His eye twitches, a sign that he’s irritated, yet he still manages a sick smile. “How’s the youngest Halston kid? What’s her name again?” he asks, chuckling. “Tes–”
My hand snaps to his throat, and his eyes widen. I bask in his sudden shock and squeeze his windpipe for good measure. “If youeverfucking do something like that again, I’ll rip that fucking NDA you forced me to sign to shreds and take you down with me.”
Fuck the legal fees.
Fuck the future of my career.
Fuck my reputation.
Fuck Pierce Racing.
I force myself to step away. My hands shake with adrenaline, and I have to look elsewhere before I do something that neither of us will be able to brush under the rug tomorrow.
My father exhales, but it comes out like a growl. “Is that a threat, son?”
“It’s a warning, and it’s the only fucking one you’re getting. Son or not.”
He grins, but I see right through it.
I storm past him, and he grabs me by the arm. I turn sharply with flared nostrils, and he immediately releases me. However, his glare remains.
“Mom was right about you,” I mutter. “And so was Vince.”
His ears turn red.
I look him dead in the eye and shake my head. “It’s a shame I didn’t see it until you almost killed me.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
TESSA
I groggily snuggleinto something soft. A wistful sigh leaves me when my hand touches something warm. I move closer to the heat and get comfortable.
“Will you stop groping me?”
My eyes spring open, and a purplish-blue light glimmers above Rome’s sexy smirk in my direction.
I pop up quickly and scramble off his lap to search for Beck.
“Relax, Princess.” Rome reaches forward and pushes my hair behind my ear. “Beck’s in the cockpit with the pilot, pestering him instead of me.”
I skip my attention toward the front of the jet and relax when I see the closed barrier.
His attention flutters over my face. “How are you feeling?”
“Not you too,” I say in a raspy voice. “I’m fine.”
My brothers playfully poked fun at me for what happened at the race, but given the fact that they drew straws to see which one of them was going to hop a ride on Rome's jet to keep an eye on me shows they’re worried.
I shove the thin blanket off my legs and stand to stretch, only I’m not as stable as I think. A dizzy spell hits me, and my body sways.
Rome palms my hips and pulls me toward him. I land on his lap in a straddle, and his eyes light up.
“First you grope me, and now you're straddling me? All while knowing we could be caught at any given second?” He shakes his head. “You’re full of trouble, Princess.”
My heart flutters.
“I fell,” I whisper.
