Strings of the Heart

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 f**king 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 f**king 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 bu**ocks. “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 pu**y 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 h*ps 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 f**k, 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 ha**ng s*x again with Rhys because he had told me he loved me or that he had feelings for me. No, I was f**king 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 h*ps 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 f**k me, so keep f**king me.”

Rhys’s brows rose in confusion. “I can f**k 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.”