Suddenly, the music stopped, and the lights flickered on. Silence rang in Rae's ears. The dancing crowd stopped, glancing around in confusion before turning to stare. Jacob wiped his shirt, leaving streaks of blood. The rest of the lacrosse team hovered around him, unsure of whether they were going to jump into a fight.

Raelyn couldn't see who had stopped the party, but she turned to Sam, who had curled up into a ball, crying. She pulled Sam into a seat and checked her over. Her cheek was red from where Jacob had hit her, but other than that, she seemed her normal, drunk self. Sam glanced up at Rae. Her eyes shifted from afraid to amused.

"I—" she hiccupped, "thought you were worried about showing skin." Raelyn glanced down and then blushed, pulling her dress back over her chest.

"Are you okay, Sam?"

Sam nodded, wiping her nose with her arm. Rae pulled her roommate into a hug as she let out a long shaky breath.

A shout called from behind them, and they turned to see the lacrosse team racing toward the rescuer. The man in front dodged a punch before pulling twisting the lacrosse player's arm behind his back. He dislocated his arm with a swift jerk, and Rae flinched.

The crowd began to filter out onto the street quickly, not wanting to be part of this fight. A few people stayed and pulled their phones. Another lacrosse players plowed ahead, but he it was like he had rammed a wall. The man drove his elbow into the lacrosse player's back. He collapsed.

The rest of the lacrosse team, Jacob included, turned and fled out the emergency exit. The two injured players managed to limp out after them. The bouncers hadn't lifted a finger.

After a few moments, the shadowy man turned, and Rae froze as her brain tried to work out how she knew him. He stepped over to them with the cool precision of a surgeon's hand.

"Mr...."

"Dominic."

She nodded. "Dominic. Uh, thank you." Her faced heated up as she realized that her face must have been a bloody mess.

"What happened?" Trevor raced up, with the drunk Zack a few steps behind.

As if on cue, Sam collapsed against Rae. Rae glanced down at her; her roommate had fallen into a drunken sleep. "We ran into some—well, some of Sam's enemies."

"You got into a fight?" Trevor furrowed his brows.

"Of course not." Rae frowned.

"Then what h—"

"They were attacked." Dominic stepped forward and nodded to the two bouncers, who began working to clear the club.

Rae nodded. Dominic took another step toward her, and she could feel heat radiating from him. She blinked away the impulse to nestle into his arms. "We need to get Sam home." She glanced at Zack. "And him."

"Yeah. We drove. We can drive y'all back."

Rae nodded, gently moving Sam to sit up. Trevor knelt and slid his hands under her knees, lifting her into his arms. A tingle of jealousy struck Rae, but she shoved it down.

Once freed from her sleeping friend, she stood. Dominic placed a hand on her shoulder and maneuvered back down. "You're still bleeding." His hand lingered, sending bolts of electricity down her back.

Rae shivered but rubbed her arms as if warding off the cold and not enchanted by her rescuer. She shook her head. Don't be a damsel, Rae.

Trevor exited with Sam, leaving Zack standing in the main room. Zack whirled around, as if just noticing that the music had stopped.

Rae felt something roll down her upper lip. She reached up and saw blood smeared across her hands. "Oh." She pinched the fleshy bit of her nose and glanced down. Several trails of dried blood ran down her neck.

Dominic pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. Rae shook her head. "I'm going to get it bloody."

He narrowed his eyes. "I know." He continued to offer the piece of fabric, so she relented and grabbed it. She began wiping the blood as best she could, keeping the pressure on her sore nose to stop the flow. After a few minutes, the flow stopped, and she mopped up as best as she could; the poor handkerchief had more red than white remaining. She swallowed the blood that had dripped down the back of her throat.

Dominic tensed. "Who hit you?"

She waved a dismissive hand. She pointed at her nose. "This was drunk Sam." A wave of heat radiated off Dominic. "Accidental. I'm fine."

Dominic didn't budge. "I saw him flip you over his shoulder onto the floor." His jaw tightened.

She shrugged. She had forgotten about that. When the adrenaline wore off, that was going to ache.

Trevor came running back into the club. "Okay, she's all set. Let's go." Trevor reached out to grab Rae's hand, but Dominic caught his wrist. Trevor frowned and pulled back. "Something wrong?"

In that moment, it was as if Dominic doubled in size, looming over poor Trevor. "I need a statement. For insurance."

Trevor nodded and stepped back unconsciously. "We can wait."

"I'll send her back."

Trevor frowned. "We don't know you. Thank you for what you did, but how do we know—"

"I know him." Trevor and Dominic both turned to Rae in shock. She blinked, a bit confused by her own admission. She cleared her throat, hating the metallic taste on her tongue. "I mean, you really should get Sam back. Her sister, Jo, is back at the apartment. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Trevor protested, but Dominic stepped between the two of them. His voice was low. "You heard her."

Trevor snuck one last glance at Rae before grabbing Zack and hauling him outside. Dominic turned to Raelyn, his muscles taunt across his skin. Rae shivered again and glanced at the floor to keep from staring. Why didn't she go back with Trevor? "Uh, so what do you need to know?"

"Let's talk in my office. It'll be warmer there."

Rae nodded and stood. The cold floor seeped into her bare feet. "I need to find some shoes."

Dominic turned, anger rising. "What happened to your shoes?"

"I knew I couldn't stop Sam from barging onto the dance floor, but she took off her heels, so I strapped my shoes onto her feet." Rae frowned. "Does your club always have this much glass on the ground?"

Dominic's lip twitched. "Do you often tie your shoes onto your roommate?"

Rae huffed. "I was trying to help."

"That was a stupid move." He ran his hand through his hair. Rae backed up a step, confused—and annoyed—by his sudden anger. "What if you sliced your foot open?"

"Stitches, probably." The smart-aleck response left her lips before she could debate the wisdom of it.

Before Rae could do anything, Dominic had swooped down and lifted her into his arms. "You'd better watch your tongue around here." Rae tried to slip out, but his grip tightened, locking her against him. "Try that again and I'll drop you on the floor."

After a fair bit of spluttering, she managed to protest with a squeaky, "Dominic!"

A mischievous smile broke through as he carried her. "Raelyn."

At her name, she felt a fuzzy warmth sweep over her as though surrounded by a thousand excited puppies. She scrambled for a comeback. "Dominic."

He chuckled. "Good one."

At the other end of the room, he finally set Rae down. His mood had brightened considerably, but Rae felt like she was going to pass out. Her head buzzed like the puppies had been replaced with hornets.

"You okay?" He grabbed her arm as she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall.

She nodded. "Overstimulated."

She felt him tugged her arm down a warm hallway and finally end in a bright room. She closed her eyes and let him set her down on a sofa. Some of the lights turned out and after a few seconds, she peeled her eyes open.

A splitting headache swept over her.

"Drink some water."

She accepted the water bottle and began to sip. A realization washed over her. "It's the blood."

Rae glanced up at Dominic, who stepped over with a wet rag. "What was that?"

"I get queasy around blood." She glanced down at her hands and arms, dotted and smeared with the sticky, salty liquid. Dominic gently took one of her hands and began washing away the blood stains on her hands and arms. Rae frowned at his kindness, suddenly a bit uncomfortable. "So, what information do you need? For insurance?"

"Nothing yet." He continued to slowly wipe away the red, working up to her shoulder. He went to wash her chest, but then thought better of it and handed her the rag. She accepted it gratefully. "Let me call you a ride. I can get the statement tomorrow."

Rae managed to fend off a fainting attack and finish cleaning up. Dominic found her jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Car's here."

Rae nodded and followed Dominic outside. A black SUV waited. A small tingle asked if this was wise, but she ignored it and climbed inside. Once she did, a huge dog jumped off the floor and began sniffing her. She laughed and pet Dane, scratching the spot between his eyes. He responded by laying down in the seat next to her and setting his head in her lap, eager for more affection.

Dominic climbed in and sat on Rae's other side. He glared at Dane briefly before reaching over Rae. She leaned back, but realized he was buckling her seat.

"Oh. Thanks."

He nodded and buckled himself in. "What's your address?"

Another tingle. "6327 N Kenmore."