Katie Ashley - Strings of the Heart

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

I smiled up at him. “Never.”

He grinned. “I thought for a minute you’d had your way with me, and now you didn’t need me anymore.”

“I’m pretty sure it was you having your way with me.”

“Whatever. I didn’t take you for a ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ kinda gal.”

“I’m not. I’d love for you to stay the night with me.” Thinking about Jake, I asked, “You think it’ll be okay?”

“Do you have your phone?” When I nodded, he said, “Just set your alarm about thirty minutes before the twins usually get up. We should be fine.”

“Good idea.”

“I’m always a man with a plan.”

I elbowed him playfully as I fumbled around on the shelf over my head. Once I’d grabbed my phone, I set it for five. The twins usually liked to get up around six, and I didn’t want to push it with just a half hour window.

After I put the phone back on the shelf, I snuggled back against Rhys and fell into a deep, contented sleep.

As per my usual morning routine on the bus, Jax and Jules’s hearty morning cries woke me up. Shifting in my roost, I bumped against something warm and hard. My eyes snapped open. Rhys’s body was spooned against mine with one arm snaked around my waist, cupping my breast through my T-shirt. “Shit!” I cried.

He slowly roused next to me. “What’s wrong?” he asked, forgetting to whisper.

Elbowing him, I hissed, “Shh!”

When he tensed beside me, I knew he realized we were in deep shit. It was morning, and he hadn’t gone back to his roost like he was supposed to. Now Jake and Abby were awake along with the twins.

“What happened to the alarm?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “God, we are so screwed.”

“Look, I’ll just duck into the shower. They’ll never know the difference.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Trust me,” he murmured, before bestowing a chaste kiss on my lips.

While I would have loved to have stayed there making out with him longer, I knew he had to get going. When his arm reached up to pull back the curtain, Jake’s voice caused Rhys to freeze. “Okay, I’ll heat their bottles.” Rhys and I exchanged a panicked look before the bedroom door flung open. As Jake’s feet padded down the hallway, I sucked in a breath. Just when I thought I was in the clear, Jake’s hand tapped on my curtain.

“Allie-bean?”

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. “Uh, yeah?”

“Your sketch pad is out here on the floor.”

“Oops, I must’ve knocked it out when I was sleeping,” I replied.

When Jake started to pull back the curtain, I screeched and blocked his hands. “No, no, I’m not dressed yet!”

“Jeez, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were so modest.”

“Yeah, it’s a bad character trait of mine,” I replied.

“Want me to leave it on the table for you?”

“Yes, please.”

Once he was safely down the hall, I exhaled noisily. “That was a close one,” I whispered.

Rhys nodded. Drawing in a deep breath, he eased back the curtain and peeked outside. He then swung his legs out of the roost and hopped out. Just as I was about to sigh with relief, Jake’s voice once again scared the hell out of me.

“Dude, what the fuck?” he demanded.

Peeking through the curtain, I got a great view of Rhys’s bare ass as he stood outside his roost. Peering around him, I watched as Jake stared at Rhys in horror. “What’s the problem?” Rhys asked nonchalantly.

Waving one of the twins’ bottles around, Jake replied, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact you’re buck ass naked in the middle of the hallway?”

Rhys shrugged. “You know I sleep in the buff—I always have. Can I help it if you caught me as I was about to get in the shower?”

“Have you forgotten Allison’s on this bus? I don’t even want her having to see your naked ass this early in the morning.”

“Oh shit, man, I forgot. I guess I’ve gotten used to letting it all hang out with Eli and Gabe.”

Jake grimaced. “Try not to forget again. I don’t want Abby having to see you, either.”

Sweeping his hands to his naked hips, Rhys asked, “Are you afraid of what might happen if she saw a real man naked?”

“Trust me, fucker, she’s seen a real man naked. She’s had a real one between her legs, too.”

“JAKE!” Abby shouted from inside the bedroom. I don’t know if it was because of his comment about their sex life or the fact the twins had started up crying again.

“Just get your ass in the shower,” Jake mumbled, as he bypassed Rhys to get the bottles to Abby and the twins.

“Aye, aye, captain,” Rhys teased before ducking into the bathroom. Once Rhys was in the shower and Jake was back in the bedroom, I finally felt like I could breathe again. Reaching down to the foot of my mattress, I unrolled my wadded pajama pants and slid them on. After I hopped out of my roost, I slid my hair into a high ponytail on my way to the kitchen. Once I got there, I turned on the coffee pot. By the time the water had shut off in the bathroom, I’d put in a pan of frozen biscuits and microwaved a plate full of sausage and bacon.

The bathroom door opened, and Rhys poked his head out. When he saw me, he smiled. “Coast clear?”

“For the moment.”

With just a towel wrapped around his waist, Rhys strode over to me. Damn, he looked totally delectable with the water drops glistening on his chest and abs. The towel hung especially low on his hips giving me an eyeful of his cut V and the dusting of hair of his happy trail.

Before I could protest, he pulled me into his arms and brought his lips to mine. I’m sure I had horrible morning breath, but Rhys didn’t seem to mind. When he pulled away, he grinned. “I enjoyed last night.”

“The secret sex?”

He shook his head. “Sleeping with you.”

I smiled. “Oh, I enjoyed that, too, along with the orgasms.”

He responded to my sassiness with a low chuckle. The sound of Jules’s happy squeal down the hall caused us to break apart. “I should go shower.”

“You do that.” When I turned to go to the bathroom, Rhys popped my ass playfully, causing me to let loose with a shriek.

The bedroom door flung open. “Allison, are you okay?” Jake asked with Jules on his hip.

“I’m fine.”

Jake eyed Rhys and me. “But why did you scream?”

Waving my hand dismissively, I replied, “Oh, I saw a spider, but thankfully, Rhys killed it for me.”

Rhys nodded his head to go along with my lie. Jake brows lined with confusion, but before he questioned me any further, he sniffed the air appreciatively. “Do I smell bacon?”

I laughed. Leave it to Jake to have food sidetrack him from potentially busting Rhys and me. “Yeah, I have some biscuits baking, too.”

“Oh, you are good to your big brother, aren’t you?”

“You act like I just whipped up a feast from scratch. I’d hardly call microwaving breakfast meat impressive.”

Slinging an arm across my shoulder, Jake pulled me to his side. “It’s still sweet of you to take care of me and Abby so well.”

“I’m happy to do it.”

Jake bestowed a kiss on my cheek. “Aw, I love you, Allie-bean.”

“I love you, too.” Always the cutest little attention whore ever, Jules squealed and kicked her legs. “And I love you, Miss Jules.” She rewarded me with a giant grin. I then disappeared into the bathroom to grab a quick shower. Under the hot stream of water, muscles I had overworked the night before screamed in agony. With my stomach rumbling, I decided to forgo drying my hair. Instead, I left my wet hair down to air-dry.