Page 10 of House of Desire

Still holding my hand, he looks deep into my eyes. “I hope you’ll place a bid on me,” he says with a wink. “Guys, I’ll see you later. Anya, would you excuse me? I need to mingle, but I hope to speak with you more this evening.”

“I’ll be around,” I say with much more finesse this time.

As he saunters away, I take a moment to appreciate the hard work he’s put into sculpting his backside.

“Stop ogling my teammate,” my brother whispers in my ear.

“I would hate for all his hard work to go unappreciated,” I tell him, not removing my eyes, or bothering to keep my voice down. I hear Tank and Lorelei snort, but ignore them until my eye line is broken and I am no longer under a trance. “Is he single?”

“To my knowledge,” Dom says with a heavy sigh.

Lore laughs, pulling my attention to her.

“Can I be the fifteenth person tonight to tell you how great you look? I can’t keep my eyes off your boobs!” Lorelei had left the room before I was in my dress. She motions for me to do a little spin, which I do as my brother huffs for the hundredth time, mumbles something about needing a drink, and abandons me.

“Are you sure we can’t take you home tonight, Anya? It’ll be a night you’ll never forget,” Tank says, all promise in his voice.

His wife swats him as unease runs through me, not because Tank is making me uncomfortable, but because Lorelei is the only best friend I have and I don’t want to ruin our friendship. In high school, my best friend’s boyfriend tried kissing me at a farm party and she never spoke to me again even though I immediately ran away.

“I already told you she isn’t interested. Leave the poor girl alone and go get us some drinks. Anya, what do you want?”

“A vodka soda with a lime,” I tell her. Tank nods before making his way through the crowd.

“I hope you know he’s just teasing you,” she says, pulling me down into a chair next to hers.

“I didn’t realize you guys, you know.” I make some indelicate gestures that would make Dom swallow his tongue.

“Only sometimes, and it’s never with friends we don’t believe can maintain the friendship without awkwardness after. There are a lot of NDAs involved, because of his position, but it’s something we enjoy. You’re drop dead gorgeous and both of our type, so he would love to watch us together and vice versa,” she tells me without a hint of joke or embarrassment about the things they enjoy.

“Wow, that’s incredibly flattering,” I say with relief she’s not mad her husband finds me attractive. “I’m going to pass tonight, but it’s definitely something I’ll keep in mind.” I give her a wink and she smiles, but we both know that’s not something I’ll take them up on. However, I can’t promise the thought won’t come back to me as I’m wrapped in my sheets tonight. All alone.

Tank brings us our drinks before disappearing again.

Lorelei and I talk at our table as various players and other people at the event come to say hi or offer a word. I notice as the evening goes on, most of the single players have made their way to our table, letting me know they hope to receive my bid tonight.

Eventually we get up and make our way around the room. Tank and my brother periodically find Lorelei and me in the crowd, depositing fresh drinks in our hands before moving away to converse with someone else until I’m tipsy.

Sasha walks up to us looking perfect in a red dress, her blonde hair styled over one shoulder.

“Hi, I’m Sasha Donovan. Patrick Donovan’s wife.” She holds her left hand out for me to shake, her giant wedding ring glinting in the low light. I take her hand in mind, shaking it.

“I’m Anastasia, Dominic Reynier’s sister. We’ve met about ten times.”

She pulls her hand from mine, looking down her nose at my dress, making me shift under her intense gaze.

“Your brother must not have shared the ‘elegant’ memo in regard to the dress code,” she sneers. As Lorelei opens her mouth to respond, the lights blink, telling us the dinner is about to begin. I grab Lorelei’s arm and pull her toward our table without further acknowledging Sasha.

“I can’t stand her,” Lore says and I just nod in agreement.

Everyone moves in a dance of bodies through the ballroom, making our way back to the designated table. I take my seat next to Lorelei, Tank on her right, my brother on my left. We are sat with another couple who are a sponsor of the evening, as well as two players who have come stag.

At the table to our right, in the center of the room, sits Sasha, her husband the diamond of the team, Miles, the head coach and his wife, and the owner with his eldest daughters. The hungry gleam in their eyes as they listen to Miles talk lets me know I’ll have a lot of competition when it comes to bidding on him.

Not that I blame them.

Waiters in all black bring out the dinner. Course after course flood the tables as plates are swept away and deposited with perfect efficiency until finally, the last dessert dish is cleared.

The food is luxurious and it’s all I can do to keep from licking my plate. As dinner comes to an end, Sasha moves up to the podium, calling for the players who will be auctioned off to make their way to the back of the stage. The younger, less well-known players will be auctioned off in groups at the beginning. The stars like Tank and our quarterback will be auctioned off individually and bring in the most money.

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