Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
ROME
I watch her go.
Not in a longing way, but instead with puzzlement.
These types of events are stuffy. In Canada, I’d have a few women I’d rotate through, bringing them with me as my “date” so I wasn’t totally bored out of my mind, but tonight, I’m flying solo.
Which is probably why I couldn’t help but toy with Tessa.
Clearly, we need to take a break from one another after the day we had. I thought the rivalry between Beck and me would be the most prominent within the Halston family, his jealousy impulsively throwing him at my throat, but I was wrong.
It’s my little spitfire engineer.
We’re supposed to be working seamlessly together, and we’re not.
I didn’t mesh well with my father, cautiously disagreeing with his shots on the track, and now I’m finding myself in the same scenario over at Vanstone.
If you asked me who I trust more, my father or Tess, it’d be her.
That’s a secret I’ll die with, though.
I turn back toward the mingling and look for the rest of my team. They’re all still here, in various spots, each of us in our black suits. Jericho and Vinny, both decent drivers who I’ve never had beef with, break apart from conversation.
I watch Vinny sneakily head for the door, and after a few long seconds, I find myself following him.
Something is pulling me in that direction.
A magnetic force of sorts. A fuzzy thought. A tight knot in the pit of my stomach that switches between curiosity and protection.
Cool air brushes across my face, cooling my skin. The street is just as busy as it always is. Vegas never sleeps, the blurring headlights zipping past as Ubers park off to the side beside valet drivers in expensive cars.
Drawn like iron to a magnet, I find Tessa in that black dress that reveals just enough to keep me on my toes. Her chest expands, but it doesn’t deflate, as if she’s holding her breath.
I shift my attention, and my eye twitches at the sight of Vinny.
Heat surges through my veins from the way his arm finds her waist.
Does she like that?
A man like Vinny pulling her away possessively from the cameras and chaos?
I pause when she lifts her hand and slaps his arm away.
He grins and then whispers something in her ear.
My fists clench, but I can’t look away.
“Sir?”
Vinny leads Tessa away, and my hackles rise.
“Sir, do you have your ticket?”
I glare at the valet, and he backs off immediately. I resume the show that I apparently have a front-row ticket to, but Vinny and Tessa are gone.
Unable to keep myself from chasing the fire, I weave in and out of the crowd, forcing tight-lipped smiles when needed, and round the corner.
My pulse skips at the sound of her voice.
The same voice in my ear that drives me absolutely fucking insane while we work tirelessly to fix the inconsistencies within my car.
“Vinny, back off.”
He chuckles, and my nostrils flare.
Did he not hear her?
“How long are you going to hold out on me?” he asks. “You give me a little taste and then play hard to get.”
“You took a little taste,” she says, emphasizing the word took. “There’s a difference.”
My ears grow hot.
Vinny slips his hand down the front of Tessa’s hourglass frame until he lands at her hip.
She grips his wrist. “Vinny.”
“Tess,” he murmurs.
His mouth moves to her neck, and rage mixes in with my rational thoughts.
She turns her head, panic evident. Our eyes snag, and for the first time, she doesn’t look at me with disdain. Instead, she’s looking at me with relief.
It fucks with my head.
I step forward, gravel crunching beneath my weight. “You speak English, yes?”
Vinny’s mouth hovers over Tessa’s delicate neck, and he turns slightly to look at me. I shove my hands into my pockets to hide my flexed fists from both of them.
I feign a calm composure and wait for his answer.
“Can’t you see that we’re a little busy?” he asks, moving closer to eliminate any space between them.
It takes one quick helpless look from Tessa in my direction for my restraint to break.
I stride toward them, Vinny’s edged jaw flexing the closer I get.
“Take your hands off my engineer.”
His guard drops, and Tessa takes full advantage. With the slit in her dress, she’s able to raise her knee and forcefully shove it in between Vinny’s legs. He bends at the waist, and a guttural noise follows.
Tessa slips out from his grasp, and out of pure instinct, I grab onto her arm and move her behind me so he no longer has the privilege of looking at her.
I don’t care that Vinny is incapacitated, I step in line with him and forcefully grab a hold of him. With my fingers digging into his arm, I shove him against the building wall. He flings my hand away but doesn’t dare swing at me.
I’m bigger and better than him, and he knows it.
“Don’t touch what’s mine,” I warn.
Shit, reel it in, Rome.
The last thing I need is a headline about how I got into a fight with another racer or, worse, that there’s something going on between Tessa and me.
“Tess and I–”
I snap my hand forward, colliding with his neck. “Her name is Tessa,” I seethe. “Only friends and family call her Tess, and from what I just witnessed, you’re neither.”
“‘Fuck, fine,” he forces between clenched teeth. “Chill.”
For good measure, I press my thumb onto his windpipe before I let him go.
He gasps for air and reaches for his neck.
His glare makes me chuckle.
To my surprise, he begins to head in the direction of the gala but not before halting right beside Tessa.
I clench my jaw.
He’s testing me.
He glances at her once before glaring at me over his shoulder. “See you on the track.”
“Looking forward to it,” I say, tone low.
Tessa waits until he’s out of sight to face me.
Her arms are crossed over her breasts, and if she wasn’t glaring at me the way that she is, I may have offered her my jacket like a gentleman, but I can tell by the groove in between her eyebrows that whatever she’s about to say isn't going to be a thank you.
I wait silently.
Her pretty brown eyes, full of fear moments ago, narrow with irritation. “I am not yours, Rome Pierce!”
I scoff. See?