Strings of the Heart (27 page)

We’d both just been harmlessly flirting over the last few weeks on tour. Besides yesterday’s serenade, there hadn’t been anything overly romantic on his part. How was it possible that Eli was starting to have real feelings for me? I guess Abby had been right about the depth of what Eli was feeling.

After my lengthy silence, Eli took one of my arms and spun me away from him. When I came whirling back, I faced him this time. He winked at me before giving me a sexy grin. “Don’t get your thong in a twist, Allison. I just said I liked you—not that I wanted to marry you and make babies.”

I giggled in relief. “Okay, I can take that.”

Eli’s arms snaked around my waist, jerking me flush against him. With his lips hovering precariously close to mine, he said, “More than anything, I’d really like to go back to the hotel and screw you so fucking hard that you would scream my name over and over again.”

When I jerked back and widened my eyes in shock, he laughed. “Sadly, it’s the truth. But since I’m working on being more of a gentleman, I’ll refrain from thinking that about you. Instead, why don’t you let me take you out?”

“On a date?”

“Yep, a real date, just the two of us. Dinner and a movie or dinner and a club—whatever you want.”

I stared into his twinkling blue eyes. He really was a decent guy, not to mention the fact he was so handsome. If given the chance, he would really be good for me. Even though I wasn’t feeling as much as I should for him, it was time for me to give someone else a real shot and try to forget about whatever it was that Rhys and I once had. Even if I had to fake it for a little while.

With a groan, Eli mused, “You’re killing me here. I don’t think I’ve ever had to work so hard for a date.”

I grinned. “I’m sorry for bruising your gigantic ego by playing a little hard to get.”

“You’ve more than bruised my ego—I think you dented it.”

“The answer is yes. I would love to go on a date with you.”

Eli’s blue eyes lit up. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“I’m glad you asked me.”

“You’re welcome.” Before I realized what was happening, Eli’s hands dipped down to rest above my ass, pressing me harder against him. And then in the next moment, Eli’s lips were on mine. He seemed to have completely misinterpreted my agreeing to go on a date with him. While I was in total shock that he had kissed me, I also didn’t feel a single zap of electricity like I had with Rhys.

I jerked back. “Eli, I thought we were taking this slow,” I protested.

He gave me a pouty, puppy-dog look. “You mean I don’t even get a kiss? I thought it was pretty tame after telling you I wanted to screw your brains out.”

His expression and comment caused me to laugh in spite of myself. “It’s a little too soon for a kiss.”

“I’m sorry, Allison,” he said, genuinely.

I opened my mouth to tell him it was okay when a commotion behind me interrupted us. With an expression of pure fury, Rhys appeared beside us.

“Get your damn hands off of her!” Rhys growled. All at once, his hand was around my arm, and he was pulling me away from Eli.

“What the fuck, dude?” Eli questioned.

Rhys shook his head. “What the hell do you think you’re doing groping her and kissing her?”

Eli narrowed his eyes at Rhys. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize she answered to you.”

“I don’t,” I countered.

Ignoring Eli, Rhys turned his wrath-filled gaze on me. He closed the gap between us. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, letting him run his hands all over you?”

Standing toe to toe with him, I snapped, “You’re not Jake, or my father, so you can’t even begin to try to tell me what I can or can’t do!”

“No, but I’m pretty sure Jake would be appalled that you’re acting like a cheap whore!”

“Fuck you, Rhys!” I spat, planting my hands on his hard pecs and shoving him away from me. I stalked past him and Eli off the dance floor. When I stomped up to our table, Gabe stared wide-eyed at me. “Give me my purse,” I demanded.

He didn’t bothering arguing with me or calling me out for my attitude. He just thrust my purse at me. “Thank you.”

It was only after I escaped into the VIP bathroom that my adrenaline began to fade. Gripping the sides of the marble sink, I let Rhys’s words pierce further and further into me until it felt like a jagged hole had been cut through my heart. He hadn’t fought for me because he wanted me—he’d fought because he believed I was acting like a whore. He continued seeing me as only a little sister—not someone he wanted to date or be with.

The bathroom door flew open, and Rhys stormed in. Glancing at his reflection in the mirror, I shook my head. “I have nothing left to say to you, so leave me alone.”

“No.”

Whirling around, I narrowed my eyes at him. “Excuse me?”

“I said no.”

I threw up my hands. “Fine, I concede; you win. Does that make you happy?” When he started to open his mouth, I shook my head furiously from side to side. “Don’t you fucking dare say ‘no’ again!”

“I didn’t come in here to gloat.”

“Then what did you come for?” When he cocked his brows at me, I demanded, “What do you want from me, Rhys?”

“Everything.” He strode across the room to me. “I want to take everything you’ll give me and more.” Grabbing my arm, he jerked me into the handicapped stall. My body slammed back against the metal wall. My whimper of pain died on my lips as Rhys pressed his body against mine. The hardness of his erection burned into my thigh. Gripping my hips, he tugged me closer against him. His fingers closed over one of my thighs before bringing it up over his. It gave him the perfect angle to rub his erection against my core. I moaned, clawing desperately at him to get more friction.

“Why are you doing this now?” I demanded.

Rhys shook his head. “I don’t fucking know. I just know that I couldn’t bear sitting in that booth one more minute and letting Eli have everything I wanted.”

“You want everything with me or just everything with my body?” I asked.

As he stared into my eyes, his hands slid over my waist to cup my buttocks. “I know I want my hands on this fine ass that you’ve been shaking all night at everyone but me.” One hand left my butt to come and cup my breast. “I want my hands and mouth on these gorgeous tits that you’ve rubbed all over Eli.”

I widened my eyes when his hand left my ass to cup between my legs. “But most of all, I want to bury my dick so far in this pussy that no man here will doubt who it belongs to, especially Eli.”

Although I wanted nothing more than to be with Rhys again, this all felt wrong—the anger and jealousy fueling our actions were not healthy. “But it doesn’t belong to you,” I countered weakly.

“It doesn’t?” His fingers tore away my thong before they plunged deep inside me, causing me to gasp with pleasure. “Tell me, Allison, did he make you this wet?” Rhys demanded.

Panting, I shook my head. “No, he didn’t.”

Rhys rewarded me for my response by speeding up the pace of his fingers. Throwing my head back, I moaned. My hips took on a rhythm of their own. I was getting so deliciously close that my toes were curling in my heels when Rhys suddenly withdrew his fingers. “No, please. Please don’t stop,” I begged.

“Who is the only man to have made you come so hard you’ve screamed?”

“You. Only you, Rhys,” I replied, breathlessly.

With a lazy smile, he thrust his fingers back inside me while his thumb clamped down on my clit. Gripping his shoulders, I desperately rode his hand to find my orgasm. It had been three long months since a man had made me come—since Rhys had made me come.

“Rhys! Yes, oh, yes!” I cried out, my eyes fluttering closed in bliss. At that moment, I didn’t care if there was a bathroom full of women hearing me come. I just wanted the pleasure to never end. I’d barely come back to myself when Rhys’s blunt head nudged at my entrance. Somehow he’d managed to unbutton his pants and slip on a condom while I blissed out with my head on his shoulder.

With a grunt, he thrust deep inside me. “Oh fuck, Allison,” he groaned, his breath warm against my neck. “No one feels as good as you.” His dirty compliment made my heart beat faster. He gripped my other thigh and brought my leg up to wrap around him. As I clung to his shoulders, I was completely impaled on him.

But then a hard revelation crashed upon me, causing me to shudder. I wasn’t having sex again with Rhys because he had told me he loved me or that he had feelings for me. No, I was fucking him in a club bathroom because he was jealous over Eli. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too—he wouldn’t have me, and he would make sure no one else did either.

Deep down, I knew I deserved to be treated a hell of a lot better by Rhys. I should have pushed him away right then and there for daring to use me like he was. But when it came to him, I was an utter and complete masochist. I seemed utterly incapable of ever denying him. He owned my heart, despite the fact he had refused it. He owned my traitorous body that always responded whenever he was near. In the end, my head and my heart continued to wage a war between each other that would render no winner.

When Rhys dipped his head down to kiss me, I jerked back. For some reason, I felt I could give him my body, but I couldn’t kiss him. It was too intimate, and it meant too much.

His brows lined in confusion. “Give me your mouth,” he demanded.

“No.”

A roll of his hips caused us both to moan. “Give me your mouth,” he growled. When I shook my head, he grasped my chin in his fingers as his movements inside me stilled. “Why not?”
Because you don’t really want me. You just want to use me, and it hurts too much.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s it to you? You don’t care about me. You just came in here to fuck me, so keep fucking me.”

Rhys’s brows rose in confusion. “I can fuck you but not kiss you? What the hell does that mean?”

“Kissing is personal, so I won’t do it with you—not until I know with absolute certainty that I’m not just an easy lay to you, Rhys. Not until you acknowledge you have feelings for me, not just lust.”

At my declaration, he stared at me, unblinking and unmoving. As his expression began to lighten, I brought one of my hands up to cup his cheek. Closing his eyes, he leaned his cheek into my palm as if he were savoring the gentle touch. “Don’t you really want me, Rhys?”

“I can’t,” he murmured, his voice laced with agony.

“Please,” I whispered.

“You deserve to be loved.” He grimaced as if he were in pain. “And we both know I don’t know how to love anyone.”

Shaking my head furiously back and forth, I countered, “That’s not true. You love Ellie, and you love the guys. You have a lot to give me if you would just open up. You could love me as much as I love you.”

“Dammit, Allison, we’ve been over this. It can’t work between us—it
won’t
work.”

His refusal caused white-hot anger to pulse through my veins. Dropping my hand from his face, I stared at him in disbelief for a moment before bringing my hand back up again. But this time it wasn’t for comfort. It was to slap the hell out of him. Hard. “Fine then. Finish fucking me since that’s all you seem to be good at. Fucking me and fucking me over.”

Rhys stared at me in utter disbelief. His mouth opened, but no words came out. And then he surprised the hell out of me by pulling out. He eased me down to where my feet were touching the floor. After sliding off the half used condom, Rhys tucked his slackened dick back into his pants. When he finally met my gaze, he shook his head forlornly. “Jesus, Allison, what have I done to you? What
am
I doing to you?” When I didn’t respond, he muttered, “I’m so fucking sorry.”

He then exited the stall. When I heard the bathroom door close, I staggered over to the toilet seat and collapsed down onto it. As my body shook with sobs, I tried desperately to get a hold of my emotions. Wrapping my arms around myself, I finally just let go and cried until there wasn’t anything left within me. When I finished, I wiped my eyes and left the stall. Standing in front of the mirror, I looked like the hell I felt like. Mascara and eyeliner streaked down my cheeks while my lipstick was smudged from Eli’s kiss.

Once I had cleaned up as best I could, I made my way out of the bathroom. I skidded to a stop at the sight of Eli waiting on me. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight of me. “Jesus, Allison. Are you all right?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I’m so sorry, Eli, but I need to go back to the hotel.”

“Of course. Whatever you need,” he said. He took a tentative step forward to wrap an arm around my shoulder. “Lean on me. I’ll get you out of here.”

His kindness caused the waterworks to start up again. Turning my head, I buried my face into Eli’s chest and let him lead me out of the club. When I got to the limo, Eli helped me inside. Even though I shouldn’t have, I snuggled up to him when he opened his arms to me.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he questioned softly, as we began to make our way along the quiet streets.

“No, not really.”

Eli sighed. “I knew trying to start something up with you was going to be difficult, but I sure as hell didn’t know I’d have competition.”

I twisted out of his arms to stare at him in shock. “W-What do you mean?”

“Come on, Allison. I may act like a fool sometimes, but I’m not really one. I know there’s something between you and Rhys. Hell, any idiot could see that.”

Wincing, I said, “I’m sorry to have put you in the middle of all this. What’s happened between Rhys and me is such a mess. I don’t even know if it is still possible to even be friends with each other.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty abysmal.” I shook my head sadly at him. “I’m sure after all this you aren’t still interested in our date, huh?”

Eli held up one of his hands. “Whoa, wait a minute. I never said that I didn’t want to be with you.”

“But you deserve better than a girl who is hung up on some asshole who will never feel the same way about her,” I protested.

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”

“You’re just too good to be true, aren’t you?”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t get too carried away singing my praises. Part of me is hanging on because girls with broken hearts or girls with something to prove to asshole ex-boyfriends are easy lays.”