My.
Damian’s voice dropped.
“She has not said yes.”
The guests shifted.
That simple truth changed everything.
The contract had not been sealed.
Leonardo knew it too.
His face darkened.
He reached for you.
Damian caught his wrist before his fingers touched your shoulder.
No one saw him move.
One second Leonardo’s hand was reaching.
The next, it was trapped in Damian’s grip.
Leonardo’s mouth tightened in pain.
Damian leaned close.
“If you touch her again, you will need a surgeon to sign your marriage license.”
A shocked murmur rolled through the room.
Leonardo yanked his hand free.
“You’re threatening me in front of three hundred witnesses?”
Damian looked around the ballroom.
“Good. Then everyone heard me.”
He bent and lifted you carefully into his arms.
The room blurred again.
You smelled his cologne—cedar, smoke, something cold and clean.
You wanted to tell him to put you down.
You wanted to say you could walk.
But you couldn’t.
So you let the most feared man in Chicago carry you away from the altar where you had almost given your life to a man who treated your fear like disobedience.
