by K. M. Scott
Then he ran the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip and smiled before turning to step back onto the runway. I watched as he took a bow while the crowd went wild and his words finally sank in. Horrified, I lowered my head because of what everyone would think. How could I have let this happen?
Summer nudged me in the side and asked, “Oh, my God! What just happened there?”
“I don’t know,” I answered, still shaken by what he made me feel.
“You outbid everyone at ten grand for a date with Killian Brenton!”
Summer’s words filtered through the haze in my brain, and I shook my head. “Five thousand, and I have no intention of going anywhere with someone like him.”
Summer pointed up toward a big screen behind the stage and the image of Killian with the number $10,000 under him. “You raised your hand when they called for the next bid. I figured you were in the spirit of the evening and decided to be extra generous.”
I didn’t care about the money. It was only money, after all. “Five or ten, it’s a good cause, right?” I said as casually as I could manage.
“You’re going to go on the date with him, aren’t you?” Summer asked eagerly. “I mean, I guess you could just say no, but since you paid that much money for a night with him, you might as well.”
“I did not pay for a night with that man!” I protested, needing at least Summer to know that. “It was a charity auction. I would have contributed to anyone asking for a donation to cure childhood cancer, for God’s sake.”
Ten thousand dollars. How could I have been so lost in thought fantasizing about the delicious and decadent things I’d do with him that I bid ten thousand dollars for a date with a man?
As reality sunk in, I gradually realized everyone near us was staring at me. Jesus. How must all this look? I made a point of living as low-key a life as possible, acting professionally when I stepped out in public, and now I’d succeeded in blowing up all I’d worked for, and for what?
A date with a man. How embarrassing.
I watched as the people around us turned to look toward the stage. I followed their gazes to a huge screen showing a picture of Killian and me looking at each other right before he announced I’d won the bid. Anyone with eyes and a smattering of brain cells could see as clear as day what I was thinking about as I stared at him. I practically had a bubble over my head with the caption, “This man is beautiful. God, the things I would do with him.”
My stomach began to churn from the disgust coursing through my body. Mortified, I turned to leave and said, “This has been fun, but I’m going. Feel free to stay if you want.”
I couldn’t get out of that room fast enough. With each step, I felt people’s eyes staring at me like I was some kind of fallen woman. My head reeled from humiliation.
Summer ran up behind me and said, “You’re not staying for the party? You love these kinds of things. What’s going on? Are you sick?”
Flustered, I kept walking, my eyes firmly focused on the doors. “No. I’m fine. I just don’t feel like doing this tonight.”
Summer jumped in front of me in the lobby and stopped me. Smiling, she said, “You’re blushing. Oh, my God, you’re actually blushing! I’ve never seen you blush before. What’s going on?”
“Stop being melodramatic. I think you’ve been spending too much time with my brother. I’m not blushing. It’s just stuffy in here.”
Shaking her head, she grinned like any of this was at all amusing. “No, it’s not. It’s actually chilly in here. I think they went a little overboard on the air conditioning, to be honest. You’re blushing.”
“So what if I am? It’s not every day I’m publicly humiliated by a perfect stranger in a room full of people I’d hoped to chat up.”
“How did he publicly humiliate you?”
I stepped around her and hurried toward the front doors. “I don’t want to talk about it. God, who does he think he is?”
Summer rushed to keep up with me. “I think the question is who do you think he is because from where I’m standing, you like him. So are you going to go out with him?”
Again with that damn question. I rolled my eyes in disgust. “For the last time, no. Now let’s go. I need some fresh air.”
We reached the doors, and even though all I wanted to do was get out of there, I looked back and saw Killian standing at the edge of the catwalk staring at me. An attention whore man who craved the adulation of a crowd like that? No way was I going anywhere with him.
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About the Author
K.M. Scott writes contemporary romance stories of sexy, intense, and unforgettable love. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she’s been in love with romance since reading her first romance novel in junior high (she was a very curious girl!). Under her Gabrielle Bisset name, she writes erotic paranormal and historical romance. She lives in Pennsylvania with a herd of animals and when she’s not writing can be found reading or feeding her TV addiction.
Be sure to visit K.M.’s Facebook page at facebook.com/kmscottauthor for all the latest on her books, along with giveaways and other goodies! And to hear all the news on K.M. Scott books first, sign up for her newsletter today and be sure to visit her website at www.kmscottbooks.com
Books by K.M. Scott:
Crash Into Me (Heart of Stone #1)
Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone #2)
Give In To Me (Heart of Stone #3)
Heart of Stone Volume One Box Set
Ever After (Heart of Stone #4)
A Heart of Stone Christmas (Heart of Stone #5)
Return To Me (Heart of Stone #6)
Forever With Me (Heart of Stone #7)
Heart of Stone Volume Two Box Set
Hard As Stone (Heart of Stone #8)
Set In Stone (Heart of Stone #9)
Silent As A Stone (Heart of Stone #10)
Temptation (Club X #1)
Surrender (Club X #2)
Possession (Club X #3)
Satisfaction (Club X #4)
Acceptance (Club X #5)
The Complete Club X Series Box Set
If I Dream (Corrupted Love #1)
If You Fight (Corrupted Love #2)
If We Fall (Corrupted Love #3)
Crave (Addicted To You #1)
Adore (Addicted To You #2)
Shatter (Addicted To You #3)
Claim (Addicted To You #4)
The Addicted To You Box Set
In The Darkness (Project Artemis #1)
After The Storm (Project Artemis #2)
Behind The Scenes (Project Artemis #3)
Hard Work (Standalone)
K.M.’S BOOKS ARE IN AUDIOBOOK TOO!
Books by K.M. Scott writing as Gabrielle Bisset:
Vampire Dreams Revamped (A Sons of Navarus Prequel)
Blood Avenged (Sons of Navarus #1)
Blood Betrayed (Sons of Navarus #2)
Longing (A Sons of Navarus Short Story)
Blood Spirit (Sons of Navarus #3)
The Deepest Cut (A Sons of Navarus Short Story)
Blood Prophecy (Sons of Navarus #4)
Blood Craving (Sons of Navarus #5)
Blood Eclipse (Sons of Navarus #6)
The Sons of Navarus Box Set #1
The Sons of Navarus Box Set #2
Stolen Destiny (Destined Ones Duology #1)
Destiny Redeemed (Destined Ones Duology #2)
Love’s Master
Masquerade
The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy
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