Page 39 of Beneath Your Beautiful

“Get off me.” I shoved him away. He grabbed my upper arms and backed me against the wall. Nobody even glanced in our direction. The crowd was congregated around the bar, shouting over the thumping music. Gone was the chilled-out vibe from earlier.

“I’m ready to get off on you,” he said, rubbing against me. “You know you want it.”

“No. I don’t.”

His lips crashed against mine again, and his hand slid under my tank top. Putting my hands on his shoulders, I aimed my knee at his balls, but he blocked it with his hand. I stomped on his foot, but my flat, strappy sandals didn’t do much damage.

“You wanna play games, Evie baby?” He pressed his body against the length of mine.

“Get. Off. Me,” I gritted out. I gave him a shove and Adam flew backwards with a lot more force than I’d expected. When my vision cleared, I saw the reason for it. Even through my drunken haze, I could see that Killian was furious, his face hard and unyielding and scary as hell as he held Adam in a headlock.

“What the fuck, man?” Adam snarled. “Get your hands off me.”

I leaned against the wall for support, my mouth gaping open. Killian turned Adam around and shoved him against the wall, holding him in place. I scooted out of the way and stood by Killian’s side.

“She said no. Are you deaf or just stupid?” Killian said, getting right in Adam’s face. “I told you to keep your hands off her.” His voice was low, but I heard the undercurrent of steel running through it.

“Get your fucking hands off me,” Adam said, shoving at Killian who didn’t budge.

Adam narrowed his eyes at me. “I thought you said he wasn’t your boyfriend.”

“I just want to go home,” I said, weary, defeated, and on the verge of tears. I grabbed Killian’s arm. “Killian. Just let it go. He’s not worth it.”

He looked at me then back at Adam. “Don’tevertouch her again. If I see you anywhere near her or the bar, you won’t get off so easy next time.”

“Fuck. You,” Adam said. Killian gave him a shove and then he took my hand in his.

“I’ll take you home,” he said.

I nodded. That was all I wanted right now.

Adam laughed harshly. “You’ll lethimtake you home?”

His comment was lost on us because Killian was dragging me out of the bar. “Wait. Hailey. I need to get her—”

He didn’t stop or slow down, just kept dragging me along with him. People got out of his way to let us through. It was like the Red Sea parted to let him pass. Either that, or they’d get mowed down. When we reached the elevator, Killian jabbed his finger at the down button. “I need to go back for Hailey. I can’t just leave her.”

“Stay here,” Killian said, not releasing my hand. He pulled my phone out of my bag, entered my password, and scrolled through my contacts until he found Hailey. He held the phone to his ear and waited for her to answer. “This is Killian. I’m taking Eden home. Do you need a ride?” He waited for an answer. “Meet us downstairs.” He cut the call and tossed my phone in my bag, jabbing at the down button again. Killian slammed the elevator door with the palm of his hand, frustrated when it didn’t open upon his request.

“How did you know my password?”

“Your birthday.”

“But I never told—”

“Are you okay to take the stairs?” Without giving me a chance to answer, he headed for the Exit sign above the stairwell, with me in tow.

“Eve.”

Adam tried to grab my arm, but Killian moved me out of the way and tucked me behind his back, securing me with one arm. “What did I say? Keep your fucking hands off her.”

It was hard to see because I was behind Killian, my back against the door leading to the stairwell, but I felt the impact of Adam’s body or his fist or something slamming into Killian. The whole thing probably lasted two minutes, and Adam didn’t stand a chance against Killian, although Adam kept coming at him, punching, and grappling with him. I looked over at Adam getting to his feet, wiping the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes focused on Killian as he advanced towards him.

Without thinking, I jumped in front of Killian and then everything went black.

Chapter Fifteen

Eden