Page 16 of Obsessive Love (The King #1)

Chapter Fifteen

Sophia

M y fists pound against his back as I flail around, trying to escape his hold and get another look at his face to confirm I'm not hallucinating, but his grip tightens around me, keeping me firmly in place over his shoulder as he jogs outside towards the other wedding guests fleeing from the chaos inside.

"Put me down!" I screech, twisting my body. I don't care if he ends up dropping me. I just want to be let go. I don't need to be carried around like some pathetic damsel in distress, especially not by a man who shouldn't even be here.

After carrying me further into the field behind the reception hall where everyone seems to be gathering, he slings me back over his shoulder, placing my feet firmly on the ground and holding on to me until he's sure I'm not unbalanced.

I push away from him and try to bat my hair and the veil out of my face to get a clear view of his face. When that doesn't work, I huff in frustration and try to locate the butterfly clip at the top of my head so that I can undo it.

"Need some help with that, dolcezza ?"

Every inch of me freezes as his voice washes over me. The nickname and the small hint of an Italian accent when he uses it send small shocks through my body, reminding me of that night at the club. There's no doubt in my mind about who my saviour is now. It's definitely him.

My fingers finally connect with the diamonds of the butterfly and I hurriedly unclip it, untangling it from my hair and moving it out of the way so I can peer up at my mystery man.

As my eyes connect with his, he winks and a smile creeps across his face whilst I stand there staring at him in shock and disbelief.

"Sophia!"

I turn around to see Jaylen running towards me, my mother and father trailing behind. When Jaylen reaches me, his arms wrap around me, and he tugs me against his heaving chest, placing a soft kiss on my head.

"Thank God you're okay. I got Jess and your mother out, but then I was caught up with James in a fight with some of the Americans. I couldn't find you after," he tells me, pulling away and scanning me head to toe to make sure I'm okay.

My mother and father appear at his sides, grabbing hold of me and pulling me in for a hug, telling me they're glad I'm okay.

"Sophia!"

"Will people stop bloody shouting my name," I mutter, detangling myself from my family's arms and turning around to see Jericho jogging across the stretch of grass towards me.

"Are you okay?" he asks when he reaches us, bending over slightly as he catches his breath. I nod, confused as to why he's asking considering he couldn't have seemed to care any less about me only twenty minutes ago.

His eyes brush over me as if to confirm that I'm telling him the truth before he turns to face the Italian stud who saved me.

"Thank you for getting her out of there, Kaleb."

My brows furrow in confusion and I'm positive I stop breathing for a moment as I watch them shake hands and bring each other in for one of those man hugs where they pat each other on the back a few times.

"No problem, brother."

Wait, what?

I can't contain the choked gasp that escapes me as my eyes ping-pong between them. Jericho and Kaleb, the Italian stud that I had sex with only a few nights ago, turns to face me. Jericho looks equally as confused as I do, but Kaleb smirks, his piercing blue eyes burning into mine.

"Oh, pardon me. Let me introduce myself. I'm Kaleb, Jericho's younger brother. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sophia. I apologise for running a tad late for the wedding, but I think saving you from being shot should suffice as a big enough apology, right?"

My gaze flicks between the two of them as the reality of the situation starts to settle in.

Holy shit.

I've fucked my husband's brother.

He holds his hand out in front of him, looking at me expectantly as if he's waiting to see if I'll go along with his charade of not knowing who he is or spill the beans.

I quickly gather myself, pretending to be unaffected by the bomb that's just been dropped on me and I place my hand in Kaleb's palm.

"Apology accepted," I say, my voice quiet and shaky.

"Well, sorry this hasn't exactly gone to plan," Jericho says, interrupting the tense moment between Kaleb and me. "We need to go find our father so that we can talk about this whole mess. Michael, you find Dominic, and then we can all talk about the situation and decide what we're going to do with the two Americans that we've managed to keep alive and talking."

My father's jaw clenches, likely because he's being told what to do, but he nods his head nonetheless before kissing me on the cheek and then walking away with my mother.

"Jaylen, can you take Sophia back to my house? Leo should be waiting to let you in at the gate, and then my housekeeper, Myra, will show you both to your rooms and help you get situated." Once Jaylen nods, Jericho turns and walks away, ignoring my existence completely.

Meanwhile, Kaleb stands there staring at me, his eyes roaming across my face and down my body, seemingly taking in every detail.

Jaylen tugs on my arm, dragging my attention away from my husband's brother.

"Let's go, Soph," he urges, glancing between Kaleb and I.

On the ride over to Jericho's house, the car is filled with complete and utter silence. Jaylen keeps sneaking glances at me, and I know he wants to talk, but I'm purposefully ignoring him, playing with the butterfly clip in my hand and pretending not to notice so that he'll hopefully continue to leave me alone.

Anger simmers inside of me as I try to wrap my head around the fact the Italian hunk that I slept with and had the most amazing night with is my new husband's brother. The way Kaleb acted just then when he introduced himself also has me convinced that he knew exactly who I was that night, yet he still pursued me. I feel betrayed and confused by the whole situation and I'm unsure of what I should do now.

Do I tell Jericho that I've slept with his brother and potentially ruined this marriage before it's even begun? Would Jericho even care, considering it's an arranged marriage and neither of us has feelings for each other?

I'm snapped out of my conflicted thoughts when the car comes to an abrupt stop. I glance out the window and I'm met with trees lining the road and gates a few metres up ahead. I finally turn to Jaylen, who's already staring at me.

"Why have we stopped?"

He raises his brows and gives me an incredulous look, knowing I'm playing stupid.

"Soph, we're about to enter unknown territory and both of us have no idea what to expect once we pass through those gates. Therefore, we need to talk first so that you can stop being pissed at me and we can be united and face whatever we have to together," he tells me, turning off the ignition and twisting in his seat so that he's facing me.

I sigh and roll my eyes, glancing back outside the window. He has a point, which annoys me further, but I have to admit that what he's said makes sense. Jaylen has spent half his life protecting me and keeping me safe, I can't hold a grudge against him and ice him out right now when we're going into an unknown situation.

"Did you know who he was?" I ask, staring at the gates ahead of us and trying to catch a glimpse of Jericho's house through the trees.

"At first, I didn't recognise him, but once I saw you dancing with him, I knew who he was and that's why I attempted to intervene."

"Intervene?" I shout, turning my blazing glare his way. "You should've stopped me from doing anything more than dancing with him! Jesus, Jaylen. You should've strolled straight up to me and told me who the fuck he was and dragged me away from him."

"Hey, in my defence, I tried to get you away from him. Yeah, maybe I should've stated the obvious, but Soph, you'd actually let your hair down for once and you were really enjoying yourself with him. It was weird to see, so I didn't want to drop the bomb on you straight away. Plus, you'd spent the whole night complaining about marrying a man you didn't want, so I thought fuck it, the marriage is already doomed, why not let it get a little more complicated than it already is."

"Are you kidding me?" I shove his shoulder and shake my head in disbelief at what I've just heard him say.

"It was only one night, Soph, and as far as I can tell, he hasn't gone and told everyone about it, so as long as you both keep quiet, I don't see how it's a problem."

I shake my head, leaning back in my chair as I stare at the roof of the car, contemplating what I'm meant to do.

"All I'm saying is it's happened now, and nothing can be done about it, so there's no point dwelling on it. You had a good night with him, you let loose and you both got what you wanted. So, I think the only solution here is to have a conversation with him about keeping quiet, and then everything should be fine," he says, patting my hand.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I mutter, annoyed with the situation and done with the conversation. I nod towards the gates up ahead. "Let's get this over and done with so that we can get inside and go to sleep. This day has been exhausting and I need some time to think everything over."

Jaylen watches me for a few moments, then starts up the car again and drives to the gate. He unwinds his window and presses the buzzer on the metal box. A static deep voice says something through the speaker and then a moment later, the gates creak open.

As the car rolls forward, a tall, broad man appears from the side of the long pebbled driveaway, making his way to the car. I scan his attire, taking note of the black cargo pants, the tight black t-shirt, the chunky combat boots, and lastly, the bulky gun strapped across his body.

Instead of walking over to Jaylen's open window like I was expecting him to, he moves towards mine and knocks on the window, waiting for me to open it.

I glance at Jaylen and when he nods, I press the button, watching as my window rolls down. The man crouches until his head is aligned with mine and I gulp as I stare into the black pits of his eyes.

"The name's Leo," he says, drawing my attention away from his eyes and down to his moving lips where I spot a nasty scar that runs down from the side of his nose, through both of his lips, and ends at his chin. "I'm usually on the gate and I'm also the head of Jericho's security team, so if you have any issues whilst you're here, I'm the one you find."

I nod my head, not wanting to attempt to speak whilst in proximity to his frightening aura.

"If I'm not at the gate, this is the code you'll need to come in or out." He reaches his gloved hand through the window, handing me a piece of paper. "Memorise it and then burn it. Don't want anyone else getting their hands on that."

I nod again, focusing on his inky hair instead of his facial features.

"That's all. Drive up the road and park outside the steps. Myra will be there to greet you and someone will park the car in the garage." With that said, he taps his hand against the side of the car, stands to his full height, and then disappears back into the darkness surrounding the entrance gate.

I quickly wind my window back up and then look over at Jaylen as he slowly drives forward.

"Did you see the scar on his face?"

"I don't think anyone can miss it, Soph. It's gnarly," he replies, exaggerating a shiver along with his words. "Looks like a scary dude. Makes sense that he's head of security if you ask me."