Forbidden Chemistry

TheTerritorialClash

Lernand stopped in his tracks, his eyes darting from Jen's flushed face and flustered posture to the towering, immaculate billionaire standing inches away from her. The warm smile on Lernanad's face slowly faded, replaced by cool, protective alertness.

"Lernand," Jen breathed, relief washing over her face as she took a quick step toward her friend. " What are you doing here?"

" Gioia left her favorite dinosaur book at my clinic during her check-up yesterday," Lernand said smoothly, stepping fully into the boardroom and holding up a colorful children's book. His hazel eyes locked onto Thomas with calm, unbothered courage.

" I was on my way to the hospital and thought I'd drop it off at your office."

Lernand extended a warm, friendly hand toward the billionaire, stepping forward. " You must be the new owner. I'm Doctor Lernand Fernandez. I'm a close friend of Jen's..... and Gioia's pediatrician."

Thomas didn't take the offered hand.

He stood at his full, imposing height, a cold, lethal aura radiating from his broad shoulders. His dark brown eyes locked onto Lernand with a fierce, possessive jealousy so intense that the temperature in the room seemed to drop below freezing.

" I know who you are, Dr. Fernandez," Thomas said, his gravelly voice dropping into a low, deadly rumble that felt like a direct threat. " And you are standing in a private executive meeting."

The air inside the vast boardroom turned razor sharp.

Dr. Fernandez slowly lowered his unshakable hand, his hazel eyes narrowing slightly as he absorbed the hostile aura vibrating off Thomas Dave Bolduc. Lernand was no stranger to high-stakes situations. As a senior pediatrician surgeon who dealt with anxious families and complex medical crises daily, he possessed a calm, unbothered composure.

Yet, the towering man standing in front of him wasn't just an anxious executive; he was a walking predator marking his territory.

" My apologies," Lernand said smoothly, his tone polite yet devoid of any submission. He tucked his hand casually into his pocket, maintaining direct eye contact with the billionaire. " I didn't mean to interrupt a private session. The front desk mentioned that the transition meeting had concluded ten minutes ago."

" It concludes when I say it concludes, Doctor." Thomas replied, his gravelly voice dropping an octave into a low, lethal rumble.

Thomas took a slow, calculated step forward, placing his broad frame between Lernand and Jen. He looked over the room like a dark shadow, his dark brown eyes sweeping over Lernand with cold analytical disdain, evaluating the doctor's relaxed stance, his clean linen shirt, and the easy, familiar way he had spoken Jen's name.

The realization that this man had been a steady, comforting presence in Jen and Gioia's lives for five years while Thomas was locked away in Boston ignited an ugly, possessive heat in Thomas's chest.

" Lernand came to drop off Gioia's ebook, Thomas," Jen intervened sharply, stepping out from behind Thomas's broad shoulder. Her face was flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and rising panic. She walked straight to Lernand, taking the colorful dinosaur ebook from his hands. Thank you, Lernand. You didn't have to bring it all the way to the executive wing."

" It was no trouble at all, Jen." Lernand said softly, his expression softening as he looked at her. He reached out, casually placing a warm, reassuring hand on her upper arm, a simple, practiced gesture of comfort between long-time friends.

" You looked tired when I saw you yesterday. I wanted to make sure you and the little princess were doing alright."

The moment Lernand's fingers touched Jen's arms, a dark, dangerous shift occurred in Thomas.

In a split second, Thomas bridged the distance between them. Before Jen could react, Thomas's long, powerful fingers clamped firmly around Lernand's wrist, squeezing just enough to force the doctor's hand off Jen's arms.

" Touch her again," Thomas growled in a voice so thick with possessive threat that the temperature in the room plummeted, " and you won't be using that hand in an operating room again."

" Thomas!" Jen gasped in absolute horror, grabbing Thomas's arm to pull him back. " Stop it! What is wrong with you?!"

Lernand didn't flinch or cry out, though a sharp flicker of surprise crossed his hazel eyes at the raw, terrifying strength behind Thomas's grip, slowly, calmly, Lernand rotated his wrist, stepping back as Thomas released him.

" I see," Lernand murmured quietly, adjusting his watch cuff as he looked between Jen's frantic face and Thomas's blazing, murderous glare. The pieces of the puzzle instantly clicked together in the doctor's sharp mind. " You're the father."

The heavy word hung in the air like an unexploded bomb.

Thomas's jaw clenched tightly, a sharp muscle ticking along his cheekbone. He didn't deny it. He stood at his full, imposing height, his broad chest rising and falling with heavy, restrained breaths, silently owning the title with an ironclad, absolute arrogance.

" Lernand please," Jen begged, her voice trembling as she stood between the two men, her hands pressed against Thomas's firm chest to keep him from advancing further. " It's complicated. Please just go. I'll call you later."

Lernand looked at Jen, his eyes filled with a deep, protective concern. He had known Jen since she arrived in Cebu, pregnant, frightened, and fiercely determined to raise her child alone. He had helped her navigate doctor's appointments, had celebrated Gioia's birthdays, and had quietly held a deep affection for her that he had never forced upon her.

" I'll go, Jen," Lernand said softly, stepping back toward the frosted glass doors. He picked up his leather medical bag, then raised his eyes to meet Thomas's deadly stare with unwavering courage. " But if you ever bring your corporate chaos or your temper to Jen and Gioia, Mr. Bolduc... you will have to answer to me. I don't care how many billions you have."

Without waiting for a response, Lernand turned on his heel and exited the boardroom, the heavy doors clicking shut behind him.

The moment the doors closed, Jen spun around and shoved Thomas's chest with all the strength she possessed.

Thomas didn't budge an inch, but he allowed her anger to wash over him as she glared up at him, her eyes sparkling with furious, unshed tears.

" Are you completely insane?" Jen yelled, her voice echoing off the glass walls. " Lernand is my friend! He is Gioia's pediatrician! He was there when she had a hundred and three fever at two in the morning! He was there when I couldn't afford her vaccines! How dare you lay a hand on him in my workplace?!"

" He was touching you." Thomas stated flatly, his dark eyes fixed onto hers with a fierce, unyielding intensity that burned right through her defenses.

" He was comforting me!" Jen cried out, her chest heaving as she shook her head in utter disbelief. " Because you are suffocating me! You bought my resort, you forced me into your office, and now you attack the people who actually supported me while you were gone?"

" I don't give a damn about his support, Jen!" Thomas roared softly, stepping into her personal space, his hands coming up to grip her upper arms, not to hurt her, but to hold her anchored to him. His broad shoulders blocked out the entire room, trapping her in his intense, magnetic orbit. " Seeing another man touch you.... seeing another man act like he belongs in your life, in my daughter's life ... it drives me out of my mind!"

" You don't own me, Thomas!" Jen gasped, her breath catching as the proximity between their bodies sent a sudden, electric wave of heat straight to her core. " You walked out of my life five years ago!"

" I didn't walk out!" Thomas rasped, his voice breaking into a raw, desperate whisper. He leaned down until his forehead almost touched hers, his dark eyes dropping to her trembling lips with a hunger so profound it made her heart skip a beat.

" I survived a war so I could come back to you! Every single night for five years, I sat alone in Boston, staring at your picture, praying that you were safe! And now that you are safe! And now that I've found you, now that I know we have a daughter... do you honestly think I will let another man take my place?"

" He hasn't taken your place," Jen whispered brokenly, her strength bleeding away under the intense, intoxicating pressure of his presence. " There was never anyone in my heart, Thomas.... there was only the memory of you. And it broke me."

The raw confession hit Thomas like a physical blow.

His dark eyes softened instantly, the violent jealousy dissolving into a profound, suffocating tenderness.His long, warm fingers slid up from her arms to cup her face, his thumbs gently wiping away the hot tears that had finally escaped her eyes and trailed down her cheeks.

" Then let me heal it," Thomas murmured, his deep voice carrying a soft, hypnotic rhythm that vibrated against her lips. " Let me spend the rest of my life fixing what I broke, Jen. I'm not asking you to love me today. Just let me protect you. Let me be a father to our girl."

End of Chapter 10