***
James and a few other guys arrived shortly afterward. I stayed in the group with Anne, but made eye contact with him long enough to know that he had seen me. However, he made his way around the room, talking with some of the people at his house.
Now that we were here at his house, I could tell that many of the people here were obviously his employees or colleagues. He was shaking a lot of hands with some well-dressed people, obviously doing some networking and deal-making even as he was supposed to be having a good time and celebrating.
He took his time making his way over to us, but eventually he made his way over to Anne's little group. “I'm glad you found someone to hang out with over here,” he said.
Anne reached her arm around me and pulled me in, shoulder to shoulder. “Don't worry, Mr. Coleman, I'll make sure she has a good time tonight.”
“I'm sure you will, Ms. Dean,” he said. Then he just walked away to another group. My jaw dropped a little bit. I didn't even get a chance to say one word to him. No once-over, no nothing. He was really serious about not giving away any signs in public.
I stood there listen to them chat for as long as I could, maybe another twenty minutes, but eventually, I was just tired. I had just finished a long day of travel and, if James wasn't going to pay any attention to me, I didn't really want to just hang around. I said something polite about going to the bathroom, but instead I went off to my guest room to go lie down.
I didn't even bother taking off my clothes, just slipping my jacket and shoes off as I crawled into the bed. I put the blanket over my head, and closed my eyes.
I'm not even sure if I had fallen asleep yet when I heard a knock on the door. I figured it was James, or possibly Anne, so I called “Come in.”
The door opened, and the light flicked on. It was neither of them.
“I was wondering where you had wandered off to,” Ryan said, his voice dark and sensual, more so than it had ever been on stage. If he could get that bedroom voice into a recording studio, he'd make a million dollars.
I shifted uncomfortably in the bed, grateful that I still had all my clothes on. “Oh, hi there.” I didn't really want to talk to him anymore. He didn't seem to realize that, as he crossed over to the room and sat down on the bed.
“What are you doing? The party's just starting,” he said.
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.”