Surprise Bidder

“I won’t,” I promise her again. “After all, there’s no point digging up the past, right?”

She smiles. “Right. Thank you.”

No point digging up the past. I tell myself those words over and over as I watch Giselle unpack my suitcase. Still, I can’t help but wonder about what happened to “the last one”. Something tells me it’s important.

Maybe I’ll ask Gavin.

~

I can’t bring myself to, though.

Right now, I can sense that he’s tired. Of course he is. It’s nearly midnight and he just came home from work. I thought he’d go straight to his room, actually, but he’s here in my room, sitting comfortably in the armchair by the door. Now I know what it’s there for.

His coat is gone, along with his tie. So are his socks and leather shoes. He still has his pants on, though, and his white shirt with the top three buttons undone so I can catch a glimpse of the hair on his chest. A glass of whisky sits between his fingers, the liquid gleaming golden beneath the light of the lamp beside him. Every now and then, he takes a sip.

I sit on the edge of the bed in my pajamas, a pillow on my lap.

No. I don’t think I should ask him now. Maybe I shouldn’t even ask him tomorrow, not until I’m sure Giselle won’t lose her job. I don’t want to lose the only friend I have.

“What are you thinking of?” Gavin asks me after taking another sip of his drink.

“Nothing,” I answer.

His eyes narrow. “What are you wearing?”

I glance down. “Pajamas.”

Dark blue cotton pajamas with rainbow-haired unicorn heads, to be precise. Childish, I know. But I got them for just two dollars and they’re the most comfortable sleepwear I have.

Gavin frowns. “Wasn’t there anything more… age-appropriate in Fiona’s catalog?”

“There was,” I answer as I recall the list he’s referring to.

There were many items in the sleepwear section, in fact- some made of silk, others of lace. Black. Red. Purple. Pink. But they all looked uncomfortable to sleep in. Giselle agreed with me. Plus they all seemed so… skimpy. What if I caught a cold?

“I didn’t like any of them,” I say.

“I see.” Gavin taps his fingers on the arm of the chair. “So you prefer to go naked, do you?”

“What?” I’m not sure I heard that right.

He gulps down what’s left of his whisky and sets the empty glass down.

“Take them off.”

I look at him with wide eyes, then down at my pajamas.

“You mean…”

“Take your clothes off,” he elaborates his earlier command as he gets out of the chair. “I won’t say it again.”

The look in his eyes tells me he means it. It also warns me that I don’t want to get on his bad side. Not now. The voice in my head agrees.

Just do what he says.

I put the pillow aside and begin to unbutton the top of my pajamas. With those eyes watching me, I fumble with the first two buttons. When I finally get them all undone, I shrug the top off my shoulders. Then I stand up and bend over to push my pants down. They fall around my ankles and I step out of them.

When I straighten up, Gavin is standing just a few feet away. His eyes are still narrowed, his gaze still icy. At the same time, though, I see a fire in them. Ice and fire. A deadly and breathtaking combination.

I cross my arms over my breasts and suppress a shiver.

“All of it,” he says hoarsely.

I’m so caught up in his gaze that I almost don’t hear the words. All of it?

I glance down at my hi-cut cotton panties. I don’t really want to take them off. I’m not ready to let him see me naked yet, even though Fiona told me I should be. But I don’t want to test his patience any further, either, so I hook my thumbs into the waistband of my underwear and push it all the way off my legs. I toss it aside and cross my arms over my chest once more.

Immediately, I feel his gaze between my legs. There isn’t any hair there- Fiona insisted on having me shaved- so I feel even more exposed. A blush coats my cheeks.

“Put your arms down,” comes the next command.

I reluctantly let them fall to my sides.

Gavin approaches me and circles me twice, like a vulture. Each time, I feel his eyes tracing my curves, studying every nook and cranny of my body. The fire in my cheeks spreads down.

Thank goodness it’s fairly dark. Only the moonlight drifting in through the curtains and the lamp in the far corner keep the shadows at bay. If all the lights were on, I’d be melting by now.

Suddenly, Gavin stops behind me. He grips a few strands of my hair near my nape.