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I tilt my head toward him. “Sure. What do you need?”
“I need you to pretend to be my date. Come on, let’s dance.” He stands and holds his hand out to me.
My eyebrows arch as I place my hand in his. “Okkaayy.” And we stroll to the dance floor. There, he places an arm around my waist, his warm palm lightly touching my bare back, a wide gap between our bodies.
Feeling emboldened, I tease, “This is how you would dance with a date? If that’s the case, I’m surprised you’ve ever been able to get a second one.”
I step in closer to him, then trail my hands up the lapels of his jacket, feeding my fingers into the thick hair at the back of his head. Something I’ve dreamed of doing, and now that I’ve been given permission, I’m going to enjoy every second.
My eyes flutter closed as Jase leans down to whisper in my ear. “You’re good at this fake-girlfriend stuff.”
A secretive smile is lost in the folds of fabric covering his hard-muscled chest. If only he knew there’s nothing fake about it. With our bodies completely in sync, we continue to sway to the mellow tune.
Chapter eight
Jason
Holding Dana in my arms feels right—probably a little too right, considering this was meant to be fake.
Certainly, my body hasn’t got the message that this isn’t real, and I try to keep some distance between my hips and hers. I doubt she’d appreciate knowing the effect she’s having on me, given her reaction the last time my cock pressed into her sexy curves. But damn, it feels good with her chest flush against mine, her cheek resting on my lapel. She’s intoxicating, and about a dozen inappropriate thoughts are flickering through my imagination, like a porn video on fast-forward.
This is how it’s been for months. Dana is living in my head in full Technicolor, invading my dreams on a nightly basis. Her perfume lingering when she briefly pops into my office to discuss something work-related. Her soft voice, like she’s whispering imagined dirty words, rather than the latest staffing update. She’s become my drug of choice. And I need a daily fix.
She takes a deep breath, and I wonder if she’s as unaffected as she’s pretending to be.
I dip my head, nuzzling into her neck, breathing in her familiar intoxicating scent. The lines between us blurred that afternoon in London, and now I want to rub the fucking lines out completely. I place a kiss on that soft spot an inch below her ear. Her gasp is a sweeter sound than the musical notes played by the band.
The last strands swell, then quieten, and we draw apart. The intense look that passes between us is scorching. Her light-blue gaze holds a translucent ethereal quality but there is a fire in the depths that I don’t recognize or fully understand the meaning behind.
I swallow deeply, but still, my throat feels dry. “Would you like another drink?” I ask, taking a step back from temptation. I’m not going to blow up a friendship that I value for a meaningless romp. Only when I know my feelings are going to be reciprocated can I take a chance.
A wrinkle appears between Dana’s drawn brows but disappears almost as quickly, and I wonder if I imagined it.
“Yes, please. Although it looks like they’re getting ready to announce the silent auction winners.” She brushes past me, and it’s like a fresh spring breeze teasing my senses, beckoning me to follow.
“In that case, I’m definitely going to need a drink,” I mumble, no longer feeling comfortable with this whole auctioned date even if it’s for a good cause. Over the last couple of hours, it’s become clear to me that Dana is the only woman I have any desire or want to date.
Fuck, what if Chantelle has bid on me? She certainly has the means to do it. And though I was clear at the start of the night that I wasn’t interested, she’s just as likely to see it as a challenge. She looked pretty determined when she was heading my way earlier. Hopefully, my slow dance with Dana made her realize I’m no longer available. If only that were true.
“Do you need something stronger than champagne?” Dana asks, seemingly able to see the panic in my face. But before I have a chance to answer, my name is announced by one of the organizers already standing in the center of the stage.
Dana squeezes my hand and tries to reassure me, saying, “You got this.”
I only wish I could feel as confident. I try to channel some of my earlier cockiness and remind myself it’s all for charity.
With a fake smile plastered on my lips, I make my way up the few steps to the raised platform, pretending a bravado I’m far from feeling. The organizer gestures me over to stand beside her. Bright lights blind me, making it impossible to see much further than the first row of tables. Unfortunately, that includes my cousins’ table. I focus my attention out into the dark, impossible-to-see reaches of the room as the host begins. “Let’s hear a round of applause for our bachelor, Jason Carlson …” The rest of the words are drowned out by the sounds of my cousins’ whistles and deafening cheers.
When the noise dies down, she continues. “Okay, let’s begin. This year the bidding has been hot, hot, hot. A bit like our bachelor. Is there something we don’t know about you, Mr. Carlson?” The comedic waggle of her eyebrows has the audience laughing, and none harder than my cousins. I wish their table wasn’t so close, but when I glance in their direction, it’s Dana’s reassuring smile that I see. That’s all I need to release the tension in my gut.
The organizer checks her notes again, then looks up at me with a hand to her mouth in mock surprise. I wish she’d get on with it. This is like being waterboarded.
“Now, the two highest bidders were extremely close. I can’t believe there was less than five hundred dollars between them.” My head spins toward the woman. At least I had more than one bidder. She waits for the cheers to subside again before continuing, and I turn back to face the audience. “So in a break with tradition, I’m going to announce that the second-highest bid this year equaled last year’s record-breaking bid.”
My gaze drops to where Logan is sitting. He’s shaking his head and laughing at something Hunter just said to him.
I guess I’ve at least earned family bragging rights to the highest auction amount. And secured another five-thousand-dollar donation from Logan, thanks to me winning our little side bet.
“Which brings me to tonight’s winning bid. Drum roll, please … the winner is a company called DJM. They bid an astonishing, record-breaking sixteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars for Jason Carlson.”
