Chapter 116

Chapter 116
Riley’s P.O.V
He kissed me like I was the last thing he’d ever taste.
Rhys hadn’t let go of me since our lips first collided. His hands gripped my hips like I might vanish. His breath was fire against my skin. And his mouth—Gosh, his mouth—moved like it had been starving for me.
I’d never felt like this. Never wanted anyone like this. Not with such urgency. Not with this kind of reckless heat curling under my skin.
And still, somewhere inside me, a question flickered like a dying candle in the dark.
What is he protecting me from?
Because I could feel it. Even through the passion, the desperation, the hunger—we weren’t just here because of lust. There was something else behind his touch, his kiss, his every move. A need to shield me. Like he was fighting off invisible monsters just by keeping me close.
The VIP lounge was quiet, dimly lit, wrapped in shadows that flickered softly against the dark velvet walls. The bass from the club still thumped below us, muffled, distant, like another world. One I didn’t care about.
Not when he was touching me like this.
His hands found the waistband of my pants, and he looked up at me—not asking, not demanding, just seeing. Like he wanted to be sure. And I was. Gosh, I was sure. I didn’t just want him. I trusted him.
Even if I didn’t understand why.
Rhys tugged my pants down gently, so gently I almost cried. Like I was precious. Like he was afraid I’d shatter if he moved too fast. I lifted my hips, helped him, breath catching as the air touched my bare skin.
He knelt between my thighs, and before I could form a coherent thought, his mouth was on me.
I arched up with a cry—not of pain, not of surprise, but of something far deeper. A pleasure that melted my spine and set my nerves alight. His tongue moved with fierce purpose, like he’d been dreaming of this, like he needed this more than air.
“Rhys,”I moaned, my fingers tangling in his hair, clutching him closer. “Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”
He didn’t.
He devoured me. Licked and kissed and sucked like he was worshipping me. His mouth dragged over my clit again and again until I was shaking beneath him, eyes rolling back, mouth parted in gasping sobs.
“You taste so good, Riley,” he said against me, voice low and raw. “I could stay here forever.”
My heart thundered. My body trembled. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt this alive.
But just when I thought I’d come undone completely, he stopped.
I blinked, breathless, trembling, confused. “Why did you stop?”
Rhys rose slowly, his chest heaving. His eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them—almost black, stormy with emotion and restraint.
“Because I’m losing control,”he said, voice tight. “And I want to be inside you.”
My stomach flipped. My breath caught. Every part of me screamed yes.
“Then do it,” I whispered. “Please.”
His eyes squeezed shut. His jaw clenched. And then he turned his back to me.
“No,” he said. “You don’t know what you’re saying, Riley. You don’t understand.”
Something in his voice broke me. Not anger. Not rejection. Something aching.
I pulled myself up on shaky arms, wrapping one of his discarded shirts around my shoulders. “Then help me understand.”
He didn’t answer right away.
I watched the tension in his shoulders, the way his fists curled at his sides. He looked like he was at war—with himself, with the world, with me.
Finally, he turned to face me. His eyes met mine, full of fire and regret.
“I wasn’t supposed to feel anything for you,” he said quietly. “You were just… couldn’t finish his words.
He exhaled hard, like the weight of that question had been waiting on his chest for years. 
 “I do not want to hurt you Riley, you don’t deserve to get hurt. My whole body wants you, especially my cock. Believe me, i do not make love Riley. I don’t.
 I fuck! Really hard, that would make you screamed out more than this. 
“Rhys…”My voice cracked. “Is that why you stopped?” I asked softly as i rubbed my thighs against each other.
His silence was answer enough.
He was afraid of himself. Afraid of what he might become if he gave in to everything he wanted.
But I wasn’t afraid.
I walked up to him, slowly, placing my hand over his heart. It was racing beneath my touch.
“I believe you’re here for me tonight,” I said. “Whatever you think of me, whatever you do to me—I don’t care. You are here with me.”
“I don’t deserve you,”he said, so quietly I almost missed it.
“Maybe not,” I whispered. “But I don’t want perfect. I want you.”
He looked at me like I was a miracle and a curse all at once.
But he didn’t kiss me again.
Instead, he pressed his forehead against mine, both of us still breathing hard, the heat between us pulsing like a second heartbeat.
“I want you more than anything,” he said. “But if I give in, if we cross that line… I might never let you go.”
“Then don’t,” I said. “Don’t let go.”
But he did. Gently. Slowly.
He pulled away and reached for my clothes, helping me dress with care that made my throat ache.
“I need to fix this first,” he said. “Whatever i feel for you , whatever i want from you—I need to stop it. And I need you safe while I do.”
“I’m not running away,” I told him. “You don’t get to protect me from anything, i have got enough protection from my family, i do not want any other protection from you.”
“I’m not trying to protect you from anything,” he said. “I’m trying to protect you from me, I’m a dangerous person. Believe me Riley, you can’t handle me.
  “Then try me”. I said frankly.
He remained silent and never said anything afterwards.
Then he kissed my forehead, soft and lingering.
And left me standing in the dim, silent room.
Alone.
But more sure than ever… that something dangerous was coming. And Rhys was right in the middle of it.
And somehow, so was I.