Strings of the Heart (Runaway Train #3)(83)

“Aye, aye, captain,” Rhys teased before ducking into the bathroom. Once Rhys was in the shower and Jake was back in the bedroom, I finally felt like I could breathe again. Reaching down to the foot of my mattress, I unrolled my wadded pajama pants and slid them on. After I hopped out of my roost, I slid my hair into a high ponytail on my way to the kitchen. Once I got there, I turned on the coffee pot. By the time the water had shut off in the bathroom, I’d put in a pan of frozen biscuits and microwaved a plate full of sausage and bacon.

The bathroom door opened, and Rhys poked his head out. When he saw me, he smiled. “Coast clear?”

“For the moment.”

With just a towel wrapped around his waist, Rhys strode over to me. Damn, he looked totally delectable with the water drops glistening on his chest and abs. The towel hung especially low on his h*ps giving me an eyeful of his cut V and the dusting of hair of his happy trail.

Before I could protest, he pulled me into his arms and brought his lips to mine. I’m sure I had horrible morning breath, but Rhys didn’t seem to mind. When he pulled away, he grinned. “I enjoyed last night.”

“The secret sex?”

He shook his head. “Sleeping with you.”

I smiled. “Oh, I enjoyed that, too, along with the orgasms.”

He responded to my sassiness with a low chuckle. The sound of Jules’s happy squeal down the hall caused us to break apart. “I should go shower.”

“You do that.” When I turned to go to the bathroom, Rhys popped my ass playfully, causing me to let loose with a shriek.

The bedroom door flung open. “Allison, are you okay?” Jake asked with Jules on his hip.

“I’m fine.”

Jake eyed Rhys and me. “But why did you scream?”

Waving my hand dismissively, I replied, “Oh, I saw a spider, but thankfully, Rhys killed it for me.”

Rhys nodded his head to go along with my lie. Jake brows lined with confusion, but before he questioned me any further, he sniffed the air appreciatively. “Do I smell bacon?”

I laughed. Leave it to Jake to have food sidetrack him from potentially busting Rhys and me. “Yeah, I have some biscuits baking, too.”

“Oh, you are good to your big brother, aren’t you?”

“You act like I just whipped up a feast from scratch. I’d hardly call microwaving breakfast meat impressive.”

Slinging an arm across my shoulder, Jake pulled me to his side. “It’s still sweet of you to take care of me and Abby so well.”

“I’m happy to do it.”

Jake bestowed a kiss on my cheek. “Aw, I love you, Allie-bean.”

“I love you, too.” Always the cutest little attention whore ever, Jules squealed and kicked her legs. “And I love you, Miss Jules.” She rewarded me with a giant grin. I then disappeared into the bathroom to grab a quick shower. Under the hot stream of water, muscles I had overworked the night before screamed in agony. With my stomach rumbling, I decided to forgo drying my hair. Instead, I left my wet hair down to air-dry.

When I came out of the bathroom, I found everyone seated at the table. “I hope you saved me some,” I said, as I slid into the vacant seat next to Rhys.

Abby grinned. “It was hard with these two and their never ending stomachs.”

Under the table, Rhys’s hand came to rest on my thigh before gently squeezing. As I took a bite of my bacon, I peeked through the shroud of hair to give him a shy smile. He winked at me before turning back to his plate.

As Jake brought his plate filled to the brim with seconds back to the table, he gave me the once over. “You feelin’ all right this morning?” he asked.

Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I nodded. “Sure. Why?”

“You don’t look like you slept very well, and I thought I heard you moaning several times, like you were having a nightmare.”

Beside me, Rhys spewed out the sip of orange juice he’d just taken before succumbing to a coughing fit. “Are you okay?” I asked, after thumping his back a few times.

“Yeah, peachy,” he replied, in a strangled voice.

For some reason, the twins thought Rhys’s choking fit was the funniest thing in a long time, and they began cackling in their high chairs. Their laughter was infectious and pretty soon we were all laughing. It was a welcomed distraction from Jake’s question and Rhys’s reaction.

After Rhys sopped up the orange juice he had spewed over the table, he cleared his throat. “So, uh, you’re going to see Micah today, right?” he said, conveniently changing the subject.

A wide grin stretched across Abby’s face at the mention of seeing her oldest brother—the one whose place she had taken in Jacob’s Ladder. “Yes, he and his wife, Valerie, are coming to see us before the show.”

“What’s he doing in Portland?” I asked.

“He got assigned as a youth minister at a church there. He’s really happy.” Cocking her head thoughtfully, she added, “Sometimes I think he misses the music business a little. We’ve convinced him to play with us tonight.”

“That’s awesome,” I said.

Jake grinned. “You’ll be off the hook with the twins today, Allie-Bean. Micah and Valerie haven’t gotten to see the twins in person yet.”

“Ah, I see.” I couldn’t help feeling a little giddy at the thought of having most of the day free. That meant more time that I could spend with Rhys. Of course, most of it would have to be in secret. Although Rhys was all for telling Jake about us, I wasn’t ready yet. I knew how horrible it was going to be after hearing from Rhys how Jake went off on Eli when he thought he had hurt me. I knew that was a slight drop in the bucket to what he would be feeling about us dating.