as simple as—”
“Do you know where he is? Is he
alive
?” she said, her voice rising.
“Jenna, for God’s sake, this is not the place to be discussing—”
Jenna shot up from the chair, her face blazing in the sudden burst of anger that surged through her. The chair fell over and crashed against the marble floor with a sharp clatter that turned heads around them. She ignored every-thing else and focused her vision like a laser beam onto Leander’s unsmiling face.
“Why have you been following me? What do you want from me? Where is my father?” she demanded.
He knew. He knew everything. He knew and he remained silent as a statue, staring at her with that infuriating look of cold condemnation, as if all he cared about was the scene she was making, as if all that mattered was maintaining decorum.
The truth,
you bastard
, she thought, bile rising in her throat,
that’s
what matters
.
Her hands began to tremble, as did her lower lip, her knees, and every nerve within her body. Something inside her snapped.
“
Who the hell are you people
?” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Everyone and everything in the bar fell into abrupt, complete silence save for Leander’s heart. This she heard as clear as a bell, thumping hard within his chest, strong and loud and filled with blood.
He stood up from his chair with an unhurried luxury of motion, every muscle flexed taut as he rose to face her. He regarded her with a gaze so icy it would have frozen molten lava.
“I am willing to answer all of your questions, Jenna, as you requested,” he said quietly, the anger obvious beneath the soft tone. “But perhaps it’s time we went somewhere less public to continue our discussion, as it seems to be getting rather...heated. I suggest my suite.”
Jenna bristled at this, still shaking. “You expect me to go with you, alone, to your suite, where you could do God knows what? If you think I am that gullible, you are
sadly
mistaken.”
His gaze thawed a few degrees and he allowed himself a cheerless smile. He lifted his hand and held it out toward her: an invitation. “If you don’t believe me...” He turned his palm up. “Satisfy yourself.”
Jenna stared at his outstretched hand and then back at his face, handsome and severe. She wouldn’t touch him again, she
couldn’t
. She wasn’t ready for the onslaught, for the terrifying glut of sensation that came with the pressure of his skin on hers. She would never be ready. It occurred to her she might never be able to touch anyone again, and she was so upside down she didn’t know if that bothered her or not.
So...she would just have to trust him.
“Fine. Your suite then,” Jenna said, curling her hands into fists again to control their shaking. “But we’re leaving the door
open
.”
Leander inclined his head without breaking her gaze. His voice low, he said, “Follow me.”
The
if you dare
was left unsaid, but she heard it clear as day anyway.
She didn’t go first. She followed the three of them as they moved silently through the lobby with its gargantuan flower displays and glistening mirrors, past the serene glassed atrium filled with tropical plants and a dark pond with restless orange koi, through the glass doors that opened outward with a burst of hot, rose-scented air. Those doors led to the back gardens and the private staircase that wound up to the presidential suite on the top floor.
She had refused to get into the elevator with the three of them.
She couldn’t take her eyes off them as they moved, seeing the animal in each one. The way their feet stepped without noise over marble and concrete and grass, the way their limbs moved, supple and elegant, powerful and lissome, every turn and bend revealing their true nature, every motion a symphony of natural, dangerous, perfect grace.
Jenna couldn’t help but picture them moving through a darkened forest, on the prowl.
Hunting.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Leander opened the
“Do you know where he is? Is he
alive
?” she said, her voice rising.
“Jenna, for God’s sake, this is not the place to be discussing—”
Jenna shot up from the chair, her face blazing in the sudden burst of anger that surged through her. The chair fell over and crashed against the marble floor with a sharp clatter that turned heads around them. She ignored every-thing else and focused her vision like a laser beam onto Leander’s unsmiling face.
“Why have you been following me? What do you want from me? Where is my father?” she demanded.
He knew. He knew everything. He knew and he remained silent as a statue, staring at her with that infuriating look of cold condemnation, as if all he cared about was the scene she was making, as if all that mattered was maintaining decorum.
The truth,
you bastard
, she thought, bile rising in her throat,
that’s
what matters
.
Her hands began to tremble, as did her lower lip, her knees, and every nerve within her body. Something inside her snapped.
“
Who the hell are you people
?” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Everyone and everything in the bar fell into abrupt, complete silence save for Leander’s heart. This she heard as clear as a bell, thumping hard within his chest, strong and loud and filled with blood.
He stood up from his chair with an unhurried luxury of motion, every muscle flexed taut as he rose to face her. He regarded her with a gaze so icy it would have frozen molten lava.
“I am willing to answer all of your questions, Jenna, as you requested,” he said quietly, the anger obvious beneath the soft tone. “But perhaps it’s time we went somewhere less public to continue our discussion, as it seems to be getting rather...heated. I suggest my suite.”
Jenna bristled at this, still shaking. “You expect me to go with you, alone, to your suite, where you could do God knows what? If you think I am that gullible, you are
sadly
mistaken.”
His gaze thawed a few degrees and he allowed himself a cheerless smile. He lifted his hand and held it out toward her: an invitation. “If you don’t believe me...” He turned his palm up. “Satisfy yourself.”
Jenna stared at his outstretched hand and then back at his face, handsome and severe. She wouldn’t touch him again, she
couldn’t
. She wasn’t ready for the onslaught, for the terrifying glut of sensation that came with the pressure of his skin on hers. She would never be ready. It occurred to her she might never be able to touch anyone again, and she was so upside down she didn’t know if that bothered her or not.
So...she would just have to trust him.
“Fine. Your suite then,” Jenna said, curling her hands into fists again to control their shaking. “But we’re leaving the door
open
.”
Leander inclined his head without breaking her gaze. His voice low, he said, “Follow me.”
The
if you dare
was left unsaid, but she heard it clear as day anyway.
She didn’t go first. She followed the three of them as they moved silently through the lobby with its gargantuan flower displays and glistening mirrors, past the serene glassed atrium filled with tropical plants and a dark pond with restless orange koi, through the glass doors that opened outward with a burst of hot, rose-scented air. Those doors led to the back gardens and the private staircase that wound up to the presidential suite on the top floor.
She had refused to get into the elevator with the three of them.
She couldn’t take her eyes off them as they moved, seeing the animal in each one. The way their feet stepped without noise over marble and concrete and grass, the way their limbs moved, supple and elegant, powerful and lissome, every turn and bend revealing their true nature, every motion a symphony of natural, dangerous, perfect grace.
Jenna couldn’t help but picture them moving through a darkened forest, on the prowl.
Hunting.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Leander opened the
Similar Books
