Page 56 of Tangled Roses
It doesn’t help when I register the leering face of Walter gazing at her with a lustful expression, and his paddle is firmly raised as the bids climb.
I stare at her with anger, but my heart lurches when I see her pretty face, hesitant and unsure of what she should do. She looks a million dollars and definitely deserves to raise that much and as she tries desperately to smile, I can smell her fear from here.
She appears awkward as fuck, which doesn’t help because it only adds to her appeal.
I swear every lustful, deranged bastard in this ballroom is salivating behind their paddles as they bid against one another to win the prize.
Over my fucking dead body and when the bid reaches two hundred thousand dollars, I’m aware there are only four bidders still in the running, Walter included.
He catches my eye and grins and I hate the expression in his eyes as he raises his paddle again and as I glance at Ellie, I notice the panic in her expression.
She is hating every minute of this and so I raise my paddle and call out, “One million dollars.”
There’s a shocked gasp as every single paddle is lowered and I stand, staring defiantly around the room, warning anyone to fucking dare to try and outbid me. I am so angry it must show because the people I catch staring quickly look away.
The woman running the auction can’t believe her luck and glances around the room with a loud, “Any other bids? I have one million dollars.”
You could hear a feather drop and as I catch Ellie’s eye, she must notice my expression because she pales under the bright lights and shifts nervously on her feet.
I swear I see a paddle move, but it is quickly lowered when I glare in their direction and after an awkward silence, the woman says loudly, “Sold for one million dollars to paddle number forty. Mr. um–” She glances at her clipboard and then yells, “Mr. Romanov. Thank you so much for your generous bid.”
The room erupts into applause, but I don’t take a bow. Instead, I head straight for Ellie who is shaking on the stage.
When I reach it, I hold out my hand and my expression challenges her to refuse it because there is no way in hell she is getting away from me now.
I swear I breathe a sigh of relief when her small hand finds mine and as I close my hand and trap hers inside, I pull her down from the stage and anchor my arm around her waist, leaning down and whispering, “I’ll take my date now.”
CHAPTER 33
ELLIE
Iam in so much trouble. It’s obvious from the angry gleam in Arman’s eye. He is furious and something tells me I will pay dearly for this.
He pulls me through the crowd, ignoring the calls from his peers, and as we reach the door, Luka shakes his head as we head through it.
An army of black suits surround us as we head down the stairs toward the exit and as we reach the sidewalk and the cool air dusts across my face, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for what lies ahead.
The car is waiting, and the door is open and as I step inside, Arman slides in beside me and, as the door slams, he leans back and exhales slowly.
“I’m–”
He holds up his hand. “Don’t say a word.”
He is so angry I can almost touch it. It causes me to shrink back in my seat and play with the hem of my dress because what the hell was I thinking? He has paid one million dollars for a date with his date. It doesn’t make sense, and he is raging.
I can almost see the steam coming from his ears as he struggles to contain his anger and I whisper miserably, “I’m sorry, Arman.”
He turns and looks at me properly for the first time, and the dark rage gleaming in his eyes takes my breath away.
Then he surprises me and before I can react, he reaches out and pulls my face to his and kisses me with so much ferocity it steals my breath.
He invades my mouth and I swear lights the fire inside me and as our tongues wrap in sinful darkness, I moan with heated lust.
He fists my hair and deepens the kiss, pushing my dress up with his other hand and forcing my panties aside. His fingers plunge inside me as he groans into my mouth and as he pumps them in and out, I mewl like a crazed kitten.
His kiss is demanding, an act of war and he forces my thighs apart, tearing my panties as if they are paper. I am open to him and ready for anything because I couldn’t stop this even if I wanted to.
His teeth graze my neck and he sucks roughly, pushing his fingers in harder and deeper. He moves back to my mouth and bites down sharply on my lower lip, causing me to cry out in pain as his thumb rubs circles on my clit.