Page 40 of Save Us
Leo remains firmly outside of my room until I’m expected down for dinner, being that neither of us trusts any of the guests who are downstairs, particularly Chad after his performance at lunchtime. Thankfully, I get to choose my own outfit for the formal engagement that is taking place this evening, so opt for something much more respectful, if not a little dowdy in the hopes it will dissuade Chad from trying anything. I’m also hoping that given the fact I was excused for feeling unwell earlier, I’ll be allowed to sneak away at a reasonable time.
As Leo grips hold of my arm tightly, accompanying me down the stairs as slow as I can, he smiles before leaning in to whisper, “I won’t leave your side, sweetheart. Just let me know when and where you need to go at any point.”
Dinner goes by quite uneventfully, apart from the men discussing boring Mayfield business. It’s ninety-nine percent chauvinistic bullshit, which even has Felicity rolling her eyes. Fortunately, however, Elsie had already reserved a chair for me right next to her and is about as far away from Chad as possible. We ignore the menfolk and their over-inflated egos, to discuss a few of her charities and how she got to meet various famous people on her travels. After dinner, the women are escorted into the living room where we are offered after-dinner coffees while the kings resign to my grandfather’s study to smoke cigars.
Felicity, who isn’t even trying to hide how bored and frustrated she is by this evening’s entertainment, or lack of, remains silent. On the other side of the living room, Elsie, me, and two other wives of Mayfield talk about this and that. It’s not exactly the happening lifestyle of a twenty-three-year-old on a Saturday night, but I guess my life hasn’t been anywhere near normal since the day I agreed to marry Oliver. As such, I’ve learned to play my part well and could easily pass for one of these middle-aged housewives.
Eventually, coffee and wine get the better of me and I have to excuse myself to go to the lady’s room. Leo dutifully accompanies me and waits outside while I slip inside to go and relieve myself and work out how long I need to wait until I can make my excuses and return to my room. However, as soon as I switch on the light, I realize I’m not alone. I open my mouth to shout for Leo but before I can make any sound, a hand smothers my attempts.
Backing me up against the wall, Chad’s hooded eyes travel slowly up and down my body before he leans in to lick me slowly inside the crook of my neck. His hot tongue makes me feel woozy, but I force myself to keep my shit together; who knows what the hell he has planned.
“Feel me, Beth?” he whispers against my skin as he presses his erection into my stomach. I try to scream but he only presses his hand harder against my mouth so all that can be heard is a pitiful muffle. “Fuck, I’ve wanted you since I first laid eyes on you, baby.”
His mouth travels down between my cleavage as he nips and sucks my flesh behind the fabric of my dress. His free hand moves roughly down to the hem of my skirt before reaching underneath where he cups my core. His movements are jerky, erratic, and much too coarse for him to be thinking about this clearly or rationally. He’s about to sexually assault Carl Steele’s granddaughter right inside his very house, and yet it doesn’t seem to perturb him at all. Realizing there is nothing I can do with this crazed and lust-filled man, I release streams of tears and begin trying to violently shake my head, telling him no, I don’t want this.
As could have been predicted, he ignores my silent pleas and begins to enter into a trance-like state, forgetting himself when he kneels down to place his face to the apex of my thighs where he takes a deep inhale of me. It reminds me of the first time Oliver touched me when I was feeling just as sick as I am now.
His rapture makes him clumsy and the hand across my mouth lets go, giving me the opportunity to scream out loud for Leo. His shocked eyes look back at me, just as his hands flop to his sides. I take advantage of his shock by thrusting my knee into his face. A muffled moan escapes his lips as he flies back to the floor while clutching onto his nose and releasing streams of water from his bloodshot eyes. Leo bursts in with a thunderous scowl on his face, taking in the scene with a horrified expression.
“You alright?” he asks at the same time as orientating his body to provide a physical barrier between Chad and me.
All I can do is nod. I’m still panting in shock and clutching onto the back of his jacket for dear life.
“We need to get your grandfather!” he growls through clenched teeth, causing Chad to throw his hands up defensively and begin pleading with just his eyes. Fresh blood is now trickling down from his inflamed nose. “Don’t even bother asking for forgiveness, asshole, you deserve all you get!” Leo roars at a petrified-looking Chad. “If Carl Steele doesn’t kill you, then Oliver Lawrence sure will!”
I don’t look at Chad’s reaction straight away, I’m too busy thinking about the position I’m now in. Having to rely on the likes of my evil grandfather and psychotic husband to come in like knights in shining armor to save me, has me feeling nauseated all over again. I can’t even bear the thought of it, and even if I could, I know it would cause Chad to come to a very sticky and painful end. For some unknown reason, I cannot have that on my conscience, so I sigh heavily and pull back on Leo’s hand.
“Let’s just leave it, Leo,” I say quietly, spying the relief in Chad’s eyes before he begins nodding frantically at us. “I don’t want either of them to come in and save me. I just want to go to bed,” I tell him before turning my angry, narrowed eyes back on Chad, “alone!”
“Fuck, Be…I mean, Angela, I’m sorry, I just…God, please don’t tell them!” he stutters like the pathetic miscreant he is. “You know what they’ll do to me. I mean look at what they’ve done to you, to someone they supposedly care about!”
“Careful, Chad,” I snarl, “I might change my mind! Don’t ever touch me again! Don’t talk to me, don’t even look at me. Do.You.Understand?”
“Y-y-yes, of course, I’m sorry!” he gasps from his begging position on the floor.
“Come on, Leo, let’s go,” I say softly to my real knight in shining armor, who eventually releases some of the tension in his tight muscles, then turns to leave with me. As we exit the stifling little room, we both hear Chad let out a long, heavy, relieved breath. For some reason, it makes me feel even sicker.
“You going to be ok, sweetheart?” Leo looks at me with fatherly concern.
“Honestly? Who knows?!” I laugh softly, suddenly feeling exhausted by everything. “Something would be wrong if I wasn’t being attacked or molested in some way.” Leo shakes his head, looking to the floor with an exasperated sigh, but then forces a smile to his face, just for my benefit. “Night, Leo,” I whisper and blow him a silly kiss before slipping into my room.
“Night, sweetheart,” Leo chuckles, then closes the door behind me.
Chapter 16
Xander
An unexpected knock at my door has me frowning in surprise. When I hear Casey open it up to a voice that sounds familiar, but not in a Bodhi or my family kind of way, it only makes the unsettled feeling in my stomach feel even worse. Put that together with the sound of my sister giggling flirtatiously with the guy, I waste no time in marching myself out into the living room as quick as I can. Once there, I’m met with two grinning faces heading straight toward me. Casey is leading none other than Jonah Fox into the kitchen where he takes a seat at the exact same stool as he had sat the last time we had met here.
Once over the shock of it, I walk toward the man in his immaculate suit and shake his hand with as much of a tight grip as he has on mine. He smiles with free abandon while I eye him suspiciously, for I will never trust a Mayfield man, or woman, for that matter. Having one turn up uninvited is definitely enough to get my defenses up.
“Mr Fox, to what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask, making no attempt to hide the suspicion in my voice. “New York to California is such a long way to come for a social trip.”
“Quite,” he replies politely, “but I wanted to warn you of something; something that will be coming soon. I also wanted to deliver the good news myself.”
“And that would be?” I ask, slamming my hands on my hips just as I eye Casey eavesdropping with keen interest in the background. She’s been stirring the same cup of coffee the whole time, so I know she’s listening.
“Things are about to shift in the Mayfield organization,” he says smugly, “however, before that can happen, I need to begin shedding some bad light on Oliver. I need to make him sweat a bit, turn his attention away from…other things.”