Slowly, reluctantly, Santiago released her hand. She swayed and braced her fingertips on the table as she faced her fiancé. Pure antagonism filled the look he sent her, and his relaxed, cordial demeanor was nowhere in sight. He placed a hand in the small of Abena’s back and stood close beside her.

Santiago’s body language betrayed how much he didn’t like the territorial move. He stiffened, tension evident in the rigid set to his shoulders and jaw.

Abena’s heart clenched in distress. Marc was her fiancé, and everything Santiago said was too late. Two years too late. She had moved on. Set a date. Made a promise. She couldn’t discount a guaranteed marriage to a man who loved her. She couldn’t trust Santiago’s belated declaration that she was somehow more special to him than the women he’d slept with.

“I’ve been searching everywhere for you,” Marc said.

“You found me.” She smiled brightly, if for no other reason but to convince Marc everything was fine, and to show Santiago he was wrong. She was happy and content. Her fiancé was a good man and he loved her. Her family loved him. They fit.

“Something you want to tell me?” Marc slid his long fingers between hers and tightened his fingers around hers.

Abena fought the overwhelming urge to wince. “No. Is everything okay at the hospital?”

“One of the nurses called about a patient and needed to verify some information.” He fixed a disturbingly intense gaze on her. “Enjoying yourself?”

His anger made her uneasy. “I am now that you’re back.” She’d never seen Marc like this. Nervousness skittered down her spine.

“Something going on between the two of you I should know about?”

“There’s nothing going on between us,” Santiago interjected, his gaze lowering to where Marc gripped Abena’s hand.

“I didn’t ask you.”

“Marc, please. Let’s not do this here. Let’s go somewhere and talk.”

“I need you to be quiet right now.” He shot an angry look in her direction. She couldn’t remember him ever speaking to her in such a tone.

“Don’t talk to her like that.” Santiago edged closer, body as tense as a rubber band moments from snapping back.

“I can talk to her any damn way I want. I’m the man she’s about to marry. You’re her co-worker, nothing more. Unless there’s something you’d like to tell me.” Rage simmered below the surface.

“Santiago, please, stay out of this.”

His hands fisted at his sides before his gaze finally slid over to her.

“I’m fine,” Abena said. She needed to calm Marc down, and Santiago antagonizing him would not help.

“Exactly what I thought,” Marc said with a smirk. “Let’s go.” He snatched Abena’s arm in a grip so harsh she winced.

Santiago reacted swiftly, grabbing the other man by the lapels and shoving him into the wall. Abena and several guests nearby gasped. Santiago brought his face close to Marc’s, and both men stared into each other’s eyes, like lions ready to rip each other’s throats out.

“Watch how you handle her,” Santiago gritted out.

“Santiago, Marc, please,” Abena murmured, her eyes skittering back and forth between the scene they made, guests nearby watching the action unfold.

“Or what?” Marc asked. His jaw firmed into a hard line, becoming so rigid she suspected he was close to shattering his teeth.

“Test me and find out.”

Santiago smiled, but it was more of a baring of his teeth. His profile truly became leonine right then, a mixture of feral anger and cool arrogance. It had to be the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. The strength he exuded, in the midst of the strained atmosphere, all because of her.

Nonetheless, Abena waited, heart thudding, holding her breath while praying they ended the tense standoff before their verbal fight turned into a physical altercation.

Finally, Marc seemed to make a decision. The tension eased from his body, the tight expression on his face softened and the hands gripping Santiago’s wrists fell to his side. He turned an eye to Abena. “I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Santiago released him and stepped back. He tugged the cuffs of his own tux back down to his wrists. He paid no attention to the people on this side of the ballroom who watched in alarmed silence. On the other side of the room, the music continued playing and guests not privy to the happenings in the back continued to dance, chat, and enjoy themselves.

“Are you all right?” he asked Abena.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

He swung his gaze to Marc again. “I’ll leave you two alone and tend to my date. But I’ll be watching.” Santiago shot one last look at Abena and walked off.

When he was out of earshot, Marc turned to her. “What the fuck was that? And who the hell is he? Your goddamn bodyguard?”

“He just didn’t like the way you grabbed me.” Absentmindedly, she touched her throbbing arm.

Quietly seething, Marc’s gaze panned the room. Except for a couple who peered back at them every so often, no one paid them any more attention. The well-dressed attendees quickly lost interest in the disturbance.

“We need to talk. In private.”

“We could step outside for a bit.”

A waiter came in from a side door, leading out into a quiet area. “There,” Marc said. He took off.

Abena gave the ogling couple a weak smile and followed after him.