He stood immediately, the legs of the chair screeching on the hardwood floor. “Alexa—”
“Good night,” she said in a clipped tone, without looking back, and scurried to the second floor and into her bedroom. Within a matter of seconds, she closed the door behind her, expecting to feel an oasis of solitude.
She scanned the guest room, then peeled off her clothes and changed into her nightgown. Running. She’d been running for so long. She’d run after she’d finally fought her stepfather back and told him he’d visit her room no more. She’d run after the fire that had put an end to her mother’s life. She’d heard her stepfather had gone to jail, but returning home would have meant reliving all the pain, all those moments when she’d been weak and let herself be touched, let herself be branded by that monster.
So she’d never gone back, choosing to remain off the grid.
She wiped off her makeup, carefully, yet her fingers trembled as she held the cotton and the removal lotion. Am I still running? She’d thought by leaving her home she’d be free, but her stepfather still remained in her life. Didn’t he?
She looked at herself in the mirror, and her stomach clenched when she found the scared fifteen-year-old still living inside her. She washed her face, then patted it dry with the towel.
What a fool she’d been—to think she’d been so smart to avoid men, avoid relationships, when a simple chat with someone she was interested in panicked her. I allow this to keep happening.
Pacing the floor, she thought and rethought her strategy. A sheen of sweat slicked her forehead, her heart beating in staccato. She regarded the big bed, then the door. His room was next to hers, and if she kept walking in circles, he’d hear her. She’d heard when he’d come up to his room minutes prior. She picked up a brush and ran it down her hair, the endless ritual she did every night before going to bed. Alone. Always alone.
A little thrill of surprise surged through her. Maybe not tonight. Why wasn’t she allowed to share her bed with a guy who clearly had a lot of experience? He’d made it obvious he wanted to sleep with her. Most likely after this auction she wouldn’t see him again. He’d return to Texas, no matter what he said, and she could retire, leave the country, and start anew abroad. She’d pass her auction business on to someone else. Maybe Jackie could run it. She had the experience and the background to continue on without her.
Alexa set the brush on the dresser, then, without worrying about slipping on a robe, she smoothed her hands over her silver nightgown and marched out of her room. Each step she took toward his bedroom, the more her resolution solidified.
Squaring her shoulders, she knocked on his door.
Once.
Twice.
When a shirtless Brooks opened the door, her breath caught in her throat.
Holy shit. He still had on the pants from dinner, but that was it. She gazed at his eyes gleaming with interest and surprise. When she looked down his body, her nipples tightened against the flimsy silky fabric of her gown. The square broad shoulders led to a wide chest, where muscles multiplied, and a sinful patch of hair dusted its way down his pants.
“How can I help you, Madam?” he teased her, his voice smoother than honey.
She brought her attention to his face again. “I wanted to apologize for leaving so abruptly.”
“No problem.”
She chewed her bottom lip. “You’re a good guy, and I haven’t met many men like you in my lifetime.”
He rubbed his chin, and his eyes darkened. “I’m not the good guy you think I am.”
Her heart flipped in her chest. That’s exactly what a good guy would say. She stepped forward, close enough to catch a whiff of his scent, a mix of clean soap with spices from the cologne he’d put on earlier, and to top it off, a blatant masculinity oozed from his every pore. “You don’t even know me and you’ve tried to make me feel comfortable. Thank you.”
He dipped his head lower, and she didn’t retreat. Her heart hammered in her chest, in her ears, in her throat. “Maybe I have ulterior motives.”
“Maybe I have them, too.” She’d just needed to come to terms with them. Her desire drilled through her, showing her who was boss. “I was thinking…you said you’d charge five hundred thousand a night, right?” she said, every part of her bursting with excitement.
His eyes darkened, the hint of a smile curling his lips. “Yes.”
Her stomach dipped to the floor, only to bounce back and drop again. “Well, what a coincidence,” she said, doing her best to sound in control. To sound like the Madam Alexa people read about, shrewd and seductive, unlike the insecure woman who’d inhabited her soul all these years. A sad, lonely woman who was about to take a risk. “That’s what I charge, too. So maybe we can call it even and just enjoy each other?”
Chapter Four
“I’ve been fantasizing about this win-win ever since I met you,” Brooks said, pulling her inside and closing the door behind her.
Guilt pinched him, but he brushed it aside. Yes, he surely wasn’t the good guy she imagined him to be. If he were, he’d have denied her advances. After dinner, when they’d talked, he’d noticed vulnerability in her eyes, and once again, fleetingly, when she’d knocked on his door. She didn’t do this kind of thing every day. She’d chosen him.
And he’d break her heart in the end. Hurting her gave him no pleasure, but he needed answers about Pamela and getting closer to her would help him.
He drew her to him, kissing her with the rage of a tropical storm, his tongue parting her lips and thrusting inside. She linked her arms around him, and he lifted her from
