After I climbed out of the car, I spotted several people I’d known from high school. Air kissing acquaintances who’d made my life hell as soon as the story of my father’s business crash made the rounds. I’d heard some of them were vacationing out of state and hadn’t expected them to be here or I never would have come tonight.

I stopped and Ryan bumped into me from behind. What the hell was I doing here? I didn’t belong. Turning around, I gripped his forearms, panic from the remembered pain writhing in me like a group of snakes. “I shouldn’t have come.”

His gaze drifted past me to the group I’d stared at, then swung back to me. “If you want to leave, we’ll leave.”

I leaned into him, drawing strength from his strength. “But? I can hear it in your voice.”

“Don’t run from the hard things.” He smoothed back a lock of my hair.

I clenched my hands into fists. “They taped a picture of my face onto a porn star’s body and put it on a wall in the boys’ bathroom. They’d written my phone number and the words “will fuck for food” underneath it.” I closed my eyes. I’d never forgotten that day or the laughter and taunts that followed the rest of that year. I’d been leered at and groped but none of that was something I’d shared with Ryan. The humiliation factor had been too high for me to want to say anything about it to anyone so I’d buried it.

He framed my face with his hands, his voice gentle and insistent. “Look at me.”

I opened my eyes and met his gaze, trying to stop my lower lip from trembling. “What?”

“If you run, it gets easier to do it every time after that.” He lowered his hands and gripped the hem of his shirt, pulling it up around his neck. “Tell me the word you see.”

Under the street light, I studied the tattoo artwork that covered the top portion of his well-defined chest. In the middle of the artwork was a small black cross and above it was the word courage in black script with the last four letters larger so that it looked like couRAGE.

“What does it mean?”

“It means find the courage to rage against the bullshit, the things in life that try to beat you down. It means taking back what others take from you.”

I traced the cross with my fingernail. “And this?”

His eyes darkened, filling with pain. “In memory of a friend.”

“What about this?” I touched the wide burn scar on his side.

“Had a steam iron held against me.”

I gasped. “How old were you?”

“Nine.” He pulled his shirt down, effectively closing me out of his past at the same time. “Do we go or do we stay?”

Behind him, Cooper pulled up in his car and honked the horn. Zane and Ryker got out of the passenger side and walked toward us.

“We stay,” I said even though I wasn’t sure I should.

Ryan smiled at that as the guys came up behind him and slapped him on the back.

Ryker slid his gaze over me. He was tall, dressed in jeans and a plain white T-shirt. Down both arms, he had full sleeve tattoos that were kind of deranged looking. I didn’t know much about Ryker. Only that his father was serving a life sentence at Rikers Island which is how he got his name. Dark, primitive, and dangerous was the vibe I got from Ryker. I shifted a step closer to Ryan.

A smile creased Ryker’s lips but never reached his eyes. “I don’t bite, baby.

“At least not this girl,” Ryan said, the threat clear in his tone when he stared at Ryker. He put his hand across my shoulder, pulling me against him and we walked into the house. The people that I’d grown up with didn’t flaunt jaw-dropping tattoos or have a fuck-with-me-at-your-own-risk attitude, so the sight of Ryan and his friends caused the buzz of conversation to abruptly cease. The girls were practically slobbering at the delicious sight of all the muscles and edgy good looks. Do-me-please was written on some of their faces. The guys with the girls were staring, bristling like dogs protecting a bone.

“You’re here!” Shelby ran up to us and threw her arms around me in a hug as if she hadn’t seen me in months. She squeezed my shoulders and whispered, “Tristan’s girlfriend is on her way. Introduce me to Cooper.”

“Um...Cooper, guys, this is my friend Shelby.”

She smiled, already more than a few drinks in. Her gaze fixated on Cooper and she leaned toward him to show off her cleavage, making her interest obvious. “I’ll save you a dance.”

Because she was beautiful, guys usually fell all over themselves to get close to Shelby. Not Cooper. He muttered that he needed a drink as he walked off.

Shelby looked hurt. “What’s his problem?”

“Who cares what his problem is.” Zane caught her hand. “I’ll dance with you.” He winked at me as he led her away.

I wasn’t worried about Shelby hanging with Zane. Of all Ryan’s friends, he was the safest bet. I searched the room for Brooklyn and didn’t see her, but since she’d come to the party with Shelby, I knew she had to be here somewhere.

Ryan and I walked into the midst of the gyrating bodies and I walked into his arms, pressing myself against him. When I flattened my breasts against the wall of his chest, the heat was hot and fast and unmistakable as it spread through my body. Unable to help it, I rested my hands on the back of his neck and stroked the ends of his hair. Each time he shifted, his jeans rubbed against the bareness of my thigh and the friction had me swallowing hard.

He put his hands on my lower back, urging me closer and I got the memo that he was as affected by our bodies pressed together as I was. I moved so that I deliberately brushed against his erection and he dug his fingers into my hip. Images flooded my mind and I imagined being back at the garage with Ryan only this time, instead of stopping, we’d carried it through until the end with me splayed across the desk as Ryan drove into me. The fantasy made me breathe harder. I swallowed and looked away from him.

Tristan made his way over to us, his eyes bloodshot and his words slurred. “Hey man, I’m taking over.” He bumped Ryan with his elbow and reached for my hand.

“No, Tristan.” I tried to tug free of his grasp.

Before Tristan could pull me away, Ryan’s hand clamped onto Tristan’s wrist. His eyes darkened and his face hardened as he squeezed until his knuckles were white. “She said no.”

“What the hell?” Tristan pulled back his fist and aimed a punch at Ryan, barely missed hitting me and ended up swinging himself around with Ryan still holding onto his wrist. Ryan moved away from me and jerked Tristan up into his face. “Go sleep it off.”

Tristan’s lips curved into a sneer. “Don’t tell me this piece of ass is your girlfriend. I shouldn’t be surprised. She’ll screw any—”

Ryan’s fist connected with Tristan’s jaw and the momentum pushed Tristan backward right into Ryker. Tristan howled and surged forward but couldn’t move thanks to Ryker. With a hard hold on his shoulder, Ryker gave him a shake that jarred Tristan’s teeth together. “You want a new face, Ryan will be glad to fucking oblige but let’s take it outside so girls don’t get caught in the crossfire.”

Three of Tristan’s friends stepped toward Ryan but stopped when Zane and Cooper appeared out of the crowd to flank him. The guys held a staring contest for a minute, then Tristan’s friends held their hands up and backed off.

“This is going in a bad direction. It’s time we book it,” Brooklyn said. “I only had the beer at your house so I’m good to drive but I can’t find Shelby.”

In the distance, the sound of sirens wailed over the thumping music. Brooklyn smacked her forehead. “Great. A neighbor probably called in.”

Cooper herded us toward the door. “Leave before the cops arrive.’

The last thing I wanted was to get busted but I wasn’t leaving my friends. “I’m not going anywhere without Shelby.” I tried to go past Cooper to find her but Ryan stopped me.

“Outside, Tana. I’ll find Shelby.”