Ryder glanced back at his clique. Another shrug. “I’ll catch up with them later.”
I didn’t want to appear rude to a former client, so I nodded. Ray rolled her eyes. “Come on, Max.”
Sidestepping me, he walked off with my sister. I fought to shut off a creeping emptiness I shouldn’t feel. This wasn’t a date with Max. I was here becauseRayhad asked me. Ryder was a nice enough guy, but still, I couldn’t stop myself from searching the crowd near the entrance. Max was easy to spot, being so tall, his wide, leather-clad shoulders a dark contrast to his golden looks. A dark-haired guy came up to him, a knuckle-pound followed.
“Ready, doll?” Ryder asked.
No, I wasn’t.My stomach heaved, but I nodded. In a daze, I walked in with Ryder, was carded, and entered the noisy club where I lost sight of Max.
Strobe lights danced like colorful fireflies all over the jittering dancers we passed. The blaring music made talking impossible, but it didn’t stop Ryder. “No doubt they’ll finally see what a great asset I am instead of always signing on that idiot, Titus…” His words drifted to me. It was probably some modeling gig he talked of, one I had no interest in. He leaned in, his hot, liquor-laced breath grazing my neck. “Hey, we don’t have to sit with your friends. We’ll just find a nice cozy corner…”
Whatever Ryder thought was happening between us, wasn’t. I tuned him out. With the place choked with people, it was difficult to put even an inch between us.
We neared the lounge area adjacent to the crowded dance floor, the ear-splitting Goth music thankfully dropping a notch. I searched for Ray, but it wasn’t my sister or the others at the far end of the room who caught my attention. As if there were a direct link between us, Max looked up, wearing his patented inscrutable expression.
He stood on the other side of a table, talking to a big-sized guy. He shrugged off his leather jacket and dropped it on the chair next to him. Absently, he pushed the sleeves of his black Henley to his elbows, revealing his strong, inked forearms. Even though he appeared to listen to whatever the big guy said, his gaze shifted to Ryder, then back to me as we neared them.
I lowered to the chair beside Ray, wishing my stomach would stop feeling as if it wanted to escape me. The dark-haired guy I’d seen earlier appeared and said something to Max. Finally, he looked away, and I could breathe again.
“Ila, I got you a drink—well, Max did,” Ray said, pushing a tall glass toward me. “Ryder, your white wine spritzer.”
“Ray, sweetheart,” Ryder grimaced, sitting next to me, “I don’t do girlie drinks.” He summoned a passing waiter and gave his order.
“Oh, well. More for me.” Smirking, Ray sipped the spritzer.
She introduced us to the rest of the group as they took their seats. “That’s War,” she pointed to the big guy with deep blue eyes. “The hockeyplayer—and in everything else, too.” War snorted but grinned. The one she introduced as Jack stared at me with cool, ice-gray eyes. Both merely nodded at Ryder.
Max had said nothing during the intro, pulling at the label on his beer. He looked up when Ray introduced him, and his unreadable green eyes snared me.
Hey,” Ryder greeted, sliding his arm over my shoulder. At the sudden fury in Max’s gaze, my breath caught. I sat forward and wrapped my fingers around my glass. Ryder’s arm slid off me.
This evening was turning out all wrong. And then it just got worse.
A striking brunette hugged Jack then turned to Max. She touched his biceps, and when he glanced at her, and smiled, I felt like someone had hit me in the stomach. She leaned in and said something to him. He nodded, and without a backwards look, followed her.
The pain that followed made it hard to breathe.
You told Max there couldn’t be anything between you, my conscience slapped me upside the head. He was free to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted.
I grabbed my drink and gulped more, searching for a way to ease this ache.
Ryder finished his drink and leaned closer. “C’mon, doll. One dance before I leave.”
I nodded. As I pushed my way to the crowded dance floor, I refused to look for Max. With the place being packed and the laser light bouncing all over the jittering bodies, I couldn’t see much anyway. Besides, he was with someone else, wasn’t he?
I tried to find solace in the dark music, in dancing, but there was barely any space to move, dropping me deeper into despair.
When the song changed to some slow number, Ryder immediately drew me close, sliding his palms to my waist then down to my bottom. I pushed his hands away. He leaned closer, his hot, alcoholic breath making my stomach roil. “Let’s ditch this place, doll.”
I looked into his smiling dark eyes, and with his hands on me and bodies pressing us closer, the very air suffocated me. What was I doing here?
Running from my fears, from Max, I was now with a guy who thought I was ready for a quick bang. And Max was with some slanky.
Swallowing hard, I shook my head. I couldn’t continue this farce. “I’m sorry, Ryder. I can’t do this. I have to go.”
He stared at me for a second then shrugged and turned his attention to the skimpily-dressed blonde dancing near us.
I pushed through the packed bodies and came to a grinding halt near the edge of the dance floor. The blood drained from my head.
