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eyes. He had nothing but concern for me, this man. He was my best friend, almost like a brother to me. Well, I suppose he literally was like my own brother as he had been dating my sister for the past year. I was sure the two of them would end up married with a brood of young Ryans running around in the future. This was possibly what had angered me so much the first night I bumped into Emily. To see her sheer beauty, the way she just seemed to captivate my full attention instantly had thrown me. And she appeared to captivate Ryan too. The way he had smiled at her so warmly when she entered his office made me sure of it. When that smile was accompanied by his little speech of how he had been waiting for her, I had felt my stomach twist. With what, I wasn’t sure. I had thought of it as anger, but, in hindsight, I suppose even then it was jealousy. I saw the way he looked at her and it had rattled me, to say the least. After all, friend or not, I wouldn’t watch any man ogling another woman when my sister was in love with him. As soon as I had left the building and pushed the mysterious woman to the far corner of my mind, I had realised I was wrong. Ryan loved Natalie, I had no doubt there. I hadn’t meant to behave like such an arsehole, but, honestly, the very effect Emily had had on me from the second our bodies touched, had more than unsettled me. I couldn’t figure it out. I had never been caught off guard by a woman before and, that night, I didn’t like it.
    I wasn’t going to do this. If Emily didn’t want to talk to me about what had upset her then I wouldn’t let it bother me. I wouldn’t keep torturing myself over something when I had no idea what that something was. That wasn’t the way I did things. Women didn’t get into my head; they didn’t have the power to fuck with my emotions. Even though Emily was the one exception to this rule of mine, I wasn’t going to admit it. To myself, or to anyone else.
    “Nothing that won’t keep.” I shrugged as an intentionally cocky smile touched my lips.
    I knew in my heart that my predicament with Emily wouldn’t keep, or at least it shouldn’t, but my defensive barriers were up, and they were up high with a force. She wasn’t going to hurt me, I wouldn’t allow it. No woman had ever hurt me before – I’d never let one get close enough to even stand a chance - and I’d be damned if I was going to let one now. No, I would go for a much needed drink with my friend and I would deal with Emily later.
    “Where are we going?” Ryan asked as he pulled his seat belt across his perfectly pressed black suit, tugging at the bottom of his jacket in a desperate attempt not to crease its perfection.
    “What are you grinning at?” he asked as I watched him through the corner of my eye. I hadn’t realised I was grinning.
    “You, you ponce! Stop faffing with your bloody jacket and drive, would you?”
    “Piss off. You haven’t told me where we’re going!”
    “You know where.” My eyes dropped to my feet as my head hung in shame. I knew I shouldn’t be going there but, as usual I was feeling defensive. And how did I respond to a threat? I fought against it with everything I had. That was just my way. And I didn’t seem to give a fuck about who may get hurt along the way.
    Ryan’s eyes narrowed as he seemingly studied my expression. “What’s up? Why do you want to go there?” he asked, his shoulders slumping with a deflating sigh as he sank lower into his seat. It didn’t look as if he was keen on driving us to my chosen location.
    “Nothing’s up. I want a drink in privacy and I’ve got some paperwork I need to give to Lucy.”
    “Is that all? Really?”
    “Yes, that’s all,” I lied.
    Of course, I shouldn’t be going to Allure, but what was more, I certainly shouldn’t be insisting on Ryan’s company there. He was my sister’s boyfriend for fuck’s sake, what was I doing?
    Allure was another one of my clubs. Except this one wasn’t your