Emma nodded and urged her sister to go with him. “Yes, go spend his money. I promise you it’ll be the wisest choice he’s made all year. Go, go, it’s a good cause, remember?”
Lana could hardly refuse Emma and for that, Laird was grateful. She slipped her hand into his but as she rose and tried to withdraw from his grasp, he held on with a smile, saying to Emma and Vince. “Wish me luck. I’m off to redeem myself with cold hard cash.”
“Always works for me,” Vince quipped and he heard Emma chastise him even as she laughed.
Time for a rematch.
-5-
Lana’s heart rate was fast becoming a problem. Each time she spoke, her voice sounded breathy to her ears and that just wouldn’t do. Calming herself with a discrete breath, she turned her attention to the plethora of auction items up for bid and while she longed for the hand-sewn cashmere blanket, she couldn’t imagine Laird snuggling for any reason. She deliberately cut her gaze from the blanket and gestured to the Harley Davidson on display. “That looks like something you might enjoy,” she said.
“I already went through my motorcycle phase,” he said, moving down the line, examining the other items. “I’ve discovered I’m not one for helmet hair.”
Lana took a moment to peruse his lovely locks and chuckled. “Yes, I can see. Tell me, exactly how much hair product do you use a day?”
“I do my part to support the economy,” he answered with a sly wink that she couldn’t help but find a little bit cute. He turned slowly and returned to the vicinity of the blanket she coveted and said, “I think this is just what my place needs…a nice warm blanket. One of those throw things that designers are always talking about to make a place look more homey.”
Lana arched her brow. “You? Want your place to look homey? I find that difficult to believe.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I get the impression that you don’t want to give people the impression that they’re welcome to stay a moment longer than needed to gather up their discarded clothing.”
“Ouch. You wound me.”
“The truth can hurt.”
He sighed. “Well, maybe I’m looking to change.”
“Doubtful. However, if you really want the blanket, you should buy it. It’s beautiful and it does look very snuggly.” She tried to keep the wistfulness from her voice but she really wanted that blanket. However, there was no way she could afford to spend a thousand dollars on a blanket to warm her toes.
“I think I will,” Laird decided, scribbling his name on the bid sheet and a bid that was exorbitantly high to ensure no one else would nab it from him. He looked to her with a grin and said, “Think that’ll dissuade people from bidding any higher?”
“I’m pretty sure you just assured that no one else is going to get that blanket. Jesus, Laird, it’s not that great. For that price, you could hire a small Chinese lady to spin one out of goat hair in your backyard.”
“That’s an idea. Maybe next time.”
She laughed. “Well, I hope you enjoy it. And whatever you do, don’t put it in the washing machine. Oh, wait, do you wash your own laundry?”
“Ohhh, was that a dig? And to answer your question, no, I send it out.”
Lana didn’t want to giggle but when Laird put his mind to it, he was disarmingly charming. That quality was probably the reason she hadn’t called the police when he’d dropped by to ‘keep her safe’ while Vince was off seducing her sister. That’s a story for the kids, for sure. But his charming nature was the very thing she had to watch out for. Sobering, she deliberately scribbled her name and bid on a modest spa treatment, thinking it might be nice for her and Emma to enjoy but in truth, she couldn’t help but wish she was normal again. A couples’ massage sounded lovely and romantic —which, she realized was something she likely wouldn’t ever experience again without the shadow of her past hovering over her. Rethinking the spa experience, she scratched out her name and bid and instead, put her name and bid on a stainless steel toaster. Not sexy but certainly needed. Her old toaster died a few weeks ago, anyway.
“A toaster, so practical,” Laird commented with a reflective smile as if he were trying to figure her out. “Anything else catch your fancy? Perhaps there’s a microwave that hasn’t been snatched up yet.”
“Very funny, but not everyone has ridiculous wealth,” she reminded him primly. “And it’s a very nice toaster.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed with barely contained laughter. She rolled her eyes and kept perusing the auction items. The man was impossible — and obnoxious — and irritatingly handsome. Deadly mix, that. Just keep your head on straight and ignore every flutter, every little tingle that erupts each time he flashes you that incredible smile. Excellent advice.
By the end of the night, a metric ton of money had been raised and she’d been pleasantly surprised by the bad boys, Jax and Hunter, who ran the nonprofit, and realized with a blush that Jax and Hunter were in an openly polyamorous relationship with their woman, Zoe and they had a son together! It made her head spin to see them so flagrantly affectionate and yet so grounded in one another. She shared a look with Emma and whispered, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Yeah, she’s a better woman than me…because I don’t share,” Emma whispered back and Lana giggled.
“More power to them, I suppose. They’ve certainly done an admirable job with Gage’s Watch. Pretty impressive actually.”
“No doubt. And even though I’m happily married, hot damn, those guys were easy on the eyes,” Emma said in a hushed tone so Vince didn’t hear.
“Definitely changed my perspective on biker guys,” Lana agreed.
As they walked to their respective cars, Emma and Vince branched off and just as Lana began to walk tow
ard her own car, Laird insisted on accompanying her for “safety purposes.” It was oddly chivalrous and since it was dark, Lana allowed him.
“I had fun tonight,” she admitted, surprisingly honest. “I didn’t think I would have a good time, seeing as Emma, sort of, forced me into it, but it was fun to get out of the apartment and get dressed up for a change.”
“So my company wasn’t too detestable?” he teased.
“Well, we had a rocky start to the evening but it turned out decently enough. Thank you for a nice time.”
“The pleasure was mine. After all, I got to spend the evening with the prettiest woman at the event.”
She blushed at his flattery. It was hard not to sink in that warm, gooey feeling when Laird was dishing out compliments like teaspoons of sugar into her morning tea. “You probably say that to all your dates,” she said, smiling.
“Perhaps,” he allowed with a shrug. “But I only meant it with you.”
Oh. Was he just saying that? More pretty falsehoods? She swallowed, unsure of how to react. She shivered against the sharp cold and made a move toward her car door but he stopped her with a soft touch. His hand curled around hers and drew her close. Stupidly, her feet didn’t seem to listen to her brain as she sternly told them to walk in the opposite direction of Laird. “What are you doing?” she managed to ask as he curled his fingers beneath her chin and tipped her face to his.
“I’m going to do what I wished I’d done a few months ago but I’d been too caught up in trying to be a decent guy. For this moment, I’m going to wickedly take what I want the most — what I believe you want as well but are too stubborn to accept.” Before she could protest, his lips brushed across hers in a sweet kiss that melted her bones and turned her blood to ash. There was nothing forceful or demanding about the kiss, just sweet and giving, gentle and exploratory, that she couldn’t help but respond to — eagerly.
Her eyes fluttered shut as she clung to him, their tongues dancing, touching and teasing and soon enough the gentle touch turned urgent for them both. Her fingers dug into his chest as he pressed against her, the thin slip of her dress too much of a barrier between them but as she shifted against him, the insistent press of his erection against her thighs caused her to stiffen in fear and wildly shove against him, terror replacing all of the good feelings fluttering her insides. “Stop! Please stop!”