Highest Bidder (Fanboys Book 2)

by Marie Johnston

  Arcadia was his pride and joy, and since he’d moved on from building houses, it had also been his simplest project.

  And Mara and her partner, Chris, had been easier to deal with than John Woods.

  His phone vibrated and he almost dropped it. Flustered he said “answer” but his Bluetooth was lying on his desk. Tilly’s name flashed on the screen, along with a picture he’d taken of her standing at the water’s edge with her back to him, the Batman insignia on the ass of her bikini a stark contrast to the natural environment. He’d shown her the picture and she’d laughed and pointed out how odd she looked surrounded by sparkling blue water and lush trees, wearing a Dark Knight suit.

  He missed that laugh.

  Fumbling with his phone, he finally got it answered. “Hey.”

  “Hi,” she whispered on the other end. “Sorry I missed your call. I’m at the movies and wasn’t going to answer.”

  Her, too? “Are you with Wes and Mara?” If his friends were all out without him, and he was sitting in his office on a Friday night, he deserved to wear this stupid suit for another three hours.

  “They’re here? I didn’t see them walk in. Maybe they’re at another theater. Wanna come over?”

  “You— You’re not with anyone?”

  “I don’t know anyone who’d sit through the same movie three times with me. This is my second time. I plan to get in on the 10:15 showing, too. Oh, shit, the previews are starting, I gotta go. There’s a seat still open by me. Want me to save it?”

  “Yes.”

  She hung up and he was out of his office in seconds.

  Striding to his pickup, he shrugged out of his suit coat and yanked off his tie. He undid his cuffs and rolled them. He had clean gym clothes in his office but didn’t want to take the time to change into them. The movie was starting and a seat was being saved for him.

  Chapter Ten

  Tilly’s heart leaped into her throat as she watched the shadowy figure jog up the stairs. She always sat in the middle of the back row, but no one had ever looked like Flynn on the theater stairs.

  His hair was perfectly styled, like a blond Tony Stark. Maybe it was the suit. He’d lost the jacket, opened the first button, and rolled his sleeves up, but that didn’t detract from the fit. Like how his slacks hugged his trim waist but gave his ass and thighs enough room to flex underneath. And the bulge of his biceps… The beginning of the movie was bright enough to make runway lights for Flynn.

  He sidled through the row of people and snagged the seat next to her. She resisted burrowing into him; he had to get settled after all.

  With him by her side, she relaxed. His fresh, clean scent was muted by the enticing but subtle smell of his cologne. She liked that fragrance, too, but it wasn’t as Flynn as “Flynn at the lake” had been. It was more like his suit. A way to say “I’m a businessman, let’s do business.” The way Flynn looked, anyone with ovaries would do anything he wanted.

  She certainly would.

  He gave her a quick smile. She grinned in return. Couldn’t help it. She was at the movies. With Flynn. Before he settled back, he dug out a pack of Hot Tamales.

  She gasped and whispered, “Thank you.” Without thinking, she stretched up to kiss him. She pulled back after a quick peck, second-guessing herself. He wouldn’t be here if he weren’t interested, right? And he was the one who’d called, so that meant he’d wanted to at least talk to her.

  Heat flared in his gaze, the colors from the movie reflecting in his green eyes. In his gaze was a promise that there’d be more than kissing tonight.

  Yesss.

  His gaze lifted to her headband, which was actually a yellow tiara with a star in the middle. His lips quirked and he turned his attention to the movie.

  She enjoyed her second time through the show more than her first and it wasn’t because she was snuggled against a solid wall of warm muscle or munching on her favorite candy. Candy that Flynn had remembered was her favorite.

  Credits rolled and she stood and stretched. Flynn rose and eyed her outfit. The yellow W stood out on her red shirt, and she’d bought blue Wonder Woman leggings on sale. His gaze licked the full length of her legs.

  “Nice” was all he said before leading her out.

  He was a force at her back as they made their way out of the theater and into the hall. Would he stay for the last show? She’d always wanted to do a marathon rewatch for a blockbuster like tonight, but she’d been so focused on saving money. Having him next to her again, drinking in his presence like she’d been on a sugar-free diet for months and he was her own personal box of Hot Tamales, she was afraid that if he cocked his head, she’d ditch the show to be with him.

  “You were planning to go again?” he asked, as if reading her mind. Or was it the needy and desperate look she probably had?

  “Yep. I bought all the tickets when I got here.” The cashier hadn’t even batted an eye. She wasn’t in full costume, but her outfit must’ve said it all.

  They reached the hall and held hands to keep from getting separated in the crowd. She was about to break away for the restrooms when a young woman walked up to Flynn, looking at him like he was a full-sized chocolate bunny. He tensed, his shoulders rigid.

  A saucy grin formed on her lips. “Heard you were trying to get ahold of me. My sister was so pissed.” The women reminded Tilly of the mean-girl crowd. They all wore the latest trends to perfection, and their cold, haughty stares could drain a girl of self-esteem from twenty paces. It was their superpower.

  Wait. Flynn had been trying to call this girl?

  She refused to be hurt until she knew the story.

  “I, uh. It was resolved.” He didn’t look at Tilly but scanned the crowd like he was searching for the first exit.

  The woman laughed, tossing her long, glossy hair. Tilly’s next hair appointment should be with a stylist and not at the punch-card place, but not until after she earned her free cut. She was halfway there.

  The girl’s hip cocked out more. “She said you got stuck with the crazy lady you wanted her to save you from, but I told her I’d make it up to you.”

  Save him from the crazy lady? Flynn’s shoulders drooped and he exhaled. The woman finally noticed her, did a once-over of her outfit, and quirked a brow, as if to ask, Are you for real? She turned the wattage of her flirtatious smile up and drifted closer to Flynn.

  Tilly still didn’t know the whole story, but she wasn’t going to stand around and wait for her self-respect to be trampled. She wasn’t on this bitch’s payroll. “Would that have been Crazy J, Flynn?”

  His shoulders hunched more and he dipped his forehead. “Yep. I was trying to save myself from Crazy J.” He lifted his gaze but still didn’t meet Tilly’s. He gripped her hand instead and pulled her closer to him. She went reluctantly, interested to see what he was doing. “You know what, Becky? Thank your sister for doing me a solid and bailing on our deal. Best thing that could’ve happened.” He wrapped his arm around Tilly’s waist, gave Becky a nod, and hauled Tilly away with him.

  To be hurt or not to be hurt? “I need to hear the story. How upset should I be?”

  He sighed but held her tighter. “I won’t blame you if you hate me. It was a douche move. After you said you were going to bid on me, I called who I thought was Becky, but was actually her sister, Samantha.”

  He gave her a sidelong look like he was gauging her reaction.

  “I asked her to bid up until she won and I’d cover the cost, no matter the amount. It’s understandable, then, that when I kept calling her by her sister’s name, she stayed quiet and let you win.” He stopped and faced her, his expression serious. “Which I’m grateful for.”

  “That was such a douche move.”

  “I know. I’m not proud of my ‘genius’ plan.”

  “Not that. Well, that was a douche move, too, but calling her by her sister’s name? Ugh. Did you sleep with both of them?”

  His face darkened with shame. “Not at the same time.”

&n
bsp; People flowed around them. Were Becky and her crew part of the crowd? She didn’t care. Hurt roiled under her skin, but he seemed genuinely ashamed of himself. She still wasn’t sure what to think now that she had the details.

  He must’ve been so desperate to keep out of Crazy J’s reach. Why do I always stutter around you? He’d said that out of frustration one day at the cabin. Then there was “Crazy J.” This whole time she’d been wrapped up in her nightmare at home as a kid, she hadn’t dwelled on her effect on Flynn. She’d downright terrified him. So much that ten years later, he’d been willing to fork over as much cash as necessary to save himself from her.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  He recoiled. “For what? I’m the asshole.”

  “But you wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t scared you so bad.”

  “Tilly.” His voice dropped to the low rumble that always sent shock waves through her body. When he talked like that, she usually orgasmed hard soon after. “If I hadn’t been such a selfish dick, I would’ve taken the time to get to know you instead of running the other direction. Or doing something stupid like calling an old hookup I never should’ve led on in the first place.”

  She licked her lower lip, her skin on fire where he touched. His gaze darted to her tongue, the heat in his eyes matching her own.

  Another question pushed to the front of her mind. “Why’d you call? It’s been three weeks. I know if you want to get laid, you don’t need me.” Dare she hope for more? She’d finally pried herself away from her phone after nursing her splintered heart.

  His frame went rigid for a heartbeat. “I missed you, and I don’t want to have sex with anyone else.”

  It was a stark confession. The realization bothered him. It was written all over his face. “Does that upset you? Be honest, because I’m too old to be strung along.”

  She couldn’t believe they were having this talk in the movie theater lobby, but she was glad they were having it at all. Because being with him only proved that she refused to go through another three weeks of will he or won’t he.

  He didn’t answer right away. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. No way was she going to cry minutes after watching the same movie back to back about a kick-ass heroine who saved the world.

  Tucking a finger under her chin, he raised her face until she met his gaze. “I have a demanding job with asshole clients who think I’m at their command twenty-four seven. And since they’re paying me millions, I kind of am. I don’t want to jump into a relationship only for you to feel like my job is my mistress. All I know right now is that I can’t quit thinking of you and I don’t want anyone else.”

  “I guess we can start there, then.” She couldn’t escape the feeling that his job was a cop-out, that if he really wanted to make it work, he could. But what did she know about running a business? Teaching required a lot of work off-hours, and each hour of tutoring took another hour or two of planning, organizing, and bookkeeping.

  Only a couple of people drifted past them now. The next showing would start soon, and it was on the other side of the theater. She tried to lighten the mood. “Now that your dirty secret is out, what do you want to do the rest of the night?”

  A flash of alarm crossed his face, but it was gone so fast she must’ve imagined it. “We have one more movie to watch.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and withdrew a ticket stub. “And then I get to show you all the things I’ve been thinking of since I got home from the cabin.”

  A thrill shot through her. He’d bought a ticket to watch the 10:15 with her? She could’ve melted. “And then it’ll be my turn!”

  ***

  By the time they crossed the threshold into her house, Flynn had nearly re-created his first time with Tilly. He’d been with her for hours, unable to talk to her much because of the movie. The quick heart-to-heart conversation between showings had left him emotionally ragged. Especially when she’d said his dirty little secret was out.

  By the time she’d joked about racing him back to her place, all he’d wanted was to lose himself in her curves and forget about his shitty past and the dirty deed he had to live with.

  He’d taken her against the wall before they’d fallen into her bed. They hadn’t done anything more than cuddle since the first frenzied round of sex. He wanted to feel all of her. The terror that had grabbed him by the short hairs and refused to let go as soon as Becky had spoken was still with him.

  And then Tilly had apologized to him for being the one to drive him to such behavior. She was so much better than him.

  Could he tell her the truth about his mom and his sister one day without fearing that’d she’d lose that look of adoration he’d come to crave?

  “What are you thinking about?” she murmured. She was stripped naked and curled into him, her back to his front. His erection pressed between them, but he was content to stroke her silky skin—for now.

  “How amazing you are. And that you taste like cinnamon.”

  She chuckled, making her body shake and teasing his cock. He groaned and snaked an arm around to palm a breast, its weight in his hand better than a stress ball.

  “Flynn.”

  That tone. His happy contentment drained out of him. This was it. She was going to ask about his past.

  “You never talk about you.”

  “There’s not much to me.” The words rang with truth. Until Tilly had barged back into his life, he’d done nothing more than work and loiter at the clubs until he found someone to stave off the loneliness for a night. Most of the women he met were all decent people. There was the typical mating dance of the human species, one he was tiring of. The congenial chatter, the flirtation, the illusion of future possibilities. Women like Becky who were interested in the same no-strings deal he was weren’t as satisfying as he’d led himself to believe. Then there were the ones who read into the way he dressed, how freely he spent money on dinner and drinks, what he drove, and targeted him.

  His only contributions to the world were the buildings he built. For other people.

  “What about your family? Was it just you and your sister?”

  He didn’t answer immediately, just trailed his fingers over her skin while deciding what to tell her. He settled on the majority of the truth. The part he was most ashamed of wouldn’t need to be shared. But before he did, he needed her.

  Rising over her, he nudged her onto her back. Her look of disappointment stalled him.

  “One more time first. I promise I’ll tell you about my shitty past.” Admittedly not as deplorable as hers. But she’d been an innocent victim, at the mercy of those she should’ve been able to trust with her well-being. He’d failed the one person who should have been able to rely on him for her security. He stroked her face. “I need this. I need you.”

  She nodded and opened herself to him, cradling him between her legs. He snagged a condom and rolled it on so there’d be no interruptions.

  He dipped his head and caught a nipple between his lips. This was his turn to be selfish, to linger over her body and savor her taste and reaction.

  She arched her back as he swirled his tongue, his other hand stroking a path down her stomach, over the rise of her pelvis, until he hit her wet center.

  As much as he wanted to plunge inside her welcoming sex, she wasn’t ready. He wanted her to fall apart around him as soon as he shoved in. Switching his attention to her other breast, he used the shift to part her folds and rest a finger on her clit.

  She undulated against his hand. Always so responsive. Her reaction was real and it made him feel like a god.

  One swipe over her nub made her body tremble. He released her nipple and blew across it.

  She inhaled. “You’re naughty.”

  “You like it,” he growled.

  “So much. Do it again.”

  Uninhibited. Unabashed. His Tilly was the real deal. It had been the real her in high school, too, with a personality so big and bold it’d been like looking at the sun. She never gave up on those she
cared for, whether it was the shelter cats or the kids she taught…or him. She humbled him, and she deserved so much better. And dammit, he so wasn’t worthy. He was the opposite of the person she tried to be. But for whatever reason, she’d set her sights on him and he couldn’t move out of her orbit. He’d made it three weeks without her company, each day an empty husk of existence, before he’d run back to steal whatever she was willing to give.

  He did as she asked, switching from one breast to the other while sliding his thumb in a steady rhythm over her clit. She was slick with need, her body coiled tight, the tension building.

  Her hands gripped his shoulders, her nails digging in. Perfection. An unhinged Tilly lay under him, her chest rising and falling in short pants, her hips swiveling, trying to eke out every scrap of pleasure he was giving her.

  He slid a finger inside, watched with greedy fascination as she tilted her head back with a groan and arched her luminous breasts closer to him. Her walls clenched his finger. So badly, he wished it were his cock she gripped. Soon.

  The first full-body quake hit her. It rippled through her, creating an erotic image he’d remember the rest of his life. This woman drove him crazy in all the good ways.

  Slowly, he circled her clit once, twice. Her body tightened. He slid his finger out to replace his thumb on her bundle of nerves. Her eyes flew open as her crest stalled, but he positioned himself and thrust inside. The pressure of his body knocked his finger against her clit and he used the momentum to bring her back to a swift peak.

  Holding himself on one shaking arm, he let her passion unfold beneath him.

  She cried to the ceiling, she clawed at her bed, she bucked, and when she came, it was the spectacular sight he’d been waiting for. Only then did he let himself go. The stamina that he normally prided himself on took its own vacation around her. Three thrusts were all he got in before his orgasm hit. Her sex clenched around him, her body cushioning him as he lost himself to blinding ecstasy.