Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
She points at me. “We have twenty-five. Do I have thirty?”
Trent’s gaze meets mine. A smile reaches his beautiful blue eyes. There’s so much heat and intensity behind his irises. I can’t stop looking at him.
Bella declares me the winner of the auction. I snap out of my trance and give the girl her paddle back. I’m greeted with an angry scowl from the brunette. She can be mad all she wants. I had to do it. Trent needed me to save him from humiliation.
I still can’t believe what I did, but I don’t regret it. Trent disappears behind the curtains draped across the stage, and I set off in his direction, unsure of what to say.
Once backstage, I push past the men on stage and move toward the green room, where I assume I’ll find Trent. He’s perched against a couch on one side of the room, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. I’ve never seen him look so worried before. He’s always sure of himself, never a doubt in his mind.
Trent mutters something to his friends, chatting with two pretty blondes on the couch. Drake Donovan and Preston Parker sit between the girls, Preston with his arm around one girl and Drake sitting awkwardly next to the other. The girls are tall with athletic builds, and by the looks of it, they’re friends or at least know each other.
With shaky hands and sweaty palms, I approach Trent and his friends. A thousand different thoughts race through my head. The room practically swirls around me the closer I get to him.
Luckily, Trent sees me coming and closes the distance between us. The corners of his mouth turn up into a wide grin that makes the crease in his cheek pop.
“Hey,” he says, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Thanks for saving me out there.”
“I didn’t know what else to do,” I admit.
“That was weird, huh?”
I nod. “Yeah. I’d love to know what that was all about. I was expecting every girl in the room to bid on you. I figured by now you’d have your hands full.”
He winks. “I’m happy it turned out this way.” His hand falls to my shoulder, pulling me to his chest. “Because now I get to make up for the date we never had.”
I try to push that day to the back of my mind. There’s no sense in dwelling on the past, though that day still stings a little when I think about it. “I’m looking forward to it. Make it a good one. It might be your only shot.”
I’m joking, but my face doesn’t give away the slightest hint. Well, it’s not a lie entirely. If the date doesn’t go well, there’s no point in seeing him again. And if it does, then we have something to talk about.
Trent smirks. “I plan to make it a date you won’t forget.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Trent
When Jemma opens the door, my jaw practically unhinges at the sight of her in a short black dress that rides up her killer legs. She’s wearing red heels that match the color of her plump lips I want to kiss.
I’m a lucky man.
Her green eyes widen as she rakes over my body. “Well, don’t you look handsome?”
I wear an Armani suit, a white Oxford, and black wingtips. I even stayed my hair with gel for the occasion.
I offer her a bouquet of red roses. “You look beautiful.”
Why am I so nervous?
I’m so afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing with her. I can’t blow my shot. Well, I didn’t do anything wrong last time. But still…
Jemma fills a vase with water and arranges the bouquet on the table, and then we’re on our way. I lead her out of Penn Hall and through the Quad, where students gawk at us. We look damn good, all dressed up.
“What do you have up your sleeve tonight?” Jemma asks.
“You’ll see,” I tease. “Have patience, gorgeous.”
She shoots me a curious expression when I stop in front of the stretch limo waiting for us at the curb. The driver opens the door for Jemma.
“Good evening, Miss Walcott,” he says.
Jemma smiles and says hello. She glances over her shoulder at me, shock scrolling across her beautiful face.
I place my hand on her shoulder. “Ladies first.”
Jemma shakes her head, a smile tugging at her mouth. “You’re up to something, Trenton Kane.”
I laugh at her use of my full name. “Just making up for lost time.”
I’m not one to half-ass things. Tonight has to be perfect—like Jemma and her fine ass in this dress. I close my hand into a fist and bite down on it, my eyes focusing on Jemma as she climbs into the limo. It’s hard not to think of the dirty things I want to do with her.
Once inside the limo, I slide across the leather bench. Our thighs touch, the heat from her body warming mine. Jemma folds her hands on her lap, staring at the mini bar with a bottle of champagne chilling on ice.