Strings of the Heart (Runaway Train #3)(85)
As he sped up his pace, my back banged into the mirror. Slick skin slapping together meshed with the sound of the bottles on the table crashing and clanking together. Reaching behind him, I grabbed his ass and pressed him tighter to me. As he sank deeper, Rhys moaned and bit down on my shoulder, causing me to shudder. “Harder, oh f**k me harder, Rhys,” I cried, clutching at him.
At that moment, the dressing room door flew open. I screamed before ducking my head into Rhys’s chest. His h*ps froze in mid-thrust. When his eyes met mine, I could see him secretly wondering how the hell someone had gotten in with the door locked.
At the sound of the voice that came from behind Rhys, I shuddered violently. “Oh, f**k, man, I’m sorry,” Jake said. Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, his chest rose and fell in heavy pants.
Clearing his throat, Jake said, “Look, I hate like hell to interrupt you, but my throat is still giving me hell. I had a roadie unlock the door, so I could get my spray.”
Pulling his h*ps back, Rhys’s already deflated erection slipped from my body. As he fumbled for his pants while still concealing my identity, a low chuckle rumbled through Jake’s chest. “Don’t let me stop you, man. I’ll grab this and be out of your hair in no time. I mean, it sure as hell ain’t the first time I’ve caught you banging before.”
A chill went through me at Jake’s words, and under any other circumstances, I might’ve jerked away from Rhys. But I couldn’t. I had to rely on him to keep both of us out of trouble. “Whatever,” Rhys muttered.
To continue hiding me, Rhys twisted around when Jake appeared at the counter. Just the thought that Jake was close enough to touch me sent the shakes through my body. I heard the shuffling of items on the table before Jake said, “Got it.”
“Fabulous. Now will you get the hell out of here?” Rhys growled.
“I’m going, I’m going. My apologies to you and your lady friend. By the looks of it, she’s mortified by my presence at the moment.”
Rhys didn’t reply. Instead, his chest kept rising and falling in harsh, heavy breaths. When I finally dared to peek over Rhys’s shoulder, I thankfully saw Jake’s retreating form. As he strode across the dressing room, he tossed the bottle of spray up and down in his right hand. After shifting the bottle to his left hand, he reached out for the doorknob. Relief flooded me, and I started to exhale the breath I’d been holding. But then fear gripped me again when Jake’s hand froze over the doorknob. A tremor shuddered through his body.
“No. Fuck no,” he muttered.
Chapter Nineteen
Rhys’s shoulders tensed beneath my hands. We exchanged a panicked glance. Almost in slow motion, Jake turned around. When I dared to look at him, his expression was a mixture of agony and fury.
“This is NOT f**king happening!” he growled.
Rhys spun around, holding up his hands. “Look, it’s not what you think.”
Jake’s eyes widened. “Not what I think? How the f**k could I possibly misinterpret the situation? I caught you with your f**king pants around your f**king ankles screwing my…” He winced in agony. “My baby sister.”
“I’m sorry, Jake. I never meant for you to find out this way,” I said, as I slid off the table and straightened my dress. With extreme mortification, I reached to grab my discarded panties off the floor. I didn’t dare try to slide them back on—instead, I eased them into the pocket on my dress.
Jake pinched his eyes shut at my actions. Then in a strangled voice he said, “Don’t talk to me right now. I can’t even bear to hear your voice right now after seeing you being used like a…whore.”
I sucked in a pained breath at his harsh words. Rhys took a step toward Jake. “What the f**k? Don’t you talk that way about Allison.”
“And don’t you tell me how to talk to my sister!” Jake bellowed.
“You know what, f**k you, if you’re going to act like a moron,” Rhys retorted.
Out of nowhere, Jake lunged for Rhys, causing me to scream. The crack of Jake’s fist along Rhys’s jaw echoed through the room, and I covered my ears to try to block out the noise. Rhys staggered back momentarily. He winced as his hand came up to rub his jaw. “Jake, I don’t want to fight you. Please, let’s just talk about this,” Rhys said diplomatically.
“The time to talk is over, you motherf*cking cradle robber. You should’ve had the f**king decency to talk to me before about this, but no, you had to be a coward and sneak around, screwing my sister behind my back.”
“I’m sorry. I truly am. But kicking each other’s asses isn’t going to make a difference.”
Jake narrowed his blue eyes. “No, but I’m pretty damn sure that leaving you broken and bloody will make me feel a f**king lot better!” And then he launched one punch to Rhys’s gut and then another to his chin. This time Rhys didn’t refuse to fight, and he threw two punches back at Jake, nailing him in the face and chest.
With a frustrated growl, Jake started pummeling Rhys’s face and chest. “No, Jake! Stop!” I cried. Grabbing onto his back, I tried pulling Jake away from Rhys. But with his adrenaline pumping, Jake slung me off with such a force I slammed back into the wall and collapsed onto the floor.
“You hurt her!” Rhys bellowed.
I shook my head as I tried catching my breath. “Didn’t…mean…to,” I tried arguing, but Rhys wouldn’t listen. He charged at Jake, sending them both careening back. When Jake’s legs hit the edge of the table, he went over, taking Rhys with him in a tangle of arms of legs. The table cracked under the combined weight of both men and then splintered into pieces. Jake and Rhys were momentarily disengaged as they crashed to the floor, but then they started punching and kicking again on the floor amid the rubble of the table.