There’s a flash of movement and a loud smack. It takes me a minute to realize that Ryan just flew off the couch and punched Luke in the face.
After a second of shock, Luke punches Ryan right back. I’m frozen to the couch as they trade punches before Nate and Beau are on their feet, pulling the guys apart. James stands in front of me and the other girls, providing a human shield.
“Luke, stop it!” Brinley yells.
“Ryan, enough,” Nate grunts, putting my stepbrother in a loose chokehold. “Are you good?”
For a moment, my stepbrother just glowers at Luke. Then he ducks his head. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”
Nate releases him. On the other side of the room, Beau does the same with Luke. Luke’s left eye area is already starting to swell. I’d be surprised if he didn’t have a black eye tomorrow.
“What the hell, man?” Luke demands. He straightens his shirt collar and brushes his hair back, stumbling a little as he tries to regain his dignity.
Ryan doesn’t even look at him. He strolls away from the group a few steps, his eyes fixed on the floor.
“Don’t worry,” James says quietly. “They always do this. Ryan and Luke get a little scrappy when they’ve been drinking. They’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Brinley grabs my arm with a shaking hand. “Whatwasthat?”
“I don’t know.” I grit my teeth, praying that nobody’s wondering why Ryan’s defending me all of a sudden. “He’s still drunk, maybe. Someone should probably get him to bed.”
“Maybe now’s a good time for all of us to call it,” Cat suggests. “I’m kind of tired after our flight.”
“Oh, come on, we can still hang out for a bit!” Beau smiles, but it looks brittle. “We haven’t played beer pong yet.”
“We’ve all had more than enough to drink,” Nate mutters.
I hope he’s right. If everyone’s drunk enough, maybe they’ll forget what Luke said to make Ryan punch him. In fact, we should probably get out of here before he does anything to make people even more suspicious about us.
“Maybe I should take Ryan downstairs now, so he and Luke don’t end up in the same elevator,” I tell Nate.
He nods. “Thanks, Pippa. Good idea.” I wrap my hand around Ryan’s wrist, and nobody gives us a second look as I drag him over to the elevator. Ryan’s hands are still clenched into tight fists. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long for the elevatorto arrive. I jam the button for our floor, whirling on Ryan the second the doors close.
“What were you thinking?” I demand.
He doesn’t answer. He just looks up at the corner of the elevator at the security camera.
“I know you’re sober by now, so what was that?” I push. “What, did you think you were protecting my honor or something? Luke didn’t say anything that offended me. He was actually quoting one of my own articles when he called me the city’s most eligible disaster. So what? Why did you sucker punch him?”
Still no answer. The elevator opens onto our apartment, and Ryan storms into the dark entryway. I roll my eyes. Typical. Instead of owning up to what he did, he’d rather act like a child.
“You owe me an apology!” I demand, following a few steps behind him. “You embarrassed me, Ryan. You think our friends aren’t going to wonder why you started a fight? Because I’m not going to defend you once they?—”
Ryan spins on his heel and grabs me around the waist. His long fingers dig into my lower back, his blunt fingernails catching on the fabric of my dress. He pulls me against him so tightly, it knocks the breath out of me.
“Shut up, Pippa,” he mutters, his eyes shining with something dark and terrifying. A shiver runs down my spine, and time seems to slow into long, crystalline seconds.
Then Ryan’s lips crash brutally against mine.
It knocks me so stupid, I have nothing left to say.
17
RYAN
I’ve been waiting all fucking night for this, to have Pippa’s soft lips pressed against mine. Her body stiffens with surprise, but I keep my hands tight on her waist, forcing her against me.
Jesus, she feels good.
