Strings of the Heart (Runaway Train #3)(67)
“Why the hell would I want to do that?” I questioned lamely. I refused to meet Gabe’s eyes for fear that they would betray the emotions I was feeling. There was nothing in the world I wanted to do more than go break up Allison and Eli.
Rolling his eyes, Gabe countered, “Come on, man. You’ve been shooting f**king daggers at my brother the entire time he’s been out there with Allison, not to mention the rest of the night. It’s pretty obvious how you feel about her.”
I shook my head while I played with the label on my beer bottle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Gabe rested his arms on the back of the booth and eyed me with a shit-eating grin. “Don’t try to act like you’re not totally hot for her. It’s written all over your face when you look at her. I can’t say I blame you.” He closed his eyes in exaggerated bliss. “If Jake wouldn’t have my dick, mmm, I’d love to f**k her brains out.”
Slamming my beer bottle down on the table, I thrust my finger in his face. “Watch your f**king mouth!”
Instead of fear, Gabe chuckled. “Oh yeah, you’ve got it bad.”
I ran a hand nervously through my hair. “It doesn’t matter what I may or may not feel about Allison. I’m here tonight because Jake wanted me to keep an eye on Allison with Eli.”
With a wink, Gabe said, “And all the while, the wolf was guarding the chicken coop.”
“Whatever,” I mumbled.
“She’s hot for you, too, you know.”
“Is that right?” I snapped, after taking another long swig of beer.
“Oh yeah, it is. Allison’s too sweet a woman to be using Eli just to get at you. If I had to put money on it, I’d imagine that she’s trying to transfer what she’s feeling for you onto him. Most likely, you were a f**king dick who broke her heart by not being emotionally available to her, so she’s ready to move on.”
Cocking my head at Gabe, I said, “Well, thank you for that lovely psychoanalysis, Dr. Fucking Phil!”
Gabe laughed heartily. “It doesn’t have to end badly, man. Just go out there, ask her to dance, and tell her how you really feel about her.” When I opened my mouth to protest, he shook his head. “Yeah, Jake is going to be pissed. But so f**king what? This is your life and happiness we’re talking about, not to mention hers. Do you think we were all really happy that some man-whore douchebag like Jake was putting the moves on our virginal baby sister?” Gabe snorted contemptuously. “Hell no, we weren’t. But it wasn’t up to us—it was up to Jake and Abby.”
With a ragged sigh, I weighed Gabe’s words. Deep down, I knew he was right. All the reasons I tried to tell myself why Allison and I couldn’t be together were really just bullshit and bogus. I was just too much of a f**king pu**y to want to risk getting hurt or having Allison realize that I wasn’t the man she thought I was.
“Oh f**k,” Gabe muttered beside me. I didn’t have to wonder what he was talking about when I glanced back out onto the dance floor. Immediately, red flashed before my eyes, and I gripped the booth until my knuckles turned while. I was precariously close to hulking out.
Not only did Eli have his lips on Allison’s, but his hands were practically on her ass. “Oh, hell f**king no!” I shouted, as I flung myself out of the booth for battle.
“Rhys, don’t!” Gabe shouted behind me, but I ignored him. Instead, I barreled on ahead, straight for Allison and Eli.
Chapter Thirteen
With Beyoncé’s Drunk in Love playing sultrily in the background, Eli’s head dipped to nuzzle my neck. “Mmm, Allison, you’re really starting to get to me,” he murmured into my ear, his breath singeing the sensitive flesh of my earlobe. Our lower halves were working in perfect sync to the music.
Craning my neck, I tilted my chin up to look into his eyes. “Am I?”
He nodded. “Although I shouldn’t, I’m really starting to like you.”
I grinned. “Aw, I like you, too, Eli.”
With a snort, he replied, “No, I mean, I really like you.”
An icy feeling rippled through my veins, causing me to shiver. Having a handsome guy say he liked you romantically should cause your heart to beat faster or a stirring below your waist. But that wasn’t the case for me when Eli said the words. I felt nothing.
Dammit, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. He was not supposed to be a means to make Rhys jealous. He was supposed to be an opportunity for me to have fun and forget about Rhys. But no matter how hard I tried, I didn’t feel the same intensity for Eli as I did for Rhys. It wasn’t even a drop in the bucket to what I felt for Rhys.
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 f**king hard that you would scream my name over and over again.”