Chapter 7 Sora
SORA
My heart is hammering so hard against my ribs, I’m sure it’s going to burst, and for a fraction of a second, I don’t know that I’ll have the strength to stop Leo.
Not because he won’t stop, but because I’m not sure I want him to. And that realization terrifies me more than being caught alone with a man before we’re married.
“We should get back to the party before people notice we’re gone,” I murmur, clinging to the last dregs of self-restraint, even as the heat rippling across my skin makes me lightheaded and giddy.
Leo’s lips stop just inches from mine, his dark eyes lifting to meet my gaze, and my breath catches as time stands still, the tension buzzing like an electric current between us.
It’s suffocating, intoxicating, addicting. I almost tell him I’ve changed my mind, that I want him to kiss me and break this spell.
Then his Adam’s apple bobs, and Leo pulls back with a curt nod, shattering the moment.
Releasing a shaky breath, I try to calm my racing heart, but it can’t seem to find a steady beat.
“You’re right,” he agrees, releasing my wrists to give me space.
My skin tingles where he touched it, and my flesh feels extra-sensitive beneath the heavy fabric of my dress as I straighten it and stand tall.
Then I turn to exit the restroom.
I glimpse my reflection in the mirror as I turn, and despite the heavy layer of makeup, my cheeks look flushed, my eyes bright with excitement.
A shiver races down my spine, and I don’t look back as I return to the party, praying Leo knows to give me a few minutes’ head start.
“Sora, there you are,” my mother says as soon as I step back into the lounge. “Dinner’s just been served. We’re moving to the dining room.” She casts a glance behind me with a subtle frown that makes my stomach knot. “Where’s your groom?”
“He’s not here?” I ask lightly, feigning innocence as I glance around.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” she says, waving her question away. “No doubt he’ll find us.”
Staying close to my side, my mother follows close behind my father and brother as the wedding party and immediate family adjourn to the dining room.
Don Augusta leads the way, taking his place at the head of the table, and he gestures for us to take our seats.
Somewhere along the way, Leo joined the entourage without my noticing, and as he settles into the seat across the table from me, a tingling buzz fills my brain, numbing my ears until I can barely hear the don’s toast celebrating our impending nuptials.
All through dinner, my body feels like I’ve been injected with Novocain, my mind slightly detached from the world around me as I try to make sense of what just happened between me and Leo.
I thought he hated me.
I’ve spent the past four months convinced he wanted nothing to do with me, considering the lengths he’s gone to try to make me break off the engagement.
But what took place in the bathroom could almost convince me otherwise.
I’m confident he intended to kiss me. And God, I wanted him to.
He said he wants me.
What the hell does that even mean?
By all that’s right, I’m already practically his.
Tomorrow, I will be.
And yet, I can’t overlook the effort he’s put into changing that.
So, why can’t I shake this feeling?
It feels like the air between us has been electrified, and every time our eyes meet, my skin lights on fire.
I scarcely taste the five-course meal that’s set before us.
Conversation is a constant hum in the background that I can’t seem to focus on for any length of time.
And before I know it, the evening is coming to a close, the rehearsal dinner ending just before eight o’clock so everyone will get a good night’s sleep before the big day.
In that time, Leo hasn’t said more than three words to me, an invisible wall rising between us now that we have a table stopping him from touching me, and a sliver of fresh doubt works its way into the back of my mind.
Maybe his desire for me was momentary, a fleeting need created because tonight is the last night he could want what he can’t have.
The Chiaroscuro brothers join their father in the foyer to send their guests off for the night, and as I filter past, the don gives me a polite nod, his younger sons doing the same.
As I pass Leo, he barely glances at me in acknowledgment, and my heart sinks as I realize I’ve let my attraction to him run away with me again.
Then a jolt of electricity races from my fingertips and up my arm as he catches my fingers in a light grasp, stopping me from leaving.
I turn, my breath catching in my throat as I meet Leo’s molten chocolate eyes, and I sense more than see my family pause beside me, my brother bristling silently.
“Enjoy your last night of freedom, Miss Tanaka,” Leo says when the tension reaches its breaking point. “I’ll see you at the altar.”
It almost sounds more like a question than a promise, and he holds my gaze pointedly as he lifts my knuckles to his lips like some proper gentleman from the English court.
They brush across my skin so softly, a shiver ripples up my spine, and that same heat that flooded me in the bathroom with him pools deep in my belly once again.
“I’ll see you at the altar,” I confirm, infusing my voice with as much conviction as I can when I feel so completely breathless.
He releases my hand, and I practically snatch it back as I turn to retreat to our car, my pulse roaring in my ears.
I seriously can’t find my balance around that man. He’s rude and uncouth and infuriating.
Half the time, I think he loathes me just for existing, but whenever he touches me, it does things to my body that I can’t quite explain.
I hate that he affects me the way he does. It feels self-destructive when most of the time, he seems so indifferent to me.
But whenever he gets close, I can’t seem to think straight.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been sheltered by my family my entire life.
After all, Leo’s the only man who’s ever even dared to touch me.
I just wish I had more self-control around him, but I can’t deny that Leo is gorgeous, and even when he’s being a jerk, he touches me in ways that make my heart flutter.
“I don’t like that you’re dressed like one of his sluts tonight,” my father says as soon as the limo door shuts behind us.
“Should I have refused Leo’s gift, then?” I counter mildly, snapping out of my revere as my cheeks burn.
“We have better manners than that. But if the Chiaroscuros weren’t known for being so vulgar, I’d almost think he did it intentionally to toy with us.”
“And don’t think we didn’t notice your little disappearing act tonight,” Kenji piles on. “You'd better not be giving the milk away for free before we’ve sold the cow.”
It takes everything I have not to voice my scathing retort, but I know what will happen if I talk back, and it will be my fault, too, if my skin isn’t flawless for tomorrow’s ceremony.
So I bite my tongue and force my face into a passive expression.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I state calmly, then I turn to look out the window so they won’t see the lie in my eyes.
Because they can’t know just how close I came to doing exactly that tonight.
I don’t know how far Leo would have taken it if I’d allowed him to kiss me, but just thinking about it makes my skin heat and my stomach flutter.
“Leave her alone, Kenji,” my mother says. “It will all be over after tomorrow. Sora did well tonight.”
I’m mildly surprised that my mother would speak up for me. She doesn’t often, but when she does, it means a lot.
The rest of the car ride is silent, and when we get home, I head to my room at the back of the house to get ready for bed and perform my nightly skincare routine that will leave my face soft and glowing for tomorrow.
Only then, after I climb under my covers and can be sure I’m completely alone, am I able to process everything that happened tonight and the roller coaster of emotions that came with it.
I never expected to feel jealous about Leo.
I’ve spent all this time preparing myself for a husband I knew wouldn’t be faithful.
But seeing his hands on another woman was more devastating than I could have anticipated.
Even more surprising, however, is that Leo chose not to sleep with her.
Based on his reputation, I didn’t imagine him showing any of that kind of restraint.
Then to hear he didn’t go through with it because he wants me?
I’m still not sure I believe it.
It makes no sense at all. Not when, contractually, I’ll belong to him completely after tomorrow.
But I can’t deny the attraction I felt when he looked into my eyes and told me.
I can still feel the searing touch around my wrists, the heat of his strong, firm body pressed against mine, the swelling rod between us that would indicate he wasn’t lying.
My stomach quivers with nervous anticipation at the memory of his arousal.
Wet heat throbs between my thighs.
I’ve heard more than my fair share about the kind of lover Leonardo Chiaroscuro is supposed to be.
And for all the terrifying rumors about him and his family, there must be twice that many about the kind of pleasure he’s capable of giving.
At least I can hope that one part of our marriage won’t be a complete nightmare.
If tonight is any indicator, I might even have a chance of enjoying our wedding night.
My core throbs when I think about it, and Leo’s deep voice echoes darkly in my mind, threatening to do whatever he wants with me.
Somehow, I find it dangerously arousing rather than just plain terrifying.
I know it’s messed up when in the same breath, he was talking about treating me like his property.
But even knowing that, I can’t stop the excitement that hammers through my veins as I think about how he touched me.
I can still feel his heat wrapping around me, his masculine scent overwhelming my resistance as the oxygen vanished from the room.
That moment when Leo pressed his body firmly against mine floods my mind, his lips hovering just inches away, his molten gaze burning deep into my soul.
He cupped my cheek so tenderly, I thought my heart might shatter.
And when he leaned in…
My hand slides toward the hem of my silk slip as if it has a mind of its own, and when my fingertips brush against the bare skin of my thigh, my eyes slide closed to the fantasy of it being Leo’s hand instead of mine.
Electricity dances across my flesh, goosebumps rising as I run my fingers up the inside of my thigh, imagining his hand sliding beneath that red dress as he keeps me pinned against the door.
I gasp as my fingers brush the sensitive peak of my thighs, my clit throbbing to life at the thought of Leo touching me there, discovering how wet I am, how desperately I wanted him in the moment.
Slowly, I circle the sensitive flesh, spreading that silky wetness as I let my instincts take over.
Heat throbs in my core when I imagine Leo’s own arousal pressing against me, eager to claim me for his own.
I’ve never had sex before, but just thinking about it makes my stomach flutter and my pulse pound.
My wet lips feel swollen and tight beneath my fingers, and I press my lips together as a whimper of pleasure rushes up my throat.
“I want you,” Leo murmurs in my mind, my subconscious drawing his soft, rasping voice to the surface for me at just the right time.
And in a matter of seconds, I’m toppling over the edge into oblivion at the thought of Leonardo Chiaroscuro’s touch.