Chapter 49: Jealousy

Marco’s POV

"Tonight, I’m not taking no for an answer," Fabio whispered beside me as we merged into the crowd gathered around the racing track. "We are racing."

"Unfortunately for you, I’m not signing up," I whisper-yelled back, keeping my eyes ahead.

"My injury is almost healed."

I glanced at him. His brows were knitted together, and that frustrated look on his face was one I knew too well. The kind that always made me want to push him a little further just to see how far I could take him. Fabio was hot when he was angry. Call me sick, but he unarguably was damn sexy.

The narrowed eyes, the clenched jaw, the slight tremble of his fingers as if they were itching to punch something- all of it did something to me. Something I had no intention of examining too closely.

"It takes at least two weeks before you start saying you’re fine after taking a fucking bullet," I said as we reached the wall of the massive garage.

Fabio rolled his eyes and pulled out a cigar. He lit it, took a slow drag, then deliberately blew the smoke straight into my face.

"I’m fine. I know my body," he uttered.

I shut my eyes for a moment, a smirk pulling at my mouth.

"And so do I," I said, opening my eyes to look directly at him. "Every inch of it. Or have you forgotten?"

Fabio dragged his tongue over his lower lip, his eyes holding mine.

"Maybe I have. It’s been over a week..." He paused, taking another drag. "Since we fucked."

I swallowed. For one damn second, my breathing stopped.

A week. It had only been a week since I had last touched him the way I wanted to. A week since we had stayed up until morning, doing everything that should have made me sick of him by now. Instead, somehow, I wanted more.

And that was the problem. I wanted more. But no matter how badly I wanted him, I was not insane enough to worsen his injury. The wound was still too fresh, and I knew exactly why he had ended up getting shot in the first place. Because of me.

"Your wound..." I started.

Fabio suddenly threw the half-smoked cigar onto the ground. He stomped on it, harder than necessary, before turning fully toward me.

"I said I’m fucking fine!" he groaned, the lines between his brows deepening.

There it was. That temper. That damn temper. Something about Fabio being riled up always set me on fire. It was sick, it was inconvenient, and it was probably one of the many reasons I should have stayed the hell away from him.

Unfortunately, I had never been particularly good at doing what was good for me.

I was about to say something when Fabio looked at me for a few seconds before speaking again.

"If you’re tired of me, say it." His voice had changed. It was quieter now, but somehow that made it worse. "I have other options."

Then he walked away, just like that.

I stared after him for a moment. The fucking nerve. I watched Fabio disappear into a circle of men I didn’t recognize. They greeted him with hugs, laughing and talking as though they had known each other for years. Fabio smiled at them, completely at ease.

Fine.

Whatever.

He had other options. So did I.

I crossed my arms and looked away, already deciding that I wasn’t going to waste another second thinking about it.

Then I looked back. Fuck me! Fuck everything I just said.

Fabio had stopped beside one of the men.

He was wearing a black vest with black pants, his physique good enough to make it obvious that he spent more time in a gym than most people spent sleeping. He was slightly shorter than Fabio, but that didn’t seem to bother either of them.

Fabio looked at him and the man looked back.

Fabio smiled before they hugged. I stared keenly as they remained like that.

The others had been quick a quick hug. A pat on the back, a laugh, a step away.

This one lasted. Their bodies stayed close longer than necessary. The man’s hand remained on Fabio’s back, while Fabio’s own arm stayed around him.

Something tightened inside my chest. I cared less to think about it. Then that sentence replayed in my head: "I have other options."

My hand slowly curled into a fist. Was that guy one of them?

The thought came so quickly that I almost laughed at myself. Why the hell would I care?

Fabio could fuck whoever he wanted.

So could I. There were plenty of people who would gladly go on their knees for me, and I had never had trouble finding them. Fabio wasn’t some rare species that had suddenly become the only man on earth.

So why was I still looking at him? Why was I noticing every time that man’s hand touched his shoulder?

Why was I counting how many times Fabio smiled at him?

I almost walked over. Almost. My feet even shifted before I stopped myself.

No. I wasn’t about to march across a crowded racing track because another man had his hands on Fabio. That would be ridiculous.

I stayed where I was, watching from a distance while Fabio continued talking to him.

I didn’t care. I repeated that to myself until the words started sounding less convincing.

I didn’t care.

There was nothing between us that gave me the right to question him. We had made the rules clear from the beginning. No feelings. No expectations. No claims. Just sex. That was it.

And yet, somewhere along the way, Fabio had managed to crawl under my skin.

He had started taking up space in my head without permission, and now even my fucking emotions were getting involved. That was dangerous. It should not happen.

Fabio was beginning to become an exception. I didn’t like exceptions. Especially not ones that looked like him.

I was still staring in their direction when the man touched Fabio’s shoulder again.

My jaw tightened as I looked away immediately.

Then I felt a hand settle against my chest. I looked down at it before turning my head.

A familiar face smiled at me. "Hello, Marco."

Her voice was sweet, almost exactly as I vaguely remembered it.

"Alessia, right?" I asked, glancing at the fingers lightly tapping against my chest.

Her smile widened. "You remember me."

I chuckled. "You’re not someone to be forgotten overnight."

Alessia bit her lower lip, clearly pleased with the answer, before moving closer until she stood beside me. She looked toward the crowd for a moment, then leaned closer.

"I’ve been watching you for a while," she whispered. "So I decided to help."

I raised a brow.

"Help? With what?"

Instead of answering immediately, she leaned her head against my shoulder.

I didn’t move.

She rested one hand against my collarbone and lowered her voice.

"You’re having trouble with my brother, aren’t you?"

My eyes automatically shifted toward Fabio. The bastard was still there.

And now the man in the black vest had his arm wrapped over Fabio’s shoulder.

My jaw clenched again and Alessia noticed. Of course she did.

"I clearly saw you fantasizing about how to kill someone and get away with it," she whispered.

That was true. In fact, I had already imagined several ways. None of them particularly peaceful.

I glanced at Fabio again. The man beside him said something that made Fabio laugh.

Christ! His face was not even close to what I would call pretty. If thay was Fabio’s catch, his taste sure was dropping.

Alessia’s voice pulled me back. "How about we get back at him?"

She lifted her head and looked at me. I stared at her for a moment before understanding exactly what she meant. A slow smile formed on my face. Now this was interesting.

"What’s your catch?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

Alessia chuckled and took my hand. "Don’t worry. I’m not trying to snatch my brother’s man."

I almost laughed at that. Her brother’s man. That wording was interesting as well.

"I just want to teach Fabio a lesson," she continued. "He gave Ethan my location without my consent."

I nodded. I had heard a little about the mess between her and Ethan to understand that Fabio had probably made things worse.

"Then what shall we do?"

The moment the words left my mouth, Alessia intertwined our fingers. Before I could ask another question, she started dragging me away.

"Come on."

"Where?"

"Inside the garage."

I let her pull me along, though I could have easily stopped her.

As we passed the crowd, I glanced over my shoulder one last time.

Fabio was bow looking my direction. Our eyes met.

Quickly, I turned back around and followed Alessia into the garage. I had no idea what she had planned. But whatever it was, I suddenly had no intention of stopping her.