His Distraction (Assured Distraction Book 2) (12 page)

Ryan’s sexcapades at the next several tour stops rivaled anything Carter and Gunner had ever attempted. As they pulled into the parking lot of one of the nicer hotels in Paris, the group breathed a collective sigh, thrilled to get a few nights off the bus for a change. The consensus was that the close quarters they shared, especially with Carter, Gunner, and now Ryan, by bringing women on the bus with an increasingly competitive frequency, meant everyone was in everyone else’s business nightly. Peri and Chandler were still surprised at how aggressive the groupies could be, and at how the men treated them. These women would do anything they asked simply for the opportunity to say they had boned a rock star.

Paris
,
la ville de l’amour,
as the popular city motto reads, was a spot the band looked forward to spending time visiting. The single and coupled members of AD alike seemed determined to find out why the city had earned the title. After checking into the hotel, the group easily found their rooms. This stop was one Peri wanted to see the sights on, but she didn’t want to be the third wheel to Chandler and KeeMac. The others seemed determined to make a visit to the famous red light district in the 18
th
Arrondissement. Peri didn’t want to visit that particular area, but she was looking forward to other sights in the 18
th
. Moulin Rouge and taking the tram up the hill where all the artists worked outside in the district of Montmartre was an iconic location on her list of must-visits. The idea of sitting at one of the sidewalk cafés to enjoy the afternoon watching the artists and shoppers topped the list.

“So, guys, do you think I can tag along with you on the Metro?” She hated intruding on their day, but she didn’t want to try navigating around Paris alone on her first trip there.

Gunner wiggled his eyebrows. “Sure can, Peri. We would abso-fucking-lutely love to have you join us where we are going. I’m sure we can find you a hot French lover.” He used his own vulgar portrayal of a French accent to emphasize the last few words, which made his comment sound even more ridiculous and crude. “Oh God, that’s so fucking hot. Can I watch?”

“Eww, no! I am
not
going to the red light district with you. I want to go to the same area of the city to sight-see, and I don’t want to try to find my way there by myself.”

“Yeah, sure. Call it whatever you want, sweetheart. We’ll never tell.” Carter chimed in with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“Quit being disgusting, Carter. I swear, the two of you… I’m not going to hook-up with a stranger. My morals are a tad more refined than you man-whores.” She knew the only way to shut them down was to give-as-good-as-she-got of their teasing. “Unlike you three, I do want to take in the culture and see some of this beautiful City of Love. The artists have an entire district where they work and sell their paintings, and Moulin Rouge is there, too. I won’t get to go in, but I can get a picture of the front of it. Actually, I have my list of places I want to see today, so when we part ways, I’ll set out on my own to explore the rest of the district while you guys do… I-don’t-even-want-to-know.”

Ryan had been silently observing the exchange and gave the other two a questioning look, and knew they were all thinking the same thing. “Peri, you’ve never been here before, and even though we know Paris is a safe city to visit, you really shouldn’t be out on your own. Wouldn’t you feel a helluva lot better being with one of us than being alone all day?”

She could tell the guys didn’t want to give up their fun and games, but none of them seemed comfortable with her wandering around alone.

“No, no. I would never want to impose on your fun. I’m a big girl. I’m from L.A., remember? I’m great at taking care of myself, and I don’t mind exploring on my own. Go, have a good time, and I’ll see you all back at the hotel.” She tried to wave them off at the crossroads in the subway station.

Looking at Carter and Gunner, Ryan turned his back to Peri. “Hey, I’ll catch up with you pricks later. I’ll go sightseeing with Peri. Hell, I’ve never been in Paris, and she said she has all the sights lined up.”

“No, absolutely not, Ryan. I don’t want you to change your plans for me. Honestly, I’ve got this.” With the awkward exchanges they already experienced along the way, she didn’t know if she wanted to spend the day alone with Ryan. She felt the need to avoid any reoccurrence of the electricity that sparked between them when they were in close contact, and she was hesitant to find out if it was more than a fluke or something to explore further.

“Peri, hush. I’d love to see the Eiffel Tower and some of the historic places. Let’s do this.” He tipped his head to the other two and took her by the hand, pulling her toward the gate. “Which one of the trains do we need to catch?”

She walked double-time to keep up with his long legs, but she had the route already on her phone and knew where they needed to board.

All morning they had a great time together, making their way through the artsy neighborhoods, ticking off the points-of-interest on Peri’s list. By the time they reached the Eiffel Tower to the west, they were starving, so they grabbed a loaf of bread, a block of hard cheese, and a bottle of wine from a small café. They headed to the lawn with a view of the tower to relax and enjoy an impromptu picnic.

Tourists were everywhere taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful summer day, and the two laughed at people doing typical touristy things, like taking optical illusion pictures of them touching the top of the tower or trying to hold the tower in the palm of their hand. It was a perfect day in Peri’s mind.

They watched a group of tourists go by on Segway’s having fun on the machines. “Now that would be a great way to get around,” Ryan commented to her.

“I’ve read it’s a guy from Texas A&M that owns that company. Apparently, he hires a lot of students in the summer to come over here and be tour guides. We should have looked online at other visitor info before we got here. It would have been awesome to travel around on one of those fun things to see the sights.”

“Yeah.” Ryan looked at her for a moment. “Peri, I know I haven’t been much company so far on this trip, and I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I’ve been a pain in the ass. I especially wanted to say thank you, for your support. I never thought things would turn out like this for me.”

“You’ll be okay, Ryan. When we get back, she’ll come around.”

“Oh, hell no. I’m not going there again. I’ve seen her true colors now, and I want nothing to do with that. She couldn’t wait for me to get on the damn plane so she could dig in and take advantage of me, and now she’s preying on Hayden. The poor kid shouldn’t have to put up with her bullshit. He told me he had to lock his door to keep her out of his room at night so he can sleep. Does that sound like someone I need to be with? I mean, who the hell does that kind of shit?”

“I guess I didn’t realize it was that bad. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not. I’m just glad I found this out before things got any more serious between us. In my mind, before all this hit the fan, I was sure she was the one for me. But hell, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I can see that now. You know, I’m not really like Carter and Gunner. I’ve never been into this one-and-done kind of life as they are. These last few days have been alright, but it’s not something I want to keep up. If being with Krissy has taught me anything, it’s that I want to find someone for a forever-life.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone, Ryan. Just give yourself some time. You’re a rock star, with the sexy, fan-approved looks and body. Those women out there just don’t know what a catch you are yet.” She punched him lightly on the arm, wanting to make him feel a little better about his future without making it sounds like she was leading his campaign for bachelor-of-the-year. She’d meant everything said to him, but she didn’t know if she could go there with him. Yes, there was the chemistry, but she had a job to do. Being involved with one of the band members could lead to trouble.

“I don’t want those women. They are only into me for those reasons. I want someone who loves me, not my fame and looks.” He stood up looking at her. “Having this,” he indicated his overall look, “it’s important for the stage, but it doesn’t mean shit when it comes to having a real relationship.”

He took off toward the station they used to get there. Peri knew she said the wrong things to him, but she didn’t want to sound too personal when she was playing up all of his assets, so she stuck to the mostly superficial attributes. She knew his other qualities were a lot better recommendations than the surface ones she listed, and she felt bad that she’d upset him.

“Wait, Ryan. I didn’t mean it to sound like it did.” She ran to catch up with him, and grabbed his arm to halt his escape, and he responded, letting her swing him around to face her. “I know you are so much more than that. I saw you with Krissy. She’s a fool for letting someone like you get away.”

When she dropped her hand, he grabbed both of her upper arms and hauled her close to his body. “Do you know what I truly want, Peri?”

“Uh, well, I think I do.” She couldn’t form a clear thought with him that close, and his lips right in her line of sight, close enough to feel his breaths as he panted in thinly-veiled frustration.

He watched her for a moment, then let out a
humph
. “So, you think about it and when you decide, we will have that discussion.” She wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a promise, but it made her skin tingle. He released her, glancing around at the crowd of tourists everywhere. “Come on, there’s still a lot on your list I’m dying to see.” Taking her hand, he led her to the subway.

“Whoa, Ryan. I’m exhausted. We have to take a break, please.” The two had toured the Louvre, made a running trip around the Arc de Triumph, and walked through Notre Dame, stopping long enough to light a candle for deceased relatives, and then took pictures of the locks on the Pont des Arts Bridge. Peri wanted to see them before they took them down and it was scheduled to happen soon.

“Let’s get some coffee at one of these little cafés and do some people watching, first.”

“Outstanding idea. I’m worn out.” Thrilled they would be sitting, she looked for a spot.

They found a bistro table on the sidewalk outside the tiny café and shared a strawberry crepe, with strong Parisian coffee served in demitasse cups.

“Exactly what kind of coffee do they put in such a shitty little cup? I can drink this in one damn sip.”

“Yeah, you probably can, but you might want to sip it since it’s very strong.” Ryan took a sip as she suggested and his lips scrunched up. Peri laughed out loud so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. “I tried to tell you it’s really strong!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t say it was going to be strong like drinking motor oil.” He was still trying to swallow the taste from his mouth.

“Here, you big baby, eat some of this crepe. It will take away the strong flavor.” She scooped the delectable goodness of strawberries and a dollop of whipped crème and held it to his lips. He reached out, closing his mouth around the bite and slowly pulled across the tines of the fork as she held it between his closed lips. Peri couldn’t seem to watch anything but the way his lips were wrapped around the fork leaving a little dollop of crème on the corner of his mouth. Her first instinct was to reach over and lick the spot clean, but she forced herself to fight the urge.

“You have a little on your lips still.” She pointed to her own lips mirroring where he was wearing the sweet confection. When his tongue peeked out and caught the milky goodness, Peri sucked in a painfully sharp breath as her panties all but disintegrated at the sight the sexy-as-sin motion. “Uhhhmm.”