She clutched her chest. “They would never do that to me. They are my family.” She pointed down the hall. “Those boys are loyalty and integrity, but you don’t have the first clue what that means, do you, Hollywood?”
“Integrity was me leaving your room last night.”
Disbelief rolled off her tongue, and she shoved her keycard into her lock and flung open her door. Halfway through, she stopped to look back at me from over her shoulder. “No, Royce. Integrity would have been you never stepping through it in the first place. Integrity would have been you telling me who you were. Luckily, I know who that is now.”
“Yeah, and who is that?”
“You’re a sick bastard who is willing to do whatever it takes to get what you want. You are just like every other asshole who thinks they can reach out and take what they want of me. Steal parts I’m not willing to give. I’m not about to let that happen. The rest of the band might be blinded, but I can see right through you.”
Then she flung open her door the rest of the way and stormed inside. It slammed shut behind her. My eyes squeezed closed.
Anger and regret tied me in knots.
She was right on most accounts.
I was manipulative.
After one thing.
And I was positive she could see right through me. Right into me. God knew, she’d gotten under my skin.
But she was wrong on another.
This was going to happen.
Whatever the cost.SevenEmilyI frantically tossed the few things I’d hung in the closet into my suitcase. Fighting tears of anger and shame and disgust.
I couldn’t believe I’d let that asshole touch me.
God. What was wrong with me?
I wanted to scream.
Worst part? The second I’d seen him stroll through that door, arrogance rolling from him like a drug, wearing that stupid perfect suit that showed off that stupid gorgeous body and that stupid perfect face, I’d gone stupid.
Like an ignorant fool, wondering what it might be like for him to touch me again.
That was all of two seconds before reality had come stampeding in, and I caught up to what he’d done. The game he’d been playing. Sure of it. Praying at the same time it’d only been a coincidence, that he hadn’t realized who I was last night.
I shouldn’t have been such a fool to even have hoped.
He didn’t even deny it.
God, why did that piss me off, too?
Dizziness swirled, and my heart raced faster. A crazed frenzy was taking me over. I was losing it, I was sure, lost to waves of dark, perilous waters that rose higher and higher.
I’d been treading them for so long.
I knew it was only a matter of time before they finally took me under and I drowned.
Up front, the door banged open, and the telltale sounds of Mel letting herself in echoed through the room.
“Knock much?” I mumbled, unable to keep the irritation out of my voice.
She didn’t even notice. “Oh my god,” she squealed as she flew into my room and flung herself on top of my unmade bed.
Clearly, she was in best friend mode.
“It was him, wasn’t it?”
In shock, my eyes darted to her, a flush flashing across my skin, hating that I’d been so transparent. Jerking my attention back to my suitcase, my movements became more frenzied as I stuffed all my things into my bag. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
She hopped onto her knees, bouncing on them like a five-year-old and waving her hands in the air. “Oh, come on, Em. You think I wasn’t standing right there, watching it go down? You looked like you were gonna puke the second you saw him, and that man looked like he was about two seconds from taking you right there on the table, out in front of everyone. Two of you nearly set fire to the room.”
I tried not to get all hot and bothered at the thought.
That feeling there, so thick in the air that I’d been sure I was suffocating. I was content to fully blame it on my anger.
Mel’s eyes were wide with the scandal. “I can’t even believe it. I mean, he’s so not your type. The last kind of guy I thought you’d go after.”
“Nope, he’s not. Not at all,” I was all too quick to agree.
“I mean, you said he was hot, but that man is ungodly. Did you see those hands?” She threw back her head with a dreamy groan. “Can you imagine the size of his dick?”
I was halfway to stuffing a pair of shoes into my bag when she said it. With a gasp, I threw one at her. “What is wrong with you?”
Deflecting it like a pro, she rolled her eyes. “Like you weren’t thinking about it. Or do you already know? Oh, I bet you do. Give me all the dirty deets.” She edged forward on her knees like an eager puppy dog.