Page 3 of Buy Me, Love
I sink down into my seat and plow a hand through my hair. I don’t know how much longer I can takethis.
Kit’s long, glossy mane of blonde waves falls down her back in perfect chaos and it’s parted down the middle, highlighting each of her stunning features. Her lips are pale pink and thick like a bow, wet and slightly parted with the tip of a little pink tongue tucked beneath. Her chin is square and slim with that tiny dimple and when she turns to smile at the other side of the room, the slope of her cheekbone makes mehard.
In thousand-dollar increments, men raise their paddles around me. A twitchy, uneasy feeling settles down into my chest. Hell, I’m no better than any of them. I want her, and I can’t helpmyself.
I swallow thickly as sweat begins to form at my temples. Hell. That fucking asshole was right. Shedoeslook like the kind of girl who wants to be called bad. All of a sudden something inside me shifts. I’m not her father’s old friend and steadfastly responsible employee, watching Kit from adistance.
Determination crushes through me. An idea crystalizes and my carefully-constructed world crashes down around me like a house of cards. I didn’t come here to get her, but now I know I can’t leave without her. I just can’t let it happen. Walking out this door without her on my arm isnotanoption.
I can’t take this anymore. All these eyes onmygirl, onmywoman.
The wealthy man’s daughter walks across the front of the room in heels that were made to make her look like perfection on a goddamn stick. The way she swings her hips back and forth like a subtle pendulum is making my mind run wild. She has the entire room wrapped around her finger - and I’m pretty damn sure she knowsit.
I raise my paddle into the air to put in my bid, and all around me other men do the same. A woman or two even do it, knocking their shoulders gently against their husbands and smiling up atthem.
The idea of anyone being with her - man, woman, who-fucking-ever - anyone but me that is, has my neck sweating and the hairs on my arms standingup.
I take a sip of my drink. Something about seeing all these fucking eyes on her has flipped a switch inside me. I dig my nails into the armrest on my chair and I swear I feel the wood splinter beneath my fingers. My heart is pounding in my chest so fast and so hard that it could break clean through myribs.
I watch as she turns again and her eyes flitter over to mine. The big blue orbs of glitter and gold change, and the entire world narrows down to me and her. It’s just me and her. Me, andher.
Her eyes soften, her pink, pillowy, wet lips part, and I crush my hand around my glass, throwing it to theground.
Kit just went from being under my skin to being under my skinsideways.
I tear out of my seat and march over to her with the beat of my heart blotting out everything else, the chatter in the crowd, the lines of confusion etched across her angelic face. I rip my jacket off and put it around her shoulders, take a my checkbook out of my pocket and tear a sheet from it. Without taking my eyes off hers, I grab a pen from my pocket, scribble my signature on the blank check and slam it, bloodied, on the emcee’stable.
I leave the amount and pay-to lines empty. Whoever’s in charge can set their price and fill it inthemselves.
I put my arm around her and she nestles against my chest, bringing her fingers to land on my heart. I drag her out of there so fast I think her feet growwings.
“What the hell are you doing?” she hiss-whispers up tome.
“I’m getting you the fuck out of here, sweetheart. You’remine.”
3
Kit
Well.This is quiteunexpected.
I feel like I’m floating. My heart grew wings some time between meeting this man’s eye and when he threw a blank check at Ms.Steele.
Then my heels grew wings and I floated as he strong-armed me out ofthere.
I peer up at him, feeling extremely confused and very lovey-dovey. Blame it on the alcohol, except I didn’t drink this evening. I was saving the spike in a low-grade buzz for the moment I had to actually go on the date. Blame it on theholiday.
Blame it on thisman.
I feel my heart hum against his chest as he closes his arm around me. I think this is the man I smelled from yards away before. I look up at him again, at his cut jaw, his bright green eyes, his slight stubble, a shock of black hair peppered with gray and shaved on thesides.
Pressing my fingers against his chest, I feel myself shudder beneath him as Iexhale.
“Would you care to explain what the hell is going on with you?” I demand as he ushers me through the lobby. My legs are wobbly and if he weren’t holding me against his chest I might just fall in a pool at his feet, intoxicated by his scent and his dominanttouch.
“You’re the one who needs to do some explaining, sweetheart,” he whispers against my ear. The ground beneath my feet changes from the carpet of the lobby to the asphalt of the sidewalk, but I barely feel it. It’s like I’m walking onair.
“I do not,” I protest, pushing away from him. I pull his jacket up to my neck and try not to purr when the cologned fabric brushes against my cheek. My voice in indignant, but yes, my heart feels like I should be explaining why I was selling myself off instead of immediately running over and jumping onto this man’s lap the moment our eyesmet.
