Refrain (Soul Series Book 3) (6 page)

Glancing over my shoulder, even I see that it is . . . provocative. Ella knotted my hair and secured it with shiny black chopsticks. My makeup is heavier than usual, with pencil and smoky shadow highlighting the slant of my eyes. My lips pop a vibrant matte red.

“Kai!” Rhyson’s voice climbs the stairs. “Come on, babe. We’ve got a reservation.”

“Be right down,” I yell back. Why do we even have intercom when Rhyson always resorts to the old cup and string method of communication?

“Oh!” Ella digs in her little bag of tricks, handing me a small beaded clutch. “You’ll need this.”

“Thanks, Ella.”

“And those.” She points to the backless heels on the bed which add a good four inches to my height.

I step into the heels, teetering a little until I get used to the air up here.

“Pep!” Rhyson yells again from downstairs. “Baby, we need to go.”

Ella gathers her things and heads toward the landing with me. We’re chatting, laughing over something from Grip’s shoot, when I catch sight of Rhyson at the bottom of the stairs wearing a slate grey suit with a navy button up, no tie. The slacks are impeccably tailored. He’s gotten his hair cut today. Must have been one of his “appointments.” It’s tapered in the back and on the sides, but still longer on top, dipping into his eyes. He looks like exactly what he is. A devastating famous rock star who can have anyone he wants. If I pinched myself every time I tried to wake up from this dream where
I’m
the one he wants, I’d be black and blue for the rest of our lives.

I stop right in front of him on the last step, which between my high heels and the elevation of the step, puts us basically eye to eye. We stare at one another for long moments, his eyes thoroughly assessing me, and mine doing the same. Ella says her good-byes, and I wave vaguely in her direction, transfixed by Rhyson’s stormy gaze. Finally he grabs my hand, draws my wrist to his lips and leaves a sweet kiss there.

“Well, I hope you’re happy,” he says softly, making another journey up and then down my body with his eyes. “You did it.”

“Did what?” I’m startled by how husky and breathless I sound.

“You’ve made me want to stay home and say screw our plans.”

“It’s my birthday.” I lean in to plant a kiss on his full lips, barely resisting the impulse to thrust my tongue in and set off some fireworks. “And remember, reservations.”

I step down and walk past him. His indrawn breath once he sees the back of the dress renders a pleased smile on my face. My hand is on the door handle when his wide palm splays over my stomach, pulling me up short. His hard chest warms my back.

“Your ass in this dress is obscene, Pep,” he husks at my ear, grinding his erection into my butt. I’m reminded of my own cries bouncing off the bathroom walls this morning when he took me from behind as we watched each other in the mirror.

I glance up and over my shoulder, giving him my most seductive smile and turn to face him.

“I know.”

He brushes his thumbs over the undersides of my breasts through the silk before sliding his hands over my ribs.

“If we didn’t have plans,” he says, fitting his palms to the curve of my hips. “I’d take you right here.”

“But we do.” I peer up through the heavy mascara of my lashes. “Right?”

Even with it being my birthday, part of me wishes he’d say we’ll cancel our reservations and do just that.

“Later,” I whisper, my eyes never straying from his face.

He leans into me for a kiss that goes deep and quick before he forces himself back with a groan.

“Later,” he repeats with one last incendiary look as he opens the door, pressing his hand to the small of my bare back. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

As long as he’s holding me.

“SO YOU HAVE A THING FOR
Porsches, huh?”

Rhyson grins, keeping his eyes trained on the road without replying. I knew he had a few other cars in that warehouse of a garage, but he never drives anything but the Cayenne. I had no idea what a Panamera even was until he opened the door for me to slide into the silver sedan’s passenger seat. If power screwed luxury up against a wall and made an auto baby, this car would be it. My fingers caress the supple scarlet leather. It must be stitched with sex threads because I have to rub my legs together like cricket wings to tamp down the arousal of the car purring through the seat beneath me.

Everything about tonight feels . . . rich and decadent. For one, we’re alone. Gep nor anyone from the security team accompanies us. Our intimacy, our aloneness is worth more than diamonds to me. The costly dress caressing my hips and legs feels rich. The raw silk licking over my braless nipples. The outrageous satin thong Rhyson bought for me a few weeks ago is the only thing tiny enough to wear under this tight dress. Even the early summer air, losing its cloying thickness the longer we drive, feels as light and clear as champagne.

“So where are we going?” I probe.

We’ve been driving for twenty minutes and he’s barely said a word. I’m unfamiliar with this Rhyson, distracted and tightly wound. His energy, coiled into a figure-eight knot, permeates the car’s interior, but none of it is focused on me. He’s completely in his head. I’ve gotten spoiled by his undivided attention. Maybe his “appointments” didn’t go well today.

“Rhys? Did you hear me?”

“Sorry.” He turns his head long enough to catch my eyes. “What’d you say?”

“Where are we going?” I slow my speech as if he needs to read my lips.

“I told you it’s a surprise.” A smile quirks his mouth. “You’ll see soon enough.”

“How’d your appointments go today?” I ask, not wanting to sink back into the silence where his mind is elsewhere.

“Fine.” His voice remains neutral, but a smile I can only describe as secretive curves on his lips. “We’re here.”

“Here” is Tide, a Pacific-side restaurant nestled against the curving California coastline. Extremely popular, and judging by the queue of cars snaking from the entrance, packed. There’s a flurry of activity as we approach, with patrons leaving their cars and valets hopping in to drive off and make room for more. My eyes swing to Rhyson’s and find him already watching me.

“What do you think?” For the first time since we left the house, I have his full attention. His eyes are trained on my face, watching closely for my reaction.

“It’s gorgeous.” I look back to the restaurant’s glass paneled walls offering shadowy glimpses of the ocean view. “Crowded. You know everyone comes here, right?”

“Right.” With a satisfied nod, he gets out so the valet can take the car.

An attendant opens my door and offers me a hand.

“I’ve got her,” Rhyson says, inserting himself between me and the eager valet.

I step out, and Rhyson’s eyes drop to the indecent length of leg the panels of my dress fall back to display. “I love this dress, Pep, but it’s a hazard. I’m hoping to get through the night without punching some ogling idiot in the face.”

I tip up a few inches to kiss him, but remember where we are. Rhyson and I aren’t that couple who do pubic displays of affection. We save all our passion for behind closed doors. A few paps have caught us holding hands and snapped a picture here and there, but not much more than that. By design. I’m pulling back when Rhyson grips my hips, bringing me back to my tiptoes. His mouth slants over mine in pure possession, one hand palming the curve of my ass while the other slides over the naked skin of my back. He juts into my mouth, searching for my tongue, and we groan at the taste of each other. My heart slams against his through our chests, and my hand drifts up his neck and into his hair. My fingers curl compulsively into the heavy, thick waves. I want him so badly. I need him more than air. I love him beyond all my girlish imaginations. I forget for just a few moments that we are surrounded by people and inevitably cameras. A flash over his shoulder punctures my haze and reminds me that we aren’t alone.

“Rhys,” I whisper against his lips, putting a few inches between us. “Someone just took our picture.”

He leans down to give me another kiss, unchecked and hungry.

“Good.”

Well, okay. I missed the PDA memo, but if he’s fine with it then so am I.

He enfolds my hand in his and leads me toward the door framed by majestic trees wrapped in lights. As he gives his name, unnecessarily of course, to the elegantly dressed Amazon at the podium, I can’t help but notice how her eyes covet him from head to toe. Admittedly, he
is
beautiful, but it’s more than that. Rhyson could wear a bag over his head and still draw every eye in the room. His energy, the latent charisma that he turns on and off at will, compels you to watch because you aren’t sure when you’ll meet someone like him again. I want to tell the Amazon to get a room before she fucks someone with her eyes that way. My lips tighten and my eyes narrow at the edges. I don’t want to be that jealous girl, insecure because her famous boyfriend has more opportunity to cheat than most men would ever dream of. I glance at Rhyson to see if he even notices. His eyes are clinging to me, and he smiles knowingly. He bends down to caress my ear with his lips.

“Only you, Pep.”

A breath stutters past my lips. I can’t look away from him and can’t stop smiling. He knows me so well. He
took the time
to know me. We take the time to know one another, and I wouldn’t trade our friendship, the cornerstone of this love affair, for any gift he could ever give me.

“This way, Mr. Gray.” The Amazon leads us with a sway of her generous hips through the crowded main dining room and down a long corridor. The dimly lit hall seems to crack open with light all of a sudden when we reach the outdoor deck. I’m so captivated by the sky tipping into sunset over the vast ocean like a painter’s palette that I don’t even notice all the people crowding the deck until they scream.

“Surprise!”

I’ve always wondered why people’s hands fly to their mouths. Why their fingers touch their chests when they’re blown away. Now I know. There’s so much delight, so much completely unexpected happiness that swells up inside of you, you just want to contain it. You don’t want to leak any of it, so you cover your mouth to hold it in. You press it back into your chest when it feels like it might explode from you.

A startled little laugh whooshes out of me. Everyone is here, laughing as they realize they really did “get me,” and I had no clue. San, who was supposed to be on assignment in Turks and Caicos, stands near the front of the crowd, ear-to-ear grin plastered all over his face. Bristol, Grip, Grady, Em, Ella, Luke, Gep, and the security team cluster together. Even Amber, the receptionist from Wood, and all of the studio engineers are here. No way. Even my friend Misty from The Note. A few faces are less familiar, and I recognize them as friends and associates of Rhyson’s. So many friends. So many faces. And then I stumble upon one precious face, and the tears, which have been cooperating by just standing in my eyes, leak over my cheeks.

“Aunt Ruthie?” I gasp and rush toward the woman who has anchored me through the roughest storms of my life. She does what she always does—she catches me. Her arms encircle and nearly squeeze the life out of me. I pull back to look at her face and touch the hair that keeps on greying and she keeps on refusing to dye.

“As I live and breathe.” I laugh through my tears. “You’re in LA. What are you doing here?”

“Well, it
is
your birthday, and I heard there was gonna be a party.” Her blue eyes warm between the fine lines fanning out over the lightly freckled skin. “B’sides, a handsome young man flies to the sticks to get you in a private plane. How can an old bird like me resist?”

“Rhyson came to get you?” Confusion creases a frown on my face. “When? When did he come?”

“Last night. I have to get back to Glory Bee tomorrow, but he’ll get me home.” Aunt Ruthie smiles over my shoulder. “Thanks again for the lift.”

I glance up and behind me to see Rhyson standing right there, grinning back at Aunt Ruthie. His hands settle, warm and possessive, at my waist and draw me back into his chest.

“Last night?” I twist around to search his face. “But I thought . . . but you . . . huh?”

“The extra day was for the flight to Glory Falls. Had to pick up some precious cargo.” He squeezes my sides lightly. “Surprised?”