Winning the Billionaire (Seattle Bachelors Book 2) (10 page)

By the time the bidding ended, he’d lost his bow tie, both gold cuff links, and four of the buttons on his shirt. A woman in the back of the room, the same one who’d demanded a song, ended the bidding with an outrageous bid of two million no one wanted to counter.

Christina congratulated the woman and turned back to the audience, thanking everyone for coming. As the crowd slowly disbursed, Sebastian trotted down the steps to greet the woman who’d won his bid. Whoever she was, she was gorgeous. About Christina’s age, a bottle blonde but with a short, voluptuous stature. She had to hand it to him, though. He drew in the biggest bid of the night. This year was the most successful yet. At least he’d managed to keep his shirt on this time.

He was still walking into the audience, and despite his earlier assurance, doubt grabbed her by the heart. When he greeted the woman by wrapping her in a warm, familiar hug, an ugly emotion tangled in Christina’s chest. Trying not to look too hard at it, she turned and left the stage. Her part was over. She didn’t want to know any more if he meant what he’d said. She had no desire to see whatever happened next.

Sebastian leaned back against the bar’s edge and took a long pull from his beer. It was well past 10:00 p.m. The auction had officially ended an hour ago. The ballroom had emptied to only the fund-raiser crew and a few stragglers. Across the room, Christina stood at the door, bidding farewell to the last of the guests as they exited. She smiled, her face alight, and tipped her head back and laughed, then wrapped the woman across from her in a hug. He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. She was a gracious host. Making people feel comfortable was what she did best, and by God she was beautiful doing it.

With the exception of the auction itself, she’d managed to avoid him for most of the night by being “busy.” Watching her had twisted his insides in knots. She’d taken his gifts this month the way she did everything—with politeness and sweetness. And while they’d chatted a time or two, he’d distinctly noticed the distance she continued to attempt to put between them.

Her reactions during the auction had gotten to him as well. Twice as she introduced him her voice had faltered, though she smiled through the whole process. When the bidding ended, her smile lacked its usual warm glow. It looked a little too…forced.

He’d never noticed the reaction before, but according to Cade, she reacted that way every year. How the hell had he managed to be so damned blind when it came to her? He’d put walls up, determined to keep her at a safe distance, to keep her in a place where he couldn’t ever lose her. Apparently, he’d accomplished it in spades. She didn’t seem to believe that everything he did at these shindigs was for her benefit. And who could blame her? He’d spent too many years building the walls between them.

Hopefully after tonight, that would change. Since clearly his subtle tactics weren’t working, she was forcing him to take more drastic measures. If he ever hoped to earn her trust, they would need to spend actual time together.

Luckily, Cade had come through for him. One of the young lawyers in his office had agreed to bid on his behalf, in exchange for a week’s stay at any of the resorts. Sebastian would pay the bid, of course, and had agreed to fly her anywhere she wanted to go so long as she made certain no one else topped her bid. He hoped Christina would recognize Stacy, that it would set her at ease, but somehow she hadn’t.

“Everything’s set.” Cade appeared at his side. He leaned against the bar and held out a set of keys. “The limo will be waiting outside. Hannah has no problem taking your Mercedes home. The cabin’s stocked. Jan promises me she left you enough supplies for two weeks.”

Sebastian had a plan. One that would, with any luck, sweep one Christina McKenzie clean off her heels—literally. He hoped that, once alone, where she couldn’t run from him or put him off again, she’d agree to spend the weekend with him.

Cade had helped by offering to switch cars and the use of his family’s cabin on Lake Washington. He’d also promised not to spill the beans to Christina. With any luck, by the time the weekend ended, she’d forgive him and she’d finally see him. He didn’t know what would happen after that. Only that he had to try.

“Here’s hoping it won’t take that long.” Sebastian glanced over at Cade. “Thank you. It means a lot that you helped me with this.”

Cade smiled in return, a gleam in his eye that said he understood, in a way only best friends could. “I wouldn’t trust her with anybody but you. You’re one of the few, save myself and Father, who I know would take a bullet for her.”

Sebastian took a pull off his beer. He didn’t have to think about his response. Cade was right. “In a heartbeat.”

“Exactly why I trust you.” Cade hitched a shoulder.

Sebastian gave a slow shake of his head. Doubt rose over him, settling hard and cold in his stomach. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, man. This might not even work.”

“Neither did I, which is why you should trust it.” Cade bumped his shoulder, then straightened off the bar and grinned. “Good luck. I’m taking Hannah and getting the hell out of Dodge. If Chris finds out I had a hand in this, she’ll have my balls.”

Cade strode off, finding Hannah chatting with Christina and Maddie. Sebastian spent the next ten minutes nursing his beer, waiting for the right time. When the last of the guests finally left, he downed the contents of his glass and set it on the countertop along with a tip for the bartender. He pushed away from the bar and headed for Christina. Talking now with another of the directors from the fund-raiser, she darted a glance in his direction; her back stiffened but otherwise she didn’t so much as acknowledge him.

The woman she spoke with, mid-fifties with unnaturally blond hair and seeming to wear every piece of jewelry she had, offered him a warm smile. “You provided another showstopper tonight, Sebastian.”

He smiled politely in return. “Just doing my part, Grace. Hope it increases profits this year. I hope you’ll forgive the intrusion, but I’d like to steal your cohort.”

Grace nodded and waved a hand at him. “Oh, we’re finished for the night. Steal away. Take her somewhere nice. It’s her turn to relax now.”

He stifled a laugh. If only she knew.

“You have my solemn promise.” He made a crisscross motion over his heart and turned to Christina. “Forgive me.”

“Please, Baz, not here.” Stubborn woman that she was, Christina hiked her chin a notch and shook her head, refusing even to look at him, then pivoted and walked off.

He caught her wrist before she got more than a few steps away and moved around in front of her. “I’m not asking forgiveness for earlier. I’m not sorry for what I said or who I said it in front of. I’m asking forgiveness for what I’m about to do, because it might get me hit later.”

Her gaze jerked to his. Her brow furrowed and her mouth opened, but Sebastian didn’t give her a chance to utter the denial in her eyes. Instead, he used his purchase on her wrist to pull her toward him, scooped her up, and hauled her over his shoulder.

Christina shrieked in surprise, the sound echoing around the now quiet ballroom. “What on earth are you doing? Sebastian, you put me down this instant!”

“I will. Once we get outside.” Ignoring the stares of the few people still left, he strode for the exit. “I told you we were going to talk. I just didn’t tell you where.”

She pounded his back with a fist. “You put me down right now or so help me.”

He chuckled as he turned the corner and strode for the elevators at the other end of the long hallway. They passed several couples lingering, who all smiled and snickered. “Or so help you what? I’ve got you on your head. What, exactly, do you plan to do about it, Tina?”

True to her stubborn nature, she growled low in her throat. “Ohhhh, when I get my hands on you.”

He stopped in front of the elevators and pushed the button. As he waited, the reflection in the mirrored doors caught his attention. Christina McKenzie’s fine, sweet ass was front and center and wiggling in his face. Somehow, he’d have to resist that this weekend. If he wanted to truly earn her trust, he had to learn to control his desire. Prove to her she meant more to him than just a good lay.

“You can hit me later. I’ll even hold still, but you’ve been putting me off for the last month, and I’m not taking no for an answer this time. We need to talk.”

This time, she let out a helpless sigh. “Sebastian, please, I’m in a dress, and I’m not wearing panties. People behind us can probably see all my parts.”

Sebastian froze. For a moment, desire overrode everything else, and his pulse thundered in his ears. He stifled a groan. Of all the things for her to tell him, it had to be that.

The elevator dinged open, and he took a moment to get on and pushed the button for the ground floor. Some part of him insisted he was pushing boundaries, but neither could he resist sliding his palm over the curve of her delicious backside. “Feel that, sweetheart? That’s your ass.”

He followed her skirt to where the hem stopped, then dipped beneath it and slid his fingers along the seam. God. Her sleek, bare thighs were smooth as butter.

His resolve slipped another notch. Damned if he could stop himself from allowing his fingers to slip between her thighs, simply for the desperate need to feel her response. “
This
is the end of your skirt.”

“Baz, please.” She went limp on his shoulder, her voice a whisper in the quiet whir of the elevator motor.

This time, she got him. Her plea caressed over him. His cock thickened behind his fly. He gritted his teeth.
Shit. Don’t do it. Whatever you do, don’t do it. You’re here to talk, not play.

The need to discover the truth—whether or not she really was going commando—overwhelmed his brain. He slid his hand beneath her skirt, following the curve of her tight ass. He expected panties, and that she’d only been taunting him with that little tidbit. An attempt to get him to put her down maybe. His palm smoothed over warm, supple skin, though, and the knowledge settled over him. She really wasn’t wearing any panties.

Christ.

“This is your ass.” He followed the edge of one firm, supple cheek, dipping in between her thighs, allowing his fingers to graze her heat. The shiver that ran through her made his cock throb. He damn near dropped her for the desperate need to sink into her warmth. If he moved fast enough, could he make her come before they reached the ground floor? God how he ached to find out, just to hear the maddening little moan she made right before she tipped over the edge. “Nobody can see you, I promise.”

He swallowed a curse, forced himself to pull his hand back, and reached down to adjust his erection. Thank God for long jackets. He had to have a freakin’ tent by now.

He smacked her ass for good measure. “I’ll put you down when we get to the car, so I know you won’t run from me. If you wouldn’t be so damn stubborn, I wouldn’t need to do this.”

She squirmed on his shoulder, twisting as if trying to look at him. “Me? How is this
my
fault?”

He blew out an exasperated breath. They weren’t supposed to have this conversation until later. “A month, Tina. You’ve barely spoken to me for the last month. I get it. I really do. We crossed a line we can’t go back from, but I hate that you don’t trust me. So, I’m going to fix it.”

Christina stilled on his shoulder again and went silent, but he could hear the wheels of her mind turning. Finally, her voice came as a quiet, almost reluctant murmur. “How?”

“You’ll see.”

The elevator ground to a halt and the doors dinged open. Sebastian ignored the overwhelming need to unload the emotion stuck in his chest and stepped out. That was a conversation they would eventually have, but right now, he needed to get her in the car. He wanted her alone when he said what he needed to say, and he wanted to be able to look her in the eyes when he said it. So she could see his and know he told her nothing but the truth.

As he moved down the quiet corridor to the lobby, people turned and gawked, but he set his sights on the black limo waiting at the curb. What mattered was the end destination. As he approached, Cade’s driver, dressed in a formal black uniform, his white hair hidden beneath a black-rimmed cap, nodded in greeting and opened the back door. “Evening, sir.”

Sebastian came to a stop at the edge of the sidewalk and nodded in return. “Evening, Daniel. Did he give you the address?”

“He did, sir.” The driver winked, amusement sparking in the elderly man’s eyes. “It’s a lovely evening for a drive.”

Clearly Cade had filled him in on the details. Sebastian could only shake his head.

“I sure hope so, Daniel. I sure hope so.” As he set Christina to her feet, her body slid along his in the most delicious way. His cock twitched, pushing awkwardly and painfully against his zipper. Damn it. He couldn’t even reach down and adjust the damn thing or the whole freakin’ world would know.
Never mind me while I adjust the hard-on of the century.
His balls were probably blue by now.

He nodded at the open door behind her. “Please. Get in.”

Christina huffed indignantly but didn’t budge. Instead, she took her sweet time straightening and smoothing her skirt. “Sebastian, really. We’re adults. There’s no reason—”

Then and there, his last shred of patience snapped. He gripped her face in his hands and fused his lips to hers, effectively silencing her tirade. He shouldn’t have done it, but her mouth was warm, and her body softened, leaning into him. Despite her anger, her lips opened beneath his assault, and her tongue flicked out to caress his. He was lost before he could blink.

Somehow managing to pull his wits about him, Sebastian forced himself to release her and jabbed a finger in the direction of the car interior. “Now get in the damn car before I pick you up and toss you in there.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, an unladylike and childish gesture that made him smile in spite of himself, but finally climbed into the car.

He shoved a hand through his hair. “If I survive this weekend with my sanity intact, Daniel, it’ll be a miracle.”