Chapter 2 - The First Step into the FireThe classical orchestra, reading the sudden, life-or-death shift in the room's atmosphere, hastily transitioned into a deep, sweeping waltz.
As we reached the center of the polished parquet floor, Leandro turned to face me.
His right hand settled gently against the small of my back. It was firm, respectful, and held a possessive warmth that instantly cut through the cold, lingering shame Blair and Wesley had tried to bury me under. My left hand rested against his broad shoulder, feeling the iron strength beneath his dark wool tuxedo.
"You're shaking, Clare," Leandro murmured softly, leaning his head down near my ear so only I could hear his velvet baritone over the violins.
"I've never had three hundred people watch me like this," I admitted softly, my hazel eyes looking up into his dark gaze. "And... I'm wearing a ninety-dollar department-store dress."
A dark, breathtaking smile touched the unscarred side of Leandro’s lips—a look of pure, unadulterated devotion that made my knees feel like water.
"That ninety-dollar dress looks like a royal gown on you, Clare," Leandro whispered, his hand pressing slightly firmer against my back, pulling me half an inch closer as he swept me into a flawless, breathtaking turn. "And as for these people... let them watch. They are looking at the only real woman in Minneapolis."
From the edge of my peripheral vision, I saw Wesley trying to quietly slip out toward the terrace doors.
Leandro didn't even look away from my face, but his chief security lieutenant—a broad-shouldered man in a dark coat named Leo—stepped smoothly into the terrace doorway, crossing his arms, blocking Wesley's exit with a cold, terrifying smile.
"Why are you doing this for me, Leandro?" I asked quietly, my heart hammering against my ribs. "You don't know me. You're a billionaire who controls half the construction logistics on the East Coast."
"I know that you looked at my scars without flinching, Clare," Leandro answered, his dark eye locking onto mine with an intensity that took my breath away. "I know that when everyone else in this city was trying to bow to my money or run from my face... you laughed with me. You saw the man beneath the monster."
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He turned me smoothly through the center of the floor, his posture royal and sovereign, declaring our victory to the entire silent room.
"And in my world, Clare," Leandro whispered into my hair as the song drew to a close, "when a man finds a woman with a heart like yours... he never lets her walk alone again."
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