“Let’s go.” She kissed him quickly. “I’ll show you really good.”

“Promise?”

“Every time.”

“Okay, everyone. Mind your business and be moving along. Not the first time y’all have seen a fight in a bar,” Elliot called out, making a shooing motion with his hands.

Caroline noted Garrett had disappeared. But he’d seen enough that the entire situation would be reported—with prejudice—to her grandparents.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Anne hand Elliot a card and he handed her one.

“Come back to my place so I can clean your knuckles up.”

“No to your place. Yes to letting you kiss all my boo-boos at my house. My bed is also bigger,” Royal murmured into her ear.

He helped her into her coat as people tried to get him to talk about things until Caroline put herself in between him and the crowd. But he put an arm around her, shifting her so he was between her and any possible trouble.

“You two are really gross.” Anne rolled her eyes.

Caroline snorted. “Whatever.”

Anne leaned close as they all reached the door. “Thanks for inviting Elliot to have a drink. He’s very forceful, isn’t he?”

“Um, I guess. He’s got a great butt.”

“Yes. That too.”

Once they got outside of course, Royal spotted Garrett and headed over.

Caroline grabbed his arm.

Royal turned to her, his hand over hers. “He egged that entire scene on. I told him what would happen the next time I saw him.”

“He’s not worth it. You punched someone for me. Garrett is terrified. Look at him.” She pointed and Royal snarled. Garrett caught sight of them making their way closer and got in his car and drove off quickly.

“That wasn’t nice,” Royal said to Caroline, but he smiled as he said it.

“Oooh. Will you be extra gruff with me? Do I need to be punished for my impudence?”

He swatted her butt but watched Garrett’s car until it turned off Main Street.

Royal was quiet on the way back to his place as he tried to process his anger. Not just at Benji and Garrett, but by how people seemed to feel like they could abuse and threaten Caroline at will. Simply because she believed something they didn’t. Something they could agree or disagree with her with or basically not give a f**k what she thought one way or the other.

To threaten to physically harm someone because they believed differently than you was bad enough. But this wasn’t some random woman. This was Royal’s woman. All barely five feet of her, and while she was a total badass in many ways, Benji was at least a foot taller and had a hundred pounds on her.

“That was really f**ked up,” she mumbled. “I’m so sorry.”

He pulled into his garage and keyed the car off before closing the garage door. “Sorry for what?”

“That whole scene. So stupid. And your hand. Benji wasn’t worth it.”

He got out and went around to her side but when he pulled her down, he hauled her close. “No he wasn’t worth it. Not one bit. You’re worth it, Caroline. No one gets to harm you or joke about it or try to scare you with it. No one.”

She knew she should have been upset. Or mad or sad. But the way he’d defended her, his eyes sparking, fists balled up just right for punching—well, it made her hot all over and she wanted to rub herself on him. Wanted to kiss and sniff and nuzzle and all those super weird primal things.

This Royal who held her was a man whose territory had been invaded. She was his and she realized it was no small matter to belong to a man like Royal Watson.

“You’re a sneak alpha.” Damn it. And it was too late.

One corner of his mouth tipped up as he took her hands and pulled her into the house. “Sit so I can take your boots off,” he said, his lips on hers.

She flopped onto his couch and took a long, leisurely look from his toes up to the top of his head. “Damn.”

“Is that a good damn or a bad damn?”

He pulled one boot off and then the other. “Not only are you a sneak alpha, you smell really good and your body goes all ripply when you take my boots off.”

His smile bloomed over his face, and every part of her stood up and cheered. “Wow.”

He motioned with a tip of his chin as he helped her to her feet, giving a gentle push toward his bedroom.

“Go on, darlin’.” He stalked behind her, all that masculine power flooding through her like a blast of heat.

Still, she needed to give as good as she got.

Caroline looked back over her shoulder, riveted by the sight of his mouth.

“I’m not a sneak anything. Many people mistake being easygoing for being shallow or weak. I don’t have any call to go getting all worked up over every little thing, Caro. But some things are worth getting worked up over.”

Standing at the foot of his very large bed, he reached out, his hand sliding around the back of her neck and yanking her forward.

“Your hands.”

The breathlessness of it made his c**k ache. The way her lips caressed the words and the way her eyes had gotten wide for a moment, her desire banked to focus on his injuries.

“Stay here.” She left him in his bedroom. He pulled the shirt, boots and socks off, waiting for her in only his jeans.

He loved the way Caroline skidded to a halt when she came back into the room. She stared at him with that catlike pleasure of hers as she placed a full ice bucket on the bedside table.