Driven Collection Page 5

  I try to rationalize someone I don’t know spending that kind of money on a date with me, and I can’t. It had to have been one of the chair people who worked closely on the board with me. This was the only plausible explanation. Most of the other women on the stage had been part of the elite Hollywood charity circle—they had friends and family in the audience to bid on them. I didn’t.

  I sigh and relax a bit with the knowledge that I will probably have to go on a date with a widowed elderly gentleman or possibly none at all. Maybe the person just wants to donate to us and will let me off the hook. What a relief! I was worried about the date part. Some loser expecting something in return for his generous donation—ugh!

  “So did you see who won the auction?”

  “Sorry, sweetie,” he says as he pats my knee. “The guy was off to the side. I was in the back. I couldn’t see him.”

  “Oh—okay.” Disappointment fills my voice as I begin to worry again.

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure it is one of the old guys from the board—” he stops, realizing he’s just implied that those are the only men willing to bid on me. He continues cautiously, knowing full well that I’m in bitch-mode right now. “You know what I meant, Ry. They all love you! They’ll do anything to support you.” He eyes me carefully and realizes he should stop while he is ahead.

  I sigh loudly, relaxing from the realization that I’m uber-sensitive right now. I take note that most of the participants have cleared out of the backstage area. “Well, my friend, I should be getting back to the soiree.” I stand, smoothing my dress down and wincing as my feet bunch back down into my shoes. “I, for one, am more than done with my duties for the evening. I’m ready to go home and devour that chocolate and wine in the comfort of my fluffy robe and comfy couch.”

  “You don’t want to wait and see what the tally is for the night?” he asks, rising from the seat to follow behind me.

  We walk past the alcove that Donavan and I had occupied earlier, and I blush, keeping my head down so Dane won’t question me. “I asked Stella to text me later when it’s added up.” I push open the door to enter the party again. “I don’t need to be here for that—” I falter as I walk through the door and see Donavan leaning a shoulder casually against the wall, surveying the crowd.

  He’s a man who is obviously at ease with who he is, regardless of his surroundings. He exudes an aura of raw power mixed with something deeper, something darker that I can’t seem to put my finger on. Rogue. Rebel. Reckless. All three descriptions fit him, and despite this man’s refined look, he screams trouble.

  Dane bumps into me from behind as I stop abruptly when Donavan’s scanning eyes connect with mine. “Rylee—” Dane complains until he realizes why I’ve stopped. “Well, shit, if it isn’t Mr. Brooding. What’s going on here, Ry?”

  I roll my eyes at the thought of Donavan’s stupid bet. “Arrogance run amuck,” I mutter to him. “I have to take care of something.” I toss over my shoulder, “Be right back.”

  I stalk toward Donavan, more than aware that his eyes track my every movement and at the same time annoyed at having to deal with this now. Our banter has been an amusing way to pass the evening’s time, but the night’s over and I’m ready to go home. Game over. He pushes his shoulder off the wall, straightening the long length of his lean body as I walk toward him. The corners of his mouth turn up slightly as he attempts to gauge my mood.

  I reach him and hold up a hand to stop him before he even begins to speak. “Look, Ace, I’m tired and in a really shitty mood right now. It’s time for me to call it a night—”

  “And just when I was going to offer to take you places you didn’t even know existed before,” he says dryly with just a ghost of a smile and an arch of an eyebrow. “You don’t know what you’re missing, sweetheart.”

  I snort loudly, all propriety out the window. “You’re fucking kidding me, right? You actually get women with lines like that?”

  “I’m wounded.” He smirks, his eyes full of humor as he holds his hand to his heart in false pain. “You’d be surprised what my mouth gets with those lines.”

  I just stare at him. The man has absolutely no humility. “I don’t have time for your childish games right now. I just had to endure humiliation beyond my worst nightmare, and I’m more pissed off than you can imagine. I especially don’t want to deal with you right now.”

  If he is shocked at my rant, he hides it well. His face remains impassive except for the muscle pulsing with his clenched jaw. “I do love a woman who tells it like it is,” he murmurs quietly to himself.

  I place my hands on my hips and continue, “So I’m going home in about ten minutes. Night’s over. I win our idiotic bet, so you better get your check and fill it out because you’re going home with lighter pockets tonight.”

  His lips quirk up in an amused smirk. “Twenty-five thousand lighter, in fact,” he deadpans.

  “No, we agreed on twen—” I stop as a smile spreads across his lips, realization slowly dawning on me. Oh fuck! He bid on me. Not only did he bid on me, but he bid on me and won. He officially has a date with me.

  I grit my teeth and raise my head toward the ceiling, inhaling slowly, trying to calm myself. “No—uh-uh. This is bullshit and you know it!” I glare at him as he starts to speak. “That wasn’t the deal. I didn’t agree to this!” I’m flustered and exasperated, so furious that I’m beyond reason.

  “A bet’s a bet, Ryles.”

  “It’s Rylee, you asshole!” I spit at him. Who the hell does he think he is? First he buys me and then he thinks he can give me a nickname? I know that the irrational female in me has reared her Medusa-like head, but I really don’t care at this point.

  “Last time I checked, sweetheart, my name wasn’t Ace,” he retorts with some justification. The rasp of his voice grates over me like sandpaper. He casually leans back against the wall, as if this is a conversation he has every day.

  His nonchalance fuels my ire. “You cheated. You-you-aaarrgh!” My frustration is stifling my ability to form coherent thoughts.

  “We never had time to outline any rules or stipulations.” He raises his eyebrows and shrugs. “You were pulled away. That left everything as fair game.” His smile is irritating. The humor in his intoxicating green eyes is infuriating.

  Oh shit! I try to argue cleverly with him and I just end up looking like a guppy, opening and closing my mouth several times without a word falling from my lips.

  He pushes off the wall and steps in closer to me. His signature scent envelops me. “I guess I just proved you do, in fact, lose sometimes, Ryles.” He reaches up to move a tendril that has fallen over my face, his lone dimple deepening with his victorious smirk. I recoil at his touch but he holds my jaw firm in his hands. “I’m looking forward to our date, Rylee.” He grazes a thumb over my cheek and angles his head to the side while he considers his next statement. “In fact, more than any other date I’ve had in a while.”

  I close my eyes momentarily, leaning my head back as “Oh God!” slips from my lips in a sigh. What an unbelievable night!

  “So that’s what it will sound like?”

  I open my eyes, confused by his comment, to see him regarding me with a bemused look on his face. “What?” I bark, my response harsh like a curse.

  “Those words, Oh God,” he mimics me, reaching out and running a finger down the side of my face. “Now I know exactly how you’ll sound when you say that while I’m buried deep inside of you.”

  I open my mouth in shock at his audacity, the overconfidence of his words astounding me. His haughty smile grates on my last nerve. The arrogant prick. Luckily I’m able to voice an articulate thought. “Wow! You sure think a lot of yourself, don’t you, Ace?”

  He slips his hands into his pockets, his smirk dominating his magnificent face. He leans in, a salacious look in his eyes and his voice a daunting whisper. “Oh, sweetheart, there is definitely a lot of me to think about.” His quiet laugh sends a chill up my spine. “I’ll be in
touch.”

  And with that, Mr. Arrogant turns on his heels and walks away without a backwards glance. I watch his broad shoulders until he disappears into the throng of people and finally exhale the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

  Screw him and his sexy mouth and his gorgeous green eyes framed with thick lashes and his dexterous hands and his … his … just his everything! Ugh! I’m shaking I’m so furious with him.

  And at myself. Donavan is confident and sure of himself and more than comfortable with being the alpha male. For me, there is nothing more attractive in a man than that. But right now, I’m irritated with him. He’s gotten under my skin. And I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but I know that places inside of me that died that horrific day two years ago showed some signs of life tonight.

  Starting the moment he touched me.

  I stand there trying to comprehend the night’s unexpected events, and after a few moments, I’m certain of two things. First, there is absolutely no way I am honoring this agreement. And second, deep down, despite my staunch resolve, I know this will not be the last time I’ll be seeing Donavan.

  FUCK MY RULES.

  Addictive.

  Fuck her defiance.

  She’s mine.

  She just doesn’t know it yet.

  My eyes collide with hers as she steps out of the backstage door. The sneer on her face and fire in her eyes tells me she knows.

  But that’s not possible.

  She couldn’t have figured it out yet. But I’ll be damned if she’s not pissed off by the way she’s stalking those sexy-as-fuck curves toward me right now. I can’t help my eyes as they drag over every inch of her body, wanting more than just the taste I got earlier. I want the whole fucking meal.

  And I want it now.

  Patience is definitely not my virtue.

  And I’m sure as fuck going to steal hers.

  I can’t help the smile that threatens the corners of my lips as I push myself off of the wall when she nears. A freight train of anger and she doesn’t even have a clue that I’m her fucking fuel.

  What I wouldn’t give to push her up against the wall and taste her again—crowd around us be damned—so long as I get my fix. She reaches up and holds her hand to stop me before I speak. Fuck! The woman does everything to try and turn me off, and all it does is spur me further the opposite way, arousing me like she wouldn’t fucking believe.

  “Look, Ace, I’m tired and in a really shitty mood right now. It’s time for me to call it a night—”

  “And just when I was going to offer to take you to places you didn’t even know existed before.” I can’t help pushing her buttons. The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. But fuck if it’s not true. I have no doubt we’d set the sheets—if not the fucking bed or floor or couch or wherever we crash—on fire. Those luscious lips of hers fall lax at my comment, and I figure I’ll keep her on her toes. Keep pushing those buttons. It’s just too much goddamn fun. “You don’t know what you’re missing, sweetheart.”

  She snorts. She actually snorts at me standing here in her elegant dress, and fuck me if that too isn’t a mix of sexy and adorable. “I’m wounded,” I say, clutching my heart in mock pain. “You’d be surprised what my mouth gets with those lines.”

  Let’s see what she says to that one. My eyes trace over the outline of those lips that I want wrapped around my cock, those fucking magnificent eyes looking at me with a trace of shock. Even after all of our interactions tonight, she still doesn’t know how to take me.

  Good. Keep her guessing. Confusion is my advantage.

  “I don’t have time for your childish games right now. I just had to endure humiliation beyond my worst nightmare, and I’m more pissed off than you can imagine. I especially don’t want to deal with you right now.”

  “I do love a woman who tells it like it is,” I murmur to myself, unable to tear my eyes from hers. Or comprehend being told no. That’s a new one.

  “So I’m going home in about ten minutes. Night’s over. I win our idiotic bet, so you better get your check and fill it out because you’re going home with lighter pockets tonight,” she rants and places her hands on her hips.

  Fuck, there’s that defiance again that makes my balls tighten in anticipation. In unfettered lust. And she thinks I’m just going to write her a check and let her walk out of my life without having her? She’s sadly mistaken. I’m a take it or leave it kind of guy.

  And I’m definitely taking this one. Too bad she doesn’t know it yet.

  I don’t fight my smirk this time. Game on, baby. “Twenty-five thousand lighter, in fact.”

  “No, we agreed on twen—” Her voice fades and I watch as it slowly hits her. The realization crashes like a tornado across her features and storms through her eyes. I can see her trying to fight it. Trying to resist the urge to throttle me.

  And shit, if I thought defiance made her sexy, then anger makes her motherfucking breathtaking.

  “No—uh-uh. This is bullshit and you know it!” She glares at me with every ounce of hatred I think she can muster, and it only makes me more determined to have her. “That wasn’t the deal. I didn’t agree to this!”

  I tuck my tongue in my cheek, trying to bite back the grin tugging at the corners of my mouth. “A bet’s a bet, Ryles.”

  “It’s Rylee, you asshole!” she hisses at me.

  Testy. Testy. Ryles it is, then.

  “Last time I checked, sweetheart, my name wasn’t Ace.” But when you’re screaming my name later, it can be anything you want it to be. I lean back against the wall and watch the emotions play over her face.

  She’s so frustrated. Mission accomplished, buttons pushed. And now I have one feisty hellcat on my hands, and I bet sure as fuck she’s going to be fun to try and tame. Then again, why tame her? A few scratches never hurt anyone.

  “You cheated. You-you-aaarrgh!”

  “We never had time to outline any rules or stipulations,” I explain with a raise of my eyebrows and a shrug of my shoulders. “You were pulled away. That left everything as fair game.”

  Those lips of hers that I want to taste fall open and then close again to only fall back apart. I pull my thoughts from what else I’d like them to open and close around. Sweet Christ! I force my mind to focus on the here and now and away from what exactly is under that dress. I push myself off the wall and step toward her.

  I can’t resist.

  “I guess I just proved you do in fact lose sometimes, Ryles.”

  I have to touch her.

  Irresistible.

  Mine.

  “I’m looking forward to our date, Rylee.”

  I watch her eyes follow my fingers as they move a loose curl of hair from her cheek. I catch the slight hitch in her breath, and I know I’ve got her. Know it’s only a matter of time now.

  The pull is just too great. Resistance is futile. I graze a thumb over her cheek, wanting to feel her skin. Needing to feel that spark of current that vibrates between us. “In fact, more than any other date I’ve had in a while.”

  She leans her head back, my thumb still on her cheek, and “Oh God!” falls from her mouth in exasperation.

  The sound of her sex-kitten voice turns my insides, calls to some part deep within me, and I don’t like it one bit. The only part of me that should be affected should be my dick and my mind counting the minutes until she’s beneath me.

  Or on top of me. Beggars can’t be choosers and fuck if reverse cowgirl isn’t a mighty nice position.

  See, Donavan? It’s the alcohol twisting things around making you think that feeling deep down is more than just the ache in your balls. C’mon, all you want is a quick, uncomplicated fuck and an attempt to tame the wildcat.

  That’s it. Nothing else.

  I swear.

  Unease creeps through me at the thought of only having her once, and I force myself to stop thinking this fucking nonsense and grab the control back my dick has hijacked. I hear those words of her
s echo through my mind, and I know exactly how to do it.

  “Those words, oh God,” I mimic her and give in one last time to my need to touch her by running a finger down the side of her face. “Now I know exactly how you’ll sound when you say that while I’m buried deep inside of you.”

  I love the look of shock that flashes across her face. Love the insolence in her expression as she lifts her chin and glares at me. Such a fucking turn on.

  “Wow! You sure think a lot of yourself, don’t you, Ace?”

  Shit! She walked right into that one and I can’t resist. Just can’t fucking stop myself from pushing those buttons of hers one last time before I walk away and leave her wondering whose court the ball is really in. I slip my hands in my pocket and lean into her, the smile on my face suggesting exactly what I want to do with her. To her. For her.

  “Oh, sweetheart, there is definitely a lot of me to think about.” I laugh softly, loving the look I’ve just put on her face. “I’ll be in touch.”

  I forgo the urge to touch her one last time. Taste her one last time. And I force myself to turn around and walk away. To put one foot in front of the other when I’d much rather be dragging her back to that damn storage closet and taking exactly what I want.

  The chance to claim her.

  Game fucking on.

  I walk out into the parking lot and thank fuck Sammy is already there or else I might be tempted to walk back inside. Because fuck yes her playing hard to get is a turn on, but experience has me wagering that given ten more minutes either I wouldn’t be going home alone or that storage closet just might have gotten some use.

  Can’t say I have a losing track record.

  I pull my phone from my pocket and laugh when I see the notifications blaring across my screen. Case in fucking point. I thumb through the ten texts from Raquel. Each one dirtier than the first.

  Sweet Jesus I could use a good fuck tonight after all of that verbal foreplay and by the suggestions she’s sent to my phone, it’s gonna be a long, sweaty, sleepless night.

  “Hey, Wood. Good night?” Sammy asks as I climb into the back of the Range Rover, fingers already untying my bowtie and undoing the noose of buttons closing my collar on my neck.