Rhodes let out an exasperated sigh, like what I was asking him to do was the hardest thing in the world, but still he lifted a strawberry up from the platter and held it out to me.
I tried not to smirk at his chosen piece of fruit and instead leaned forward to take probably the slowest bite known to man.
Chewing slowly, the slightly tart berry was a shock to my taste buds. I watched Rhodes’ Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed heavily, a slow smile forming on my face. “Can I try the blueberries next?”
I’d come to two conclusions the night that Rhodes rescued me from the party.
One was that I wanted Rhodes McCreary—either on his own or with Edison it didn’t seem to matter much when it came to me or my instincts. I’d been pushing the feeling away over the past couple of weeks, telling myself not to go after someone who didn’t want to be chased. But that had changed when he put his hands on my face, checking for any injury while his eyes were wild with fear.
The second thing I’d concluded was that if something didn’t happen to shake up the status quo between the three of us, then nothing ever would.
Kailey’s dragging me to a party, as ill-advised of a choice as it had been, now seemed to actually be working in my favor as I watched Rhodes frown at the blueberries before choosing the biggest one and holding it out to me pinched in between his pointer finger and his thumb.
I took the berry, making sure that my lips lingered on his fingers for far longer than was appropriate before I leaned back against the edge of the tub to chew and watch his reaction.
While I was sure I’d never be the sultry temptress that I’d read about in my romance novels or watched with Oona on her soap operas, I knew I at least had an effect on two alphas because Rhodes looked absolutely flabbergasted.
“What are you doing, Perrie?” he asked, his lips coming together in a thin line as he looked down into the water at me.
“Nothing,” I murmured, offering him a sweet smile as I shrugged. “Just eating.”
Rhodes let out a huff and it took me a second to realize that it was a laugh. “All right then, you can finish your food once you’re done bathing.”
There it was. His usual retreat when things moved too far away from the comfort zone he created for himself.
Rhodes turned to leave and my heart leapt into my throat as I pushed myself across the tub and reached a soaked hand out to snag the sleeve of his jacket. “Rhodes?”
The alpha paused, glancing over his shoulder at me.
Sucking in a deep drag of his chocolate scent and using it to bolster me on, I got onto my knees and came up out of the water just enough that he could see my top half. “Do you remember that day in the pool?”
“What day?” Rhodes asked, his voice suddenly gravelly as his dark eyes finally trailed down from my face to my breasts which, despite being a little bit sore and bruised, still seemed to draw the alpha’s warm gaze.
“When you thought I was drowning and you jumped in the pool. I asked you why you cared to save me and do you remember what you said?” My hand slid down from his sleeve and into his and he let me thread our fingers together.
Rhodes swallowed again before settling back down on the top step of the pedestal that led into the tub. “I said why wouldn’t I care because you were going to be Edison’s wife.”
It had hurt my feelings at the time to be reduced down to just Edison’s future wife, like that was my only reason for still being here after I’d fought so hard to stay alive.
“That’s right. Now I want to ask you why you came to save me at the party.”
“Perrie…” Rhodes let out a sigh and started to pull his hand from mine.
“No, I want to know,” I insisted.
“It’s really complicated and—” I was done listening to him waffle around the point. Reaching up with my free hand, I gripped him by the front of his dark blue shirt and pulled him into the bath with me, ignoring the overflow of water as he sputtered with surprise.
“Perrie!” This time my name came out in an irritated bark. “Seriously?”
Rhodes put his hands on either side of my hips as he tried to keep his head from dunking under the warm water.
“Answer the question, Rhodes,” I said, my fingers still tangled in his shirt. Our faces were close together now, as close as they were the night of the party when he’d cradled my face in his hands. “Why did you come to save me at the party? Is it just because I’m Edison’s wife?”
Rhodes’ dark eyes met mine and I watched as droplets of water dripped from his curly hair and down the bridge of his long nose.
We stared at each other, seemingly both willing the other to do or say something first.
“Because I don’t want anything bad to happen to you and that night I thought I’d lost you.” Rhodes practically whispered the words, like if he said it too loud some unseen force would strike him down.
But for me, it was all I needed to hear. I pulled him into me and our mouths met. The same tingling feeling I got when Edison kissed me filled my body as Rhodes melted against me.
His hands gripped my face and instead of pushing me away, he tilted my head back into the water and deepened the kiss, his tongue moving against mine as his facial hair tickled my chin and cheeks.
This was what I’d been missing on the night where my dreams had taken a spicier edge. It was never just Edison who showed up in them anymore, but even still Rhodes had been a hazy unknown because he never so much as touched me in a way that was more than perfunctory.
He was touching me now, though, and his hands sliding down the column of my throat and down to my breasts. I wasn’t even sure he realized he was doing it.
My fingers slid around the back of his neck, urging him on as he finally cupped them and gave them a squeeze. A tingling warmth started to gather in the pit of my stomach as Rhodes growled against my mouth, seeming to forget all of his previous trepidations about touching me.
I wasn’t sure how long we stayed there, but it was Edison’s voice that finally broke through our heated kiss.
“As much as I am enjoying the show, I do think I should tell you that one of the maids is in the next room changing the sheets on the bed and I don’t think she would appreciate the sounds of moans while she tries to do her work.”
Rhodes jerked away from me, sliding back across the tub with wide eyes as we both looked over to where Edison was leaning against the doorframe that led back into his closet.
He’d pulled on a pair of black silk pajama bottoms and they were slung low on his hips, revealing the trail of bruises that I apparently had also left at some point during what amounted to a marathon of sex over the past couple of days.
While I could still remember most of what we’d done… I didn’t remember leaving quite so many hickeys on the alpha.
