Page 2 of Kane: One Night with a Biker

“I’m pretty sure these men are only donating one evening of their time.” I shook my head, wishing I’d kept my mouth shut earlier this afternoon. My dad had always warned us that even the smallest of lies could lead to big trouble. I didn’t want to admit that he’d been right.

Valera nudged her chin toward the stage. “Imagine what the management team would say if you showed up with a guy like that. He’d for sure put your boss’s son in his place.”

I sneaked another look at the man in the black leather jacket. He looked like every single one of my secret fantasies come to life. From the dark chin-length hair to the way his tight black jeans hugged his thighs, Kane Mitchell was the epitome of a bad boy, or at least as bad as one could get in Broken Bend, Texas.

“Careful, I think you’ve got a little drool on your chin,” Valera teased.

I wiped at the edges of my mouth just in case.

The emcee pointed to a woman in the second row who’d just raised her hand. “We’re at nine hundred now. Can I get nine fifty?”

“Come on, Abilene, you can’t show up without a date. Not when you told them you’d be bringing your boyfriend.” Valera grabbed my arm and tried to lift it into the air.

I jerked it free. “I shouldn’t have lied. I’m going to have to come clean.”

“Then what?” Valera turned toward me. Concern flashed in her eyes. “If you don’t bring a guy with you on that trip, that asshole is going to make play after play for you. What’s worse? Telling a little white lie or turning down the owner’s son? You really think his daddy will give you that promotion if you refuse to go out with his son?”

A frustrated groan escaped. I was caught between two bad choices. Either admit I wasn’t seeing anyone and spend the whole weekend deflecting the advances of the owner’s son, or bid on a bachelor and hope he’d be willing to pretend to be my boyfriend in exchange for an all-expenses paid five-day cruise.

“He’s going to get away if you don’t put in a bid,” Valera warned.

I glanced back to the woman a few rows behind me who currently held the high bid. I’d only agreed to come to the fundraiser bachelor auction because Valera's friend had just started volunteering at the Pups for Progress non-profit and we wanted to show our support. Never in a million years did I think I’d actually bid on a man.

“One thousand, going once,” the emcee warned.

My heart beat so fast I thought it might explode. If I was going to bid on anyone, it had to be Kane. He’d been a few years ahead of me in school, and I’d grown up fantasizing about him. Though I’d never been with a man, I’d spent more than a few lonely nights coaxing myself to a self-induced release as I imagined his fingers touching me and his lips on mine.

“Abi, you’re going to lose him.” Valera bumped me with her shoulder.

I scrunched my eyes closed and raised my hand.

3

KANE

Her hand shot into the air and held her number up high.

Tyson nodded. “One thousand. Going once…”

“Sold,” I growled out.

Tyson frowned. “I didn’t say going twice.”

“Going twice.” I shifted my stance, daring him to argue with me.

“Fine. But what Pastor Waylon’s daughter wants with you is a mystery to me.” My brother shook his head.

“Pastor Waylon?” My cheeks went numb. Tyson had to be joking. There was no way in hell a pastor’s daughter would bid on me. Not unless she wanted to piss off her dad, and I’d be damned if I’d be used as a pawn in someone else’s game.

His eyes narrowed. “You remember Pastor Waylon, don’t you?”

“How could I forget?” Mama Mae used to march all of us boys into church every Sunday and make us sit through Pastor Waylon’s sermons. The only thing that kept us still was the promise of homemade biscuits and gravy we knew would be waiting for us afterward.

“You remember he had two daughters? Valera was a year behind me and her younger sister,”—he snapped his fingers—“damn, what was her name?”

“I’m Abilene.” Her voice was soft, but strong.

“Abilene Waylon. It’s been a long time.” Tyson held out his hand.

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