by Piper Shelly
“Oh please, do that.” He dropped onto my bed and found the photo books that still sat there.
I grabbed them before he could and shot him a warning glare. “Don’t touch anything.”
He quirked his brows, lifting his palms in surrender. “Nothing,” he promised. Then he added, “Apart from your diary and maybe your lacy underwear.”
God, I prayed I heard that wrong.
It took me twenty minutes to get ready to leave my room with Ryan—through the window.
This time he gripped my wrists in a tight lock and lowered me from the roof. He let me drop the remaining three feet, but that was okay. While he climbed down the tree Tony-style, I adjusted my snug-fit tee with the deep neckline. Dark blue jeans covered the bruises Tony’s new girlfriend had left on my shins.
Ryan led me to a dark metallic gray Audi something parked on the curb. I didn’t know much about cars, but enough to understand that his was custom-made. There was a lot less space between the low-slung car and the street. When I looked at its front with the strange headlights, only one word would come up to describe the appearance. Furious.
Damn, that car looked hot enough to melt ice.
“Nice car,” I offered.
“Thanks. You have your license?”
“Yeah, got it last summer.”
“Want to try her out?”
“Why?” I laughed.
“Fun. And distraction.” He shrugged, leaning an arm on the open door. “Unless you’re chicken?”
Grinning, I got into the driver’s seat. “How fast does she go?”
A smirk tugged on his mouth. “I promise you’ll never find out.” The keys jingled as he tossed them into my lap.
I first had to adjust the seat to my much smaller stature.
Ryan climbed in at the other side. “Think you can handle the manual?”
My dad was driving a stick-shift, so that wasn’t a problem for me. I grinned, started the engine, and reversed out of the lot. The steering wheel was smaller than ours and took a few moments to get used to. But then we were off, and I raced the baby down to the beach in record time.
“Is that all you can do?” Ryan teased with a look at the speedometer.
I considered telling him that I got a ticket for speeding not long ago. But then I decided, why should my first bit of fun be cut short after such a horrid day?
Since he assured me the car would stick to the asphalt, no matter how fast I went, I pushed down on the accelerator. It was amazing. The power, the speed, the purr of the engine. I laughed as I took a curve on a speed that would have carried my parents’ car off the road. Hunter’s Audi didn’t budge an inch.
“Have you ever been to Club Tuscany?”
I cut him the briefest sideways glance, concentrating on that small part of the road that was brightened by the headlights at this killer speed. “I’m sixteen for another few weeks. Of course not.”
“Ah, right.”
That he sounded surprised made me a little uncomfortable. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Since when?” I blurted out.
“Last month.”
Yeah, it would fit. Ryan was now a senior at High School. “But that’s still not old enough to go clubbing.”
“It is when your brother in law owns the club.” He smirked at me then pulled his ball cap lower down his forehead and scooted deeper into the seat. “Follow that road for another ten miles.”
I did, feeling the rush of adrenaline streaming through my system. Everything was so dangerous about him. And I happened to just enjoy that. Especially tonight.
A few minutes later, he gave me directions which road to take and where to park the car. I climbed out to stand face to face with a bald bouncer who blocked the entrance to a square building painted dark red. ‘Club Tuscany’ spelled in huge beaming letters across the second floor level.
“You need to wait till you turn twenty-one to get in, sweetness,” the burly man said. I backed off instantly.
Ryan came around the car, caught me, and with his arm draped around my shoulders he moved me forward again. “Hi Paul. She’s with me. Is Rachel in tonight?”
“Hey, Ryan. Didn’t know you were coming. Rachel won’t be in until later, but Philip’s here.”
“Cool.” He gave the bouncer a knuckle-pound then led me through the heavy, gray metal door Paul held open for us.
“Is Rachel your sister?” I whispered.
“Yeah. Philip is her husband. He’s cool. You will like him.”
Thumps of a stomping beat drifted to us, growing louder with each step we walked down the narrow aisle. I became hesitant, pulling on Ryan’s arm to stop him. “I don’t think I should be here. On second thought, you shouldn’t be here either.”
“You worry too much. I’m here most every weekend. Everyone knows me. And no one will bother,” he added as he dragged me with him.
Another door opened at his push. We entered a huge place tainted in blue light, brimming with people and smelling of dry smoke. Strobe-light on the dance floor created a robotic atmosphere as people jumped to the music and bodies ground against each other.
Ryan rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, then took my hand, and pulled me toward the bumping mass. “C’mon, let’s dance.”
Heck, I wasn’t a dancer. Protest was useless, because he wouldn’t hear me shout in this club unless I plastered myself against him and yelled in his ear. I followed. He didn’t stop until we stood in the middle of the dancing crowd.
My hand was captured in his, maybe because he knew I would have fled otherwise. Ryan moved closer, his free hand planted in the small of my back. “Loosen up, Matthews. You’re supposed to have fun.” He pressed his lips to my ear to speak. “Or at least look like you do.”
He gave me a soft push and made me twirl under his arm. Ryan did things so nonchalantly. The lightness of his demeanor, his unconcern, rubbed off on me at this moment. I laughed as he caught me again in an easy hug and swayed with me to the music. The dry smoke troubled my breathing a little, but this close to Ryan, all I smelled was him. And he smelled fantastic. Just like the other morning when I woke up next to him.
I didn’t know what brought him to my house tonight. Could be he just felt pity for me for what had happened with Tony, and as the captain of our team he made it his solitary duty to cheer me up. Or he simply liked me. Whichever, I was thankful he didn’t give up when I told him no in the text message. Because he was a wonderful lift for my mood. He made me forget. He made me smile.
And right now he made me a little nervous.
I felt this tingle in my stomach every time I was close to him. Especially as he twirled me around and caught my back against his chest. His hand splayed on my belly, he pushed me against him, performing a body wave with me.
I laughed out loud, maybe to cover my shyness. “What are you doing?” I shouted over my shoulder and found his face very close to mine.
“Distracting you.” He rolled again, and I felt each of his hard muscles grinding against my back. “Does it work?”
Unbelievably so. I didn’t reply but let Ryan move me. With all the dancing, my tee got a mess, and the hem traveled a few inches up. Half of Ryan’s hand lay on my naked stomach. It sent a shiver down my spine. One of the good ones.
As the song ended, he released me and shouted next to my ear. “Phil has just come in. Let’s say hello.”
I smoothed my clothes out on the way to the oblong bar. The music wasn’t as loud back there. Leaning over the metal top, Ryan introduced me to a man with shoulder long hair and black muscle shirt. He looked mid-thirty, maybe a bit younger. Phil set two cans of Coke in front of us.
After the hot dance with Ryan, this was more than welcome.
Perched on a bar stool, I listened while the two talked about Ryan’s last year in High School and the new soccer team. Phil asked me if I liked it.
I lied. “Yeah, it’s great. Love the training.”
The slanted
look from Ryan promised he didn’t buy one word of it.
“What?” I mouthed at him with a half smile.
He leaned in closer and brushed my hair behind my ear. “I still have the text where you say you’re done with soccer, Liza.”
The taunt in his voice as he said my name prickled my skin. I leaned back an inch so I could gaze at his face. “Did you really not know my name before I sent you that message?”
He laughed and shrugged one shoulder. “Why, Matthews? You were devoted to Mitchell. What would I care?”
From the way he averted his eyes for a second, and the sly grin that remained on his lips, I wasn’t sure if I should believe him.
“You’re such an ass, you know.” I shoved his shoulder, grinning at him.
The roguish gleam in his eyes captured me. “I’ve been told girls go for that.” He winked then drank from his Coke, but his gaze held mine all that time.
Heat rush to my cheeks, because, hands down, he was right. It was all too easy to fall for him. Not only because he looked illegally good in a white shirt, or because of his amazing smell. It was the attention he gave me that made me feel good around him. Special. Desired, even.
And for the weirdest moment, I wanted him to desire me.
Letting my gaze slide to a few kids who’d started singing karaoke on a small stage across the room, I hoped I could flush that idea with a long drink from my soda, deeming it a side effect of the pain Tony caused me today. I wanted to stay faithful to my love for him, even if he made it clear that he’d rather kiss the Barbie Clone than me. But with Hunter standing between my legs, his hand placed casually just above my right knee, it was no use denying the attraction. His charm had worked on me for days now, and it was different to anything I had experienced so far. Fresh, exciting, dangerous. Nothing compared to good old safe Tony.
I wouldn’t want them to switch places right now. And that was the scariest thought of all.
A tall, dark-haired beauty came up behind Ryan and dragged me out of my musing. She wrapped one arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Hi, little brother.”
“Hey, Rach.” He let her come around and introduced us.
As he called me Matthews and the friend of a friend, my heart sank. I reached out to shake Rachel’s hand. “My name is Liza.”
“Don’t mind him. The oaf was never comfortable with first names.” The tall girl laughed and shoved her brother playfully. “I’m lucky—I’m his sister.”
“That doesn’t mean a thing, Carter,” he teased her and popped another soda then clinked cans with Philip.
“So, the friend of a friend, huh?” Rachel’s tone was light but curious. “Where is that friend?”
“Not here.” Ryan grinned at her. It was hard to miss the certain glint of mischief in his eyes. The glint that didn’t fail to make me nervous again as his gaze met mine.
Rachel sighed with a roll of her eyes. “Just when will you grow up and settle for one?”
“He’s young, baby.” Phil leaned over the counter to kiss his wife. “He has time.”
“I know.” She pulled away and snorted as she cast her brother a grin. “I’m just waiting for the day that a girl sees through you…and decides to like you anyway.”
Ryan laughed. “Yep, me too.”
After hiding from his mom in his parents’ beach house yesterday, it was odd to see him banter with his family like that. Free, uncomplicated. Funny.
“That shouts for a drink.” Philip fetched two small glassed from behind the bar, placed one in front of himself and the other in front of Ryan, and started filling them with Tequila.
“You can have your drink with Rach. I’ll skip tonight.” Ryan shoved the glass toward his sister, his lips suddenly getting a little too tight.
“You pass? With that beautiful drinking partner?” Philip’s beam my way confused me. I didn’t intend to drink a teeny tiny drop of that shit, but he hadn’t given me a glass anyway, so what did he mean?
“I’m not having this drink with her.”
Okay, now Ryan’s implications hurt. He would drink with other girls, but not with me?
“Why? Is she shy?” Phil demanded.
“She’s too nice.”
“Ah, she’s a prude then.”
What bullcrap was that? “I’m not a prude! And I’m standing right beside you, so I would appreciate it if you told me what the hell you’re talking about.”
Ryan turned a sheepish grin on me. He brushed his knuckle across my cheek. “She’s decent,” he told Phil.
“Yeah, and decent is a shit word for niminy-piminy,” I muttered. “So why don’t you want to do with me whatever you use to do with others when you come here?” Somehow I felt that my hurt pride would land me in trouble. Still, I couldn’t let them get away with calling me a prude. After all I slipped out of my room twice for this guy while being grounded. And currently I sat on a barstool in a club that opened its doors only for people at age twenty-one and over.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Matthews.”
“Well, it won’t kill me to find out, right?” God, I should bite off my tongue.
“Okay,” Ryan drawled. “Remember, I gave you fair warning.”
CHAPTER
11
LIPS PRESSED TOGETHER, I gave Hunter a determined stare, but with his last words he had me practically wetting my pants.
Philip seemed pleased with the situation as he filled the two glasses; Ryan’s only half full on his sister’s demand. He placed one half of a lemon-slice on either glass.
Ryan grinned at me. “You still game?”
“I don’t have to drink this, do I?” Shit. My voice almost cracked with my rising unease.
“No, you don’t. That’s for me. You only assist with the lemon.”
Assist with the lemon…meant to do what? Feed it to him? Okay. I could do that. “Game on.”
Ryan cast me a smirk that made me wonder if I was in the right place at the right time. But it was too late to cop out. He took the lemon off the Tequila and clinked his glass to Philip’s. At the same time he held the slice out to me. “Bite.”
“What?”
“Bite,” he repeated.
He dragged the brim of his cap around to the back of his head then knocked the shot down. I leaned forward and bit into the fruit he held out, my eyes trained on his face. Yuck, the sour taste made me grimace. I pulled back. Ryan tossed the slice away and cupped my neck, yanking me toward him. Everything happened so fast, I couldn’t even lick the lemon juice from my lips.
But he did. And my heart stopped beating.
He traced my bottom lip with his tongue, catching the juice there, and gave it a gentle nip. His tongue then delved in between my parted lips and slid against mine with a sensual slowness that sent little electric shockwaves of pleasure to the very tips of my fingers and toes.
The taste of liquor and lemon stayed behind when he drew back a few inches. His hand still on my neck, he gazed at me with something close to an apology in his eyes. That and satisfaction.
Me? I probably looked like a cat that was thrown into cold water. Stunned to the point where no sound came over my lips.
“Thanks for your help with the lemon,” he said in a voice so low I had to lip-read him.
I breathed in slowly, but my heart was racing. “Uh-huh. Anytime.”
My bafflement and dropped open mouth fueled his amusement. Ryan cocked his head, close to letting go of the grin he bit down. Eventually, his hand slipped away from my neck and he turned to his brother in law but keeping me close to him.
Rachel caught my stunned face and offered me her compassion with a sheepish shrug. She skirted her brother and engaged me in a conversation that didn’t give me much time to breathe. Not quite what I wanted to do now when Hunter’s taste in my mouth was all I could think about. But that woman was insatiable. She wanted to know everything about me, even what I liked for breakfast.
“She’s the devil in disguise, hunting fo
r potential in-laws. Don’t let her make you sign anything,” Ryan said over my shoulder, and I caught the spark in his eyes as he reminded me of the marriage license his parents seemed to request from any female visitors to their beach house. I shuddered but laughed when Rachel slapped him on the shoulder for that remark.
“Let me save you from the Spanish inquisition.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me off the bar stool and giving me no chance to object. But then, everything was fine with me as long as I didn’t have to answer more questions. Or so I though until I realized where exactly Hunter was dragging me.
“You’re kidding, right?” I resisted against his pull and made him stop just in front of the stage.
He smirked over his shoulder. “Nope.”
My hands started to shake as he ushered me up the steps. He released me to talk to the guy behind the mixing desk. The song filling the bar stopped, the silence eerily frightening. I broke into a panic, sweat dotting my brow. Mouth dry and throat tight, I turned around and faced the crowd. The club suddenly appeared ten times bigger than when we had come in, with thousands more people…all staring at me.
Oh. My. God.
No way in hell was I going to sing in front of them all. Grabbing onto what remained of my sanity, my gaze darted to the stairs, and I started toward them. But Ryan’s arms caught me around the waist, and he dragged me to the microphone. Paralyzed, I couldn’t even fight him.
“You’re so going to pay for this,” I hissed, feeling the rattle of my bones.
He laughed into my ear, enjoying himself. “You can hate me later. Now, we sing.”
The music set off with a stomping beat. I recognized the melody immediately, slightly relieved I knew this remix of the old song by heart. A few seconds into the melody, Ryan blared into the mike, “Almost heaven…West Virginia…”
I—didn’t.
I just stood there poker stiff and gaped at him, not believing he really did this to me. I wanted to kick him, slap him, shout at him, and I was sure he read it all in my horrified face. But what did he do? Held the mike in front of my lips. I had no choice but to sing ‘Country Roads’ with him if I didn’t want to end up a complete idiot in front of the crowd. So…I sang.
