“It’s just a rehearsal.”

Nudging him with my hip, I said, “Don’t be bashful. You should be proud of your talents.”

“Thanks for loving our crappy rehearsal renditions,” Rhys replied, with a teasing grin.

“Ass,” I muttered, under my breath.

“Hmm, what I’d like to do what that mouth of yours,” he murmured.

As Rhys leaned a little closer to me, two roadies interrupted by hustling past us. Rhys gave a frustrated grunt. “Never a fucking moment alone.”

Our attention was drawn to the stage where Jake and Abby were starting up their duet rehearsals. Whenever they were in a city that had a song named after it, they liked to use it during their duet time. With us being in Portland, they were aptly singing Jack White and Loretta Lynn’s Portland, Oregon.

When Micah joined Jacob’s Ladder out onstage, I wondered how Valerie was doing with Jax and Jules. “I should go backstage and check on the twins.”

“I’m sure they’re fine with Micah and Valerie fawning over them.” Rhys gave me a slightly pleading look. “Stay here with me.”

With his expression and request, it was a no-brainer what I was going to do. As the strong beat of the guitars started up, I stayed rooted to the spot next to Rhys. Turning my attention to the stage, I watched Jake and Abby begin to perform. After wagging his brows suggestively, Jake closed the gap between him and Abby in a determined swagger. With a cocky grin, he brought the microphone to his lips. “In a booth in the corner with the lights down low, I was movin’ in fast; she was takin’ it slow. Uh-huh.”

Abby gave Jake a teasing grin while sashaying slightly away from him. I couldn’t help smiling at their stage antics. Of course, it just went to show how very much in love they still were. “Well, I looked at him and caught him lookin’ at me. I knew right then we were playin’ free in Oregon.”

The moment after Abby finished her lines I could feel Rhys’s white-hot stare burning through me. When I turned my head, his lust-filled eyes narrowed on mine. With a slight jerk of his head that no one else would have noticed, he signaled that he wanted us to be alone. And right then.

With my heartbeat thrumming wildly in my chest, I turned and started out of the auditorium to the dressing rooms. I didn’t even have to look back to know that Rhys was right on my heels. Thankfully for us, the hallway was clear. His body pressed up against mine only momentarily before he shoved me inside Runaway Train’s dressing suite. As one of his arms snaked around my waist, drawing me flush against him, the other went behind us to lock the door. With our tongues battling each other and our hands running over each other’s bodies, I could barely catch my breath.

As he started backing me across the room to either the table or the chair, Rhys pulled his mouth from mine to start kissing a hot trail down my chin. His breath scorched against my neck. “Fuck, Allison. You drive me wild,” he mumbled, as I fumbled with the button and zipper on his jeans. “I think I could have you every fucking day and never get enough.”

I giggled. “That’s good to hear.”

Pushing my dress up over my hips, his hand then brushed against the front of my panties. A smirk stretched across his face. “Hmm, already soaked for me?”

“Yes,” I panted, as he began working his fingers over my mound.

“I must drive you pretty wild too, huh?”

I grinned. “Oh, yes.”

After tugging my panties down my thighs and off my legs, Rhys grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me onto the makeup table. The table-top felt cool under my buttocks as Rhys’s fingers teased along my thighs, causing me to shiver. I leaned forward and pushed his jeans and boxers farther down his hips. “I want you inside me. Right now,” I ordered.

He chuckled. “Your wish is my command.” With one hand, he reached between us and took hold of his erection while his other hand slid around my waist, flattening against my back. He then pulled me closer to the edge of the table where I was rewarded with feeling his dick rub against my slick slit. As his mouth met mine, he continued to tease me with rubbing his erection up and down my clit. The friction began to drive me mad. Tearing my lips away from his, I panted, “Now, Rhys.”

He obliged me by thrusting hard into me until he buried himself balls deep inside my walls. I moaned in pleasure, grabbing the strands of hair at the back of his neck and tugging hard. This caused Rhys to hiss as he pulled out to slam back into me. He did that delicious torture several more times, causing me to shriek. “Shh, babe, you gotta keep a lid on it or someone is going to come in here.”

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 fuck 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 hips 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, fuck, 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 hips 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

Allison


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 fucking 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 fuck could I possibly misinterpret the situation? I caught you with your fucking pants around your fucking 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 fuck? 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, fuck 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 motherfucking cradle robber. You should’ve had the fucking 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 fucking 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.