by Katie Ashley
“No, man, we’re all good.” Glancing from me to Allison, he gave her a warm smile. “It’s not like you stole my woman or something because she was never mine to begin with. She was always yours.”
Tears pooled in Allison’s eyes, and she rushed past me to throw her arms around Eli’s neck. I had to fight the caveman urge to go over and yank her away, but I knew this was just part of her kind, compassionate side. “I’m so sorry, Eli. I never meant for you to get put in the middle of all this. You’ve always been such a good friend to me. I don’t want to lose that,” she said.
“Don’t be sorry, and of course, I’ll always be your friend. I’m just glad you’re going to be happy now,” Eli replied. After Allison pulled away, Eli then gave me a pointed look. “She is going to be happy, right?”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, she is.”
“Good. Because I don’t want to have to kick your ass for hurting her.”
“You won’t have to, I swear.”
“What about Jake?” Eli asked.
When I opened my mouth to tell him I was planning on telling Jake immediately, Allison shook her head. “He doesn’t need to know quite yet.”
“He doesn’t?” both Eli and I said in unison.
Allison cocked her head at me. “After the last few months of hell, call me crazy, but I’d like to have a little while of happiness with you without things being crazy with Jake.”
“She makes a good point,” Eli mused.
“Whatever,” I grumbled. Before I could argue with her that it probably was a horrible idea not to tell Jake, the man in question came barreling through the door, knocking Eli out of the way.
“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Are you okay, Allie-Bean?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Allison replied.
Jake narrowed his eyes at Eli before pulling Allison into his arms. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because he’s here?” Jake questioned in a low voice.
“I’m positive. I just had a little meltdown, okay?”
When Jake pulled away, he gave her a skeptical look. “Look, if taking care of the twins is too hard on top of your internship, we’ll hire someone else. I don’t want you to be unhappy.”
Although I felt like a sappy chick, I couldn’t help it when my heart warmed at Jake’s suggestion. As much as I cared about Allison, I was glad that she had a big brother who loved her so much. I hoped that intense love also meant that Jake would take the news of us being together a little easier. I mean, he did claim that he didn’t want her to be unhappy, right? Deep down, I knew I was grasping at fucking straws on that one.
“No, no, it’s fine. I love taking care of the twins,” Allison protested.
“But you—”
“I’m just having a really hormonal, PMS day, okay?”
All three of us males groaned in unison at the mention of the dreaded PMS. “And singing that song just made me think of Mitchell,” Allison added.
It was completely wrong of me, but I couldn’t help being a little impressed by how well she was able to lie so convincingly on her feet. Jake seemed to buy the story. He gave Eli a sheepish look. “Sorry for busting your chops, man.”
Eli shrugged. “It’s all good. But you might want to start chilling the fuck out when it comes to who Allison is dating.”
“Is that right?” Jake challenged, jerking his chin up defiantly.
“If you don’t, you’re going to have a stroke before it’s time for Jules to date.”
Jake winced. “Don’t even say the words ‘Jules’ and ‘date” in the same sentence.” He rubbed his chest. “My heart can’t bear the thought of some douche trying to take advantage of my baby girl.”
A roadie appeared in the doorway. “Excuse me, Jake, but Abby’s onstage and ready to rehearse.”
Jake nodded his head in acknowledgement. “I’ll be right there.”
When the roadie left us all alone again, Jake eyed Allison. “You’ll be all right?”
Allison smiled. “I’ll be fine. I better go relieve Mia and Lily of twin duty.”
Jake and Eli then headed out the door, leaving Allison and me alone again. “Walk with me?” she suggested. I nodded and then followed her down the hall to the Runaway Train dressing room. Allison eased open the door. The darkened room was quiet. Jax and Jules were snoozing away in their portable Pack ‘N Play. Mia sat on the couch across from them, feeding Gaby a bottle. At the sight of us, she rose off the couch. “I better go make sure Bella isn’t wreaking havoc down the hall…or I should say that AJ and Bella aren’t wreaking havoc,” she said with a smile.
Allison giggled. “Thanks for watching them for me.”
Mia glanced between the two of us and then winked. “No problem.”
Once she was gone, I slid my arm around Allison’s waist, and we stood there together, staring down at the sleeping babies. At Allison’s sigh of contentment, I whispered in her ear, “I’m so glad you don’t have to leave them.”
She bobbed her head in agreement. Then she glanced up at me and smiled. “But I’m also glad I don’t have to leave you,” she replied, which caused my heart to thrum wildly in my chest.
“So am I.”
And we stayed just like that until I heard my name being called in the hallway for rehearsal. Then, and only then, did I tear myself away.
After Rhys poured out his heart to me and begged for my forgiveness, I wanted nothing more than to hole up somewhere alone with him for weeks and weeks. But nothing in our lives seemed to want to go the way I fantasized. After Eli found us in the dressing room, we didn’t have another moment to ourselves that night. We were constantly with Jake and Abby and the other members of Runaway Train.
When it came time to pull out of Portland for Seattle, I couldn’t hide my surprise when Rhys bypassed the Jacob’s Ladder bus and started for Jake and Abby’s with me. “What are you doing?”
He rolled his eyes playfully. “Staying with you. What does it look like I’m doing?”
As we climbed up the bus stairs, I replied, “While I’m touched by the thought, I would think we wouldn’t want to be doing anything to call attention to ourselves.”
“Yeah, well, I was thinking that although Eli seemed all right with the two of us, it might be a good idea to give him some space tonight.”
“What are you going to tell Jake and Abby?”
Rhys shrugged. “I’ll think of something.”
He didn’t have long to think up a story because Jake and Abby came up the stairs then with the twins in tow. Jake raised his brows at the sight of Rhys. “What’s up, man? You lost?”
With a chuckle, Rhys replied, “No, I just thought I might crash here tonight.” He looked pointedly at Abby. “Your brothers fucking snore like bears.”
Abby giggled. “Yeah, they do. I had to wear Beats headphones when I was on the bus with them just to get a good night’s sleep.
And just like that we were off the hook. I helped Abby give Jax and Jules their bottles and then we put them to bed in their crib. While Jake and Rhys sat in the living room drinking beers and shooting the shit, I slipped into the bathroom and changed into a T-shirt and pajama pants. When I came out, I found Abby had joined the guys and was lounging on Jake’s lap. When she leaned over and whispered something in his ear, his eyes bulged. “Yeah, we should all get to bed. Abby and I are still kinda weak from recovering.”
“Riiiigght. That’s why you’re going to bed now,” Rhys murmured around the mouth of his beer bottle. Abby playfully smacked his leg before she rose off of Jake’s lap.
“Night guys,” I said.
“Night, Allie-Bean,” Jake said, stopping on the way to the bedroom to give me a kiss on the cheek. Abby grinned at me before she disappeared into the bedroom with Jake.
I turned back to look at Rhys. “Guess we better go to bed.” Realizing my mistake, I lowered my voice and quickly added, “I mean, we should go to our different roosts to go to bed.”
Rhy
s grinned as he remained on the couch, scratching Angel’s ears. “I’m going to stay out here for a while. Unwind a little.”
More than anything in the world, I wanted a good night kiss from him. But even though I was pretty sure that Jake and Abby were busy and not coming out any time soon, I didn’t risk it. “Good night, Rhys,” I said, softly.
“Good night, Allison.”
I then turned and hightailed it down the aisle to my roost. By the time I settled down, I couldn’t go to sleep. Not with the thought that Rhys was so close but so far away. So I grabbed my sketch pad and pencils out of the cubby above the bed and started working on my designs. I don’t know how long I’d been working when I thought I heard movement outside my roost.
When I determined it was footsteps in the aisle, I stilled my pencil on my pad. Suddenly, the curtain to my roost jerked open. Before I had a chance to react, Rhys ducked inside, covering my body with his very naked one. I widened my eyes in horror. “What are—”
He silenced me by bringing his lips to mine. I immediately moaned. It felt like forever since I had been able to kiss him. Our mouths moved desperately against each other, as if we were trying to feel every single sensation all at once. His tongue lightly swept against my bottom lip, and I thrust my tongue out to meet his. As our tongues began to twirl together, moisture began pooling between my legs. Of course, it didn’t hurt that his hips were pumping against mine, a perfect friction that was driving me wild.
When Rhys pulled away from my mouth, I whined in frustration. Ignoring me, he kissed and nibbled a trail across my jawline over to my ear. His sweet, warm breath tickled my earlobe before he began speaking in a soft voice. “Don’t be mad at me for coming to you like this. I know you said you were going to make me work for the make-up sex. But I thought if I lay there one more minute so close to you but so far away I would explode.”
“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 yo
u 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.