From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 55

She fought to suppress the overwhelming lump in her throat, offering a soft apology. "I'm sorry."

Xavier's gaze upon her face grew icy. His chest heaved slightly, and his tone was decidedly sharp. "Ms. Sterling..."

Knowing exactly what he was about to accuse her of, and already feeling utterly miserable, a spark of defiance flared up inside her. "Mr. Ford, you truly misunderstand me. I absolutely do not have any ulterior motives toward you!"

The aura radiating from him suddenly turned suffocatingly heavy, startling her.

Her voice betrayed a hint of timidity. "It's true. You have to believe me."

He gave her a dismissive, sidelong glance and simply turned on his heel to walk away.

Clearly, he didn't believe a word of it.

An ear-piercing horn suddenly shattered the air. A sports car was speeding wildly straight toward him.

"Mr. Ford, look out!"

She lunged forward in terror, meaning to shove him to safety. But his honed reflexes caused him to sidestep, sending her stumbling directly into the path of the oncoming vehicle.

Blind panic instantly seized her body.

Just as utter despair consumed her, a large arm hooked around her narrow waist, yanking her violently into a warm, solid embrace.

Lydia looked up in shock, locking onto his bottomless dark eyes.

She panted heavily, the harsh curses from the passing driver finally pulling her frozen mind back to reality. She realized she was pressed tightly against him, the faint, masculine scent of cedar wood wrapping around her. Listening to the frantic, pounding rhythm of his heart against her ear, she frantically pushed against his arm, her voice hoarse. "M-Mr. Ford..."

He released her the very next second.

She took a step back, clutching her chest in awkward lingering terror. "You scared me to death. Please don't jaywalk next time."

"Are you okay?"

"I was just waiting for my ride," he stated flatly.

Right on cue, Wesley pulled up smoothly in a black Bentley.

Lydia met Xavier's frosty gaze, her face burning bright red with embarrassment. She opened her mouth to explain her clumsy overreaction, but he wasn't interested in hearing it. He cleanly turned and slipped into the backseat.

It was the ever-friendly Wesley who handed her a spare umbrella.

Lydia watched the Bentley glide away, catching a final glimpse of Xavier's brooding, handsome profile through the tinted glass. She felt incredibly stifled.

But she couldn't deny that if he hadn't pulled her back, she would have been sent flying by that car.

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