Ew, that’s just fucking gross. I’m momentarily shocked that he actually fondled me, but it lasts only a second. I knock his hand off and try to push my way past him, but he has the gall to reach back out and try to grab me again.
All out of patience, and apparently not concerned myself with the fact that we are in a public place, I cock my arm back and get ready to punch him square in the snout. Before I can let my hand fly though, another hand reaches out and grabs Brian by the shoulder, slinging him away from me.
Brian is too drunk to fight against that kind of momentum and he goes sailing across the room, crashing into an empty table and chairs, where he falls to the floor.
And there’s my knight in shining armor, standing over him with fists clenched and murder in his eyes.
Matt Connover.
Matt reaches down and grabs Brian by the lapels of his jacket, hauling him off the floor. No one makes a move to intervene because Matt looks to be in control, although he seems to be vibrating with the need to do violence.
Putting his face in Brian’s, he grits, “It will do me no good to beat your ass or tell you how reprehensible your conduct is, because you won’t remember it in the morning. Rest assured… I’ll be by your hotel room first thing in the morning, and then I’ll decide which part of me you’ll get.”
Brian stares at Matt without any comprehension of what he did… yes, he’s that drunk. Matt is disgusted and he gives Brian a solid push while releasing his grip, causing Brian to stumble backward a few steps. He doesn’t fall down only by the grace of a few of the other lawyers that catch him.
Spinning away, Matt walks past me out the bar, growling, “Let’s go.”
Grabbing my purse, I hurry to catch up to him.
Once the doors on the elevator shut, I have the nerve to look up to Matt. He’s pissed, and I’m not sure if it’s at Brian, me, or both of us.
“I’m sorry,” I say, because the silence is awkward, and because I think that’s what he’s waiting for.
“For what?” he asks in surprise.
“I don’t know,” I offer lamely. “I thought you were pissed at me.”
“Mac… you have nothing to be sorry for. That pig was drunk and inappropriate with you. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”
“Well, that’s a little overboard,” I say with a laugh. “I’m sure he got the message how very wrong it was.”
“No,” Matt says, his voice icy. “He didn’t get the message. But he will tomorrow morning when I pay him a visit.”
“What will you do?” I ask, wondering if Matt would truly beat his ass. I don’t want him to do that, but it sure would be awesome to know that someone wanted to do that on my behalf.
“He’s off the case. I’m sending him packing.”
“What?” I say, now feeling extreme guilt that Brian would lose his job. “You can’t do that. He was just drunk.”
Matt pushes away from the wall of the elevator where he’d been leaning, and stalks up to me. He gets all in my personal space, but I don’t step back from it. Unfortunately, I’m a bad, bad girl, because damn it… I like him in my space.
Leaning down, Matt practically growls at me, “He had his fucking hands on your breast, Mac.”
I wish I could tell you it was the violence in his voice, or even the absolute menace he was portraying, that got me excited, but it wasn’t… it was the pure, flat-out jealousy that was practically dripping off his lips that got my motor running.
Matt-Fucking-Connover is jealous another man was touching me.
I’m so going to milk this for all it’s worth.
“So what if he was touching me?” I whisper.
The golden tones in Matt’s eyes turn a deep shade of amber, and he steps in even closer, now only a mere inch or so separating our bodies. “Because it should be my hands that are on your body… only mine.”