Talking Dirty With the Boss(27)

She reached for the wineglass again, then quickly made a grab for her water instead. Had Christie noticed the second slip? But a glance at her friend showed her that Christie’s attention had skipped her and was now on her sister-in-law, Judith, who’d taken the seat on Marisa’s other side. Jude was rather pale, her blue eyes shadowed underneath her black bangs.

After Joseph and Christie’s wedding, Marisa had had a night out with her, drinking wine, eating takeout, and dissing men. Then they’d both gone to a club and spent the night dancing and getting drunk. A good time was had by all, in other words.

But Jude didn’t appear happy now, and although Marisa didn’t know the details, that girls’ night out had told her enough to be sure her current pallor had something to do with Caleb.

Boy, did men suck.

Marisa raised the water glass to her mouth and took a drink as the music started to play and the lights dimmed, signaling the second half of the auction getting under way.

The MC came on and gave another little spiel about the charity, then ramped up the patter about the skills/people who were about to be auctioned off tonight.

A weird thrill went through her as Luke was mentioned. Which was entirely ridiculous since the guy was an ass. Who’d given her a blinding orgasm, yes, but then canceled out the entire experience with his extremely insensitive behavior afterward.

Not only a blinding orgasm, remember? He gave you a kid, too.

Marisa’s hand clasped hard around the water glass.

The spotlight came on and the first person came out, a slender blonde in a shimmering red gown, who also happened to be a high-flying lawyer offering free legal services. Not a few men in the crowd seemed keen, unsurprisingly since the woman was pretty hot.

The women are going to love Luke. He’s hot.

The thought sat in her head. She wasn’t a possessive sort of woman, especially with a guy she barely knew. And yet…she didn’t like the thought of people—yeah, okay, women—bidding on him. Not at all.

Marisa scowled, not liking this jealousy either.

The lawyer’s auction went by quickly, the winning bid a high one, leaving everyone pleased with the deal. Marisa shifted in her seat, looking down at the auction list that sat on everyone’s table. Next up was Luke. Great. Now she was going to have to sit through his being auctioned off to someone—probably a woman. Because with financial skills off the charts and hotness, who wouldn’t want to bid on him?

You could bid on him.

Marisa froze. No, that would be stupid. Why would she want to bid on him? She was going to tell him she was pregnant, then she was going to leave and go drown her sorrows in…a nice warm cup of cocoa or something.

You could use his financial skills.

Well, yeah, she definitely could. But that would blow her entire savings—if it covered it in the first place.

Then some other chick’s going to get his “expertise.” And you really don’t want that to happen, do you?

Well, no but—bah. Would her stupid brain shut up for one freaking second?

At that moment the spotlight came on and then there was Luke, striding out onto the stage.

And Marisa’s brain obediently went into lockdown. Because holy God, how was she supposed to think clearly when the guy could have caused Marie Curie to sigh like a teenage girl?

He stood in the spotlight in his tux, seeming as though he wanted to be anywhere else but there. Yet even so, he was all powerful shoulders, lean hips, and long legs. The light glossed his black hair and highlighted the incredible bone structure of his face. He didn’t smile, his cold gray eyes sweeping over the crowd. His expression was forbidding and yet with a hint of awkwardness, too, which shouldn’t have made him any sexier. But somehow did.

The MC started into his patter, reeling off Luke’s accomplishments and what he was offering. A six-month financial advice package that sounded amazing.

As if on cue, Christie’s elbow dug her in the ribs. “You should bid on him,” her friend hissed. “You could use some financial help.”

Well, obviously. But she was supposed to be using that money to get out of debt, not to buy more things. Money that was going to kick-start her artist dreams.

So much for those dreams, baby.

Baby. Ha. Thanks, brain. As though she needed yet another reminder.

Of course that was the moment Luke’s gaze settled on her. And stayed there.

Despite the fact that another couple of weeks had passed since they’d met in the pub, the attraction between them was like a power surge, filling the space between them. Distance and time apparently didn’t matter. All that did was the memory of him holding her against the door as he pushed inside her, the pleasure of it making her totally lose her mind.