I’ll wait my turn to get between your thighs.”
Josh grabbed the guy’s shoulders and shoved him. The push knocked the guy over a chair. It tipped, landing on top him. People gasped, some woman screamed, but the man who’d forced himself on Jazz grinned.
“Come near her again, and you’ll regret it.” Josh pressed a booted foot to the guy’s chest, then leaned forward on the bent leg. The man on the floor gasped. Josh smiled and pushed a little harder until the guy groaned. “It’ll be your last mistake. Do you understand me?”
The guy gazed at Josh with the same heated lust he’d shown her. “Oh yeah. I understand. Consider your warning delivered.”
Josh gave him one last hard glare, then grabbed her hand. She tumbled against him. He tucked her close and walked across the room, never taking his eyes off the sprawled man until the revolving door blocked him from view.
A light mist fell, and the humidity in the air made it hard to breathe. Add in the terror still making her limbs shaky, and she was close to a full-fledged anxiety attack. Josh squeezed her arm. The gentle reminder she wasn’t alone calmed her. She stepped closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
His SUV was a welcome sight. It meant they’d be safe soon. He popped the locks and waited until she was inside before jogging around the car and getting in.
He turned in his seat, one leg bent. “What happened?”
She hadn’t mentioned anything in the text other than she needed him ASAP because really…what was she supposed to say? She wasn’t so sure she knew what was the truth and what was a lie. Everything had seemed so much clearer the previous night.
She glanced from Josh’s concerned face to the hotel. “Not now. We’ve got to get out of here. He might come out.” And beat Josh. Rafe struck her as the possessive type.
One corner of Josh’s mouth lifted. “That jerk is not going to bother you while I’m here.”
“Not him.” At the sight of Josh’s confusion, she forced herself to add, “The man I spent the night with.”
Josh’s lips thinned. His nostrils flared. He tipped her chin so she met his narrowed eyes. “Did he hurt you? Force you?” He snapped his teeth together. “I’ll kill him.”
Her first instinct was to protect Rafe. She didn’t fight it. Josh looked capable of carrying out the threat. She wasn’t sure Rafe deserved it. Maybe the crazy part of her that wanted to throw herself back into Rafe’s arms was right, but she couldn’t trust it. The risks were too great. She had to get her kids to safety first, then worry about unraveling the truth.
“No, wait. He didn’t hurt me.”
“Then what? Did you wake up and have second thoughts?”
She glanced at the lobby door. The guy who’d groped her stood under the awning with a phone pressed to his ear. He wasn’t looking their way, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t watching them. Or maybe she was just being paranoid.
The guy slid his phone into his pocket and strode across the lot. She tensed. He was headed their way. Josh must’ve noticed him too. He cursed and started the car, but the guy walked down the next aisle to where a cab waited. He opened the door but turned his head and locked gazes with her. He winked, got in the cab, and was gone.
She shivered, and Josh took her hand in his. It was warm, comforting, but his touch didn’t chase away the chill. She turned the heater on. Josh frowned but didn’t say anything. It was over eighty degrees, but she couldn’t stop shaking. The blast of hot air helped. The tremors slowed. She faced Josh.
“I never got the chance to talk to you about Megan.”
“That can wait. Why don’t you tell me why you called me to come rescue you from the guy you spent the night with?”
“Actually, it can’t. Megan is one of the reasons I ran from him.”
“What?” He cut her a glance. The enraged look he’d worn for the guy
