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Then, to my complete amazement, he placed one large hand on my lower back, and carefully grasped the back of my neck with the other. His grip was so firm, so commanding, that I simply followed his lead as he leaned me slightly back. Honest to God, I thought I was having an out of body experience as he laid a big, fat, no-tongue but a lot of soft lip, kiss on me.
It was the lamest kiss I’ve ever had in my life.
When Diego pulled back, he wasn’t looking at me with lust, but with a trace of amusement mixed with tension.
As I struggled to figure out what in the hell was going on, he whispered against my cheek, “Just go with it, little songbird, but don’t think this is me hitting on you.”
Confused, I whispered back, “Good, because kissing you is like kissing my pillow. Actually, maybe less fun.”
Diego let out a roaring laugh, his head falling back and some of the tension leaving his body. “Trust me, the feeling—”
Whatever he was about to say was lost because Mark, appearing out of nowhere, grabbed Diego’s shoulder and spun him around before socking him in the jaw. “Get your hands off her!”
“Oh shit,” Hannah hissed.
Diego, the crazy asshole, laughed again and launched himself at Mark. The two men rolled around on the floor together in their perfect tuxedos, surrounded by gaping spectators.
“Fuck you, Layla’s mine.”
“Over my dead fucking body. She’s mine!” Mark growled, looking utterly crazed as he threw a flurry of blows at Diego’s midsection.
As the crowd around us grew and pressed close, I began to pant, the feeling of violence saturating the air. My anxiety began to creep in, insisting I was in danger, urging me to flee. The fear grew, became more intense at the sight of someone’s blood splashing on the shiny floor.
Across the room, the blonde woman in green who’d been kissing Mark earlier stared daggers at me. Next to her stood a beautiful, regal looking woman who was an unusual mix of dark bronze skin and pale copper hair with clear blue eyes. She also watched me with a frozen expression that somehow still conveyed a sense of hurt and anger. My gaze went back to the blonde and I shuddered. I recognized the malice filled sneer twisting her beautiful face, had seen a version of it on my mother’s face a hundred times before.
I blindly reached in Hannah’s direction, clutching to her bicep as a whimper escaped me.
“Leo,” Hannah snapped over the sound of shouting while the bodyguards broke the fight up. “We have to leave. Now.”
I managed to roll my eyes in Leo’s direction. Whatever he saw in my expression had him swooping in and throwing a protective arm around my shoulder. He was a big, big man and I felt as if I was a terrified mouse hiding in the all-encompassing shadow of a mountain.
With Leo on one side, and Vali and Hannah on the other, I was practically carried out of the room and down a long hallway.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I kept whispering over and over.
“Hush,” Hannah crooned as she helped me into the waiting limo.
Leo sat across from us, his dark gaze glittering as he watched his wife hug me. “I’m going to kick Diego’s ass.”
“I’m afraid Mark’s one step ahead of you,” Hannah muttered. “Layla, are you okay?”
Shaking, I tried to respond, but I wasn’t quite there yet. Instead I gave her a small nod and attempted to regain my calm as Vali put his heavy head on my lap. The weight of Hannah’s tight hug and Vali’s body gave me an anchor to grab onto as I spun in the maelstrom of my anxiety. It was all too much. I was overwhelmed and going down fast. I hated what was about to come, hated that they were going to see me at my worst.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I whispered over and over, apologizing for what I knew was coming.
Broken, adrift in my own mind, I was helpless as my demons swallowed me in bloody chunks. Curling into myself, I pulled all my hair forward and hid, starting the repetitive rocking that was the only thing that could soothe me. There, in the safety of my hair, I let out little moans as someone stroked my back. I have no idea how long I was in the limo, but when I finally started to come out of my panic attack, I realized we were no longer moving.
Instead, we were parked in front of Hannah and Leo’s amazing house that would have taken my breath away in normal circumstances.
Now, I barely noticed it as I found Hannah curled up in the seat next to me, watching me with a tear-stained face.
Clutching a handful of wrinkled tissues, she said, “Hey, sweetheart, you back with me?”
