The Glass Legacy

The Master Grid

The skyline of Manhattan fractured the early morning light as the private elevator shot up the spine of Thorne Tower.

Aria stood as far away from Leo as the confined space allowed, clutching the oversized cashmere sweater she had changed into on the jet. Her emerald eyes tracked the glowing digital floor indicator. Floor 90. Floor 95. Floor 100.

"There are no keycards for this elevator," Leo stated, his deep voice breaking the quiet hum of the ascent. He stood perfectly still, his massive frame radiating an impossible heat. "It operates entirely on my biometric signature. If you try to leave without me, the system will lock you down and flood the shaft with a paralytic agent."

"A bit dramatic for a tech CEO, don't you think?" Aria shot back, refusing to let him see how fast her heart was racing.

"I protect what is mine," Leo replied smoothly.

The doors hissed open.

Aria stepped out, and her breath caught. It wasn't a home; it was a modern fortress in the clouds. Floor-to-ceiling glass wrapped around the entire perimeter, offering a dizzying, 360-degree view of New York City. The interior was sleek, minimalist, and completely devoid of warmth—sharp angles of black marble, brushed steel, and dark leather. It was exactly like the man standing behind her: expensive, imposing, and completely unyielding.

"This is where you live?" Aria asked, her boots quiet against the pristine floor. "It feels like a museum."

"It's a sanctuary," Leo corrected. He shrugged off his suit jacket, tossing it over a leather armchair, and smoothly rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt. The movement exposed thick forearms corded with muscle and faint, silvery scars. "And right now, it is the safest place on earth for you."

Aria ignored the sudden flutter in her stomach and zeroed in on the massive, curved workstation dominating the center of the living room. Three ultra-wide monitors sat completely dark.

"If Silas Sterling hijacked my breach to plant a virus on your mainframe, I want to see the code," Aria demanded, marching straight toward the workstation. "Boot it up, Thorne."

Leo’s lips quirked into a devastatingly handsome, entirely dangerous smirk. He closed the distance between them with predatory speed, stepping directly up behind her.

Aria froze.

He didn't touch her, but he was so close that his broad chest ghosted against her back. The intoxicating scent of bergamot and raw, masculine power completely enveloped her. Leo reached his large hands out on either side of her hips to rest on the edge of the desk, effectively caging her between the workstation and his towering body.

"You don't give the orders in my tower, Aria," Leo murmured. His voice dropped an octave, a deep, gravelly vibration that brushed against the shell of her ear and sent a violent shiver straight down her spine.

"I know my own code," she breathed, struggling to keep her voice steady as the heat of his body seeped into her skin. "I know exactly where Silas would have spliced his virus into my backdoor entry. Let me look."

Leo didn't move away. Instead, he leaned into her just a fraction of an inch more, leaning over her shoulder to type his master password into the mechanical keyboard. The friction of his chest against her shoulder blades made her gasp softly.

The three monitors flared to life, casting a brilliant blue glow over them.

"He disguised it as a trojan inside a phantom update," Leo said, his chin hovering just inches from her cheek. He turned his head slightly, his ice-blue eyes locking onto her profile instead of the screens. "He thinks he can trigger it remotely to crash the global grid of Thorne Tech."

"He's an i***t," Aria whispered, completely distracted by the intense, burning weight of Leo's stare. "I can isolate the execution file and reverse-engineer it to fry his own servers."

"I know you can," Leo agreed softly. He finally lifted one hand from the desk, his knuckles brushing the soft skin of her jaw, gently turning her face toward him.

The air in the penthouse crackled with a suffocating, undeniable electricity. Aria looked up into his striking eyes, entirely lost in the possessive, consuming hunger she found there. The Ice Prince was supposed to be completely unfeeling, but right now, he looked like a man who was ready to burn the city to the ground just to keep her standing exactly where she was.

"We dismantle Silas together," Leo promised, his thumb tracing her lower lip in a slow, agonizingly tender caress. "But first, you are going to sleep. The guest suite is connected to my room. And Aria?"

"What?" she breathed, mesmerized by his touch.

"Don't lock the door," Leo commanded softly. "Because I will just break it down."