Riff looks at me and winks before he jumps out.
I roll my eyes. Of course he would love this.
I slide over to follow Riff, and Noel lays his hand on top of mine. “Stay by me in here. Shit like this gets crazy. Don’t accept drinks from anyone other than me or Mike. There are real assholes in there that would love to get in your pants.”
I raise my eyebrow. “They can’t be any worse than you.”
His mouth pulls into a tight line. “You have no idea.”
Inside the club, it appears like something out of a music video. Bodies writhe everywhere to the beat of the rock song echoing throughout the room. Strobe lights flash in every direction, and women wearing bikinis dance in cages. One next to me reaches through the bars and strokes my arm with her fingertips. Her touch catches me off guard and I instinctively jerk away. Noel chuckles beside me.
I narrow my eyes at him. “So not funny.”
His smile widens. “Get used to it, babe. When you’re with me, everyone’s going to want a piece of you.”
“Gross.”
He throws his arms around me and leans into my ear. “What’s it like to know you’re with the one guy in this room every woman wants to fuck?”
I shove him out of my ear. “Not every woman.”
I storm away from him. Even over the blaring music, I can hear his laugh behind me and I clench my fists tight. I don’t remember him being so stuck on himself.
I step up to the bar and order a beer.
“Trouble in paradise?” I glance over to find Riff beside me, leaning against the bar.
Great. I’m so not in the mood for another jackass.
I roll my eyes and take the beer from the smiling brunette woman behind the counter. “No trouble…and definitely no paradise. This is just a job for me.”
“Ah, the charity, right?” Riff’s brown eyes twinkle as he watches me. “How’s that going?”
I pick at the label on the bottle in my hand. “Pretty much non-existent at the moment. Noel keeps putting off hammering out the details about the literacy program. That’s the whole reason I’m here—to get the marketing off the ground.”
Riff nods. “He’s thinking ahead, I’ll give him that.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s going to string you along for as long as he can until he gets what he wants from you. The more information he gives you about the project the band has going on, the sooner you can leave and go back to New York. I know you two have some history, so you’re a challenge to him. That’s a game he hasn’t had to play for quite some time. He tends to always get what he wants.”
I shake my head. “Yeah, well, what he wants from me, he isn’t going to get.”
He smiles. “That’s good to know.” He nods toward the dance floor. “want to dance?”
I turn towards the sea of people and my eyes fixate on a couple practically molesting each other on the floor, right in plain view of everyone in the club. They grind their pelvises together, leaving little to the imagination of what a night in their bedroom would be like. How can people do that in public? I shake my head. “Um, no, thanks.”
He runs his fingers along my arm, and I tense. “Come on, Lanie. I won’t bite.”
I shake my head, and before I can answer, I’m being dragged away by the other arm. Noel’s eyes are hard when he looks back at Riff. The appearance of pure hate doesn’t seem to faze Riff, though. He simply lifts his beer in the air and gives Noel a small nod. Why do I feel like I’m in the middle of a childish game of tug-of-war?
I yank free of Noel’s grip. “What the hell?”
Noel’s expression darkens. “I told you to stay away from him.”
My arms fold over my chest. I’m ready for a fight. “I’m a big girl, Noel. I can talk to whomever I want.”
He turns away as he runs his hand through his hair. He opens his mouth like he wants to say something, then immediately closes it. I stare at him, waiting for his smart ass reply, but after a couple seconds, he turns back to me and holds out his hand. “Dance with me.”
I flinch. “What? Are you psycho? There’s medication for that, you know.”
Before I can think, he grabs me up into his arms against his chest. “Psycho…no…a little crazy…maybe.” He leans into my ear and says with a slight growl, “Dance with me.”
The words cause my stomach to clench. I know he’s trying to break me down. The minute I give into him and let him touch my body, it will want him. And I hate that he knows that.
I shove his chest, putting personal space between us again, and take a long drink from my beer. Dancing with him definitely crosses the line. “No.”
His brow furrows. “No?”
Noel obviously doesn’t hear that word very often. “I’m here on business, not to…” I gesture towards the crowd. “Let you grind all up on me.”
Before he can say another word, I walk away from him and take an empty seat at the end of the bar. Noel watches me for a second, like he’s debating whether to follow me or not, but I refuse to acknowledge his existence. Eventually, he gives up and heads toward the table the twins occupy. As soon as his ass hits the seat, a perky blonde plops down in his lap. He wraps his arm around her waist and takes a long pull from his beer bottle. She whispers in his ear and he nods and gives her that sexy-cocky grin I’m starting to hate.