He grips my upper arm and yanks me around. Leon holds me tight, glaring down at me, his brown eyes dark with fury.
“Leon, what are you doing here?” I ask, fighting to keep a steady, calm tone, even as I try to pull from his grasp.
He doesn’t let go and gives me a hard shake.
“You can’t be engaged to another man,” he says with a low rumble in his throat. “You were promised to me! We have family history… something you don’t have with that fucker.”
“Let go of me, Leon,” I hiss, but he just presses closer, trapping me between his body and the strip of wall between the elevators.
“You’re mine, you hear me?” He’s on the verge of shouting now. About to lose control. His face is too close to mine. His spittle sprays over me.
A shiver of fear runs up my spine. He looks crazy…like he could do just about anything to me right now. I glance around, desperate to find someone who can help me, but there’s no one in sight. Damn it, I should’ve just gone to the attendant at the desk, but I panicked when I saw Leon. Maybe if I yell, the attendant might hear me…
Suddenly, the elevator dings and the doors slide open. To my disbelief and absolute relief, Jayce steps out. His eyes immediately lock on Leon and me. Leon tightens his hold on me. Fury flashes in Jayce’s narrowing gaze. He strides toward us,shoves Leon away from me, then grabs my hand and pulls me behind him.
“Get lost,” Jayce snaps at Leon, his voice low and dangerous. “Don’t ever come near her again, and don’t fucking touch her.”
He doesn’t say anything else. No threats of bodily harm or retribution, but it’s there in his tone and in his stance. Leon appears to see that too. He stares at Jayce for several long moments, clearly wanting to push the issue, but he wisely backs down. Raising his hands, he starts to back away.
“Fine,” he grumbles, glancing at me. “I’ll go. Don’t want to cause trouble.”
Yeah, right. If he didn’t believe Jayce could kick his ass—easily—he wouldn’t be surrendering like this. Given his audacity to show up here in the first place, though, I highly doubt he’s giving up completely.
Jayce continues to glare at him as he walks away, and it’s only when Leon’s out of sight that he pulls me into the elevator and hits the penthouse button.
Wrapping his arms around me, he holds me tight against him. I relax into his chest, my body trembling as my anxiety melts away.
“Are you okay?”
I silently nod, reaching up to grip the front of his shirt. He doesn’t say anything else as we ride up to our floor, but he doesn’t release me the whole way.
When the elevator reaches our floor, I move to step away from him, but he doesn’t let me. Instead, he scoops me up into his arms, provoking a surprised yelp out of me.
“Jayce? What are you…?”
He cuts me off with a quick, firm kiss to my lips, then proceeds to carry me out of the elevator and toward the penthouse door.
Once inside, he crosses to the couch in the living room and sits down, arranging me on his lap. Brushing a lock of hair behind my ear, he finally speaks in a firm but gentle voice.
“Something about him doesn’t sit right with me. Tell me everything you know about that asshole. Again.”
I release a long breath, exhausted by the prospect, but I begin.
“Okay, I didn’t know any of this at first, but Aunt Delilah has slowly filled me in. From what I can figure out, Mom and Aubrey, Leon’s mother, were close in college. They both married wealthy, but after school they lost touch when Holloway Architecture fell into financial trouble. Mom once mentioned that Aubrey wanted Dad to join in on some business deal with Leon’s father, Leon Senior, but my dad turned it down. That was before Colson, and well after, I don’t think my mom was in any shape to try to maintain friendships. I believe Leon Senior passed last year and I’m guessing that’s when Aubrey got back in touch. Mom always felt guilty for how things ended between her and Aubrey when the deal between the firms fell through.”
“Why?” Jayce asks.
The question catches me off guard for a moment. “Well… I guess she thought if they’d agreed to the deal, they wouldn’t have lost touch, like their friendship would have remained stronger or something. Plus, I think now she believes it would’ve taken some of the stress off Leon Senior’s shoulders or something and maybe he’d still be here. I don’t know. It’s all weird to me.”
“So the deal fell through, and after years of not speaking, they suddenly reconnect only for the purpose of marrying Leon?” Jayce states, pushing the conversation forward.
I nod. “Yeah, pretty much. It’s pretty fucked up when you consider it all.”
“Yeah, it is.”
Silence stretches between us for a moment, but the knot in my stomach only twists tighter.
My fingers fidget together in my lap, the compulsion to bite my nails riding me hard. “There’s…more.”
