Page 27 of A Christmas Auction

My head felt light, my feet heavy, and my knees wobbly.

“And you’re Colin,” I breathed, pure awe stealing my ability to speak normally.

He extended his hand and I quickly wiped mine on my cocktail napkin before I shook his. Electricity sparked at the center of our palms, sending a wave of gooseflesh across my bare arms.

“Guilty,” he purred, and leaned closer to kiss my cheek.

My heart pounded against my chest as I inhaled his cologne. It was divine—cedar and citrus.

Colin pulled away and repeated the process with Alana, only he did not kiss her cheek.

“Mr. Omstead, this is my belle of the ball. I expect you will take great care of her. When shall I expect her return?”

Did Alana just pull the mom card? I wasn’t a teenager. I’d been a full-grown adult for over a decade. At thirty-years-old, I didn’t need another maternal figure attempting to manage my time. One mother was plenty.

“Oh, Alana, I’m a very big girl. I think I’ve got this covered…”

Alana smiled in that serene way that put everyone at ease. “You misunderstand,chérie. It is my responsibility to ensure the safety and comfort of both my candidates and…” she glanced around the bar, likely assessing how close other patrons were to us. “Clients.” She chose the word wisely, preferring not to use the term bidder in mixed company it seemed.

“Not to worry, Madam Toussaint,” Bruno interrupted. “I’ll be chaperoning them the entire evening.”

“Excuse me?” Colin frowned. “I assure you, I have nothing but honorable intentions with Ms. Knight. And my security team will be with us to and from the event, as well as escorting us to the hotel.”

“Hotel?” I cut in. “I didn’t pack a bag. I assumed we’d be returning to Las Vegas.”

“These things often run very late. I took the liberty of securing us suites in the host hotel and securing any essentials you might need, including clothing for tomorrow. All of your sizes were on your candidate card. My pilot wasn’t able to get clearance to fly back to Las Vegas this evening, so I made appropriate arrangements. We will return after breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“Sounds like you’ve worked it all out. Are we ready to go?” I asked.

“Not so fast.” Bruno lifted a hand. “I’m Bruno Castellanos, Ms. Knight’s personal security. I will be attending and keeping Holly”—Alana glared at the casual familiarity—“I meanMs. Knight, within my eyesight throughout the evening as outlined in great detail within the contract. Candidate security is of utmost importance.”

“I-I see.” Colin reluctantly agreed.

My eyes widened and my temperature shot through the roof as anger spiraled through my bloodstream. I held up a finger. “Just a moment,” I snapped.

With little thought to who was watching, I pushed through our little huddle, my hands planted directly on Bruno’s chest as I maneuvered him a solid ten feet down the bar.

“I don’t need a babysitter!” I hissed.

“Don’t you?” he murmured, his gaze on Alana and Colin behind me.

I speared at his chest roughly. “No, I don’t! And you better behave, or I swear to God I’ll…”

He wrapped his hand around mine at his chest, bent his body forward and put his lips next to my ear. A shiver raced down my spine at the contact, and I gasped.

“You’ll what?” He hummed and my core tightened at that low rumble. “You sure as hell liked it when I called youbabylast night, when I was balls deep inside of you.”

Arousal and fury pulsated through my body, especially between my legs. Still, I needed to persevere. He was being an absolute dick. “Bruno,” I warned, letting my tone fill in the blanks. “You will not ruin this for me. You said sex only, no strings. This feels like a whole lot of strings!”

“Maybe I changed my mind,” he sneered.

That had me jolting away, shaking my head. “No.” I growled. “You don’t get to do that. This is my life, and my choice. And I choose to go on this date. Now you better get it together,real freakin’ quick.” I huffed, plastered a smile on my face, and turned around.

“I think we’re all in agreement. I’m ready when you are, Colin,” I announced, sauntering over to my date. I was proud of myself for not breaking down, or reading too much into Bruno’s loose suggestion that there might be more between us. He was the one that set the parameters in the first place. I was simply following them. Sex was sex. Sure, it was beyond good, a night I’ll never forget in my wildest dreams, but that didn’t give him the right to mess this up for me.

He promised.

Did he promise, though?

---