The Ruby Riot Series: Box Set Part 9

Tegan wasn't around. I half-expected to see her there. What's the deal for tonight? Is this going further? Following our encounter in the hallway after Ruby Riot played, I'm a step closer to getting my hands on her. She certainly wants her hands on me, couldn't be more obvious if she tried. Yeah, Tegan was daring me to touch her; but now I know she wants me, she's lost her control of this. Tegan can't pretend anymore. I'll hold off the other girls if there's a chance with her, but if she's s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around with me...

The one thing putting me off going all out to lure her into my bed tonight is Bryn. I'll let Tegan do the work; if she wants me that much, I can't refuse her, can I?

Freshly showered in clean jeans and a black shirt, I wind my leather bracelets back around my wrists and grab my necklace with the smooth, round jade pendant. My older brother brought the necklace home from a trip to China, just before I left for London, and I wear the pendant in the superst.i.tious belief the jade brought me to the place I am now. I curl my hand around the stone as I head to the elevator and party.

Unable to lock down the hotel completely, the after party has been confined to a large function room on the tenth floor. I step out of the elevator to the immediate scrutiny of a guy who steps back and nods at me as soon as he sees who I am. This man is taller and broader than me by a big margin and, as a guy who used to be on the receiving end of p.i.s.sed-off bouncers at clubs, the switch in dynamic amuses me.

The function room is further along the wide, carpeted hallway; double doors open with music and voices spilling out. Between me and the entrance are a mix of bodies, some I recognise as tour management and crew, others clearly fans who've scored themselves an invite. The PR company wants to run compet.i.tions for people to win VIP and backstage pa.s.ses for every venue, a meet and greet with Ruby Riot. I managed to beat them down to two - one in London and the other in Berlin. No way am I spending every post-concert night being nice to some random chick when I could be doing my own thing.

At least the chicks here aren't screaming and pawing at me, probably figured out they won't stay long if they do. On the way past, I flash a smile to a small girl with wide eyes and flushed face, catching myself against checking her out too carefully. Encouraging one of these girls in my direction will ruin any chance with Tegan tonight. I can always come back to one of them later if Tegan isn't interested.

The stumbling block is already here. Bryn lounges on a sofa in the bustling room, one leg crossed over his knee as he watches the door. Our eyes meet across the crowded room, but there're no hearts and flowers here. Slowly, he looks over to the group by the bar, and back to me with an unspoken warning on his stern face.

Tegan stands at the bar, in the short black dress from last night; the one that clings to her toned figure, and stops halfway down her long legs. Her loose hair falls down her back; and my mind conjures an image of winding my hands around Tegan's hair, which swiftly progresses to s.e.x images. Jesus... Taller than the girl she's talking to, Tegan stands out; but to me, she could be the only chick in the room because I want to get my hands on her so f.u.c.king bad. Which is why I look away as quickly as I can and head over to Bryn, aware he's watching me.

Yeah, Bryn, look at me like I'm the guilty party; but your sister already came close to kissing me, and tonight has just started.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey, Jax, heard you played well tonight." Bryn drinks a gla.s.s of brown liquid and his less focused eyes suggest he's had a few of these.

"Cheers, man. You guys were f.u.c.king amazing too."

"Of course!" he says with a grin. "It's good to be back into all this."

He's alone, despite the groups around him which is odd because Bryn's normally happy to mingle. "Where's everybody else?" I ask.

Only Tegan is here. The twins and Ruby are missing, and I can't see any other Blue Phoenix guys around.

"They'll be here." He knocks back the contents of the gla.s.s and pulls a face. Bryn's face brightens and he lifts a hand to wave at someone behind me. "Ah, perfect timing!"

Liam appears and nods at us both. Bryn and Liam haven't bothered with anything outside of their t-shirts and jeans, looking no different to usual.

"Bring me another, man," says Bryn and proffers his gla.s.s at Liam.

"Want one?" Liam asks me.

"I'll stick to beer, thanks."

Bryn smirks. "Yeah, I hear you have issues if you hit the hard stuff."

This is weird. A room full of people who I wouldn't spend time with usually - business people, a lot middle-aged, and the media brought in for good measure. Small parties in hotel suites with a select few interest me more. Maybe one on one. Sighing, aware I have duties to perform, I excuse myself and head to a group standing with Steve.

TEGAN.

I arrived at the party with Bryn, but made it clear he's to back off. If I'm staying with the tour, I need to meet people outside of the two bands, become part of the scenery instead of in the spotlight. When I approached the bar, a girl a couple of years older than me gave a friendly smile and introduced herself as Riley. When she tells me she's a PR girl, her choice of attire makes sense. Most here are in casual clothes. Riley's short skirt and silk blouse border on professional, dressed down by informal jewellery and a couple of open b.u.t.tons.

Riley's confidence at meeting people matches mine and she soon regales me with tales of Tina and the iron fist she rules the PR company with. I'm intrigued to know what a PR girl does, keen on the idea of a future in the industry. Riley began her career as Tina's underling, and spent much of her time running around buying coffees, fielding phone calls and emails, and greeting clients. When Riley catches on to my interest in PR, she initially looks surprised, and informs me I'd need to start at the bottom as she did. Her amus.e.m.e.nt suggests she's caught onto my personality as quickly as everybody else has.

These days she runs her own accounts and has managed to worm her way into PR for Ruby Riot. At twenty-two, she's closer to the age of their fan base and more in touch with social media than her boss, whose knowledge comes from what she's fed by focus groups and reports she asks Riley to collate. I offer to help, keen to see what happens. I have a few ideas of my own; but after Tina shot me down, I've kept quiet. I get to know Riley better, I can find a way to become involved. Maybe even help out with tour PR.

"Are you here for the full tour?" I ask.

"One and off. I have to keep things running back at the London office and I'm not a fan of staying away for long. How about you?"

I smile. "Yes."

"Lucky!"

"Bryn promised me for years."

Riley pushes an escaped strand of hair from her face. "Are you a Ruby Riot fan too?"

"Kind of. More so since seeing them tonight." I'm not letting on how much. I swear it took my heart rate an hour to return to normal after Jax walked away, and images of him and me in the hallway have progressed beyond what actually happened. "So, yeah."

"They're tricky to deal with," Riley says in a low voice.

"Really? Worse than Blue Phoenix?"

"Oh, yeah. Ruby's the least co-operative person I've come across, and Jax isn't far behind. He won't listen to any attempt to push the Ruby Riot brand in the direction we want."

"Maybe he wants the band image to be how he imagines?" I understand that, I can't see any of the band allowing the media to manipulate them. However, the most successful people have their fame carefully orchestrated; Jax may not have a choice.

She shrugs. "Sure, but Jax and Ruby need to compromise. Jax's growing ego isn't helping."

I laugh at the frown creasing her brow. "Good luck with controlling that. I've already seen him action."

Riley runs a finger around the rim of her wine gla.s.s. "Has he hit on you yet?" I widen my eyes. "I guess he wouldn't because of Bryn. Sorry."

The skin on my neck p.r.i.c.kles. "Has he hit on you?"

"I'm female. He thinks any girl is fair game. I keep business and pleasure separate, and I don't like guys like Jax." She looks across the room, and I turn my head. Nate and Will cross the room to where Jax stands with Tina and what looks like local media. When I glance back at Riley, I realise she's looking at the twins.

"But you like the twins?" I ask.

"Who wouldn't? They're hilarious, great guys. But I guess you'd need a sense of humour to deal with Ruby and Jax on a daily basis."

"No, do you like them. One more than the other?" I tease.

Riley drinks and looks away from me. "Like I said. Business and pleasure."

"They seem into the groupies too," I remark as one of the twins turns and beckons a trio of wide-eyed, teen girls loitering in the doorway.

"Don't get tangled with anybody famous," she says with a laugh. "Believe me, rock stars, reality TV celebs and everything in between. Bad news."

I want to ask why she walked into an industry where she'd deal with them on a regular basis; but despite my interest in Riley's career, I don't want to be stuck here all night talking about her.

A tall guy touches Riley on the shoulder and she turns to him, briefly introduces us, before they launch into a conversation about work. Wrinkling my nose, I lean against the bar and watch proceedings around the room.

Bryn hangs with Liam, and stopped his supervision, thankfully. He's smiling for once, him and Liam joking around, and their voices growing louder. Weird seeing my big brother in his real life.

I absentmindedly watch Jax whose back is to me, appraising the fact he looks just as good from behind as the front. Nice a.s.s. I'm distracted from him when Dylan and Sky walk into the room. I haven't seen them around since I arrived yesterday, and it's a few years since I've seen Dylan. None of the guys seems to age well; but for some reason, the damage from their lifestyle gives them an edge I can see people find attractive. I reckon it would take a lot for Dylan to lose his looks, anyway. Dylan heads over to Bryn and Liam, and Sky to me.

I'm more nervous about meeting Sky than the others, even Ruby. As Dylan's wife, she must have something special to be able to cope with the fact he's the most scrutinised band member - and him. I'm worried she won't like me. I've no idea why. I don't usually care. Maybe because she's more central to the world, and I've heard she's as sharp-tongued as Ruby. My worries are blown away as she graces me with a warm smile.

"Are you Tegan?" Her voice is soft and her blue eyes friendly.

"Yes. Sky?"

She laughs. "You mean somebody doesn't recognise me?"

"True." I've seen this woman across the internet for months, her distinctive blonde, wavy hair used to cover her face on most of those occasions.

"How are you finding the rock star lifestyle?" she asks.

I glance around the room filling with bodies and noise. "This is like an office party, not very rock and roll."

"Give it time, the boring people will leave, and the party will start. Not that I'm staying around long, I'm just being dutiful. I'll leave Dylan to his fun."

"Don't you get jealous?" I blurt and wish I hadn't when the surprise registers on her face.

"Why would I be? We're married. Love and trust. He's not like they are anymore." She inclines her head to the Ruby Riot boys, where Jax now sits with Will and Nate - and girls.

Is tonight a parade of people saying don't burn yourself on a rock star?

"I didn't mean that. Sorry. I meant it must be annoying when girls approach him all the time."

"Less do now he's married, and Dylan has years of practice at put downs." She leans closer. "Plus, one scary look from me and they back off."

Sky is a good few inches shorter than I am and her pretty face is surely incapable of looking scary.

We share another smile. "Do you want a drink?" I ask.

"Orange juice. Thanks. Grab a beer for Dylan too; I'd better take him one."

Drinks are lined up on the bar; I pa.s.s Sky her juice and beer and take a bottle of my own before following her across the room to Bryn and Liam. I flop next to Bryn on the sofa and plant a kiss on his cheek. The smell of bourbon emanates from him.

Bryn wrinkles his nose and nods at Sky. Dylan slides a hand around Sky's waist and kisses her softly on the lips, and she places a hand on his cheek as she returns his kiss.

Liam holds his fingers in his mouth and makes a false retching sound.

"Don't rub it in," says Bryn to the couple. "He's missing his lady."

Liam swigs from his bottle. "Nah, just not into this public kissing s.h.i.t. Not in the middle of this circus anyway."

"Talking about public kissing, is Avery joining us for any tour dates?" Sky asks Bryn.

Bryn's muscles stiffen against my side and an awkward silence follows. Avery. I've seen pictures of the pair, too, over the last couple of weeks and have yet to quiz him about the new girl in his life. About time, he moved on from that stupid heiress.

"I doubt it," he says in a voice firm enough to indicate conversation over.

I glance at Sky who purses her lips as she studies Bryn. Dylan whispers something in her ear, and she looks away. I have my answer to why he's in a p.i.s.sy mood all the time. Avery and Bryn must be over.

"Where's Jem?" asks Dylan.

"Fashionably late, as always," says Bryn. "No idea. Back in the day, he'd be onto his second round of girls by now."

Liam laughs. "Yeah. All the Phoenix guys have thumbprints on their foreheads now, don't they?" He winks at Sky. "b.l.o.o.d.y women, ruining the band."

Bryn stands abruptly, and I fall sideways into the spot he vacates. "I need another drink."

As Bryn walks away, I debate whether to follow him. Dylan steps to one side to let Bryn past; and behind him, I catch sight of Jax, and the slender girl who climbs off his lap.

10.

JAX.

Sofia heads to the bar and my view of the rest of the room is no longer blocked. Several feet away, Tegan sits on a large sofa with Liam. I swear a flicker of 'what the f.u.c.k' crosses her face before she looks away again.

Great...

"Why did you have to invite the girls from last night?" I complain to Will.

"He did." Will points his bottle at Nate.

"Yeah, now Sofia thinks she's in with another chance," I say in a low voice. Sofia's friends remain, chattering in Portuguese as they drink, and I don't care if they can hear I'm insulting them.

Nate grins and plays with the hem of Lucia's short skirt. "You seemed keen last night."

"That was last night. I've moved on."

Seriously, I backed off Sofia last night, lost interest; even with a new invite, she shouldn't expect a piece of me.

"Heartbreaker!" says Will with a laugh.

"Oh. Right. And this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship is it?" I ask indicating Paula who rests against the edge of the sofa with her legs across Will's, texting.