I pulled my hair back from my face and tucked it behind my ear. “I thought James said the party was ending at ten.”
Ryan shrugged. “Yeah, the party here. The party at my place is going to go all night.”
I couldn't tell if he was actually having a party or if he was just inviting me to a party in his pants. Either way I didn't want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay here, with James. “I'm real tired, we'll have to party another night.”
“Come on,” he said. “Do you want to see my motorcycle?”
Of course he drove a motorcycle, I thought. “I'd love to see it. Some other time, though.”
He still wasn't listening. “Do you know what I like best about a girl riding on the back of my motorcycle?” I shook my head. “When they're pressed up against me, and the vibrations of the motorcycle go right up into their clit. Because, usually, when they get off, they're ready to get off, if you know what I mean.”
I was suddenly very nervous around him, and figured I just had to leave to get rid of him. “Oh, that's cool,” I said, pulling back the covers and sitting up.
As I stood, his hand shot out and grabbed me by my elbow. I gasped. He said in a much more threatening voice, “Don't you want to take a ride on my motorcycle?”
All I wanted to do was scream. I tried to pull away, but his hand held me super tight. I felt like all I could do was squeak. He was practically ready to drag me from the bed. Suddenly, I heard another voice. “What the fuck do you think you're doing?”
I looked at the door. James was there. Fury blazed from
his eyes. Ryan immediately let go of my arm. I rushed over to James, not caring that anyone could see us. I ran into his arms and buried myself into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me in a protective hug.
“I asked you a question, Ryan. What the fuck do you think you're doing?”
Ryan gave him a cocky smirk, similar to James' own, but definitely less confident. “Hey, man. I was just asking her if she wanted to go for a ride.”
“That's not what I saw,” James said. His voice was low. Dangerous.
Ryan stepped forward. “Hey, man-”
“Don't 'hey man' me, you dickhead. I thought I'd never see this again after Audrey, but somehow you've managed to surprise even me with your fuckup this time. This isn't just some groupie. This is my sister, do you hear me?”
Ryan stepped forward and gave him a mock salute. “Loud and clear, captain.”
James let go of me and was in his face in less than a second. “I don't think you're listening, asshole. I don't want to see you anywhere near Allie ever again. In fact, I don't want to even see you for the next few days. Get out of my home before I tear out your vocal cords.”
Ryan seemed genuinely scared for a moment, then nodded and quickly moved to the door. He didn't even look up to take one last look at me before making his way out of the apartment. I watched him slam the door to the now empty apartment. All of the other people had left.
I looked up at James, who was still obviously seething with anger. His whole body was tense. I came up behind him and wrapped my hands around him. That seemed to calm him down. “Thank you,” I said.
“No problem. You okay?” He barely waited for me to nod into his back. “Let's check and see if there are any stragglers here.”
Chapter 32
James went to the door and locked it, and then pushed the deadbolt into place. He was eerily silent as he looked around his apartment. He checked in every room, behind every curtain even. Every motion was sharp and angry.
I followed him around, growing increasingly uncomfortable. As he checked the last bathroom, I spoke up. “James, I-”
He turned and crossed the distance between us before I could say anything else. He had my face in his hands, crushing his lips against mine as he did so. I melted into him. At that moment, he was my lover, my protector, my hero, my stepbrother.
His lips crushed mine. Lips weren't enough. For a moment, I thought that we'd fall to the floor right there, making love without even bothering to go to a bedroom. Then, he broke from the kiss and looked at me with that cocky grin. “I can't seem to leave you alone for one minute without you getting into some kind of trouble.”
My jaw dropped. “You are such an asshole!” I exclaimed, swatting him in the chest harder than I had intended to. He winced slightly, but then grabbed my hands and held them to my sides. I couldn't hit him again, even if I had wanted to. He came in for another kiss, which I eagerly returned.
“I'm glad you're okay,” he said softly.
I gave a little happy moan, then went back to kissing him. He started to move toward the bedroom, and for a moment I kept moving with him. Something was bothering me in the back of my head, though.
“You mentioned something about a girl named Audrey?” I asked.