Helen sighed as she walked into her third job, the one she loved the most but usually left her physically and emotionally shattered - her bar job. Working stupid hours, usually until two in the morning with cashing up and cleaning, was the physical side. The emotional?
She was married but she had a lust for her boss.
--
Bryan was throwing cases of beer around in the cellar when he heard it. He would have recognised the sound from miles away, and it was still have the same effect.
Helen was screaming.
Dropping the case, he bolted for the door, not hearing the sound of twenty-four bottles crashing to the ground, only realising that the screaming had stopped, and so had all other sound, except for the door staff yelling into their radios. His pace grew faster and more frantic, and as he emerged from the cellar he was confronted by an enormous crowd, clustered around one end of the bar. Two of the doormen were trying to shift the gathering, and forced it apart to let Bryan through, his impressive size not managing to do the job on its own.
"What happened?" The dark haired man demanded, looking around for Helen. His eyes found her before anyone could reply, curled up in a foetal position on the floor, arm clutched to her and eyes wild with fear. Immediately, he dropped to his knees by her side, trying to draw the young blonde woman to him.
"I wouldn't try boss," One of the bar staff grunted, "He hit her pretty hard."
Bryan barked out, "Who did?" still trying to coax Helen to him to assess her injuries.
"Some drunken jerk she refused to serve. She came down here to grab a doorman to get him shifted, and he followed her. Grabbed her arm rough and then just cracked her."
The crowd began to shift as more door staff arrived from neighbouring bars, and Bryan ordered the place shut and tidied, still kneeling.
"Helen, can you move for me?" He asked tenderly, stroking her hair.
"Is he gone?" Her words were quiet, almost broken and they tore at the older man. He shifted her a little, leaning her up against him. There was one hell of a bruise forming on her cheek, and the urge to kiss the pain away was growing.
Forcing down the ungentlemanly thoughts, Bryan whispered softly to her, "Yep. Door staff gave him his just desserts," and wrapped a gentle arm around her.
--
Hours later, when Helen had been checked by the paramedics and told to rest, Bryan eyed the sleeping blonde on his bed. She was a beauty to him, well rounded figure, blonde hair that cascaded down her back when she let it free from the almost permanent braid it was worn in. Her eyes, when open, were brilliant green ringed in amber fire, so expressive of her emotion they were truly the windows to her soul.
But right now they were closed in sleep, and Helen's beautiful perfection was marred by a rather ugly bruise forming on her cheek.