Strings of the Heart (Runaway Train #3)(70)
Rhys stared at me in utter disbelief. His mouth opened, but no words came out. And then he surprised the hell out of me by pulling out. He eased me down to where my feet were touching the floor. After sliding off the half used condom, Rhys tucked his slackened dick back into his pants. When he finally met my gaze, he shook his head forlornly. “Jesus, Allison, what have I done to you? What am I doing to you?” When I didn’t respond, he muttered, “I’m so f**king sorry.”
He then exited the stall. When I heard the bathroom door close, I staggered over to the toilet seat and collapsed down onto it. As my body shook with sobs, I tried desperately to get a hold of my emotions. Wrapping my arms around myself, I finally just let go and cried until there wasn’t anything left within me. When I finished, I wiped my eyes and left the stall. Standing in front of the mirror, I looked like the hell I felt like. Mascara and eyeliner streaked down my cheeks while my lipstick was smudged from Eli’s kiss.
Once I had cleaned up as best I could, I made my way out of the bathroom. I skidded to a stop at the sight of Eli waiting on me. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight of me. “Jesus, Allison. Are you all right?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I’m so sorry, Eli, but I need to go back to the hotel.”
“Of course. Whatever you need,” he said. He took a tentative step forward to wrap an arm around my shoulder. “Lean on me. I’ll get you out of here.”
His kindness caused the waterworks to start up again. Turning my head, I buried my face into Eli’s chest and let him lead me out of the club. When I got to the limo, Eli helped me inside. Even though I shouldn’t have, I snuggled up to him when he opened his arms to me.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he questioned softly, as we began to make our way along the quiet streets.
“No, not really.”
Eli sighed. “I knew trying to start something up with you was going to be difficult, but I sure as hell didn’t know I’d have competition.”
I twisted out of his arms to stare at him in shock. “W-What do you mean?”
“Come on, Allison. I may act like a fool sometimes, but I’m not really one. I know there’s something between you and Rhys. Hell, any idiot could see that.”
Wincing, I said, “I’m sorry to have put you in the middle of all this. What’s happened between Rhys and me is such a mess. I don’t even know if it is still possible to even be friends with each other.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty abysmal.” I shook my head sadly at him. “I’m sure after all this you aren’t still interested in our date, huh?”
Eli held up one of his hands. “Whoa, wait a minute. I never said that I didn’t want to be with you.”
“But you deserve better than a girl who is hung up on some ass**le who will never feel the same way about her,” I protested.
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
“You’re just too good to be true, aren’t you?”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t get too carried away singing my praises. Part of me is hanging on because girls with broken hearts or girls with something to prove to ass**le ex-boyfriends are easy lays.”
My eyes widened in horror at his statement. “Eli Renard, how could you think that about me?”
With a wink, he replied, “I’m just being honest with you, Allison. I don’t want you losing sleep worrying about breaking my heart when my motives aren’t exactly pure.” He cocked his head at me. “Just like I said on the dance floor, I want to have a good time with you, see where it leads us, but I’m sure as hell nowhere near ready to go ask Jake for your hand in marriage.”
Even though I should have been appalled at him, I couldn’t help but laugh. “You are so bad.”
“I know. I’m a bad boy with a somewhat heart of gold who just wants to have some fun with you.” Staring intently at me, he asked, “Think you can handle that?”
“I think I can try.”
Eli then leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Good. And the date is still on tomorrow night?”
I gave him a tentative smile. “Yes, it is.”
Chapter Fourteen
Rolling over in bed, I thumped my pillow for the millionth time. I guess it was more like punching the hell out of it instead of thumping it. After my hellish evening with Allison, I’d found it hard to sleep. I guess it was a combination of a guilty conscience and my mind racing with thoughts. As sleep continued to evade me, I kept tossing and turning while reliving each and every painful detail in my head.
Jesus, how had things gone so wrong between us? I was such a f**king selfish bastard. I’d become the epitome of the douchebags I hated—the men from my parents’ world. Every time I tried to do the right thing by pushing Allison away, I just pulled her back to me, hurting her even more. I’d become barely recognizable to who I once was. The old me would have never used Allison like I did in the skeezy club bathroom. I’d been an enraged bastard because she was kissing Eli and telling me I had no control over her. So I’d gone in to prove to her that she did belong to me, even though I had no plans to emotionally claim her. God, I was such an unimaginable bastard. For the life of me, I couldn’t fathom why I kept treating Allison the way I did. The old law school part of me started making a case against my own self in my head.