Point Us to Paris

by Aimee Duffy

Smiling at hearing his voice again, she turned to lean against the balcony and look out over the river. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

  ‘You sound sloshed.’

  ‘Tipsy.’ She giggled again. She’d been doing a lot of that tonight. ‘Zack you won’t believe where we are. Elle got us an invite to a party and I’m on a loft balcony right now looking at the Seine. It’s beautiful.’

  It truly was. With the light of the moon and city shimmering over the black waves.

  He laughed. ‘So that last text was all talk?’

  ‘The what…?’ And then she remembered. She’d sexted him. Elle’s bloody cousin. Her face burned. ‘No, it wasn’t all talk. It’s true.’

  ‘As in, still true or true before you got an invite back to the party?’

  Did he sound jealous? She grinned and then looked over her shoulder to make sure no one had come out to hear what she was going to say next. Lowering her voice, she said, ‘Oh it’s still true. If you were here, I’d be on my knees right now, undoing your trousers and then licking you until you got hard.’

  Zack groaned deep in his throat. ‘I’m already hard, Ireland. You’re killing me.’

  She could imagine him (naked, of course), all aroused and waiting for her to make her next move. And she would, taking her time, exploring every line of muscle, every part of him she’d never had the chance to before.

  ‘It’s a shame you had to go back to London.’ She sighed. ‘I have so much energy, I could go all night.’

  He cursed, obviously as frustrated as her now. At least he could relieve himself easier than she could. She had the feeling Gem and Elle were here for the duration.

  ‘Ciara, what if I told you I wasn’t in London?’ he asked.

  Chapter Ten

  ‘I’d say, I hope you’re not kidding,’ she said, almost breathless.

  ‘I’m not.’

  He didn’t elaborate and her heart started to hammer. The fact that Zack was close when she thought he’d gone home made her giddier than all the champagne.

  ‘Why did you stay?’ she asked.

  He spoke slowly, like he was trying to phrase something carefully. ‘You were right. Paris is good inspiration for me and I can work from the hotel just as easily as I could back home.’

  ‘Oh.’ So it wasn’t because he felt the same way she did.

  Though she shouldn’t be so depressed by that. It was her that wanted the time limit in Miami before they got serious and she got bored. Elle might act like she hated Zack, but if Ciara screwed him over and broke his heart like her mum had broken her dad’s, her best friend would never forgive her.

  Ever.

  ‘Ciara?’ he asked.

  ‘Mmm?’ It was the best she could do without showing how upset she was. Surely this fixation she had with him would pass soon. After all, there was a gorgeous guy in the house flirting with her and she bet he was just like her, keeping ‘relationships’ short, fun and satisfying. Zack didn’t seem like that at all. Or maybe it was just the fact that she liked him more than she’d liked the other guys she’d dated. Of course that would make her wary.

  ‘We could extend the time limits. Technically, you’re still on holiday for another few weeks.’

  His suggestion was perfect, exactly what she wanted. Definitely more than she wanted to go back into that party and pretend she was into someone she wasn’t. But she had to make sure he was clear about things. ‘I don’t want a relationship, Zack. Just a bit of fun. Nothing too deep or emotional.’

  He sighed. ‘I know. I wish you’d tell me why.’

  Turning to lean against the balcony, she sighed too. ‘It’s complicated.’

  Zack chuckled. ‘You say that a lot you know.’

  ‘I do,’ she said with a grin, but then noticed something wasn’t right with the scene inside the house, or maybe it was a sixth sense kind of thing but the mood had shifted somehow. ‘Wait a sec.’

  Ducking her head inside, she met Gem’s eyes. Her friend looked freaked out, stuck in the middle of one of the woman and a guy. They were both feeling up Gem’s legs and leaning over her to snog the face off each other.

  ‘Oh god, I think we’ve walked into a crazy, French orgy,’ she told Zack.

  ‘What? Ciara, where are you? Is Elle okay?’

  She tried to spot Elle and when she did, realised her friend wasn’t that comfortable stuck between Pier and the other man. A woman knelt on the floor in front of Pier, unzipping his trousers as Elle was pawed by the bastard himself.

  ‘I don’t think they are.’ The pleading look Elle shot her way snapped her out of the ‘oh shit’s.

  ‘Can you pick us up?’ she asked, hurrying back into the loft. The sensual music sounded creepier now that she knew what mood it was setting.

  Lots of rustling on the other end of the phone. ‘I’m coming now. Tell me exactly where you are.’

  Ciara tried to give him directions, but she had no idea where she was and hadn’t paid much attention when she was in the limo. As Zack started to sound more and more frustrated, she made her way to Gem and said, ‘Something’s come up, we need to go. Now.’

  The French man grabbed her around the knee, then slid his hand a little too high. ‘Stay, beautiful Ciara. I will make sure you enjoy it.’

  ‘Put that bastard on the phone, now!’ Zack shouted in her ear.

  Oh god she couldn’t do that could she? What if they were mafia lords? They wouldn’t take Zack cursing them lightly. She had to play this cool and as calm as she could.

  ‘Sorry, but we have to go,’ she said, grabbing Gem’s hand.

  ‘Don’t apologise to the creep!’ The sound of an engine revving almost drowned out Zack’s angry shout.

  Gem untangled herself, then bolted for Elle. They apologised to Pier, even though he was in the middle of having a blow job that a porn star could never pull off.

  And, despite having half his dick in another woman’s mouth, when Elle rose he grabbed her arm. ‘Stay. I will take you first and make sure you are well seen to.’

  Zack’s response to that was a string of curses, but they were cut off by a beep. She looked at her phone, her eyes blurring as she realised the battery had died. Shit, shit, shit.

  ‘I’ll pass, Pier. This isn’t my scene,’ Elle said, but Ciara could tell that wasn’t an apology in her eyes, it was cold fear. Which is probably why she hadn’t dumped her glass of champagne over the guys before now.

  If Elle was scared, this had to be bad.

  Thinking on her feet, she lied. ‘My mother’s been in an accident, we have to go.’

  She took Elle’s arm and pulled, then they were clattering out of the loft and down the outside stairs. When Ciara got to the bottom, she felt a little slice of guilt for saying that about her ma, but it was all she could think of and it wasn’t like she even knew if the woman was alive anyway.

  Gem grabbed her arm and they scampered down the street, far away from Pier’s.

  ‘Elle, you need to call Zack. He’s on his way but I didn’t know where we were and my battery died.’ She looked behind her, just to make sure they weren’t being followed. The road was clear, thank god. But that didn’t mean they were out of trouble yet.

  Elle pulled her phone out with shaking hands, then dialled her cousin.

  ***

  About ten minutes after their escape, a fancy black town car pulled over at the side of the road. The driver lowered the window and when she saw Zack’s scowl, she could have cried with relief.

  Elle was struggling to stand straight and she and Gem had to hold her up. It was scary, watching her strongest friend go into some kind of shock. At least Gem seemed okay.

  ‘Elle, get in the front. You two in the back,’ he demanded.

  As she shuffled to the back of the car and climbed in, she wanted to weep for a different reason. He was mad, she could tell by the way his shoulders and jaw were rigid. But he still turned around and asked if they were okay. Both she and Gem nodded, then a black security screen rose up, separating t
hem from Elle and Zack.

  She turned to Gem and saw she was shaking. ‘Are you really okay?’

  ‘I’ve done stupid things before, Ciara. Gone home with men I didn’t know and risked so much, but up there was different. Those men were really charming in the club and even when we got back, then all of a sudden it was sex den time and I didn’t think they’d take no for an answer.’

  Shuffling over, she wrapped her arms around Gem and let her friend cry against her shoulder. ‘You’re grand now. Zack’s taking us home and you didn’t get hurt.’

  ‘It’s because of you. If you hadn’t come back and got us out, we’d have been used. Totally used.’ Gem sobbed.

  ‘Shh, it’s okay.’ She repeated that over and over again, hoping Elle wasn’t in the same state and Zack was giving her hell. After all, even Ciara didn’t think those men were into that stuff. Maybe they came across a little forward, but into orgys? She’d never have guessed.

  When they stopped again it was outside the Muir’s building. The front doors opened, but Gem was still shuddering and she didn’t want to push her away just yet. Zack opened the back door at Gem’s side and the anger melted from his expression.

  ‘Hey, Gem bear. You’re okay now. Come on, we’ll get you inside.’ Zack didn’t meet Ciara’s eyes as he lifted Gem out of the car and put her down on the pavement.

  ‘Thanks, Zack,’ Gem mumbled, then headed for the house.

  She climbed out and was greeted with his back. She shut the car door and stood there with her stomach in bits, waiting for him to acknowledge her.

  ‘Elle said she feels dizzy, but doesn’t remember drinking much,’ he said in a hard tone.

  ‘She didn’t.’ It was Ciara who’d devoured most of the champagne at the club. ‘Oh god, you think they drugged her?’ she asked, then hurried for the house.

  He caught her arm and turned her around so fast her head spun. ‘She only had a sip in the party, but that’s when she started to feel it come on so yes, I’d say they tried to drug her.’

  Her eyes watered as she turned back to the house. She tried to remember if Gem had finished her glass, but then remembered seeing it on the table with hers, pretty much untouched. ‘I don’t think Gem had any there.’

  ‘Good. Ciara, you said things to me you haven’t before. How much did you drink when you got there?’

  She turned back to him and saw he’d clenched his jaw. His free hand was fisted at his side. ‘Nothing, honestly. I stopped drinking at the club.’

  He seemed to relax, then pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her hair. ‘Thank fuck for that. Honestly, if Elle wasn’t so shook up I’d give her hell for dragging you all somewhere like that.’

  ‘She didn’t know,’ Ciara mumbled against his shoulder. ‘None of us did.’

  ‘Well, you’re all okay now. I guess that’s the main thing,’ he said, but sounded like Elle when she was trying not to be mad about something and failing horribly. He pulled away, then headed for the car.

  ‘Can’t you stay?’ she blurted, not wanting him to leave.

  ‘Make sure they’re okay and phone a doctor if Elle gets sick. She said she didn’t want one just now, but all bets are off if she even breathes wrong.’

  She nodded, but her brows pulled together wondering why he had to leave.

  Zack must have been down with the mind reading. ‘I can’t be near her right now, Ciara. I’ll come over tomorrow.’

  Before she could agree, or drop to her knees and beg him to stay, he was in the car with the dark windows and she couldn’t see his face. She watched him drive away until she couldn’t see the tail lights anymore, then turned back to the house. Coffee seemed like a good idea since she wasn’t going to sleep until she knew for sure Elle was fine.

  ***

  It was a long, long night and even the espresso she’d had at five this morning didn’t help much with the exhaustion. By nine, Elle and Gem were stirring in the bed they’d shared and she breathed a sigh of relief from the not-so-comfortable tub chair she’d perched on for the last eight hours.

  Elle frowned at her. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Making sure you don’t die a horrible death by drowning in your own vomit,’ she answered, trying to make light of a situation that was so not funny. But she’d decided she wasn’t going to make Elle feel bad. She’d looked terrified at Pier’s.

  Elle turned to see Gem next to her, then sat up and rubbed her head. ‘Was I that smashed last night? I can’t remember drinking much.’

  Ciara went cold all over. ‘Don’t you remember anything? The club, Pier’s?’

  ‘Pier’s? What do you…’ Elle’s eyes got wide and terrified again, like it was all crashing back to her.

  At least that was a good sign. She’d spent the night with her phone on charge, googling date rape drugs and others, and most of them wiped memories of the night before. Since Elle just had a sip, she hoped the drug hadn’t taken root.

  ‘I’m so, so sorry Ciara. Did Gem drink it?’ Elle asked.

  She shook her head. ‘She was more freaked out about what could have happened, but its fine. We’re fine.’

  Physically, anyway. One good thing might come out of this, at least. Elle and Gem might be more careful before they come up with the next crazy scheme.

  ‘Do you mind if I go to bed? I’m shattered.’ Now Elle seemed fine, she could keep an eye on Gem.

  Tears welled in Elle’s eyes and she climbed out of the bed, careful not to disturb Gem, then pulled Ciara into a choking hug. ‘You’re the best friend to us. We’re such fuck ups, getting you arrested – twice – and then dragging you into an orgy! Next time I have a bright idea that looks like it’s going to end in disaster, you need to pull me back. Remind me of last night.’

  ‘I will,’ she promised, hugging her friend tighter. ‘Just work on that stubborn streak so I have a chance.’

  ‘It’s a deal,’ Elle said, and Ciara yawned. ‘Go get some sleep. I’ll make sure lazy bones doesn’t drown in her vomit.’

  ‘Thanks Elle.’ She untangled herself from her friend’s hold, and yawned again.

  Doing a zombie shuffle across the room, she forced her eyes to stay open long enough to make it to her bedroom, and face plant onto the mattress. Her last thought was that she was glad she’d put her pyjamas on before she settled in to watch her friends, since she would never have been able to hang up the prettiest dress in the world right now.

  ***

  A high pitched shriek woke Ciara from her coma. She fumbled around on top of the sheets for her phone and saw it was just past two in the afternoon. Her head hurt so much she wanted to close her eyes and never open them again.

  But then came the shouting.

  ‘I don’t think you realise how serious this is, Elle.’

  Zack. Oh god, he was here and she was a mess. And he was laying into Elle.

  She jumped off the bed, running to the ensuite to make sure she didn’t look as awful as she felt, but Elle’s defence stopped her half way there.

  ‘I don’t think you realise it’s none of your business. If you hadn’t noticed, we’re fine. We could have gotten a taxi back last night, but since you were stalking Ciara’s every move, I called you because I knew if I didn’t, you’d lose your shit.’

  No, no, no, no, no. That wasn’t how she felt about the conversation. It was her who reached out to Zack first!

  ‘When are you ever going to grow up and act even a little bit responsibly? You could have all been raped!’

  She’d never heard Zack shout before. His anger was just as impressive – and terrifying – as Elle’s. And she couldn’t argue with his logic. They could have been raped.

  ‘Will you two keep it down, Ciara’s trying to sleep!’ Gem butted in, but she sounded nervous and Ciara remembered when she stopped her from getting in the middle of them in LA.

  ‘No point, he’s leaving anyway,’ Elle said. ‘You talk about me being responsible? Why don’t you go back to London and do the right thin
g. This stalking stuff is getting creepy and pathetic.’

  Bugger how she looked, she wasn’t having Elle make Zack feel bad for their fling, not when she was the one who’d asked for it. She bolted through to the living room, just in time to hear the front door slam shut.

  ‘Elle, why did you say that?’ she asked, horrified that he’d left thinking god knew what.

  Elle’s cheeks were red and she had fire back in her eyes. ‘Because it’s true. He has shit he needs to deal with back home, and you’re better off without him Ciara.’

  ‘Isn’t that for me to decide?’ she asked, her own temper paying a visit. ‘All he’s done is get us out of trouble. He doesn’t deserve to be abused for it.’

  Her friend’s anger seemed to melt and there was no mistaking the pity in her eyes. ‘This has gone past just a fling for you, hasn’t it?’

  Speechless, she looked to Gem for help but there was pity in her expression too. What the hell were they keeping from her? But then, if it wasn’t bad, like really, really bad, they’d have told her. Wouldn’t they?

  Ciara slumped down on one of the sofas, not caring at this second that she might put a dent in the precious looking silk cushions. She was exhausted again, both physically and emotionally.

  ‘I really like him, but I know what it is and so does he.’ It was all she had without worrying them that she was going to hurt him, or vice versa, since they seemed to feel sorry for her, not Zack.

  ‘And what is it?’ Elle asked in a softer voice.

  Feck, she was going to make her spell it out. ‘It’s just a bit of fun with the first man in ages that doesn’t make me feel like a slut for only wanting something short. He understands a lot that most people don’t, like why I have a hard time accepting gifts that cost an arm and a leg. Honestly, Elle. It’s not like I’m going to fall in love. I’d get bored by then, you know that.’

  Elle didn’t look convinced, neither did Gem. ‘And what if he does, Ciara? I might hate him right now, but you don’t. Could you hurt someone you cared about like that?’

  She could, it was in her genes. But she didn’t want to, and Elle knew that too.

  ‘I wouldn’t if I could help it, but if you both thought for one minute that Zack could fall in love with me, you both wouldn’t be looking like I’m the one who’s going to end up heartbroken, would you?’ She stared at them both and each of them lowered their eyes. ‘So if it’s me you’re worried about, don’t be. I’d rather spend time with him while I can and deal with the rest later.’