Rhys (13 page)

Rhys situated himself between her legs, and the mattress creaked under his weight.

Tessa certainly hoped that Charlie liked her music loud.

Rhys propped himself up with his good arm and caressed her side with his other. He pierced her with a stare. There was a sea of emotion in his eyes, and Tessa could barely hold her head above the waves.

“Do you have any idea what you mean to me, Tessa?” Rhys asked.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. All her words were gone.

“Let me show you,” he said.

Rhys skimmed his fingers over the plane of her belly, touching her with deliberate slowness that spun her head.

There was no rush in him this time, no desperation. He moved across her slowly, lowering his head to leave a trail of kisses where his hands had been.

“Rhys.” His name came out of her lips in a breathy rush.

“Yes,” he said. His tongue ran around the rim of her belly button. The hint of stubble on his cheeks grazed against her hypersensitive skin as his head dipped down lower. “Say my name again.”

“Rhys.”

He seemed to know just where to caress her, where to flick his tongue, until every inch of her body was strung so tight that she feared she might break.

She clung to his shoulders. Her back arched and he was nowhere near her good parts yet.

Dear God, if she thought that a bullet could slow him down, she’d been sadly mistaken.

A single finger slipped below the line of her panties, and Tessa’s mouth fell open.

Then he stopped.

“What do you want, Tessa?” His lips moved against her skin as he spoke, pushing her over the edge of reason.

Dear God. She could barely stand this. She tried to breathe, but her lungs refused to work, every inch of her was wrapped up in anticipation of his touch.

“You,” she said.

He slid his hand down lower, delving between her legs and teasing her clit. Tessa’s head fell back in the pillow as her fingers curled into the sheets.

“Good to know,” he said with a dark laugh, but his hand remained completely still. “But that’s not what I meant.”

“I want you to touch me,” Tessa whispered, feeling her cheeks begin to burn.

His finger moved in a small circle. “Like this?”

A moan escaped Tessa’s lips. But a second later he pulled his hand back.

Tessa growled—actually growled—in frustration.

She pivoted her hips up, practically begging for his touch, but Rhys steadied her with his other hand, keeping her flat.

“You’re not getting off that easy,” he said. Well,
that
much was obvious. “You know what I want to hear.”

“Please,” she begged.

He lowered his head and whispered against the silky material of her panties.

“Please what?”

The heat of his breath made Tessa writhe against the sheets.

Dear God, what would that wicked mouth feel like on her? The anticipation was nearly unbearable.

Tessa bit into her lip. She’d never talked dirty in her life.

But then again, she’d never been wound up this tight either. Every inch of her was practically screaming for release.

That, and deep down inside, she
wanted
to. She wanted to tell him exactly what she wanted. She wanted to beg him for it.

And then she wanted to get it.

“Please make me come, Rhys,” she said. “I want you to make me come.”

“That’s right,” he said, his voice thick with victory.

His fingertip pressed against her clit as he tore down the last scrap of cloth covering her. In an instant, his mouth took over, surrounding her with a warm, wet heat that obliterated the last logical thought in Tessa’s mind.

But he wasn’t done yet.

Two fingers pressed inside her, drumming against her inner walls.

Tessa repeated his name over and over as pleasure built up inside her. Her fingers bit into his shoulders, begging him for more.

This time he obliged her, pushing her on and on, farther and deeper until she wasn’t aware of anything but his touch.

And then just when Tessa didn’t think she could take any more, everything inside her shattered.

Her back arched. Her body tensed as she clenched tight around his fingers.

Rhys held her, guiding her back down to earth.

He waited until the worst of the trembling had left her limbs and her breathing had steadied before he pulled his mouth away. Only then did he position himself between her legs, and Tessa knew that the night was far from over.

Chapter Twelve

Tessa felt like she had just closed her eyes and snuggled up in Rhys’ arms when a hard knock sounded against the bedroom door. She shot straight up, clutching the sheets in her fist.

Rhys didn’t seem quite as concerned. His arms stayed draped around her and his head remained on the pillow.

“Rise and shine, lovebirds,” Jake’s familiar voice called from the other side of the door. “Time to get going. Charlie and I pulled together some clean clothes for you so you don’t have to wear the torn, bloody ones.”

Tessa’s pounding heart slowed a touch. She looked down at Rhys. He still looked peaceful. “What’s he doing here so early?”

“It’s not early,” Rhys said, without bothering to open his eyes. “It’s already eight o’clock in the morning.”

Tessa’s mouth hung open.

“How is that possible?” she asked in an exaggerated whisper. “We just fell asleep.”

“Seven hours ago,” he said. He pulled her back down into his arms. “It just didn’t feel like a long time because you actually slept through the night for once.”

Tessa nestled her head in the juncture of his shoulder and chest. “How long has Jake been here?”

“I heard him come in about an hour ago with Mason.”

“And you didn’t wake me up?”

“You needed the rest,” Rhys said, wrapping both his arms around her waist “And I wasn’t ready to let you go yet.”

Tessa understood. For the first time in recent memory, she felt surrounded by contentment and peace. She wasn’t ready to give it up either.

Of course, some things weren’t up to her.

The knock came again.

“Wake up, lover boy,” Jake shouted. “You seriously aren’t going to make me come in there and get you, are you?”

Her face went white.

“Okay,” Jake said, when there was no answer. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Rhys skimmed his fingertips up and down the bare skin of her back.

“Don’t worry,” Rhys said. “Jake wouldn’t dare.”

“
One
,” Jake said, rapping another knock against the door.

“Really?” Tessa said in a loud whisper. “Because it sounds like he would.”

“
Two
,” Jake said.

Rhys let out a long sigh as his arms fell away from her side.

“Knock on that door one more time, Jake,” Rhys shouted loud enough for the whole house to hear, “and I will snap your wrist.”

The knocking stopped and all was quiet. Tessa heard footsteps receding from the door and a faint voice calling out, “He’s up.”

A second later, Rhys sprang out of bed, and Tessa had a brief moment to admire his naked backside as he walked over to the door and retrieved the pile of clean clothes that Jake had left behind. He deposited them on the foot of the bed and kissed the top of her head before pulling on a pair of jeans.

“You can go back to sleep if you want,” he said, pulling on a clean shirt. “I need to go teach my friend some manners.”

Tessa smiled as she watched him go, but she didn’t waste any time getting out of bed and finding her own clothes. No matter how tired she was, she couldn’t, in good conscience, curl back up in bed while people were out there getting ready to fight her battles for her.

Tessa raked her fingers through her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. She opened the bedroom door and was instantly hit with the scent of something delicious. She followed her nose into the kitchen.

She found Mason standing over Charlie’s stove, ladling batter onto a hot griddle. And that wasn’t all. Next to the pancakes were bacon and scrambled eggs.

Charlie turned from feeding slices of bread into a toaster the moment Tessa stepped into the room.

“Good morning,” she said with a wide smile. “There’s coffee in the pot if you’d like some.”

“Thanks,” Tessa said. She took a cup from the collection on the counter and filled it.

Rhys and Jake were seated at the large marble island in the middle of the kitchen. Jake lifted his head from his own cup as she took a seat on the empty stool next to Rhys. There was a devilish twinkle in his eye as he greeted her with a smile.

“Your boyfriend, here, informs me that I owe you an apology for being a rude alarm clock this morning.”

Tessa felt a flutter in her chest at his casual use of
boyfriend
, but she didn’t correct him.

Neither did Rhys.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said.

“It’s just that none of us could remember a time that Rhys overslept. He’s usually the first one up,” Jake went on, teasing her with a wicked grin. “Must have been something special to keep him up so late last night.”

Tessa met the big man’s gaze without flinching.

“I think you misunderstood me, Jake,” she said, leaning closer. “When I said
don’t worry about it
, what I really meant was,
stop talking about it
.”

“Got it.” Jake’s smile didn’t fade as he lifted his hands in mock surrender.

Mason laughed as he filled a plate for her and handed it over. “Looks like you’re not having any problems fitting in around here.”

“Wow, Mason,” Tessa said, looking down in amazement at the overflowing plate in front of her. “You can run a makeshift battlefield hospital. You have an understanding of nanotechnology.
And
you can make one hell of a breakfast. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“I’m sure there’s something,” he said, tossing the kitchen towel over his shoulder. “But I haven’t found it yet.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Rhys said, cupping his hand over her knee. “The only thing he truly excels at is bragging.”

“I can see you’re going to be a fun partner today,” Mason said.

“Speaking of which,” Rhys said, pushing back on his stool and standing up. “We’d better get going.”

“I’ll let Carter know that we’re hitting the road,” Mason said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “He wants updates every quarter hour until we’re back.”

“Is that unusual?” Tessa asked, as a nervous flutter took wing in her stomach.

“Not for Carter.” Mason waved his hand dismissively, but didn’t meet Tessa’s gaze.

Tessa’s stomach turned over and the eggs in her mouth turned to dust.

Carter was concerned because he had a damned good reason to be.

Suddenly, Tessa didn’t want Rhys to go, and this time it had nothing to do with a lack of trust. The truth was she was afraid. Boyd’s men had already found him once. There was no guarantee they wouldn’t again.

Tessa grabbed his hand and held it tight. She knew she couldn’t stop him from going. She even knew that she
shouldn’t
. But that knowledge didn’t do anything to stop the worry gnawing at her belly.

“Be careful,” she said.

Rhys must have read the concern in her eyes, because he wrapped his hand over her shoulder, and leaned in close.

“I will,” he said. “Jake is going to stay here with you, just in case. And when I get back we’ll figure out everything we talked about last night.”

It was tempting to believe him—to hope that in just a few hours things would start looking up. That, maybe with the help of his friends, they could find a way to bring down Boyd and put her life back together again.

Tessa nodded, but didn’t let go of his hand.

Rhys looked down into her eyes for a long moment. Tessa knew that they were in a kitchen full of people, but for a moment it felt like it was just the two of them.

He slid his hands under her hair, holding her face as he leaned down and kissed her deeply.

“I’ll be back soon,” he whispered against her lips when he was done. “I promise.”

He pulled back, and Tessa looked out over a sea of astonished faces.

Charlie was the first to recover.

“Holy shit,” she said. “Either Rhys just showed actual affection, or one of you laced my coffee.”

“No,” Jake said, giving a little laugh as he put his mug down on the counter. “I saw it too.”

Rhys turned to Mason, as if no one had said a word, and nodded. “Ready?”

“Y-yeah.” Mason stared at him wide eyed for a moment before nodding back. “Let’s go.”

Tessa was left a little breathless as Rhys walked out of the kitchen with Mason and Jake.

Charlie leaned up against the counter, crossing her arms and arching her brows.

Tessa tried in vain to push back the blush that spread like wildfire across her cheeks.

“What?” she asked, looking down and pushing her hair behind her ears.

“Nothing,” Charlie said, but quickly changed her tune. “Okay, not nothing. What the hell was that? I’ve known Rhys for a couple years now, and in all that time I’ve never seen him change facial expressions, let alone kiss someone with enough passion to earn an NC-17 rating.”

“Really?” Tessa asked, unable to hold back a smile at the thought that she was the only one that had managed to break through those high walls of his.

“Yeah. Really,” Charlie said. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to see you two together. You’re obviously a good fit. You definitely bring out his human side, and he…well, let’s just say I was glad that I had those noise canceling headphones last night.”

Now, Tessa was blushing in earnest. “Sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be,” Charlie said. She twisted her coffee mug back and forth between her open palms. “The truth is you give me hope. I mean if you two can find each other under such crappy circumstances then maybe there’s a chance for the rest of us.”

Just then the kitchen door swung open and Jake walked back in. He headed straight for the coffee maker.

“You’re single?” Tessa asked.

“Terminally, I’m afraid,” Charlie said.

Tessa arched her brows. “What are you talking about?” she asked. “You’re amazing.”

“It’s nice that you think so,” she said. “Now if only you could convince someone else. Preferably someone tall, dark and handsome.”

Tessa thought she noticed Jake stiffen at Charlie’s words, almost as if he knew something she didn’t.

“Did you have someone in mind?” he asked. “Cause you know that sounds like—”

“No,” Charlie said, fast and hard, cutting him off. “Not thinking of anyone in particular.”

“Sounds like who?” Tessa asked, figuring it was only fair to turn around some of the teasing she’d received that morning.

“Just someone we work with,” Jake said.

“Someone who has absolutely no interest in me.” A rosy glow bloomed on Charlie’s cheeks. “Trust me, I am so far from this guy’s type it’s not even funny.”

Jake coughed into his mug.

“But he’s your type?” Tessa prodded.

Charlie pursed her lips before answering. “He’s a friend, and a co-worker, and that’s
all
.”

“If you say so,” Jake said.

“I do.” Charlie pushed off the counter. “Now, why don’t we go out into the living room, turn on the television, and forget that we were ever talking about this.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tessa said.

“No promises,” Jake said as he pushed open the kitchen door. Charlie followed him out.

Tessa slid off her stool and grabbed her coffee mug, a few steps behind.

She’d just put one foot down on the hardwood floors of Charlie’s living room when there was a loud crash. The front door flew open, wood splintering as it hit the wall behind.

Jake spun around, ready to grab the gun at his side.

He never got the chance.

Three deafening cracks sounded from the busted doorframe as men clothed in head-to-toe black stormed into the apartment. Jake’s body jerked back hard and crumpled to the floor.

Tessa opened her mouth to scream, but was drowned out by more gunfire.

Charlie didn’t make it two steps before she was hit. She instantly slumped against the couch, blood spreading across the front of her shirt.

No.

Dear God, no
.

The breath froze in Tessa’s lungs. The mug fell from her hands, shattering on the floor.

This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t.

They’d all just been laughing and joking. Jake and Charlie had been sharing secrets and telling little white lies.

They’d been
alive
.

But now—

No.

Her brain refused to accept it.

She wasn’t given much of a choice, a second later, when cruel fingers bit into her arm and wrenched her around. Tessa forced her gaze away from the horrific scene in front of her and into a pair of frighteningly familiar eyes.

Dylan
.

“H-how?” Tessa said.

“I just had time to crawl away from the house before the cops arrived,” he snarled at her. “And now, as you can see, I’m here to make good on my promise.”