Shout (The Voice Trilogy Book 3) (11 page)

CH. 16

Charlie slips easily back into his expected role as driver and guides us through late night traffic and I rest my head on Rhys’ shoulder as we circumnavigate the city.

A shadowy figure hangs on the rail of Rhys’ stoop when we pull up to his building. Charlie stops the car and begins to unload the bags, ever watchful. Rhys turns to me, the worry on his face almost shadowed by the dark of the night.

              “Stay in the car, Sophie.”

              “Who is that?”

              “Just stay in the car, promise me.” He grabs my hands, imploring me to listen. It’s too late to argue, I’m too tired and don’t care enough to put up a fight. I just nod with a sigh and sit back watching him leave the car and ascend the steps.

              The man steps out of the shadows and right up to Rhys, nose to nose they stand under the lamp. Rhys shakes his head coolly and points to the sidewalk, but the man doesn’t budge. I see Charlie from the corner of my eye move towards the stoop, but Rhys waves him off and he returns to the car and continues to unload the bags, keeping one eye on Rhys. The man takes a step closer to Rhys invading his space, pushing him back, and Rhys grabs his collar. The man looks towards the car with a sneer on his face before a flash goes off rapid fire and Rhys’ stunned face lights up. When the flashing stops, another man emerges from the shadows and takes off running down the street with Charlie hot on his heels. The guy backs away from Rhys with his hands in the air and hops down the steps. I hear Rhys’ booming voice call after him, “You motherfucker!” He takes off down the street after the sneak with the camera. Rhys stands under the porch light shaking his head, his hands fisted at his sides, steam rising from his ears.  I slide from the car and scurry up the steps into his waiting arms, but the anger etched in his face tells me not to say a word. Not yet.

              A deep angry breath shoots from his nose as he wraps his arms around me and turns towards the door. Once inside, he kicks the door closed behind us, steps out of his shoes and walks away from me, leaving me standing at the door in the dark. I see the light go on in his office and hear the door close, and here I stand, in the dark, all alone. I hear a commotion and then the sound of breaking glass, and I stay right where I am. Charlie opens the door behind me, cussing up a storm with my bag dragging behind him. He reaches behind me and flips on the foyer light.

              “Christ, Lass, why are ye standing in the dark? Nearly gave me a spell. I’m already clutching my heart from chasing after that fuck.”

              “Who was that?” I ask after him as he drags my bags up the stairs.

              “Sophie!” Rhys’ voice booms from within his office before I can get an answer. I freeze for a moment, asking myself if I really want to walk willingly into the lion’s den when he is clearly hungry for blood. “Sophie, come in here!” My feet make the decision and take me down the hallway. I stop and take a deep breath of courage before opening the door, expecting to find mayhem, yet finding no such thing.

              He sits at his desk, fingers at his lips, his eyes zeroed in on me. There is no anger in his face, perhaps a bit of frustration, but mostly remorse. I look over at the pile of glass in the corner and the busted frame that lies in splinters amongst the shards, and back to him. He just lowers his head and pushes back from his desk.

              “Come here, Sophie.” I step to him pensively, watching his every move, but he stays still, watching me. I round the desk and he snakes his hand around my hip, sliding me directly in front of him. I lean back against the desk and just wait. He rests his head against my stomach, his hands heavy on my hips.

              “Who was that, Rhys?” He shakes his head and pulls himself closer to me. “Rhys,” I lift his eyes to mine, making him look at me, “what is going on?”

              He shakes me off, refusing to answer. “I fucking love you, Sophie,” his raspy whisper tears at me. “You know that, right? I love you and I will not let anybody get in our way. Nobody will take you away from me. Do you understand? Nobody.” He rests his hand over my heart. “This is mine,” he whispers.

              “Yes,” I gasp as his hands roam, caressing my breasts, skating down my sides, over the curve of my hips and down over my thighs. His fingertips brand my skin while a dying anger falls from his face. He pushes my skirt up, watching my face with no expression. I focus on him as he pushes his hands higher up my thighs, his fingertips brushing the silken fabric of my panties. A bolt shoots from my pussy, but I stay still, unwilling to betray my emotions or his current mood. I will not react; I will mirror him and be what he needs me to be in this moment.
His
.

              “I need to show you, Sophie.” He stands up, kicking the chair away from him, lifting me onto the desk. Hooking his fingers in my panties, he tugs at them until I lift myself up. They drop at my feet and he kicks them away, grabbing the hem of my shirt, he whips that away and makes quick work of my bra. And here I sit, my bare ass on his desk, his wild eyes devouring me, making a plan for his hands. He has a cool control over himself in the moment as he steps back and slowly unbuttons his shirt. The crisp cotton slips down his arms, his muscles twisting and turning under tight skin. A slight twitch at his shoulder tells me he is holding back. Unbuckling his belt and undoing the button on his trousers, he steps between my legs, filling the empty void.

              “Rhys...” He doesn’t allow me to finish the thought. With a nod of his head and a stern look in his eyes, he pushes me to my back, lays his hand open across my chest, and holds me flat on the desk.

              “No talking; let me show you.” I lay my head against the desk in a sign of surrender. He grabs my ankles and lifts my feet onto the desk, opening me wide to his gaze. My knees fall together instinctively to cover myself from his sight, but he won’t allow it. He pushes my knees apart and moves my feet as wide as my hips will allow, toes curled over the edge of the desk. I brace myself, look to the ceiling and just breathe. The crisp night air washes over my exposed pussy and I shiver, not from the cold, but from the anticipation.

              He takes his time; his moves calculated and deliberate, running his hands down the inside of my legs all the way to my ankle and slowly back up again. Coming just to the fold of my leg, I can feel the heat from his fingertips, but he won’t give it to me. Down the outside of my legs and back up again, he wraps his hands beneath my back and I arch off the desk. His warm breath spreads across my belly and his lips spread slow, soft fire across my skin. Back and forth, he sweeps his mouth across my stretched form, his hands holding me tightly. I feel the velvet of his tongue run from my belly button, leaving a trail of warmth behind until he rests his head between my breasts. He turns his face and presses himself into my chest, taking a deep breath, pulling me deep in his lungs. Craning his neck to the ceiling as he takes a deep breath as if to let gravity pull me deeper. When he looks down on me, he is a man consumed. There is nothing reflected in his eyes, but his hunger for me. He is about to devour me and I am his willing meal.

He devours my pussy with wild abandon, holding me down while he feasts on my flesh. His hot breath sends me flying and his moans make me greedy. I buck off the desk when he wraps his tongue around my clit, but his strong arms don’t give an inch.

When I open my eyes, he is standing over me with a carnal twinkle in his eyes. He pushes into me with his fingers, his palm bumping my aching clit with every thrust. A pressure builds so powerful and wrought with need I think I may pass out and he continues to pump my pussy for all its worth. He presses down beneath my belly with his other hand as his fingers thrust upwards and I cry out and crumble. Tremors rack my body and he is relentless, continuing to pummel me while his lips are pulled in a mad grin.

Just as I start to catch my breath, he speeds up and I see stars before I hear an audible crack and I completely let go. Like honey running slowly from the jar my limbs melt over the desk, my body falls away and I float high above it all. I couldn’t stop if I wanted to, my body stutters and trembles uncontrollably, my heart beats in my pussy, pounding in my head. He pulls his fingers from my body and sinks back between my fallen legs. He calms me with his soft lips and brings my clit back to life with gentle flicks of his tongue before he pulls me from the desk and into his arms.

              I curl up in his lap while he rubs my back and brings me back to earth.

              “I am sorry, Sophie,” he strokes my hair while he quietly laments, “for everything I have put you through. I hate that anything I have done has hurt you and you continue to be caught in the crossfire. I wish I could just make it all stop.”

              “Are you going to tell me what that was about tonight? Let me help you, Rhys, don’t shut me out.” He squeezes me a bit tighter and sighs.

              “You know what it’s about, Sophie. What it has always been about.”

              “Nadja,” I whisper, and his body tenses at the mention of her name. “Rhys, I love you and I won’t let her drive me away again, I promise.”

              “I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you, Sophie, but I know that I will do everything in my power to keep you.” He kisses the top of my head.

              “Well, if you want to keep me, you have to talk to me. Let me in, whatever it is, we will handle it together. You can trust me, Rhys.” A heavy sigh of relief and trepidation escape his chest before he responds.

              “She has a lot of tricks up her sleeve, Sophie, and she is being backed into a corner. I don’t even know what to expect next, but I know something is coming. She has never let go easily or walked away quietly and now, with you, she seems positively possessed. The things she has already done have caught me by surprise, her lies and sheer determination to tear us apart is unbelievable. That man tonight was just the tip of the iceberg; she is definitely not done with us.”

              “Who was he?”

              “He is a leech and he wants a story.” He takes a deep breath and shifts me in his lap so I can see his face. The pain in his eyes and the set of his jaw tell me I’m in for a ride. “When we were in Ireland, the morning of the phone call, the call was from a reporter, a man I once counted among my friends, but it turns out I was very wrong. All this time while you were figuring out her game, she was changing her moves, Sophie. She has done what I feared the most, what she has always threatened and gone to the press. When we were at Brigid’s and he called, he was asking questions about the baby and how I could leave Nadja and flee the country with you. He knew who you were and where we were.”

              “But that’s not your baby, Rhys. We know this.”

              “It doesn’t matter what we know, Sophie, all that matters is what they print. She has Page Six wrapped around her finger. The fact that he was waiting for us tonight, that he was able to get that picture is proof enough that we are in for a rough ride. There is really no way to combat it. I don’t want you exposed to all of this, but it seems she has gone out of her way already to fill the talking heads in on you and her twisted view of our relationship. I don’t know that I can protect you, Sophie, and it scares the shit out of me.”

              I see the fear etched on his face, his eyes full of pain that I know I cannot take away. Powerless to help and clueless as to what is coming next, I remain steadfast, despite my own trepidation. I caress his cheek and muster a sweet smile.

              “We protect each other. She has already done her worst to get rid of me, Rhys. I’m a fighter and so are you.”

              “I have a feeling that things are going to get very ugly, Sophie. It’s clear to me that she has abandoned any propriety here. She is operating on sheer malice and she hasn’t tapped all her avenues yet. If he was waiting for us tonight there will be a story in the morning, I can guarantee it. She is going to do everything in her power to drag your name through the mud. She wants to tear me down and you with me.”

              “Rhys, my name means nothing. Let her drag me through the mud, I don’t care. I have nothing to prove. I love you. Your opinion is the only one that matters to me.”

              “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Sophie. Your name is about family, and family is everything. You have never had to deal with this, never had to see your name and face splattered across newspapers, and never yet had to deal with the snickers and speculation of strangers. Some have the decency to talk behind your back, but many will bring it right to your face. It is brutal and unforgiving and people are rabid for this kind of gossip. She is going to use every resource at her disposal to try and humiliate me, and worse, to humiliate you.” His pulse rate visibly spikes, given away by the angry vein throbbing in his neck. He shifts me from his lap and stands, pacing like a wild animal. I gather my clothes and watch him closely as his anger blooms and he mutters to himself under his breath. He stops and shakes his head, his eyes wild, his breathing heavy. When he turns back to me there is a twisted determination on his face.

              “I am going to fucking destroy her.” The quiet antipathy in his voice sends a chill down my spine and the hate in his eyes flares when he looks at me. “Two can play this game. If she wants a war, who am I to deny her? My pockets are deeper than her bench. I’ll take her down and everyone else with her if that’s what she wants.”