Refrain (Soul Series Book 3) (17 page)

“Let’s just say Jimi’s a very forthcoming drunk.” He cackles. “But you’d know more about her ‘coming’ than I would.”

“Kai knows I fucked Jimi. That happened before she and I even met.” I tilt my head to consider him. “If this is your version of a threat, I’m just gonna tell you it leaves a lot to be desired.”

I watch realization morph into disappointment. That’s all he’s got? Damn. Amateur hour.

“This is your last warning.” I step closer so my words have less distance to travel before they land on him. He’s bulkier and I’m taller, but it’s not height or muscle that determines the balance of power between us. “Here’s what I can promise you. The next time you pull some stupid shit like this, you’ll regret it.”

“I care about her, Gray.” His teeth cage the words. His jaw clenches. “I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“And you think I would hurt her?”

“You have before,” he says. “You want to control her. I heard enough from that video of your fight to know it’s all about control with you. I know you boxed me out of her career to control her. You don’t deserve her.”

“You think I don’t know that?” I grind out.

“Guys like you—”

“I’m completely in love with her. No matter what you’ve heard about me and my past, that’s all you need to know.” His startled eyes find mine. “You think I’d ask her to marry me in front of the whole world if I wasn’t crazy about her?”

“She and I make a great team. You shouldn’t stand in the way of that.”

“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want to fuck my girl.” Even just saying the words spikes my pulse and pummels my reason to powder.

He looks me in the eye, but doesn’t say a word. His silent admission curls my hands into fists at my side.

“It’ll never happen.” Each word is sharp and cold like a chip of ice. “I would destroy you before that would
ever
happen.”

“Idle threats don’t scare me, Gray.”

“What about real ones? Because I mean every fucking word.”

“Kai and I have a connection.” His eyes don’t leave my face. “You’ve seen it. That’s why you keep us apart.”

“I didn’t sabotage your working relationship with Kai. You did that by getting your dick involved. She’ll choose me every time, Dub. And I’ll choose her over every other thing that means anything to me because nothing will ever mean more to me than she does.”

He goes silent, looking down at the floor and then around the lobby. I glance at my watch, realizing this is taking more time than I have. If I listen hard enough I’m sure I’ll hear Bristol screaming bloody murder.

“Look, Dub, I’m not gonna waste any more time defending my relationship with Kai or trying to prove my feelings to you. You don’t matter enough for that. Whatever you imagine being with Kai is like, I guarantee you it’s a million times better. And if you think I’m giving that up, you’re dumber than I thought.”

Our eyes connect, and I don’t know if it’s pain or anger in his gaze, but it’s a strong emotion. It’s real. He really does care for her, which only escalates my irritation.

“Go home,” I snap. “Or wherever. I don’t care, but you
will
stay away from my girl.”

I don’t wait to see if my words get through to him or not, but turn and walk in the direction Gep and Kai took a few minutes ago. She’s standing there as soon as I round the corner, biting her thumbnail. Anxiety tightens like a mask on her face. My hand strokes at the tension knotting her delicate jawline. Her eyes move like a searchlight across my face.

“What did you say to him?” She lays her hand over mine where it cradles her face. “Please don’t hurt him.”

Her words clamp my teeth together. Between the desire I saw in his eyes for her and the plea I read in her eyes for him, the thin thread my civility was hanging by snaps. I glance around until I spot a nook just beyond the pre-conference area. I grab her arm, keeping my grip firm, but gentle, and start toward the nook and a measure of privacy. I can see the line of fans already formed just beyond the glass door Bristol hasn’t opened yet.

“Gep, don’t let Bristol open that door until I say so.” I glance at him and urge her ahead of me. “Don’t let anyone back here.”

“You got it, boss.” His face gives away nothing.

As soon as we make it into the darkened space, I press her into the wall beside a stack of chairs.

“Rhyson, we need to get back out there.” She swallows, her dark eyes climbing over my chest and shoulders, skimming the straight line of my mouth before finally reaching my eyes. I don’t speak, but lean my hips into her, letting her feel how hard I am.

“He came here for you, Kai,” I growl, a breath shy of her lips. “He wants to convince you that you shouldn’t be with me.”

“Dub—”

“Don’t say his fucking name.” Fury tremors through me. Without thought for the fans just beyond the door, or for Gep a few feet past the wall, I slip my fingers under her dress and into her panties. My thumb circles her clit, and I’m rewarded by her gasp. Unceremoniously, I insinuate my middle finger inside her.

“Rhyson.” My name breaks on a ragged breath even as her hips rotate into my hand and her eyelids drop.

“Is it mine?” My thumb is merciless, pressing and rubbing the little knot of flesh-covered nerves between her legs.

“God, yes.” Her head thumps against the wall, her lashes at half-mast over the want in her eyes. “But we have to stop. Bristol will be furious.”

“
I’m
furious.” My voice gravels with lust and frustration. “He thinks he can take this from me.”

“You know he can’t,” she pants. “You know I’m yours. We don’t have time for this, baby.”

Her words say that, but her body begs to differ. Her nipples pebble beneath the dress. Her mouth goes slack with the pleasure I’m stroking to life. Her legs spread just the tiniest bit when I add another finger, steadily penetrating, my mouth hovering over hers and eating her desperate cries.

“Let me hear you,” I rub my nose into her neck. Her skin is satin and her scent confiscates my breath.

“Gep’s too close.”

“I don’t care if he hears.” In that moment, it’s true. I need to hear her surrender. I need the affirmation that she’s mine pouring hot and wet on my fingers. I need to see her fall apart for me.
For me
. Dub’s right. I don’t deserve her, but I’ll be damned if he’ll have her. I don’t know what I’d do to anyone who tried to take her from me.

“Oh, my God.” She clenches around my fingers like a silk knot and slumps against the wall, her hips still jerking over my hand. Her cries wash over me, and I drop my forehead to hers. Our lips mesh, my hand still under her dress. I lick deeply into her mouth, and she parries, her sweet little tongue answering me. She grips me through my jeans, squeezing my stiffened length. We’re lost in this storm, and I can’t find my way back out. The waiting fans, the pressures, none of it reaches me. Only her. Only Kai. My emotions have swung on a pendulum the last hour, veering wildly from jealousy and anger to this love that’s wide enough to lose myself in and narrowed down to just one girl. Forever.

Marry me.

The words spontaneously combust in my mind and simmer on the tip of my tongue, bolstered by the emotions stewing inside me. It’s a fully-formed, perfect thought. The idea of us getting married right away. Of her being Mrs. Rhyson Gray when she has our baby and before the sun goes down. I know she’ll think it’s connected to the drama with Dub, but it’s not. I’ll get her to understand.

“Pep, let’s—”

“Rhyson, what the hell.” Bristol’s angry voice reaches around the corner like a rubber arm. “Gep, you better let me by.”

Shit.

“Fuck Vegas,” I mutter with my temple pressed into the wall beside Kai’s.

Tiny vibrations echo from her body to mine. When I glance down, her full lips press tight against the laughter brimming from her eyes. I give her a slow grin, relishing our last moments alone before the circus comes to town.

“Rhyson, I will junk punch Gep to get to you.” Bristol sounds completely serious, and I wouldn’t put it past her. Gep and his junk would never forgive me.

“Bris, don’t come back here.” I turn my head in the direction of her threat. “We’re coming.”

“I need both of you like five minutes ago. Another group has our space later, and the staff will need time to turn it around before the next event starts. There’s a ton of crap going on today. It’s gonna be a madhouse.”

“We’re coming.”

I realize my fingers are still buried inside Kai. Now that we’re out of the moment, self-consciousness stains her cheeks pink, and she bites her lip. I take my time pulling my fingers out, caressing her from the inside as I go.

“We’ll finish this later.” I roll the wet fingers in my mouth, savoring her like an appetizer.

She shudders, her eyes flitting closed for a second before she pulls a shaking hand through her hair.

“What happened with Dub?” she asks softly.

“We talked.” I braid our fingers together and pull her into my chest.

“Don’t hurt him, Rhys.” She lifts her lashes and watches me steadily.

“I won’t.” I brush my knuckle over her cheekbone. “As long as he stays away. If he pulls this shit again, I’ll do whatever it takes to make him understand. Don’t ask me not to protect this. Not to protect us.”

She glances at our fingers twined against my chest and nods. After a few seconds she walks away to face Bristol and the waiting crowd. Once I round the corner, there’s a line of people with t-shirts, CDs, magazines, and other items to be signed. I don’t do this often, give this level of access to fans. So when I do, it’s three-ring madness. At least this time I have Kai by my side. Technically, at the table nearby. Sitting across from her for the next few hours, but unable to really connect will be torture, but at least I’ll be right there to make sure she’s safe. At least we’ll be in it together.

I’LL HAVE TO SCRAPE THIS SMILE
off my face when this is over. And if I have to sign one more autograph, my hand may just detach and walk off in protest. Sharing a space with Rhyson is unlike any other experience I’ve had. We had meet and greets after shows on Luke’s tour. We did mall appearances. Malcolm even arranged a showcase once for all of his artists, very similar to this one. Except this one features Rhyson Gray. And I’m witnessing the fervor of his fans up close.

So many celebrities pretend they don’t want the attention and just love the music. Rhyson actually lives that way with his disguises and practically hibernating in the studio. He wants to walk outside, to live his life and not be recognized, not be bothered. But this is the trade-off for his passion to perform and create, so he lives with it. As I watch the line of people waiting for hours just to get a moment with him, I know Rhyson would never choose this. Never seek this. Too much of it would be soul-eating for him.

I still don’t know what happened with him and Dub, but it couldn’t have been great for Rhyson to respond the way he did. Every once in a while, our eyes catch and hold. The tumultuous memories of the heated moments in that corridor spark between us before we each return to autographs and fans. A shiver writhes up my spine and I cross my legs to contain the fire he started in my panties. My imagination is inescapable, though. My memory of his fingers working inside me, of his eyes watching my body intently for signs of surrender—faultless.

“Everything okay over here?” Bristol comes to stand beside me, inspecting the mass of people still waiting to see Rhyson. “Looks like you’re done. So’s everyone else.”

“As you can see,” I say, tipping my head in the direction of his seemingly never-ending line. “He’s not.”

Rhyson stands to take a few pictures. A clump of people rush forward at once, disturbing the orderly flow of things. My heart cramps in my chest for the few moments I can’t see more of him than the top of his dark head.

“I think we need to shut this down, Bristol.” My words come out strained. Ever since Rhyson told me the story about the stalker standing in his kitchen with a knife, I’ve felt as fiercely protective of him as he must feel of me. Maybe we shouldn’t have come. I want to lock him away in our bedroom and not share any part of him with these people.

“I think you’re right.” Bristol walks over and whispers to Gep, who nods and signals one of his team members to move closer to Rhyson. I move too. The longer he’s standing in that crowd unprotected and vulnerable, the sweatier my palms become. I press my way through the knot of fans until I’m at his side. I casually hook my elbow through his. He looks down at me, smiles, and gives me a quick kiss.