Page 20 of Unforgettable
Maybe the night was looking up. I came. I saw. But I didn’t conquer. That should make my father proud.
Stop worrying about Father Dearest. You’re here to have a good time. You told him you were going to parties. It’s not like you’re signing up to rush for Delta Sigma Pi.
I crossed one bare leg over the other, smoothing my hand down my frayed jean shorts. While most of the women in the room were dressed in what I called clubbing clothes, I wore jean shorts, a camisole beneath a low-cut, see-through blouse, and leather sandals strapped around my ankles.
The natives were beginning to get restless until a door squeaked and men’s voices peppered the air. Some girl in the back shouted, “In here.”
What I wouldn’t give to be in the last row at the moment.Easy in. Easy out.
“Up here, gentlemen.” Beverly’s voice boomed through the speakers.
I held in a laugh as I watched Ryker’s face twist in either disgust or a look that said, “no way am I getting up there with that woman.” Or maybe he was gawking at her voluptuous breasts.
“He doesn’t like her,” Vicki muttered.
“Don’t let him fool you,” I whispered. “He would probably screw a hole in a wall if he was desperate.”
“That man would never be desperate with all the women waiting in line,” a girl behind Vicki said.
I should tell her to mind her own business, but I couldn’t argue with her point. She was spot-on. Nevertheless, the six-foot-four, black-haired, gray-eyed quarterback strutted up to the podium in holey jeans that hung low on his hips and a well-ironed, buttoned-up white shirt stretched across his broad chest. His swagger exuded a sense of purpose.
He certainly owned his shit, and I found my body reacting in a way that was going to surely get me into trouble. I moved my foot back and forth, silently repeating,I want nothing to do with Ryker. I want nothing to do with Ryker.
Maybe if I kept reciting that over and over, my subconscious would kick in and make it happen. The problem was that I knew what was below his belt. I knew how he felt in my hand, and Father’s rules or not, I was doomed.
Ryker positioned himself next to Beverly, who had her hand on his bicep.
The urge to growl was strong. But he’d had her in his bed once, and I was sure he would again. After all, as my dad had said, she was Ryker’s type.
I switched my attention to Lucas and three other large men who stood next to him.
Lucas was dressed like his buddy, also wearing jeans and a button-up shirt. In fact, the other three men, who were equally buff as Lucas and their quarterback, wore similar outfits. I wondered if that was the football team’s uniform of the day when they were off the field.
When Lucas turned my direction, he winked at me.
I scrunched my nose. What was that for? Did he know something I didn’t?
Vicki leaned in. “Lucas just winked at me.”
Get over yourself, Haven. You’re not the only girl in the room.
I did a quick check of the other women behind me. All had dreamy smiles as they salivated for the big man at the podium.
“Ladies, how’s everyone doing?” Ryker’s voice came through raspy with a slight Southern drawl.
Yummy!
The girls squealed, and words flew around the room.
“Better when I come over to your place tonight,” one girl shouted.
“Are you into threesomes?” another asked.
I wanted to shout that he was. After all, I vaguely recalled him saying something along those lines.
Ryker grinned wide, and I realized he was stone-cold sober. Yet the night was super young.
“Now, now. My buddies and I are here to make our fundraising announcement, which I’m sure you’re going to go fucking crazy over.”
