“Sway here has noticed recently that you’ve got those sexy cerulean eyes trained on our fine little Chelcie. Oh yes, I noticed those fireworks shooting all over the place, and it’s a wonder no one got burned. So Sway here is doing you a favor, darling. I just got word from little miss Denise that Chelcie is currently on a date. As we speak, she’s sitting that lush body down and having a meat-filled lunch. So if you want to make sure the only meat she’s partaking in is the burger variety, I suggest you take those hot buns and get over to Fat Jacks. You got that, love?”
That ball that’s been sitting in my gut, slowly burning hotter at each word he has spoken, is starting to uncoil, spreading a wrath like no other to have spread throughout my body. My woman is out with another man? Oh. Hell. No.
I click the phone off before grabbing my keys and storming out the door. Maddox looks up from grabbing his duffel off the floor, his eyes questioning the mood that is following me out the door. I vaguely hear him remind me that I’m watching Cat again until he gets home. Not willing to waste a single second on the fucking elevator, I start running at full speed down the twenty-seven flights of stairs.
The only thing I have my mind set on is getting to Fat Jacks as quickly as I can and claiming MY woman.
For fucking good.
CHAPTER 11
Chelcie
He’s still looking at my toes.
My skin is crawling with the way he’s looking at my poor toes. I’ve tried everything to shift his attention from my feet, but he literally just moved closer and is looking under the table . . . at my feet.
I’m cursing my outfit now. Earlier today, it seemed like a good idea to wear the cute, new open-toed flats I’d picked up. I haven’t worn them yet, and I loved the way my red-painted toes peeked out of the shoe. They made me feel sexy before. Now, all I want to do is find about ten pairs of socks and hide my feet for the rest of my life.
“Oh God, flex them again,” he slurs.
I wouldn’t have been able to stop the gag that came bubbling out if I’d had a gun pointed to my head.
“Please stop,” I beg.
“Let me touch them,” he wheezes, and before I can stop him, he has my ankle in his hands, my foot in his lap, and my shoe popped off and he is basically masturbating my big toe.
The burger I had so lovingly devoured not even ten minutes ago is churning in my stomach. Unwilling to cause a scene, I squeeze my eyes closed and pray that I will just die on spot.
“Get your fucking hands off my woman.”
My eyes snap open at the venom-filled voice at my back.
“Drop her goddamn foot now before I rip your hands off your body.”
The danger in his threat causes me to shiver, and his hand is immediately at the base of my neck. His fingers curl and flex against my skin, causing me to shiver again. All thoughts of my poor, molested toes completely fly out the window.
“Being as she is here as my date, I think it’s safe to say that she isn’t your woman.”
Oh what an idiot.
“You have two goddamn seconds to remove your hands before I take your fingers and break each one. Then, when I’m done, I’ll snap your wrist before moving to your fucking elbows. And if I feel like being nice, I might leave your arms at that. She. Is. Mine.”
I try to remove my foot from his hold, but his fingers clamp tightly around my ankle, causing me to whimper from the pain. Neither one of them notices, but as the tension climbs between the two of them, Phil’s fingers get tighter and tighter.
Asher’s hand is still holding me at the base of my neck, and it feels as if the two are having some weird tug-of-war minus the tug. I whimper again when Phil’s fingers get even firmer against my skin. I can feel my toes, those damn toes, starting to tingle with the loss of blood flow, and just when I thought his hold couldn’t get any more painful, he proves me wrong.
The raw cry that escapes my lips shocks even me and has both of the men whipping their eyes in my direction. Phil takes my cry as one of pleasure, and I can see him puffing out his chest. Asher comes around, not removing his hold but curling his fingers up the side of my neck and holding my cheek in his palm. His eyes look into mine for a beat. I can see the vehement intensity of his anger in those beautiful blue eyes. His gaze travels down my body until he sees the cause of my pain. When he looks quickly back up at me, I see the danger in his observation. He never breaks his stare. I see his other hand move in my peripheral, but I don’t dare break the connection to him.
I hear Phil cry out in pain a second before my leg is dropped. Asher doesn’t waste a second. After pulling out his wallet, he throws a few bills down then scoops me up in his arms and marches out the doors. I duck my head in the crook of his neck, running my nose along his warm skin and feeling safe.