Read Tempt Me for Free Online Page B

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.
    â€œ 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.
    â€œ Five thousand,”
he said, still staring at her.
    She lifted a brow. “Five
thousand?” she mouthed.
    Silence fell through the
room, and this time, nobody offered another bid.
    Lacey grinned down at
him. “She’s all yours, Mr. Stanton. For a night, at
least.”

C hapter
Four

    Five days later, Rocki
was breathing easier. No more cards came. No more photos. She’d almost forgiven Lacey for what she’d done, too. It
helped that Lacey wisely stayed away from the store, giving her time
to cool down.
    She was feeling pretty
damn good about life in general, with the exception of the fact that
she had a date with an engaged man hanging over her head. She could
handle that, though. After all, it was just a date. She even had a
plan in mind. They’d go ice skating, if it was her choice. Ice
skating, if somebody wasn’t used to it, was exhausting enough
that he’d be a boneless mess by the time they were done, she
figured. Pizza first, maybe. Nice, fun, easy. Not remotely romantic.
    She could handle this.
She’d handled touchy situations before, after all.
    She could handle Cole
Stanton.
    All she had to do was get
through one date. Of course, it would help if he would call and set
up the date. But that was a problem for later. Right now, Rocki had
customers.
    â€œ There is just no
way.” The petite, curvy little blonde stood in front of one of
the display tables, holding up a red silk corset and shaking her
head. “It's gorgeous, Miley, but there's no way one of these
things would fit me.”
    Rocki studied the blonde
and made a rough guess at her waist size. The woman had roughly the
same body type as Rocki, although she was somewhat shorter. Of
course, there had been times when Rocki thought baby giraffes were
shorter than her. On her way over to the table, she selected one of
the corsets that she thought would work.
    â€œ Hi. Is anything I
can help you with?”
    Miley, the blonde's
friend, looked at Rocki. “Do you have anything that would fit
my friend?”
    â€œ You bet.”
She smiled at the blonde.