Repaying the Debt

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

It had just been too long since I’d been with anyone. I needed to get those thoughts out of my head. Leonardo Philips was way out of my league.

Why would someone like him even look at me when he could have anyone in that room that he wanted?

Leonardo returned holding a red and white plastic box. I drop my hands to my lap, trying not to fidget at his nearness. He kneeled in front of me, setting the box down onto the floor. Inspecting my hand and wrist before grabbing an alcohol pad and ripping the foil package open with straight, white teeth.

I hissed at the sharp sting and his lips twitched, “Hold still, this will only take a moment.”

He cleaned my hand and wrist before applying some antiseptic ointment and bandages.

“Really, I’m fine.”

“I don’t care about you hurting yourself.” He said, picking up the gauze pads. He pushed himself to stand above me and I looked up at him.

“Oh.” I looked down at my hands in my lap, unable to stand the look in his golden eyes.

“I care about Windswept, the piece you broke. I spent the last six months working on that and you broke it in a few seconds. You owe me.”

“How, how much does it cost?” I ask, feeling my blood start to run cold.

His lips pull back into a sneer, and I can feel the heat of his gaze. “It was the most expensive piece here.”

I looked up at him, feeling dizzy. It was more expensive than the other pieces I’d seen this evening. I didn’t know how I was ever going to be able to pay him.

“You broke it, so now you owe me.”

“But it was an accident-”

“So you’re saying you didn’t knock it over?” He asked, lifting an eyebrow at me as he tossed the gauze pads in the trash. His arms crossed over his chest, waiting for an answer.

“No, I didn’t say that.” I said, moving to stand.

“Then you owe me.” He repeated slowly, and I let out a sigh.

This wasn’t a man that I could reason with. “I don’t have any money. The only thing I’ve got is a mountain of student loans and a job that’s barely keeping me afloat. I wouldn’t even be here tonight if my roommate hadn’t gotten the invite from one of her modeling buddies.”

“That changes nothing.”

“Maybe I can do something, like work part time for you?”

Leonardo’s golden eyes filled with a strange light, he walked closer to me. I felt like I was falling. How could he be so handsome and intimidating?

“You owe me. Don’t worry, it’s not money that I want.” His voice was deep as he leaned over me. Warm breath moving over my skin, making me feel dizzy.

Was this because of the cut, had I lost more blood than I realized? Maybe I did need to go to the hospital? I sucked in a breath, trying to clear my head. It didn’t work. Instead, I got a deep lungful of that sweet, cinnamon smell of his.

I tried to step away from him, and he took a prowling step closer to me. Making me feel like I was being hunted. I fought down the urge to run from him, knowing that there was nowhere for me to go.

No where that he wouldn’t be able to find me.

“What do you want from me?”

His full lips twitched into a half smile and I hated how my heart fluttered. Tongue tucking behind his teeth as he ran his eyes up and down my body. “That’s easy, marry me.”

“What?” I asked, not sure that I had heard him right.

“You heard me.” He said, moving closer to me. His body flush against mine. “Marry me.”

There had to be something wrong with him to make him think that I would marry him just to pay off my debt. I looked up at him, unsure of what I was supposed to say.

“M, m, marry you?” I asked, feeling my throat tighten. Panic made my heart beat faster. It didn’t help that he was standing so close to me. “I, I can’t. I don’t even know you. If you want someone to marry you, my-”

“You’re being overly dramatic.” Leonardo said, his arms falling to his sides as he let out an exasperated sigh before stepping back. “It’s not a real marriage. I just need you to pretend for a while.”

“Huh?” I asked, feeling some of the panic slip away. Now that he wasn’t leaning over me, filling my senses with that delicious smell, it was easier to think.

“Sit down.” He ordered as he stepped closer to the wall, leaning against it. I moved back to the stool and sat down, trying not to think about the sculpture or how he wanted me to marry him. “You need to calm down.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I watched as he undid the buttons on his jacket before taking it off and folding it over his arm. I didn’t like being ordered around, but I don’t really feel like I can tell him that. Not when I owe him so much for breaking Windswept.

“My father has been pressuring me for the last two years to get married. I don’t want a wife.” Leo said, dragging his long fingers through his hair, making it fall into messy waves. “He won’t listen to me and he’s been threatening to arrange a marriage for me. Even though I won’t be happy, he doesn’t care.”

“Arranging a marriage, for you?”

“Yes.” Leo looked up at me, and I saw the tense line of his jaw as he gritted his teeth.

“I’m sorry, I can only imagine-” His shoulders tensed so I stopped, letting him finish what he was going to say.

“I can make my own choices and I know anyone who he picks wouldn’t be someone that I would want. I’d rather be alone than be with someone that he thinks would be best for my career.”

“Maybe, he’s trying to look out for you?” I ask, trying to figure Leo out. Surely his father wouldn’t set him up with someone awful.