Page 38 of Dangerous Men

“You heard the doctor,” he says, helping the girl to her feet. She stands gingerly, still not putting weight on her right foot. “Let’s get you somewhere to rest, shall we?”

“She needs to keep weight off of it,” I warn him, gesturing to her leg. “Until the pain is gone.”

I hand her the bag of ice, and as she takes it from me, she gifts me with a small, shy smile.

“Wrap your arms around my neck,” Alec tells her, stealing that smile away for himself. She complies easily, relaxing against him and interlacing her fingers behind his neck as he lifts her into his arms.

Funny, she wasn’t nearly as compliant with me.Manhandled, I think were her words.

“Your shoes,” I remind her, scooping them up. I hold them out to her, dangling them from my fingers. Alec takes them from me without so much as a thank you, murmuring assurances to her as he carries her off and back toward the party, my role in her rescue completely forgotten.

Yeah. I grit my teeth. That’s all the thanks I get.

As usual.

16

SYDNEY

“I’ve got you,darling. You’re okay.”

I don’t feel okay as Alec tries to soothe me, carrying me back inside. I feel like an idiot. Howembarrassing, tripping all over myself like that in the middle of a party. I almost wish I’d gone home with Jade. I almost wish I hadn’t come at all.

At least that doctor had been there to catch me. Even if he had been a bit abrasive. Abrasive, cold, and… positively gorgeous.

My thighs clench at the memory of him, of those elegant hands touching me. God, was every man at this party pulled right out of my dirtiest fantasies? What kind of party was this?

I need to get home and have a cold shower. Or some alone time with a spicy book.

“I think I’m okay, now,” I tell Alec. The pain in my ankle is nearly gone. I give it a twist to be sure, drawing a little circle with my foot. Guess the snarky doctor was right after all. Definitely not broken. “You could put me down if I’m too heavy.”

“You aren’t heavy in the slightest,” Alec assures me. “And Doc said to stayoffof it.”

I can’t exactly argue with that. It’s just… extra embarrassing to be carried through a party. Though Alec is doing a great job of keeping to the wall, where there aren’t many people. Barely anyone seems to notice us at all as we pass through the celebrations.

“I have a room here,” Alec tells me, ushering past the crowds and down a quiet hallway, well away from the sounds of the party. It’s cooler back here, the air-conditioning pebbling my skin. For a moment, I let myself justfeel.I let myself enjoy the sensation of his suit against my cheek, the smell of his cologne. “Would it be all right if I take you there to rest?”

“Oh… you don’t need to do that. I can just grab a cab and head home.” I don’t want to go, though. But I feel oddly ashamed. I feel like I should apologize for the inconvenience I’m causing.

Why is that, I wonder? Why do I feel the need to apologize for something I had no control over? Something my body did? Why do so many women feel the need to apologize for simply living?

“I don’t want you to go,” Alec protests. His voice is firm, and it warms something in my chest to hear him say it. “Please, Sydney. Just take a minute to rest, and then we can decide what you want to do from there.”

Burying my face against this chest to hide my smile, I nod.

“Okay, yeah, I’d like that,” I say. It would be nice to go somewhere quiet for a minute. To get away from all the chaos of the party. To… maybe spend some time with him. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Alec tells me. He carries me toward a set of elevators, and—to my surprise—there’s a familiar figure in a tux leaning against the wall, waiting for us.

“Whoa, what happened? Is she all right?” Ashton asks, looking between Alec and me, brow furrowed with concern.

“She sprained her ankle. Doc says she needs to go somewhere quiet and keep off it,” Alec grunts. “Can you get the doors?”

Nodding, Ashton pulls a card from his pocket and touches it to a sensor near the elevators. They chime a moment later—a cheerful electronic tone—and when the doors open, Alec carries me inside.

Ashton steps in behind us.

I don’t have time to consider the implications of that until the doors shut and Ashton presses the button for the penthouse floor.