Forever Wishes (Montana Brides Book 4) (3 page)

“What are you talking about?” Erin looked between the two men.

Leaning across the table, Sam said, “Charity auction time. Jake’s on the list of merchandise about to be sold to the highest bidder.”

Jake sat forward. “Don’t scoff too soon. Nicky just offered your services as a substitute for me.”
 

The smirk fell off Sam’s face. His gaze streaked to Nicky. “You didn’t speak to the auctioneer did you?” Panic laced with a good dose of dread turned the pitch on Sam’s voice up a couple of octaves, “Tell me you didn’t?”

She patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry big boy. I want you all to myself. Besides, I thought you might like to bid on the little gold bracelet that’s being auctioned.” An oh-so-charming smile hovered on her lips.
 

Erin grinned at the relieved expression on Sam’s face, then smiled even more when she saw a woman sitting at the next table. Jake looked twice at the woman’s cleavage, exploding in a puff of surgically enhanced skin from the top of a sparkly dress. And the look she sent him made Erin burst into a fit of giggles.
 

Blondie pursed her lips, sending Erin a superior stare from behind three inch eyelashes and enough lipstick to paint her spare bedroom.

“You’re not supposed to laugh,” Jake muttered. “Just be thankful it’s not you up there.” His mouth tightened as he scanned the room. “The women in this audience may look harmless, but they’re out for blood. And it’s mine.”

Nodding across to the blonde woman at the next table, Erin said, “You’ve got a fan club of one already. Watch out, she wants you for nibbles.”

Jake shot a quick glance in Blondie’s direction, and then buried his head in his hands.
 

Erin wiped a tear from her eye. “Who do I have to thank for nominating you?”

With absolutely no enthusiasm he muttered, “My sister, Lucy.”

He looked across at Erin. Desperate times called for desperate measures. He’d thought of a way to keep the horde of eager bidders away.
 

Grabbing her hand, he hoisted her out of her chair. “I need to talk to you fast.” He maneuvered both of them through a side door and out into a service corridor. “You’ve got to help me, and I don’t have much time.”
 

Jake expected her to look bewildered, even surprised at their hasty escape. But she didn’t look either of those things. A huge smile slipped across her face.

“You want me to bid on a date for you, don’t you?”

“Am I that obvious?”

“Only sometimes,” she laughed.

“Will you do it?”

“What?”

“Bid on a date with me. I’ll pay for the auction. It won’t cost you a cent.”

“What do dates with you normally go for?”

Jake ran his hands through his hair. He needed to get back inside the ballroom, otherwise someone would figure out what they were doing.
 
And he needed to get Erin to agree with his plan so that he didn’t end up with someone else. “The highest bid a couple of years ago hit the two thousand dollar mark. I usually end up with a woman who wants to eat me for breakfast, or a mother who sees me as the perfect catch for her single daughter. After the week I’ve had, I can’t face being haggled over. What do you say?” He held his breath, waiting for her reply.

“I don’t know, it sounds a bit dodgy. Doesn’t it take the fun out of the auction if you’ve stacked the bidding in your favor?”
 

Erin’s eyes were alive with laughter, but her lips weren’t smiling. He hoped she was joking. Really hoped. “You’ve got to help me.” He hadn’t groveled for anything in years, and she wasn’t making it easy for him.

“So this is all about saving your manly virtue and raising money for Camp Discovery?”

He nodded, hoping like crazy no one bowled through the door before she agreed to spend a hefty chunk of his money.

“I’ll help you on one condition. You have to do anything I want as payback.”
 

Relief swept through him. “In that case, I’m all yours.”
 
Jake stared at the laughing face in front of him. A few interesting thoughts sprung to mind as payback, but right now he didn’t care where Erin’s imagination might take him.
 

He nudged her toward the door. “Let’s get back to the masses before we’re missed. And by the way Miss Reynolds…” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Thanks for the save.”

As he moved back he looked down at her stunned expression. A blush stained her cheeks and her lips parted in surprise. His gaze locked with hers, then zeroed in on her mouth. Her tongue peeked out, licking her bottom lip. Everything around him swung into oblivion until all he wanted to do was follow that little pink tongue into her beautiful mouth.
 

He took a step forward.
 

The door thudded open and Sam’s head appeared around the frame. “The auction’s about to start and they’re waiting for you.” Sam looked between the two of them, frowned, then disappeared back into the ballroom.

Erin grabbed his hand. “Come on, Casanova. Your ladies are waiting.”

Stan Lewis, the Director of Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, had been roped in as auctioneer for the night. He swiftly moved through a huge range of donated goods. Erin grinned when Sam managed to win the gold bracelet for five hundred dollars. Nicky thought it was a bargain, and Sam told Erin he thought it was money well spent considering he wasn’t standing on the stage.

And then it was Jake’s turn. After a bit of coercion from Stan, he strolled around, looking as though he didn’t have a care in the world. No one watching him would have guessed he’d stooped to bribery and corruption to fix the outcome of the auction.

Moving in front of the stage, he waved to the audience. The room erupted in good natured wolf whistles and cheers as every eye in the room followed his progress. He didn’t let his gaze rest on anyone in the audience for too long. Erin smiled to herself. He probably didn’t want any eager females thinking he was open for business.
 

As Stan called for an opening bid, Jake sent a pointed look Erin’s way. Turning in her seat, she watched the first bid came in on her left. Hands rose in all directions around the ballroom. One thing was obvious; the women of Bozeman had discerning taste.
 

The blonde bombshell at the next table lifted her arm, yet again, to try and knock the competition out of the game.

Erin’s head swam as she tried to keep up with the bidding war. Jake kept glancing down, waiting for her counter-bid. Buying a thirty dollar mystery box from the second hand dealers’ sale last summer was the only auction experience she had. But she’d learned one thing from that night. Never show your hand too soon, otherwise you let the competition know you were dead keen for what was on offer.
 

And she was more than dead keen. Erin planned to win. If there was ever a mission worthy of the underhand tactics they’d agreed on, this was it.
 

Jake sent another glance her way as she considered different auction strategies. It was just as well he didn’t know about her limited experience, otherwise he might not be looking quite so confident. As the first bidders ran out of steam, she did a quick scan of the crowd. Blondie kept raising her hand, countering all bids. Erin rolled her shoulders, flexing her fingers under the table.

It was now or never. Erin stuck her hand in the air. Notching up her first bid was nerve-racking. As her hand dropped back to the table, Blondie turned and gave her the meanest glare she’d seen in a long time.
 

Countering the woman’s next bid with a cheeky grin, she stuck her hand in the air for the third time as Blondie upped the stakes even higher.
 

Jake looked profoundly grateful as she energetically kept on top of the bidding war. She was so absorbed in making sure Blondie didn’t win, that she didn’t pay attention to the amount of money flying off the auctioneer’s tongue.
 

She was stunned when she realized the date with Jake had reached astronomical proportions. At three thousand dollars, even she was a little concerned that this would have to be the Rolls Royce of all dates. Crossing her fingers, she paused in mid-bidding stream.

Drawing in a gulp of air, she looked Jake straight in the eye. She sat back, arms folded across her chest, with a look of what she hoped was resignation plastered across her face.
 

His expression faltered as she pretended not to be interested in placing more bids. A smug look of satisfaction curdled Blondie’s face, and she gave a triumphant whoop of delight at the prospect of getting her manicured nails into Jake’s anatomy.
 

“Think again,” Erin muttered. If Jake wanted to make a donation to Camp Discovery, then she’d make sure it was something everyone would remember. Throwing her arm in the air, she yelled, “Four thousand dollars.”

Nicky gasped, Sam’s jaw dropped open, and Jake looked so relieved that she felt guilty about calling Blondie’s bluff. Poor man. He’d really thought she was leaving him out for the she-wolf to devour.

Blondie turned her back on Erin as Stan declared her the winner.
 

Jake vaulted off the stage, heading straight toward her. His grin was infectious as the audience clapped and cheered at the generous donation. Reaching down, he drew her into his arms. “Thanks,” he whispered. “I owe you big time.” Cradling the back of her head, he gently brushed his lips against hers.
 

To a woman who wanted to live dangerously, his mouth felt soft, and sexy, and oh so kissable. So she did. Kiss him.
 

She kissed him for so long that a deafening roar of applause and whistling erupted around the room. Erin froze. She didn’t know where to look, but the floor held distinct advantages. Jake curled his hand around hers, pulling her down into her chair.
 

Stan banged his gavel, working hard to get everyone’s attention away from the hormonal couple and back to the auction.
 

Jake still had his hand wrapped around hers. “I like the way you kiss.”
 

Erin felt her face get a whole lot hotter. “I like the way you kiss, too,” she mumbled, “but if a hole opened up in the ground right at this moment, I’d jump in feet first.”

“Wrong fairytale, Princess.” His brushed his fingers along her hot cheek, curling a strand of hair over her ear. “I see myself more in line with Prince Charming than a rabbit.”
 

Erin couldn’t help wanting to tease the most gorgeous man she’d ever locked lips with. “More like the Beast. And for the record, I don’t normally go around smooching complete strangers.”
 

“I should hope not. Otherwise I’d have to lock you in my castle and keep you all to myself.”
 

With heat still radiating between their bodies, Erin thought that possibility had a lot going for it.

CHAPTER TWO

Erin relaxed into Jake’s arms, letting a slow waltz wash across her body. It was late, people were leaving, and she had a decision to make. She could go back to safeville or grab hold of the hussy deep inside her and push her forward.
 

Jake wanted to sleep with her. She wanted to sleep with him. But good Lord, how did you go about telling a man you were ready for a night a mindless sex, when you’d never done anything mindless in your life?

“Jake?”

“Mmm…”

“Umm…about that question.”
 

He stopped dancing.

Erin cleared her throat. “Well the thing is…I’m umm…ready to do something about your answer.”

A dull flush spread across his cheeks. “Just to make sure we’re perfectly clear, is that a yes to my yes, or a no to my yes?”

Erin grinned, relief pouring through her body. He knew what she wanted, and he looked as though he was ready for her answer. She took a half step forward, reaching up to drape her arms over his shoulders and press her body against his. “That’s a definite yes to your yes.”

Jake wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even more firmly against him. He bent his head and brushed a light kiss against her lips.
 

Erin didn’t want light and flirty, she wanted hot and heavy. After three hours of imagining the taste and feel of his body against hers, she needed more. A whole lot more. She opened her mouth, capturing his lips under hers and showing him just how much she needed him.