"Back off," he growls pathetically. "Or you're going to go home back to your rich friends minus your pretty face."
I wink at Nyx, that arrogant smile she hates so much plastered in place. "He thinks I'm pretty."
A crowd of his big, muscly friends gathers behind him, and it takes all of me not to burst into laughter. Instead, I shake my head disappointedly at Nyx.
"Is this why you refused dinner with me tonight? So you could cheer him on and be ignored? You should be rehearsing.ThatI would’ve accepted."
"You need to leave," she answers shakily. "Nothing’s ever going to happen between us. Drop it."
So, she's going to go along with that little lie of hers. Hide from him forever that she came on my dick while screaming my name.
Chase lets out a low whistle, stepping a little farther into my personal space. "Looks like your money isn't going to buy you my girl."
"Surprising," I say flatly, "because your cash buysyouher company."
There's a general sound of disagreement within his friends, and they all come closer again.
"It's alright. It's alright," he says, raising a hand to hold them back.
He squares his shoulders, but my eyes are on Nyx. I want her reactions, her attention.
"Do you think you can take her from me?" He wraps an arm around her waist, and her nervousness makes her twitch in his hold.
"It doesn't matter," Nyx jumps in. "Let's go back to the race. What matters is, I'm here, with you. Enough of this, please."
I ignore her plea, answering him. "The question you should have asked yourself a long time ago is, do you think you have what it takes to keep her? Because I can tell you, you don't."
His dogs are ready to unleash on me, but instead, he shakes his head.
"Rich boy wouldn't last a second when it comes to our fists. Let's try to put him on an equal footing." He pauses for effect before saying, "Race me. Then we'll see who's the real man Nyx should go to."
I blink at him for a few seconds, wondering if he actually just said those words to me. I turn to Nyx, and she must read the mockery on my face because she shakes her head in one last plea.
"Isthiswhat you worked so hard for, Nyx? So you could take care of a man-child in his late twenties? Did you get into the toughest music school in the country, and fight for your space in an orchestra to then be wagered by your boyfriend like you're a cheap remake of a Vin Diesel movie?"
I look at him again, my patience running thin. I'm about to fuck him up if I don't leave soon.
"Listen, big boy. I'm not going to race you. Want to know why? Because there's no point betting money when you've got none. And there's no point betting your girl when she's already mine."
He lets go of Nyx, comes closer, slightly shorter than me but not in a way that matters, and presses his forehead against mine, attempting to intimidate me further.
"Chase, please, don't," Nyx panics.
Does she think she needs to save me from him? Is she delusional?
He steps back when I don't retreat and says, "She was biting her lip in this very car less than an hour ago riding my dick. I think you should get the hint when she says she doesn't want you."
"Please," I snort. "The only reason Nyx would bite her lip when you fuck her is so she doesn't scream my name. But you don’t believe me? Here. Knock yourself out."
"No, please," she tells me, head shaking like a broken doll.
I pull out my phone, opening the album I have of her on there, and throw it at him.
"No, no, no." She tries to grab the phone from him, but he pushes her away, and I take the opportunity to pull her to my side. Her heart is beating dangerously fast when I keep her against me, her back to my chest.
"Chase—" she attempts, but it's too late.
His face reddens, his teeth gritting. He doesn't give a shit that she doesn't love him. He cares about being humiliated.
