Protector (14 page)

10

“So did you score with your chick yet?” Michael asks with a wink and a cheesy smile.

Alessandro is never surprised by the stuff that comes out of Michael’s mouth.  He may be a thirty-nine year old, six- foot-nine inch mammoth, but mentally, he is still a horny teenager.  With his sub-natural good looks and his childish carefree personality, he makes for a dangerous playboy and the girls ate him up.

“Dude
, seriously, that is the last thing I want with that chick.” 

“That sucks because that is one fine piece of ass.”

“Man, you think every girl is a fine piece of ass,” Alessandro says to Michael jokingly.

“No
, I don’t!  Don’t get me wrong.  They are all just a piece of ass, but that doesn’t mean they are all fine,” Michael says and begins to laughs.

Alessandro rolls his eyes, but laughs despite Michael’s lack of propriety.  Michael may be his best friend
and someone who knows him better than anyone else, but he would never understand what’s been going on with him lately.  Michael is far too self-involved for any kind of emotional connection with anyone on a deeper level, other than with his fellow warriors who are his only family and priority.

Alessandro has to admit to himself that he is right, although he refuses to admit that to Michael. 
Anna-Marie is a very beautiful woman and again he can’t help but imagine her full of life like he assumes she was before Dylan’s death.  She must have been beyond beautiful, not that she isn’t now.  He can definitely picture her being more electrifying though.  So much so, that the very thought makes his head spin and his stomach turn cartwheels.  Of course he’s not going to tell Michael any of that either.

“Yeah, she’s alright,” Alessandro says instead.
  “So, has there been anything worth tasting lately at Styx?” Alessandro asks, wanting nothing more than to change the subject from Anna-Marie to something else so as to not encourage Michael to say anything else derogatory about her. 

“Oh
, hell yes!” Michael smiles big, sounding very much like a rebellious child.

Alessandro and Michael head downtown where the action usually is.  Not action as in Rogue, but action as in women and alcohol.  They head to their favorite haunt Styx, off of Main Street.  The place never seems to disappoint.  Tonight there is a local heavy metal band performing, so it should be a good night for some much needed action.

***

“Anna-Marie, I am so happy you finally took me up on my offer to come out with me tonight,” Peggy says, happy that Anna-Marie is coming back to life.

“Well
, Peg, you did all but threaten me with my job if I didn’t, so I really don’t think I had much of a choice.”

Peggy laughs, “Well
, it has been far too long.  I’ve missed you.”

“But you see me every day.”

“It’s not the same thing.  You need to get out of that apartment every now and then and let loose a little bit.  Had I known a threat was what it took, I would have gotten you out a long time ago.”

Anna
-Marie frowns at her.

“Seriously
, girl, you can’t dwell on stuff that you can’t change.  You have to continue to live.  That’s what Dylan would want for you.”

“I know you
’re right, it still seems strange though.”

Peggy puts her hand on
Anna-Marie’s shoulder. “I know honey, but it’s time.  Hey, you know what?  I bought last round, so it’s your turn this time,” she says enthusiastically as she downs the last of her vodka and cranberry juice.

“Sure, get the depressed girl drunk.  That’s a great idea
!” 

“That’s the plan
, and why not?  We are young and beautiful, and dammit, we deserve it.”

“You know what Peg?  Y
ou’re right.  I’ll be right back.”

Anna
-Marie leaves her table and stands at the bar for a few minutes waiting patiently for her turn to order their drinks. 

She knows Peggy is right.  It’s time to reenter the world of the living, and that is exactly what she intends to do.  She is aware that it will be difficult at first but she is a fighter, and always has been. 

Once her drinks are ordered, it seems like eternity before getting them, which leaves her feeling antsy and impatient.  She turns around to watch the band as she waits for her order.  It’s been a very long time since she has seen live music.  She has forgotten how magical it can be.  The music seems more alive watching it in person rather than listening to it on the radio.  She was never one to ever listen to heavy metal at any point in her life, but tonight is different.  She watches as the members of the band flow with the rhythm of their instruments, as if in a trance, which in turn causes the people in the audience to do the same.  She smiles in amusement as she watches a mosh pit develop in the middle of the crowded room.

Once her drinks are ready
she quickly turns to leave with her very pricey drinks before the crowd gets any crazier, but as she does she runs smack into someone.

“Darn it!” 
Anna-Marie says and locks eyes with the last person she expected to see here. 

“Alessandro?  What are you doing here?”

“Dammit, Anna-Marie,” is all Alessandro could think to say as he wipes the cold liquid off of his shirt. 

He
had stopped watching her today after she got home from work, so he could make it home in time to speak with his father.  He had become so familiar with her routine, that he felt sure she would stay put once she was in, obviously he was wrong. 

“I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t see you there.”  Alessandro is grasping for straws.  He was supposed to be grieving his dead girlfriend, who died not so long ago, not partying at a bar with his buddy.

“No, I turned into you without looking.”

Alessandro looks around panicked
.

“I’m surprised to see you here
,” he says.

“Yeah
, well, I was dragged here and held hostage tonight by a friend,” Anna-Marie says with a smile.

Damn
, she has a beautiful smile,
he thinks to himself. 
Shit! How many drinks have I had?  Far too many to be in her presence, that’s for damn sure.

“It’s pretty much the same here. My friend
, Michael, thought I should get out of the house for a while.”

“Oh, well
, I’ll let you get back to him.  Peg is probably wondering what’s taking her drink so long,” she says as she nods her head towards her table where Peggy is anxiously waiting.

“Same here, maybe I’ll bump into you again.” 

“I don’t know.  I think these drinks are too expensive to keep spilling.”  She smiles at him and walks away. 

Alessandro walks back to his table as well
, where Michael is waiting for him.  According to the humorous look on his face, he saw it all. 

As Alessandro gets closer
, Michael bursts out laughing.  “Damn, Ales!  You can’t get away from that chick.”

“Don’t I know it?”
he mumbles.

Alessandro can’t help but to watch
Anna-Marie for the rest of the night from across the room as she laughs with her friend.  It is crowded here tonight because of the band, but he can still see her.

She has a hint of makeup on tonight, which is the first time he has seen her with any on.  Nothing to
o loud and showy, just light natural colors and her long dark hair is down in waves at the small of her back.  This is the first time he has seen it down as well.  Her cloths aren’t showy either.  She has on a pair of simple low riding jeans that hug her every curve and two tanks tops, one green the other white, layered over each other and cut low enough to expose the tops of her full amazing breasts.  He continues to look her up and down, finally settling on her feet.  He is aware that it is nearing the end of summer in this coastal town, but by the love of God, she has on flip flops, in a metal club of all places. Seriously, who is this girl that has him so distracted?

She has laughed a lot tonight.  He wonders how long it has been since she has truly laughed so freely.  From what she has told them, she has been in a severe depression since Dylan died almost a year ago.  He feels jealous of her sudden happiness.  He doesn’t know why though. 

He tries hard to focus on other things, like the two sexy, barely legal, blond girls Michael has found to dance with.  That’s if you can call what they are doing dancing.  Protectors are gifted with unending charm and are naturally handsome, which make women flock to them.  Alessandro has had to shoo away quite a few women tonight, which is very unusual for him.  Tonight is different.  As long as Anna-Marie is here, he has to live up to his Catherine story in order to get close to her, but the drunker he gets the harder it is to remember that. 

Anna-Marie could feel his eyes burning into her.  She has slipped quick glances in his direction all night, just like now as she turns in his direction; but this time she locks eyes with him.  By his appearance, he seems to be feeling just as good and tipsy as she does.

Without thinking he gets up from his chair and walks in her direction through the crowd of melting bodies, like the parting of the Red Sea.  There is no stopping his legs from moving toward her, as if he is being hypnotized by an invisible being. 

Anna-Marie chews on her bottom lip as she stares at him, unable to speak.

Alessandro holds out his hand to her
. “Anna-Marie, will you please dance with me?” he asks in a low husky voice.

“I
. . . umm . . . I don’t know.”  She continues to chew on her lower lip, her pulse is racing.

Alessandro is shocked.  No one has ever turned him down before, which only drives him even crazier.

“Please, Anna-Marie, dance with me.”  He says again in a barely audible voice, so pained by how much he wants her.  His outreached hand starts to tremble.

Before she knows what she is doing, she is g
etting up and taking his hand and he leads her to the dance floor.  Forgetting anyone who may be watching they begin to sway close and slow, as they are drawn in by the rhythm of the loud sexy music. 

Anna
-Marie knows she shouldn’t be doing this.  They are both grieving the loss of their partners, but there’s no stopping it.  Electricity is running through their bodies one to another, as every little inch of flesh touches the other, causing small sparks to jolt through their systems.

Alessandro kisses the top of her bent head and inhales the sweet summer scent of coconut and strokes her warm red cheek, while his other hand is busy caressing her lower back.  He gently lifts her chin to look into her deep emerald eyes.  He needs to know she wants him as much as he wants her.

Her eyes say it all.

He gets a tighter grip of her lower back and presses his body even closer to hers.  He leans in only inches from her neck
, smelling all of her sweet sensual scents.  The tension is undeniable and uncontrollable.  She feels so good in his arms, perfect even.  His erection begins to throb in his groin, making him grind even closer in rhythm with the music.  

Neither of them care that both of their friends are staring at them in utter disbelief.  All they know is each other.  The rest of the world has melted away to a black void
, leaving just the two of them.

She leans her head back and quietly moans so low only he could hear.  He brings his lips to the throbbing pulse in her neck and softly runs his tongue over the  little blue artery, then kisses it, making her moan even more.  Desire pounds through him, making his head spin.

“Oh, Dylan,” Anna-Marie moans in a low thick voice. 

As soon as the name registers in her ears
, her eyes shoot open.  Mortified, she slams back to reality. 

“Oh
, my God, Alessandro, I’m so sorry.  I . . . I have to go.”

Anna
-Marie runs through the smashing crowd of sweaty bodies and out of the club.

Alessandro just stands there, stunned and confused by all that had just happened.  Had he not been enjoying her obvious pleasure so much
, he may have missed what she said completely.  Desire is still pumping through his veins.  He doesn’t know how to react.

Once out of the club Anna-Marie begins to cry, feeling like she could just die at any moment.

“Oh
, my God!  What have I done?” she asks herself.

There are people in various states of drunkenness standing around by the club entrance and most of them are staring at her
, as if she isn’t humiliated enough.  Nervous, she begins to walk down the sidewalk away from the staring eyes.  She doesn’t have anywhere in particular in mind to go, she just knows she has to move to hold onto her sanity.  She doesn’t even think about the possible dangers that lurk in the dark, although from experience she knows she should.  She has far too many other things on her mind tonight, which is why she doesn’t see the man in front of her, not until she runs smack into him.