‘Let go of me right now, or I’ll scream.’ She barely managed to move the threat past her frozen throat.

With a sound of contempt, the guy shoved her away and stood, towering over her. Eyes narrowed, he made a point of slowly taking in every inch of her bared skin. ‘A bit of advice, babe: if you’re not willing to sell it, don’t advertise.’ He threw a final glare over his shoulder before he disappeared into the crowd.

Rachel pressed the heel of her hand against her chest, convinced her heart was trying to escape. She really wished she’d stayed home instead of listening to Anna. Which reminded her… she still had to find her friend if she was ever going to get out of this place.

She swiveled her head to the stairs. Was it her imagination, or had the distance increased since she’d last seen them? With an effort, and after two tries, she managed to push herself up from the couch, but as she forced her way through the throng of bodies and loud voices, she found herself turned around and in the kitchen. Since it wasn’t as crowded in here, she took a second to take a full breath that didn’t include inhaling copious amounts of cheap cologne and flowery perfume.

Exhaling slowly, she rested her head against the wall. She hadn’t been this miserable at the height of her cold. It didn’t make sense that two beers had made her feel this out of it. Hell, that rarely even gave her a good buzz. And standing here wasn’t getting her any closer to home, so she forced her feet to move.

Keeping her eyes on the open doorway and one hand on whatever it could find, she was halfway across the kitchen when a tall guy with a massive chest bumped into her, almost knocking her down as well as blocking her path.

Out of necessity she gripped his upper arms to avoid falling, a sense of déjà vu washing over her. She really hated this party. She tilted her head back and glared up at him.

He returned her glare with a leer, placed one hand against the wall beside her head, and leaned in. ‘Hoping for some action, babe?’ She would’ve rolled her eyes if she could’ve mustered the energy. ‘You’re blocking my way.’ She forced the words over her thick tongue and past her dry mouth as she tried to move around him. He stopped her by pressing up against her.

His hot breath washed over her cheek as he leaned down to whisper. ‘What’s the big hurry? Why don’t we go somewhere and’ – he winked – ‘get to know each other better?’ He trailed one finger up her neck.

A quiver started in her stomach and worked its way up, and once again she found herself trying to form words, but before she could, a very drunk couple groping each other knocked into his back, leaving just enough room for her to wriggle around him. As she made her escape, she heard him grunt and mutter, ‘You probably suck in the sack anyway.’