Strings of the Heart (32 page)

“You really missed me that much?” I whispered.

Rhys nodded his head against my shoulder. I couldn’t help but wonder if he missed me or just desperately needed sex after being celibate for so long. I didn’t have to wonder long. I must’ve tensed because he brought his lips to my ear again. “Whenever I’m not with you, I miss you. I miss your smile, your laugh, the way you nibble on your bottom lip when you’re nervous or thinking really hard. Most of all, it’s the way you see the best in me when I don’t deserve it.” He shifted his hips before thrusting them back against me, and I gasped at the feel of his erection rubbing against my core through my pajama pants. “But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I missed being inside you, too.”

My tongue darted out to lick my bottom lip that was already swollen from his kisses. “But Jake and Abby are just down the hall. We could get caught,” I whispered.

“We won’t. We’ll be quiet,” he replied.

Although I wanted him buried deep inside, my greatest fear was Jake discovering our secret relationship by busting in on us having sex. Rhys cupped my cheek. “Relax, sweetheart.” His hands went to the waistband on my pajama pants. I don’t know how he managed to get them down so fast in the confined space, but the next thing I knew cool air was hitting my thighs. I was just about to protest that once again it wasn’t a good idea for us to be screwing in the roost when Rhys’s deliciously talented mouth was between my legs, licking and sucking my clit.

Forgetting where I was, I shrieked in pleasure, causing Rhys to jerk his head up and bang it on roost’s roof. “Shh,” he hissed.

A warm flush of embarrassment filled my cheeks. “I’m sorry. It just feels so good,” I whispered.

He grinned. “Normally, I would be all about hearing you, but not right now.”

After I mimed zipping my lips, he rolled his eyes, smiled, and dipped his head. With one hand, I raked my fingers through the strands of his hair while I clapped the other over my mouth to keep my moans and whimpers as quiet as I could. By the time his tongue darted inside me, I had covered the back of my hand in bite marks to keep silent. Just when I was about to come, he pulled away.

“Rhys,” I murmured, my legs scissoring to get both the friction I needed and to keep him locked in place.

“I want to be inside you when you come,” he whispered.

Nodding, I widened my legs for him to ease between them. As the head of his naked cock nudged my entrance, I sucked in a breath. Rhys dipped his head to whisper in my ear. “I haven’t been with anyone but you…and I’ve been tested, and I’m clean. I thought with you on the pill…” When I didn’t respond at first, he pulled back to survey me. “Allison, is this okay?”

“Yes, of course it is.”

At his harsh thrust, we both groaned a little too loudly. After he stretched and filled me so completely, he remained stock still for a few seconds. I think we were both silently hoping that Jake didn’t come barging out of the bedroom after our loud groans. When it appeared as though we were in the clear, Rhys slowly pulled out of me. Just the head of his dick remained before he thrust back in. After doing that several more times, he then found his rhythm. My chest began to rise and fall in time with his movements.

Rhys’s warm breath once again hovered over my ear. “Mmm, Allison, you feel so good…so good to be back inside you,” he murmured in my ear as he sped up his pace.

Cupping his face in my hands, I rubbed my thumbs over the stubble dusting his jawline. Tilting my chin, I stared into his eyes. At first, pure lust burned in them. Then the longer I held his gaze, I noticed the change in them. Intensity, not just lust. Intensity shone bright in them. For a moment, I imagined they were illustrating all the things that he wanted to say but couldn’t…or wouldn’t. Wishing for a deeper connection with him caused my chest to tighten in agony. Needing a distraction from my out-of-control emotions, I pulled his mouth down to mine. If I was kissing him, I wouldn’t have to look into his eyes anymore—I wouldn’t have to see the feelings he had for me that he was unable to share.

But Rhys pulled away from my kiss. His hips slowed their frantic pace of thrusting. Instead, his intense gaze once again held mine. “I love you, Allison,” he whispered.

My heart shuddered to a stop, causing a slow ache to burn through my chest. Had he really said the words I’d waited so long to hear? As if he sensed my disbelief, Rhys smiled and brushed his hand over my cheek. Then he dipped his head to speak into my ear. “I love you with all my heart and soul. I’m sorry that I waited so long to say it. I know that crammed into this roost isn’t the most romantic place to say it, but I hope you can forgive and believe me.”

Tears stung my eyes. I had to fight not to go off the emotional cliff and begin sobbing so loud I would wake up Jake and Abby. Instead, I bit down on my lip until I could taste a metallic rush on my tongue. Rhys had finally told me he loved me. Of course, in later years, I would have to fudge the details a little for anyone else. It just wouldn’t be the right story to share with our future children about how their father was buried deep inside me during a middle-of-the-night roost sexathon when he finally found the words I’d been longing to hear.

When he pulled back, Rhys’s expression was one of curious concern. “Are you okay?”

Since I didn’t dare trust myself to speak without sobbing, I nodded my head. I cupped his face with my hands and then pulled his head down to mine for a deep kiss. Rhys once again began moving inside me. Instead of speeding up the pace, he kept it slow and steady. It meant more to me than anything in the world because he was truly making love to me.

Although it wouldn’t have mattered to me if I came or not because of what I was feeling emotionally, Rhys helped matters along by dipping his hand between us to rub my clit. His magic, musical fingers once again worked me to an orgasm. He followed soon after me.

Rhys collapsed against me in a tangle of arms and legs. As his chest rose and fell with harsh breaths, I kissed the top of his head and cheeks. He pulled up to smile at me. “I love you,” he said again.

I returned his smile. “You know I love you. I never stopped. I’ll love you until the day I die,” I whispered.

He brought his lips to mine for a passionate kiss. After he pulled away, he eased out of my body and rolled over.

When I started shifting away from him, Rhys grabbed my arm. “Where are you going?” he whispered.

“Bathroom.”

He nodded and lay back against the pillow. Peeling back one side of the curtain, I peered down at Jake and Abby’s bedroom. The door was still closed, and everything seemed to be quiet. Thank God the twins had started sleeping through the night a few weeks back. Pulling on the hem of my T-shirt, I padded bare-assed across the aisle. After using the bathroom and getting cleaned up from my exertions, I tiptoed back to my roost.

My heartbeat began thrumming wildly in my chest when I pulled back the curtain to find Rhys still there. He held out the covers so I could slide inside. Once I was tucked by his side, I felt like my heart would explode right out of my chest. After lying there a few moments, I propped my head up to look at him. “Should you go back to your roost?” I finally whispered.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

I smiled up at him. “Never.”

He grinned. “I thought for a minute you’d had your way with me, and now you didn’t need me anymore.”

“I’m pretty sure it was you having your way with me.”

“Whatever. I didn’t take you for a ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ kinda gal.”

“I’m not. I’d love for you to stay the night with me.” Thinking about Jake, I asked, “You think it’ll be okay?”

“Do you have your phone?” When I nodded, he said, “Just set your alarm about thirty minutes before the twins usually get up. We should be fine.”

“Good idea.”

“I’m always a man with a plan.”

I elbowed him playfully as I fumbled around on the shelf over my head. Once I’d grabbed my phone, I set it for five. The twins usually liked to get up around six, and I didn’t want to push it with just a half hour window.

After I put the phone back on the shelf, I snuggled back against Rhys and fell into a deep, contented sleep.

A
s per my usual morning routine on the bus, Jax and Jules’s hearty morning cries woke me up. Shifting in my roost, I bumped against something warm and hard. My eyes snapped open. Rhys’s body was spooned against mine with one arm snaked around my waist, cupping my breast through my T-shirt. “Shit!” I cried.

He slowly roused next to me. “What’s wrong?” he asked, forgetting to whisper.

Elbowing him, I hissed, “Shh!”

When he tensed beside me, I knew he realized we were in deep shit. It was morning, and he hadn’t gone back to his roost like he was supposed to. Now Jake and Abby were awake along with the twins.

“What happened to the alarm?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “God, we are so screwed.”

“Look, I’ll just duck into the shower. They’ll never know the difference.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Trust me,” he murmured, before bestowing a chaste kiss on my lips.

While I would have loved to have stayed there making out with him longer, I knew he had to get going. When his arm reached up to pull back the curtain, Jake’s voice caused Rhys to freeze. “Okay, I’ll heat their bottles.” Rhys and I exchanged a panicked look before the bedroom door flung open. As Jake’s feet padded down the hallway, I sucked in a breath. Just when I thought I was in the clear, Jake’s hand tapped on my curtain.

“Allie-bean?”

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.
“Uh, yeah?”

“Your sketch pad is out here on the floor.”

“Oops, I must’ve knocked it out when I was sleeping,” I replied.

When Jake started to pull back the curtain, I screeched and blocked his hands. “No, no, I’m not dressed yet!”

“Jeez, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were so modest.”

“Yeah, it’s a bad character trait of mine,” I replied.

“Want me to leave it on the table for you?”

“Yes, please.”

Once he was safely down the hall, I exhaled noisily. “That was a close one,” I whispered.

Rhys nodded. Drawing in a deep breath, he eased back the curtain and peeked outside. He then swung his legs out of the roost and hopped out. Just as I was about to sigh with relief, Jake’s voice once again scared the hell out of me.

“Dude, what the fuck?” he demanded.

Peeking through the curtain, I got a great view of Rhys’s bare ass as he stood outside his roost. Peering around him, I watched as Jake stared at Rhys in horror. “What’s the problem?” Rhys asked nonchalantly.

Waving one of the twins’ bottles around, Jake replied, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact you’re buck ass
naked
in the middle of the hallway?”

Rhys shrugged. “You know I sleep in the buff—I always have. Can I help it if you caught me as I was about to get in the shower?”

“Have you forgotten Allison’s on this bus? I don’t even want her having to see your naked ass this early in the morning.”

“Oh shit, man, I forgot. I guess I’ve gotten used to letting it all hang out with Eli and Gabe.”

Jake grimaced. “Try not to forget again. I don’t want Abby having to see you, either.”

Sweeping his hands to his naked hips, Rhys asked, “Are you afraid of what might happen if she saw a
real
man naked?”

“Trust me, fucker, she’s seen a real man naked. She’s had a real one between her legs, too.”

“JAKE!” Abby shouted from inside the bedroom. I don’t know if it was because of his comment about their sex life or the fact the twins had started up crying again.

“Just get your ass in the shower,” Jake mumbled, as he bypassed Rhys to get the bottles to Abby and the twins.

“Aye, aye, captain,” Rhys teased before ducking into the bathroom. Once Rhys was in the shower and Jake was back in the bedroom, I finally felt like I could breathe again. Reaching down to the foot of my mattress, I unrolled my wadded pajama pants and slid them on. After I hopped out of my roost, I slid my hair into a high ponytail on my way to the kitchen. Once I got there, I turned on the coffee pot. By the time the water had shut off in the bathroom, I’d put in a pan of frozen biscuits and microwaved a plate full of sausage and bacon.

The bathroom door opened, and Rhys poked his head out. When he saw me, he smiled. “Coast clear?”

“For the moment.”

With just a towel wrapped around his waist, Rhys strode over to me. Damn, he looked totally delectable with the water drops glistening on his chest and abs. The towel hung especially low on his hips giving me an eyeful of his cut V and the dusting of hair of his happy trail.

Before I could protest, he pulled me into his arms and brought his lips to mine. I’m sure I had horrible morning breath, but Rhys didn’t seem to mind. When he pulled away, he grinned. “I enjoyed last night.”

“The secret sex?”

He shook his head. “Sleeping with you.”

I smiled. “Oh, I enjoyed that, too, along with the orgasms.”

He responded to my sassiness with a low chuckle. The sound of Jules’s happy squeal down the hall caused us to break apart. “I should go shower.”