Chapter 4 - The Midnight Confrontation in the Library
The black town car slid through the wrought-iron gates of the Santoro estate precisely at 9:58 PM.
When Marcus dropped me off at the side entrance, I didn't bother going to my staff quarters. The adrenaline and anger coursing through my veins were too hot to let me sleep. I marched down the dimly lit hallway, my sensible black heels replaced by the strappy black sandals, the burgundy silk swishing angrily against my legs.
The library doors were wide open.
A single reading lamp cast a warm, golden glow over the towering mahogany bookshelves. Leo sat at the large executive desk, reviewing a stack of shipping manifests, a glass of amber scotch resting near his right hand. He had discarded his tie entirely, the top three buttons of his white shirt open, revealing the dark ink of his chest tattoos.
He didn't look up when I stormed into the room.
"You ruined it," I snapped, stopping dead in front of his desk and slamming my handbag down onto the polished wood. "You absolute control freak! You sent a human boulder to sit three feet away from us the entire night! Greg thinks I’m insane!"
Leo slowly lowered the manifest. He raised his dark eyes, looking me up and down with agonizing slowness. His gaze lingered on the burgundy silk, tracing the curves of my body before finally meeting my furious eyes.
"Did you eat your pasta?" Leo asked calmly.
"What?!" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "I am talking about privacy, boundaries, and basic human decency, and you're asking about my pasta?!"
"Marcus reported that you barely touched your entrée," Leo said, standing up from his leather chair. He was towering, imposing, and completely unfazed by my screaming. He rounded the desk, closing the distance between us with slow, predatory steps. "He said the actuary talked about his golden retriever for twenty uninterrupted minutes while you stared at your water glass like you wanted to drown in it."
"Because I was humiliated!" I shot back, stepping forward to meet him, refusing to cower. "You turned my life into a circus act! Why couldn't you just let me have one normal night? Why do you care so much what I wear or who I see?"
Leo stopped inches away from me. The heat radiating off his body was overwhelming. He reached out, his long fingers gently catching a strand of my dark curls that had come loose from my updo, tucking it behind my ear. His touch was feather-light, yet impossible to escape.
"Because every minute you spend pretending to be a normal woman sitting across from a boring man in a cheap restaurant is a lie, Tessa," Leo murmured, his voice dropping into a raw, dangerous register. "You aren't ordinary. You never were. And the moment you put on that dress and walked out of your room tonight, you weren't hiding anymore. You were daring the world to look at you. And if the world looks at you, it has to answer to me."
"I don't want a master, Leo," I whispered, my voice finally cracking, the anger melting away into a heavy, aching vulnerability. "I want a choice."
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Leo’s hand slid down from my hair, resting gently on the back of my neck, his thumb stroking my pulse point. His dark eyes searched my face, reading every line of exhaustion, defiance, and unspoken desire.
"Then make a choice, Tessa," Leo whispered, his lips hovering dangerously close to mine. "Stay in the gray uniform and pretend you're invisible. Or take off the armor... and let me show you what it means to be truly seen."
