Page 4 of Ruin Me, Daddy

Interest lit Beckett’s dark eyes. “I’ll think about it. Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Of course. In the meantime, I actually came by to check that you’re both still on board to help with the first official Club BDE auction tomorrow night.”

Ever since Braden had shut down the illicit online auction being held under his club’s banner, several of the members had been hounding him to reinstate the practice. He’d finally caved, but under the condition that all auctions would be held at the club and half the proceeds would go to charity. His team of lawyers had walked a delicate line ensuring the entire event would be one-hundred-percent legal, and it had taken nearly a month for Braden to be comfortable with the wording of the contracts and such, but the club was buzzing with anticipation over the returning auction.

“We’ll be there,” Becket said, raising his glass in a toast.

“With bells on,” Ice added with a chuckle.

“Bells, huh?” Eyes sparkling with laughter, Beckett cocked an eyebrow. “Looking to be somebody’s pretty cow tomorrow, Turner?”

“Fuck off, Beckett.”

Laughing loudly now, Beckett slid from the booth and clapped a hand on Ice’s shoulder. “Sorry friend, you’re not my type. I’m off to find Delia and see what she had in mind for her babygirl. I’ll be back… or not.”

Ice rolled his eyes as his friend sauntered off, then looked up at Braden, who was watching him with an intensity that had his spine crawling. Resisting the urge to physically shake off the feeling, he raised an eyebrow. “Something bothering you?”

“You never play.” It wasn’t a question, just a simple statement of fact, and yet it still gave Ice the distinct impression he was being interrogated.

“Is that against the rules?” he asked, lifting his whiskey to his suddenly dry lips.

“No. But it does make me wonder…”

“Wonder what?”

“Are you still in love with her?”

The question was like a physical blow, knocking the air clean from his lungs. He’d spilled his guts to both Beckett and Braden about Silver one night after several rounds of whiskey, but like the good friends they were, they’d never brought her up again. Having her thrown in his face so out of the blue left him more shaken than he cared to admit. “That’s none of your business.”

“Perhaps not,” Braden said with a careless shrug. “But I hope you have an answer ready.”

Without bothering to explain what that cryptic message was supposed to mean, Braden turned and headed for the stairs that would take him down into the pit where half a dozen scenes were playing out, even on a Thursday night.

Closing his eyes, Elias dragged in a breath and dropped his head back against the cushioned headrest behind him. The answer to Braden’s question was the same as it had been since high school: Yes, he was still head over fucking heels in love with Amanda Sterling.

Someone brushed past him and a moment later he sensed them settling onto the seat across from him. “Strike out already?” he asked with a smirk, not bothering to open his eyes.

“I wasn’t aware I was at bat.”

That voice. Rich and husky, it wrapped around his senses, awakening the parts of him that had seemingly gone dormant during his ‘sabbatical’. Eyes snapping open, he jerked his head up to stare across the table, not at his new friend, but at the woman who’d shattered his heart.

After so long without seeing her in person, he’d nearly convinced himself that she wasn’t as beautiful as he remembered. That his mind had constructed a version of her where the brown of her eyes glowed brighter than they did in real life, where her hair didn’t have a life of its own with all those curls and the colors she added to them on a regular basis. Where her pale skin didn’t fucking shimmer under the lights of the club and her mouth didn’t beg to be kissed with that full bottom lip and that perfect little cupid’s bow.

But seeing her now, he was realizing his memories hadn’t done her justice. In person, she was a vision, and he nearly rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

“What are you doing here?”

The words came out sharper than he’d intended, and Silver cocked an eyebrow in response.

“I came to find you.”

He’d imagined those exact words coming from her lips so many times since he’d left California. Dreamed of the day she might show up to tell him she’d followed him all the way across the country because she couldn’t bear to live without him.

In those dreams, he’d swept her up in his arms, and they’d vowed to find a way to be together, no matter what. He had a feeling that when it came to their future, it was reality that would fall far short. “Well, you found me. Guess you can go home now.”

“No.” Determination flashed in her eyes as she jerked her chin up. “Not without you.”

“I’m on sabbatical.”

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