Bachelor Auction by Darah Lace Page A

red
    convertible—just one more detail of her well
    cultivated façade—and dug in her purse for the keys.
    “I thought we could go to dinner and discuss the
    promotional part of our trip.”
    She glanced up, only now realizing Marcus had
    followed her. He had remained silent, keeping his
    distance. Probably had some ulterior motive, though
    she couldn’t begin to guess what. It didn’t matter. It
    was there, and she refused to be taken in or let down
    her guard. If he thought otherwise, he was sadly
    mistaken.
    Opening the car door, she forced him to stand
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    aside, then slid behind the wheel. “Sorry, I can’t.
    Sam’s waiting for me.”
    Marcus moved between her and the door,
    leaning forward, one arm on the roof. “Sam, huh? Is
    he your latest plaything?”
    She smiled, knowing by his frown she’d struck a
    nerve. Might as well play it for all it was worth. “I
    have to admit, he does like to play.”
    “How does he feel about you coming on this trip
    with me?”
    “He really doesn’t have any say in what I do, but
    to answer your question, he won’t like it.” Though
    Sam hated it when she left him alone, he didn’t have
    a jealous bone in his body. But then the over-
    indulged feline thought he was the only male in her
    life. “Of course, I’ll have to do my best to make it up
    to him tonight.”
    Charlotte almost laughed as Marcus’s frown
    turned into a full-fledged scowl. She took advantage
    of his shocked outrage and reached for the door
    handle. He moved out of the way, and she quickly
    shut the door. As she backed out of the parking
    space, he didn’t say a thing, just stood there, feet
    braced apart, arms folded over his chest. It was
    rather exhilarating to think she’d shaken him up.
    Of course, she’d seen that look on his face before
    and knew it wasn’t jealousy. He, like most men,
    simply didn’t like the idea of sharing a woman, even
    if he didn’t want her.
    Unable to resist, Charlotte lowered her window
    halfway and gave him a grin and a wink. “Oh, don’t
    let it concern you, Marcus. I’ll still have enough
    energy to make this weekend one you’ll never
    forget.”
    And she would too. She would keep him so
    rattled, he wouldn’t know what hit him. She would
    tease and taunt, entice and enchant, lure him in
    until he didn’t know which end was up. He’d be
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    putty in her hands.
    Same as you were in the elevator .
    Charlotte groaned. She had practically melted
    under his touch. If she wanted to succeed in her
    plans to seduce Marcus and leave him high and dry,
    she needed to think of a way to fortify herself
    against his charm.

    ****
The sun barely up, Marcus knocked at the front
    door of Charlotte’s condo and rubbed a hand over his
    face, not quite awake at such an early hour. He
    glanced back at Spencer, busy rearranging luggage
    at the rear of Melody’s white sedan. Melody looked
    up from supervising Spencer and smiled, urging him
    to try again. He sighed and knocked a second time,
    trying not to think about what might be going on
    inside that kept her from answering.
    He’d been up half the night, fighting off images
    of Charlotte, her hair and skin damp with sweat,
    tangled in satin sheets with her lover, the unknown
    Sam. Marcus had tossed and turned, his gut twisting
    as helpless desperation seized him until he finally
    jumped out of bed and grabbed his keys, ready to
    race to her condo to interrupt their liaison. He’d
    come to his senses, remembering she owed him
    nothing and that the trip to Aspen was a
    promotional gimmick, not a lover’s rendezvous.
    Luckily, he’d recalled that fact before he reached
    his front door and before Chad—or his latest bed
    partner—caught him bare-assed naked in the middle
    of the living room. He’d given up on sleep after that,
    something he regretted now as he stifled another
    yawn. He would need his wit and all the stamina he
    could muster to deal with Charlotte Reese this early
    in