“Listen up, buddy.” Chadwick spins around to face the man with black hair and deep olive-toned skin, who I automatically assume is Zoe’s brother, Q, because they look so much alike. “I’m having a discussion with my fiancée—”
I hold up my left hand again and turn it back and forth, catching Q’s attention. “Funny. I must have missed the part where you proposed,because we are not engaged,Chadwick. Webroke upyesterday when you gave me an ultimatum, and IthoughtI communicated exactly how I felt about it. Apparently, I wasn’t clear enough.”
Chadwick reaches out and grabs me by the arm. “Apparently,Iwasn’t clear enough. You don’t have a choice, Scarlett. This is what your father wants, and we both know you’re not going to do anything but exactly that.”
Like a magnet drawing my attention, my gaze lifts over Chadwick’s shoulder and I seehim. Right there. Standing in the shadows, just beyond Q.
Gabriel Legend.
But his blue eyes aren’t on me. They’re on Chadwick’s hand where it’s wrapped around my arm. Legend’s nostrils flare, and he stalks forward. The crowd moves aside, clearing a path for him as if he’s a dangerous beast, rather than a mortal man.
The deep timbre of his voice vibrates up my spine along with the thumping bass when he speaks.
“Take. Your. Hand. Off. Her.” Each word is a sentence of its own, carrying the weight of bloody threats if Chadwick is stupid enough not to heed his warning.
Chadwick whips around, his fingers now digging into my skin as he jerks me along with him. “Who the fuck do you think you are? No one tells me what to do, you—”
Legend takes a final step forward, and the raw power of his presence should make Chadwick wet his khakis. “You’re under my roof, and I will bury you here. You have one second to decide your next move. Think fast, kid.”
Legend delivers the grave warning casually, which is almost more terrifying than if he were yelling. Except, I’m not scared.
No, I feelalive.
I shake my arm, drawing Chadwick’s attention, and he sneers at me.
“You’d better fucking tell me that this isn’t why you’re here. Trolling for dick, so you can get laid. No. What the hell am I thinking. That’s impossible.” He laughs, and it’s the cruelest sound I’ve ever heard. “Because you’re a fucking prude, Scarlett.”
He drops my arm like I’m diseased and shakes his head at Legend.
“Good luck with her. You’ll need it. Her pussy’s so fucking frigid, it’ll freeze your dick right off.” Chadwick glances back at me as Legend’s icy blue gaze ignites. “I’m out of here. You aren’t worth a fight. You never were.”
Chadwick walks away, giving a wide berth to Legend, and all I can hear is the sound of my own heart pounding in time with the music. The heat of humiliation creeps up my neck, probably turning my skin the same color as my dress, but I can’t look away from Legend to check the mirror.
My gaze is held captive by his.
I know he heard every word Chadwick said. About me being a prude. About my pussy being cold enough to freeze a dick off.
Instead of dissolving into tears like I wish I could, I lift my chin higher and smile. “Being officially single for the second time in two days is a reason to celebrate. Who needs another drink?”
Twenty-Nine
Legend
Icould kill him. It would be too easy. And right now, I’d be completely justified in wiping that entitled little pretty-boy prick out of existence.
My fingers flex, and my knuckles are ready to fracture his orbital and cheek bones. He wouldn’t look so pretty then.
There are only two reasons I don’t move as the breeze from his escape rushes past me.
One, Chadwick-the-douchebag is leaving, and hopefully the words he said guarantee he’ll never have another shot at the woman he’s walking away from. And two, Scarlett wants to celebrate, and I’m not going to ruin her night. Actually, that’s probably the only reason that matters.
Nothing else could have stopped me from unleashing hell on that piece of shit.
It only takes me a moment to realize causing a bigger scene would draw the attention of the crowd, so negatively impacting the club should have been on that list of reasons not to kill him too, but it was an afterthought at best. I should tell myself to get my priorities straight and focus on what matters, but with this woman in front of me, rational thoughts go right out the fucking window.
Astra, our top server, sweeps in with another bottle of champagne, and tops off Scarlett’s glass. Scarlett’s friends crowd around her, all getting their refills too.
Now it’s time for me to make an exit.