Page 1 of Nothing to Beat

ONE

“COME ON, LADIES!This is the premium Breckenridge steed, this generation’s original model!You get twenty-four hours of this bachelor’s time.Very valuable time.Doesn’t have to be consecutive hours, you can spread him out any way you like.”Ha, subtle.“This is a great lot, ladies!A valuable prize for a lucky bidder… We’ve got to start the bidding at fifty!Who’ll give me fifty?”The auctioneer pointed out to the side.“Thank you, ma’am.”He clapped once.“Oh, and, Alice, I got word from Mr.Breckenridge Senior, he doesn’t want you paying to bring your sons home, they cost him enough already.”

Ah, funny, and the room responded in kind.

“Sixty!”someone shouted.

“A hundred!”

Bidding on the Breckenridge bachelor continued.The auctioneer at the podium on stage fielded the speed and urgency of pledges.

Beautiful ballroom, glamorous gowns, the festive event was dedicated to charity, raising money for those in need.Wonderful cause.Just so happened, she too was in need, though it wasn’t of cash.

Breck, said bachelor being bid on, would be reaching the edge of his patience.Theater wasn’t his thing, even if his gorgeous face was fit for stage or screen.Was she biased?Yes.But anyone who denied his hotness would be flat out lying.No wonder he was a popular lot.

Time to put an end to the competition.

Rising, she lifted a hand to call out over all the others.“One million dollars!”

A collective gasp prompted a round of applause.She’d never been applauded before, not that she could remember.Being far at the back of the room, she couldn’t decipher the twitch of Breck’s curious eyelid; good thing she didn’t need to see to know it was there.

“I think we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen!Come on up and claim your prize, ma’am.Congratulations!”

Gliding away from the table, she wound around the others and ascended the stairs at the side of the stage.Did she want to go up there in front of everyone?Everyone who?Before she’d raised her eyes from the final stair, Breck’s hand had already appeared in her line of sight, open for hers.Under his spotlight, they were completely alone, not just in the room, but on the planet.

Oh, Rankin Breckenridge, better known as just ‘Breck’ was nothing if not predictable.

She took his proffered hand, of course—any excuse to touch him—and waved to the masses as he led her backstage.The auctioneer was quick to move onto the next lot.

Good, that was them, forgotten.On to the next stage of her plan.

“Coy, what are you doing?”Breck asked, thick judgment deepening his voice.“You don’t have a million dollars.”

The man underestimated her, would he ever learn?

Smile.That’s all she had to do.One of her big megawatt wonders always disarmed him.

“Sure I do,” she said, ensuring to tip her head all the way back, under the guise of meeting his eye.The real reason?The column of her throat did it for him every time.There was something to be said for long-term, never-sated lust.“Forget you gave me a credit card?”Cue the eyelid twitch.Oh, she could gobble him up.Even with his mother on the other side of the nearby curtain.“Meet me New Year’s Eve.Noon.”

Bringing in one last New Year with him was a gift to herself.Selfish?Maybe, but he could always say no.He wouldn’t say no.

“We said we weren’t doing this anymore.”

Yeah, how many times?She’d lost count.

Good thing… “We’re not.This isn’t that.”She laid a bold hand flat on his hard chest and sighed.“Oh, it feels so wrong to walk away without taking you to bed.”

“Coy…”

When he reached for her hand, she snatched it back.“Ah!We’re not doing that anymore.”Full smile illumination was the best defense against his grump.“Look at the smile, Stat.You’re a sucker for the smile.”Somehow it stretched higher.“How pretty is she…” She kissed her fingertips and rested them on his lips.“Saturday.Noon.”She spun on the spot to sashay away, glancing back as she retreated.“You won’t be disappointed, Stat.”

“Never am, Coy.”

He didn’t shout.He didn’t have to.Breck was a man among boys.A man proud of his place and certain of his future.Breck was sharp, to the point, and never had time to waste.Unless he was wasting it with her…

TWO

SHE SHOULD PROBABLY be nervous.Anyone else would be nervous.She wasn’t.Anxiety didn’t feature where Breck was concerned.Some might say they should’ve learned their lesson.“Some” being Breck; Breck would say it.No one else would dare comment on the conundrum that was their relationship… ex-relationship.Not in earshot of her and Breck anyway.

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