The VIP Room(175)

She jerked him back to the moment. Thank God for his tux jacket; he was so hard he could feel the seam of his zipper.

“Anything.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You may not want to agree so readily once you hear it.”

“The desire not to be alone in the same room with her makes me desperate, so you have me in a corner, Miss Frane.” He leaned in, thrilled that she didn’t retreat. “Do your worst.”

Amusement sparked in her eyes. That should have warned him.

“I will take that night, Mr. Hawkins. But whatever we end up doing, it will have to be with clothes on.”





* * *



Leah shared her plate of food, using a full mouth as an excuse not to talk.

What was she thinking, tossing out a challenge like that? Marcus had looked at her like she had just given him the secret password to—her. He still glanced over at her, in between bites, a smile on his face. A smile that shot heat straight to her core.

She was toast.

Never mind that she swore to never talk to him again, threw his job in his face, and walked away from him. He didn’t seem to care. What he said to her crashed against how he treated her now.

It has to be the desperation. With a stalker ex at the function, more than able to outbid anyone who wanted to buy Marcus, he was obviously freaked.

Leah had to keep what he said to her in her mind, remember that he screwed her, then discarded her. She would do him this one favor, then walk away as planned. No matter how much it hurt.

When they both finished, Marcus picked up the plate, and laid his free hand on the bare skin of her lower back as he guided her to the foyer. As soon as they reached it a waiter hustled over and took the plate from him.

Then Marcus astonished her by guiding her through the crowd and introducing her to some of The Hawkins Group’s most influential clients.

An older woman Leah recognized as a senior board member took her hand. “Where did you find her, Marcus? She is so not like the other women you’ve paraded around.”

His arm circled her waist, and Leah fought the need to smack him. She would save it for later. “I decided on a reboot, Mrs. Chadwick. And Leah is the result.”

“Charming, my dear.” Mrs. Chadwick patted her hand and leaned in, whispering. “Keep him close, Leah. You are not the only one with eyes on him tonight.” She tilted her chin, just enough to direct Leah. Her heart skipped when she saw Tanya at the edge of another group, staring at Marcus. “Stay well out of reach of that one. She fights dirty.”

“Thank you for the warning.” They moved on to the next group of people, and Leah stopped him before they started to mingle again. “Tanya is lurking.”

Panic flared in his eyes. He really was worried about the woman. “Where?”

Leah crossed her arms, subtly pointing. “On your left. She’s wearing a different gown, black now, so she blends in more.”

He nodded, the panic easing. “She’s going to want to scratch your eyes out by the time the auction starts.”

“Oh, thank you very much.”

He smiled, and her knees threatened to buckle. Stop it—right now. He was not going to charm his way back into her life. Not again.

“You can take her, gorgeous.”

He led her toward the stage at the far end of the foyer. She followed him, dazed and flushed.

Gorgeous—he called me gorgeous.

She argued with herself all the way to the stage, and hadn’t even come close to making a decision by the time they stopped near the stage.

“Leah.” His deep voice jerked her out of her daze. “Remember, no matter how high the bidding gets, keep going until you win.”

“Okay.”

“I know I don’t deserve the chance, but God, I want to kiss you right now.” He whispered against her ear. “I want to do so much more than kiss you.”

She fought to keep her composure. Her body betrayed her, leaning in to him, wanting him to do more than kiss her. Repeatedly. He flashed her that smile, the one that always made her blush, and followed the other bachelors to the back of the stage.

A chill slid down her back and she turned. Tanya was behind her, a death glare aimed right between her shoulder blades. Leah faced front again, took a deep breath, and kept her gaze on Marcus.

He may have let her down, but she would do whatever she had to do to keep him from Tanya. That woman was trouble on two legs, the anger surrounding her like a black cloud. If she made a man like Marcus Hawkins jumpy, Leah wanted to keep her far away.

A soft hand touched her wrist. She turned to find Mrs. Chadwick next to her, a wicked smile on her face.

“This is my favorite part. I do love watching handsome young men parading across a stage.” She slipped her hand through Leah’s arm. “Your Marcus looks especially handsome.”

Heat flushed her cheeks. Again. “He’s not my—”

“You may not think so, my dear girl, but he has spent the entire evening looking at you like you are the center of his world. He has never paid such attention to another woman, not that I recall. Oh, he has that reputation,” her free hand waved in the air. “But he was young, let loose after years in private schools. Young, wealthy, beautiful—a lethal combination. Don’t let it scare you off. He’s been a good boy for quite some time now. In fact, I haven’t seen him with a woman since he and that stick-thin blonde broke it off more than a year ago. And there I go, talking your ear off.”