Authors: Darah Lace
visions he’d had earlier of an unmade bed came
rolling back with an unwanted addition. Along with
red silk sheets and a ceiling mirror, he conjured
images of a satisfied lover still slumbering in the
heated aftermath of early morning sex.
He had almost forgotten about Sam in his
eagerness to see more of her home and hated to
entertain the possibility that while he had
fantasized about having his own sexual adventure
with Charlotte on the stairs, the man could still be
in her bed.
He backed up a step. “You’re right. I should
have realized.”
She swallowed, clearly uncomfortable now that
he understood. “It’s just that—”
“You don’t have to explain, but you could have
told me sooner that Sam was still here. I’d have
waited outside.” He turned to go.
“Marcus, wait.”
He stopped on the landing but couldn’t bring
himself to look at her. If he moved one inch in her
direction, he wasn’t certain he could restrain himself
from physically removing her from his path so he
could see who this Sam was. More than that, he
wanted to rip the guy to apart.
“Um, actually Sam’s asleep, and he’s really
grumpy if I wake him. But I don’t think I can carry
the largest suitcase down the stairs. Do you think if
I brought it to the edge the stairway, you could take
it to the car?”
He thought his jawbone would crack from the
pressure of holding back what he thought of that
idea. She could wake lover boy and have him fetch
and carry. But then, essentially, their relationship
was none of Marcus’s business, and to have a face to
go with the name would only drive him nuts later,
make his imaginings too vivid, real. “Sure, no
problem.”
87
Darah Lace
Marcus waited for her to leave before he sank to
the top step of the landing. It was crazy, this
compunction he felt to punish himself, as well as the
fierce need to pummel a man he didn’t know for
taking advantage of Charlotte’s promiscuity. He
refused to believe there was more to it than his
protective nature, or that a possessive streak—at
least
where she
was
concerned—lay buried
somewhere inside him.
“Are you two going to take all day?” Melody
asked from the bottom of the stairs. “You’ve got a
flight to catch.”
Spencer joined her. “Where’s the mountain of
luggage?”
Marcus couldn’t manage more than a shrug.
“I’ll go see what’s taking so long.” Melody
started to climb the steps, Spencer on her heels.
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”
She stopped in front of him. “Why not?”
He stared at the carpet between his feet, afraid
if Melody didn’t read the jumble of fiery emotion
boiling inside him, ready to erupt, his brother would.
“Sam’s still asleep.”
She brushed off his concern. “Sam’s always
asleep.”
“Big slug’s asleep every time I’m here. Lazy good
for nothing—hey, that hurt.” Spencer rubbed his
side where Melody poked him.
“Just because you don’t like Sam,” she said,
massaging his injured ribs in silent apology, “doesn’t
mean you have to be nasty. I think he’s adorable.”
Spencer’s obvious dislike of Sam should have
made Marcus feel better. Instead, his concern for
Charlotte grew. His brothers usually judged men
fairly, and if Spencer held a low opinion of Sam, he
had good reason. Melody might think she knew the
guy better, but she trusted far too easily and like
most women, could be swayed by a man’s charm.
88
Bachelor Auction
“Besides,” Melody added, smiling as she moved
to the step above Marcus, “you’d need your sleep too
if you stayed up all night.”
Marcus clenched his fists. “Look, she said she’d
bring her suitcases out when she’s ready.”
“Yes, but if I know Charlotte, she’s not finishing
packing.” She started up the stairs, adding over her
shoulder, “She’s curled up on the bed beside Sam,
scratching that hairy belly, trying to make up for
leaving him.”
Marcus lurched to his feet, his entire body
shaking with the violence her words produced. He
started down the steps. “I’ll be outside.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Spencer said, catching his
arm. “I can’t carry all her shi—stuff by myself.”
Marcus jerked out of his brother’s grasp. “Then
get lover boy to help you.”
Spencer gave him a strange look. “Who?”
“Sam,” Marcus hissed, too angry now to care
what his brother made of his behavior. He pointed at
Melody as she entered Charlotte’s room. “Doesn’t it
bother you, Melody going in there?”
Amusement filled Spencer’s eyes and the corner
of his mouth quirked up. “Why should it?”
“Sam’s in Charlotte’s bed?”
“That’s nothing new.”
After all the times he and Chad had teased
Spencer about his hair-trigger jealousy over Melody,
Marcus couldn’t believe he would stand by while she
entered a room where another man lay possibly
wrapped in nothing but satin sheets. Yet Spencer
didn’t seem at all disturbed. Something wasn’t right.
Marcus ran his hand over the back of his neck.
“And you don’t care if Melody sees him?”
Spencer laughed. “Nah. I don’t like the big fella,
but he’s pretty harmless. Come on, let’s get this
show on the road.”
Suspicious and intrigued, Marcus followed.
89
Darah Lace
Entering Charlotte’s bedroom, he stopped in his
tracks and gaped at the scene before him. Charlotte
was nowhere in sight, but Melody sat on the bed
across the room, her fingers caressing the exposed
belly of an enormous, orange tabby.
“Marcus,” Spencer said with barely controlled
laughter. “Meet lover boy.”
Heat crawled slowly up Marcus’s neck and face.
He started to tell Spencer where to get off, but the
room’s decor gave him pause. He snapped his mouth
shut and took a closer look. What he saw surprised
and fascinated him beyond anything he could have
imagined when pondering Charlotte and her private
domain.
The furniture, definitely designer quality,
wasn’t what captured his attention. It was the
clutter. Knickknacks of every variety scattered
across almost every flat surface. Books were stacked
in the corners and beside the unmade bed. And the
bed, where he’d thought to see a satisfied lover and
not the furry feline stretched out on his back, was
small with frilly ruffles and flowery sheets. A
homemade quilt stuck out from under a giant black
suitcase and dangled off the end where several
stuffed bears lay discarded. Not at all what he’d
envisioned.
He shook his head as he considered the extreme
differences in this busy but cozy room as compared
to the lavish living area below. Yet another
contradiction in the woman he knew as Charlotte.
Though what it meant he hadn’t a clue and didn’t
have time to contemplate since she walked out the
connecting door he assumed was the bathroom.
She stopped, apparently startled to see the three
of them in her room. Or was it just his presence that
bothered her. Had she lied about the cat because she
didn’t want him here?
“We introduced Marcus to Sam,” Spencer said.
90
Bachelor Auction
“Did you?” Charlotte’s nervous green eyes
flickered over Marcus before she moved to the bed
and drew the sheet over several large books and a
stack of papers he hadn’t noticed before. Then she
placed a small bag into her suitcase and zipped it
closed. Were her hands trembling?
“Yep,” Spencer said. “And it’s funny, because I’m
almost positive he thought Sam was your—”
“Spence.” Marcus folded his arms across his
chest. “Why don’t you start loading Charlotte’s
luggage?”
His brother laughed again but refrained from
further comment and hefted the suitcase off the bed.
The cat sprang to his feet, back arched, teeth bared
as he hissed at Spencer for intruding on his nap.
“Damn fleabag,” Spencer muttered and headed
toward the door. “Come on, Mel. Three’s company,
five’s a crowd.”
Melody glanced from Marcus to Charlotte, as if
trying to figure out what she’d missed, then bounced
off the bed. “I’ll see you downstairs.”
Charlotte gathered the temperamental tabby in
her arms and stroked him as if he were the lover
Marcus had pictured her with all night. The thought
made him smile. He knew he should be angry. She’d
played him for a fool, purposely allowed him to
believe the worst of her again. She knew perfectly
well he had thought she planned to spend the night
before their trip in the arms of another man. Why
had she done that?
Hell. Why did Charlotte do anything?
At the moment he didn’t care. All he felt was
relieved.
Marcus walked slowly toward her, stopping
inches away. She looked up at him with defiant eyes
and lifted her chin, as if daring him to criticize her.
He cocked his head to one side, letting his smile
broaden. “So this is Sam, the reason you couldn’t
91
Darah Lace
have dinner with me last night?”
Her frown faded and a smug smile took its place.
“Sam takes precedence over certain things. Dinner
the night before I leave him for the weekend is one of
them.”
“You know what I thought.”
Her shoulder lifted and dropped, drawing his
attention, not for the first time this morning, to the
plunging neckline of her shape-hugging dress. The
ruffled collar with its drawstring effect ensured his
gaze lingered on the soft swells it showcased. The
fire that had simmered in his gut earlier flared hot
in his veins.
The flames jumped higher when Sam’s
whiskered nose intruded, rubbing against one peak.
Her long, slender fingers automatically moved from
where they stroked the lucky furball’s back to
scratch its chin. Massive front paws—devoid of
claws—began to knead the spot his nose had
nuzzled, and Marcus could swear the cat blinked at
him with a hint of triumph.
“The rest of my things are there,” she said,
pointing to a garment bag draped over the large
wingback chair and a smaller suitcase his mom
would call an overnight bag. She moved to wait by
the door, clearly anxious for him to leave.
Gathering the luggage, he motioned her
forward. “After you.”
She hesitated, then, carrying Sam with her,
hurried from the room. Marcus took one last look
around before following. If she’d had her way, he
might never have seen the place in which she
lowered her guard. Might never have seen a side of
Charlotte that thoroughly shook his fast and easy
image of her.
His steps grew lighter as he thought of the trip
ahead and wondered what else he would discover
about Charlotte Reese before the weekend was over.
92
Bachelor Auction
Charlotte clutched the arms of her aisle seat and
stared at the
Fasten Seatbelt
sign overhead as the
aircraft vibrated around her. She hated to fly. Had
always hated it. Fretted for days beforehand,
preparing for the inevitable. She understood that
her phobia boiled down to a fear of heights she’d had
since childhood. However, rationalization never
stopped the panic that seized her once she was more
than three feet off the ground.
Strangely enough, she hadn’t given this flight a
second thought and chalked it up to the last few
days’ events along with her failure to come up with a
plan to seduce Marcus. Sure, she could come on
strong during the sponsor promos when they were
forced together, but the photo shoots wouldn’t last
long enough to hook him, much less reel him in. And
they were far too public.
Besides, with his tendency to walk away when
pushed too far, he would hightail it the moment one
shoot ended. Likely, she wouldn’t have seen him
until the next one began.