First to Bid: A Bachelor Auction Romance (Unraveled Book 2)

by Marie Johnston

  “Yes.”

  She hung up and I was out of my office in seconds.

  Striding to my pickup, I shrugged out of my suit coat and yanked off my tie. I undid my cuffs and rolled them. I had clean gym clothes in my office but didn’t want to take the time to change into them. The movie was starting and a seat was being saved for me.

  Chapter 10

  Tilly

  My heart leaped into my throat as I watched the shadowy figure jog up the stairs. I always sat in the middle of the back row, but no one had ever looked like Flynn on the theater stairs.

  His hair was perfectly styled, like a blond Tony Stark. Maybe it was the suit. He’d lost the jacket, opened the first button, and rolled his sleeves up, but that didn’t detract from the fit. Like how his slacks hugged his trim waist but gave his ass and thighs enough room to flex underneath. And the bulge of his biceps… The beginning of the movie was bright enough to make runway lights for Flynn.

  He sidled through the row of people and snagged the seat next to me. I resisted burrowing into him. He had to get settled after all.

  With him by my side, I relaxed. His fresh, clean scent was muted by the enticing but subtle smell of his cologne. I liked that fragrance, too, but it wasn’t as Flynn as “Flynn at the lake” had been. It was more like his suit. A way to say “I’m a businessman, let’s do business.” The way Flynn looked, anyone with ovaries would do anything he wanted.

  I certainly would.

  He gave me a quick smile. I grinned in return. Couldn’t help it. I was at the movies. With Flynn. Before he settled back, he dug out a pack of Hot Tamales.

  I gasped and whispered, “Thank you.” Without thinking, I stretched up to kiss him. I pulled back after a quick peck, second-guessing myself. He wouldn’t be here if he weren’t interested, right? And he was the one who’d called, so that meant he’d wanted to at least talk to me.

  Heat flared in his gaze, the colors from the movie reflecting in his green eyes. In his gaze was a promise that there’d be more than kissing tonight.

  Yesss.

  His gaze lifted to my headband, which was a yellow tiara with a star in the middle. His lips quirked and he turned his attention to the movie.

  I enjoyed my second time through the show more than my first and it wasn’t because I was snuggled against a solid wall of warm muscle or munching on my favorite candy. Candy that Flynn had remembered was my favorite.

  Credits rolled and I stood and stretched. Flynn rose and eyed my outfit. The yellow W stood out on my red shirt, and I’d bought blue Wonder Woman leggings on sale. His gaze licked the full length of my legs.

  “Nice” was all he said before leading me out.

  He was a force at my back as we made our way out of the theater and into the hall. Would he stay for the last show? I’d always wanted to do a marathon rewatch for a blockbuster like tonight, but I’d been so focused on saving money. Having him next to me again, drinking in his presence like I’d been on a sugar-free diet for months and he was my personal box of Hot Tamales, I was afraid that if he cocked his head, I’d ditch the show to be with him.

  “You were planning to go again?” he asked as if reading my mind. Or was it the needy and desperate look I probably had?

  “Yep. I bought all the tickets when I got here.” The cashier hadn’t even batted an eye. I wasn’t in full costume, but my outfit must’ve said it all.

  We reached the hall and held hands to keep from getting separated in the crowd. I was about to break away for the restrooms when a young woman walked up to Flynn, looking at him like he was a full-sized chocolate bunny. He tensed, his shoulders rigid.

  A saucy grin formed on her lips. “Heard you were trying to get ahold of me. My sister was so pissed.” The woman reminded me of the mean-girl crowd. They all wore the latest trends to perfection, and their cold, haughty stares could drain a girl of self-esteem from twenty paces. It was their superpower.

  Wait. Flynn had been trying to call this girl?

  I refused to be hurt until I knew the story.

  “I, uh. It was resolved.” He didn’t look at me but scanned the crowd like he was searching for the first exit.

  The woman laughed, tossing her long, glossy hair. My next hair appointment should be with a stylist and not at the punch-card place, but not until after I earned my free cut. I was halfway there.

  The girl’s hip cocked out more. “She said you got stuck with the crazy lady you wanted her to save you from, but I told her I’d make it up to you.”

  Save him from the crazy lady? Flynn’s shoulders drooped and he exhaled. The woman finally noticed me, did a once-over of my outfit, and quirked a brow, as if to ask, Are you for real? She turned the wattage of her flirtatious smile up and drifted closer to Flynn.

  I still didn’t know the whole story, but I wasn’t going to stand around and wait for my self-respect to be trampled. I wasn’t on this bitch’s payroll. “Would that have been Crazy J, Flynn?”

  His shoulders hunched more and he dipped his forehead. “Yep. I was trying to save myself from Crazy J.” He lifted his gaze but still didn’t meet mine. He gripped my hand instead and pulled me closer to him. I went reluctantly, interested to see what he was doing. “You know what, Becky? Thank your sister for doing me a solid and bailing on our deal. Best thing that could’ve happened.” He wrapped his arm around my waist, gave Becky a nod, and hauled me away with him.

  To be hurt or not to be hurt? “I need to hear the story. How upset should I be?”

  He sighed but held me tighter. “I won’t blame you if you hate me. It was a douche move. After you said you were going to bid on me, I called who I thought was Becky, but was her sister, Samantha.”

  He gave me a sidelong look like he was gauging my reaction.

  “I asked her to bid up until she won and I’d cover the cost, no matter the amount. It’s understandable, then, that when I kept calling her by her sister’s name, she stayed quiet and let you win.” He stopped and faced me, his expression serious. “Which I’m grateful for.”

  “That was such a douche move.”

  “I know. I’m not proud of my ‘genius’ plan.”

  “Not that. Well, that was a douche move, too, but calling her by her sister’s name? Ugh. Did you sleep with both of them?”

  His face darkened with shame. “Not at the same time.”

  People flowed around us. Were Becky and her crew part of the crowd? I didn’t care. Hurt roiled under my skin, but he seemed genuinely ashamed of himself. I still wasn’t sure what to think now that I had the details.

  Why do I always stutter around you? He’d said that out of frustration one day at the cabin. He must’ve been so desperate to keep out of Crazy J’s reach. This whole time I’d been wrapped up in my nightmare at home as a kid, I hadn’t dwelled on my effect on Flynn. I’d downright terrified him. So much that ten years later, he’d been willing to fork over as much cash as necessary to save himself from me.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  He recoiled. “For what? I’m the asshole.”

  “But you wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t scared you so bad.”

  “Tilly.” His voice dropped to the low rumble that always sent shock waves through my body. When he talked like that, I usually orgasmed hard soon after. “If I hadn’t been such a selfish dick, I would’ve taken the time to get to know you instead of running the other direction. Or doing something stupid like calling an old hookup I never should’ve led on in the first place.”

  I licked my lower lip, my skin on fire where he touched. His gaze darted to my tongue, the heat in his eyes matching my own.

  Another question pushed to the front of my mind. “Why’d you call? It’s been three weeks. I know if you want to get laid, you don’t need me.” Dare I hope for more? I’d finally pried myself away from my phone after nursing my splintered heart.

  His frame went rigid for a heartbeat. “I missed you, and I don’t want to have sex with anyone else.”

  It was a star
k confession. The realization bothered him. It was written all over his face. “Does that upset you? Be honest, because I’m too old to be strung along.”

  I couldn’t believe we were having this talk in the movie theater lobby, but I was glad we were having it at all. Because being with him only proved that I refused to go through another three weeks of will he or won’t he.

  He didn’t answer right away. Tears pricked the backs of my eyes. No way was I going to cry minutes after watching the same movie back to back about a kick-ass heroine who saved the world.

  Tucking a finger under my chin, he raised my face until I met his gaze. “I have a demanding job with asshole clients who think I’m at their command twenty-four seven. And since they’re paying me millions, I kind of am. I don’t want to jump into a relationship only for you to feel like my job is my mistress. All I know right now is that I can’t quit thinking of you and I don’t want anyone else.”

  “I guess we can start there, then.” I couldn’t escape the feeling that his job was a cop-out, that if he wanted to make it work, he could. But what did I know about running a business of that magnitude? Teaching required a lot of work off-hours, and each hour of tutoring took another hour or two of planning, organizing, and bookkeeping.

  Only a couple of people drifted past us now. The next showing would start soon, and it was on the other side of the theater. I tried to lighten the mood. “Now that your dirty secret is out, what do you want to do the rest of the night?”

  A flash of alarm crossed his face, but it was gone so fast I must’ve imagined it. “We have one more movie to watch.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and withdrew a ticket stub. “And then I get to show you all the things I’ve been thinking of since I got home from the cabin.”

  A thrill shot through me. He’d bought a ticket to watch the 10:15 with me? I could’ve melted. “And then it’ll be my turn!”

  Flynn

  By the time we crossed the threshold into her house, I had nearly recreated my first time with Tilly. I’d been with her for hours, unable to talk to her much because of the movie. The quick heart-to-heart conversation between showings had left me emotionally ragged. Especially when she’d said my dirty little secret was out.

  By the time she’d joked about racing me back to her place, all I’d wanted was to lose myself in her curves and forget about my shitty past and the dirty deed I had to live with.

  I’d taken her against the wall before we’d fallen into her bed. We hadn’t done anything more than cuddle since the first frenzied round of sex. I wanted to feel all of her. The terror that had grabbed me by the short hairs and refused to let go as soon as Becky had spoken was still with me.

  And then Tilly had apologized to me for being the one to drive me to such behavior. She was so much better than me.

  Could I tell her the truth about my mom and sister one day without fearing she’d lose that look of adoration I’d come to crave?

  “What are you thinking about?” she murmured. She was stripped naked and curled into me, her back to my front. My erection pressed between us, but I was content to stroke her silky skin—for now.

  “How amazing you are. And that you taste like cinnamon.”

  She chuckled, making her body shake and teasing my cock. I groaned and snaked an arm around to palm a breast, its weight in my hand better than a stress ball.

  “Flynn.”

  That tone. My happy contentment drained out of me. This was it. She was going to ask about my past.

  “You never talk about you.”

  “There’s not much to me.” The words rang with truth. Until Tilly had barged back into my life, I’d done nothing more than work and loiter at the clubs until I found someone to stave off the loneliness for a night. Most of the women I met were all decent people. There was the typical mating dance of the human species, one I was tired of. The congenial chatter, the flirtation, the illusion of future possibilities. Women like Becky who were interested in the same no-strings deal I was weren’t as satisfying as I’d led himself to believe. Then there were the ones who read into the way I dressed, how freely I spent money on dinner and drinks, what I drove and targeted me.

  My only contributions to the world were the buildings I built. For other people.

  “What about your family? Was it just you and your sister?”

  I didn’t answer immediately, just trailed my fingers over her skin while deciding what to tell her. I settled on the majority of the truth. The part I was most ashamed of wouldn’t need to be shared. But before I did, I needed her.

  Rising over her, I nudged her onto her back. Her look of disappointment stalled me

  “One more time first. I promise I’ll tell you about my shitty past.” Admittedly not as deplorable as hers. But she’d been an innocent victim, at the mercy of those she should’ve been able to trust with her well-being. I’d failed the one person who should have been able to rely on me for her security. I stroked her face. “I need this. I need you.”

  She nodded and opened herself to me, cradling me between her legs. I snagged a condom and rolled it on so there’d be no interruptions.

  I dipped my head and caught a nipple between my lips. This was my turn to be selfish, to linger over her body, and savor her taste and reaction.

  She arched her back as I swirled my tongue, my other hand stroking a path down her stomach, over the rise of her pelvis, until I hit her wet center.

  As much as I wanted to plunge inside her welcoming sex, she wasn’t ready. I wanted her to fall apart around me as soon as I shoved in. Switching my attention to her other breast, I used the shift to part her folds and rest a finger on her clit.

  She undulated against my hand. Always so responsive. Her reaction was real and it made me feel like a god.

  One swipe over her nub made her body tremble. I released her nipple and blew across it.

  She inhaled. “You’re naughty.”

  “You like it,” I growled.

  “So much. Do it again.”

  Uninhibited. Unabashed. My Tilly was the real deal. It had been the real her in high school, too, with a personality so big and bold it’d been like looking at the sun. She never gave up on those she cared for, whether it was the shelter cats or the kids she taught…or me. She humbled me, and she deserved so much better. And dammit, I so wasn’t worthy. I was the opposite of the person she tried to be. But for whatever reason, she’d set her sights on me and I couldn’t move out of her orbit. I’d made it three weeks without her company, each day an empty husk of existence before I’d run back to steal whatever she was willing to give.

  I did as she asked, switching from one breast to the other while sliding my thumb in a steady rhythm over her clit. She was slick with need, her body coiled tight, the tension building.

  Her hands gripped my shoulders, nails digging in. Perfection. An unhinged Tilly lay under me, her chest rising and falling in short pants, her hips swiveling, trying to eke out every scrap of pleasure I was giving her.

  I slid a finger inside, watched with greedy fascination as she tilted her head back with a groan and arched her luminous breasts closer to me. Her walls clenched my finger. So badly, I wished it was my cock she gripped. Soon.

  The first full-body quake hit her. It rippled through her, creating an erotic image I’d remember the rest of my life. This woman drove me crazy in all the good ways.

  Slowly, I circled her clit once, twice. Her body tightened. I slid my finger out to replace my thumb on her bundle of nerves. Her eyes flew open as her crest stalled, but I positioned myself and thrust inside. The pressure of my body knocked my finger against her clit and I used the momentum to bring her back to a swift peak.

  Holding myself on one shaking arm, I let her passion unfold beneath me.

  She cried to the ceiling, she clawed at her bed, she bucked, and when she came, it was the spectacular sight I’d been waiting for. Only then did I let go. The stamina that I normally prided myself on took its own vacation around her. Three thr
usts were all I got in before my orgasm hit. Her sex clenched around me, her body cushioning me as I lost myself to blinding ecstasy.

  I gave us both time to come down from our peaks, and when our breathing slowed, I rolled off her, dropping a lingering kiss on her lips.

  “Let me clean up before we talk.”

  She returned the kiss but let me go without protest.

  In the bathroom, I dropped the condom in the garbage. If I had my way, I’d fill that damn garbage with condom wrappers. Would I seem too needy if I stuck around all weekend? I glanced around the bathroom. It was tidy, old, but well cared for. The rest of the place was the same from the little I’d paid attention on my way to her bedroom. The entire house could fit into my kitchen.

  But my place didn’t have signs of Tilly everywhere. Like her emoji shower curtain and her pink, plush bathmats. Her towels were just as fluffy and bright yellow, except for the black-and-red one hanging on the hook on the back of her door. It reminded me of her Harley Quinn swimsuit.

  And that she was waiting for my life story.

  I flicked off the light and opened the door. She was tucked into her bed, facing me.

  “Hey,” she said. The corner of the blanket flung back. She hadn’t dressed, and that fast I could take her again.

  “Hey.” I crawled in and her gaze dipped to my hardening cock. “I’ll be good, I promise.”

  “Not forever, I hope,” she teased.

  My stress drained away. Threading an arm under her, I curled her into my chest and planted my gaze on the ceiling. “It was just Lynne and me.” How long had it been since I’d said her name out loud? “Growing up was okay. We weren’t a perfect family, but who is, I guess. Then the accident happened and my dad died.”

  Her head popped up. “Your dad drowned, too.”

  I only nodded. “My mom blamed the world. She’d blamed him for everything. Working too much, not making enough money, having a beater car. But when he died, she never seemed to get past the anger phase of grief. Most of it she redirected at me. School was the only reprieve I got from her relentless hounding. I just couldn’t do anything right.”