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“Does there seem to be any trouble, gentlemen?” came a deep, velvety voice, and for a moment, everything stopped.

All the tugging, yanking, and shoving came to a halt. Juliette squinted at the shadowy figure of a man who had apparently decided to join them. But in the darkness, and with her vision pathetically blurred, all she could make out was a vague silhouette.

The grip on her arm tightened, making her wince.

“Get lost!” barked one of the men beside her. “Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

The man—or should she say the shadow of the new man—scoffed and chuckled. “Come on, guys, let her go. It doesn’t have to get messy.”

“Oh, please!” the second guy scoffed, and although she could hardly see his face, she could imagine him rolling his eyes. “Just mind your own fucking business or else.”

“Or else what?” the new man challenged, and everything once again fell silent.

“Or else you’ll regret it, you asshole,” the third man retorted, his voice laced with menace.

Juliette sobbed silently, wondering what the hell was going on. This was not what she had planned for the night. No. This was the exact opposite of what she had in mind. She was supposed to surprise Tanner with a date night. They were supposed to take their relationship to the next level. She was supposed to give her innocence to him, and he was supposed to be gentle while making love to her.

But this? This was a nightmare. A disaster she never saw coming.

Her gasp cut through the air as she heard the splashing of hurried footsteps and saw someone lunging at the shadowy figure. To her surprise, the man easily sidestepped, and the person who had lunged ended up crashing hard onto the waterlogged street.

“You’re wasting your time,” said the same stranger in a bored tone, who somehow wasn’t ready to give up. She could tell he was determined to save her, and it just dawned on her that she was supposed to run to him if the opportunity arose.

“And you’re wasting away your life,” sneered the man still holding her. “Do you even have a clue who you’re fucking with? You know what? It’s not too late. Just back the fuck off, and maybe we won’t make you regret it. Believe me, you don’t want to end up as tomorrow’s fucking headline.”

“Well, there would be headlines for sure,” said the stranger, terrifyingly confident. “But not about me.”

Before Juliette could understand what the hell he meant by it, a gunshot went off.

———

“You saved my ass,” slurred Juliette, as the world around her continued to spin, the lights flickering like blurry diamonds.

She noticed the scenery around her change from the cold, wet street to the cozy warmth of an expensive car. The scent in the air… it was so much better than the one she had been engulfed in since the moment she entered that awful bar. It reminded her that she wasn’t cut out for such sketchy places. Nope. Not at all.

Maybe that’s why her mom always warned her never to compromise on her comfort. Her mother had known that such a drastic change in her surroundings wouldn’t sit well with someone who grew up in wealth. It was not the arrogance of her mother, but the wisdom Juliette only now understood.

“Well, that’s one way to put it,” she heard the same deep voice skim over her skin, and she realized she wasn’t about to get raped anymore. This man had saved her. He had come like a knight in shiny armor and helped this damsel in distress.

Juliette would have scoffed at the turn of events of the night if not for the sadness that had once again taken hold of her. She didn’t know what she was going to do next. Nothing made sense. She felt as if her life had come to an end, as if there was nothing more to live for. Her heart was broken so terribly by those two pigs, all she felt was more and more pain.

Juliette threw her head back and looked out the window, lazing staring at the passing scenery. Not that anything was clear enough for her to enjoy the twinkling city. All she knew was that the car was moving, and she had no clue where they were headed.

“Where are we going?” she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper, as she instinctively snuggled closer to him, wrapping her arm around his and burying her face into his neck.

“Somewhere I can take care of you,” the man replied, and although she was clinging to him like some panda in need of love and attention, he made no move to peel her off him. It was as if he knew exactly what she needed. Which was kind of weird as she didn’t even know him. Wait, or did she?

“Do I know you?” she asked, peering up at him and squinting to get a better look at his face, but all she could see was the shifting pattern of lights from the window casting shadows on his features. His face was still too vague for her to recognize him.

“What makes you think you do?” he replied, skillfully dodging the question.

Not that Juliette noticed. She was too drunk to understand what he just did.

She pouted, unsure. “I don’t know? I just feel like I do. Like a gut feeling, you know?”

“Well, your gut is drunk. Probably not the best time to trust it.”

He had a point. “So, I don’t know you?”

She felt his fingers press against her chin, as he lifted it a tad, as if wanting to have a better look at her face. His thumb caressed her cheek. “What difference does it make?”

“It does to me,” she mumbled, blinking up at him. “I need to know so I can thank you properly. You did save my life.”

The man laughed, and it wasn’t the kind of laugh that gave her goosebumps. No. It was different. His laugh made butterflies flutter in her belly. She felt ticklish under his intense gaze. Warm, even.

“You don’t have to know me to thank me.”

“What if I wanna take you on a ‘thank you’ lunch, or maybe dinner?”

He laughed again and once more time butterflies danced vigorously in her stomach.

“Aren’t you being too forward, sweet thing? We’ve only just met.”

She frowned, not understanding what he meant. Cocking her head to the side, she felt her wet hair brush against her shoulder. “What’s forward about a ‘thank you’ lunch?”

“You’re asking me on a date,” he deadpanned. But when she tapped his fingers on his mouth, she felt his lips spread into a half-grin. Emboldened, Juliette traced her fingers along his sharp jawline.

“You’re quite the looker, aren’t you?” she teased, flashing a playful grin.

“Well, I suppose some would say so,” he replied, a hint of modesty in his tone.

“You are. You are very handsome.”

“You can’t be that sure.”

“I am. And I’m never wrong about such things.”

“What is it? A gut feeling again?” he sounded amused.

Juliette couldn’t help but grin. “Perhaps?”

Before she could say anything more, the car came to an abrupt halt.

However, a sharp shiver ran down her spine when instead of moving out, he brought his deliciously warm mouth close to her ear and whispered seductively.

“Come on, sweet thing, let’s get you changed. We wouldn’t want you catching a cold and delaying our future ‘thank you’ date, now would we?”