"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
The Prince quickly pulled her up on her feet before shielding her with his body against her assailant. He hated it when men took advantage of the opposite sex because they were superior to them.
He never thought of himself as a knight in shining armor. He was no hero. But when he saw the man attacking his woman, he knew he had to step up.
"Who are you?" The man appeared surprised to see him. "You should mind your own business if you know what is good for you."
The man tried to throw a punch at him, but he quickly dodged his fist. But he did not hesitate to retaliate, sending the man to the ground with one blow to his jaw.
That would surely knock the man out of his wits.
"What are you doing?" Finally, Charlie found her voice as she tried to stop him from beating the shit out of this scumbag.
"You could get hurt." Then, she stood between him and the man who struggled to stand up.
Funnily, no woman had ever tried to protect him before. He had female security, but it did not count. He meant women he dated.
He had never experienced a woman using her body as a human shield to protect him from harm. "What are you doing?" He asked the same question, slightly confused and amused.
"Getting you out of here. It is dangerous for someone like you to be in this place." Charlie shouted as she pulled him back to his car, where his security waited for his signal if things went out of hand.
He did not want to create a commotion by involving his men. Besides, he believed he could handle one man since he was an experienced fighter.
"Damn it. Where is your security? Don't you know he has a gun? He could have shot you." She rattled on as she dragged him to his car and almost shoved him back to his seat.
Even his security seemed shocked as they stood and watched while she acted as if she was protecting the president from an assassination plot.
But in all honesty, he would not have known he had a gun if she did not mention it. It never even crossed his mind when he charged to her rescue.
Indeed, it was a dumb thing to do.
"Look at your hand." She grabbed his fist, checking out the light bruise on his knuckles. "You could have been seriously hurt."
"Would you stop fussing and just sit?" He held her hand and pulled her closer to his side. Then, he noticed the mark on her face where the man had smacked her.
He hated that she stopped him from beating the life out of that man. He believed she did not deserve what he did to her. But he would make sure those men who hurt her tonight would never get away with what they had done.
"It is nothing, Your Highness." She suddenly swatted his hand off her face. "I had worse." She casually said as if her injuries did not even hurt her.
"Would you stop calling me Your Highness or Prince? Just Elijah or Eli would be fine." After they had slept together, he did not see the point of being too formal when it was just them.
Again, he had never met a woman who would think of another person's well-being first before hers.
"Still, we should take care of that." Pointing to the bruise that was developing on her face. "Please come back to my place."
He did not want to let her out of sight, especially after what happened tonight. He wished to ensure her safety.
Earlier, he thought he had blown it. But now, he had another opportunity to spend more time with her.
"No, I can't." Once again, she refused his invitation. "I'm sorry, but I have to get back home." She dropped her eyes to her lap as if thinking of something deeply.
"Is there something wrong?" He could sense that something bothered her as her mood shifted.
"I have to check on my friend. I have to ensure she has gone home safely," she quickly explained. "Maybe you could just drop me at the block. Then, I can take it from there."
"No, I'm going with you." He insisted. He could not let her go home, knowing that man was out there, probably looking for her. "Tell me where you live."
"No! You had already done enough. I can't keep bothering you. You probably have things to do or places to be." She refused to accept his help.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you out of my car until you tell me your address." He could be as stubborn as she was. But he was not giving in to what she wanted.
"Fine! But I am telling you, my place is not the Four Seasons." She warned him. "But really, you don't need to do this."
He could tell she was giving him a way to back out. But he had already set his mind on accompanying her anywhere she wanted to go.
"I want to ensure that you and your friend are safe." He instructed his chauffeur to drive them to the location of her home.
He realized it was not that far. In just a few minutes, his car parked outside an old building in a questionable neighborhood.
Of course, he already anticipated it would not be pretty. What could he expect from a server, impersonator, and con artist?
Exactly!
"This is home!" She announced as she looked out her window, pointing to the four-floor apartment. "Thank you for..."
No!
He was not letting her get rid of him that easily.
"I am coming in with you. I need to ensure that you and your friend are ok." He was not about to just let her go.
Frankly, after seeing where she lived, he wondered if he could let her stay in such a place like this.
Damn!
How could she reject his offer when it would uplift her life so much better and take her out of this dump for good?