Tempt Me (5 page)

Looking down, she rubbed
a finger over the ring. “The wounds aren't exactly fresh,
no. But yes, I loved him with everything I had in me. As for the
ring...I guess I'm just not ready to let him go yet. I don't
always wear it, but sometimes, yeah.”

“
Would he want you
to hold on this way?”

“
No.” She
tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear. Sighing, she studied
him. “You know, this isn't exactly something you have any
business asking me.”

“
You're
right. I just can't help that I hate seeing you look so sad.”
He hesitated and then asked, “Should I apologize?”

Rocki frowned. “No.
I…geez, you make it too easy to talk to you.” He did—it
was almost disturbing how easy it felt, talking to him just then. She
didn't even know him. She didn't want to stop talking to
him, though. Still staring at her wedding ring, she said, “Brant
wouldn't want me holding on like this… and I'm not
clinging to his memory. Exactly. It's just…well, I
haven't ever met anybody else who got to me like he did. If I
do, I'm not going to walk away from…well. Whatever could
happen. I just haven't…”

She glanced at him,
intending to look away just as fast. But she found herself caught in
the rich, ripe gold of his eyes. His hand came up, cupping her cheek.
“Guess that's one of those time things, isn't it?”

His thumb stroked over
her lip. That light touch sent something hot and shivery arrowing
straight down to her core. And her heart—oh, her heart. It
shuddered in her chest, shuddered, trembled, and for the briefest
moment, she felt it stop.

Oh. Oh, no. This was bad.

His mouth was just a
breath away from hers and she wanted, desperately, to close the
distance between them, cover his mouth with hers.

But she didn't.
Instead, she turned her face and said quietly, “Cole...you
tempt me. But you're all wrong for me. The wrong type of guy
completely.”

His hand hesitated and
then he backed away. “And what type of guy am I?”

“
The taken type,”
she said wryly. “And your fiancée already hates me
enough. Let's not make things any more unpleasant than they
already are.”

Edging around him, she
slid out the door.

Almost showtime. Then she
could go home. Slip into some PJs, get something hard and strong to
drink, and collapse into the bed. At least now she suspected she
might have a pleasant dream tonight, instead of a nightmare.

“
...may I present
the hostess of tonight's festivities...”

Cole was edging his way
to the front of the restaurant, determined to get the hell out of
there before he did anything else stupid. Like try to make a move on
Rocki again.

“
...Lush!”

Automatically, he glanced
back. His eyes widened as he found himself staring at Rocki as she
accepted the hands of two tuxedo-clad men, lifting her onto the
stage.

“
For those who are
new to the event, Lush, also known as Rocki Monroe, designs many of
the pieces sold in
Lush & Lace
,” the petite redhead
on the stage said, smiling as Rocki sauntered toward her. “Lush
started out designing costumes in high school theater and began
devoting more time to design in college. But it wasn't until
after her husband's death that she actively began pursuing this
particular dream—it was a dream only her husband and I knew
about.”

Rocki stopped next to the
redhead. The other woman smiled up at her friend. “The name
even came from him...
Lush
, his nickname for Rocki.”

“
Don't forget
about the other part,” Rocki chided, taking the microphone.
“
Lace
. Short for Lacey Morgan, who takes the portraits.
My not-so-silent partner.” She bumped her hip against the other
woman and grinned as the paler skinned woman flushed a brilliant
shade of crimson.

Somebody from out the
crowd called out, “Can we bid on the two of you?”

Lacey quipped, “You
can't handle the two of us, Mitchell.” Then she bowed to
Rocki. “Lush, the stage is all yours.”

Rocki curtsied and
stepped aside as the two tuxedo-clad men helped her friend off the
stage.

Staring at Rocki, Cole
found himself chuckling.

“
That
bitch
.”
Mara appeared at his side, seething.

Cole, his amusement
fading, looked at her. “Pardon?”

“
She did this on
purpose—she fucking
knew
I'd find out who she was
tonight and she did this to humiliate me,” Mara snarled.

Cole muffled a groan.
“Mara, nobody is even paying you any attention. You're
not going to be humiliated unless you bring it on yourself. Now if
you'll excuse me...”

She went to grab his arm
but he evaded her. “Enough,” he warned her. “It's
done between us and I'm not going to have you grabbing me and
digging your claws in every time you don't get the final word.”

“
How can you do
this to me?” She stared at him, all big eyes and sadness now.
Apparently going for a different tactic. “I can't believe
you want to end it without even talking things through.”

“
There's
nothing to talk through. We're through...I think we have been
for a while and I just didn't see it.” He shook his head.
“I'm not going to discuss it when there's nothing
you can do or say to change my mind.”

“
That's
hardly fair, is it?” she asked, her voice brittle.

“
It's not
about fair,” he replied. “You don't even see what
you've become. If you don't see it, you can't
change it. And I can't marry the woman you are.” He
stared at her, wishing he could see even a little bit of genuine
sadness in her eyes, but all he really saw was wounded pride and cold
anger. If he'd seen something of the woman she'd been
once, maybe...but there was nothing. Just the ice queen.

Sighing, Cole turned away
and moved off into the crowd. He could leave. He should. Mara had the
keys to the car and the condo in her purse. But he could call a cab
and get a hotel for the next few days until he figured out where he
was going to stay, what he was going to do.

Yes, he could leave. But
he didn't. Nor did he really want to. He found himself in the
small sitting area tucked in the corner of
Lush & Lace
,
staring into his glass of whiskey and brooding. When somebody slid
onto the corner of the couch next to him, he bit back a sigh,
convinced it was Mara.

But it wasn't.

It was the redhead.
Lacey.

She stared at him, her
vivid green eyes echoed by the green design of her corset. It was one
that Rocki had called an underbust, and although the woman was almost
as slender as Mara, he had to admit, it did wonderful things for her.
Still, he found himself wishing it was Rocki sitting there. He could
hear her voice, husky, low, full of laughter and humor, filling the
room next door.

“
So you're
engaged to the Wicked Witch of High Street.”

Cole burst out laughing.
He couldn't help it. He supposed he shouldn't laugh, not
so easily. But hell, the name was fitting.

Lacey continued to stare
at him, a smile dancing around her lips. “Well?”

Cole, still chuckling,
lowered his gaze to his whiskey glass. “It's not exactly
your business, is it?”

“
Well. Not exactly.
But I keep seeing you staring at Rocki. And I've seen her
staring at you. I'd be really excited about that. But if you're
engaged...well. I don't like it. She needs to get back in the
game, but not with a married guy.”

Smirking, he took a sip
of his drink. Then he sighed. “Well, that's not going to
be an issue with me,” he said.

“
And that's
because ...?”

“
Damn. You're
nosy.”

“
Yeah, I am.”
She gingerly leaned over to the side, something that was too graceful
to be called a slump. He couldn't exactly describe it. “You
got any idea how hard it is to slouch in one of these?”

“
No. And I'm
happy not knowing, too.”

Lacey laughed. “Awesome.
Because I've got to tell you, men in corsets? They just don't
work for me. I'm glad to hear that's not your thing.”
She tapped her index finger on the arm of the couch, still watching
him closely. “I've got to say, you just don't seem
to fit with her. Mara, I mean. She's so...cold and bitchy. You
seem perfectly human.”

“
Don't you
think you should get to know people a little better before deciding
shit like that?” he asked irritably. He took another drink and
settled deeper on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

“
So I'm
wrong? You're cold? You're not human? Maybe she's
not as bitchy as she seems?”

For the longest time, he
was quiet. Then he answered softly, “No. But she didn't
used to be that way. Lately, though...well. It doesn't matter.
Not any more. Not after tonight.” He closed his eyes.

“
And what happened
tonight?”

He popped one eye open
and stared at her. “It doesn't concern you.”

Lacey hummed under her
breath. “Okay. Well, answer this. You got the hots for Rocki or
not?”

He didn't answer,
but he suspected the slow crawl of red up his cheeks did the
answering for him.

Lacey laughed. “Awesome.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cause some
trouble. You got your checkbook handy? You might need it.”

Frowning, he opened the
other eye and watched as she slipped out of the room, moving into the
crowded mess of the restaurant. What the hell...?

“
What the hell?”
Rocki muttered, watching as Lacey came back up on stage.

“
Ladies and
gentlemen. We have one final date to auction away tonight.”
Then Lacey paused and added, “Although it's more for the
men. Sorry, ladies. And guys, some of you have been
asking
for
this for a long while ...”

Dread curdled in Rocki's
stomach as she stared at the back of her friend's head.
Oh,
shit.

She wouldn't.

Then Lacey looked back at
her with a wicked smile. “Tonight, folks...Lush is going on the
auction block. One date—one night of Lush's company. A
movie, dinner, a night at the opera...you can choose or let her
decide. Now, can we open the bidding at five hundred?”

Rocki, feeling more than
a little lightheaded, and altogether furious, stood there stunned as
half a dozen hands went up in the air.

I'm going to
kill her.

But by the time the bids
went up over twelve hundred dollars, she was feeling a little less
murderous. Still very light-headed. Swallowing, she made her way to
stand next to Lacey. She rested a hand on the podium—she needed
the support, badly. She smiled out at all the faces she couldn't
see, thanks to the lights.

Next to her, Lacey was
grinning and having the time of her life. “How about fifteen
hundred? Do have fifteen hundred?”

There were fewer voices
now.

One voice called out,
“Sixteen hundred.”

For reasons Rocki
couldn't explain, that particular voice sent a shudder of dread
down her spine. Revulsion. Fear. Not that one, she thought…

Another voice called out
for seventeen hundred.

She breathed deeply, or
as deeply as the lacings on her corset would allow.

Staring at Rocki standing
on the stage, Cole told himself he wasn't going to do it. He'd
just broken up with his fiancée. She was still grieving over
her husband. It was a bad thing all around. Right?

But that didn't
keep him from taking a few steps into the restaurant, getting just a
little bit closer. His blood pumped hard and fast as he got closer.

The bids were at two
thousand now, but fewer people were involved. As he reached the
bottom of the stage, he said loudly, “Three thousand.”

Rocki looked down,
startled.

Her eyes met his, wide
and dark...so dark, he felt lost in them.

Screw the bad things. He
wanted this woman, damn it. Maybe just having a simple date would
prove that she wasn't everything he had convinced himself she
was. Besides, this whole thing was for charity...a good cause.

“
I've got
three thousand here,” Lacey called out, delight evident in her
voice. “Do I have thirty-five hundred?”

Another voice said,
“Thirty-five hundred.”

Because he was standing
so close, Cole saw the minute way Rocki's shoulder's
tightened, the flash of something in her eyes. Was it fear? What was
it...? It didn't matter.

“
Five thousand,”
he said, still staring at her.