*****

“Come on, ladies, you can bid higher than that,” Alex said with a flirtatious wink at the two women bidding against each other for a one-of-a-kind necklace donated from the Neil Lane collection.

Without them realizing that his attention had ever wandered from them, Alex breathed a sigh of relief as Jessica walked back through the outside doors. If she hadn’t come in when she did, he would have stopped the auction and gone after her before a gust of high wind carried her off.

The raging storm, which was keeping most of the guests locked inside the warm confines of the hotel, hadn’t harmed her in the least — quite the opposite, actually. She was breathtaking as she looked around self-consciously while trying to put herself back together.

Some of her hair had escaped the tight confines of her classic French twist, and her cheeks were flushed a becoming shade of red. She looked as if she’d just crawled from bed — after a vigorous night of lovemaking.

He tried not to think about her, or look for her, but his eyes kept seeking her out. He’d already rejected several women who had made it more than clear that they’d be willing to warm his bed that night.

He had to face it. He wanted only one woman to do that. The rest of the “ladies” in the room paled in comparison with Jessica Sanders.

“Fine. Twenty-five thousand, and it had better be worth it, Alex.”

Alex twisted his eyes back to the smiling brunette who was holding up her bidding card in front of him.

Without missing a beat, Alex answered her. “Neil Lane is always worth it,” he practically purred, a bit disgusted with himself for what he was willing to do for charity donations.

“Anything for a few extra dollars, huh, Alex?” Mark said with a laugh as he entered the room, looking extremely uncomfortable in his tux.

“If you ladies offer sufficiently high bids tonight, I might just bring my very eligible brother up here with me on the auction block,” Alex said, sending a smirk toward Mark.

“Ooh, forget the diamonds! I want to bid on him!” one woman shouted.

“Yes, me, too,” another called out.

Within seconds, there was a chant for Mark to go up onstage. Alex looked at him with a self-satisfied grin. Alex knew he’d put him on the spot, because if his brother didn’t give the bidders what they were demanding, the poor fellow would hear about it for too long to make his temporary escape worthwhile.

“You owe me big time, Alex. My revenge won’t be pretty,” Mark growled under his breath as he jumped onto the stage. He then plastered a megawatt smile on his face and turned toward the crowd.

“I don’t know what the fuss is all about, girls. This man behind me is quite the eligible bachelor, himself. I have it on good authority that he was speaking with our father the other night — hinting at the possibility of a happily-ever-after once he’s found the right woman,” Mark said, playing to the crowd.

Alex barely managed to catch his jaw from hitting the ground. He should have known better than to try to one-up his younger brother. Mark was far too quick on his feet. As Alex felt the panic rise up within him, he glanced over the crowd and his eyes collided with Jessica’s. She was looking at him with some disbelief.

Inspiration hit.

“Sorry, ladies, but my brother is sadly mistaken. I’m spoken for at the moment,” Alex said as he sent a loving look at Jessica, staring just long enough to make several heads turn in her direction, following his gaze.

Her jaw did drop to the floor, or at least as far in that direction as it could get.

Have fun with that, Alex thought, happy his diversion had worked.

“Now, let’s get the bidding underway. Who’d like to start at ten thousand dollars for the perfect date with our very own Mark Anderson? I’ve been told he’s quite the catch, treating the ladies to a really good time.”

The crowd roared as bids started flying in, one right after the other. Mark smiled and winked at each woman who called out a higher bid, then sent a few seductive looks toward the ones who looked as if they wanted to jump in the battle.

“One hundred thousand.”

“One twenty five.”

“Two hundred thousand.”

“Two fifty.”

The room was finally silent.

“I’ve got two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, ladies. Is that the final bid?” Alex asked as he looked around. “Going once, going twice…sold to Ms. Gina Marsden for two hundred fifty thousand dollars!”

“Seriously, you’re dead,” Mark whispered before he leaped off the stage to lead his date to the cashier.

Alex continued the auction for another half hour, not in the least worried about what Mark had planned for him. Toward the end of his duties as auctioneer, he lost sight of Jessica and sighed, thinking she’d left when he wasn’t looking.

In his mind, his night was about to take a nosedive.

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