Bringing Home the Bachelor

by Sarah M. Anderson

  “Again,” Seth demanded in the distance.

  “You’re on, kid,” Ben replied.

  Oh, yeah. This wasn’t a date because they weren’t alone. It came down to that.

  “When are we going to have a date, Billy?” She leaned up, her voice low as she went from holding him back to rubbing his chest.

  “After the bachelor auction.” One week. One week that might break him.

  A look of doubt flashed over her face. “I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

  He folded her into his arms. “I’ll make it worth it,” he promised again. Man, he hoped he was doing the right thing, planning their first date as a surprise.

  She pushed him back and, with the sounds of the video game echoing behind them, he had no choice but to step away.

  “What do we do until then?”

  Right. What did they do if they weren’t having sex? “Uh…”

  What did people do on dates? It had been such a long time since he’d had a date—a real date, not getting drunk in a bar. Actually, it had been a long time since he’d done even that.

  Then he looked down and saw the concentration on her face. For the first time, he found himself wondering how long it had been for her.

  He wanted to make this count.

  She took a deep breath and appeared to get more control over herself than he was currently feeling. “We could watch a movie. Lots of people do that.”

  Yeah, he remembered that. He’d gone with Ashley to the movies in high school. He didn’t remember watching any films…no, what he remembered was getting in a hell of a lot of trouble in the dark.

  Yeah—no cameras hovering around, no kids barging in on them. He’d been waiting for this for weeks. He was going to make the most of this. Bring on the darkness.

  Except…Jenny wasn’t the kind of woman who normally let things get heavy the moment the lights dimmed. He’d be lucky if she didn’t haul off and smack him, because keeping his hands off of her was going to be one hell of a challenge.

  Damn. He was going to have to work harder on being good enough for her.

  “Okay. A movie.”

  Her eyes lit up. She was killing him.

  “I’ll send Seth to bed.”

  *

  Seth went to bed grumbling, but Jenny didn’t care. It was ten o’clock. Ben had taken far less convincing. All he’d said was, “Josey go to bed already?” Then he’d winked and left them alone.

  She sat on the couch as Billy flipped through the movies available through Josey’s television. Jenny’s stomach was nervous. At this point, she didn’t care what they watched. Just so long as he picked something and turned off the lights.

  After that kiss on the pool table, she didn’t know what to expect. The two of them, alone in the dark…God, she wanted another kiss like that—but…but…

  But a man like Billy, who was rough and tumble and had just threatened to strip her pants off of her and do horrible, terrible, wonderful things to her…what would stop him from doing that now? What would stop her from stopping him?

  She was a respectable, responsible woman now, by God. She did not lose her head over bad boys anymore. Even if they were men like Billy.

  He started a movie and settled beside her on the couch. He slid his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in. “Feel like I’m a teenager again,” he whispered.

  “I know what you mean.”

  There was something old-school about this. Not that she knew firsthand—she’d never had much trouble climbing out her bedroom window and running wild. But all this sneaking around was probably something normal teenagers did all the time.

  She couldn’t help but remember that sneaking always led to getting caught. She didn’t want to get caught again. She didn’t want to throw away everything she’d worked so hard to become. She wasn’t the same girl who threw caution to the wind because of an irresistible bad boy.

  Which was all well and good except for one small thing: she wanted Billy in a way that had nothing to do with sneaking around or immature fumbling.

  God, this contradiction was going to drive her crazy.

  Billy didn’t say anything as the movie started up, but once they hit a stretch of dialogue, he leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead. “I want to see you after I’m done with the build at the school.”

  “You had mentioned a date after the auction.” She felt good under his arm. His chest—so broad—was warm and surprisingly comfortable. She nuzzled in deeper.

  “More than that.”

  He tilted her head up so he could capture her lips again.

  Even now, the heat that pooled between her legs made thinking difficult. As Billy’s fingertips brushed over her breasts again, his movements steady and sure and—above all else—confident, the desire that gripped her went way beyond what she’d experienced as a teen. This wasn’t wanting sex for the sake of having sex—this was more. She wanted Billy. She was starting to think she needed him.

  His hand slipped lower, over the front of her jeans. Then his hand was against the part of her that hurt for him the most. “Do you want this?”

  He pressed—with exquisite precision, he simply pressed against her.

  Jenny’s body bucked against his hand—his finger—his fingertip and the pressure he was using to control her. Because she wanted to give up control. She wanted to give up everything—everything she’d worked so hard for, everything she’d worked so hard to be. A good mother, a good teacher, a good daughter—a responsible adult who did the right thing. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was him touching her.

  Billy shifted the pressure and she shook in his arms. He only held her tighter. “Tell me you want this, Jenny.”

  His voice was a direct order, one that threatened to swamp her.

  “Yes.”

  She didn’t know if she’d thought it or said it when he shifted against her again. The climax whipped her body against his, but he didn’t lose his grip as she rode the wave.

  “Woman,” he said as he buried his face in her neck, his teeth skimming her skin.

  She wanted more. One touch—one single touch didn’t make up for the past eleven years. She needed more. She needed him.

  “I’m not too good at this relationship thing.” His voice was so low and deep that its vibrations sent another shock of pleasure through her.

  She grinned, although he probably couldn’t see it in the dark. “I’m out of practice, too.”

  “I want to try. With you.”

  She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.

  She just kissed him.

  *

  One moment, Jenny was snuggling against a warm, hard body while she pleasantly drifted through a hazy sleep.

  The next, her eyes snapped open in a panic. Seth was standing over her—her and Billy. Asleep. On the couch. Sweet merciful heaven, she was on top of Billy, one of her legs draped over Billy’s thigh. Were they dressed? Yes. Thank God for small favors.

  “Hey…guys.”

  Seth had a funny look on his face. She jolted and tried to sit up, but Billy’s arms didn’t fall away from her. If anything, he tightened his grip. That was when she realized his hand was in the space between her top and her waistband. Caressing her bare back.

  In front of her son.

  The panic that hit her was so strong she could taste it in the back of her mouth. “Seth! Um, we were, um, we were— How did you sleep? Do you want some breakfast?” She couldn’t tell if her hardwired Mom instincts were a good thing or not.

  Seth didn’t say anything. He kept on staring. Behind him, the TV was a huge wall of blue screen. They must have fallen asleep before the movie ended, before things had gone too far.

  “Kid,” Billy said. Jenny’s gaze snapped back on him. His eyes were still closed, and he hadn’t let go of her yet, but he was at least a little awake. “Don’t you know not to wake a man up before the coffee’s ready?”

  Then the weirdest thing happened. S
eth looked sheepish and said, “Sorry.”

  “Go check.” The order was anything but subtle, but then Billy added, “After I get going, I’ll show you my bikes.”

  Seth stared at them with undisguised suspicion before he said, “Okay.” At least the kitchen was four rooms away. It would take the boy some time to get there.

  Jenny tried to sit up again, but Billy kept his hold on her. “Morning, beautiful,” he said, his eyes still closed. He pushed her up to his lips and took a quick kiss. “I like waking up with you.”

  Part of her wanted to do nothing more than snuggle back down into his arms and maybe see where the morning went. But that part was overridden by panic.

  And the worst part was, she wasn’t sure why she was panicking so badly. So Seth had caught her and Billy together. They were both still fully dressed and hadn’t even been kissing. If she and Billy were going to keep seeing each other—and that did seem like the plan—then sooner or later Seth would put one and one together.

  But she wasn’t ready for that first thing on a Sunday morning. Heck, she wasn’t sure when she’d be ready. For too long, her life had been about her son. To do something as selfish as spend some time with a man—with Billy—felt foreign.

  With a squeeze that bordered on crushing, Billy hugged her. “He’ll be fine,” he said as they sat up, almost as if he’d been reading her mind.

  “But—”

  She didn’t get the chance to freak out, though. From the other side of the apartment, she heard Ben’s voice, then Josey’s. The rest of the house was up.

  He took her hand, kissed her cheek and whispered, “Only six more days.”

  Six days until the bachelor auction. And after that? A real date.

  How was she ever going to make it?

  Thirteen

  Six of the longest days of Jenny’s life had finally come and gone. She’d seen Billy only for the first three. He and Seth had reassembled the bike on Monday at the school, then Bobby had spent the next two days finishing his filming.

  In other words, even though she’d seen Billy for three days, she hadn’t gotten to really talk to him. He’d kissed her on the cheek when he’d given her the ticket for the event—the ticket that said Admission: $100. When she’d protested, he’d cut her off with a look. “I want you there” was all he’d said. Who was she to argue with that? Besides, she couldn’t have afforded to pay him back even if she’d wanted to. Not if she had a hope of buying him.

  The two school days without Billy in the morning and Billy in the evening were even longer. However, the Saturday of the bachelor auction flew by so fast it left her dizzy. Before she knew it, her mom had curled her hair and she’d shimmied into her bridesmaid’s dress and had loaded up Seth, several of his classmates and a half-dozen of her TAPS girls in the school van, along with Josey’s mom, Sandra, and was barreling toward the reception center in Rapid City.

  In the small purse that Jenny had clutched to her chest was $743 dollars—all of the money she had left from what the state of South Dakota had paid her to run TAPS. She had no idea what Billy would go for, but it was the best she could do. She had to hope it would be enough.

  The kids were all excited, nervously chattering and messing around with the pretied bow ties and white shirts that Josey had delivered to the school. Josey wanted them to help with registration, so everyone would have the chance to meet the kids their money would be helping. And everyone was, well, everyone. Josey had run down a preliminary guest list with her. Half the city council was on that list. So were a few starlets that Bobby had sweet-talked into showing up, no doubt with promises of internet stardom. A lot of the names Jenny hadn’t known, but Josey had. Wives and daughters of industry titans from South Dakota, Wyoming and parts of Montana. Heavens, there were even a few women ranchers attending. The whole thing was crazy.

  Even Sandra seemed to crackle with a nervous energy. “A bachelor auction! Did you ever think we’d see the day?”

  “No,” Jenny had to admit.

  Sandra gave her an odd look out of the corner of her eye. “Nervous, dear?”

  Jenny forced herself to breathe in and out. “Hoping to make it through the evening without something going wrong.” Which was true. That was a concern. Just not her primary one. She realized she was fluffing her hair again, which was probably not helping her beachy waves stay very beachy. She put her hands in her lap.

  “I can handle the children.” As if to illustrate this statement, Sandra looked in the rearview mirror and shouted, “Randy, where do your hands belong?”

  “To myself” came the sheepish reply from the rear of the van.

  “See?” Sandra actually reached over and patted Jenny on the arm. “You have fun tonight. I’ve got this covered.” Jenny swore Sandra winked at her. “Got more than a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  Fun? Was fun an option tonight? Heck, she hadn’t been this nervous at Josey’s wedding, and she’d been so distraught there she’d almost thrown up before she’d walked down the aisle. That had been more about remembering to smile in front of a huge crowd while simultaneously trying not to step on the hem of her dress.

  This was different. This was the very real possibility of seeing the man she wanted to take home going home with someone else. Billy had promised her a date. How would she watch him leave with another woman?

  Well, she sort of knew the answer to that one. Not well. Not well at all.

  Soon enough, the van was pulling up in front of the reception hall. Although the auction didn’t start for another hour and a half, the place was already humming with activity. Jenny recognized the camera crew from the school, but they weren’t the only ones with cameras running around. She counted four different local news vans, all setting up to do live feeds for the ten o’clock news. And because of the starlets, Bobby had even rolled out a red carpet. The highest of South Dakota’s high society was strutting down the catwalk while photographers snapped shots. The whole thing was completely insane—and entirely out of her league.

  Wearing a tux that fit him like a second skin, Bobby left his post on the red carpet, where he’d been glad-handing all the guests, and came to greet them. The kids crowded around and Bobby turned on the charm. “Okay, troops, come with me!”

  Avoiding the cameras, he herded the whole crew inside. Within ten minutes he had them practicing greetings for the people who’d be keeping their school in the black for the foreseeable future. Then Bobby snagged Seth and had him helping backstage.

  Jenny tried to relax, but it wasn’t easy. Bobby was being his normal, irritating self—telling her she was in the way here—no, still in the way over there. Josey came by, but was too busy dealing with last-minute credit-card issues to talk Jenny down from the edge. Even Sandra disappeared. She was giving a short welcome speech and had to go practice.

  Keeping an eye on the kids, Jenny looked for Billy. Bobby wasn’t hard to miss, and she caught sight of Ben ushering various men backstage—including Don Two Eagles and Jack Roy.

  But no Billy.

  Bobby reappeared and hustled her over to a table set slightly off from the rest of the crowd. “Darned shame you can’t be on camera,” he said with that used-car-salesman smile of his. “You look amazing tonight.”

  Jenny waited for the demand that she do something, or a jerky plea for assistance—but nothing.

  Well, that was…odd. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that Bobby Bolton had paid her a compliment. “Thank you. This is, um, impressive. You pulled this off!”

  Bobby’s smile deepened and for a moment, he looked more…real, somehow. “Thanks, Jenny. I hope we make a ton of money for the school tonight.”

  Then he looked over her shoulder and was gone, back to schmoozing someone more important than she was.

  The room filled. Women in slinky black dresses, in dark business suits, in sequined numbers that were better suited to Miss America than anything else—suddenly, the room was filled. The cash bar in one corner was doing a booming busi
ness as an excited hum filled the air.

  Jenny eyed her potential competition, her stomach sinking. A lot of the women looked smooth and elegant and effortless, like this was just another Saturday night. Jenny had taken a literature class when she’d gone back to school to get her teaching degree, and a line from a play she thought was Shakespeare came back to her. These women—they had a lean and hungry look about them, like they were going to pounce on the first hunk they saw and quite possibly rip him to shreds.

  She didn’t stand a chance.

  Then Cass, the Crazy Horse receptionist, came and sat by her. Jenny almost hadn’t recognized her. Cass had clearly been to a salon. Her hair was swooped up into an elegant French twist, and she was wearing an honest-to-goodness ball gown. “Cass! Wow!”

  Cass winked, and underneath the professional makeup application, Jenny saw the same sparkling smile. “Hope you get your man, honey.”

  That made two of them. “You, too.”

  Cass grinned and filled the rest of their time with a running commentary on the various women she knew in the crowd. The statuesque blonde had ordered a bike for her husband three years ago, but they’d divorced since then. That woman with the bright white hair and the too-tight face? Her family owned a trust company.

  The more Cass shared, the more worried Jenny got. These women weren’t just rich—they were really rich. The lights dimmed and a spotlight lit up the stage. In front of a red-velvet curtain sat the bike that Seth had helped build. Bobby Bolton came out and the crowd applauded. He made some opening remarks in that smooth tone of voice about the men that would soon be for sale— “For the night, ladies!” He then introduced Sandra, who spoke for ten minutes about the school and the children and what the proceeds of the auction would go toward.

  Jenny was surprised at the emphasis Sandra put on after-school programs—hers and the one Don wanted to start for the boys. Although the crowd remained polite, Jenny could sense the women getting restless. The teacher in her wanted to shush them, but she forced herself to be still.