Bachelor Auction (6 page)

walls on either side, but the faux sable mink she’d

worn suddenly resembled dozens of others that were

most likely real. “Concentrate, Charlotte, so you can

get the hell out of here.”

“You’re not going anywhere until I’ve had my

say.”

Her heart plunged to her stomach at the sound

of Marcus’s hard-as-steel voice. She restrained

herself from rubbing the goose bumps beneath her

sleeves and instead, shook her hair over her

shoulder and continued her search. “What? You’re

not through insulting me?”

“I’m not the one who left you standing on the

dance floor, looking like a fool.”

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Darah Lace

“Because it was obvious you couldn’t stand

touching me.”

“That’s not—”

A giggle from the hallway thwarted whatever

reply he might have made, and relief swept over her

when he turned to leave. Her relief was short lived

when Marcus eased the door to within a couple of

inches of being closed then returned to stand directly

in front of her. He shoved his hands deep in his

pockets, elbows grazing the coats on either side.

His nearness distracted her, as did his musky

cologne and the jet-black hair that fell over his

furrowed brow, emphasizing the deep green eyes

staring intently back at her. But she couldn’t afford

to get carried away by her attraction to him and end

up hurt again. Her response to him in the mayor’s

garden had certainly proven her resistance was no

match for his charm. Still, she had to keep the

barriers up, to play her part.

Instead of waiting for him to finish what he’d

started to say, she shrugged. “Hey, it’s no big deal if

you don’t want to dance with me. To each his own,

right?”

“You should know by now I never do anything I

don’t want to.”

Charlotte sighed inwardly. She did know. Better

than most. Marcus could be stubborn to a fault, a

trait she often depended on. “I told you I knew

Melody asked you to be nice to me.”

“Yes, but I wanted to talk to you. I’d been trying

all night.”

“You didn’t try very hard. I’ve been here the

entire evening.”

“Surrounded by admirers,” he mumbled and

looked away for a moment, then once again steadied

his dark gaze on her. “Look, I wanted to apologize.”

Stunned, Charlotte could think of only one thing

he would apologize for, and she’d be damned if she’d

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Bachelor Auction

let him. Granted, she regretted how that brief

episode had ended, but she wouldn’t take it back or

let him sully it with an apology.

“No need. It’s already forgotten.” With that lie,

she turned away to resume her search. She thrust

another black mink aside as silence filled what little

space there was left in the narrow closet. Where was

her stupid coat?

“I only meant to keep you from interrupting

Spencer and Melody, but I shouldn’t have let things

go so far.”

“Don’t.”

Her whispered plea went unheard.

“I shouldn’t have used you.”

She clutched the hounds-tooth overcoat in front

of her as her heart lurched from her stomach to her

throat. There it was, her suspicion put into words.

She’d been nothing to him. Nothing but a means to

an end, the pleasure he’d given her no more than a

way of distracting her.

Swallowing the ache his words created, she

somehow dredged up what little pride she still

possessed, along with the carefree attitude she’d

conveyed over the years, and turned to face him.

This time with a practiced expression of sultry

invitation.

The anger in his eyes faded to a wary glare. He

obviously knew the game they’d played off and on

over the years as well as she did. In fact, he could

probably guess her next move. She certainly

anticipated his.

“As I recall,” she said, letting her gaze roam over

his long, muscular, and sexy-as-hell frame before

meeting his gaze again. “I was the one using you

that night.” She stepped close and ran her index

finger down the center of his chest, her fingernail

clicking over each onyx button. “I’d be more than

willing to return the favor.”

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Darah Lace

He caught her wrist as she reached his

cummerbund. “I told you that night there could

never be anything between us.”

Charlotte knew rejection was imminent, but his

nearness and his touch triggered a desire she had

fought hard to deny, longings she couldn’t control.

For one brief moment, she questioned the sanity of

her actions. Then she noticed the muscle of his jaw

work as he clenched it tight. She wouldn’t have to do

much more. He was ready to bolt as always.

“I remember you telling me that.” She moved

closer, pressing against him, determined to drive

him away, out of the closet, out of her life for good. “I

remember everything about that night, Marcus.

Especially, how good it felt when you kissed me.”

She curled her free arm around his neck and licked

her lips. “Don’t you want to kiss me now?”

“That’s not why I’m here.” His darkening gaze

dropped to her mouth even as he denied it.

She smiled the lazy smile she’d used on so many

men. One that reeled them in. One Marcus had

always been immune to. “That’s right. You came to

apologize.” She threaded her fingers through the

hair at his nape and tilted her head. “I know the

perfect way to say you’re sorry.”

Brushing her lips against his, slowly, softly, she

felt the rush of his warm breath. His grip on her

wrist loosened, and she readied herself for the

moment he would break free as he had on the dance

floor.

In a move as quick as lightening, he fisted one

hand in her hair, startling a gasp from her. His

mouth slanted across hers. His tongue surged

forward, laying siege, seeking to do battle with hers.

He tasted of champagne and one hundred percent

pure need.

As surprise gave way to the knowledge that

she’d really screwed up, gone too far this time,

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Bachelor Auction

Charlotte flattened a palm against his chest to push

him away. But her fingers betrayed her, curling

around his lapel, pulling him closer, and she

surrendered to the assault on her senses, all

resistance conquered.

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Darah Lace

Marcus tasted the sweetness of her, drank in all

that was Charlotte and wanted more. He wanted to

devour her, kiss every inch of her beautiful body,

touch every curve and crevice, lose himself in the

softness of her skin. He wanted to bury himself

inside her warmth, to take her here, now, in this

cramped closet before common sense returned. He

wanted everything she had to offer. And more.

Always more.

He smoothed a hand down her back to palm her

butt and lifted her against his aching arousal. Her

soft moan washed over him, adding to his already

burning need. She arched into him, and he felt the

beaded tips of her breasts through their clothing.

One button.
The thought resounded through his

head. One golden button between him and the twin

mounds of equally golden flesh that haunted his

dreams. With a resigned groan, he reached for the

button, desperate to know if she still tasted as good

as he remembered. The button popped free, and he

slid his hand inside her jacket at the base of her ribs

just below her breast.

He started to move his hand upward then stilled

when he heard voices just outside the closet.

“But Henry, they haven’t closed the bidding.”

“I’m ready to go home, Lilly. I’ve got a full day at

the office tomorrow.”

“But the coat-check girl’s not here,” Lilly wailed.

“Can’t you wait until she returns?”

“Who knows when she’ll be back.”

Marcus’s first instinct was to spring away and

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Bachelor Auction

pretend innocence, but one look into Charlotte’s

heavy-lidded, glazed blue eyes changed his mind.

Even if she kept them lowered, there was still her

flushed cheeks, swollen red lips, and tangled hair,

not to mention his own irregular breathing. Anyone

with half a brain would know what they’d been

doing, and Lilly McAfee was no fool. She was one of

the biggest gossips in Houston. She could write her

own column.

Not that Charlotte’s reputation hadn’t endured

worse, but he wouldn’t add to its damage. And he’d

be damned if he would become known as another of

her conquests.

“Henry, you can’t just—”

“I’m not waiting.”

Marcus didn’t hesitate. His hand still pressed to

the bare flesh beneath her breast, he pushed

Charlotte toward the far end of the narrow closet.

“Marcus, what—”

“Be quiet,” he whispered as he shoved a

multitude of coats aside and thrust her against the

wall behind them, then ducked beneath the pole to

join her. The shelf above barely grazed his head, and

he had just enough room to flatten himself against

her once he arranged the coats around them.

The door swung open, and Lilly’s irritation rang

clearly in the silence of the closet. “Why did we even

come if you weren’t going to stay to hear the results

of the bidding?”

“I came to talk business.” Henry moved closer,

searching purposefully.

Marcus felt Charlotte tense as if only now

becoming aware of the invasion of their privacy. He

pressed a finger against her lips, and she gazed up

at him with startled eyes. Eyes a man could drown

in, that even now pulled him slowly under.

He closed his own and tried not to think about

where his hand was. That with only the slightest

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Darah Lace

move he would find the treasure he’d sought

moments ago. Instead, he tried to concentrate on the

conversation going on behind them and the

whereabouts of the participants.

“So now that your business is concluded, you

think I should drop my friends and hurry on home?”

Lilly remained in the doorway.

“They’ll call you tomorrow, and you can gossip

all day about the auction.”

Henry was still some feet away.

Charlotte shifted, and Marcus stifled a groan.

That she cradled his cock between her thighs wasn’t

an easy thing to ignore, but when she squirmed

against him, his awareness of just how intimate

their position was sprang to life again. Before he

could relay his need for her to remain still, his

thumb grazed the underside of her breast, and she

froze.

He opened his eyes and again found himself

looking into hers, wide with shock and just a hint of

something else. That something else prompted him

to disregard good sense, along with everything he

knew and felt about Charlotte.

Holding her gaze, he slid his thumb up the

underside of her breast, over its stiff crest, then

back. Her eyelids fluttered down then up again, and

even in the shadows, he saw the flame of desire

ignite behind that veil of cool blue.

Like an addict needed his next fix, Marcus

needed to see more of Charlotte’s reaction to his

touch. He repeated his action, adding to it a series of

circles around the areola. When her eyelids lowered

to half-mast, denying him his pleasure, his thumb

came to a rest, cutting off her pleasure as well.

She opened her eyes to stare at him with the

same fiery need as before, along with wary

anticipation. He flicked his thumb over the tip of her

beaded nipple, and she rewarded him with an

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Bachelor Auction

indrawn breath.

His gaze fell to her wide full mouth. Still

beneath his index finger, her lips were puffy and red,

warm and inviting. He traced the seam of her lips

then gently tugged the lower one until they parted,

revealing flawless white teeth. He felt himself

harden further at the thought of those teeth grazing

his flesh.

Lilly McAfee once more bemoaned the fact that