Cadence (Ruby Riot Book 1) (9 page)

“Sure you’re not.” I take his fingers from my cheek and he grips my hand.

“Tegan. If we weren’t in the middle of a crowded hallway, I’d finish what we started earlier,” he says softly. “Then you could see how interested I am in you.”

“Don’t, Jax,” I whisper; glancing around, aware we have an audience.

He drops his hand and steps back, biting on his lip. “Okay. Party?”

“I need to let Bryn know I’m leaving, in case he gets all guard dog on me.”

Jax grimaces. “Might give that a miss in case he gets all guard dog on
me
. See you upstairs?”

“Sure.”

Heart still thumping, I head back to the function room to let Bryn know I’m leaving. He isn’t around. I spot Liam chatting to a younger guy wearing a Blue Phoenix t-shirt, and touch him on the shoulder. “Liam? Did Bryn leave?”

Liam looks round. “Said he had some phone calls to make. He’ll be back in five, I think.”

“When he comes back tell him I’ve left.”

“Sure.” Disinterested he turns back to the guy and continues a conversation about guitars.

Eager to leave, I weave through the impressive number of bodies back to the door.

“Tegan!” Somebody with a Portuguese accent calls my name from behind and I look around.

Two of the advertising agency guys, from the group I spent time with at the club last night, stand near the bar. Most of the younger, casually dressed people have left for the party upstairs, so they stand out amongst the suits around. The guys beckon me over

The taller, dark-haired guy who I chatted with the most last night kisses my cheek as I reach them. “Great to see you again, Tegan.”

“Hey, Tomas. You scored an invite, then?” I ask.

“We’re sneaky.” He winks at me. “The agency directors were invited but weren’t available, so we stepped in. Not bad, huh?”

“Nice. Helena and Isabel not with you?” I ask, looking around for the rest of the group from yesterday.

“Nah. Haven’t seen them since last night. Don’t really know them that well.” The other guy whose name I’ve forgotten chuckles and says something in Portuguese. “Listen, me and Paul are clubbing again later. You want to come?” Tomas waves a hand. “We’d stay here, but I expected this party to be a bit more…
more
.”

“That’s why I’m leaving. There’s a real party going on upstairs, come if you want.”

“You sure?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s an ‘open to everybody who’s here’ type of party.”

Tomas nods and indicates a nearby group chatting over glasses of wine. “We have strict orders to hand agency cards out to some of the local companies and introduce ourselves.” He mocks a yawn. “Where’s the party? We’ll catch up.”

“Sixteenth floor. I’ll leave you to your fun.”

Tomas pulls a face and takes cards from his pocket; I head off to see if Jax has kept his word.

****

The normally peaceful sixteenth floor of the hotel is busier than the club last night, and makes the official bash downstairs look like a village tea party. I raise a brow as a skinny girl runs down the hallway, pursued by a shirtless guy, who catches his giggling prey around the waist. The girl turns and they proceed to kiss unashamedly, his hands up her shirt, hers at his crotch.

Wow.

Okay.

I met him earlier when he was hauling speakers around the stage; if that’s what groupies do with roadies, the Ruby Riot guys are in for a fun ride, in more ways than one.

The suite I walk into barely resembles mine although it should be identical. The furniture has been rearranged, the two sofas pushed together and a coffee table shoved to one side, now littered with empty bottles and glasses. A smoky haze and familiar sickly scent fills the air, giving the scene a dreamlike ambience. More than a dozen people fill the space, the laughter and voices more exuberant than the muted conversations downstairs.

Will and Nate hold court on the biggest sofa, surrounded by girls, one with platinum blonde hair who’s managed to lose her top. Possibly this is what the girl left the house wearing tonight, but the lacey, barely-there material looks like lingerie to me. Lucky Nate has the best view in the house as she’s on his lap, arms around his neck with her ample breasts close to his face. Will stares at the ceiling giggling at something, and a girl seated next to him looks perturbed at Will’s lack of attention, despite the fact she’s running her fingers across his chest.

Jax sits alone in an adjacent armchair, focused on his phone again. Does he do that as a sign to tell people to ‘stay away’? Girls hover on his periphery, including the girl from earlier who, although she’s chatting to a different guy, keeps glancing at Jax.

I sit on the sofa arm and when Jax looks up, his frown at the interruption turns to a smile. “Hey, stranger.”

“Drugs?” I ask Jax incredulously, indicating the people around.

“Just a bit of weed.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“You telling me you’ve never hung out with people who smoke pot?”

“I have, yeah, but not in an obvious place with a flashing neon sign saying ‘Rock stars in training, arrest us for drug use’.”

Jax laughs. “You’re funny, Tegan.”

“Have you been smoking?”

“Not tonight. I take it you don’t?”

“Not my thing.” I glance around. “Isn’t Riley here?”

“Nope. She stayed for five minutes and left. Shame, hey?”

“Why? What happened?”

Jax shrugs. “I dunno. Probably too exciting for her and she had to go for a lie down.”

“That’s not nice.”

Jax ignores me and grabs a half-empty bottle of vodka from the table. He takes and inspects a nearby glass for cleanliness before holding the glass out to me. “Want a drink?”

“No, I don’t drink a lot. I’m avoiding spirits.”

“Right.” He stands. “I’ll fetch you a beer instead.”

“It doesn’t matter, I -” Before the sentence is out Jax is gone. Another beer is not a good idea. I don’t want to move from relaxed to uninhibited. As Jax walks off, the girl who was sitting on him earlier follows.

“You’re right, quite the party.” I turn to see Tomas and Paul arrive and their faces unmistakably brighten as they look around the room at the girls. “Ruby Riot boys party better than Blue Phoenix, huh?”

“Looks that way,” I say.

Paul says something to Tomas in a low voice. He replies in Portuguese and Paul walks away. I’m willing to bet they didn’t come up here because they’re fans of the bands.

“Did you go to the concert?” I ask.

“Of course. And you? Although you’d be VIP because of your brother.” Tomas looks around. “He’s not here?”

“I’m not an extension of my brother.”

“You’re here to have fun, right? Lucky girl, you get to party with rock stars for six weeks.” Tomas rests against the wall and stretches his legs in front of him, bringing himself down to my height.

“I didn’t come for that. I wanted to travel more of Europe and explore the places we visit too.”

“Yes, I said I’d show you around Lisbon today, but you never called.” Tomas pouts and I laugh at him.

“You never gave me your number!”

“You wanted my number, Tegan?” he asks quietly.

Crap. “No, I meant if you’d wanted to be my tourist guide you’d need to… Doesn’t matter.”

Tomas rubs his mouth with the tips of his fingers. “I saw you with Jax Lewis before. Are you his girl? You weren’t with him last night.”

“No.”

“Surprises me. You’re a very beautiful girl. He’s a fool.”

I look down at my shoes. Great. Here we go. “I’m not looking to hook up with rock stars,” I lie. “Or anybody really.”
Not you. Take the hint.

Tomas appraises me a little too closely for my liking. “Ice queen, huh?”

“No, just choosy.”

Tomas smiles warmly, the skin crinkling around his eyes. “Sorry, I’m not hitting on you. I’m too honest sometimes.”

I indicate the room. “Plenty of girls here.” I’m sure this dark-haired, well-built guy has no problems charming whoever he wants.

“I’m choosy too.” He touches my arm. “Let me bring you a drink.”

“Somebody’s fetching one for me.”

“Oh? Who?”

I scan the room for Jax. He stands close to the bedroom door with a beer in his hand talking to a couple of girls, and I bristle. But what did I honestly expect?

“I think he forgot. Sure, I’ll have a beer.”

As I wait for Tomas to return, I attempt not to watch Jax, but he remains in place and my line of vision. Will joins him and a few minutes later the pair is surrounded by a loud group, and I can’t see Jax anymore. Even though I expected this, I’m pissed off and insulted.

“Tegan.” Tomas returns and pushes a beer into my hand.

“Thanks.” Distracted, I drink from the open bottle, eyes on Jax.

Chapter Eleven

JAX

The beer in my hand warms and I finally break away from the group, shrugging Will’s arm from my shoulders. I intended to go straight back to Tegan, but what can I say? People want to talk to me, and I can’t say no. These chicks want to do more than talk, but I’m determined to show Tegan who I want tonight. Yeah, things won’t go as far as I’d like, but it would be a start just to put my hands on her. From there, we can see how things go.

Tegan stands close to where I left her, but she’s with a guy.

The guy from the club last night.

What the fuck?
I was too wasted back then to know what happened – did Tegan hook up with him at the club?

I don’t like him. He’s close to her, too close, and he keeps touching Tegan as they talk. One of those guys, who are all smarmy smiles and perfect grooming, thinks he’s God’s gift. A little voice whispers ‘hypocrite’ but at least I don’t pretend to be refined. I’m crystal clear about what I want from girls; he probably has some great lines he uses instead.

When I approach, the guy steps closer to Tegan who’s resting against the wall next to him.
Really?
I hold the beer out to her. “Sorry I took so long.”

“I found her one instead,” says the guy and studies me.

Tegan refuses to take the bottle. “Busy were you?”

“Just chatting,” I say.

“Mmm.”

I expected her to be terser than this, but she’s less annoyed than I expected. Tegan rubs her head and frowns.

“We were talking,” says the guy.

“Really? Well, I’m back now. Tegan?” My gaze remains on his and he raises and eyebrow.

“Jesus, put the testosterone display away,” says Tegan with a sigh. “I just want to sit down. I don’t care who with.”

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“Yeah. Tired, I think. Busy couple of days.”

As Tegan heads to the nearby sofa, she stumbles over somebody’s feet.

“Cool chick,” says the guy. “Tegan said she wasn’t your girl though. Is she?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Don’t want to step on your toes, was going to have a go.”

I narrow my eyes at his attitude to Tegan. “Bad idea, mate. You seen the size of her brother?”

“Like I care! You’re all leaving tomorrow and we’ll both be onto the next girl, won’t we?”

Arsehole.
But he’s an uncomfortable mirror of myself and how I’ve treated chicks recently.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Tomas.”

“Well, Tomas, I suggest you keep your hands off Tegan.” If she could hear him, I doubt she’d want his hands on her anyway. “And don’t think she’s easy.”

He snorts. “Girls like her? They love guys like me. I can be very persuasive.” He tips his beer at me. “Tell Tegan I’ll see her later.”

The douche walks into the crowd where he bumps into another girl, his hand straight onto her ass to steady himself before he walks off again. Tegan will have the measure of him; he has no chance.

Although after spending time talking to other girls, I’m pretty sure I’ve blown mine too.

I join Tegan on the sofa and hold out the bottle. “Do you want this beer or not?”

Tegan passes me her empty beer bottle. “Not. I’ve had enough. Think I need to stop.”

I place the bottle on the floor and pull my legs onto the sofa so I’m facing Tegan. The volume in the room has risen, as the suite crowds with more people attempting to talk over the Ruby Riot tracks Will’s playing full volume.

“Didn’t think he was your type.”

“He’s not really,” she mumbles.

“What’s wrong?” I ask when she refuses to look at me.

She snorts. “You go to find me a drink and it takes you twenty minutes!”

“People wanted to talk to me!”

“Girls?” She slurs the ‘s’.

“I can’t help it if I’m irresistible to women,” I say hoping she sees I’m joking.

“Yeah, I know.” She leans closer and touches my nose with her finger. “Smoking hot Jaxon Lewis, everybody wants a piece of him.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. Especially with your shirt off.” With a giggle, she places her lips close to my ear. “I was going to kiss you before. In the hallway. Maybe I will now.”

I pull my head back. “This is a bit of a change in attitude.”

“Like you’re complaining…” Tegan shuffles closer and places a hand on my leg. “Don’t you want to kiss me?”

I catch Tegan’s hand as it slides up my leg. This is wrong. There’s something not right here. Half an hour ago she was lucid and snarky. Now she’s slurring and throwing herself at me. “How much have you had to drink, Tegan?”

She holds her hand out and counts fingers with a furrowed brow. “Three. I think. Yeah, three. Why? Do I have to be drunk to want to kiss you?”

Tegan smiles up at me, and my smugness that she’s changed her mind disappears. Her pupils are huge.

“Did you take something as well?” I ask her.

“No! I don’t do drugs! I’m just a bit drunk, that’s all.”

I look around the room and Tomas is watching us. When he notices me, he looks away swiftly.

No way.

“Tegan?” She rests her head against my shoulder and I shake her. “Tegan!”

“Mmm?” She rubs her face into my shirt. “You smell good. I bet you taste good too.”

“Where did you get the drinks you had tonight?”

“Downstairs at the ‘Help the Aged’ party.” She waves a hand and suppresses a laugh, face remaining against my chest.

“That’s all?”

“Yeah. And Tomas brought me one when you were busy hitting on that girl.”

“I wasn’t hitting on any girl!” I retort.

“Whatever.”

An argument over this is not my concern right now. “Wait there.” Tegan falls to the side when I stand, head lolling on the arm of the sofa. The girl sitting nearby sniggers at her. I push hair from Tegan’s face and look down. I’m no expert but I’m willing to bet this is more than three beers. Her drink’s been spiked and I’m pretty damn sure I know who by.

Keeping an eye on Tomas, I grab Nate by the arm. “I need to go and find Bryn. Watch Tegan for me.”

Nate sways slightly as he looks round, arm firmly around the waist of his chick from last night. “Bryn? Tegan?”

“I think she’s high, or something. I’m worried about her.”

He waves a hand dismissively. “Loads of people are high. Tell Bryn and he’ll lose his shit. Or worse, he’ll tell Jem.”

“No, this is different.” Nate looks back round to his girl and I grab his shirt. “Nate! Just fucking do it! I’ll be five minutes.”

He groans and indicates the chick. “C’mon, man, if you’re so concerned, you look after Tegan.” I glower. “Fine, fine! I’ll watch her.” He looks over at Tegan. “I doubt she’s about to move far.”

“Make sure you do!” I spin round and look for Tomas but he’s disappeared. Yeah, I bet he has.

****

TEGAN

I open my eyes and focus on the ceiling; the world swims above. Scrambling to catch up with where I am, I turn my head. A swathe of people surrounds me; and as I sit, the room tips sideways. My leaden body refuses to move.

Whoa
. I place my elbows on my knees and hold my head in my hands, willing the world upright again. Where the hell am I?

A party.

The world blurs into a smear of colour. Is Jax here? Did I kiss him? I wanted to kiss him.

Shit, Tegan. Get back to your room before things go really badly.

Summoning up strength into my jelly legs, I heave myself upright and focus hard on the doorway.
Key card. Phone
. I grope in my back pocket and pull out the card, clutching it.

“Tegan?”

I blink up at Nate’s blurred face. Or Will. I don’t know. “Oh, hey.”

“Jax asked me to watch you.”

“Oh-really-did-he?” I slur back. “I’m going.”

“Where?”

“Room. Feel sick.” I wave the keycard at him.

“You need some help?”

“No, s’okay. Not far.”

I stumble away bumping into people and throwing apologies. Outside, the hallway stretches in either direction; and though I know which way I’m going, all the beige coloured doors look the same and I can’t read the numbers above them.

Left. My door is on the left. I follow the maroon and yellow carpet, the spotted pattern dancing around as I stumble along. This is why I don’t drink. I trip over one of the spots on the carpet.

“Hey.” A strong pair of arms catches me around the waist and pulls me upright. “You all right?”

I squint at the blurry face at a guy I recognise. The guy from last night. Tomas? Was talking to him earlier. “Um.”

“Need help?”

“S’okay.”

Tomas takes my keycard. “What’s your room number?”

“1671.”
I think.

“Come on, I’ll help you back to your room.”

“It’s near here.”

“Yeah.”

The remaining energy in my legs dissipates and I slump forward. “Shit.”

“Funny girl.” He hauls me upright again and I watch the carpet sweep past my feet as we head along the hallway. A door beeps and, with a click, opens. Suddenly, I’m dropped on the floor. I land with an ‘oof’ but it feels good to relax.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” yells a voice.

I twist my head. Jax is in the doorway, face to face with the guy who was helping me. Jax looks over, I can’t make out his expression as the world blurs again.

A sound of something being slammed against a wall is followed by shouting and swearing. God, are they fighting over me? I push onto my hands and knees and start to crawl towards the bedroom.
Pathetic.
Not like I’m up for anything with either of them in this state.

Attempting to piece together the evening, I close my eyes.

****

JAX

Halfway down in the elevator, I changed my mind and slammed my hand on the silver buttons, to return to the 16
th
floor. What was I thinking? I can’t leave Tegan on her own. Maybe at this point I should’ve gone straight to security or looked for Bryn, but I panicked. If anything happens, it will be my fault because I knew – and I left her.

When I returned to the party, I couldn’t find Tegan - or Nate. Ready to inflict serious damage on Nate if I see him and with no idea where Tegan is, I stormed into the corridor.

Drunk, my confusion grew as I headed toward Tegan’s room, where I found Tomas dragging her inside. I’m not a violent person, drunk even less so because my co-ordination is fucked; but anger blinds me, and I grab him by the back of his designer shirt. Taken by surprise, he stumbles as I push him into the wall, asking him what the fuck he thinks he’s doing.

“Helping Tegan,” replies Tomas.

“Like hell you are! Get your fucking hands off her.”

“The girl is very drunk. I’m helping her.”

“Yeah, I bet you are. Get the fuck out of here before I call security on you,” I step back and attempt to disguise the fact I’m drunker than he is.

“What? You want me to leave so you can take over?” he asks with a sneer.

I look behind him where Tegan’s collapsed on the floor. “Did you give her something? She’s in no state to consent to anything! “

“Yeah? You sure about that. If it’s such a big deal, you have a go, be my guest, plenty more like her around.”

Fucking bastard.
A split-second later, my fist collides with Tomas’s face; he steps to one side, laughing at me. “That’s a pretty pathetic punch.” He wipes the blood from beneath his nose. “I’m going before I’m tempted to thump you back.”

I’m torn. Deal with him or help Tegan?

I shove Tomas out of the way and storm into the room, slamming the door behind. I have no proof about the drink spiking, but something’s off. At least he hasn’t assaulted her; if this is drugs, she needs help.

“Tegan,” I say softly and kneel on the floor next to her crumpled figure.

She opens her eyes and mumbles, “I shouldn’t feel like this.”

“I know. Let me help you up.”

Tegan’s eyes flutter closed again. Sliding my arms under her, I lift Tegan to her feet; but she can’t stand. Her head lolls against my shoulder and my anger grows. This beautiful, smart girl almost ended up assaulted by some dickhead, and it’s partly my fault.

Although Tegan is light, her heavy unconsciousness is obvious as I head toward the suite bedroom. When I place her on the plushly furnished bed, Tegan immediately sits and stares at me in confusion.

“Jax?”