Red Hot Lovers: 18 Contemporary Romance Books of Love, Passion, and Sexy Heroes by Your Favorite Top-Selling Authors

by Milly Taiden

  “What’s the matter?” Dan leaned in.

  “Nothing.”

  “Well, aren’t you going? I don’t want you to miss the bidding.”

  “Of course. I’ll be right back,” I said, pushing out my chair.

  Without seeming to hurry too much, I headed straight for the washrooms in the hallway by the coat check wondering whether Adrian had seen me. If I was going to talk to him, I needed to empty my bladder first.

  Once done, I double-checked my makeup and headed out. Adrian was waiting just outside. He reached for my hand and pulled me into the room full of expensive coats, pressing his lips to mine. The world ceased to exist. Sounds faded from around us and I lost myself in Adrian’s big arms as he held my entire body against him, stroking the top of my spine with his fingers. The searing touch felt so good on my skin, I couldn’t help but melt further into his muscled body, feeling all the wonderful curves I remembered from our day at the waterfall. His hands grazed along my silhouette reviving my needs, instantly causing my body to succumb to his touch.

  “I’ve been waiting to do this all night,” he said into my mouth.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “My friend, the one who owns the farm, asked me to fill in for him last-minute. He just said it’s important to his family. Since he couldn’t be here, he asked me to take his place. I found out this morning and didn’t realize it was the same event you mentioned.”

  “Are you alone? Because I’m not. Oh, my God, Adrian, I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “I’m with one of the family members, and as much as I want to enjoy your company for the night, I’ll give you the space you need.” He kissed me again. I could get lost in those lips of his over and over again. “And if I don’t stop this now, you’ll end up with my hands up your dress down on this floor. Relax and enjoy your time, T, but there’s something I need to tell you—”

  “You removed your barbell.” I pointed to his brow.

  “I figured it’s a family event, and not everyone appreciates a little spice.”

  “No, they don’t.” I laughed, swaying on my feet. Adrian caught me by my elbow. “I’m sorry, I may have had a sip too much.”

  “You’ve never been able to hold your alcohol well.”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “And now, onto the main event of the evening,” the host announced over the microphone.

  “Listen, T—“

  “But I’m not drunk. Just tipsy.”

  “I like the tipsy you and the sober you. I need to tell you some—”

  “I’m not going to drink anymore though. It’s not good for you.”

  “Will the volunteers please come up on the stage?” came from the room beside us.

  Shit, Dan is going up. “I have to go, Adrian. Celia’s parents need the money and there’s this thing.” I pointed to the hall. “I’ll see you later?”

  “Yes, T. I’ll definitely see you later.” He kissed me again and I headed for the table where Dan was already standing looking for me.

  “I thought you ditched me,” he said when I came back.

  I really hoped my flushed cheeks had had a chance to cool down. “I had to reapply my makeup. A promise is a promise, Dan. I’ll spend every last dime I have in that purse to raise the bids.”

  “Good. There’s nothing better than a woman who wants to buy you,” he teased.

  “Stop it! Now go.” I pushed him toward the stage and plopped into my seat.

  Tyler had already left, and from the corner of my eye I saw Isabelle anxiously tap her fingers on the table, looking from me, back toward the stage.

  “So, what happened?” she asked.

  “He’s here on a friend’s behalf.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What do you mean? This is an important cause. I’ll bid all I can, and then maybe figure out a way to introduce my present to my past.”

  “No, I mean who are you going to bid on?” She pointed to the stage.

  My gaze followed her finger where all the men were lining up. Tyler was near the end, Dan was third in the line, and Adrian stood a few spots to his left. Both men were looking my way.

  “Ah, fuck me!”

  CHAPTER 16

  The host began the bidding on the first bachelor. The offers rose quickly, from fifty bucks to one hundred and seventy-five, stopping there. At this rate I’d have enough money to bid on both Dan and Adrian, but the rules were that you could only bid on one bachelor. After all, everyone was supposed to have a first dance.

  “Who are you going to bid on?” Isabelle’s voice rang in my ears.

  “Dan. I promised him.”

  “Who do you want to bid on?” she asked in that devilish voice of hers.

  “Who do you think?”

  “What if I bid on Dan and you bid on Adrian?” she suggested.

  “Tyler will be upset.”

  “Tyler is an understanding man. Besides, I think he’d much rather dance with someone else for a change.”

  The bidding moved to the second man, and more brave ladies opened their purses.

  “You’d do that for me?” I asked.

  “Of course. What are friends for? We’ll tell Dan I need to see those moves of his.”

  “I don’t know, Iz. There are a lot of women here who know him. It may be a lot of money.”

  “How much do you have?”

  “Five hundred.”

  “So do I. Let’s see if I can win a dance with your ex, then.” She giggled.

  “Our next dance bachelor is none other than Dan Claring from Your Home Brokerage.”

  A few whistles blew through the hall. The commotion increased as shy whispers turned to loud conversations.

  “Let’s start the bidding at fifty.”

  “Seventy-five,” someone yelled.

  “One hundred.”

  “One-fifty.”

  The price rose to two hundred bucks before Iz even got a chance to raise a bid. I had to at least try to bid for him. After all, I’d promised to raise the price as much as I could—for Celia.

  “Two-ten,” I said as loudly as possible, only to be met with a two-fifty from none other than Amanda’s blonde friend. I swore she’d put her friend up to this, but why wasn’t she bidding?

  The hall fell quiet for a moment as I raised the bid by another ten.

  “Let me do it,” Iz said.

  “No fucking way,” I said between my teeth. “She’s not going to do this to me again.”

  “It’s her friend bidding, who cares?” Iz chimed, and she was right.

  Dan’s face sagged. His head skidded from one side of the hall where Amanda sat with her friend, to me. Then Amanda raised her friend’s bid as if she was doing it to spite me. There was no way I would allow her to dance with him. At least not for a low price. If she wanted to dance with my ex-husband whom she’d banged, she’d have to pay the full price.

  And as expected, she didn’t let go. We kept upping the price. Once I hit five hundred, I knew Dan was becoming desperate. It didn’t look like he wanted to dance with her friend either, and pleaded with me as the blonde said, “Five hundred fifty.”

  It was the highest bid of the night, and I couldn’t add any more money to my offer. But at least Amanda remained quiet, though I couldn’t help but feel uneasy in my stomach. Dan had been saved from her claws for now, but would it last the entire night?

  I mouthed “I’m sorry” toward him and the host congratulated the blonde—Kayla was her name—on her prize. I could tell he still felt uncomfortable, but I’d done everything I could. And now I had five hundred dollars left to spend.

  Dan made his way down as Kayla strolled over to claim her prize, holding her head as if she was trying to sniff cocaine off the ceiling.

  By now, the host’s attention was on Adrian, who was being ogled by half the women remaining at the hall, most fanning their faces and crossing their legs in discomfort. I was beginning to doubt I could outbid the drooling
ladies who looked like they were ready to drop their panties for Adrian. And as I devoured his gladiator posture, I honestly couldn’t blame them. He truly was the hottest man here.

  As I turned to Isabelle, I caught Amanda’s evil stare. If she had a plan to make my life even more miserable, then this was definitely it. And as soon as the bidding began, her paddle flew up.

  Shit!

  Twenty-five women started flinging their arms, battling for a chance to dance with Adrian, and before I knew it we were already at five hundred. I must say, they all had a very good taste in men. Six women remained.

  “I’ll give you two hundred more,” Isabelle whispered.

  “Tyler will be upset.”

  “No one’s gonna bid that high on a married man. Haven’t you noticed the true bachelors are going for the top dollar? And your yummy man there is definitely tonight’s top pick. Besides, this is for a good cause. Now raise that paddle!” She pushed up on my elbow.

  “Seven hundred,” I said without bothering to raise by fifties the way they had so far. I would not let Adrian go.

  “You know you can use your credit card too. Just imagine her dancing with Adrian.” Iz pointed to Amanda, who had her hand up immediately after me, raising my bid.

  “One thousand!” I said.

  The hall quieted.

  Holy fuck, what did I just do?

  Audible whispers began to spread, and it took a few seconds before the host managed to ask whether anyone wanted to bid higher. Amanda just gave me an evil look and raised her hand for eleven hundred.

  My mouth nearly dropped open. I couldn’t afford one thousand, let alone more than that. And Amanda knew it very well. Being the gold-digger she was, she must have pockets full of cash, and the way Adrian oozed money and sex, he was the biggest target in the room.

  Before she got a chance to speak again, Adrian tapped the hostess on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes grew bigger with every moment. She swallowed audibly through her microphone before speaking again.

  “Ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Reed would like to make a very generous donation to Celia’s family for the chance to dance with a special lady tonight.”

  Can he do that?

  “So if the family agrees to this change of rules, and if no one outbids his ten-thousand-dollar offer, I think this fundraiser has accomplished what it was set out to do.”

  “Ten-frickin-thousand dollars,” Isabelle whispered beside me. “I don’t think my credit card even has that limit.”

  I wanted to look under the table to see where my jaw had disappeared, because I swore it had dropped right off my face and stayed there.

  The hostess glanced at the table where Celia’s parents along with other family members were seated, waiting for their reply. They nodded politely. Celia’s mom had tears in her eyes and so did I, because at that moment I knew that this once, Amanda was not going to steal my man. And Adrian’s generosity was simply out of this world.

  I can’t believe he did that.

  Adrian pulled out something from his inside pocket, which I assumed was a cheque book, signed the piece of paper, and handed it to the hostess. Then in long confident strides, he headed my way. I sat there frozen, as if I was living out some sort of a fantasy. And that look of pure satisfaction on his face was priceless. If there was a dictionary definition of a man who’d gotten what he wanted, Adrian’s picture would be there.

  Dan’s head whipped toward our table. He leaned back against the stage with the new blonde under his arm. The bimbo followed Adrian’s stroll, opening her mouth in shock. Actually, I was pretty sure everyone else was looking at us too.

  “Make sure this man gets lucky soon,” Iz whispered. “And for ten thousand dollars, that dance better be orgasmic.”

  I was sure it was going to be. The stress of the auction had sobered me up, but just being near Adrian had that same woozy effect on me. Adrian politely extended his hand to me, which of course I took. He lowered his lips to above my knuckles, gently skimming them across. The understated intensity of that soft contact tore through my body. And even if we were seated at the side of the hall, we were the center of everyone’s attention.

  Adrian took me under his arm, and with over two hundred pairs of eyes following our every move, we headed to join the others by the stage. We waited in line until the bidding was over. Isabelle successfully bid for a dance with her husband. Her catty looks toward the other women were an effective warning signal to back off. I couldn’t hear how much she’d paid as the sounds around me seemed to faded in and out, overpowered by my breaths and the swoosh of blood pulsing through my veins. Amanda kept her paddle down for the rest of the auction and was stuck sitting at her table.

  Dan checked out the man whose arm I clung to, and to my surprise, he simply winked. The blonde under his arm was at least younger than Amanda, and now that I had had a closer look at her, she didn’t appear to be as mean as I’d thought. Maybe she needed to find new friends who could steer her the right way.

  “Are you all right, T? You’re trembling,” Adrian whispered in my ear.

  His breath warmed my cheek. The smell of him was so enthralling, I couldn’t think—that perfect blend of his aftershave I’d remembered from when we were young, mixed with fresh soap and his skin. How in the world did he manage to overcome every single one of my senses with his scent so quickly? And was I really shaking?

  “I’ll be fine. I didn’t expect you to be up here.”

  “My friend volunteered me for this. I couldn’t say no to helping his family.”

  “And ten thousand dollars? Adrian, you really didn’t have to.”

  “There was no way I was going to put you through watching me dance with her, no matter the cost. You know, I thought you were a bit harsh calling her a you-know-what, but after what she tried to pull just now, I think you’re justified. I never meant to place you in this predicament.”

  “I still can’t believe how much money you spent.”

  “Then stop thinking about it. I was ready to pay ten times as much.”

  “You could have had me for free.”

  “Baby, from the way you feel in my arms on the dance floor, it was worth every penny.”

  “That’s a lot of pennies.” I looked into his deep green eyes finding in them the devotion I’d always yearned for.

  The music began playing and in his arms, I traveled back in time to when we danced at a club, moving to the rhythm of our bodies. I forgot Amanda sitting by herself at the table, and everyone else for that matter. Reacting to each of Adrian’s moves, I lost myself to the music and his guiding body. He was the one who’d taught me how to dance. All the boys I’d known in Europe, including my cousins, knew how to dance, and I had no clue where they’d learned. It was as if they were secretly taught by their fathers and expected to know how to lead a lady before they ever went out.

  In Adrian’s arms I responded to every turn and swivel from at the slight touch of his hand on my lower back. His fingers played on my palm like a violin, beckoning me with their pads to come in closer or move away. God, I hadn’t danced this way in such a long time, and it was truly nothing short of orgasmic. Two weeks ago I wouldn’t have imagined I could ever be in his arms again.

  The first song passed and I stayed in his arms.

  “Want to keep going?”

  “Yes, I haven’t danced at an event in a long time.”

  Adrian spun me just as the new song began. The quicker beat was relaxing and fun.

  “Didn’t you dance with Dan? He seems to have some pretty good moves,” Adrian noted.

  “He’s got the moves all right, but always reserved them for someone else, even if we went out together as a couple.”

  “Ah, so he’s not a one-woman man at events like these?”

  “More like any woman’s man,” I chuckled.

  “I can’t imagine not having you in my arms at any opportunity I can.” Adrian dipped me back.

  “Dan’s just differe
nt. He likes to mingle. A lot.”

  “But you were his wife.” He narrowed his brows, bringing me closer to his chest. The tempo slowed and I felt myself more attached to Adrian than before. He had this way of holding my hand against his chest, right on top of his heart.

  “A wife he had enough of at home,” I lowered my head.

  Adrian tilted my chin upward with his finger, whispering, “I can’t ever get enough of you. And I will work every day to prove myself worthy of you.”

  I pressed myself harder against him, laying my head on his hard chest.

  Adrian had that easy way of making me feel like I always mattered. He ensured that I was the center not only of his world but of the entire universe.

  We danced three more songs before he kissed my hand like a gentleman and walked me back to my table.

  “Just so you know, I’m planning on stealing you sometime tonight to make out in my car,” he said on the way, making my knees week.

  “For ten thousand dollars, sir, you can make a request much more specific than that,” I teased.

  The slow rumble that escaped his chest shook through me as Adrian regarded me with that hungry glare.

  “Will you join me?” I pointed to the empty seat where Dan was supposed to be sitting. With a drink in his hand, Dan would socialize with the guests for a while before he remembered I was in the room.

  “T, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. If you want me to disappear, just say the word.”

  “That’s very considerate of you, but trust me, Dan will not be back here until it’s time to go home. You wouldn’t leave me alone, would you?” I batted my lashes.

  “Of course not.” Adrian sat down beside me and lifted his arm, pointing two fingers in the air toward the bar. Minutes later the waiter brought us water.

  “Wow, you’ve got everyone wrapped around your finger.”

  “Not really. That’s Eric. He’s paying his way through an engineering degree and his mother works for me. I figure if I tip him a bit here and there it will make the bills less painful.”