“Wait,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “Isn’t she dating some doctor that Lexi works with?” I held my hands out and shook my head. “You know what, never mind. I don’t want to know.”
“Probably a good choice,” Jax said laughing. He put his arm over my shoulders and led me towards Stephen’s room. “Come on, let’s go so you can say hi to the drama king. He was already asking about you.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Rhys. He was staring at me with an odd expression on his face. I wished that I could still read him like I used to be able to. This new man was a mystery compared to the boy I once knew.
Hours later Rhys drove us back to my house. We were both exhausted and emotionally drained. Things had been tense for a few minutes between Rhys and Stephen, but when Stephen realized what was going on between Rhys and I he was much more welcoming.
It took everything I had not to fall asleep on the short drive home while Rhys drove through the darkness. I leaned back against the headrest when he parked.
“Why don’t you just crash at my house tonight? I know you’re as tired as I am, probably more because you were the one taking care of everyone.”
Rhys pinned me with a look. “Are you kidding me? Amanda, you didn’t sit down from the time we got there until the time we left. I’m sure your ankle is killing you in those heels.”
I shrugged and stifled a yawn. “It’s no big deal. Come on in.”
I opened the car door and stepped out into the night air. It cleared my head just long enough for me to realize the magnitude of what I had asked Rhys to do. Oh God, what if he thought I thought I was only thinking about sex?
I sound like a freaking high school girl.
He inclined his head and stared at me for a moment. “Why don’t I just catch up with you tomorrow? You need sleep, not to be worried about me fitting on your couch.”
I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves.
“Rhys, get your ass in the house.”
He raised an eyebrow and took the keys from me I had been fumbling with to open the front door.
“Do you always take care of everyone but yourself? You’re so fucking selfless, Mandi.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing to want to help people.”
“Sometimes it is.”
I looked at him in disbelief.
“What do you mean by that?” There was an edge to my voice that he couldn’t ignore.
“Do you ever do anything for yourself? Something that you want, not what your career demands, or your friends need. Do you ever just stop and do something that you enjoy?”
“Why are you so up in arms about this?”
“Never mind.” He was disappointed, but I couldn’t tell why. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He opened the door for me and stepped to the side so I could walk inside. I rubbed a hand down my forehead in frustration. “Please just sleep in the guest bed. I’m worried about you driving this late. It’s four in the morning and we’ve had a really rough day. Plus, I don’t want to be alone,” I finished on a whisper. “This house is too big for one person and after everything that we’ve been through tonight I just don’t want to be here by myself.”
I didn’t even realize I was crying until his fingers gently wiped away the tears streaming down my face. My head rested on his chest as he pulled me into his arms. Lucy whimpered at his feet, and I realized she was just as concerned about me as Rhys was. How ridiculous that my dog could pick up on my feelings more than I could.
“Where’s your bedroom?”
“Third door on the left.”
Rhys picked me up and carried me down the hall to my bed. He was gentle as he laid me down and pulled off my heels one at a time. I moaned in pleasure as he rubbed my feet after dropping each shoe to the ground. His lips brushed across my forehead gently. My fingers grasped at his shirt to keep him from pulling away.
“Please just stay with me tonight.” My voice was a breathy whisper. God, I prayed he couldn’t hear the need in my voice.
He met my eyes and I saw the internal debate over whether this was a good idea or not. To my surprise he nodded. I untangled my fingers from his shirt and let him step back to take off his shoes. My eyes never left him as he unbuttoned his shirt and laid it across the small chair in the corner of the room. He hesitated for a moment before unbuttoning his pants and tugging them down his muscled thighs. Surprise covered his face when I sat up and tugged my dress up over my head, leaving me only in my bra and panties.
“Do you want me to go grab you something to put on?”
I shook my head and bit down on my full bottom lip. My long blonde hair cascaded over the pillow as I lay back. Rhys’ Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as his gaze burned my body. Tingles shot up my spine.
“You’re even more amazing now than you were at seventeen.”
I smirked. “I go to the gym a lot more.”
I laughed as his eyebrows furrowed together. “That’s not what I—”
“I’m kidding Rhys. Get in bed please.” He crossed the room in three strides after turning off the light. I grabbed his hand and tugged him down to the bed with me. The feeling of his skin against mine made me shiver.
“Are you cold?”
I nodded. Better that he think I’m cold than actually know what was going on in my head. He tugged the covers up over us. Instead of being shy like I usually would, I put my head on his chest and lay my hand on his stomach. Rhys tensed and I looked up at him.
“Are you okay?”
He sucked in a sharp breath before answering. “Yeah, fine.”
My fingers traveled up and down his stomach in lazy strokes. Goose bumps rose under my touch and he grabbed my hand quickly.
“What’s wrong?”
“You can’t do that.”
I leaned up on my arm, and looked up at him puzzled. He moved my hand down and ran it along the very hard bulge in his boxers. I gasped and blushed, but didn’t immediately move from touching him.
“Unless you want to do something about that, you need to stop Mandi.”
I sat up on my arm and looked down at him. “What if I want to do something?”
He groaned into the dark room as I gripped him through his boxers. I licked my lips and his mouth crashed against mine. When his fingers tangled in my hair, I moved on top of him, lining us up perfectly. I ground my body against his, causing a soft whimper to slip from my mouth.
Our lips crashed together in a tangle of lips and tongues. I bit down on his full bottom lip and was rewarded with a guttural growl. His fingers tangled in my hair, pulling my head back so he was able to ravage me further. My fingers gripped his biceps so hard they would probably bruise.
He broke our kiss, leaving us both breathing heavy. “Amanda, are you sure this is what you want?” I nodded and moved his hand to cup my breast. He groaned. “Shortcake, you’re killing me. I need words. Tell me what’s in your head.”
I leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Touch me, Rhys. I want you everywhere.”
Apparently that was enough because Rhys gripped my ass as he rubbed his cock against me. I ground my hips against his and reached behind me to unfasten my bra with one hand. The thin material between us was delicious torture. His mouth explored my overheated skin as his hands cupped my breasts, pinching my nipples as his mouth moved.
The sounds of exploring and finding spots that made us cry out echoed off the walls of my bedroom. Rhys pulled back and looked at me. His gaze was full of promise. It threw me for a second as I looked into his electric eyes. This wasn’t the boy that awkwardly made love to me in the backseat of his car for the first time. Rhys was a man that obviously picked up a few tricks along the way. Not that I could blame him for that. I certainly wasn’t a lily white virgin anymore either.
“Shortcake, where did you go?”
“Huh?”
“Where’s your head?” Rhys fingers were inside my panties and I hadn’t even realized it. I reall
y had spaced out. “Mandi, are you sure you want to do this?”
He attempted to pull his hands back and I grabbed his wrist.
“If you stop, I’m going to murder you.”
He chuckled. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
“This is so different.” I whispered. Thank goodness for the dark, so he couldn’t see the blush running over my cheeks. “It’s good different, but we aren’t fumbling kids anymore. I’ve always wondered what it would be like as adults between us. Rhys, you were my first everything.”
His nose ran along my collar bone and up my neck. “I want you more now than I did then, and I didn’t think that was possible.”
The feeling of his breath on my neck made me shiver in pleasure. “Then you should show me.” I squealed as he flipped us over so I was on my back. He chuckled softly and I smacked at his chest. “Warn me before you do something like that.”
“Why?”
His fingers pinched at my nipples and I bit down on my bottom lip to stifle my moan. “It’s…um…holy fuck. Keep doing that.”
Rhys laughed, but didn’t stop his traveling hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say the word fuck. I didn’t even know you knew it.”
“Focus, Rhys.”
“That would be what you need to do.” The sound of ripping fabric filled my ears and I gasped in shock. My panties hung in shreds in his fingers.
“You did not just do that?”
He shrugged and gave me a dimpled grin. “I’ll buy you a new pair.”
I tried not to smile back at him, but something about the way he looked at me made it impossible. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Did I really just blurt that out? Now?
Rhys tugged his boxer briefs down his trim hips and his cock pressed to my entrance. Something about my confession urged him on. He groaned as he leaned back to grab his pants off the floor. I looked at him in a dazed confusion until I saw him hold up a condom between his thumb and pointer finger.
He rolled on the condom quickly and moved back over me. His gaze met mine and he silently asked if I was ready. I nodded once and he was buried inside me. I cried out his name and he dug his face in my neck.
Muffled cries filled the room as he moved inside me. Our lips clashed together and there was a frenzy of tangled limbs. I braced myself with one hand on the headboard as I ran my other hand down through his hair and back up his muscled arms. He lifted my leg over his hip as we turned to our sides.
I grabbed at the sheets as I came closer to the precipice of my orgasm. Each time Rhys’ pubic bone rubbed along my clit I felt the pressure building higher. My mouth dropped open in a silent scream and his hand gripped my breast tighter. As my release hit me I bit down into Rhys’ shoulder. He pumped his hips a few more times before he groaned into my shoulder.
We clung to one another as our breathing came back down to normal. Our bodies were covered in a light sheen of sweat. A beautiful smile covered Rhys face as he started laughing.
“Our sex life as kids was nothing like that.”
I started laughing too. “I don’t think you knew those moves.”
He turned on his back and laid his hand on my leg that was still propped over his hip.
“Holy hell, Shortcake.”
I traced my fingers along his jaw. He captured my fingers in his hand and kissed my palm. This is how our lives should have been, soft moments after amazing sex. I settled my head against his arm and intertwined our fingers. Rhys kissed my forehead and we listened to the silence surrounding us, each wondering if we had just made the best mistake possible.
I woke up with Rhys’ arms wrapped around me the next morning. It was difficult not to stiffen and wake him up. Sleeping with him last night hadn’t been the best decision, but my emotions had been at the surface and I needed to feel something life affirming. After Stephen’s accident, we all realized life was too short to have regrets, but I was still a cautious person. If nothing else, I needed to admit to myself that I missed him.
Rhys stirred beside me and I tried to relax into him so he would go back to sleep.
“Good morning.” His husky voice made me warm in places that needed severe cooling. Just because we had gone there last night didn’t mean we needed to do it again until I figured out where my head was at.
“Hey.”
I turned on my side and looked at him. When we were younger, we never had the luxury of waking up next to one another. I had always wondered if he was a morning person, or if he needed a cup of coffee before anyone talked to him.
“How did you sleep?”
He yawned and stretched up, making his stomach muscles tighten under my fingertips. Oh damn. My resolve to slow things down was not going to last long if he did things like that.
“I slept really well for the first time in forever, but I think it’s because I had you next to me.”
Swoon. Why was he not only sexy as hell, but really sweet?
He started laughing as Lucy jumped up on the bed and bounded up to the top. She was so excited we were finally awake and had probably been up for a few hours. She made a beeline for Rhys and licked his cheeks and forehead before he could stop her.
“Dog, you need to stop. I’m going to have to take a shower before my girl is even going to let me kiss her good morning now.”
I stilled next to him.
“What did you just call me?” I whispered.
Rhys sat up and put the puppy in his lap. I tugged the sheets up around me as I moved next to him, leaning back on the headboard, but careful not to touch him.
“Amanda, I didn’t mean to freak you out.” He rubbed his hand down his face in frustration. “I just thought…You know what? Never mind what I thought. I knew you weren’t ready for anything more than friendship and I pushed this.”
“You didn’t start this. I’m the one that pushed things last night, but now I’m just a little overwhelmed. Can I just take a second and process this?”
I ducked my head and felt the tears pricking at my eyes. The last thing I wanted was for Rhys to blame himself. Sexual chemistry and attraction had never been a problem between us. We’d always had it in spades.
“Maybe we just need to take a step back.”
He was up and pulling on clothes before I could blink. His mouth brushed along my forehead and I tried to pull him back to me. He moved back before I could grab his arm. I had hoped to make him breakfast and talk things over.
“I’ll see you soon, Amanda.”
I could see hurt and confusion lurking in his eyes, but instead of facing those things with me, he was pushing me away.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
He grunted in response.
“You just called me Amanda, not Mandi or Shortcake. You’re running again aren’t you?”
I leaned up on my knees so I could stand taller on the bed.
“Seriously? You’re a coward Rhys. Just because I’m nervous about this whole big thing going on between us, you think you can use that as an excuse to push me away. Do you regret last night?”
He shook his head sadly. I saw the pain, but it was deeper than he would let me get. It was the same pain he had shielded from me before he had left the last time. Rhys thought he was protecting me, so he was going to leave again. He turned and walked towards the door.
“You’re going to hurt me so much worse than last time.”
I saw his shoulders tense, but he didn’t stop. It took everything in me not to go after him. If he needed to get away I wasn’t going to ask him to stay.
“It’s worse this time because we can both see how real it would be between us.” My voice echoed down the hall.
The sound of the front door closing was my undoing. Hot scalding tears streamed down my face, and I felt my heart shatter in my chest. I leaned back against the headboard and hugged a pillow to my face. Lucy whimpered and curled up next to me, laying her head on my arm.
One thing was true. Rhys had hurt me worse
this time because in one night, I realized how wonderful a life with him would be. I had picked up the pieces before, but something told me it would be a million times more difficult this time.
Sweat dripped down between my breasts as I did another rep of twenty with the weights. My personal trainer would be proud that I was taking the initiative to work out on my own, but I was so done with this misery. This type of workout was just a punishment, a way to move past Rhys’ abandonment. I put the weights down and took a long sip from my water bottle. Sometimes kicking the crap out of a heavy bag or lifting weights was the easiest way for me to get through my frustration.
After Rhys left yesterday morning I had a hard time trying to clear my head. It had taken me forever to actually move from my bed. Even after I laid down last night, I tossed and turned, playing our conversations over and over again in my head. Doubt crept in and I wondered if I had known how bad it truly was for him, would I have been able to help? Probably not, but we would never know.
Between Rhys and everything going on with Stephen, my head was a jumbled mess. I planned to stop by the hospital after my workout to check on Stephen. He would be going home soon and I couldn’t be happier for him and Taylor. They would finally be able to move on from all the crap they had put each other through over the past few months.
I glanced around and noticed the frat boy that had been eyeing me had gotten braver. He was at the machine closest to the free weights now. He’d followed me around all morning, but he hadn’t actually said anything. Draping the towel over my shoulders, I decided I would finish out my workout with a quick twenty minute run. I smirked as the guy moved to the treadmill next to me.
He stared for a few minutes and I finally took pity on him. I turned and smiled. I’m sure he was used to girls falling all over themselves to talk to him. He was cute with his blonde hair and dimpled chin. Plus he had the lithe body of a swimmer. The muscled V on his lower stomach was enough to make me drool, but I felt like a dirty old woman doing it.
Selfless: A Relentless Series Novella (The Relentless Series Book 3) Page 4
