Highest Bidder

“You okay?” Maddie screamed.

“Of course,” I yelled back.

“Just checking.”

“You ask me that everyday.” I wish she didn’t keep asking, as it just took my mind back to places I didn't want it to go.

“I can’t help it. You’ve grown quieter, Freya."

“I’m fine,” I insisted, and got up. “Just going to the Ladies.”

“Want me to come with you?” she asked hopefully.

“Nah, just guard my drink for me. I’ll be back in a sec.” I grinned at her to take the sting of my refusal. The moment I exited the dance floor and into the hallway, I immediately spotted the long queue ahead waiting for the bathroom.

Someone suddenly cut in front of me, forcing me to a stop. It was one of the staff, with a tray in his hands. “Hey, I know your Dad. I was really sorry to hear what happened. Not only was he a great tipper and great fun, he was also a nice guy.”

I swallowed hard. After all the bad things people had said about my dad, it was wonderful to hear someone say something nice.

“Listen, are you trying to get to the toilet?”

I was so choked up I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded.

“If you don’t want to queue up for an hour, you can just use the VIP bathroom back there. Come on, I’ll let you in.”

I followed him past the red ropes, then he disappeared and I made my way to the VIP bathroom. I walked in to an empty, clean bathroom. I couldn’t have been happier. In no time, I was done and in front of the mirror washing my hands when someone walked in. I glanced up then expecting to see a woman, instead Brent Lucan made his entrance and the breath was knocked out of me.

Freya

For the longest time, I just stared at him and he did the same until I recovered enough to turn off the faucet. I wished I was strong enough to not even acknowledge his presence, but my hands were shaking and my eyes kept darting to his reflection. I tried to hide my trembling hands by wiping them as slowly as I could and then gluing them to my sides since all I had on was a strapless, black leather cropped top and a matching skirt.

I didn’t dare meet his eyes. My heart was pounding so loudly that I was sure he could hear it in the deathly quiet space. I got my mouth to work, but my voice sounded strange. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. Why else would I be in this dump?”

“But how did you know I would be here? Did you follow us?”

“No, I asked my secretary to call your mother and pretend to be one of your friends,” he admitted.

“That’s devious,” I whispered, my brain blank. He went to all that trouble to find me.

His mouth twisted. “Hardly.”

“Why?”

“You disappeared,” he said simply.

I couldn’t tell him here. I needed time. “I tried to contact you, but you didn’t respond ... in time.”

“And so you decided not to bother again?” he asked softly.

In his eyes, I saw the restrained anger. I wanted to feel nothing. I wanted to walk away and have this conversation another day, when I was not dressed in a small leather dress, or trapped in a club’s toilet, but my skin was prickling with the awareness of his presence. The room was suddenly too small, too hot, too suffocating. I needed to leave, so I moved forward, but stopped a considerable distance away from him.

“I need to leave,” I stated as coldly as I could.

“Why didn’t you respond to me, Freya?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I replied.

“Are you toying with me on purpose?” he asked, his eyes flashing.

As I watched him, I finally realized what was going on. He had been affected by my absence! My eyes widened in surprise at the idea.

He turned away in exasperation, or perhaps it was to hide his vulnerability.

“I didn’t expect you to care whether I disappeared or not.”

His reaction was instant and explosive. He came for me like a wild animal. I took several steps backwards, my eyes fixated on him, my pulse racing crazily. My back hit the sink counter and he was upon me, his face so close to mine I could see the beautiful streaks of gold in his eyes.

His familiar scent filled my nostrils and swirled around me like an aphrodisiac. I lowered my gaze and put out a hand to keep him away. It landed on his chest—it was useless, and we both knew it. I was already losing my ability to stand. If not for the counter behind me, I would surely have landed in a pool at his feet. My bones had already started melting.

His voice was deathly cold as he spoke, “You didn’t expect me to care?”

I opened my mouth to speak and his tongue found its way in.

That first contact ... completely did me in.

The shot of pleasure to my groin instantly knocked out my knees. His arm shot around my waist to hold me up. His tongue hooked mine and sucked it into his mouth. Heat filled me. I felt feverish with all the emotions he was wreaking through my entire body. My sex was throbbing and pulsing at the return of its master. It was already soaked and ready with unashamed need for him.

The voice of reason at the back of my mind was silent. I was panting.

He pulled away from me suddenly.

We stared at each other. Our ragged breathing was deafening in the cold, empty space.