Chapter 30
As soon as Carissa came bounding out of the sorority house a few minutes later, Bradley took hold of her hand again, and they headed toward her residence hall. Ditching class today had been the best decision he’d made in weeks. He still couldn’t believe she and Danny had broken up, but that was a dream come true for him. Now all he had to do was convince her not to go back to that asshole—and he’d pull out all the stops to make sure she didn’t.
“Okay, so I know what your sister and brother do, but what are you going to do once you graduate?” she asked, picking up their conversation as if they hadn’t been interrupted by her errand.
“I’m planning to work with my father. I know the business well, and I do enjoy it. But as the owner’s son, I get treated like that’s the only reason I have a job waiting for me. I want to prove that I’m just as qualified as anyone else.”
“That makes sense,” she said.
“What do your parents do?”
“My dad is an attorney. He has a very exclusive clientele, mostly celebrities, and my mom doesn’t have a paying job. She does volunteer for a lot of charities, though, and she was very involved in the PTA when us kids were in school.”
From the second Bradley met Carissa, he’d known she came from a wealthy family, and now he understood more of her situation. Money wasn’t a deal breaker for him, but knowing she wasn’t after his was a huge selling point. He’d had his fill of women who actively searched for a wealthy husband.
Moments later, they arrived at Carissa’s residence hall. She scanned her key card to get into the building, then led him up to her room. She unlocked the door and walked in. He followed.
Being in her room, in her private space, was highly intimate. His nerves raged in his stomach, and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He was here to settle a bet. Nothing more. Not like they were going to make out again. Though, if they did, there wouldn’t be any interruptions like last time.
“You can sit, if you want,” she said and tossed her keys onto her desk.
“Right.” He nodded, his gaze darting from one bed to the other.
She nodded to the bed on his left. “That one’s mine.” She gave him a knowing grin.
Bradley set his backpack on the floor, then sat on her bed, which was surprisingly comfortable. Not quite as soft as his, but not horrible, either. “Okay, let’s do this,” he said, his words intentionally suggestive. “Prove me wrong. If you can.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, then crouched at the foot of her bed. She rummaged around until she found the tote in question. Holding it up, she said, “Time to show you just how wrong you are.”
“By all means…” He waved his hand in her direction.
Carissa set the tote on the bed and flipped off the lid. Her eyes widened with horror, and she jerked her head up to look at him. “This isn’t possible.” She lifted the shirt from the tote, her hands noticeably trembling. “I swear to God, I did not put this shirt in here.”
Bradley was on his feet in a flash, and he snatched the shirt from her hands before she could stop him. “Sure you didn’t.” He smirked and held the shirt up to study the picture on the back. “Just admit it, Carissa. I won’t make fun of you. Promise.”
“Tiffany,” she grumbled. “I’m going to kill her.”
Laughing, Bradley lowered the shirt. “I’m going to have to send her a thank you gift.”
“You’re ridiculous.” She held out her hand. “Well? Give it back. It’s not yours.”
He laughed even harder. “Oh no.” He shook his head. “I’m keeping this.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is that your prize for winning this bet? You want me to give you the shirt?” She planted her hands on her hips.
He hesitated. He really did want the shirt, but he wanted something else even more. Reluctantly, he handed the shirt back to her.
She shoved it into the tote, then hid the plastic box beneath her bed. “Okay, lay it on me.” She crossed her arms. “What do you want from me?”
“Wow. Don’t sound so excited,” he teased.
“Are you going to tell me or not?”
He rounded the foot of the bed and stood in front of her. “Remember how I told you my sister owns a ranch?”
“Yeah,” she said slowly, drawing out the word.
“Well, every year, she has this huge fundraiser. A formal black-tie affair. And every year, she hosts a bachelor auction.” He took her hands into his and brought them to his mouth. He kissed each hand, his lips grazing her knuckles tenderly. “My brother and I are on the auction block this year. Normally, I tolerate it for the sake of my sister and the kids she helps, but this year… Well, the idea of being sold to the highest bidder for a date isn’t quite as appealing.”
“Are you asking me to bid on you so you have to go out with me instead of a stranger?” she asked, her tone full of amusement.
“No. I’m asking you to go to Texas with me for the fundraiser and pretend to be my girlfriend so I don’t have to participate in the auction at all,” he said.
Her jaw dropped, and she blinked her wide eyes. “Uh… what?”
He used his hold on her hands to tug her closer. “I want you to go to Texas with me and—”
“Oh, I know. I heard you,” she said breathlessly. “I’m just trying to figure out if you’re being serious or not.”
“I’m dead serious, Carissa.” His heart pounded. What if he couldn’t convince her to go with him? “Spend a few days with me in Texas. Meet my family. Pretend to be my girlfriend and save me from the auction.”
“Wow.” She slipped her hands from his and paced the room. “I thought you were going to ask me for a date or something. But this?” She stopped, an incredulous laugh filling the space between them. “You want me to lie to your entire family?”
He frowned. “Okay, when you say it like that, it sounds really bad. But I’m desperate. Do you want me to beg? Because I will.” He dropped to his knees in front of her, hands clasped. “Please, please, please take pity on me.”
She shook her head, a beautiful smile lighting up her face. “You really are so ridiculous.”
“Is that a yes?” He flashed his sexiest, most charming smile.
Carissa chewed on her bottom lip, indecision warring across her face.
“I’ll owe you. Big time. Anything you want. All you have to do is ask,” he said. “I’ll even pay you if you want.”
She glared at him. “Seriously? You’ve gone from prostitute to pimp since we met. At least you’re moving up the sex worker ladder.”
Laughing, he got to his feet. “Are you going to answer me? Or do I need to keep begging? Because I can. I will. And I promise, my pleas will only get more ridiculous.”
“I doubt you can top anything more ridiculous than offering to pay me to be your pretend girlfriend.”
He raised a brow. “You underestimate me.”
She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him, but he clutched her wrist and yanked her into his arms. He didn’t give her a chance to respond before his mouth was on hers. Her soft sigh of pleasure spurred him on. Kissing her was probably a mistake considering their current circumstances, but he had very little control where she was concerned.
“Please go with me, Carissa.” He nipped at her bottom lip. “I’ll buy you a pretty dress and sparkly shoes.”
She laughed against his lips and coursed her hands up his chest and around to the nape of his neck.
His hands, which had been on her waist, roamed around to settle against the small of her back. She arched into him like she had at the library, and just like that, he had an instant erection. He’d never needed a woman as badly as he needed her in that moment.
“Jewelry, too,” he mumbled, not releasing her lips. “Lots and lots of jewelry. And a new purse. Girls like purses, right?”
Carissa sighed, her hot breath tantalizing. “Stop trying to buy me.”
“Consider it bribery, then.” He traced her bottom lip with his tongue, and her mouth parted for him. “I don’t really care what you want to call it.”
“Bradley?”
“Hmm?”
“Stop talking.”
This time, he was the one to laugh. “Answer me, and I will.”
With a frustrated huff, she firmly pushed against his chest. He eased back and met her gaze. “Do I really have a choice? You won the bet. I have to do this for you,” she said.
“Hey. No.” He released her and stepped back. “I mean, yeah, I won the bet, but you always have a choice, Carissa.” His tone was unwavering.
The very last thing he ever wanted to do was make her feel like she was trapped or had to do something she didn’t want to do. He wasn’t that kind of guy, and he needed her to know that, even if that meant he had to go to Texas alone and get auctioned off.
Gently, he rested his hands on her shoulders. “If you really don’t want to go, I’ll understand.”
“You will?” Her eyes filled with tears.
Where had those come from? And why? He assumed whatever had caused her tears was leftover stuff from how Danny treated her, but Bradley wasn’t Danny, and the sooner she realized that, the better.
“Of course I will.” He smiled softly. “How about you get to choose my prize? Either go to Texas with me or let me take you out on a date.”
“Can I have a few days to think about it?”
He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. “Absolutely.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, rested her hands on his waist, and peered up at him with those big hazel eyes.
God, those eyes and that look she gave him were going to be his undoing. His heart raced, his skin tingled, and his insides thrummed with a need that rivaled anything he’d ever felt before. Gaze locked with hers, he slowly lowered his mouth to hers.
The instant their lips touched, a surge of lustful desire shocked his system, and he lost all common sense. He operated on pure emotion, adrenaline, and raging hormones. His kiss was hard and dominant and somewhat demanding. He knew he needed to slow down, but she met every flick of his tongue with one of her own, her sighs and moans echoing in his head and reverberating through his body.
Picking her up, laying her on her bed, slowly peeling away what little clothing she wore would be so easy, and he didn’t think she’d stop him, either. And as badly as he wanted her naked and in his arms, he refused to have sex with her when he hadn’t even taken her on a proper date yet. Something so intimate wasn’t meant to be shared with just anyone, and he had a sinking feeling she felt the same way.
Groaning, he tore his mouth from hers. “I think I should go,” he said, panting.
“What?” Hurt laced that single word. “Why?”
“Because we both know what’s going to happen if I stay.” He cradled her face and caressed her flushed cheeks with his thumbs. “Believe me, I want that more than anything. I want you, but I also want to make sure we do this right.”
“God, you’re like an alien or something.” She covered his hands with hers, then eased them from her face. “I don’t know any other guy who would willingly walk out of this room right now when he has a sure thing standing in front of him.”
Her words slammed into him with the force of a wrecking ball. A sure thing? Maybe he should reconsider his decision. He shook the thought away. He was determined to do everything right with Carissa.
“Well, I’m not like other guys.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Her smile was flirty, if not a little grateful. “Thanks for being such a nice guy.”
“Just remember that this nice is going to get the girl.” He scooped his backpack from the floor and slung it over his shoulder.
“We’ll see about that.” She licked her lips, her face still flushed from the heat of their kisses.
She was a vision standing there like that, and he once again second guessed his decision to leave. But in the end, he knew his choice would pay off for both of them. He reached for the doorknob and opened the door.
“I’ll text you the details about Texas. Just let me know when you’ve made up your mind,” he said.
“I will.”
With a nod—and a hell of a lot of willpower he didn’t know he possessed—he walked out of her room, confident this was the first of many times he’d be with her.