We were meeting the boys at Mangia. It's an Italian restaurant Matt had found. Eric had been there before and said it was a great place. Once we arrive we head inside and I see Matt wave us both over to their table. They both stand up and we all hug.

"Oh my gosh, look at you, girl! Love looks good on you." Kyle says with a smile.

"Hey Kyle, we missed you!" I smile back.

"I missed you too, especially this guy here. So, this is the one that got lost, huh?"

"Yes, this is Eric. Eric this is Kyle, Matt's...."

"Boyfriend. Yes, we are official now." Matt interjects.

"Nice to meet you, Kyle." Eric says.

"Oh, Matty, I am so happy for you. No hiding anymore."

"I know. I feel so free. Now I just have to convince him to move out here." He says as he kisses Kyle's cheek. We all sit down and the waitress comes to take our drink order. Matt leans over and whispers something in my ear.

"You look different somehow."

I feel my cheeks turn red and he squints his eyes at me.

"Oh my god. You finally lost it."

"Shh, I could never hide anything from you."

"You have to tell me all about it later."

"I don't kiss and tell."

"Girl!"

Eric leans over and whispers in my ear.

"What are you girls talking about?"

"He's just being nosy."

Our waitress brings back our drinks and then takes our orders. We continue talking as she walks away, and eventually brings back our food. Eric was right, this food is amazing.

"Wow, this is really good."

"I told you. I love this place."

"So you guys want to go out dancing? I'm ready to cut loose for a bit."

"What do you think, love?"

"I'm game if you are. I haven't been out like that in a long time."

"Let's do it!"

We finish our meal, and pay. We head back to our place so Matt can drop the car off and Eric drives us to Fuoco. It is the hottest club in the area according to Eric. As we pull up we see the line around the building.

"We will never get in here."

"Come with me. I know the doorman." Eric whispers in my ear.

We walk up to the door and Eric talks to the doorman like he has known him for years. He soon opens the door and lets us in. We head inside and it's almost wall to wall people. We walk around to find a table.

"Hey, man. Didn't think I would ever see you here." says a very large man. He is taller than Eric and broad shouldered. He has a very intimidating feel about him.

"Well, my friends wanted to come out, so here we are."

They hug and Eric turns around and introduces all of us to Marc.

"Nice to meet you. So this is the one you had to leave behind, huh?"

"It sure is, and I don't intend to lose her again."

"Nice to meet you too, Marc." I say shyly.

"It's crazy in here. Let me get you a table in VIP. Follow me." We follow him through the crowd and up to the VIP section. He sits and talks with us for a bit before he heads back.

"So how is the wife?" Eric asks.

"Very pregnant, I finally got her to stay off her feet and Cas is taking over for her until the baby gets here."

"That's good. I know you were worried about her. How are things going with the business?"

"Things are going pretty good. We have some new clients. The club and restaurant are doing great. Well, I better bet back to my post or Damian will come looking for me. I will tell him you are here. He probably will come by and say hello. Talk to you later."

"Alright man, good to see you."

He heads off and I look at Eric, questioning him.

"Do you remember me telling you about my big client?"

"Yes"

"Well, his boss is my client. I have been working on his cars for the last couple years. They have invited me out for a long time and I kept turning them down."

"He seems like a nice guy."

"He is. They all are actually. His wife is pregnant. They just got married a few months ago. Their story is crazy."

We had been sitting and talking for a while when someone walked up to our table. He was covered in tattoos and dressed in a very nice suit.

"Hey, Eric. Marc told me you were here, and I wanted to come by and say hello."

"Hey, Damian. How are things?"

"Everything is going great. My son is growing too fast and I think he is starting to teeth. He is so grumpy lately. Those upgrades you did to the cars are awesome. I hope we never have to use them though."

"I'm glad you like them. This is my girlfriend, Amanda. Her friend, Matt and his boyfriend Kyle."
"So this is the one that you had to leave behind? It's nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you too." We all say.

"Well, I better get back. Drinks are on me. Have a great night."

"Thanks, man."

He heads off to the back and I look at Eric.

"That is Marc's boss. He's a pretty good guy."

"Who's ready for drinks? Who wants shots?" Matt chimes in.

"I do!" Kyle screams over the music.

"Me too!"

"Count me out. I'll be dd tonight."

Matt calls the waitress over and orders our drinks and two shots for each of us. She heads off to get our drinks and comes back with the tray. She hands out the drinks and shots. We tap shots and throw them back. The liquid burns as it goes down and I wince.

"What the hell was that?"
"Fireball, you love that stuff." Matt chuckles.

"Ugg, why was it warm?"

"Sorry bunny. One more time."

Once more it burns as it goes down and I squeeze my eyes shut. I grab my drink and take several sips to erase the burn.

"Please, next time make sure it is chilled."

"Got ya bunny."

We were having a good time and several drinks later the alcohol was boosting my confidence and I pulled the guys to the dance floor. I started dancing with Eric and he has got some moves. He pulls me into him as we grind against each other. I turn around and grind my butt against his crotch and I hear him growl in my ear.

"Be careful what you start, love. Unless you know you can finish it."

"What makes you think I can't?"

"MMM, I can't wait to get you back home, and have my wicked way with you."

"Hmmhmm, I might be exhausted then. I may just go to sleep."

"Grrr!" His hands travel down to my hips and pull me back against him. "Do you feel that? This is what you do to me. I don't think I will ever get enough of you."

He leans in and kisses my neck and I feel him suck on it and I know he is leaving his mark. I reach my hands up and tangle my fingers in his hair. This spurs him on as he kisses up my neck to suckle on my ear lobe.

"MMmmm!"

"Mm, we had better stop, before I take you in the back and have my way with you."

"Later, big boy. When we get back to your place. You have me all to yourself tonight."

"I love the sound of that."

We all dance together for a while and a slow song comes on. I place my hands around his neck and he pulls me into him. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment and I could get lost in those green eyes. His hands are roaming up and down my back and soon settle on my lower back. He leans down and kisses my lips softly. I reach my hands up to grab his hair and I pull it slightly. He deepens the kiss as he licks my bottom lip and I open my mouth to let his tongue slide in. We dance together slowly as everyone around us disappears and it is only us dancing together to the beat of the music. Eventually the song ends and we break apart. We realize that Matt and Kyle have left and gone back to the table. We head back and they have another round of shots waiting for me.

"About time you two came back. Now drink up. It's chilled this time, so quit whining." Matt says.

"Haha, thank you."

We all down the shots and at least this time it didn't burn as much. We had been sitting and relaxing for a bit and I had to go to the bathroom.

"Hey baby, I have got to run to the bathroom, be back in a bit." I say as I get up.

"Alright love, need one of us to go with you?"

"No, I think I can go by myself."

I head off to the bathrooms luckily there was no line. I quickly wash up after I am done and step out as I feel someone grab me and pull me into a dark corner. They put their hand over my mouth as they push me up against the wall.

"Hello, princess. I told you I would see you again." Jenkins says as he sneers at me. I tried to kick and scream, but he was too strong. "You smell so good, I have missed this."

His free hand roams up and down my body as I try to choke back the bile that threatened to rise from my stomach. He starts kissing my neck as I kick and scream. He tries to kiss me and I bite his tongue. He rears back and slaps me across the face. "You bitch, you'll pay for that!" He goes back to kissing my skin. I see one of the bouncers come around the corner. He sees what is going on and hollers as he comes in. Jenkins immediately lets go and runs off. I fell to the floor in tears. The bouncer comes over to me and calls for Marc over his ear piece and quickly comes over.

"Amanda, are you okay?" Honey, it's okay. Seb go get Eric, now!"

I am sobbing and all of a sudden I can't catch my breath. I look at Marc and he can see the panic in my eyes. Soon Eric is here with Matt and Kyle behind. He sees me and quickly is on his knees pulling me into him.

"Love, I'm here. Breathe, sweetheart. Just breathe. It's okay. Mar, what happened?"

I quickly wrap my arms around him and cry into his neck.

"I'm not sure. Seb told me that some guy attacked her." Marc returns.

"I..i..it w..as Jenk...ins."

"Shit, he found her. Thank god that Seb was here. Just another to add to the growing list. I think now we can get that restraining order."

"Do they know where he is?"

"No, they don't. That's the problem."

"Follow me back to Damian's office. Give us the information and my buddy Jake can have his whereabouts within hours." Marc adds.

Eric helps me up and we head to the back of the club. Marc knocks on the door and we hear Damian's voice.

"Come in." I hear Damian's voice on the other side.

"Hey boss, sorry to disturb you, but we need to talk. Eric's girl here was attacked a few minutes ago." Marc tells him.

"What? In my club?"

"Yes, we need Jake to find him. The police haven't been able to get him."

"Give me the info and I will have Jake look into it. He may be a few days, but he will find him. Who is the officer on your case?"

"Detective Christian, and the guy's name is Oliver Jenkins" I answer.

"Oh, good. We know him so it will be easy to give him what we found. I'm sorry about this Amanda. I hope it doesn't deter your fun here. I will get Jake on this as soon as possible."
"It's not your fault, Damian. You have a great club here. We had a blast, but right now I just want Eric to take me home."

"Absolutely, love."
"I will help you out, Eric. I need to stop by the shop tomorrow. I need you to look at my SUV."

"Alright, I will see you tomorrow, Marc. Thanks again Damian."
"No problem, man. We always take care of our family."

Marc helps us out to the car and says goodbye. We head back to the apartment and drop off Matt and Kyle.

"Goodnight, bunny. I am so sorry about tonight. One of us should have been with you." Matt says sorrowfully.

"Good night, Matt. You can't always watch me. Goodnight, Kyle."

"Goodnight sweetie. Eric, take care of our girl."

"Goodnight guys. Don't worry, I will."

They head into the apartment as Eric drives off. The ride back to his house was quiet. He kept his hand on my thigh rubbing it softly until we pulled into his driveway. He came around and opened my door and helped me inside. When we got into the house he turned on the lights and got an actual look at my face. There was a hand print appearing on my check and my lip was split. I looked at Eric and I could see the anger in his eyes as he went into the kitchen and grabbed a small towel. He put some ice in it and gently placed it against my face. I hissed as it brushed my bruised cheek. I could see the anger turn to guilt as I placed my hand on his.

"Babe, get out of your head. It's not your fault."

"I should have gone with you. We knew he was out there somewhere."

"You can't be with me every second of the day."

"I still should have gone, then this wouldn't have happened."

I placed my other hand against his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into it.

"Baby, I am exhausted. Let's just go to bed."

"Okay, love. I just want to hold you tonight."

"I would love that."

We head to the bedroom and strip down to our underwear and climb in bed. I just want to feel his skin against mine. He pulls back the covers and I crawl in. He crawls in behind me and I pull his arms around me. He pulls me tight against me like I would disappear somehow.

"I love you, sweetheart. I'm sorry."

"I love you too."

We soon fall asleep and for now I feel safe in his arms.