by Thia Finn
“But didn’t you tell her she could move in while we were gone?” Peri reminded him.
“That was before she told me to fuck off, and that she wouldn’t wait around for me while I was gone. What the hell do I do now, call the police? Tell them she’s fucking trespassing and to get her ass out of my house? Man, fuck that. I don’t need this shit right now!” He finally sat down with the others. Peri was worried even more when he dropped his head in his hands.
He looked up abruptly and continued to rant. “I can’t ask Hayden to deal with all of this shit. He did say she was planning to be gone before we got back.” He took a deep breath and shook his head. “She’s making me so angry even though I don’t want to be. Maybe I should fly home and deal with this shit.”
A collective “NO” came from the group. “Look, maybe she’ll find a decent place to live, and move by the time we get back if you just let her stay there and have some damn time to get her shit sorted. She’s not going to hurt anything by living there. Hell, she’s a fucking neat freak. Let her stay and don’t worry about it. The place will probably be cleaner than you ever kept it.” KeeMac tried to reason with him.
Peri watched as Ryan sat back in his chair picked up the pint of dark beer and let out a loud huff. She hated him having to concede to Krissy’s conniving tactics, much less letting her get away with taking advantage of him and the entire situation. Peri knew Krissy would hurdled any form of anger at him through the texts she sent. “I guess it will be fine. I hope she doesn’t plan on bringing some dick in there to sleep in my fucking house. That will not be okay. I’m going to call her and Hayden back. That point is non-negotiable.”
The group unanimously agreed it was wrong for her to stay in Ryan’s apartment, on his dime, and to bring other men into the house.
“I just hate putting Hayden in the middle and heap that kind of responsibility on an eighteen-year-old kid, but I couldn’t see any other reasonable options, so I guess I’ll swallow down my reservations about the whole scenario with the rest of my pint. I needed to lay down the conditions for the volatile bitch to stay at my place for the next few months, so I suppose I’ll call him back.”
When he returned to the table, their food had been delivered. “What the hell is this shit?” he asked looking at the plate.
“That is lamb hot pot with mint gravy, otherwise known as dinner, so eat up,” Peri informed him.
“Bartender, I’ll have a glass of whiskey, please. If I’m expected to eat food that looks like this, I’m going to need something stronger than this dark shit to wash it down. I sure hope they have a fucking steakhouse here somewhere. Any chance we’ll find a Coors Light over here?” The group laughed and the mood seemed to lighten over the table.
Peri hoped they were through with Krissy-drama for the duration of the trip. Ryan needed to get his mind on the tour, and she had other things she needed to take care of aside from him. After dinner, she went back to her room and got in bed with her laptop so she could relax and go over schedules. She needed to make phone calls to the next venues.
Peri woke up to a loud bang on her door that startled her. She had fallen asleep with her laptop open and her phone on the bed. She sat straight up thinking someone was trying to break into her room. When the pounding came the second time, she jumped up and ran to look through the peephole. She could hear, and now see, Carter holding Ryan up over his shoulder.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked jerking open the door. “You’ll get us kicked out of here making all that damn noise.”
“We are not dealing with his sorry, whining ass anymore.” Carter dumped him on the floor inside her room door.
It was obvious that Carter was not completely intoxicated, but she had no doubt Ryan was once she got a good look at him in the light coming into her room from the hallway.
“Why did you let him drink so much? He’ll be sick again tomorrow.” She asked him, exasperated, as she worked to pull the guitarist from his slump and into a more natural sitting position. “At least help me get him to the couch, Carter,” she begged.
Carter picked Ryan up under both arms and dragged him to the couch, rolling him over onto the cushions until he was mostly on the piece of furniture that was obviously not intended for sleeping. Carter stood and looked back at her as he brushed his hands together. “Alright! Job completed and the women are waiting!”
As he walked out the door, he turned back to Peri. “You might want to roll him on his side. “We don’t want him drowning. We need him tomorrow night.” Carter mumbled something about learning to hold his liquor, but Peri didn’t have time to listen because right on cue, Ryan started heaving.
“Oh, hell no! You are not throwing up in my room!” She grabbed the small garbage can beside her bed and reached him just in time to catch the liquor as it came back up.
“OH MY GOD. What did you drink? Gah! That’s just gross.” He managed to get some in the can, but most of it covered him. Peri fought the urge to follow suit but held it in when she realized she would have two people to clean up if she did. Putting her shoulder under his, she pulled him up to move him to the bathroom, but he outweighed her by almost a hundred pounds, so it was not an easy fete. “Ryan, move your feet! Help me get you into the bathroom, please.”
“Deep breaths, deep breaths. No way am I cleaning this up. Deep breaths, deep breaths.” Peri wasn’t sure if she was talking to herself or him. When they neared the end of her bed, Ryan stopped walking and started to tilt in the direction of the bed.
“No, No, No! Come on, we’re headed to the bathroom to get you cleaned up.” It took all her strength to get him back to what resembled a standing position. She led him into the bathroom and pushed him down into the tub, taking care not to let him hit his head on the porcelain. Then she tried removing his t-shirt, which reeked of whiskey. “If you didn’t stink so badly I might be able to appreciate the view,” she mumbled, sure he wouldn’t hear her.
After removing his Chucks, she realized he’d somehow vomited all down the front of his jeans and determined that they had to come off, too. She unbuckled his belt and started on his button and zipper, thinking to herself, “Damn, Peri, is this the best you can do: get a man passed out drunk and dropped off on your doorstep to get him naked?” She laughed humorlessly and then continued with her task.
“Okay, big guy, you better not be commando under these jeans. The hot bit of man flesh that you are, right now I do not need to see you bare-assed naked and stinking drunk.” Maybe some other time, she thought to herself. She certainly wasn’t opposed to the male anatomy, by any means, but this was not how she envisioned an introduction to a very naked Ryan Powell. It certainly wasn’t something she wanted embedded in her memory.
Fortunately, she found he had on black boxer briefs under his tight jeans. Getting the jeans down his tan, muscular legs was not easy. When she was finally able to work them down both legs his feet popped out unexpectedly, and she fell backward, landing on her ass on the floor.
“Shit, that hurt. Damn it, Cash! You never said a word about this being in my job description.” She rubbed the back of her head where it hit the sink on her way down, wondering if her boss ever had to do this sort of thing with the guys.
“Peri, wha the ell you doin, honey? My clothes are gone. If I ’ad known you’d wanna play t’nigh, I woulda come ‘ome sooner.” His slurred speech made him hard to understand, but she managed to catch most of it.
She popped up off the floor and looked down at him, ready to read him the riot act for faking unconsciousness and making her do all the work to get him undressed, but quickly realized he still wasn’t coherent. So instead of giving him a ration of shit, she closed the shower curtain, reached back in and quickly turned the knob, releasing a full blast of ice cold water, which got his attention.
“Damn it! Wha the fu are ya doin?” She could hear him sputtering under the spray as it hit him directly in the face and down the front of his bare chest. It didn’t take him long to st
art moving around. “That’s fuckin’ cold water.”
“Oh good, you’re awake. Adjust it yourself if you want warm. Use soap. You stink like barf and whiskey. I’ll have a toothbrush on the counter for you.” She found his room key in his jeans and ran to get his suitcase then back she ran back as fast as she could go, not wanting to leave him for long.
When she opened her bathroom door to check on him, he was still in the shower. “Are you alright in there?”
“Yeah. Why? Wanna join me?” She heard him let out a sexy little chuckle as he said it, but he was obviously still drunk. Hmmm, Ryan the playful drunk.
“No thanks, I’ll just leave your clothes here for you.”
She pulled the door partially closed and went back to her bed lying down to wait. When the water finally shut off, she closed her eyes for a moment, expecting he would be right out. She would make sure he got back to his room and then get some sleep.
She opened her eyes to bright sunlight shining on her face. The light didn’t surprise her, but a naked man wrapped around her from behind, snoring lightly in her ear certainly did. Peri lifted the covers slowly, eyeing his arm sticking out of the bottom of her tank top. Her nipple immediately puckered when she realized his hand loosely clamped around her breast. Without looking any further, the colorful tats on his arm were all she needed to see to identify it was Ryan Powell in her bed with his hand in her top. All the guys had an Assured Distraction tattoo on their forearms. He had added to the blank skin over the past year, and since she loved tattoos and was a collector herself, she knew his ink.
Not wanting to wake him, she slowly tried to slide out from under his arm, but he pulled her back against his warm naked body and rock hard cock. “Don’t leave yet, babe. It’s too early to get up. You smell good enough to eat.” He nuzzled against her ear and ground his morning wood against her crease as he rubbed his rough, callused fingers over her nipple causing it to tighten further. Peri almost squeaked when he began plumping her breast in his hand and lightly pinching the distended flesh, he mumbled, “Mmmm... you wake up thinking about me, too?”
Peri didn’t move, afraid of what he would do next. She wouldn’t be happy if someone caught them in this position. She knew it was wrong and who he was thinking of, but damn it did feel so nice to have a warm and ready man wrapped around her body. But what she needed him to do was go back to a deep sleep. If he tried anything else, she would have to put a stop to it. She stayed completely still, hoping he would just fall back asleep and release his very intimate grip on her body.
Once his breathing evened out, and his hand went slack against her breast, she slid forward on the mattress as slowly as she possibly could move. This time, she was able to slip easily out of his arms. She grabbed her suitcase and his room key and went down to his room to shower and dress. The last thing she wanted him to do was to wake up and find her naked in the shower.
Peri went looking for coffee after dressing for the day and found her way to the hotel restaurant. She needed to check-in with Ryder’s new manager, to make sure everything was set for the show that night. Luckily, Ryder was sitting at a table looking at his iPad, enjoying the delicious drink of the morning gods.
“Good morning, Mr. Steel.” Peri extended her hand for a business-like shake.
“Good morning to you, Miss Peri. And it’s Ryder, please.” Damn, this guy was every bit the rock god up-close as he is on the stage, Peri thought to herself. No wonder women found him so hot that he set off frenzies of screaming women when he walked on stage. No wonder I can’t seem to stop myself from staring at him, she realized as she was still shaking his hand long after was strictly necessary, and let it go.
“Hope everyone made a good trip over?” And his voice, so smooth and alluring. I don’t care that he is older this man is still seriously hot. I, I hope I didn’t just say that out loud!
“Yes, we had a great day sightseeing yesterday trying to stay awake as long as possible. Most of them made it until after seven. They were exhausted, but I think it will be a good day for them today. Have you seen your daughter and KeeMac yet?”
“Only briefly. She and Keeton were headed out the door as we arrived here yesterday. That must have been when they were headed out to join the rest of the band?”
“Yes, we all met for lunch and then continued a tour around the city. We did a private van tour and got to see all the sights: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The Tower Bridge, you know, all the typical touristy things. We had a great day. Chandler’s been here before, but none of the rest of us have. I think she enjoyed sharing them with KeeMac.”
“Yeah, I suppose I have her adoptive parents to thank for that. If nothing else, they did see she traveled and was well-educated,” Ryder said with a thoughtful tone. Peri knew he was sad that he missed Chandler’s entire life, her teenaged birthmother’s pregnancy hidden from him when he was only eighteen years old himself, and then at her adoption his identity was kept from the adoption records by the late Senator and his wife. It was obviously still a touchy topic for him, so Peri steered the conversation in another direction.
“Have you played at tonight’s venue before?”
“Yeah, a couple of times. It’s huge, makes you feel like you have little contact with the crowd. I fucking hate it, but it allows more fans to attend, so they’re happy. We sell more tickets, so the label is happy. Give me a smoky bar with a hundred people in it and I am one satisfied musician. That would probably start a riot.” He smiled at the idea, but Peri knew it was true. She liked the smaller venues, too.
Chandler and KeeMac came in, followed by Gunner and Carter, all no doubt lured in by the aroma of the fresh coffee brewing. The men of Assured Distraction were each a sight to see by themselves. Muscles held at bay under tight t-shirts were only upstaged by the ink on their skin. KeeMac’s long, blond locks framed his beautiful face and intense eyes. Carter and Gunner were just as sinfully hot as the front man, and they were no doubt a big part of why the females loved this band. With beautiful faces, muscled bodies, and voices like angels what was not to fangirl over? Add Chandler’s coal black hair and aqua eyes, what more could any audience want? Peri knew these guys were going to be well-received all over Europe.
Gunner spoke up, “We knocked on Ryan’s door but he didn’t answer. Did you ever manage to get him to his room?”
“No, he got sick, I dumped him in the tub, clothes and all.” That was all true enough, but Peri thought wiser than to tell them where she found him this morning.
“Hell, Peri. Did you check on him? He might have kept throwing up or turned the water on and drowned himself.”
“No, he’s fine. I spoke to him this morning. He was hungover and wanted to sleep a little longer, so I left him.”
“Good. Maybe he’ll wake up in a better mood than the sloppy mess he was when we dragged him into your room last night. All that moaning and crying over Krissy was too much to handle.” Carter smirked. “He spent every single minute in the bar bawling like a big tit in his beer. We were sick of him, and he sure as hell didn’t help when it came to picking up chicks.” The two fist-bumped each other in an uncharacteristically understated celebration of their first English conquests. God, save the Queen.
“Well, maybe we should talk about today’s game plan. Everyone needs to be ready to leave here at one o’clock local time for sound check. Has everyone changed their watches over?” She looked at each of them as they checked their time. “Then we’ll come back here until six. The limo will be waiting to take you back to the venue to dress and be ready to go on at eight.” They all murmured their assent. “I’ll send you all a text at 12:45, and then at 5:45. I expect you to be professional enough to be on time. Y’all only get this reminder.”
“Wow, look at you, Peri, being all business-like. Kicking ass and taking names…” Chandler noted with pride. “I like it! Maybe some of that will rub off on these guys by the end of the tour.”
That received a huge round of laughter from the band and even
from Ryder. “Yeah, if that works out for you, Peri, let me know,” he added, “Our manager tried for years and before we fired his ass. He never did quite manage it.”
The group caught an elevator to their floor and went to their rooms. They didn’t have much time to kill before Peri’s first reminder text would come through.
When Peri opened her door, she heard the shower going again. She couldn’t imagine why Ryan hadn’t gone back to his room. She sat down at the small café-style table and pulled out her phone to check email. The shower turned off, the door opened and out walked a very naked guitar player.
“Whoa! What the hell, Ryan? This is not your room! Put on some damn clothes, please.” Peri really couldn’t help but stare. She knew after getting a closer look last night that his sculpted body was to die for. His legs were long and lean, just a perfect amount of muscle tone. His abs were enticing, cut to perfection, and begging for a lick. His pecs beautifully painted in symmetrical tats. Before the view caused her an embarrassing drool problem, she made herself turn away but not before he spun around to give her a view of his perfect ass. My God, she thought, Did he have to have an ass that was made to sink heels into?
“Oh, shit! Sorry Peri. I didn’t know you were back. I left my clothes out here.” His voice sounded strange.
Finally joining her at the table, he stared at her before she looked up. “What?”
“Uh, why am I in your room and not my own?”
“It’s obviously not what you think, Ryan. Carter dumped you on my couch last night because you were making a nuisance of yourself at the bar. They were afraid you were going to need help, so he brought you here for me to babysit. When you started barfing, you made a huge mess all over your clothes, so I put you in the shower and sort of undressed you. When I turned on the cold water, you came alive some, and I left you there to get yourself cleaned up.”
“Yeah, but I woke up in your bed?”
She looked up and saw the sheepish look on his face knowing he had no idea what went on once he was dumped in her room. “Yeah, when I woke up, you were asleep on the other pillow in that king-sized bed. Nothing happened. You were asleep so I left you there. No harm, no foul.” She would never tell him what he’d actually been doing when she woke with his hands on her. As far as she was concerned, no one would ever know.
