Bachelor Auction (7 page)

her husband was forcing her to leave early, but

Marcus blocked out Henry’s reply. He lowered his

head to catch the fullest part of Charlotte’s bottom

lip between his teeth and nibbled softly before

sucking it gently into his mouth. At the same time

he rolled her nipple between thumb and forefinger,

and her muffled cry filled the closet.

It was then he realized the McAfees had

departed, and with their coats, they had taken his

safety net. One kiss, he told himself as he removed

his hand from Charlotte’s breast and braced both

forearms against the wall behind her. One kiss

before he returned to sanity.

Even as he covered her mouth with his, tasted

her sweetness, and inhaled the heady scent of her

arousal, he wondered if one kiss would be enough to

last a lifetime. With that thought came the

knowledge it would have to be, and that he was a

fool to have embarked on this impossible journey.

Marcus broke their kiss and rested his forehead

against hers, trying to regain even breathing.

“They’re gone.”

“Hmm?”

“The McAfees. They’re gone.”

“Mmm. We should go, too.” Her husky voice

oozed over him like warm honey, and Marcus barely

suppressed a shudder. “I’ll follow you to your place.

Or will Chad mind?”

“No.” Chad probably wouldn’t return to the

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Darah Lace

condo they shared for hours. Even if he did they

respected each other’s privacy. But that wasn’t the

point. What was the point again?

“Do you want to follow me to my place?”

More than you’ll ever know
. “No.”

“If you rode here with Chad, I could take you

home later.” Her hands were everywhere, driving

him crazy. “Mmm, much later.”

His body jerked when her fingers brushed the

tip of his arousal on their way from around his waist

to his chest. God,
that
was definitely the point. He

lifted his head to put an end to this agony before he

changed his mind. “I have my own car.”

He watched her soft features—relaxed by their

loving—harden with comprehension. She pressed

the flat of her hand to his stomach as if to push him

away, which left him totally unprepared when, with

a swivel of her wrist, she palmed his cock. He didn’t

know who was more surprised, but by the widening

of her eyes, he’d guess she hadn’t expected to find

him hard and throbbing. And damn, was he

throbbing.

Charlotte felt the tremor that passed through

Marcus, felt him twitch beneath her hand. She could

have been any woman; he’d react the same way, but

she had to continue as she had begun. She had to

show him she wasn’t hurt by his rejection. It was

what she’d wanted.

She slid her fingers from the tip of his erection

to the root. “You want me, Marcus. It’s more than

obvious.”

He clenched his jaw and stared at a point on the

wall behind her. “I never said I didn’t. Any man

breathing would.”

“Then why are you denying us both the pleasure

of finishing what we started last summer?” She

moved closer, rubbing her bare breasts against his

crisp white shirt, then brushed her mouth across his

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Bachelor Auction

jaw and whispered, “What are you afraid of?”

It took him a moment to reply. “Sometimes what

we want isn’t good for us.”

She didn’t know how much more she could take.

If he didn’t end this soon, she might just have to

follow through on her actions. In a last ditch effort,

she curled her fingers around his hard length and

squeezed. “There’s where you’re wrong. I’d be very

good.”

“As I’m sure many could testify to.” He grabbed

her hand, moving as far from her as the limited

space would allow. “But I won’t be just another notch

on your bedpost.”

Charlotte laughed to keep from crying as his

hurtful words cut her to the quick. “Geez, you sound

almost virginal. But I know that can’t be the case.

Some of your old girlfriends think very highly of

your...prowess.”

“At least they were girlfriends and not picked

out of a crowd for a one night stand.”

“Ouch. I guess the gloves are off.” She sighed.

“And to think Melody wanted me to bid on you.”

His head jerked up, his gaze piercing. “Excuse

me?”

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t do that, at least not

with the intention of purchasing you.” She buttoned

her jacket and pushed back the coats, ready to end

this fiasco. “Not if you were the last man on earth.”

“Thank God for small favors,” he grumbled

behind her as she stepped through the coats.

“Damn it, Lilly, if you knew the coat wasn’t

yours, why did you wait ‘til we got to the car to tell

me?”

Charlotte froze at the sound of Henry McAfee’s

voice and looked to see his shadowed form fill the

gap of the partially closed door.

“I wanted to watch the end of the auction,” Lilly

replied.

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Darah Lace

Strong

arms

encircled

Charlotte’s

waist,

dragging her back into their safe haven, and once

again she found herself flush against Marcus’s solid

frame, his chest to her back. The length of hardened

flesh she had cradled in her hand moments ago

pressed firmly against her ass. She squirmed to get

away, but he held tight and stilled the motion of the

coats as the closet door swung open.

Henry paused in the doorway, frowning at his

wife. “Does it really mean that much to you?”

“Yes,” Lilly said, following him into the closet. “I

told you I wanted to see if anyone outbid the Reese

girl.”

Charlotte stiffened. Lilly McAfee must be

mistaken. She hadn’t bid on anyone. Not really.

Surely the other women hadn’t been cruel enough to

leave one of the bachelors with only her opening bid.

She racked her brain to come up with anyone who

would have recently been added to society’s blacklist.

Henry began his search for Lilly’s mink. “I doubt

anyone will challenge the ridiculous amount she

bid.”

Charlotte glanced over her shoulder at Marcus.

He lifted a brow in question. She shook her head to

indicate she had no idea what they meant, and he

gave her a look that said, “Yeah, right.”

“Fern thinks she’s staking her claim, making a

statement.”

Charlotte whipped around to stare over the

hangers at Lilly. What claim? What statement? And

what was so ridiculous about five hundred dollars?

“Hell of a loud statement,” Henry said. “I’d be

more inclined to say she’s picked out her next

conquest.”

Marcus snorted in Charlotte’s ear. She would

have planted an elbow in his ribs, but she didn’t

want to give him the satisfaction of knowing his

opinion mattered. Not when she’d convinced him it

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Bachelor Auction

didn’t and that she would gladly live up to her

reputation.

Lilly shook her head vigorously, obviously

warming to the topic. “I told Fern that Charlotte’s

probably just protecting her interest. There must be

a little hanky panky already going on between those

two and she doesn’t want anyone else interfering.”

“Fifty grand buys a whole lot of hanky panky.”

Marcus’s grip on her waist tightened, but

Charlotte was too stunned to care. Fifty grand? Did

he say
fifty grand
? No, no way. It had to be a

mistake. Or gossip. Yes, that’s it. She slumped

against Marcus, relief flooding her. The chain

reaction of the rumor mill could distort the most

innocent circumstances. She knew that first hand. It

stood to reason her five hundred dollar bid for the

poor schmuck who’d been blackballed could have

been inflated to...
fifty thousand
. Couldn’t it?

Charlotte’s small moment of relief gave way to

doubt, and doubt to agitation. Not that she minded

shelling out that much money. She’d donated

significantly more than that in the past. Her father’s

imprisonment hadn’t touched her financially. She

thanked her lucky stars every day that she and her

mother had their own money from her maternal

grandmother’s estate.

What niggled at her self-assurance was that she

would end up with a bachelor she didn’t want, a man

who thought she’d bid an exorbitant amount for him

and would now have an overblown ego as well as

misplaced expectations.

Henry pulled a fur coat identical to the one

draped over his arm from the rack and at Lilly’s nod,

made the exchange. “Hope he’s got the stamina.”

“That man has ‘go-the-distance’ written all over

him. If I was twenty years younger and fifty pounds

lighter, I’d give Charlotte a run for her money.”

Charlotte perked up, ignoring Marcus’s fingers

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Darah Lace

as they dug into her waist. She leaned forward to

hear the name of this sex god. Damn, she wished

she’d paid more attention to the names on the top of

the bidding sheets. Of course, Lilly’s idea of a real

man could vary a great deal from hers. He could be

anyone.

“Why, Lilly, I’m wounded.”

“Oh, like you wouldn’t gladly volunteer every

year if you thought one of those young tarts would

bid on you.”

Henry chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind walking in

this particular bachelor’s shoes. Charlotte is one fine

woman.”

Lilly took her coat from Henry and turned

toward the door. “You used to say that about me.”

“Still do, darlin’,” he said and swatted Lilly’s

well-padded backside.

Charlotte rolled her eyes, wishing they would

hurry and leave. She was eager to find out what was

going on and if there was any possible way out of it.

“So,” Lilly paused at the door, “will you give me

five minutes to see if Charlotte gets her man? You

know you’re as curious as I am.”

“All right,” Henry grumbled as if trying to

convince his wife he wasn’t at all interested. Then he

sighed. “Yep, that Marcus Preston is one hell of a

lucky man.”

****

motionless, speechless as the McAfees exited the

closet. It wasn’t until Charlotte thrust the coats

aside and rushed forward that he was propelled into

action.

He snagged the sleeve of her jacket in a tight

grip. She had some explaining to do. “Where the hell

do you think you’re going?”

She tried to pry his fingers loose. “Let go of me.”

When he held tighter, she tugged her arm. “I’ve...”

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Bachelor Auction

tug
“got to...”
tug—tug
“stop this.”

She gave one final jerk, and the momentum

yanked Marcus forward. His hold on her sleeve

broke as his forehead collided with the cross pole,

causing him to bounce backward and lose his

balance. He grasped the coats nearest, but they only

slipped from their hangers, and his descent

continued. His right shoulder banged the wall, and

he landed on his ass, momentarily stunned and

covered in an array of wool, leather, fur, and

hangers.

“Sonuvabitch.” He slung expensive garments

and wooden hangers this way and that and

scrambled from under the ones left hanging above

him to his feet. As he raced out the door to catch up

with her, he couldn’t help but wonder if her last

statement had been a confession. Had she really bid

fifty thousand dollars on him? Why would she do

that?

Then he remembered the inviting smile she’d

given him when he first entered the ballroom. And

hadn’t she admitted she’d been watching him

throughout the evening? Had she decided to take

their relationship—if you could call it that—in

another direction, then changed her mind after what

had just happened between them?

He didn’t have time to consider how he felt

about that or why the possibility sent a rush of

adrenaline charging through him as he rounded the

corner and saw Charlotte plow into Henry McAfee a

few feet ahead. Henry fell against Lilly, sandwiching

her between his wide girth and the wall.