Without Warning: A Billionaire Romance (Playboys of New York Book 5), JA Low [book suggestions .TXT] 📗

“Oh yeah.” He nods, giving me the once over. “My woman thinks I’m a dirty, dirty man, and she needs to clean me up.” He winks at me.

Oh, dear Lord, what the hell is going on? This is hilarious, and I’m really trying not to laugh.

“Come on, big boy, let’s get you all clean.” Grabbing his strong, hard arm, I slowly escort him toward the bathroom.

“You’re so beautiful,” he mumbles as he staggers along. “I’m so lucky.”

Gosh, he’s a cute drunk.

We make it down the hallway with only a couple of stumbles into the wall along the way. He stops and turns me around before pushing me up against the wall.

Wow. Okay. Where the hell did that come from?

He’s hard against my thigh. Maybe he’s not going to be suffering from whiskey dick after all.

“I love you, Ariana.”

I still at his words.

What the hell did he just say? He’s drunk. He has no idea what he’s saying. He doesn’t mean it.

“Come, you.” I chuckle through the awkwardness. “Let’s get you sobered up.”

“No.” He shakes his head. Those blue eyes flare with need. “I need you to know how I feel about you.” He cups my face with his hands.

“You’re drunk, Rhys,” I explain to him.

“I’ve been feeling like this for a while, and I guess the alcohol is giving me the balls to tell you to your face.” He’s sincere, but I can’t believe it, not when I can smell how much he’s had to drink.

“Let’s talk about this in the morning. Okay?” My question makes him frown.

“It’s okay if you don’t love me, Ari. I know I’m unlovable.” The vulnerability seeps through his words. Today has rattled him. I’ve never seen him so insecure than this moment.

“Why would you think I couldn’t love you?” Who has said something to put this thought in his head?

“My own family doesn’t.” His hands fall from my face, and his shoulders roll in as he moves away from me.

“Hey.” I grab hold of him. “Your mother and Audrey love you.” He shakes his head and begins to undress as he shuffles into his bedroom. “Rhys…” I call after him and grab his arm to turn him back around to me. “What happened today?”

Rhys shakes his head. “I don’t feel so good.”

He’s drunk, Ariana.

He needs to sober up, and then you can find out what the hell happened.

So, I help him undress. The flirt from before is now gone. He walks into the shower and sinks to the floor, the water hitting him on the back as he wraps himself around his legs.

The image breaks my heart.

The next thing I know, I’m undressing and joining him on the floor as well. I wrap myself around him as he breaks down for the first time.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper as he holds me tightly.

“My life’s a fucking mess, Ari.” He sighs. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Hey… don’t say that.”

Rhys looks up at me through bloodshot eyes, which make his blue eyes sparkle even brighter.

“I’ve cut my father and brother out of my life,” he confesses. “I’m paying off his debt, and then that’s it.” I can see how much that decision is weighing on him, and his whole body sags under the burden of everything.

“I’ve got you, Rhys.”

Once he’s freshened up, we get dressed, and he climbs into bed. It’s not long until Rhys is snoring, the reality of the day and the copious amounts of alcohol finally catching up with him.

“I love you.” Kissing his forehead, I let him sleep off his worries as I head out into the living room to finish my work.

“I’m dying,” Rhys groans from beside me. He has one arm stretched over his eyes, showing off his sculptured bicep.

I chuckle because hangovers suck.

“You were pretty drunk last night.” Nuzzling into his side before I get a whiff of his alcohol breath. “Eww… you need to go brush your teeth. You smell like you’ve eaten dog shit.”

“Hey…” He groans. “Not fair.”

“How about this… you go freshen up, and I’ll cook you up a hangover feast.”

Rhys grumbles to himself as I jump out of bed and head to the kitchen, where I grab the bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and breakfast potatoes and cook him up a good old greasy breakfast to soak up all the bad shit he consumed last night.

A little while later, he comes into the kitchen dressed in some navy pajama pants that are hanging low on his hips. The man looks like a snack I want to partake in while he’s walking toward me as I’m pouring us a couple glasses of orange juice.

“Breakfast smells so good,” Rhys states, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

“You still feel like shit?” I ask as I flip over the eggs.

“Please don’t talk so loud.” Rhys winces, which makes me laugh.

I plate up our breakfast and push it in front of him.

“Come here.” He grabs me and pulls me between his legs. “Thank you for last night.” He nuzzles into my chest. “For looking after this hot mess.” He looks up at me and gives me an achingly handsome smile. “And for the record, I do love you.”

His confession stills me.

“I remember.”

Oh. Wow. Okay.

“I meant every word of it,” Rhys explains.

“You do?”

“Yes.” He grins. “I now understand what love is,” he confesses, which hits me with all the feels. “When I look at you, I’m the luckiest man in the world. That I can tackle anything life throws at me because I have you by my side. The thought of losing you makes my body ache.” He reaches up and cups my face. “You make me want to be a better man.”

“I love you, too, Rhys.” Tears well in my eyes as the overwhelming thought of happiness hit me.

“You do?”

“Yes.” Wrapping my arms around his neck, we bring our faces together. “I can’t imagine my life… no, I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it.”

“Shit, I’m a lucky man,” Rhys confesses before