The Highest Bidder by Sommer Marsden Page A

a good cause but she was such a perfectionist it was giving her hives. This guy was new and they had to practice. There was a fine line between fun and cheesy and she wanted to make sure the auction came off as fun and flirty and definitely worth the money.
    ‘Six three.’
    Casey felt her mouth go dry. What the hell was that? She glanced up at Annie who was now smirking. ‘Pardon?’
    ‘Six. Three. Did I stutter?’ Annie said.
    Casey’s cheeks went hot and she shook her head. ‘Don’t be such a brat. How much does he weigh do you think?’
    Annie shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Two hundred? Plus most of it’s muscle. And I bet a good portion of it is between his le–’
    ‘Eyes!’ Casey barked.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Eyes,’ she sighed. For some reason talking about this new guy was making her feel … flirty? No. Not flirty. She was lying to herself. Horny.
    It was making her horny. Which she hadn’t been in ages.
    Which was completely insane.
    ‘Two,’ Annie said.
    A bark of laughter shot out of Casey before she could stifle it and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Some of the other women volunteers turned to see what was going on. Thankfully none of the bachelors had arrived yet.
    ‘Annie,’ she hissed between her fingers.
    ‘Blue,’ Annie sighed.
    ‘Hair?’ Casey went on, ignoring her racing pulse. It made no sense. How did one get turned on by discussing a stranger?
    ‘Yes?’ Annie glanced out the front window.
    ‘What colour!’ Casey said and actually stomped her foot.
    ‘Whoa, you are uptight. You know what you need–’
    ‘To know his hair colour,’ Casey said.
    ‘Black. And no. You need a good hard …’ She leaned in and said it. Casey didn’t think she’d say it, but she did. ‘Fuck.’
    ‘Annie, you are terrible. I just can’t–’ Casey turned, upset by her friend’s blunt words. But more upset by the fact that she thought she might be right. She stumbled, twisted an ankle and promptly slammed into a wall. Who wasn’t actually a wall.
    ‘Hi,’ he said, looking down at her.
    Tall, black hair, blue eyes … and huge, did she say that part?
    ‘Hi,’ Casey said and tried to stand up. She promptly winced when her ankle gave her a sharp jab of pain.
    ‘You OK?’
    ‘Fine.’ She tried to stand up tall again and again but every time she winced and hissed and bent her knees.
    ‘I don’t think you are,’ the giant said.
    He had his hands on her waist to steady her and Casey swore she could feel a baking heat from his palms all around her waist, up her back, into her chest and yes, Jesus Pleasus, into her pelvis. Her pussy gave a wet flex even as her heartbeat doubled in speed and Casey was pretty damn sure someone had turned the heat up.
    ‘I am,’ she lied. But on the final try, the jab of pain became a punch and she yelped.
    ‘Yeah, I don’t know you but you’re lying,’ he said and scooped her up before she could tell him no.
    Annie gave a snort and said, ‘Oh yeah, Casey, this is Nick Murphy. Nick, this is Casey Briggs. And there’s a room in the back marked Lounge. Take her back there and I’ll find an ice pack.’
    Nick nodded and started toward the back. Casey held her breath. Why was she holding it? So she couldn’t smell him. The look of him was one thing, the feel of his hands on her – on her ass no less – was another. A very distracting other thing. But the smell of him, that she picked up on first contact was so overwhelming she was trying not to inhale. Fresh cut wood, fall leaves, nutmeg. He smelled like fall and cosy things and, God help her, sex.
    He smelled like sex. And no one had smelled like sex to Casey for a very long time.

Chapter Two

    ‘IS HERE GOOD?’
    Casey blinked and realised how stupid she must look. She’d been too busy trying to focus her attention against the smell of him, the feel of him, and truly … the look of him, to actually hear him.
    ‘What?’
    Nick nodded to a chaise longue and said, ‘Is here good?’
    He smiled at her