Highest Bidder (A Bad Boy Romance)

by Mia Carson

  “Harley?” Sam called when he arrived home.

  She scooted to the edge of the bed and tried to remember what that woman all alone behind the glass wall did at the club that night. She held the rose in her hand and ran it up her thigh. “In here,” she replied in a sultry voice.

  The lights were dimmed, and the room was lit only with flickering candlelight. His shadow loomed down the hallway before he appeared in the doorway. “Hey, what’s with the...” He trailed off when his eyes raked over her naked body sitting on the edge of the bed. She saw his Adam’s apple bob hard as she dragged the rose across her belly to her other thigh and spread her legs wide. His hands clenched at his sides and he let out a choked noise.

  Harley bit her bottom lip and a quiet moan escaped her mouth as she lifted her other hand to cup her breast, massaging it with her fingers. She pinched her nipple hard, and Sam cursed raggedly as he stepped further into the room.

  “I tasted you all day,” she murmured, running the rose between her legs. Goosebumps broke out from the touch of the soft petals and the intense hunger in Sam’s eyes. “You teased me and you weren’t even there to do it in person.” She moved the rose down her inner thigh as she rolled her nipple and her head fell back, shaking out her hair. She heard his steps move closer but he didn’t reach out to her. “Care to join me?”

  “I think I’ll watch, for now,” he growled, and the ache deep in her loins intensified.

  Her eyes met his, and she dropped the rose between her legs. Her fingers ran up between her lips, moist simply because Sam was watching her touch herself. It was thrilling, and for a brief second, she understood the turn-on for the woman behind the glass. Knowing all those people were watching her pushed her over the edge. For Harley, having Sam’s eyes on her as she spread her lips delicately and rubbed them made her anxious to come for him. She rubbed her clit and shuddered at the sharp pleasure stirring to life within her. When she spread her lips wider and slipped two fingers inside her sheath, Sam groaned harshly. She watched with lustful eyes as his cock came to life before her. As he moved to the edge of the bed, she lay back and set her other hand to work, massaging her clit hard while her fingers thrust into her wetness. Sam’s hazel eyes darkened more than she had ever seen them, and he unbuttoned his shirt quickly.

  “Are you going to join me now?”

  “Oh no,” he grunted as he undid his pants and kicked out of his shoes. “Not yet. I want to watch you make yourself come first.”

  She gasped at the intensity of his words and how it drove her hands to move harder and faster against her body, as if he were the one guiding them. He slid the zipper down on his slacks, and as she slipped a third finger within her slick folds, he dragged his pants down, revealing his fully erect length. She licked her lips, ready to beg for it, but he stayed out of reach.

  “Come for me, Harley,” he ordered as he watched.

  The pressure built, and she struggled to maintain her rhythm as she neared the edge of ecstasy. She pinched her clit hard, and the second she shifted her gaze to his cock waiting to slam home into her, she lost it and cried out, her fingers thrusting into her and her muscles flexing around them as she came.

  “God, I love you,” he groaned as he moved her hands over her head with one hand and spread her legs again for his body to fit. She was so wet all he had to do was thrust and he filled her in one try. She cried out louder as her orgasm exploded again.

  The wave of love she’d sensed from the couple today was nothing compared to what consumed her in Sam’s arms. For the past few weeks, they’d inched closer to the true heart of each other, filling the empty voids in their hearts and souls with love given by the other. He claimed her as his own and bent over her body as she rose to meet his kiss with a fierce one of her own. She needed him to feel the love in her heart and know she was his.

  When the second orgasm ripped through her body, Harley screamed his name. He slammed into her one final time as he swelled, and she felt his warmth spill inside her. They clung to each other as if afraid to let go in case this moment never came again. Sam’s ragged yell drowned out her own as he collapsed onto the bed beside her, slipping from her body and shaking from their lovemaking.

  Harley rolled over onto him, straddling his body as she kissed his lips, his cheeks, and his forehead. “You said you love me,” she whispered.

  He cracked a smile. “I did.”

  “I wanted to tell you today that I love you too.” She waited for him to freak out and say it was in the heat of the moment and he didn’t mean it, but his hands rubbed up her arms and he drew her down against his body.

  “Can we do this every time we decide to express our feelings?” he asked, and she laughed as he kissed the top of her head. Her body relaxed, at peace in his embrace.

  “I guess I’ll leave my panties in your pockets more often.”

  “I’d be okay with that,” he replied and flung his arms out to the side stretching. “I never thought I could be so turned on by you doing that.”

  “What? Touching myself?” she asked as she sat up and ran her hands down her chest to her stomach. “Is that your way of telling me I should do it more often or…” She trailed off with a wink.

  “Only when I’m around,” he grunted.

  “You’re around now,” she whispered and held her breasts in her hands, arching an eyebrow. “We don’t have to leave for a while, and that jacuzzi is calling my name.”

  Sam bucked his hips beneath her, and she gasped to feel him swelling already. “Well, in that case, may I suggest a bubble bath before we’re subjected to margaritas and karaoke?”

  Her heart fluttering with pure joy knowing Sam felt the same for her as she did for him, she planted a loud smack of a kiss on his lips, leapt off the bed with a giggle, and ran into the bathroom with him hot on her heels. The happiness filling her heart was almost enough to erase the worries she had about dealing with Ricky and that she was still at a loss for how to get this man off her and Brianna’s backs.

  Marcus finished his third frozen mango margarita and leaned back in the booth, smacking his lips loudly. “Perfect, always perfect!”

  “Come on, open your present!” Harley insisted and slid the wrapped box closer.

  Sam glanced at it curiously, but when he’d asked earlier what it was, she said it would ruin the surprise. His hand slipped to her thigh beneath the table, and when she bit her lip in response, it took everything he had to remember it was his best friend’s birthday and there was no sneaking off to the bathroom for a quickie.

  Marcus took the box and shook it, but nothing rattled and Harley sighed overdramatically as she rolled her eyes. “Men and shaking things—what’s with that, really?”

  “It’s an age-old tradition,” Sam told her with a serious nod.

  “Very true. Men were shaking things long before women thought to do so to attract us,” Marcus added. He picked slowly at the edges of the paper until Harley reached over to try and tear the paper for him. He slid it out of her reach and unwrapped it quickly. His eyes narrowed for a second before they widened and he stared at her in shock. “No freaking way.”

  “What did you buy him?” Sam asked. Marcus tilted the box up, and he wished he hadn’t asked when he saw the karaoke machine. “You’re kidding, right? You know he’s going to keep that at the damn office and use it every day to piss me off.”

  “I promise, that was not my secret intent,” she told him and patted his leg with a wink.

  “Speaking of karaoke, I believe I am owed a song,” Marcus announced. “Sam, you’ve had a few margaritas. Go belt one out.”

  “Ah…I haven’t had nearly enough to drink to do that. I’ll pass for the moment.”

  “Fine, fine. Harley? You a chicken too?” he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

  Harley sucked down the rest of her margarita and nodded. “Right, let’s do this. Only for you, Marcus.” She slipped out of the booth and walked over to the stage to wait for her turn to sing.

&nb
sp; “You’re fucking terrible,” Sam said through his laughter.

  “What? She could’ve said no, and besides, according to you, she enjoys singing,” Marcus insisted. “I can’t believe she bought me a karaoke machine. Really, are you sure you can’t introduce me to her sister?”

  Sam sipped at his whiskey. “I haven’t even met her yet.”

  “Think there’s a reason for that?”

  “Maybe,” Sam mused as he watched Harley talk to the DJ as she picked out a song. “Or maybe she’s just waiting for an appropriate time to introduce her to me. I’m not really worried about it.”

  “What about her parents? Are you worried about them?”

  Sam tilted his glass, swirling the whiskey and catching the light. “I’m afraid she’s like me. No parents to speak of. I guess I dodged the bullet of needing to impress her dad,” he said, but there was no amusement in his words. He would’ve liked to meet Harley’s parents if they had been the parents she deserved, just as he wished his mother and grandfather were around to meet her.

  The man singing rather poorly at the mic finished his song and the bar erupted in loud applause as he bowed his way off the stage and walked past Harley, who stepped up on the stage. She tucked her hair nervously behind her ears and stood by the mic.

  “Evening, everyone, name’s Harley and I’m dedicating this song not to the man whose birthday it is, simply because he’s making me do this, but to a very different man,” she said and Marcus booed loudly until Sam nudged him. “So, yeah, here it goes.”

  The bar fell silent, and the DJ turned the music on for her. Sia’s Helium filled the bar, and when Harley opened her mouth, words filled with such passion and love flowed out, striking Sam right in the chest. She stared at him the whole time she sang, belting it out to the loud cheering of the crowd in the bar. Every day, she continued to amaze him, and Sam never wanted it to stop. He smiled softly at her and nodded once. When she finished the song, the bar erupted in shouts for an encore, Marcus joining in as he leapt to his feet, shouting the loudest of them all. She gave in and waved at Marcus to join her.

  “Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, the drunken margarita birthday boy,” she announced, and Marcus took a bow when he hit the stage beside her. “What should we sing?”

  Marcus rubbed his hands together and whispered in her ear. She burst out laughing and nodded as Marcus leaned over and told the DJ what song he wanted to sing so badly. Harley struggled to keep it together and rolled her eyes at Sam when Marcus bounded back to her side. The bar quieted, and when Harley belted out the first few lines, the rest of the bar, including Marcus and even Sam, joined in singing the good ol’ Garth Brooks song, I’ve got Friends in Low Places. Sam didn’t even mind when a few other drunks staggered over to him and swayed back and forth with their arms draped over Sam’s shoulders.

  The night was certainly one for the books, one he wanted to relive over and over again.

  Chapter 10

  “Stop fussing with your hair, it looks fine,” Sam told Harley as he stood behind her in the bathroom. “If you curl it anymore, you’re going to look like a damn poodle.”

  She shot him a glare in the mirror, and he gave her a trademark, charming grin back. “You might not be nervous, but you know this isn’t normal for me, right? I don’t go to black-tie affairs. I serve cocktails at them and deal with old men trying to grab my ass.”

  His smile fell instantly as his jaw clenched. “If anyone but me grabs your ass tonight, I’ll break their fingers.”

  “I’ll be sure to let them know.” She set the curling iron down and blew a bang out of her face with a loud sigh. “I can’t do this. I’m not this type of person!”

  “What type of person? Harley, you organized this, you’re running it. This baby is all yours.”

  “But I’m not like them, you know? The fanciest dress I’ve ever worn cost thirty bucks, and I got it at a thrift store for senior prom. It had seven rips in it.”

  “Seven. You counted?”

  “Yeah, I did, because I had to fix them all.” She sagged against the counter.

  “Harley, look at me,” Sam said as his hands slipped around her waist. “Harley, come on.”

  Pouting, she lifted her face to gaze at his reflection over her shoulder. “What?’

  “Don’t give me that what,” he said, laughing quietly. “You are going to do great tonight. Everyone will be there because of you and what you’re doing to help families like ours. Don’t worry about what anyone thinks about you as long as they understand the fundraiser and what it’s all about. That’s what matters tonight.”

  “But they’re all snobby, rich people, and don’t try to say they’re not,” she said quickly, holding up a finger. “I’ve been around them all my life. I know how they act.”

  “Are you telling me I’m a snobby, rich person?”

  “No, you’re probably the only one I’ve met who’s not like that.”

  His arms drew her back against his chest. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, give me a smile.”

  She lifted her upper lip and bared her teeth. His brow rose as he chuckled, the warmth of the deep, throaty sound calming her nerves. “How about a real smile that won’t scare everyone away?”

  She puffed out her cheeks and finally smiled for him. “We look pretty damn good together,” she pointed out.

  “We’ll look even better tonight. Come here, I want to show you something.”

  “I have to finish getting ready!” she argued, but he took her hand and placed his other over her eyes. “Sam!”

  “Trust me, it’s worth it. Just step right over here,” he said and maneuvered her around so she wasn’t even sure what direction she faced. “Okay, take a gander at this.” His hand fell away, and Harley turned to ask him what she was supposed to be looking at when she saw the dark blue gown hanging from the closet door. “What do you think?”

  Harley stepped away from him as she reached out to touch the silk and chiffon fabric. “Is this…is this for me?” she whispered, running her hands down the full skirt and back up the tight corset bodice with two loops of fabric that would drape over her shoulders as sleeves. “Sam?”

  He nodded. “I knew you were nervous about tonight, so I thought I would find something to make you feel more comfortable.”

  “Or like a fish out of water,” she whispered. “Do you really think I can pull this dress off?”

  “I know you can do anything you put your mind to,” he told her firmly. “Now, do you think you’re ready for tonight?”

  Not even in her dreams did she expect to wear a dress so elegant it brought tears to her eyes. She had planned on wearing a simple, full-length black dress she’d brought from home, but this, this was incredible. She pulled it off the door, held it up to her body, and looked in the full-length mirror on the wall. With Sam watching her, a warm smile caressing his lips, she glanced at him and asked, “Are there matching shoes?”

  He let out a loud burst of laughter as she joined him. “I’m going to take that as a yes, and of course there are shoes. Heaven forbid a man forget the shoes.”

  He walked past her on the way to the closet, but she stilled him with a touch and leaned up to kiss him. “Thank you for this, really. It’s incredible.”

  “An incredible dress for the woman who stole my heart. A fair trade.”

  “You got mine in the process too, you know,” she reminded him.

  He growled as he nuzzled her neck. “Too bad we have to leave in ten minutes or I’d have you on that bed so fast.”

  Harley liked the sound of that until his words sank in. “Ten minutes? Holy shit! We’re going to be late!”

  She shoved out of his arms and rushed back into the bathroom to finish her hair and makeup. Sam snickered from the bedroom, but she ignored him. Tonight was about making a good first impression. Everyone who knew Sam Benson and his company would be there. She would be the woman on his arm all night, and the last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him by showi
ng up late or not looking the part.

  She slipped into the dress and admired how it fit her like a glove. “How did you know my measurements?” she asked in awe as she zipped up the back of the dress.

  “I’ve had my hands all over your body. I think I know what size you are,” he replied as he stepped out of the closet dressed in a snazzy black tuxedo. He finished adjusting his jacket and when he lifted his face to gaze at her, his jaw dropped. “Blue is definitely your color.” He drew a flat velvet box from his pants’ pocket and held it out to her. “Finishing touch.”

  Harley smoothed her hands down the front of the dress, staring intently at the box. “What is it?”

  “Just open the box, woman,” he grunted and handed it over.

  She took it and lifted the lid slowly. “You sure know how to spoil a girl,” she breathed. “Sam…these are beautiful. I can’t wear these!”

  “Yes, you can, and you are,” he said taking the box back and drawing out the necklace. “Turn around for me.”

  She did so as he draped the sapphire and diamond necklace around her neck and clasped it in the back. The teardrop sapphire in the center hung perfectly above her cleavage, and she pressed her fingers gingerly to the stones. “Do I want to know how much this was?”

  “Nope,” he said as he handed her one earring at a time, the same teardrop sapphire surrounded by diamonds on each. “It doesn’t matter what they cost. For once, let yourself be spoiled.”

  The dress spun out around her as she turned to face him. “I’m not used to it.”

  “That’s a good thing,” he said as his eyes drifted from her head to her toes. “You have to be one of the only women in the city who’s more awed by beauty than impressed by it.”