AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Another one lunges for me, and I dispatch him fast, driving a punch into his gut that doubles him over before I slam an elbow into his back. They drop like flies. Another fool rushes in, and I barely break a fucking sweat.
“Gio!” Jeniah’s voice cuts through the chaos. She isn’t scared, but she is worried. I see her breaking through the mess, her hand reaching out toward me. Suddenly, she is standing near the fray, trying to throw herself between me and the next one coming my way.
She doesn’t fucking understand. These guys would hurt her if she let them.
“Stay back,” I shout, voice hoarse but sharp. I reach out blindly and push her away from the strikes, using just enough force to keep her safe.
Atlas swoops in from the sidelines, grabbing her arm before she can cause any more trouble. “He’s okay,” Atlas tells her over the music, holding her steady. “Gio can handle himself.”
Before I can land another blow, before another guy dares to touch her, she breaks free from Atlas and comes straight for me. Her hand shoots out, her fingers pressing against my shoulder, turning me.
“Gio,” Jeniah’s soft voice pierces my red haze, her steady hand on my shoulder. “Please…” she says gently, her eyes locking onto mine. “It’s done. You’re scaring people.” She isn’t afraid, not ofme. But she is trying to calm me down and pull me back from the brink before I go too far.
“Jeniah…” I whisper, my voice cracking under the weight of what I could’ve done.
She takes a step closer, her thumb rubbing lightly over the front of my jacket. “Let’s go,” she murmurs, calming me. “We need to get out of here.”
I nod, barely breathing as the adrenaline wears off, leaving me exhausted.
With one final glare at the assholes still on the floor, I take her hand and lead her toward the exit, Atlas trailing behind with a silent nod of approval.
We’re done here—finally.
My hand grips Jeniah’s tightly as we head toward the private elevator that will take us to the penthouse. I need to get us out of this place where people stare, where the air is too loud with music, commotion, and fuckers on the floor, groaning like pussies.
The hallway outside the club is cool compared to the heat and the wild, pulsing energy of Club Sin. My pulse is still pounding from the fight, but her presence, her warmth beside me, is starting to drag me back from the edge.
But it isn’t until we stand in front of the elevator that I notice her feet.
“Wait.” I stop short, my eyes drifting down her long legs. “Where are your shoes?”
Jeniah looks up at me, her full lips quirking into a half smile as she wiggles her bare toes against the cold marble floor. Her long braids shift over her shoulder.
“Oh, those?” she laughs, like it is nothing. “I kicked them off back there. Kinda needed to move fast… You know—in case you needed help.”
I stare at her, mouth ajar. She is serious. She’s ditched her expensive, fancy club shoes in the middle of a situation I was already handling to help me. To be ready if I needed her by my side.
Holy shit.
“Wait…” I look her over again, look at the way she’d slipped right into the chaos without a second thought for herself. “You really—”
Her brow arches. “Hey, couldn’t exactly help in stilettos, could I?”
My mouth goes dry, words catching somewhere in my throat. A part of me should be furious—pissed at the reckless, bold thing she did, but…
Fuck.
I am stunned.
I am… impressed.
And right there, in that moment, even as everything around me has been spiraling all night, it clicks. I’d thought I was working through feelings of protectiveness, some kind of possessivecaveman shit, and sure… some of that is still swirling beneath my skin. But this? Her? This is more than about protection. This is more than possessiveness, more than anything I’ve ever felt.
I love her.
It hits me like a hard punch to the gut, leaving me breathless for a second. But I don’t say it—I can’t. Not yet.
Instead, I do what feels right in that moment. I look down at her, completely bare-footed and unapologetic, and I don’t even think. I sweep her right off her feet into my arms. She gasps, laughing in surprise as I lift her off the floor like she weighs nothing and circle her legs around my waist.
