Bastards!
“What in the hell are you doing?” Travis bellowed, causing Ally’s head to snap forward, and a shot glass to pop out of her mouth. Judging by the amount of empty glasses already on the table, it wasn’t the first.
Ally eyed him in horror, her tongue snaking out to catch white cream from her lips.
Anger was pulsating in waves from Travis as he growled, “Take your f**king hands off her or I’ll break every finger you’ve got.” Seeing the man, any man, handling Ally made him lose control. And the fact that he was holding Ally in a submissive position nearly had him jumping on top of the guy and pounding the hell out of him.
The older man backed away from her. “Look, man, I’m not looking for a fight. Ally’s my employee. We were just celebrating her birthday.”
“They’re all friends,” Ally confirmed, licking at her lips again.
“This your guy, Ally?” the older man asked, looking toward Ally.
“No,” Ally replied, moving over to Travis. “What are you doing here?” she whispered anxiously.
“I’m Travis Harrison. And she’s my employee, too.” Now why in the hell had he said that? He hated telling people who he was. There were very few people who wouldn’t recognize the name. He looked down at Ally with a scowl. “Are you sure they weren’t hurting you?”
“Totally sure,” she replied, her green eyes slightly glassy.
It was the only answer that kept Travis from beating the hell out of all the men. “Are you drunk?” he asked, surprised.
She covered her mouth and hiccupped. “I think I might be a little tipsy. I don’t usually drink.”
“I’m taking her home. She’s not driving,” the older man who’d been holding Ally’s hands behind her back added.
Only in your f**king dreams, man. Travis shot the auburn-haired guy a warning look. “I’m taking her home,” he informed everyone, his tone daring them to argue. There was no way he was letting anybody near her right now. She was too damn vulnerable in her condition.
Ally put a hand on his arm, and he looked down into her liquid emerald eyes, and then raked her entire body with his gaze. The tank top she was wearing was thin and wet, and he could see the outline of her ni**les through the skimpy, low-cut top and obviously damp bra. She had on jeans and sneakers, and he noticed for the first time that her hair was down, the mass of blonde curls tumbling over her shoulders.
“I was just doing Blow Jobs. I’ve never done them before. Would you like a Blow Job?” Ally asked him, licking her lips again.
Travis almost came in his jeans. Ally was definitely a little beyond tipsy, and had no idea what she was saying. There was no guile on her face, no seductive expression. She was simply offering him a drink because she was in an inebriated daze. But Christ, hearing those words from her lips was one of his horniest fantasies, and watching her flick her tongue to keep licking her sticky, full lips was nearly killing him.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door. “Time to go home, Alison.”
“Wait.” She pulled her hand from his and turned to Charlie. “Thanks, Charlie. I had…fun.”
Charlie grabbed her purse from under the bar and handed it to her. “Have a good birthday, Ally,” he said sincerely.
Travis grabbed her hand, watching her wave happily at the remaining people in the bar as he dragged her out the door.
“Guess you didn’t want a Blow Job. They’re actually really good,” Ally told him cheerfully as they exited the bar.
“For Christ’s sake…stop saying that, Alison.” Travis tried to sound calm, tried to keep the desperation out of his voice. If she asked him about that one more time, his c**k was definitely going to detonate.
He got her to the car and strapped her into the seat, before moving around to the driver’s side. Tomorrow, they were going to have a very serious talk about her safety. Or maybe there would be no talk…just action. That was what he was good at, and he planned on making certain that Ally was okay from now on. Obviously no one else seemed to worry about her, and her dickhead fiancé had never cared.
Travis knew her parents were both dead, and that she had no siblings. Her father had died when she was very young, and her mother had passed away soon after she had started college. No wonder she had been ripe for the first ass**le who had promised her forever. She’d been easy pickings for a hustler like her ex, probably still grieving and alone. Not that she had shared those things with him. Most of her history he’d learned from Kade, and for some reason, that completely pissed him off.
Maybe she talks to Kade because he isn’t an ass**le to her like I am.
Travis drove Ally home, saying very little except to get directions to her house. He was afraid that if he said anything, he would definitely lose control. There was no forgetting that moment when he’d seen her with her hands being held behind her back by some other guy. His protective instincts had flared, and he’d been ready to throttle the bastard just for touching Ally, even though the situation had been mostly innocent. He hadn’t reasoned, hadn’t thought anything through…he’d just reacted. Things didn’t work that way for him, not usually. He was a planner, a thinker, weighing the risks and benefits of every action. And he never, ever did anything remotely emotional or scandalous.
“Why did you come to the bar tonight?” Ally asked quietly, sounding more lucid; clearly, the drive home had sobered her up a little. “I know it’s definitely not one of your usual hangouts.”
“I wanted to make sure you were doing okay,” Travis answered honestly as he pulled into Ally’s driveway.
“Is it because I nearly had a meltdown in your office earlier?”
No. It really wasn’t. He’d done it because he hadn’t been able to stay away after he’d realized exactly what her situation was in life right now. How could he explain that he suddenly wanted to protect her, fix things for her, in addition to the fact that he was dying to f**k her? He didn’t even understand it himself. But he answered, “Yes.” It was the easiest excuse.
“I’ll be okay.”
Fuck! Her voice sounded tentative and vulnerable, and Travis had all he could do not to find her ex and kill the son of a bitch. He’d screwed Ally over, and left her all alone, in a bad situation, after she’d given him everything. Didn’t the ass**le know just how valuable that kind of devotion was from a woman? Did he even care? “I know you’ll be fine,” Travis said gruffly. He planned on making damn sure she was from now on.