Jules showered away the afternoon of shopping and slipped into bed. His pillow smelled like him, and she breathed him in, closing her eyes. Napping on vacations was peak relaxation.
She heard Rhys turn on the shower.
Wouldn’t it be nice to live with someone who understood her, who didn’t want anything more from her than just her? She would never have had that with Mason. Maybe she would with Rhys.
Her eyes flew open. With someonelikeRhys.
That was what her subconscious had meant. She’d figure out how to believe that. But it couldn’t be Rhys. They were only having fun. They lived on separate sides of the continent. They couldn’t be together. He wouldn’t want to, even if she did. Rhys hated everything about her life. Not that she liked it all that much.
One week left with Rhys.A dull ache squeezed her heart.
He finished his shower quickly, and when he stopped in the bedroom, she pretended to be asleep. She didn’t know why and couldn’t explain the reason it was suddenly hard to breathe.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she prayed she could stop thinking and just fall asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jules awoke because she couldn’t breathe.
Something pressed down on her chest, her neck, her mouth. She tore herself awake, kicking and screaming, to find a palm over her mouth. A man loomed over her. She didn’t know him and couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
He fumbled, and she bit his palm.
“Shit, lady.”
Jules rolled over. “Rhys!”
The guy shook his hand like she was the one who had violated him. “What the hell? No biting.”
“Get out!” she screamed.
He stopped shaking his hand, and his lip curled in disgust. “This isn’t exactly what I thought it might be like.” He backed up. “I don’t think I’m the guy for you.”
“Rhys!” she screamed louder.
“Retire.” He held up his hands. “Chill out. Come on. People are going to hear you.Retire.” He backed up as if she were the one out of control. “That’s the safe word, you crazy bitch.”
“Rhys!”
The man backed away, shaking his head. “This really isn’t doing it for me. Good luck to you.”
“Get out!”
Rhys bounded in and threw the guy across the room, roaring. There was no other way to describe the sound that exploded from him. It was a thundering, barking roar.
She’d never had anyone but Rhys fight for her like that, not once in her entire life. He was always there when she needed him.
Jules scampered out of bed, her hands pressed to her throat. The soreness wasn’t from the man’s hands but from her screams.
“Goddamn, people. Ease up,” the man said, pushing off the floor. He edged toward the bedroom door as though trying to escape. “I didn’t agree to any of this cuck bullshit. You people are nuts.”
Rhys flew at him again and pinned him to the wall. “Explain.”
They needed to call the cops. But first, she might need to keep Rhys from killing the guy.
“Now,” Rhys growled. “Start talking.”
The man held up his hands again, this time in surrender. Her bite marks indented his palm. “This is a misunderstanding.”
