32. Nicholas
Chapter thirty-two
Nicholas
M y blood is burning in my veins.
Every inch of me is coiled tight, my muscles tense, my eyes locked on them. The way he’s standing way too fucking close to Amara, the way he speaks to her, like he still has some kind of claim. I don’t know what pisses me off more. The fact that he’s even here or that Amara is letting him get this close.
He turns around, his eyes widening when he sees me standing in the doorway and Amara’s eyes widen. What the fuck is she doing here alone with him? Does she still want something with him? Does she miss him? The thought hits me like a punch to the gut, and I have to fight to hold it together.
“I was just—” he starts to mumble, but I’m done with his excuses.
“Trying to insult my fiancée by insinuating she cheated on you?” I cut him off, anger boiling inside me. I won’t give him a chance to speak. I won’t let him act like he has any right to be here. No one gets to talk to her like that. Especially not this asshole.
His eyes narrow as he breathes through his nose. “I know she—”
“You know nothing ,” I interrupt. My fists itch to pound into his face, wanting him out of my sight, away from my penthouse, away from my fiancée. “Amara and I only happened because you made the mistake of even looking at another woman,” I tell him, the sound of my shoes against the hardwood floor the only noise as I approach the bastard, seeing his chest rise and fall as he breathes hard, anger building inside of him.
“ You walked away from her. Don’t blame anyone else for your actions. You decided you didn’t want her anymore, and I took my chance with her. I didn’t waste any time, because I knew someone like her deserved the world, and unlike you, I wanted to give it to her.”
The words feel like they’re coming from somewhere deep inside me, as if I’ve been holding them back for too long. But now that I’ve started, I can’t stop. My hands are shaking from the overwhelming need to stake my claim on her, to remind him—and myself—that Amara is mine. I look at him, daring him to say something, to contradict me.
“While you were busy looking at other women,” I continue, pressing a finger to his chest. “I was looking at yours, wishing she was mine.”
He shakes his head, breathing out a scoff. “Amara and I have history. We dated for years.”
The audacity of this asshole. God, I want to punch him. “And yet you threw all of that away for some easy pussy. You might have history but I’m her future. So, remember that when you think you have some kind of claim on her, because you don’t. Not anymore. She has my ring on her finger, she sleeps in my bed, and it’ll be my last name on her documents.”
I feel her eyes on me, wide with surprise. She never realized how much I thought about her. Even when I shouldn’t have. How often her face came to mind when I was alone. How I would do anything to make her feel safe, to make her feel like she’s the only woman in the world.
I move forward, approaching Amara who’s still glancing up at me with her lips parted and I stake my claim, clutching her waist in my hands as I look down at her, not bothering to give him any more of my attention.
“You gave up your shot,” I say, brushing a strand of her orange hair behind her ear. “You had your chance, and you blew it.” I lift my head, glancing at Liam. “Now you regret it and want her back. But you thought she would be here, begging to have you back.” I tut, shaking my head. “You were fucking wrong. She traded up, so thanks for letting her go. I’ll make sure she forgets you ever existed.”
Liam laughs bitterly, his gaze shifting to Amara. “Forget me? She’d have to stop stuffing her face long enough to even look at someone new.”
The blood in my veins boils. Every muscle in my body tightens as fury takes over, and before I can stop myself, my fist flies through the air, slamming into his jaw with a sickening thud. He stumbles back, eyes wide with shock as he blood trickles out of his mouth.
I close the distance, my fist aching with the force of the hit, and I grab him by the collar, lifting him off the ground. “Don’t you ever talk to my fiancée like that again. If you do, I swear to God, I’ll fucking kill you. You don’t fucking know me. I can make a body go away.”
Liam spits out blood, sneering as he tries to regain his composure. “Enjoy my sloppy seconds.”
Fuck, I want to pummel him into the ground. “The only sloppy thing here is your inability to actually make a woman come.”
His nostrils flare, blood staining his busted lip, and I can see the fury building in him. I release my grip on his collar, my chest pounding with anger. “Get the fuck out of our apartment, and don’t ever contact her again.”
Liam wipes his lip, a scoff escaping his lips as he tries to compose himself. “Fuck this.” He turns on his heel, storming out of the apartment.
I glance at Amara, her eyes wide with shock, her breathing uneven. “Nicholas, what—”
I don’t give her a chance to finish. My lips crash into hers with a deep urgency, my hands gripping her face as if it’s the only thing holding me together. I pour every ounce of the rage and the relief I feel into that kiss, reminding myself that she’s mine.
She always has been.