Bid Me Now (20 page)

He stopped, his eyes frantic with worry. “Sweetheart, have I hurt you? Jesus, I’m too rough and you’re…little.”
 

Miri certainly felt little with him filling her to the hilt. “Keep going…I want it hard,” she said bravely, not even sure she could take it hard. But she was desperate for this. Desperate for Nick. She rested her hands behind her on the desk and braced herself.

Nick grunted in approval at her order, thrusting into her almost brutally, pushing her back against his arm with every powerful stroke.
 

Starved of each other’s bodies, they didn’t take long. Nick’s arm went under her butt to lift her clear from the desk as Miri secured her legs more tightly around his hips, buried her face in his neck, and felt another orgasm quickly sweep over her.
 

“I’m right behind you, babe,” he rasped into her hair, one hand braced on the desk as he shuddered hard against her.
 

Miri was on a cloud somewhere, and if it weren’t for Nick’s arms holding her, she would float away.
 

His deep voice brought her back. “Okay?”

“Hm-hmm. You’re so deliciously rough,” she puffed into his neck, trying to calm her erratic breathing.
 

He gently sat her back down on the desk, their bodies still joined. “The need of a desperate man. Miri, please listen to me for a moment.”

Listen? She was too full of him to even think, let alone listen. “Mmm…what?” She worked her hand down to trace her fingers over the base of his cock. “So gorgeous…go on.”
 

He groaned and nudged her chin up with his forefinger. “No more of this damned rollercoaster thing. We need to do this right.”
 

She opened her eyes to meet his. “I want that, too,” she confirmed with a sigh, her body still tingling from her climax. “You know you’ve ruined my knickers, don’t you?”
 

He grunted and kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll buy you new ones. Strong cotton things with reinforcing.”
 

“Nick,” she whispered.
 

“Yeah?”

She pressed her lips to his. “You’re still hard.”

She felt him laugh into her mouth and his arms tighten around her. “Right.”
 

Miri didn’t want him to leave her, but when he pulled out to ease off the condom, she rested her hands back on the desk and watched.
 

Oh, she was so greedy for him. She laughed when he tripped on his jeans.

His low grunt said he was going to torment her again. He flipped her legs up and laid her along the desk.
 

Miri didn’t laugh then. She shivered in sheer excitement.
 

“What are you…?” she started to ask, but he shook his head.

“No talking.”

Miri inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and waited.
 

Nothing. What was he doing? Whatever it was, he was taking his sweet time. So cruel. She was about to sit up when she felt Nick’s hands spreading her knees so wide, her legs dangled over the sides of the desk.
 

She closed her eyes again. Trembling. Wondering.
 

Again nothing. She was now desperate, and knowing Nick was at the end of the desk looking at her wetness had her senseless with excitement.
Please hurry
, she silently begged him. His hand swept lightly across her belly, then went away. Endless seconds later, she was pulled forward, her backside half off the end of the desk.
 

She trembled, impatient for him, feeling his breath on her thighs. If he didn’t do something soon, she would die of lust, and it would be all his fault. She moaned her need, and with a soft grunt, Nick lifted her legs over his shoulders and buried his mouth in her.
 

Oh, God, that mouth was like a finely tuned instrument. Miri dug her heels into Nick’s back, stretched and curled her toes and writhed as he skillfully worked his tongue in and over every part of her sex with unrelenting precision.
 

She needed to watch. Pushing herself onto her elbows, she watched his dark head moving between her legs, his large tanned hands holding her hips steady to his mouth.
 

He lifted his head briefly to look into her eyes, then growled with satisfaction before diving into her again.

“Yes…yes,” she urged as he concentrated on her sensitive clit, making her fall back on the desk, too weak to move. That night at the Endeavour she’d been so nervous at the thought of his mouth on her. Now Nick could have laid her out in the mill’s parking lot for all her nerves would have cared. And right now he was making her mindless with pleasure. And another orgasm was coming.
 

She panted his name as she came, rolling her hips against the blissful, pulsating tide.
 

Miri was still stretched out and struggling to slow her breathing when she heard the rustle of the condom wrapper. Wrenching herself upright, she reached for him, wanting to pleasure him the way she knew he loved. “Don’t put it on…”
 

He kissed her gently. “Next time. Right now I really need to fuck you again.”

With that no-frills comment, Nick positioned her on the desk, took his shaft in hand, and was about to satisfy both their needs again when his cell phone hummed with an incoming text message.
 

“Hell,” he cursed, his hand still wrapped around his cock. “Don’t move a muscle. I’ll turn it off.”

He bent to pick up the phone from the floor, pausing to glance at the display. Miri caught her breath as his eyes went wide with surprise.

His expression turned her blood to ice. “Nick, what is it?”

He stared at his phone as if mesmerized, then looked up at her, his eyes blazing in fury. “That bitch has been in touch with the Spanway Bridge owners. She’s told them we cheated on a sealed bid.”
 

Alex had executed her Plan B.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Miri stared suspiciously at the front door of Jimmy Bob’s Bar. “Here?”
 

Marcus grinned reassuringly as he pulled open the door and waved her in. “Shall we?”

But she was still unsure. “I guess.” Marcus bringing her to a beer joint in the middle of the afternoon was almost too much to fathom. And in his best Prada business suit. He’d stand out like a sore thumb. She wouldn’t exactly fit the ambience, either. Not when she’d dressed for lunch at the country club.

Confused, Miri stepped inside. The stream of sunlight they’d let in had every customer turning to look. Some turned back to their beers. Some laughed. Some just stared in wonder. Lord, this couldn’t be worse. The man had completely lost it. It wasn’t that the place was rough. More ’80s shabby than anything, just like its clientele. And so not Marcus.
 

He steered her to a corner table.
 

“Two lagers please, miss,” he directed toward a gum-chewing waitress behind the bar, who looked up and stopped chewing at the sight of the suit.
 

Miss?
Miri sighed.
 

“Well, what do you think?”
 

“It’s an okay bar, but I thought we were going somewhere more formal.”
Somewhere more Dr. Carter
was what she meant, and frankly, she’d been looking forward to quiche and an
espresso con panna
at the club. She wondered if it would be too rude to say so. “I don’t think this place does lunches.”
 

But before she could suggest anything, the waitress was at their table and slapping two Jimmy Bob’s beers down in front of them. Resting a hand on a denim-clad hip, the waitress stared at Marcus as if he’d just dropped in from Pluto. Miri couldn’t help thinking much the same thing.
 

“No lunches,” the waitress chewed, “but we do fries or a bowl of nuts if you wanna eat something.”

“Thank you, miss. We won’t be eating.”
 

With a shake of her head, the waitress sauntered away, while Miri shook her own head. Something was definitely up.
 

Marcus raised his glass and took a sip, looking like the cat that had just eaten the family canary. “Here’s to Jimmy Bob’s. Isn’t it perfect?”

Miri raised her glass obligingly, damned sure this wasn’t perfect. She glanced around the bar. The waitress was back at her station, chewing vigorously and watching the suit sip his lager, while a couple of regulars were smirking as if Marcus was Jimmy Bob’s new entertainment.

“Perfect for what?” Miri asked, taking a sip of her beer. At least the beer was good. But she already knew that. Bree was always raving about Jimmy Bob’s lagers.

Marcus wiped foam from his lip and grinned. “Your new studio and gallery.” He laughed as her eyebrows went up. “My investment advisor told me the owners are relocating and are looking for a fast sale. It’s perfect for your needs.”

For the first time since Nick’s abrupt departure weeks ago, Miri felt a twinge of something that she dimly recognized as excitement. It was so unexpected she actually blinked at the shock of it.
 

Looking around the bar with fresh interest, she absorbed the layout, taking in every detail from floor to ceiling.

The main bar was certainly spacious enough for a gallery. The adjacent pool room could work as a studio if the windows were enlarged. The door behind the bar probably led to an office, so that would be useful.

Marcus cleared his throat, pulling her attention back to him. He was still grinning. “The upstairs floor is currently used for storage, but it could be your café or art supplies store. The thing is, because the interior is so rundown, the place will probably sell for around a quarter of the mill’s sale price.”

Miri turned her beer glass around and around on its coaster, working her way through the idea. Of course the building wasn’t picturesque like the mill, and there wasn’t room for a pretty entrance with a cottage garden. On the other hand, the location was good, and with careful renovation, the entrance could be made attractive. There were fewer parking spaces than at the mill, but that wasn’t a problem.

The silliness of her reasoning hit Miri with a jolt. She was making comparisons as if the mill was still an option. It was gone. It might be still standing in the middle of its weed-infested grounds and killer potholes, but for all intents and purposes, it was gone.

Sweeping a fresh glance around the bar, she turned back to Marcus, laughing at his beaming face. “Yes, this could do.”

A relieved smile creased his cheeks. He punched the air like he’d just scored a goal, causing a few laughs from the bar. “Yes! You could be up and running in a few months.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “It will make up for the mill. You’ve been so unhappy.”

Miri tried to leave her hand in his but found herself pulling it away to scratch a fake itch on her neck. “I know you’ve been worried, but I’m fine. Really, I am.” Her tone was unconvincing, she knew, but her unhappiness wasn’t up for discussion.

She closed her eyes and tried not to let the memory of that last day with Nick flood her mind. But it was there again. Nick had turned to stone, right there in front of her. No words. No emotion except for his hard flash of anger when she’d begged him not to jump to conclusions about Alex.
 

Miri pressed a hand to her forehead, the memory as raw as a physical ache. Her standing against the dusty desk, trying to retie the straps of her sundress, her hands shaking so much that in the end, Nick had tied them for her. Silently, as if he needed to get her out of the place. It had taken all her remaining strength to pick up her ruined panties and follow him down the passage to the cafeteria to collect her bag.

Things hadn’t improved in the parking lot. After locking the building, Nick had given her a kiss on the forehead, told her he had to go, then driven away. Just left her.

How long she had sat in her car in the mill’s parking lot, she didn’t know. It had been a call from Bree that had got her moving, wondering if she was okay and if she would be home later for Abe’s hangover-busting chicken noodle soup.
 

One month since Nick had left, but the pain had barely eased. Her only comfort was that she hadn’t fallen in love with him, or so she constantly told herself. What they’d had was sex. Sex like she’d never known it. Sex that could still send sparks of need rippling along her skin, just from a memory.

Looking up, Miri found Marcus staring at her curiously. “Oh, sorry, I was miles away. I’ll talk to my lawyer. Of course, there are heaps of things to consider.”

“Yes, but I’m sure this is the right place. Perhaps you could talk to Alex. I know she would want to help.”

Miri raised a hand in warning. “Absolutely not! Don’t you dare say anything to her!”
 

Her furious confrontation with Alex had been next to useless. Miri might as well have been lecturing Alex on the benefits of recycling her champagne bottles for all the good it had done. After all, Alex had insisted, the Spanway Bridge owners deserved to know the truth.
 

As if that was her real motivation. It was calculated revenge. Nick had beaten her over the injunction, and that had to have hurt. Worse, he’d reduced her to a red-faced, flummoxed amateur in her own office. The place where she ate businessmen for breakfast. Unforgivable.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Miri. What’s she done this time?”

Miri let out an angry snort. “Nothing much. Just slandered Brannagh Enterprises by telling one of their major clients they cheat on sealed bids. Nick will sue her for every penny she’s got and he’ll win.”

“Shit!”

Miri sat back in astonishment. Marcus had never so much as said “hell” in front of her. “Yes, well, it was a disgusting thing to do.”
 

He leaned forward, the sudden anguish in his eyes making her jump. “Damn, why did Alex do that?”
 

“My thoughts exactly,” she agreed, wondering what why he was so concerned about Alex.

When he frowned into his beer, shaking his head back and forth, she really began to worry. “You okay, Marcus? It’s just Alex being Alex, you know.”