One Night with her Bachelor(20)

Her sharp gaze communicated everything her words couldn’t, and when she subtly tipped her head toward Josh, he understood exactly what she was saying. Molly was struggling, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of help she needed. “How much?”

Lily shook her head. “It’s not like that. We’re talking lots and lots—more than one person around here could give. But lots of people getting together to do their part, now that’s what we need.”

He took a deep breath and let it out, relieved because as much as he wanted to help he didn’t exactly have deep pockets.

“Are you ready to face the biggest challenge of your life, soldier?”

“I’m not a soldier.”

“Retired soldier?”

“Nope. Air Force, not Army. You can call me battlefield airman, pararescueman or PJ.”

“PJ?” She drew back with a look of disgust. “That sounds… cuddly.”

“That’s me,” he said with a fake smile before turning serious again. “What do you need me to do?”

“Josh is the details man. I’m just the one with the vision. Josh?”

Somehow he doubted that. Five minutes in Lily Taylor’s company had taught him never, ever to underestimate her.

Josh clapped his hands together. “Here’s the thing, Gabriel. We need a few good men, and we’re especially looking for men with your qualifications.”

He shook his head in bafflement. “I know I haven’t been around much lately, but has Marietta turned into a combat zone?”

“No, but it might next Saturday night. You see, Aunt Lily’s organizing an auction, and we’re looking for the best of the best. Aunt Lily wants you—” He pointed at Gabriel as if he were posing for an Uncle Sam poster. “—to enlist in our bachelor auction.”

The words took a few seconds to sink in. His panicked gaze shot to Lily, who gave him a no-one-says-no-to-me grin of satisfaction. “Oh, hell no.”





Chapter Six





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Gabriel opened the door to Grey’s and had to force himself not to turn and bolt for his truck. The old saloon was packed to the rafters with women. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Maybe even bordering on a million.

There were men too, a few poor saps who’d either been suckered into coming or—more likely—hoped to get lucky with women who were outbid and eager to work out their raucous energy with someone who hadn’t put himself up on the auction block.

Felt more like the chopping block to him.

But he was here for Molly. She needed him, and he wouldn’t let her down.

The bar looked to be doing a brisk trade in frou-frou drinks and some kind of shot. Alcohol—he needed some of that. He mumbled his excuses as he wound through the crowd, trying not to step on any cowgirl boots. Last thing he needed was a pointy boot up his ass for his carelessness. Why did walking through this wall of women feel so much harder than rescuing Josh had?

Out of practice, that’s all.

As he tried to get to the bar, a gnarled hand wrapped around his biceps and an elderly woman yanked him to a halt. He barely had a chance to recognize her as his second-grade teacher, Mrs. Schwartz, when she shouted, “Want a blowjob?” He froze and she shoved a shot glass in his face. “Half price!”

She and her friends bent over and slapped their thighs with laughter, showing off big gaps of missing teeth.

Oh God. He scanned the crowd for Lily, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing here, but his gaze snagged on the woman talking to Buck, the cattle auctioneer, by the stage.

Molly.

Before he could tell his feet to do any different, he was striding toward her. She faced away from him and hadn’t seen him yet, giving him a chance to watch her without her knowing. Her dark, wavy hair hung loose over her shoulders. She wore a tight green shirt that hugged her curves and made him silently beg for her to turn around. Would the neckline be high, covering her like an unconsciously sexy schoolmarm? Or would it plunge and give him glimpses of the breasts that had taunted his dreams for months?

Her skirt went down to her ankles, and she wore flimsy-looking boots. She was a vegetarian, and Scott had told him once she tried to avoid leather. How she managed that here, he had no idea. Other than the useless boots, she was a hometown girl with a body he would kill to get his hands on again. A sweet and sultry cowgirl, too proud to ask for help but not too shy to try her hand at seduction. His belly tightened with longing. Her touch had made him come alive. He’d been dead too long. He needed that feeling again.

A hand on his arm stopped him a few feet from Molly. “Gabriel! You shaved!”

He glanced down and found Lily smiling up at him. “Yeah. As soon as I figured out what lumbersexual meant, I decided I didn’t want to be it.”

“That’s good, because you weren’t exactly killing it, I’ll be honest with you.”

He chuckled, surprising himself with the sound. His main reason for shaving was that he didn’t want to be humiliated tonight. Camo pants, jeans, plaid shirts, and plain T-shirts took up all the space in his closet. He’d chosen his nicest clothes—soft, faded jeans and a red plaid shirt that an ex had said accentuated his dark, brooding sexuality. He had no idea what that meant, but he figured it was a good thing, since she’d gone down on him with gusto right afterward. But he wasn’t aiming to get sex tonight. He just hoped to raise some money for Molly.