Chapter 11 #2
Rue shuddered and closed his eyes. It was impossible to resist when Ryker spoke to him like that, all hushed whispers, with that pretty endearment coming so gracefully off the tip of his tongue.
It made it as though none of the bad stuff had ever happened.
Made Rue want to forget all about the bullying and the event with the umbrella.
“I thought it was you, Ryk.” There. He’d said it. He’d done it and—
Ryker chuckled darkly, quirking a brow when Rue’s head snapped in his direction. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“It’s the truth.”
“That it was a case of mistaken identity?” His anger seemed to return with each passing second. “That you didn’t know who you were really dating?”
“We weren’t dating.”
“Uriel—”
“I don’t know why he said Ryder claims that we were, but we were not dating. Apparently, we slept together, once, but I thought it was you, and—”
Ryker stiffened. “What?”
“You don’t have to believe me. But I’ve never been interested in Ryder. Never.”
“When?” He didn’t seem to have heard him. “When did you sleep together?”
Rue frowned, not sure why that was pertinent information.
“The night before he entered the game. I must have been really bad at it, to make him want to stay in a virtual world instead of come back and confront me again, huh?” He ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed all over again.
“It was dark, and I was tipsy. When I found him in the east gardens, I mistook him for you.” The furrow between his brow deepened further as he thought back on that night. “I really thought he was you.”
Everything had felt like it was Ryker. The way he’d reacted when Rue had approached, the tension in his shoulders easing. The sound of the happy sigh he’d greeted him with. Even back then, Ryker had been known for his poor temper, but never with Rue.
They hadn’t spoken, not until they’d been in the midst of the act. Maybe that was the problem. Where he’d gone wrong.
“He kissed me,” Rue said guiltily, “and I didn’t resist. Because…”
“You thought it was me.”
“Yes.”
Ryker stared at him, then pointed out in an odd voice, “You do realize how you sound right now, right? How you’re acting? Like a guilty lover. Anyone who saw this now would think you were confessing to cheating on me, Rue, which isn’t the case, since you and I were never together.”
He flinched again at the blunt statement, but didn’t argue against it.
For some reason, that seemed to interest the Black Hart even more.
“That was the only time?” Ryker asked when he’d been quiet for too long.
“We kissed a couple of times prior,” Rue admitted. “Made out once.”
“Always in the east garden?”
“Yes, which is why I was convinced it was you. I thought we were…I thought we were becoming something. It’s stupid. I know.”
“Did you learn of this that day?” he surmised. “Ryder told you it was him, and you ran away because—”
“You try learning the person you thought you’d given yourself to was the wrong one!
” Rue snapped, glaring for good measure.
Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes and he stubbornly wiped them away with the back of his hand.
“I was mortified! I didn’t know how I was supposed to face you after.
You and Ryder share everything. It wasn’t a matter of if he’d tell you about my mistake, it was a matter of when.
I figured when he finished testing the game, the first thing he’d do was find you and have a good laugh at my expense. ”
“You thought I would make fun of you?” Ryker sounded hurt. “For sleeping with a man while thinking it was me?”
“Since it wasn’t you, that means that it was all in my head. It was always all in my head. You never wanted me, but I’d arrogantly convinced myself you did.”
The Black Hart clicked his tongue. “And when I fucked you with that umbrella? I suppose that was all in your head as well? Or when I got you off in the bath?”
“That’s not…” He pursed his lips. “It isn’t the same.”
Ryker surprised him by laughing, the sound light and almost incredulous. “Oh, sweetheart,” he drawled, “what am I going to do with you?”
Rue held still when he stepped forward, one hand capturing him by the nape as he bent down to bring them eyelevel with one another. There were flecks of gold in Ryker’s irises, noticeable only because they were so close.
“Blue,” the Black Hart murmured, and it took a second for Rue to realize he was talking about his eye color. “I like it best when you’re like this. When I can read your mood, and it’s open to me.”
“…Ryker?”
He hushed him, much like he had in the bathtub when he’d been comforting him. “Do you think I’m like this for anyone else, Rue? Do you think I’m careful with them?” His other hand lifted, and he swept his thumb over Rue’s full bottom lip.
Rue couldn’t hide his confusion. “Ryker?”
“No,” he shook his head once, “you haven’t earned the truth. Not yet. No matter your reasoning, you chose to leave me behind. There are consequences for that, little brother.”
That damn title again. Rue tried to pull away, but Ryker held firm forcing him closer instead, until he was practically sliding off the edge of the bed, their noses almost touching.
A waft of the Black Hart’s cologne engulfed him, something peppery with hints of powdery rose.
Not a scent anyone would associate with the imposing, frenetic man before him.
“By running, you placed yourself in my father’s hands. Practically giftwrapped and tied with a neat bow. Do you know what he said to me last night?” Anger flickered across Ryker’s face. “He plans to send you away once we’re back in the city. Wants to ship you off planet, away from me. Again.”
Rue’s heart sank, but he made himself think logically.
Against Ryker, that was always the smartest course of action.
Those who didn’t know him well enough wouldn’t realize that this particular Black Hart was led by feeling.
His emotions fueled his actions, which more often than not, led to him taking drastic measures and causing all sorts of chaos and mayhem.
He didn’t need to know why Rhys suddenly wanted to get rid of him, or why he’d thought that was the right threat to use against his son. All Rue needed to know was if that’s what the head of their tiny fucked up family wanted, then that’s what would happen.
Not being able to accept things with Ryder had taught him a valuable lesson. It was the reason they’d all ended up this way. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, and besides…
“My mother is gone,” he struggled to get the words out, but somehow managed. “There’s nothing left for me here anyway.”
The fingers on the back of his neck pressed into him harder, the first clue that maybe he’d mis stepped, despite his careful consideration.
“If your eyes didn’t just change to brown, I would put you over my knee and spank you so hard even the creatures outside hear your screams,” Ryker shocked him by stating.
He practically shoved him away, glaring when Rue was sprawled out on the bed.
“I should have realized sooner you’re this big of a clueless idiot.
It would have saved myself years of torment. ”
“I don’t know what you want from me,” Rue admitted.
“I’ve gathered that much. Finally,” the last word was uttered under his breath, Rue barely catching it. But then Ryker continued. “Nothing left for you, huh? Guess your friend’s downstairs don’t mean shit to you then.”
He bristled. “Don’t threaten them.”
“Why not? I certainly don’t give two fucks about those people. Do you think one of them can make it to the pool house? The girl, Lenore, right? She’s on the track team, isn’t she? Co-captain even. Must mean she’s a fast runner.”
Rue tried to get to his feet, intent on pushing Ryker, but the Black Hart caught him by the wrists and slammed him back down onto the bed, dropping over him in the process to pin him beneath his weight.
Knowing he didn’t stand a chance against the other man’s strength, Rue switched gears.
“Please.” He shook his head. “I can’t watch…What happened to my mom…I can’t…” His heart started beating too fast, the air catching in his lungs.
Ryker’s expression softened, and without warning, his mouth sealed over Rue’s. He swallowed the gasp that escaped him, driving his tongue in deep, tracing the roof of his mouth before coaxing Rue’s to dance and tangle.