by Warren, Rie
Fuck you, Prince Charming. There’s a new bad boy in town.
“That’s not your bike.” Sin stopped beside the hulking Tahoe.
Ain’t no pumpkin carriage either.
“Nope.” I helped her inside. “Hunter loaned me his ride. Remember him?”
“Dark hair. Gold eyes. Big cop. Looks a little scary?” she said, nailing him to a T.
“That’d be him. Also married to a kindergarten teacher.” And he was former X-ops.
I shut the door, rounded the SUV, took my seat.
With the engine running, I pulled Sin’s hand into my lap. “You ready for this?”
She seated herself more comfortably. “The real question is: are you?”
No shit.
East Bay Street came quickly. The Gadsden House overflowed onto the busy sidewalk as I fought for a parking space.
Sin laughed. “We have one reserved.”
Of course she did.
After parking in her reserved spot, I helped her out, but she needed no guidance once we were inside the venue. The place crackled with electricity and excitement, and it was like nothing I’d ever witnessed before. Candles glowed. Chandeliers swung low. Flowers festooned the ballroom, and the open-air verandas overflowed.
Sin was greeted with mwah hugs and air kisses, and everything screamed money-money-money.
My feet glued to the floor, the new shoes I’d never be caught dead with inside the MC pinching my toes.
“Welcome to my world.” Sin hugged my arm as I got my first my bearings on how the other half lived.
“Why are they all fat bastards with simulation wives? Are any of their tits even real?” I blurted the first thing that came to mind.
“Shhh.” Her hand clamped over my mouth, she laughed. “Jesus, Cole.”
“’S’true!” I shouted, muffled by her hand.
She could expect a ball-gag later.
No shit.
Sin moved her hand aside, and whispered in my ear, “I know . . . but try not to say it out loud?”
“I’ll behave for you now if you behave for me later.”
“Deal.”
Sealed with a searing kiss in the center of a room full of moneyed cunts.
As we threaded through the throng, people grabbed Sin, kissed her, and congratulated her.
I stayed at her side, silently cursing every man who loitered too long. I also quietly checked out people for possible threats, an instinctual impulse I’d picked up from Hunter. Nothing hit my danger radar except for the dudes who took too long giving Sin friendlier than necessary greetings that included too much touching for my liking.
Fuck yeah I was proud of her. Didn’t mean I liked her getting groped. Especially not in that dress. I didn’t like the men leering at her, young and old, including a lot of the fat bastards.
I was so out of my element, I merely stared and glared, unless it was Sin I looked at. Then I stared and wanted.
She looked stately as we circulated the room, me introduced as her boyfriend. I shook hands, gave my scariest scowl, and felt mighty relieved when would-be suitors slunk away, shoulders slumped in dejection.
“You know I’m trying to woo people tonight, for money?” Her smile held the edge of a bite as the last would-be took the walk of shame.
“I don’t like the way they look at you.” I planted my hands on her hips. “These dickheads need to get the message. You’re my woman. They can hand over the money, but you are not on the market.”
“Cole,” she snapped.
And my head snagged up when she lifted my stubborn chin. “What?”
“Play nice. I’m going home with you. I only want to make love to you. You have no worries about that.”
“If any man tries to cop a feel, I’ll break his hand.” I casually tossed that out.
“Deal.”
“Good.”
With a swish of her hair and a swirl of her hips, she delved deeper through the sea of glamorous people.
And I was dog-leash-lap that shit up right after her.
That fucking dress!
I cooled my heels, but not the straining heat in my groin, when she introduced me to a smiley happy yuppy couple.
As soon as they departed, I asked, “You totally naked under this dress? Because it looks like it.” The hint of skin, the black lace . . .
Big motherfucking diamonds glinted on her wrists, her ears, and her neck.
“Nearly.” Sin snatched an hors d’oeuvre as a tray passed by her. She bit into the possibly thousand-dollar tidbit.
“Wearing the plug?”
“Yes.” She accepted a glass of bubbly and sipped the drink, waving to someone in the milling crowd as if we weren’t talkin’ about her having a piece of metal wedged up her ass.
“How does it feel?” Giving in to temptation, I kissed the silky ivory skin of her shoulder.
“Same as before.” Her body quivered against mine.
Her swallow was long and slow, the same way she drank my come.
I knew she’d been a good girl/bad girl, dutifully using the plug to stretch her cherry-bud twice a day, but I wanted to hear it. Right now. While she stood in the middle of this ball, dressed to the nines and looking oh-so-fine.
“Tell me.” I sank my teeth into her earlobe, letting go after a sharp pinch.
Someone—a man, middle-aged, squat and toad ugly—limped up to her.
“Tell me,” I whispered as she shook hands with the fuzzy-faced Hobbit.
As soon as Bilbo moved off, Sin turned in my arms. “Don’t take me off my game tonight.”
I stroked down the back of her dress. “Just tell me.”
“It’s in my ass.” She shuddered. “I want you there, Cole. Need you to fill me.”
“Down here?” I moved her into a secluded corner then nudged the slight protrusion between her tight cheeks.
“Yes!”
I quickly glided my fingers up to her waist when a genuine smile crossed her lips and she held out her hand as a young couple approached.
She greeted them then introduced me, never losing her composure despite what we’d just been talking about.
Man, she was cool in action. I was thoroughly impressed.
Amid all the fancy gowns and dapper dudes, the deluxe surrounds, Sin shined brighter than anyone or anything else.
I did my best to keep up with her, trying to plaster something that resembled a smile more than a grimace on my face. When it came to watching Sin charm the crap out of everyone in her vicinity, the smile came easily.
During one quiet lull, I leaned over and whispered, “We’ll get to the piercings later.”
She sucked in a quick breath, her hand tightening on my arm. Then she saw someone across the room of revelers and started forward, pulling me along behind her. I caught up quickly, placing my hand low on her back, wondering if it would be acceptable to shoulder-check the many, many men who stared at her with slack-jawed want as she moved across the room.
“Where’re we headed?” I asked, glaring at a clean-cut Captain America ogling her.
“My parents.” She lifted a hand and waved.
Oh shit.
I suddenly wanted to crawl under a table.
Chapter Twelve
TIME TO MEET AND greet the ’rents. I’d be lying if I said my heart wasn’t in my throat, but I’d be damned if I showed it.
Sin was quickly enfolded in warm parental embraces, first her mom then her dad. When she swung to me, I kept my expression open, my stance relaxed.
Big Poppa Chatham stared at me as if he wanted to drill holes through my head.
“Daddy, this is Coletrane Sawyer.” Sin pulled me forward.
I wouldn’t have believed it possible, but Daddy’s glare got even frostier.
Awesome start, Cole.
Mr. Chatham pumped the hand I extended to him. Firm grip, stern moss-green eyes, not a hint of a smile as he stared me down with a, “Hmmph.”
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Sir. Nice touch.” His lips didn’t so much as twitch.
Well-to-do, overprotective dad who definitely did not approve?
My worst nightmare.
Then he turned to his wife, presenting her with a slight bow. “This is Sinclair’s mother. Regina Fairley-Chatham.”
I clasped her delicate hand much more gently, surprised when her fingers curled tightly over mine. “A pleasure, ma’am.”
The woman was beautiful in her own right. Regal, refined . . . all those r words. Hair the same color as Sin’s, eyes a dark, bottomless brown. And Sir stared at her in such total adoration I was surprised he hadn’t intro’d her as My Lady.
He lavished the same kind of devotion on her I felt for Sin, but when he returned his gaze to me, it was glacial cold. Arctic freezing. I almost shivered. Maybe Big Bad Dad thought I was out for a money grab. He couldn’t be more wrong. I’d just have to prove it to him.
“Oh!” Sin grabbed my arm and pressed it right against her tit.
Her eyes widened as she realized my bicep rubbed against the nipple piercing. Then her eyelashes floated down.
“It’s . . . it’s . . .” She stumbled over her words.
“What’s the matter with you, Sinclair? I’ve never known you to be at a loss for words,” Mr. Chatham said. “In fact, between you and your mother, you could talk the head off a chicken.”
“Leland.” Regina’s polished tones cut across the bark and bite of his.
“Yes, dear?”
So the man could be tamed, or more precisely whipped, just like any other guy.
By that time, Sin regained her composure and she sighed, “Honestly, Daddy.”
Noise had gathered in the room, a sound that seemed to spin sky high as people turned toward a large stage highlighted by spotlights and a massive white screen suspended from the ceiling.
Popping up on her toes, Sin whispered against my ear—causing an increasing tightness in the new pants. “It’s time for the live auction!”
“And you organized all this?”
She slipped back down and nodded.
“Damn, woman. I am seriously impressed.” With her folks distracted by the hubbub, I squeezed a handful of ass in the high fashion gown. “Makes wanna fuck you even more,” I mouthed near her ear, making sure the noise didn’t travel.
At that, something else popped out—Sin’s nipples. If I looked closely enough I could almost imagine the light glint of the metal hoops through the gauzy fabric of her black lace, sheer cut-out gown.
Her damn dress was gonna be the death of me.
And I still had visions of her naked ass with the butt plug inserted dancing in my head.
The lights around the ballroom dimmed. All attention focused on center stage. Definitely not the kind of stage Kinkaid used to work. Then, with a brief introduction, the auction began.
I could barely keep up as one mind-boggling package after another flew across the giant white screen above the stage. Shit like speedboats, trips to Europe, diamonds and jewelry all over the place . . .
Bidding paddles shot up. The stakes rose higher and higher.
Fast-action, high wagers, big money, with a true blue auctioneer rattling through the items just as fast as his mouth could motor.
At one point, Sin threw her hand in the air.
I couldn’t goddamn believe it. She’d just bought a handbag made of longhorn leather with turquoise studs for ten thousand dollars.
I gaped at her.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s for the kids.” She gently tapped my mouth closed with her paddle.
And that was the only time the woman would get her hands on a paddle around me.
Her mom bid on something as well, but I was so busy getting my fill of Sin I didn’t even know what it was. Sin clapped her hands, bounced on her feet. She shouted and laughed. She looked like a kid, but she wasn’t one at all. She was the woman who had made all this happen.
I couldn’t believe I’d ever mistaken her for an empty-headed downtown princess.
More fool me.
She gripped my hand after the final package sold, watching the stage intently.
“The proceeds from tonight’s auction to benefit MUSC Children’s Hospital are . . . five hundred and sixty thousand dollars!”
Holy Christ.
Sin shouted madly and I lifted her into my arms, spinning her around.
“Oh my God!” she squealed. “I can’t believe it!”
“You done good, precious.” I set her on her feet but followed with my mouth, kissing her slowly and softly and gently.
My congratulatory kiss was beginning to turn into a let’s get it on session when a gruffly clearing throat announced an unmistakable presence right next to us.
Sin’s cheeks glowed pink when I finally turned her loose.
“Good work, Sinclair. Proud of you, girl.” Poppa Chatham claimed his daughter in a bear hug.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
Her mom held her in a close embrace next, whispering to her.
They finally released her to me, Pop-pop with a tight, not-so-friendly stare, Her Ladyship with a more welcoming smile.
“Dance with me,” I invited.
A band had taken over the stage, and couples began to move together.
“I was going to check out the silent auction. Maybe drop some more coin.” Sin teased.
“Dance with me.” My eyes hooded, I towed her to me as I walked backward through the ceaseless crowd.
I wouldn’t take no for an answer.
The song was slow, the words unimportant. All that mattered was the feeling of Sin as I held her in my arms. We slowly circled the floor, my fingers caressing up and down her back.
“Now I’m the one who’s impressed.” Her crystal green eyes twinkled.
I kept my hands where they were supposed to be but briefly nudged my thigh to the juncture of hers.
“Oh yeah? You like these smooth moves?” I spun her around in a languid ring, my palm moving to cradle the back of her head. “I’ve got more where those came from.”
“How well I know.” She laid her head on my chest. “I like your rough moves too.”
And just like that the dance became more sexual, all about seduction.
Her hips softly rocked against mine, and she gasped when she felt my erection.
I dragged my thumb across her soft moist lips. “All for you, Sin.”
The heat rose between us—caused by her wicked gown, me in the tux, the press of our bodies together.
I wanted talk dirty to her, but it was too early.
Placing a little distance between us, I kissed her on the forehead. “What did your mom say to you?”
“She said you remind her of Daddy.”
I leaned back. “What? That’s weird.”
“Oh, calm down.” Sin fetched me back against her. “As in, he was not what her family expected for her, but she was always certain.” Her hands drew up to my shoulders and she kissed the side of my neck. “She knew he’d take care of her in every way.”
“Hmmm.” Maybe that wasn’t so bad. “Your dad’s a hater though.”
“A hater?” She laughed. “He’s just protecting his little girl.”
“You are not a little girl.” I scooped her firmly against me with my palms sliding just above her cushiony ass.
“His little girl.”
Tucking her against my shoulder, I lowered my mouth to hers. “My girl. My woman.”
We stayed on the dance floor through another set of songs. Some of them were fast-paced so I had to let her go, but that wasn’t a hardship, not with the way she moved. Like we were already making love.
After half an hour, with Sin back in my embrace, some dude tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned my head, barely glancing at the blond Abercrombie and whatever wannabe.
“Mind if I cut in?”
With a shrug, I stepped aside. Sin gazed at me, her arm still around my back.
They’d be the pe
rfect model couple. I could see other guys on the perimeter eager to get their chance with Sin, too. Confirmation—as if I needed it—she was one hot commodity.
Caressing her back with slow strokes up and down, I pressed my mouth close to her ear. “Tell him no.”
She hesitated.
“Unless you want to dance with him?”
She smiled politely at Mr. Perfection and uttered, “Thank you for asking, but I’ll stick with my current partner.”
I practically heard the wind leaving his sails as Sin moved against me again, squashing any hopes and any chances he might get with her just like that.
Adios, asshole.
Our touches became more illicit. Her hand on my thigh trailed higher. My thigh wedged between her leg shifted against her. The air coiled with electricity—electricity that pulsed between us.
I skimmed my mouth up her neck. “I can’t wait to fuck you. My cock’s about to bust through my pants.”
Her tits mashed against my chest, and I could only imagine how deeply red her nipples were, how stimulated they’d become. The piercings. The plug. The dancing.
She swayed against me with a long drawn-out moan. “Oh God, Cole. I’m not sure how much more I can take.” Kissing and licking my jaw, she subtly grinded into me. “I need you.”
“This place got any private rooms?” I didn’t need much.
Someplace clean and big enough to maneuver her around. A door. A lock.
“Yes.” Her breathing hitched and sped. “I have to give my speech first.”
“When?” My jaw clenched.
“I think now would be a good time.” She slowly disengaged from me, carefully smoothing her hair and her dress. She handed me her bidder paddle she’d been fanning herself with. “Perhaps you want to keep this on hand?”
“Not gonna argue with that.” Any paddle would work at that point.
A few minutes later, she walked onto the center of the stage, moving like she owned it. A single spotlight shined on her, and she didn’t stand behind a podium, giving me plenty of sexy curves to memorize.
I couldn’t believe it, but she looked even hotter from afar.
Then she began to speak. Everyone in the packed room hung on her every word. Me included.
Standing there, so poised and self-assured, she spoke with passion and pride. Her speech went off like gangbusters, not that I’d had any doubt about it. She pulled heartstrings as well as purse strings, talking about the Children’s Hospital.