Page 127 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

He punched me square in the jaw. And I didn’t even care.

I just tightened my hands on his shirt. You think that hurts me?

You think anything hurts me anymore? I loved the taste of blood in my mouth.

Hit me again you prick. That was my secret weapon for winning a fight.

Let my idiot opponent get worn out with a few cheap shots.

Because I didn’t feel anything. And once he was tired I’d beat the shit out of him.

“I didn’t just touch her,” Tyler said.

I tightened my hands even more. Did he know how easily I could snap his neck?

“You’re messing with the wrong person.” It was my final warning.

He was a student. Hitting him with a few punches was bad.

But making him unrecognizable was another thing entirely.

And I was losing control. Slowly. I felt myself slipping.

Tyler landed another shot across my jaw. “Am I? You’re the one that’s about to be fired.”

“I’ll set your dick on fire if you ever put it anywhere near Penny again.” Now I was an arsonist? That seemed like a good progression from stalker.

The dance music suddenly stopped.

"I'll fuck whoever I want to fuck," Tyler snarled as he landed another punch across my face.

The basement was eerily silent.

Everyone had heard it. Everyone knew what Tyler had done. And if I thought I was seeing red before? It was definitely all I could see now.

The room was quiet for another second and then people started yelling, "Fight, fight, fight!"

"Stop it!” Penny yelled. “Both of you, stop!"

I didn’t want her to be worried about both of us. I wanted her to choose me. Right here, right now.

She tried to grab Tyler's arm before he landed another punch across my face. But I didn’t even care when his knuckles collided with my jaw.

It didn’t faze me one bit. I was doing my best to show restraint, but when I’d bought my axe prop, I’d thought about how fun it would be to hit someone with it.

And I didn’t want to miss my chance. So I grabbed it from the floor beside me, and whacked Tyler on the side of the head. If only it had been a real axe.

He teetered slightly. Lightweight. This was barely even a fight.

I grabbed Tyler's collar again and pulled him close to my face. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay the hell away from her."

"I can end you," Tyler said.

Didn’t he see? I didn’t fucking care. I was nothing without Penny. He was fighting a losing game here. "Then do it." I let go of his collar and pushed him back down to the floor.

I stood up. I knew I was probably sporting a black eye. And the taste of blood wasn’t going away, so I probably had a busted lip. I looked over at Penny. Come with me. Now.

But instead of understanding my silent demand, she looked over my shoulder as Tyler stood up.

"Please stop fighting,” she said. “James, please just go. We can talk tomorrow, okay? Please."

And leave you here with Tyler? Not a chance in hell. "Penny, do not make me carry you out of here,” I said.

"Hey, asshole! She asked you to leave." Something hit the back of my head.

I looked down at Tyler’s pirate sword. He’d literally just stabbed me in the back. I bet his dick was as weak as his plastic sword.

I rubbed the back of my head. But I didn’t break eye contact with Penny. Come with me. Now. I knew she knew what I was thinking.

But she still didn’t budge.

Suddenly the blood in my mouth tasted sour. The pounding in my head eased. The high of wanting to pulverize Tyler’s face subsided. And I was just…numb.

Penny didn’t want me here.

She didn’t want me at all.

I’d waited too long.

I’d missed my chance.

All the endorphins I was feeling from the fight evaporated. My high was gone.

Everyone was staring at us. I wasn’t sure if anyone could recognize me.

Especially with all the blood on my face.

But I’d made a scene. I’d punched a fucking student.

And I don’t think the dean would care that the student was a dipshit.

The longer I stayed here, letting people stare, the worse my odds were of going unrecognized.

"Okay," I said. I stared at Penny, waiting for her to change her mind, but she didn’t. I’d lost control. And she was staring at me like the monster I was.

This was what I’d wanted.

This was what I’d asked for.

No. I wanted her. I needed her. And I’d fucked everything up.

"Okay,” I said again. I couldn’t stand her staring at me like that.

I wanted to remember when she stared at me with stars in her eyes.

I wanted to drown in that memory. I would drown in that.

I turned away from her and walked toward the stairs.

I needed out of this dingy basement. I needed to somehow get the image of Penny kissing Tyler out of my head.

I needed to wake up from this nightmare.

I couldn’t have lost her. I couldn’t have.

I passed by Tyler on my way to the stairs.

“You should have heard her screaming my name,” he whispered.

And suddenly I wasn’t numb anymore. I’d tried to hold back during our fight. I really had. But he was just begging for me to beat his ass.

I tackled him. We fell onto the table they were using as a makeshift bar. Glass shattered everywhere, but I didn’t even feel it digging into my skin. I only had one train of thought. I punched Tyler across the face. Again and again. I was blinded by my own rage.

"What is wrong with you?!" Penny screamed. She tried to grab my arm, but she wasn’t strong enough to stop me. She kept screaming at the top of her lungs.

I landed one more punch and stood up before I knocked Tyler unconscious. As much as I wanted to kill him…I didn’t want to add homicide to the reasons Penny shouldn’t be with me.

Tyler slowly stood up.

He was like a parasite that just wouldn’t stop.

He took a swing and I stepped to the side to avoid it.

And a second too late I realized my mistake.

Penny had been right behind me. And Tyler’s fist landed on her stomach.

Penny bent over, gasping for air. She stepped backwards and slipped on some of the spilled alcohol. I tried to put my hands out to catch her, but I wasn’t quick enough. And her reaction time was too slow from the alcohol coursing through her veins.

Her head slammed against the concrete floor and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.