Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Your Sleigh Awaits

HOLLY

Today was the day I would change my entire life. And what a day it would be. Jet-setting across the West Coast in a glamourous designer gown and shoes. Attending a real Hollywood elite event while on the arm of a famous movie star. I could hardly believe this was my life. At least for today it was.

Alana had informed my suitor or in this case, my bidder, that he could meet us in the lobby bar of the hotel where she worked and lived part of the year. The rest of the time Alana resided in France with her husband Cristophe, whom I'd come to adore. He was the golden retriever to Alana's black cat personality. A perfect match.

After the glam team did the full gambit of hair, makeup and attire this morning, I felt prepared for whatever the day would bring. Truly, I'd never looked better or felt more beautiful.

Bruno, however, snarled at the sight of my complete look, preferring to glare at me and everyone in the room before ditching us for a phone call with a member of his team. His response had hurt my feelings a little. We'd had such an incredible night together, one I wouldn't soon to forget. I assumed we'd have a deeper connection today. A friendship of sorts. I mean, we'd spent most of the previous evening naked and fucking each other's brains out. That should have earned me a "you look great," or "that color suits you."

Something.

But no. I got Mr. Grumpy Pants back in full force. Even now, as we waited at the bar and I sipped a glass of champagne, he was in full brood, choosing to sit several seats away from Alana and myself. He claimed it was to give us some privacy.

"Holly, I presume?" A man spoke as he tapped me on the shoulder.

Alana rose from her seat as I spun my chair around. Instantly, I was struck dumb, meeting Mr. Hollywood, I mean, Colin Omstead in person. He was unbelievably good looking, almost painfully so. Reminded me of attempting to look at the sun to watch a solar eclipse. Beautiful but dangerous to one's health.

Colin was tall, with wide shoulders that tapered into the classic V-shape at his waist. Perfect dirty blonde hair and startling clear blue eyes. His eyes had the subtlest crinkle at the edges, showing his thirty-five years of life on this Earth, but they didn't distract from his beauty in the slightest. In fact, they added to it. He wore a crisp, classic black tuxedo, with a daring dark-green satin tie and pocket square that matched my dress exactly. He looked dashing, like a real-life Prince Charming. And then he smiled , showing a set of pearly white teeth, prettier than my dentist had, and I swooned.

My head felt light, my feet heavy, and my knees wobbly.

"And you're Colin," I breathed, pure awe stealing my ability to speak normally.

He extended his hand and I quickly wiped mine on my cocktail napkin before I shook his. Electricity sparked at the center of our palms, sending a wave of gooseflesh across my bare arms.

"Guilty," he purred, and leaned closer to kiss my cheek.

My heart pounded against my chest as I inhaled his cologne. It was divine—cedar and citrus.

Colin pulled away and repeated the process with Alana, only he did not kiss her cheek.

"Mr. Omstead, this is my belle of the ball. I expect you will take great care of her. When shall I expect her return?"

Did Alana just pull the mom card? I wasn't a teenager. I'd been a full-grown adult for over a decade. At thirty-years-old, I didn't need another maternal figure attempting to manage my time. One mother was plenty.

"Oh, Alana, I'm a very big girl. I think I've got this covered…"

Alana smiled in that serene way that put everyone at ease. "You misunderstand, chérie . It is my responsibility to ensure the safety and comfort of both my candidates and…" she glanced around the bar, likely assessing how close other patrons were to us. "Clients." She chose the word wisely, preferring not to use the term bidder in mixed company it seemed.

"Not to worry, Madam Toussaint," Bruno interrupted. "I'll be chaperoning them the entire evening."

"Excuse me?" Colin frowned. "I assure you, I have nothing but honorable intentions with Ms. Knight. And my security team will be with us to and from the event, as well as escorting us to the hotel."

"Hotel?" I cut in. "I didn't pack a bag. I assumed we'd be returning to Las Vegas."

"These things often run very late. I took the liberty of securing us suites in the host hotel and securing any essentials you might need, including clothing for tomorrow. All of your sizes were on your candidate card. My pilot wasn't able to get clearance to fly back to Las Vegas this evening, so I made appropriate arrangements. We will return after breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like you've worked it all out. Are we ready to go?" I asked.

"Not so fast." Bruno lifted a hand. "I'm Bruno Castellanos, Ms. Knight's personal security. I will be attending and keeping Holly"—Alana glared at the casual familiarity—"I mean Ms. Knight , within my eyesight throughout the evening as outlined in great detail within the contract. Candidate security is of utmost importance."

"I-I see." Colin reluctantly agreed.

My eyes widened and my temperature shot through the roof as anger spiraled through my bloodstream. I held up a finger. "Just a moment," I snapped.

With little thought to who was watching, I pushed through our little huddle, my hands planted directly on Bruno's chest as I maneuvered him a solid ten feet down the bar.

"I don't need a babysitter!" I hissed.

"Don't you?" he murmured, his gaze on Alana and Colin behind me.

I speared at his chest roughly. "No, I don't! And you better behave, or I swear to God I'll…"

He wrapped his hand around mine at his chest, bent his body forward and put his lips next to my ear. A shiver raced down my spine at the contact, and I gasped.

"You'll what?" He hummed and my core tightened at that low rumble. "You sure as hell liked it when I called you baby last night, when I was balls deep inside of you."

Arousal and fury pulsated through my body, especially between my legs. Still, I needed to persevere. He was being an absolute dick. " Bruno ," I warned, letting my tone fill in the blanks. "You will not ruin this for me. You said sex only, no strings. This feels like a whole lot of strings!"

"Maybe I changed my mind," he sneered.

That had me jolting away, shaking my head. "No." I growled. "You don't get to do that. This is my life, and my choice. And I choose to go on this date. Now you better get it together, real freakin' quick." I huffed, plastered a smile on my face, and turned around.

"I think we're all in agreement. I'm ready when you are, Colin," I announced, sauntering over to my date. I was proud of myself for not breaking down, or reading too much into Bruno's loose suggestion that there might be more between us. He was the one that set the parameters in the first place. I was simply following them. Sex was sex. Sure, it was beyond good, a night I'll never forget in my wildest dreams, but that didn't give him the right to mess this up for me.

He promised.

Did he promise, though?

I shook my head and looped my arm with Colin's. "I'm excited about tonight and getting to know you better."

He put his hand over mine and gave me another megawatt smile. "Your sleigh awaits."

* * * *

The jet was luxe. A level of opulence I wasn't accustomed to. The last time I was on a plane was with a few friends, when we spent a week in Cancun, partying it up. Those seats were coach, at the very back of the plane, and I'd been sandwiched between a mother holding a crying baby and a big guy that was so tall his knees touched the seat in front of him, and his head towered over the seats. He also fell asleep with his head on my shoulder and drooled on my ruffly blouse. This was not that.

"Wow," I whispered in awe as Colin pointed to a full-sized, leather lounge chair. I slid into the seat as gracefully as possible in a beaded, figure-hugging gown.

Bruno glided past, winking at me as he did so. I wanted to punch him in the face and kiss him in equal measure. He was muddling my mind. When he claimed to have changed his mind about us, I had no idea what that meant. Moreover, I believed any change wasn't due to him actually having real feelings for me, but because another man was in the picture. In my experience, men could be like dogs. Inappropriately marking territory that wasn't theirs.

I forced myself not to respond and, instead, patted the seat next to me for Colin.

He sat down and ordered champagne for the two of us from the flight attendant. Once we received our drinks, the captain announced we were ready for takeoff.

I hated this part of flying, so I closed my eyes, gripped the armrest and started my prayers. I always repeated the "Our Father" until the plane leveled out and reached its cruising altitude. Only this time, I didn't expect to have a warm hand cover mine. I opened my eyes and stared into the pretty blue skies that were in Colin's eyes, reflecting the clouds from the open airplane window opposite him.

"Hey there," he said and interlaced our fingers. "We're almost to the easy part," he encouraged.

I smiled and leaned my head against the back of the seat and lost myself in his gaze.

"You're kind." I murmured.

"And you're stunning," he whispered back.

"Thank you for choosing me to go on this date with you."

"Thank you for agreeing to it. I have to admit, when Alana sent your photo over, I just knew I had to meet you."

I squeezed his hand. "I'll admit to being rather shell-shocked when she told me who my first date would be. I mean…you could have anyone," I shook my head. "Why do you even need the auction?"

He let go of my hand and the air between us cooled.

"I'm sorry; that was rude. It's your business and none of mine."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "No, it's a fair question. And something we'll need to work out later if we…"

"Get married?"

He exhaled sharply and chuckled. "Are you always this direct?"

A rough laugh came from somewhere behind us.

Holy shit. Colin had just asked the exact same question to me that I'd asked of Bruno last night. I wanted to jump up and demand Bruno shut his sexy face and leave us alone, but that would only egg him on.

"When it's important, yeah, I am."

"My job, my life's work is amazing, and I've been very lucky to earn the roles I've played. But with great rewards come great sacrifices. Usually in the privacy department. My life isn't always my own. Carving out private time is crucial and somewhat few and far between. My fans are great. The best really. It's just I'm always under a microscope and whoever I date will be too."

Jesus. I hadn't considered what my role in this relationship would be other than wife to a famous guy. It never dawned on me that I would also become a source of media interest.

"I see you're putting the ugly pieces together. Already, the paparazzi are going to go crazy when they see you on my arm tonight. Anyone I bring to anything will receive such interest. Did Alana prepare you for that?"

I shook my head and then nodded, not wanting to throw Alana under the bus. She was the woman handing me everything I could ever want, plus it was her limo that rode in to save me during my darkest hour. Bruno may have been the muscle, but she was the catalyst, and I'd be forever grateful.

"I'm not scared." I was terrified, but my mother always told me to ‘fake it until you make it' and that is exactly what I planned to do in this circumstance.

"Does anything scare you?" He lifted his hand and ran a single finger along my jawline. When he got to my ear, he traced the column of my neck to the strap of my gown.

I swallowed against the sudden thrill of his featherlight touch teasing along my skin.

"Um…spiders?"

He burst out laughing, the sexual tension in the air cooling. He leaned back and took my hand once more and picked up his champagne flute.

"A toast," he gestured to my glass.

I lifted mine between us.

"To the beginning of our story."

"I like that," I agreed and clinked my glass lightly with his.

"Me too. Now, tell me about yourself. I want to know everything." He beamed.

I got comfortable, settling back in the butter-soft leather chair and told him about my life. How I grew up in Las Vegas, that my parents were an avid and active part of my life, and that I'd stop at nothing to see my dreams come true.

"And is that why you joined the auction? To open your own bar one day?"

"Yeah. I love being around people all the time, serving them drinks, learning their journeys. However, at my establishment we'll have the coolest décor, interesting mixed drinks, live music regularly, open mic nights for the comedians and more. I want to set up a place where the regular citizens of Las Vegas could go to be part of their community."

"So not a tourist trap?"

"Nope. I even toyed with the idea that, in order to get in, you needed to have a Las Vegas ID, but that could limit sales too much and cause problems. My ultimate goal is to have a place where the people who live here feel it is their own. And I want to hire both my parents and give them a super loaded retirement. They've devoted their entire lives to me and one another. To this day, they both work in the same casino. He's a dealer, she's a waitress. I want them to work with me on something that can be family owned. A place for us to be together without any worries."

"And what if your bar becomes too popular and there ends up being a line around the block?" he asked in a tone that made the hairs on the back of my neck tingle. Like he knew something I didn't.

"I don't know. The thought never entered my mind. I can't imagine something I owned being that outrageous. Being super rich wasn't exactly part of my plan. Having a place that was my own and could also provide for my aging parents, setting us all up for a comfortable life a bit better than we have now is the goal."

His jaw firmed and a muscle in his cheek ticked.

"Why do I feel like you're upset all of a sudden?"

He shook his head abruptly. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He patted my knee in a placating manner that sent red warning flags waving in the back of my mind.

I turned to face him. "I'm not the kind of girl to let something go so quickly. I'm also not cool with allowing uncomfortable feelings to stew. I'd like you to share your thoughts with me. Honesty between couples is important. No, it's everything ."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "It's just that, if this thing with us continues, and already I'm liking the visual of us being together…" he added with such an earnest expression, my heart clenched.

"I like that visual too," I admitted. I could absolutely see myself with this hunky sweet guy, more so than the uptight, grumpy, alpha a-hole that fucked like a God.

"If you opened up an establishment, in Las Vegas, hell anywhere , and you were married to me, it would get a lot of press."

"That would be a good thing though, wouldn't it?" I tried to lighten the vibe he was putting off.

He shook his head. "You don't understand. If you were with me, and the press or fans found out about your bar, you would be mobbed every night."

I frowned. "Oh…that could pose some problems."

"Yeah. It definitely would mean your vision would have to change. You wouldn't be able to work the bar in person. I wouldn't recommend your parents doing so either. The media and fans can be rabid for information about me and whoever I date. You could own a bar. Many in fact. But my wife and her family actually working in public jobs…" He shook his head. "Not possible."

My stomach dropped, making me feel nauseous.

"But truly, it would be okay," he squeezed my hand. "Because you wouldn't need the money if you were married to me. I'd take care of everything. You, your parents. All would be well."

All would be well.

All would be well.

All would NOT be well.

My heart thundered in my chest; sweat beaded at my hairline and under my arms. My hands shook as I placed the champagne glass down and stood abruptly. My knees wanted to give out, but I held my balance.

"I've… Uh, I've got to use the ladies room," I croaked.

I dashed to the back of the plane and fumbled around the three doors until I felt a presence at my back.

"Breathe, Holly," Bruno whispered in my ear as his arm came around my waist, pressing my back against him, soothing my fear instantly.

I trembled in his arms as he opened a door, pushed me inside, and followed me in.

"I'm going to lose it," I clipped, tears filling my eyes as my body and mind freaked the fuck out by what Colin had just shared.

"You're okay," he whispered. "You're okay. Breathe, baby." He held me close as I gasped in air like a deep-sea diver just reaching the surface of the water. "I'm here. You're okay. Breathe in with me," he commanded and inhaled. I synced my breathing with his, sucking in air rabidly. "Slow it down." He put one of his hands over my heart. "Fuck," he hissed. "Your heartbeat is too fast. Keep breathing with me," he encouraged, and I nodded, matching his breaths, my gaze focused entirely on his in our reflection in the mirror.

When I was breathing more normally, he placed a warm line of kisses from my shoulder to my ear. "What happened?" he flicked his tongue in the space he knew from last night was an erogenous zone for me.

I moaned and closed my eyes. "Nothing, I…I just…"

The hand that was over my heart, shifted, his fingers tracing the lace cup of my dress. "Tell me…" he said, sliding his hand inside my dress, cupping my breasts just the way I liked, with firm pressure.

The distraction was exactly what I needed. I gasped at the glorious pleasure, the exact opposite of the chaotic fear that had rampaged through me only minutes ago.

"I-I freaked out," I admitted.

"Mmmhmm." His hips pressed me against the bathroom vanity, his thumb and forefinger plucking at my nipple making it hard. I arched back, rubbing my ass against his hardened cock, losing myself to the bliss of his touch.

"Why did you freak out?" His teeth skimmed along my shoulder while his other hand slipped around my front thigh, finding the slit in the green glimmering fabric.

" Bruno ," I breathed his name, not knowing whether to tell him to stop or to continue. All I knew was I had gone from scared out of my mind, to wanting nothing but his hands on me.

"I'm right here," he growled, that sneaky hand slipping beneath the fabric of my dress to find my lace panties. It was nothing for him to work his hand inside them and then he was… "Right there," he groaned and plunged two fingers inside me. I lifted up onto my toes as he went deeper, his thumb coming up to work my clit masterfully.

"Oh my God," I sighed on a moan.

"There you go again, calling me God." He laughed low and gruff as he fingered me.

"What are you doing to me?" I asked, shamelessly working my hips, chasing the pleasure I knew he could give.

"I'm bringing you back to reality." He pushed his fingers deeper, found the spot I needed, and doubling his efforts, massaged it relentlessly.

Sparks flew between us as my entire body gave in to his every whim. Heat flooded my core as my nerve endings went berserk. I whimpered and flowed with his movements, my hips thrusting desperately.

"I'm going to come," I mewled.

"I know, baby. Come all over my fingers and then later, after your date with another man, I'll fuck you so good you won't even remember the movie star's name." He pinched my clit, and I soared, anger and passion mixing like a lethal poison as I clamped my hand over my own mouth and came hard.

He rode the wind with me until I finally came down, but when I did come down, I met his gaze in the mirror.

His smug expression undid all the pleasure I'd just experienced.

"I fucking hate you."