Sweet Perdition by Cynthia Rayne Page B

Ten
    Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth sped down the road. Her car automatically headed to Perdition like it had a mind of its own. She couldn’t explain it, but she needed to see Ryker’s face, talk to him. Homecoming party be damned.
    When she got to the bar, she found the parking lot empty, except for a one long row of motorcycles. She cut the engine and as she approached the entrance, she could hear muted rock music coming from inside. Highway to Hell by ACDC.
    She’d thought a biker party would be a bit more crowded? Maybe it was only for club members? A closed for business sign hung on the door, but she knocked on anyway, hoping one of the guys would recognize her and let her in.
    With any luck, he would be close to the door. She could have a quick word with him and be on her way. She didn’t want to come off as the insecure clingy girl who couldn’t spend the night away from her boyfriend.
    Woah. Not her boyfriend.
    They’d made that clear. He was… what? Her lover? Nope, that didn’t sound right either. Friend? No. She shrugged it off. Find him now. Analyze later.
    But instead of a brother letting her in, his mother opened the door. The older woman stood there, a hand on her hip. “Well, hello, honey. I thought I librarian could read a bit better. The sign says we’re closed.”
    She rolled her eyes. “You are closed to patrons, but I came to see Ryker. Is he here?”
    “He is,” she confirmed. However, she didn’t elaborate, nor did she issue an invitation to come in.
    Peering around Miss Edna, she could see the front portion of the bar was empty but she heard some raucous laughter echoing down the long hallway in the back. Distinctly male laughter, the dirty kind.
    Hmm. Ryker had been a bit vague about what a homecoming party entailed. Since she didn’t see any girls hanging around in the front, she could only assume they had gone in the back to party with the brothers. Damn. Now, she had something else to freak out about. The thought of him partying with those leather-clad skanky girls pissed her off, especially because he’d blown off a night spend with her to go.
    “Anything else I can help you with?” Ryker’s mother drawled.
    She could read the challenge in her eyes. Fine, she wouldn’t back down. “I need to see him.”
    Miss Edna raised a wicked brow. “You sure about that, honey?”
    “Very.”
    “Well, then come on in. Go down the hall. You’ll see a set of double doors at the end. We call it the pinball room.” She moved aside so Elizabeth could walk past her and then locked the door. Then, Miss Edna went back behind the bar and started wiping down the counter.
    She had a really bad feeling about this. With a clenched stomach, she walked down the hallway. The opening strains of AC DC’s Shook me all Night Long came from the room .
    She hesitated halfway down the hall. Maybe this was a bad idea? What if she saw something she regretted? He hadn’t made plans with her because he wanted a night with his brothers. Maybe she should walk right out of here.
    No.
    She had to know what was going on. She finally reached the door and with a trembling hand, pushed it open… to find a porn fantasy in progress.
    A group of nearly naked men were draped over large easy chairs, pinball machines, end tables, and pretty much everywhere else. Naked hellions crouched in front of them or bent over them handing out blowjobs like Halloween candy. Except for a couple, who were getting screwed over the arms of couches or sitting down on bikers’ laps, riding them.
    Ugh.
    Worst of all, Ryker danced on a small raised platform at the end of the room, two naked hellions on either side of him. They ground against one another in a sort of vertical threesome. Both slutty girls had bleached blond hair, big asses, and even larger bare breasts. He held a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and he’d taken off his shirt. Both his face and chest were smeared red with lipstick kisses.
    “Holy shit!” The words left