Bought (2 page)

Another shiver of excitement made her almost
jittery as she was escorted from the stage and down the stairs to
where John waited for her.

“Hi, cutie.” She grinned at his perplexed
expression when she called him cutie. He really didn’t know what to
do with her.
All the more fun for Roni.
“Planning on staying
for the after auction dessert party and dance?” she asked even
though he didn’t look like a dessert guy much less a dancing guy.
With his dark presence she was surprised he was even here.

“I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner before I
came.” He moved his gaze around the room. There was something
deliberate and calculating in the way he looked at everything. “I
think I’ll get something in the lounge.”

“Mind if I tag along?” She smiled as he
looked back to her. She had planned on staying to chat with her
friends afterward, but something about John made her want to spend
some time with him. “It will give us a chance to get to know each
other before our weekend away.”

“I hope you like bar food,” he said. “What I
want is a good burger, fries, and a beer.”

Now that seemed to suit him better than a
suit and tie and an exclusive charity auction no matter how good he
looked in a suit. It wasn’t that he didn’t look like he should be
there, it was more that he looked like he’d be happier in some
place casual like a bar, knocking back a bottle of beer instead of
sipping from glasses of wine.

“Sounds good to me.” She fell into step
beside John as he started toward the doors leading from the
ballroom and out to the lounge. “I’m ready.”

Before joining John in the lounge, Roni
excused herself to go to the ladies room. When she came back out of
the restroom, she nearly ran into Drake, the Dom she’d spoken with
first out of all of her prospects.

He smiled when he saw her and came to a stop.
“I apologize for getting too personal with you earlier,” he
said.

Something about him and his sincerity sent a
pleasant warmth through Roni. “That’s all right. I guess we can be
a little enthusiastic about what we love.”

“I find you very interesting,” he said. “I
wasn’t able to bid high enough but I’d like the chance to get to
know you better.”

Yes, he had been way too forward when they’d
first met. But, should she give him another chance? He was
good-looking and sexy. He had just touched too soon on a subject
they both enjoyed. He had an allure about him that drew her in.

“Sure.” Before she could change her mind she
opened up her purse that she had picked up at the coat check after
the auction. She found a grocery receipt and scribbled her name and
phone number on the back of it. “That’s my mobile number.” She
handed him the paper. “You can call me pretty much anytime.”

“Great, Roni.” His grin seemed to light a
spark in his eyes as he slipped the receipt into the inside pocket
of his suit jacket. “I’ll call you.”

“All right.” She gestured toward lounge.
“Meeting my buyer for a drink now. I’d better go.”

“That’s something else I wanted to mention.
I’ve heard about that guy.” Drake looked troubled. “You need to be
careful.”

“What do you mean?” She frowned.

“Just watch out for him.” He stared in the
direction she had gestured to. “I’m worried about you.”

“I’ll be fine.” She put her hand on his arm.
“Don’t be concerned about me.”

“Can’t help it.” He shook his head as she
moved her hand away. “Just be careful, okay?”

“Sure.” She didn’t know what he was talking
about, but she’d get her own read on John. “I’ll talk with you when
you call tomorrow.”

Drake nodded. “Have a good night.”

I intend to.

She parted ways with him and headed to the
hotel’s bar. John was in a lounge chair in one corner. He might be
a man of few words, but he was what some might call broodingly
handsome. Dark and dangerous looking, his jaw set, he looked like a
caged tiger ready to tear into its handler.

Drake’s words came back to her—when he’d told
her that she needed to be careful around John.

Roni mentally shook her head. He might look
almost fierce right now while doing something as simple as reading
a menu, but she didn’t feel like she had to worry about him harming
her. Although she did wonder what it was that Drake had heard about
him.

She watched John as she walked in his
direction. He’d taken off his suit jacket and had laid it over one
of the two other chairs at the table, rolled up his shirtsleeves,
and took off his tie. The shirt was white against his tanned skin
and it pulled tight over his powerful shoulders. She could tell
that beneath the material that he was cut, every muscle well
defined.

Damn, he’s hot.

“Hi,” she said when she reached the
table.

He gestured toward the chair without the suit
jacket. “Have a seat.”

What would she have to do to get a smile out
of the man?

Goal number one.

Roni slipped in and sat across from him. She
picked up the menu on the table in front of her.

“I’m a little hungry.” She leaned back in her
chair. “Just an appetizer would be good.”

The server appeared and asked for their drink
order. To no surprise, John ordered a pint of Guinness along with a
double cheeseburger with fries. Roni went for the sweet potato
fries and a rum and Coke.

The server left and Roni crossed her legs at
her knees. “How did you get involved with Uptown Charity?”

John shrugged one shoulder. “A friend told me
about it.”

She watched him as she asked her next
question. “Why this one, a battered woman’s shelter charity?”

He focused on her as he responded. “My mom
took my brother and me to the shelter with her when I was nine. I
owe them my mom’s life.”

“Oh.” Roni felt a little taken aback. “I’m
sorry if that was too personal to ask.”

He shook his head. “No problem.”

“I’m glad it doesn’t bother you to talk about
it.” She had the feeling that wasn’t something he shared with
everyone. “Why did you buy me?” She tilted her head, genuinely
curious.

He leaned back in his seat, folded his arms,
and studied her. “I don’t know.”

Roni almost laughed. He really didn’t know
what to do with her.

“I’ll tell you why.” She gave him a teasing
grin. “Some part of you likes that I’m outgoing and can talk enough
for the both of us.”

“You’ve got the talking enough for the both
of us part down,” he said and she knew he was teasing her. She
swore she saw a muscle twitch in his jaw as if he might smile.

She did laugh this time. “Don’t worry. I
promise not to drive you too crazy.”
Maybe.

The server arrived with their drinks. When he
left, Roni sipped her rum and Coke while John took a drink of his
beer.

“What do you do for a living?” she asked when
she set her glass down.

He lowered his beer mug and the glass made a
thunk
as it hit the wood. “Security.”

“Securities or security?” She was sure she
knew what he’d meant, but she liked pushing him.

“I make sure people and things stay safe,” he
said, then he turned the tables on her. “You’re a fashion
designer,” he stated.

She was going to ask him how he knew when she
realized the auctioneer had announced it to the whole room. “I work
for an upscale clothing manufacturer.”

“How long have you been doing that?” He
looked interested in hearing about her career.

Maybe the beer was loosening him up, now that
he was asking questions. She had the feeling that he had a knack
for asking people the right questions to find out what he needed to
know.

She scrunched up her nose as she thought
about what he’d asked. “I graduated from a fashion college in New
York City nine years ago and was hired right away by a Manhattan
manufacturer. I worked there for three years then moved to
Baltimore and have worked here for the past six years.”

Their food arrived, cutting off their
conversation. John’s huge double cheeseburger and fries were laid
out in front of him and the basket of sweet potato fries was set
close to Roni.

When they were alone again, she picked up a
sweet potato fry. “Do you just have the one brother?”

“Yes.” He took a huge bite of his burger.
When she waited for him to elaborate, he paused in between bites.
“He lives in Baltimore.”

Roni couldn’t help smiling around him. He had
a tough exterior but she could see that below it was something
soft, something she wanted to get to know better.

“I have a huge Irish family in South Boston.”
She shifted in her seat. “My father’s a cop and my mother is a stay
at home mom. I have three brothers and two sisters and a boatload
of cousins.”

She shook her head and smiled. “We all grew
up trying to talk over each other. My parents didn’t raise shy,
reticent kids.”

When Roni had said “cop” she thought she saw
a flicker of something in John’s expression but he continued
eating.

They spent another hour with Roni drilling
him with questions about his past and present and John turning
things around on her so that she was answering his questions
instead.

He polished off his burger and wiped his
mouth with a napkin. “What made you decide to put yourself up on
the auction block?”

“To help the charity,” she said. If he wore a
triangle pin she would have told him more.

He took a drink of his beer then studied her
like he knew she wasn’t giving him the complete truth. “Tell me
about the circle and triangle pins,” he asked as if she had just
said her thought out loud.

She started to give the same answer that
she’d given the vanilla guy back at the wine tasting. She changed
her mind. “I have a feeling you’d see straight through me if I told
you anything but the truth.”

He continued to study her, waiting. Again she
had the impression that he was good at this. Waiting for her to say
something and letting her spill it all out.

“Everyone wearing a circle or a triangle
belongs to an exclusive club, the Kink Club, or KC as we like to
call it.” She watched him for a reaction but his facial muscles
didn’t even twitch. “A triangle means the person is a Dominant
while the circle indicates a submissive.” She had the weirdest
feeling that he already knew all of what she’d just told him.

His gaze moved to her pin and returned to
her. “You like tie-up games.”

“Are you good with rope?” She couldn’t have
stopped herself if she’d wanted to as she teased him.

She could swear the corner of his mouth
quirked when she said the words.
Ha.
She’d get him to smile
yet.

He gripped the handle of his beer mug. “As a
matter of fact I am.”

“Then we have something in common.” She
grinned. “You like to play with rope and I like to be tied up.”

She picked up a fry and pointed it at him.
“You more than know your way around a couple of ropes, don’t you,”
she stated. “I have a feeling you know exactly what the kink club
is and you were testing me.”

He tossed his napkin onto his empty plate.
“We’ll keep it to the fact that we both like rope.”

She ate her last sweet potato fry. “Okay. For
now.”

“You’re wearing a circle, but I’m not sure
you’re much of a submissive,” he said, bringing the conversation
back to circles and triangles.

She shrugged and wiped her fingers on a
napkin. “Just because I’m outgoing and like to have fun doesn’t
mean I won’t submit to the right man.”

He looked over the rim of his beer mug.
“What’s your idea of the right man?”

With her eyes locked with his, she said, “The
right man for me is someone confident, in charge, intelligent, and
successful.”

She couldn’t tell what he was thinking as he
looked at her. “Successful as in money?” he asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “Success means
someone who is successful at what he does. That can be pretty much
anything. Someone who takes pride in what he does and works to be
the best that he can at it. Money has little to do with it as far
as I’m concerned. I don’t care about that. I care about being with
a man who has goals, whatever those goals might be, and he strives
to reach them.

“Take my family,” she continued. “My mom
worked hard to raise six children and I believe she was good at
what she did. She was and is successful. My father is a cop and he
is good at what he does. He’s successful. My brothers are all
military and they work their asses off to be good at what they do.
And you know what? That’s success.

“One of my sisters is a school teacher and
the other is studying to be one.” Roni went on, passionate about
how she felt. “And you know schoolteachers don’t get paid nearly
enough. But if they’re good teachers, strive to be good at what
they do and send children out into the world prepared to face what
comes next, that’s success.”

After a pause, John said, “People usually
equate money with success.”

Roni pushed her hair over her shoulder.
“That’s pretty shallow thinking.”

He gave a slow nod. “You’re right.”

“I know I’m right.” She smiled. “And there’s
even success in BDSM. A successful Dom is one who is passionate
about play and is careful and safe. And no matter how tough, the
Dom really cares about the welfare and wellbeing of his sub.”

John pulled out his wallet and put cash with
the bill on the table. “How are you getting home?”

“I’m planning on catching a cab,” she said as
she started to get up from her chair.

He frowned. “There’s a serial killer out
there and you shouldn’t go anywhere without friends.”

A slow chill rolled down her spine. “I heard
about that on the news.”

“Come on.” He got to his feet and grabbed his
suit jacket and tie. “I’ll give you a ride.”