Bachelor Auction (5 page)

through an apology when his thoughts strayed

uncontrollably, misconstruing her every movement

into something provocative and sensually erotic?

More importantly, when he knew if they were alone,

he would probably repeat the mistake he’d made in

the mayor’s garden.

“Well, thanks for the dance. I’ll see you later.”

“Wait.” He grabbed her hand as the band struck

up another two-step, this one much slower. “You

can’t leave after half a song. You won’t know for sure

how light on my feet I am unless you dance an entire

song with me.”

Marcus didn’t wait for Charlotte to refuse. He

placed a hand at the small of her back and drew her

closer, resisting the urge to crush her to him, to bury

his face in her hair. Instead, he remained careful,

keeping enough space between them so as not to

reveal the bulge beneath his cummerbund.

“It must be hard.”

Marcus almost choked on his next breath. “I beg

your pardon?”

“Being a bachelor on the auction block. I’ve

always felt sorry for you guys, making yourself, or

rather your time, available to the highest bidder,

never knowing which woman...” she smiled that half

smile again, “...or man that will be.”

This time he did choke.

Charlotte slapped him on the back and laughed,

her blue eyes twinkling. “Hey, it could happen.

Ralphy Jernigan would just love to get his hands,

not to mention other body parts, on a virile young

buck like you.”

He shuddered and frowned even as he reveled in

her description of him. “Don’t even joke about a

thing like that.”

“Oh, don’t worry. No self-respecting socialite

would let a specimen like you fall into Ralphy’s

clutches.”

25

Darah Lace

“Does that mean you’d bid on me?” Now why the

hell had he asked that? The last thing he needed

was for Charlotte to purchase him so he’d be forced

to spend time with her. He’d never survive.

“I already have.”

He couldn’t contain his surprise or his unwanted

excitement. “You have?”

“Yes, as head of the silent auction, I place the

first bid on each bachelor to get the ball rolling.”

In other words, she had only bid on him because

it was part of her job. It didn’t bother her that he

would end up with some other woman. He shouldn’t

be disappointed. He’d just admitted he couldn’t

handle time alone with her.

Then he remembered she’d passed on her duties

as the benefit committee chair to Melody. “I

thought—”

A sudden nudge at Marcus’s back knocked him

into Charlotte and together they stumbled. He

quickly righted them and adjusted the space

between them before she realized his condition, then

frowned at Spencer over his shoulder. But his

brother was so wrapped up in Melody he didn’t

realize what he’d done. Or simply didn’t care enough

to acknowledge it.

“Sorry about that,” Marcus said as he moved

them in another direction just to be on the safe side,

then picked up the conversation. “You’re not in

charge of the auction this year, Melody is. Why

would you open the bidding?”

She gave him a smirk that said he must have

lost his mind. “And do you actually think Spencer

would allow her to bid on another man?”

Marcus shrugged. “If it were for a good cause.”

“Would you?”

He considered how he’d feel if the woman he

loved wanted to put her name on a bidding sheet,

leaving herself open to the possibility of spending

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Bachelor Auction

time with another man. He thought, too, about

Charlotte’s admission that she always initiated the

bidding. Neither sat well with him. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“I figured I owed it to Melody to step in since she

took over the auction for me.”

“I never realized you were even involved with

the auction, much less in charge, until she told us

she was taking it on for you.”

She turned her attention toward the crowded

edge of the dance floor as if bored with the

conversation. “It’s for the children at the hospital.”

Marcus never thought she’d be one for thinking

about kids. It was more her style to enter into a

bidding war with a bunch of man-hungry

debutantes. Yet he couldn’t remember her ever

having done so. She’d never bought a bachelor

either.

“This can’t be making Snow White very happy.”

“I thought—”

A shove from behind pushed him flush against

her. She clutched his shoulder this time to keep from

falling, and he was certain she felt the jerk of his

erection as it came in contact with her hip. He

shifted to allow more space between them then

turned to see who had bumped into him.

Mitch gave him a sheepish grin and a mumbled

apology over his dance partner’s head, causing

Marcus to suspect he’d become the target of a

misguided matchmaking scheme. His brothers were

in no way clumsy.

Marcus ignored Mitch and turned back to

Charlotte. By the frown she wore, he figured her

opinion

of

his

coordination

had

dropped

considerably. He muttered another feeble apology

and steered her to an area near the open door,

hoping the November air would cool both his

irritation and his desire.

Once there, it took him a moment to remember

27

Darah Lace

what she’d said and whom she’d dubbed Snow

White. He failed to see what Natalie had to be

unhappy about. In fact, she had seemed giddy all

night just to attend one of society’s big events. It

wasn’t often a ranch foreman’s daughter found

herself invited. He had tried to keep her company

and introduce her to as many people as possible.

Good connections never hurt.

Still, Charlotte may have seen something he

hadn’t and Marcus was compelled to protect the girl

who had dogged his steps as a child. “I thought

Natalie was having a good time. Why would you

think she’s not?”

“Oh, I just figured she’d have something to say

about you spending time with another woman even

if it is for the kids.”

He cocked his head, unable to comprehend her

logic. “What’s she got to say about what I do?”

She snorted. “It’s just like a man to be oblivious

to the world around him. That girl is over the moon

for you.”

“Nat? She’s just a kid.”

“Believe me, she’s no kid, and she knows exactly

what she wants.”

Her tone held just enough jealousy to give his

ego a much needed boost, though it was ridiculous to

think he could possibly look at Natalie as more than

a kid sister. Or to think the jealousy he heard was

more than female insecurity talking. Still, what

could it hurt for Charlotte to think he might be

interested in Natalie? He’d never seen her self-

confidence threatened, and for some reason it made

her seem more human, almost vulnerable.

He glanced to where Natalie stood at the edge of

the dance floor and pretended to study her. “Now

that you mention it, I guess she is pretty attractive.”

“Just your type.”

Now this was interesting. “What type is that?”

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Bachelor Auction

“Oh, you know. All small and meek and helpless

with don’t-touch-me-or-I’ll-break porcelain skin.

Sweet and innocent, round-as-saucer brown eyes.

Pure to the bone.”

Everything you’re not
Marcus thought with a

pang of something he never expected to feel for

Charlotte. Regret. Regret that she wasn’t his type,

and that no matter how much he wished it, she

never could be. Or at least that’s what he’d always

believed.

So far tonight nothing in his reaction to her had

been consistent with the past. Nothing except his

rock-hard arousal. “My type or not, there’s nothing

between Nat and me.”

“Well, from the way she’s been hanging all over

you this evening and the way she’s glaring at me

right now, I’d say she thinks there is.”

Surprise rippled through him. Not because Nat

might have a crush on him, though until Charlotte

mentioned it, he hadn’t considered Nat’s actions

during the evening anything but friendly. No, what

surprised him was Charlotte’s slip. He doubted she

even realized she had more or less just confessed

she’d watched him throughout the evening.

A smile threatened, but he forced his lips into a

thin line. If he was careful, maybe she would reveal

something else. Besides, he didn’t dare let her see

how her interest affected him. Especially when he

hated to admit it to himself. “I don’t think—”

Someone slammed into Marcus, this time

sandwiching Charlotte between him and the person

behind her. The feel of her soft body pressed so

firmly against his from chest to knees was too much

to handle. He jerked away, his entire body rebelling

against the restraint his brain was fast losing

control of. Hell, he fairly shook with wanting to drag

her out the door to someplace dark where he would

be free to explore her soft curves and more.

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Darah Lace

He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from

doing just that, realizing too late how stupid that

was since he couldn’t very well dance with her

without touching her. He withdrew them slowly and

held one out. A long moment passed before he

realized she hadn’t moved and was forced to look at

her.

“You know, Marcus,” she said, irritation flashing

in her cat-like eyes. “I figure half of one song and

half of another makes a whole. Why don’t I deem you

a competent dancer and put us both out of our

misery?”

With that, she turned around and left him

standing on the edge of the dance floor, feeling like

the fool he was for lingering in her company longer

than necessary.

“Sorry, bro. That wasn’t supposed to happen,”

Chad said beside him. “We were just trying to help

you along. I mean, we all know you’ve got a thing for

Charlotte, but you were dancing with her like you

had a poker up your ass.”

Marcus

watched

Charlotte’s

lithe

figure

disappear into the hallway before turning to his

brother. “When and if I ever need your help with a

woman, I’ll let you know. Until then stay the hell out

of my business.”

He walked away from his meddling brother with

every intention of putting distance between himself

and the woman he ‘didn’t need any help with.’

Instead, his feet carried him toward the same door

she’d passed through. He’d almost made it when

Natalie stepped in front of him.

“Marcus, I need to talk to you.”

Her dark eyes flared with anger, and he

remembered Charlotte’s warning that Natalie

fancied herself in love with him. He would have to

set Nat straight, but the mood he was in at the

moment, he wasn’t inclined to do so easily.

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Bachelor Auction

“Not now.” He patted her hand and ignored her

protest as he brushed past her. Determination filled

him with every step, though he couldn’t say why he

felt the need to rehash a history Charlotte obviously

didn’t remember.

One Marcus would never forget.

****

coat closet and read the sign “Back in 15 Minutes.”

“To hell with that,” she muttered as she slipped

around the counter and through the open door of the

closet. They would be announcing the winning bids

by then, and she’d rather not live through that

nightmare. The one she’d suffered moments ago was

bad enough.

She must have been out of her mind to think she

could dance with Marcus, be that close to him and

not fall victim to her own longings or risk another

rejection. But he had seemed sincere in wanting to

dance with her. At least until the music slowed,

forcing him to actually pay attention to his partner.

That he was uncomfortable with her was an

understatement.

She scanned the hundreds of coats that lined the