Talking Dirty With the Boss: A Talking Dirty Novel (Entangled Indulgence) (8 page)

Like telling Luke?

Marisa let out a breath, then picked up the pregnancy test stick and put it in her purse.

Yeah. Like telling Luke.

Half an hour later, Christie glanced at the full glass of wine in front of Marisa, and gave her a concerned frown. “Are you okay, Mar?”

Marisa stopped fiddling with her napkin and glanced at Christie, who was sitting beside her. “Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

The old art deco cinema was buzzing with the noise of the crowd, all here for Caleb’s fund-raising auction. Lots of couture and tuxes, famous faces and diamonds, the hum of conversation almost overwhelming the background music that was playing.

The first lot of people and their skills had been auctioned off already—Joseph and his six-month mentorship included—and now they were all waiting for the second half to start.

The second half that included Caleb.

And Luke.

Marisa made a reflexive grab toward her wineglass as panic threatened again, only stopping herself at the last second. She’d tried to find him to talk to him about the pregnancy as soon as she’d gotten to the theater, but by the time they’d arrived, all the bachelors and bachelorettes being auctioned had already been taken backstage. She was going to have to find him after the auction had finished.

Christie noticed the move and gave the wineglass a meaningful glance. “Hmmm. Well, your glass is full for a start. Which isn’t like you.”

“I don’t feel like wine tonight.”

Her best friend’s brows lowered. “Hey, you’re
not
okay, are you?”

“Why? Because I don’t want some wine?”

“It’s not just the wine. You seem a little pale, too.”

Marisa bit back the snappish words that threatened to spill out. Because it wasn’t Christie’s fault that this had happened. Oh no, it was all hers. Hers and Luke’s. Instead she said, “I’m fine, St. John. Really.” Purposefully using Christie’s maiden name—Marisa’s old nickname for her friend—to show her how fine she was.

“Mar.”

“I thought we’d agreed you’d always be St. John to me?” They’d both decided, after Christie had married Joseph and dropped the St. John, that “Ashton” didn’t quite have the same ring to it.

“Sure. When you tell me the truth about what’s going on with you.”

Marisa fiddled with her napkin again. “Y’know, I’m not liking this more assertive side to you.”

“Hey, I learned from a master.” Christie grinned. “Aka you.”

Kind of made sense now why Christie had always been so peeved at her whenever Marisa had tried to extract Joseph gossip, back when her friend and the tech billionaire had first hooked up. Now Marisa knew what it was like to be poked and prodded like a shellfish being opened with a knife. Hideous.

She reached for the wineglass again, then quickly made a grab for her water instead. Had Christie noticed the second slip? But a glance at her friend showed her that Christie’s attention had skipped her and was now on her sister-in-law, Judith, who’d taken the seat on Marisa’s other side. Jude was rather pale, her blue eyes shadowed underneath her black bangs.

After Joseph and Christie’s wedding, Marisa had had a night out with her, drinking wine, eating takeout, and dissing men. Then they’d both gone to a club and spent the night dancing and getting drunk. A good time was had by all, in other words.

But Jude didn’t appear happy now, and although Marisa didn’t know the details, that girls’ night out had told her enough to be sure her current pallor had something to do with Caleb.

Boy, did men suck.

Marisa raised the water glass to her mouth and took a drink as the music started to play and the lights dimmed, signaling the second half of the auction getting under way.

The MC came on and gave another little spiel about the charity, then ramped up the patter about the skills/people who were about to be auctioned off tonight.

A weird thrill went through her as Luke was mentioned. Which was entirely ridiculous since the guy was an ass. Who’d given her a blinding orgasm, yes, but then canceled out the entire experience with his extremely insensitive behavior afterward.

Not only a blinding orgasm, remember? He gave you a kid, too.

Marisa’s hand clasped hard around the water glass.

The spotlight came on and the first person came out, a slender blonde in a shimmering red gown, who also happened to be a high-flying lawyer offering free legal services. Not a few men in the crowd seemed keen, unsurprisingly since the woman was pretty hot.

The women are going to love Luke. He’s hot.

The thought sat in her head. She wasn’t a possessive sort of woman, especially with a guy she barely knew. And yet…she didn’t like the thought of people—yeah, okay, women—bidding on him. Not at all.

Marisa scowled, not liking this jealousy either.

The lawyer’s auction went by quickly, the winning bid a high one, leaving everyone pleased with the deal. Marisa shifted in her seat, looking down at the auction list that sat on everyone’s table. Next up was Luke. Great. Now she was going to have to sit through his being auctioned off to someone—probably a woman. Because with financial skills off the charts
and
hotness, who
wouldn’t
want to bid on him?

You could bid on him.

Marisa froze. No, that would be stupid. Why would she want to bid on him? She was going to tell him she was pregnant, then she was going to leave and go drown her sorrows in…a nice warm cup of cocoa or something.

You could use his financial skills.

Well, yeah, she definitely could. But that would blow her entire savings—if it covered it in the first place.

Then some other chick’s going to get his “expertise.” And you really don’t want that to happen, do you?

Well, no but—bah. Would her stupid brain shut up for one freaking second?

At that moment the spotlight came on and then there was Luke, striding out onto the stage.

And Marisa’s brain obediently went into lockdown. Because holy God, how was she supposed to think clearly when the guy could have caused Marie Curie to sigh like a teenage girl?

He stood in the spotlight in his tux, seeming as though he wanted to be anywhere else but there. Yet even so, he was all powerful shoulders, lean hips, and long legs. The light glossed his black hair and highlighted the incredible bone structure of his face. He didn’t smile, his cold gray eyes sweeping over the crowd. His expression was forbidding and yet with a hint of awkwardness, too, which shouldn’t have made him any sexier. But somehow did.

The MC started into his patter, reeling off Luke’s accomplishments and what he was offering. A six-month financial advice package that sounded amazing.

As if on cue, Christie’s elbow dug her in the ribs. “You should bid on him,” her friend hissed. “You could use some financial help.”

Well, obviously. But she was supposed to be using that money to get out of debt, not to buy more things. Money that was going to kick-start her artist dreams.

So much for those dreams, baby.

Baby. Ha. Thanks, brain. As though she needed yet another reminder.

Of course that was the moment Luke’s gaze settled on her. And stayed there.

Despite the fact that another couple of weeks had passed since they’d met in the pub, the attraction between them was like a power surge, filling the space between them. Distance and time apparently didn’t matter. All that did was the memory of him holding her against the door as he pushed inside her, the pleasure of it making her totally lose her mind.

Dammit.

The MC called for bids.

Christie put her hand up to start it off, bidding fifty bucks. A few other people raised their hands while the MC continued to talk about the package Luke was offering. While Luke himself kept his gaze firmly on her.

Tiny sparks prickled over Marisa’s skin. Freaking wonderful. So her body hadn’t learned from its mistake.

She dragged her gaze away from his, taking another reflexive gulp of her water to ease her dry throat.

Across from her, at another table, a woman put her hand up. Marisa recognized her as a well-known kids’ show presenter. The woman had an avid expression on her face as she stared at Luke, as though she’d seen the dress she’d been lusting after for months suddenly on sale for half price.

An uncomfortable sensation twisted in the pit of Marisa’s stomach. A sensation that only got worse when the stupid woman kept raising her hand, bidding on Luke again and again.

Beside her, Christie muttered, “I bet it’s not just Luke’s financial package she’s after.”

Gee, thanks for that, St. John. So what I need to hear right now.

Marisa bit down on the words before they escaped and incriminated her. She’d promised Luke she wouldn’t tell anyone and she hadn’t. Besides, if she didn’t talk about it, maybe it didn’t happen, right?

The woman across from her put her hand up yet again. The skank.

Marisa narrowed her gaze at her, the uncomfortable sensation twisting and turning. What if the woman won? What if it wasn’t only financial advice she wanted? What if she found Luke as sexy as Marisa did? What if Luke fancied her, too? Which of course he would since he apparently didn’t go for more than two weeks without a woman and it had been weeks since the supply-room incident. If so, would he lose control and take her up against a door as well? And get
her
pregnant?

No freaking way.

Marisa put her hand up, ignoring Christie’s squeak and Jude’s shocked gasp. Up on stage, Luke’s steely gaze narrowed. The MC said something but Marisa barely heard. Across from her the kids’ show presenter frowned and put in another bid.

Marisa kept her hand up. No, that woman wasn’t going to get her sticky mitts on Luke. Not if she had anything to do with it. She was carrying his baby, for God’s sake.

Yet somehow the stupid presenter woman didn’t seem to be picking up on Marisa’s “don’t go there, girl” vibes. She kept on bidding, which meant Marisa kept having to bid over the top of her. The MC made several idiot comments about women fighting over a man that made Marisa want to spit.

But she was going to win this thing if it killed her.

“Uh, Mar? Do you have that kind of money?” Christie asked at one stage.

“Yeah, sure,” she replied, not really taking in what her friend was saying. Because the truth of the matter was that she’d kind of lost track of the bids. Even that this whole auction thing meant shelling out money. Money that she didn’t have. Which made it vitally important she win Luke.

In fact it wasn’t until the MC banged his gavel and pointed at her and said, “Sold!” that she realized. When he announced the winning amount, she was grateful she was already sitting down.

So not only had she blown her entire savings, she’d blown all her earnings for the next six months, too. Spent money she did not have on a man she did not want, purely because she was jealous. And pregnant. And obviously crazy-pants.

“Mar,” Christie was saying urgently. “Do you know what you just did?”

But Marisa barely heard her. Up on stage Luke shot her a glance loaded with anger and something else she couldn’t define. Then he turned and strode off the stage, a thunderous expression on his face.

Oh God, this was mad. What had she done?

“I totally didn’t mean to do that,” she said faintly to everyone within hearing distance.

Christie caught at her arm but Marisa was suddenly filled with the urgent need to get out. Go find Luke and tell him it was all a terrible mistake. That she’d been in shock the whole evening after peeing on that wretched stick and—

Marisa pushed her chair back abruptly.

“Hey, where are you going?” Christie’s voice was filled with concern.

“The ladies’,” Marisa muttered. “I won’t be a sec.”

The faces at the tables passed in a blur as she walked toward the exit. Behind her, music was playing and the MC announced Caleb.

Marisa kept walking. She had to find Luke. She had to tell him she hadn’t meant to bid on him and didn’t have the money to pay for him.

Then she’d have to tell him about the baby.

Nausea churned in her gut, but she pushed it down.

In the corridor outside the theater, she asked a staff member for directions backstage and he, recognizing her as an auction winner, guided her down another few corridors to the greenroom.

Luke’s tall figure was the only one in there. He was standing in the middle of the room, his attention on his ubiquitous phone. Then the door shut and he glanced up and saw her.

And her stomach dropped away, her mouth drying. How the hell was she going to broach this?

“I’m sorry,” she burst out. “I made a mistake.”

Luke put his phone into his jacket pocket. “Winning the auction, you mean?”

“Yeah.” She realized she was twisting the silk purse in her hands and that if she wasn’t careful, the beads would fall off. So she stopped. “I came to tell you that…perhaps you could run the auction again because I…” She faltered. “I can’t pay.”

Dark brows lowered. “Then why did you bid? You shouldn’t have if you didn’t have the money.”

“I know, I know. I got...carried away.”

His gaze didn’t let up, studying her face before continuing down over the little red silk dress she’d wedged herself into. The one that had made her feel sexy and beautiful when she’d first put it on this evening. The one that felt tight and uncomfortable after two pink lines had appeared on that bloody stick.

And suddenly Luke was striding toward her and she wanted to back away but her legs wouldn’t work. Her mouth opened to protest but by then it was too late. He touched her, an arm around her waist, and she thought he was going to kiss her. Part of her was trembling at the thought.

But he didn’t. He eased her over into a nearby chair and it wasn’t until she’d sat down that she realized she was on the verge of falling over.

“You’ve gone pale,” Luke said, examining her as if she was a piece of machinery that wasn’t working properly. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m…fine.”