by JM Stewart
“Can you deny you want the same thing? Isn’t that why you left? Because the thought of me with someone else makes you crazy? I think you want more, too, but you’re terrified I’m another jerk.”
Hannah closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, her nails digging into the couch cushion. Damn the man. He knew how to get to her, knew every button to push, because she’d told him, in intimate detail.
“You should also know, baby, I’m a determined man, and I’m used to getting what I want. It makes me very good at my job. And in case there’s any doubt, what I want is you.” His lips skimmed her shoulder and up her neck. The tender caress lit every inch of her on fire. He ended the torture by flicking his tongue against her earlobe. His breath blew hot against her neck. “Only you.”
Cade released her and stepped back. Several moments of silence passed. The quiet echo of his footsteps over the wooden floorboards provided the only sound in the otherwise dead silent apartment, followed by the creak of her front door opening. She couldn’t bring herself to turn or she’d be in his arms. Her whole body trembled with the desperate need to close her mouth over his and lose herself in his drugging kisses.
He had her eating out of the palm of his hand, and she didn’t even have the strength to deny it.
“Oh, and bring Maddie. I’m going to be busy during the auction, and she’ll give you someone to hang out with. Something tells me she’ll enjoy this. Afterward, I have plans for you. Well, us really, but it’s all for you.”
The door closed with a quiet snap. Hannah managed to turn but couldn’t do much more than stare, openmouthed, in his wake. Why did she get the feeling of being a fish in a barrel? Cade McKenzie had staked his claim on her, and she couldn’t even draw enough breath to deny him.
* * *
The next morning, she was in the shop by nine. She hadn’t slept a wink last night. She’d spent the night tossing and turning, pondering the things Cade had told her. By the time eight o’clock came, she gave up attempting to sleep. She needed to talk to her best friend. Maddie, thank goodness, was always the first one in the shop. She stood behind the counter. What looked like inventory sheets sat in front of her. As Hannah breezed in, she looked up.
One look at her, and Maddie abandoned the papers, her eyes wide with alarm. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s wrong? What happened?”
Hannah shook her head as she plopped, unladylike, onto the stool behind the counter. “I’m in so much trouble, Madds.”
Maddie’s fiery brows drew together, her hands already on her hips. “He hasn’t become one of those jerks, has he?”
Hannah sighed, shoulders slumping. “Quite the opposite. He’s intelligent, articulate, and playful. He’s a nice guy. He reads for crying out loud, and I feel good when I’m with him.”
Maddie laughed. “And how is this a bad thing?”
Hannah threw her hands in the air in exasperation and shook her head.
“Two weeks, Madds. We agreed on two weeks, no strings attached.” She dropped her hands and sighed. “Cade wants more.”
Maddie’s brows shot up into her hair. “More?”
Hannah nodded. “More. He came over last night to invite me to an auction. It’s tonight, at six. I haven’t decided whether or not I’m going.”
“Ah.” Maddie nodded, a knowing light in her eyes. “Because if you go, you’ll be admitting you want more, too. What’s the auction for?”
Hannah sighed. “It’s for breast cancer research. It’s a bachelor auction, and he’s one of the bachelors. His sister, twin sister, by the way, signed him up and dropped it on him last minute. He wants me to go and bid on him.”
Maddie shook her head.
“I’m not seeing the down side here, sweetie. Enjoy the hell out of him.” She flashed a wicked grin and winked. “Hell, enjoy him once for me, would you? And find out if he’s got a brother.”
Hannah smiled in spite of herself, but the nagging heaviness wouldn’t leave her chest. “I have rules, Madds. I’ve always had rules. Don’t get attached, because people always leave. A man like him, from a world like his? Why would he want someone like me? He’s out of my league. So far out of my league it’s almost humorous. At some point, he’s going to realize it, and it’s going to end.”
Maddie pursed her lips, brow furrowed in disapproval, and shook her head. “I’m going to save you the ‘how wrong you are’ speech, since I know you’ve heard it before. I will say this. So what if it ends? At least this time it’s your choice, with a guy who’s crazy about you. Look, I get it. This isn’t easy for you. I know that even having this fling with him is so far out of the box you might as well be on the moon. But you have to ask yourself something, sweetie. When it’s all said and done, what will you regret more? Doing it? Or being too afraid to take the chance? You like him, right? Be honest.”
Hannah let her shoulders slump. She couldn’t deny it. “Yes.”
Maddie wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her tight.
“Then go for it, follow wherever it leads. Have a fling you’ll look back on in ten years and smile about. As long as he’s not a jerk, enjoy him while you’ve got him, however long it is, whether it’s two weeks, two months, or two years.” Maddie’s bright, positive expression fell. “Because trust me, you’ll regret not taking the chance.”
Melancholy crept into Maddie’s voice, and Hannah couldn’t help but smile. “Speaking from experience?”
Maddie’s back stiffened. She folded her arms, jutting her chin at a stubborn angle.
Hannah cocked her head. “Admit it. You regret not sleeping with Grayson.”
Maddie let out a derisive snort. “Hardly. I regret a lot of things about him, but not sleeping with him is most definitely not one of them.”
Hannah nudged her with an elbow. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “Grayson Lockwood turned out to be a pompous ass, and I’m grateful I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for his charms.”
Hannah pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. “No, you’re not. Give it up. If you could do it again, would you?”
“All right. The man is sexy as sin. The pompous ass makes my knees weak and my panties damp. He’s sex on legs. He knows it, too. Damn him.” Maddie darted a narrowed glance in her direction, but one corner of her mouth lifted, betraying her. “There. You satisfied?”
Hannah couldn’t resist a grin. “Yes, thank you, but would you?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. He lied to me, and I can’t ignore that. He could very easily have told me the truth. But would I do it differently if I could?” Maddie heaved a sigh, her shoulders rounding, and waved her hand in the air. “I don’t know. Maybe if I could tape his mouth shut. He could just…lie there and look pretty.”
Hannah giggled.
Maddie’s gaze snapped to hers, her brow furrowed in determination. She jabbed a pointed finger in Hannah’s direction. “Which is why you’re going to the auction. Girl, the man made a point to tell you where he’d be. He gave you an invitation and set up everything, including how you’re going to pay the several millions dollars women are going to be bidding on him. And they will, because, honey, he is fine, with a capital F. Women will be clamoring to get at him, drooling over his luscious self.”
Hannah glared at her best friend. “Would you stop?”
Maddie cocked a brow. “I’m serious. Do you really want to stay at home, in your self-imposed shell of isolation, knowing he’s out with someone else? Even if he doesn’t sleep with her, even if it’s only an obligation date, do you want to give him the chance?”
Hannah averted her gaze, peering out the front window, and sighed. “I hate the thought of him with someone else. It makes me want to claw her eyes out, whoever it is he ends up with. Or climb on top of him and proclaim him all mine.”
Maddie gave a decisive nod. “Exactly. So, you’re going.”
Hannah surged off the stool, pacing the length of the counter and back again. Her
mind ran in circles, but the third time back to her stool, the decision made itself. She couldn’t deny it. Maddie was right. She had to go or Cade would end up on a date with another woman, and she couldn’t let it happen. She simply couldn’t.
If this happened, though, it would be on her terms.
Decision made, she halted and turned. “Fine, but you’re coming with me. I will not go into the lion’s den and face those women alone.”
The instant the words left her mouth, Hannah regretted her harsh tone, but Maddie, true to her usual self, didn’t bat an eyelash. Rather, she winked, her grin playful and mischievous.
“Hunky single men in tuxes are being auctioned off, for charity no less. Honey, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Maddie looped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t you worry, sweets. We’re going to have a blast!”
* * *
By the time they arrived that night, Hannah’s heart had taken a firm place in her throat. She couldn’t seem to stop shaking. They held the auction on the fourth floor of a local hotel, in one of the grand ballrooms. The space had a calm elegance to it. Everything, from the soft carpeting beneath her feet to the draperies lining the walls, had been done in shades of blue. On the far end stood a small stage, containing a podium with a microphone. Hundreds of black chairs lined the floor in front, with an aisle running down the center.
Standing inside the entrance, Hannah scanned the room for any sign of Cade or Christina. People, the majority of them women, packed the small square room, spilling between the chairs surrounding the tiny stage and the bar off to the right. Every one of them was dressed to the nines. To top it off, waitresses moved through the crowd with trays of champagne flutes, and a small dance floor had been segregated on the left.
Hannah smoothed a shaking palm down the skirt of her dress, overwhelmed by the sight before her. She had the sudden sensation of being a square in a room full of circles. The dress Cade had given her was beautiful. It had a keyhole halter neckline, a pleated empire waist, and a tiered skirt ending in a layered handkerchief hem. She had to admit the way the wispy fabric swished around her thighs made her feel beautiful but like a complete phony. She didn’t fit in with these people.
She turned her head, scanning the room. These women all carried themselves with an air of elegance and sophistication Hannah couldn’t match. Looking at them all, her mind filled with questions. Which one would counterbid on Cade? Would it be the tall, leggy blonde by the bar? Or the curvy brunette in front of the stage?
Her stomach churned. She grabbed Maddie’s elbow, panic clawing at her throat. “I can’t do this, Madds. I don’t fit in with these women. Look at them. They’re all so regal and elegant in their long gowns and expensive jewels. They even look rich. I can’t compete with them.”
Maddie caught her hand, pulled her away from the entrance, and turned to her, gripping her hands tightly. Maddie herself wore a simple but elegant black sheath dress. It accentuated her fantastic curves.
“Yes, you can and you will, because if you don’t, your man will be spending the evening with one of them. Sweetie, you might not think so, but you look phenomenal in that dress. Your man has a fantastic eye, because that dress floats over you and hides everything you always say you hate about your body.” She turned and nodded off to the right. “See that guy over there? The blond by the bar? He’s been staring at you since we walked in. You, sweetheart, not me.”
Hannah followed Maddie’s gaze. The man in question caught her eye, tipped his head, and smiled. Hannah flushed to the roots of her hair and averted her gaze to the floor. Men didn’t look at her with such blatant admiration in their gazes. Obviously, he couldn’t see her scar from this angle.
Maddie squeezed her hand. “Hold your head up high, sweets. You look phenomenal.”
“Oh my goodness, you’re here!”
Hannah followed the familiar feminine voice. Off to her left, Christina strode in their direction, her face lit with an excited smile. She looked incredible. Her little black dress hugged and accentuated her every flawless curve, classic but stunning. Beside her, a tall dark-haired gentleman in a black tux kept pace with her, his gate long and lanky.
Christina ran the last few steps like an excited child and enveloped her in an overwhelming hug, squeezing so tight for a moment, Hannah’s breath caught. “I’m so glad you guys could come.”
The dark-haired gentleman chuckled. He caught Hannah’s stunned gaze.
“You get used to her after a while. Our Tina is a hugger.” He extended a hand. “Sebastian Blake. Bachelor number eleven.” He winked and tapped the nametag on his chest.
Hannah smiled and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Intrigued by another aspect of Cade’s life, Hannah couldn’t help taking him in. Sebastian reminded her a lot of Cade. Well over six feet tall, broad shoulders and a wide chest that filled out his fitted tux to perfection. His hair was lighter, though, more of a dark brown, his eyes a beautiful shade of deep blue. Where Cade always seemed quiet and intense, Sebastian had a playful air about him.
Beside him, a look somewhere between petulance and irritation moved across Christina’s features. “Forgive him. He’s determined to make me pay for the fact that I volunteered him.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes, but the corners of his mouth twitched. “Without bothering to ask, no less.”
“Oh, please, I knew darn well you wouldn’t have anything else to do this evening and it’s for a good cause. You had a blast last year.” Christina shook her head, frowning in disapproval. “Baz here likes to be the center of attention. He ended up doing a mock strip tease last year. Stripped all the way down to his bare chest. The women loved it.”
Sebastian winked, a proud sparkle in his eye. “Got me the highest bid of the night.”
Maddie nudged her with an elbow, and Hannah let out a nervous laugh. She’d done it again, gotten so caught up in Cade she’d forgotten her best friend.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m so nervous. Christina, this is my friend and business partner, Madison O’Riley.” She glanced beside her and extended a hand in introduction toward Christina. “Maddie, this is Cade’s sister, Christina.”
“So nice to meet you.” Maddie turned her head from side to side, looking around her as she shook Christina’s hand. “It’s quite the shindig you’ve set up here. Looks like fun.”
Christina beamed, this one bright and genuine.
“Oh, they’re always so much fun. Last year we had a ball. A bunch of women getting together to outbid each other over gorgeous men…We girls can get a little rowdy.” Christina let out a breathy laugh, then turned to Hannah, brow raised in silent question. “Has Caden found you yet?”
Hannah shook her head. “We just arrived.” She looked around her for a moment, taking in the room, then swallowed past the lump of fear stuck in her throat. “I have to admit I’m nervous. I’ve never done this before.”
Christina stepped forward, wrapping her in another hug.
“Don’t be. It’s a piece of cake.” She leaned back, holding Hannah by the upper arms as she looked her over from head to toe. “Oh, I knew that dress would fit to perfection. You look wonderful.”
When Christina’s gaze shifted to something behind her and Sebastian stiffened, his mouth forming a thin line, Hannah knew on instinct Cade had stepped up behind her.
Christina confirmed the thought when her expression lit up. “Caden, there you are. I told you she’d look fabulous in this dress.”
“She’s right. You look incredible.”
The husky rumble of his voice had goose bumps popping up along the surface of her skin. Every nerve ending vibrated with acute awareness of his presence behind her, and every fiber of her being begged her to turn and throw herself into his arms. She’d only admit it to herself, but she’d missed him.
Instead, she drew up straight, attempting to prepare herself for the addicting sight of him. Somehow, she had to face him and not melt into a puddle at his feet. She had to k
eep him from ending up with someone else tonight, while also convincing him their two weeks was what she wanted, and she had to do it all without bowing beneath the force of his seductive presence.
If she made it through this night with her sanity and her heart intact, it would be a miracle.
* * *
As he stepped into the small circle of people, Cade focused his attention on Hannah and the vision she made. Her dress caressed her curves, accentuating every blessed one. She’d even worn her hair up off her face, in a neat twist at the back of her head. She looked incredible and he had to admit, he was smitten.
Right then, he wanted more than anything to be alone with her. He ached to hike up the hem of her dress and bury himself so damn deep inside of her he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. Until he forgot everything but the sweet lavender scent of her skin and the addicting way she clung to him right before her orgasm ripped through her.
He didn’t want to be at this damn auction. He didn’t want to stand in a circle of people he ought to feel comfortable with and somehow still feel like a stranger. Sebastian’s cool aloof stare drove him nuts. Too much water flowed under that particular bridge and he hadn’t the foggiest damn idea how to fix it.
Hannah’s gaze flicked to him, and he let the lull of it pull him in. Wariness still hovered in her eyes. She seemed determined to keep him at arm’s length. To top it off, not being able to touch her killed him. Their time ticked out like the final seconds of a football game, with no way to stop the clock, and every second he spent without her felt flat-out wrong.
He couldn’t ignore, however, that she’d come. That alone said something huge. It was a tiny step, but one in the right direction. He’d take what he could get.
He tossed her a smile and, unable to resist, touched her arm.
“I’m glad you could make it.” He shifted his gaze to Maddie beside her. “Nice to see you again, Miss O’Riley. You clean up rather nicely.”