Page 67 of Loving the Tormentor

He takes a deep breath, rolling his eyes as he straightens again, and lets me go. My breaths come in pants, and I cough, massaging the skin he was touching a second ago. I'm fire and ice, heavy and electrified like the air before a storm, and I can't put thoughts together.

I watch him take a step back, plastering a smile on his face as he turns around. Behind him, Wren Hunter is watching his friend with narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

"You're spoiling my fun, Wren."

"What I'm doing is saving your life because Peach is about to come downstairs and would've ripped your head off if she found you like this."

"Ripped his head off for what?" Peach's voice rings out as she comes down the stairs.

Great. All we're missing now is Chase for this situation to really be my version of Hell.

Ignoring her, Achilles stays focused on his friend. "I don't tell you how to handle your girlfriend, do I?" he asks seriously. "Then don't tell me how to handle mine."

There's a long pause during which the three of us look at each other in utter confusion while Achilles smiles like an idiot, not seeing the issue with what he just said.

"You're his girlfriend now?" Peach asks, shock keeping her eyebrows raised to her hairline.

I hesitate, looking at all of them one by one before my gaze lands on Achilles. "No?"

Why did I just ask a question?

"Yourgirlfriend," Peach says mockingly, "doesn't seem to know she's your girlfriend, babe."

Achilles taps my shoulder gently, then points at both of his friends. "Tell them you're my girlfriend."

My wide eyes bounce between all of them again, and I'm not even sure I know how to talk anymore. Has he gone completely insane? Is this part of his blackmail? I don't know how to act. The truth, or what he wants to hear?

"But I'm not," I squeak, wondering if my heart is going to explode. Is he going to make me pay for this?

"She has a boyfriend," Peach insists.

"Yeah, me." The silentduhis obvious from Achilles's tone as he wraps an arm around my shoulders.

"Achilles, you've lost the fucking plot," his fiery friend snaps before taking my hand. "Leave her alone. She's so much better than you and has a real fucking boyfriend somewhere."

He releases me to put a hand on his mouth, feigning shock as he shakes his head. "Have you been cheating on me?" he asks.

"You're actually delusional," I tell him in my most serious voice. "Get some help."

"Here's how I play the boyfriend game, Nyxie." I can tell from his voice that he loves using that nickname just to make fun of Chase. "Whoever makes you orgasm the most wins, and I'm winning by far." He turns to Peach. "Very far. So far, the otherguy is an ex, ex, ex…" he pauses for effect, then insists, "ex-boyfriend by now."

I can feel my face turning so red I could cook an egg on it.

"You're a fucking asshole," I seethe before opening the door and striding out.

"You're a dick," I hear Peach tell him.

"And Nyx is my girlfriend," Achilles replies calmly.

Wren says something, but I don't hear the rest of their conversation, already by my car. This is the kind of situation that got me in trouble with Chase. This delusion he's living in is only digging me a deeper hole. And I'm worried I'm never going to get out of it.

Chapter Sixteen

Achilles

She Thinks of Me – London Tewers

The ghost town where North Shore youth organize illegal street racing is technically on the South Bank. If you drive along the Silver Snake River, all the way to the end of the city, right by the highway, there's an old development that was abandoned years ago. A mall that was practically finished, empty homes and apartments that would’ve housed both North Shore and South Bank residents, and other half-finished buildings like a school and a medical center.