A mix between a gasp and choke came from the back of my throat. How do you respond when someone throws something so heavy on to you?
You don't. That's how.
My hand that wasn't held behind my back, flew to my mouth to stop me from making any more uncontrollable noises. I saw Rhode in a new light; one that was dimly lit. It wasn't strong and glowing like how he was when we first met, and I decided to make it my job to see him like that again - even if he was a pain in my ass. He didn't deserve to go through that, and neither did anyone else.
"Aubrey, what's wrong?" Rhode gently played with the ends of my hair, looking at me curiously. "You look like you're going to pass out. Talk to me."
What was wrong is that he had a screwed up childhood and I just couldn't mind my own damned business.
"I'm so sorry for prying. I didn't know that you went through so much and I feel horrible for making you relive those memories."
While I was close to shedding tears, Rhode was close to laughter.
"That's all in the past. I'm a big boy now." Rosy lips curved over his teeth. Yes, yes you are. "Have all the things from back then, affected how I am today? Yes, they have, but I'm not going to let you feel like it's your fault. I've already told you that I trust you, now I want you to trust me when I tell you that it's all over and done with. Understood?"
"Okay," I nodded faintly. "I understand."
"Good." I was leaned on the side to rest on his broad shoulder. "Now, if you don't mind, I still have a story to get through."
"Well, get on with it then."
"Ah, there it is." Rhode let out a deep, velvety laugh. "Here I was, thinking that you might actually have a heart."
I knew it was a joke, but it still hurt to hear someone say that. Letting it slide without any sort of retaliation, I kept quiet - besides a small laugh - so Rhode could continue.
Rhode claimed that his childhood was something that shouldn't be worried over, yet whenever he talked about it, he'd take deep breaths like he was preparing for a battle.
"I loved Janine when my dad first started seeing her. Since Adrian was in high school and had other things to worry about, he couldn't care less. When I'd go to the park with her and my dad, she'd always run around and play with me while my dad watched from a bench somewhere. We were never with her without my father around, so when Adrian and I came home one day to find all of her things moved in to the house, it was a shock. My dad hadn't known her long, maybe three months, before she weaseled her way in."
"I'm guessing this is where everything went wrong?"
"You could say that." He chuckled. "For the first month, everything was fine. While my dad went to work, Janine would stay home to clean and cook dinner. She didn't like that Adrian was a teenager who spent too much time in the house, so she convinced my dad to make him try out for different sports teams at his school. Surprisingly, he made the basketball team, which meant that he had a lot of practices and games after school. My dad used to work late at his job, so it would just be me and Janine at home."
"It wasn't your dad who abused you. It was her, wasn't it?" I asked, in a daze. My head was spinning with thoughts of what would possess such a vile creature to put their hands on an innocent child.
Everything was coming together. That witch played the perfect girlfriend who loved her boyfriend's kids, using that as a way to trick him. She knew one kid would be old enough to see through her bullshit, so she got him out of the house, leaving the defenseless one stuck with her.
If Janine is still alive out there somewhere, I will personally do the honors of killing her. Okay, maybe just some slaps, punches, and kicks will do. Respect your elders, my ass!
"Do you want to tell the story, or can I finish?" The twinkle in Rhode's eyes was back when I lifted my head to look at him. His light humor led me to believe that he really was over his past, but he also could've been good at hiding his emotions. I knew for a fact that he did that well.
"Sorry." I flushed, shifting on his lap. "Go ahead."
"Well, Janine was an alcoholic. She's the cause of my father becoming one. I don't think he knew that she was one at first because she hid it well. That woman hid a lot of things well."
Rhode had a look of concentration on his face; like he was talking himself into not letting thoughts of Janine anger him. I knew he wasn't over it.
"But you knew, because you spent so much time around her." I stated, coming to the conclusion that this was when she did those disgusting acts to him.
"You're a smart cookie." He tapped my nose, flashing me a white toothed grin, but it didn't reach his eyes. "And yes, I knew because she would throw back all kinds of clear and brown liquids. A few times when she was cooking, the house almost burned down because she was too drunk to even stand up straight. I had to learn to do a lot of things at an early age."
"When did your dad find out about everything?"
"I told Adrian, who then told him. My dad went on a rampage when he found out that she had exposed me to alcohol and threatened to kick her out if she didn't quit drinking. I remember being upstairs with Adrian in his room the night he told our dad about Janine's habits. There was screaming, crying, things breaking, and her promising that she'd be done with it. She didn't have anywhere else to live, so she begged my dad to let her stay with us."
"Did he let her stay because he felt bad for her?" I frowned, hating the idea that a man would put his children in danger because of someone who decided to screw up their own life.
"Yes, but she promised him that she would start going to counseling; which she did, but she went for only two or three times. After that failed, she decided that I was the root of her problems and started taking her anger out on me."
I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear that part just yet. It would probably make me sick and I couldn't go home with the amount of work I still had to do.
"Wow." That was the only word I managed to breathe out.
'Wow', Aubrey? Way to sound intelligent.
Realizing I should have said something a little more meaningful, I rocked back and forth uncomfortably, an odd silence setting between the two of us.
"I'm really trying hard to tell you everything since I owe it to you, but if you don't keep still, I don't think I'll be able to."
I cleared my throat, desperately thinking of a way to get from off of him so there wasn't any tension between the two of us. It might have been a little too late for that, but awkwardness was sure to creep its way in.
"Would it be better if I went back to sitting on the couch?" It was worth a try, but I had a feeling that I already knew what the answer would be.
"Yeah, I think that would be better." He nodded, closing his eyes which surprised me. I reluctantly pushed my bottom harder against him, trying to reach toward the center cushion... well, attempting to push toward it until an arm was thrown over my legs, holding me in place. "I said I think it would be better, not that I wanted it to be."
Oh.
I was sure that my face was in flames from his confession. If it wasn't, it sure as hell felt like it. With the way he was acting, it wouldn't have been wise on my part to unbutton my shirt. I had to get some kind of cooling relief or else I'd start sweating. That would've been a lovely sight for Rhode to see. It definitely would've been a turn on.
The intensity of his eyes when he finally opened them was enough for me to widen my own. Whether it was from fear or excitement, my heart took flight in my chest. My pulse was so quick that I was able to feel it thrumming all throughout my body, creating a dull ringing in my ears.
I was nervous; and when I'm nervous, I panic.
"We really need to get back down to my desk. We've been up here for way too long." I breathlessly spoke. Rhode was amused while he looked on at my flustered state. His calm demeanor flared my frantic one even more.
"What for? I know you're pretty much done with your column. You have one more box to answer, then it only needs to be sent to the editors, right?"
Maybe.
"I still want to fix it to the best of my ability, alright?" I practically yelled, running a hand through my hair.
In an instant, my legs were swung off the couch cushions and once again placed on top of Rhode's to dangle. With my back to his chest, I grew antsy with anticipation of what was about to happen. He sat up straight, his hands moving slowly, softly up my spine to rest on my shoulders. Chills were an understatement. I was full on shivering, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand rigid.
"Breathe, Aubrey."
The light whisper flowed through my ear, tickling the outside and erupting a new wave of goose bumps. Rhode's hands were like magic. He was squeezing, caressing, massaging, gripping my back and shoulders in all the right places while those long fingers occasionally danced over my neck. I had never had a proper massage before, and if they felt anything like what he was doing, it was about time I started getting them.
My eyes fluttered shut while my head lolled from left to right, up and down. The ripples of warmth that spread through me were like nothing I had ever experienced before. I was in a state of euphoria, and it was all from someone's... fingers? Carlita was right! I should have imagined what he could do with them, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her know about the powers they held.
During the bliss that Rhode cast over me, the buttons on my blouse loosened. I didn't know that had been the case until I felt the ghosting of lips across my shoulder blade. Thinking I was imagining it, I turned my head to the side, coming face-to-face with the darkest green eyes I had ever seen, peeking up at me from under thick, long lashes. Words finally came to me when my head was nudged to the side so Rhode could press his mouth more firmly against my skin.
"What are you doing?" My voice shook, barely projecting out.
"Relieving some of this pent-up stress that's been built up inside of you." He replied, like it was no big deal that he had just intensified everything by kissing my neck.
I thought about it for a moment. He was right, I needed to relieve the stress, but he sure as hell wasn't going about the right way of doing it. The massaging I guessed was fine - as long as no one saw - but the way his soft, full mouth touched me, was not. Rhode was already a big enough distraction as it was, and if I wanted to keep my sanity to form coherent thoughts later in the day, I had to put an end to his lip movement.
"Okay," I panted, on the verge of moaning. "but you need to stop kissing me."
Rhode briefly paused, then pressed his lips where my neck met my shoulder, one last time. I stilled, dying on the inside for him to keep going but knew that it wasn't appropriate. The attraction between us, or whatever it was, would surely die out in no time at all. There was no point in continuing, and like the saying went; all good things must come to an end. And boy was it good.
"Fine," There was something hidden in his voice. "no more kissing. Anything else you'd like me to stop?"
Yeah, quit being so damn sexy!
Was there? As much as I tried to think of something, I couldn't come up with an answer. There was a crave, a desperation for him to do whatever he wanted to me. It had been a while since I allowed that kind of attention from a male to happen, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it. So much for saying that I wouldn't let anything happen between us. Those thoughts flew right on out the window.
"No."
"Good, because I wasn't planning on it anyway."
My head was yanked back to lay on Rhode's shoulder, my hair wound around his fist - a position that left me with no choice but to arch my back and push my chest out. The light stubble on his jaw lightly scratched against my cheek, a feeling that I wanted on more than just my face.
While his right hand held a grip on my hair, his left traveled to the front of my neck, softly skimming down to my bra. The rest of the buttons on my blouse loosened, coming undone due to how much movement he was making. My chest and stomach were exposed, giving Rhode access to whatever he itched to touch.
Both lavender lace cups were pulled down, my breasts bouncing from when Rhode jerked the material off of me. The cool air around us hit my swollen flesh, instantly causing the area around my nìpples to tighten. A tingle spread throughout my entire chest, filling it with the need of Rhode's rough and calloused hands to touch them in every way possible. Just imagining his large hands on me was enough to send a wave of tingling between my legs to the area I so desperately needed him.
I wanted him, and I was going to get him.
Moaning, I reached an arm back to run through Rhode's thick, dark hair. I had only grabbed one fistful of it before my own hair was released and hand was stopped by a much stronger one.
Instead of telling me to stop like I thought he would, he grabbed both of my hands and clasped them behind his neck. Since my arms were raised, so were my breasts, making them appear perkier.
"Close your eyes," His deep voice murmured into my ear. "and don't move."
"What are you going to do?" I tried to contain my excitement, but we both heard how I really felt.
"Trust me, you're going to like it. Now, try to lock your ankles behind my legs."
The vibrations from his laugh shot straight through me and to my clìt, which involuntarily pulsed. My inner walls clenched, waiting for something of his to fill them. If he were to touch me down there, I knew that his hand would not come back dry.
"Now what?" I held my feet behind his calves, closing my eyes, and almost breaking out into a pant. It was thrilling to not be able to see what he would do to me, making me alert to every touch he initiated.
"Just relax."
Oh, I'd be more than happy to.
I nodded my head, resting more into Rhode, whose hands moved to sit on my hips.
"Remember how I said Tiffany's panties weren't whose I wanted around their ankles?" I slowly nodded. "Well..."
My skirt was hiked up to bunch around my waist. From there, Rhode's hands traveled up my stomach, his fingers burning heat onto my skin as they went. It was bad enough that this rarely - more like never - happened to me, but he was just being torturous.
When he reached my breasts, he didn't forcefully grab them like the other guys I had been with did. He moved around them, trailing feather-like strokes, and using the space between his index and middle fingers to tease my nìpples. They peaked, ready to receive more attention, but Rhode kept up with that agonizing pace.
I ground my hips into him, trying to get him to hurry up. It was satisfying to know that I wasn't the only one excited by what he was doing.
His chest rose and fell with silent laughter at my anguish. Finally giving me what I wanted, my heart fluttered in my chest again when I felt his hands rest on my thighs. Instead of jumping like I did the first time, I softly moaned.
He better hurry up and get to where I need him before I grab his hands and do it myself.
Rhode's thumbs moved to the inside of my legs, rubbing small circles onto the skin. The higher they moved, the more I let myself go to him. I didn't know what had gotten into me where I'd let a man, who I hadn't even know for a week, touch me the way that he did. It wasn't like me... at all, but it felt too good for me to control my judgment.
I bit down hard on my bottom lip when one of Rhode's hands brushed against the center of my panties. After all the excruciating waiting, his fingers hooked on the inside of the thin material, pulling them down. I unhooked my feet from behind his legs, lifting myself to help rid of the lace a lot quicker than he would've done it. In other words, I was hòrny and impatient.
The purple undergarment was flung somewhere in front of me by my foot. Since my eyes were still closed, I had no idea where it went, nor did I care. That was a first.
I had no idea that I could gasp as loud as I did when two of Rhode's fingers touched my opening. After hearing heavy, ragged breathing in my ear and feeling a tight grip on my thigh, I knew it was hard for him to control himself too.
"Open your eyes."
I complied, my lips parting from what I saw held before me. The fingers that Rhode touched me with, were coated in a clear glistening.
Fuck.
Turning to look at him, I noticed the green eyes that were dark before, were blazing with lust. His arousal was also pressed against my backside. My eyes bulged when he brought those two fingers to his mouth and past his lips, sucking on them while still holding eye contact with me.
"God dammit." Rhode groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and resting his head in the crook of my neck. "I can't... I have to stop. You're going to hate me if I don't."
Because we were so caught up in trying not to tear each other's clothes off, the ding of the elevator was unheard. While Rhode tensed, I jumped from his lap, scrambling to pull my clothes back on, making myself even more flustered.
Rage coursed through me when Elise emerged from behind the wall that hid the lift. It subsided when I saw that she had one hand covering her eyes, while the other stuck out in front of her, feeling around.
"Hello?" She called out. "I just heard talking, but my eyes are closed in case someone's not decent."
I couldn't button up my shirt fast enough, so I settled for folding my arms over my chest to hold it in place.
"No, we're dressed. You can take your hand off now."
Rhode responded to her in an annoyed tone, a scowl on his full lips. He moved to sit on the edge of the couch, bending over slightly and folding his hands together over his knees. I knew what he was hiding, and he was probably thinking of ways to kill Elise in his head.
I narrowed my eyes at him, a hint to not be rude to her. She was there for a reason, and I didn't know why, but it felt like she was watching out for me.
There wasn't any judgment in Elise's eyes when she opened them, looking between me and Rhode. Her expression was neutral, like she didn't know what was going on, even though I knew she did. If she were Carlita, we would've been playing twenty-one questions.
"Okay, well Tiffany is looking for you guys. She has something that she wants you two to do."
Rhode eyed her suspiciously. "What is it?"
"I don't know, but you have five minutes to get to her office before she picks other people for it."
With that, Elise spun to walk back around the corner.
"Wait!" I called after her. "How did you know where we were. You don't seem like you would come up here."
"Lucky guess." She shrugged, then winked. We waited until we heard her get back on the elevator to start talking again.
Rhode buried his face in his hands, exhaling loudly.
Man, it must suck to be a guy when things like that happen.
"Do you want me to wait for you while you, um, fix that?" I pointed a finger, gesturing to his pants.
He cocked his head to the side, smirking, like he thought of a better idea.
"No, but I'm nowhere near done with you. What are you doing this weekend?" I thought about it, having nothing come to mind. He took that as his answer. "Right, well I want you to spend it with me."
My stomach flipped at the idea of him wanting to spend more time with me. God, I was so pathetic.
"Doing what?" I asked, not quite sure if I wanted the answer to it.
"You'll see." He beamed. "Now, off you go before Blondie thinks we're finishing what she walked in on."
"Right."
I nodded, walking to maneuver through the path Elise had just come through. As the elevator doors were about to ding shut, the last thing I heard was:
"And I expect some sort of compensation for what I have to fix right now!"
Ha, yeah right.
Knowing he was joking - well, I hoped he was - I laughed on my way back down to the fifth floor. I had no idea what would be in store for the next two days.
* * * * *
Wattpad tried to change the rating to R because I used the word nipple/s too many times. Really...for nipples?! -_-
Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to SevenSkies-, my future sister-in-law (not really).
Please vote and comment! :3
Also, what do you think Aubrey and Rhode are going to do on the weekend?