On the Fly (Crimson Romance) (18 page)

Carter tried to loosen the tight expression on his face, but it didn’t work very well. His tried to smile, but it felt more like a wince. He let Reese lead him toward the bar and fought the urge to look over his shoulder. Her image was burned onto his brain anyway.

That dress.
What there was of it, anyway. Emerald green against her fair skin. More skin than dress. A halter with a neckline that plunged to just above her navel with diamond clips that spanned the exposed skin and connected the fabric. The skirt flared out in a bell around her knees in an ironic attempt at modesty.

The whole giving-her-up thing wasn’t working out very well. Standing behind Reese in line at the bar, Carter turned around for another look, and across the room Jacey’s back was to him. Her
bare
back. More than halfway down, three horizontal strips of fabric held the dress together but left a wide diamond of skin bare
right
above her —

“Drink this.”

A glass appeared in front of Carter’s face, and he took it from Reese and threw it back without bothering to ask what it was. His throat burned, and he coughed. Scotch. At least the distraction held his libido in check. He gave the glass back then slid a hand over his face and through his hair. “She’s doing this on purpose.”

“Looking hot? You’re right. How dare she?”

“Dressing like that, coming here with
him
.”

“Phlynn. Even if the rookie was interested, you know she’s not. The whole city knows she’s not after the headlines you made. And I think she looks good. I mean, not that I’m — I would never … Hey, I think they want us to start heading up.” Reese’s smile looked pained as he stepped around Carter, almost sprinting to the stage.

Great. Carter had told the guys he’d stay away from Jacey. He just thought it was implied that
they
stay away from her too. But Jacey was no longer with Cole. The rest of the Sinners took turns pulling her close for flashing cameras. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

She was smiling and laughing, and her hair fell over her shoulders in waves. He wanted to be there, laughing with her. Wanted that smile aimed in his direction. He replayed their last conversation in his head, saw the hurt in her eyes, and hated himself for his choice of words.
God,
he was an idiot.

• • •

Jacey gasped and laughed in surprise as Ben Collier scooped her up damsel-in-distress style and posed for the cameras. It took some inventive twisting to keep her dress in place and avoid a wardrobe malfunction fiasco. She patted Ben’s shoulder, and he carefully set her down so the next player could swoop in for a photo op. She had to admit that it felt good to have the guys’ support. The daring dress might have something to do with it. At least none of them were copping a feel. And the one player she wanted to cop a feel wouldn’t come near her.

She’d spotted Carter as soon as she entered the ballroom. He’d been by the bar with Reese, and the look on his face when he saw her with Dylan Cole could have rivaled Medusa’s death stare. It wasn’t like she and Dylan were on a date. For God’s sake, she was seven years older than the kid. Okay, maybe it was a
little
satisfying to see the jealousy flare on Carter’s face. If he was mad at her for showing up with someone else, that was his problem. She bit the inside of her cheek, shook her head, and took a slow breath. No crying in front of the cameras.

Jacey faked a confident, carefree smile and made her way to the stage. Time to get the show on the road. Hopping up the steps in her black, strappy heels, she accepted a wireless microphone from a stagehand and nodded to the DJ to turn down the music. Standing center stage, she bared her teeth at the crowd and hoped it looked happy. “Good evening, and thank you for coming to our first Sinners’ bachelor auction.”

Women in the audience clapped, catcalled, and whistled. A glance toward the players told her they were happy with the attention. Playboy grins abounded, and not one man looked embarrassed. Well … that wasn’t entirely true. Carter’s smile was cocky, but his ears were red and his posture tense.

“Let’s get started, then.” Jacey stepped to the far side of the stage and motioned to the first man in line. “It’s his first year in the NHL, forward Dylan Cole!”

Dylan strode to center stage, hooked his thumbs in his pant pockets, shifted his shoulders back and lifted his chin.

“We’ll start the bidding at one hundred dollars.”

Girls ranging from eighteen to twenty moved closer to the stage and waved numbered paddles in the air. Jacey smiled and shrugged. “Judging by that response, who will give me three hundred?”

One or two paddles lowered but the rest remained.

“Six?” More lowered paddles. “Seven?” Only three paddles stayed put. “Eight hundred?”

One woman dropped out, and another looked uncertain but kept her paddle up.

“Eight fifty?”

The woman with doubts lowered her paddle, and the remaining girl shrieked and jumped.

“Sold, for eight hundred and fifty dollars.”

Dylan strutted offstage, down the side steps, kissed the girl’s cheek and offered her his arm in a charming gesture beyond his twenty years. Her pulse sped up as the line moved along. She dreaded the moment she’d have to sell the man she couldn’t get out of her mind. Or her heart. Most of the guys went for the same amount of money or higher. Reese garnered a thousand dollars, to the jeering amusement of his teammates. And then Carter walked onto the stage.

Her palms felt sweaty, her throat dry. Before she could say a word, every last paddle shot in the air. She cleared her throat. “Okay, let’s start with five hundred.”

No one budged.

“One thousand.” Five paddles lowered. “One thousand, five hundred.” Half of the remaining dropped out. “Two thousand.” All but five gave up — the Phlynn-addicts.

Carter shifted uncomfortably center stage. His fingers curled then flexed, and she could tell he was trying not to ball his fists. To his credit, he kept his smile glued in place. Jacey was having a harder time. Standing in shadow, she narrowed her eyes at the Phlynn-addicts, wanting to pull their fake eyelashes out but keeping her voice cheery. “Two thousand five hundred.”

Two women dropped out.

“Three thousand.”

The women looked at each other competitively.

The Phlynn-addict with the biggest hair and chest jumped to wave her paddle above her friends. “Four thousand!”

The other two women looked daggers at her, and Jacey’s jaw dropped for a second. “Uh … it looks like we have four thousand. Do we have four thousand five hundred?”

The enthusiastic bidder looked like she might paddle her friends across their RuPaul made-up faces. They grudgingly cowered.

“Sold, for four thousand dollars!”

The winner screamed and bounced, and Carter appeared to catch himself mid-cringe. Jacey smiled to herself. If she had to watch him with someone else tonight, at least it didn’t look like he would enjoy it. As their paths crossed, she met Carter’s eye and saw a flash of something like frustration, longing, desperation, all tangled up and ready to burst. Her stomach fell. She wanted to find a dark corner and hide for the rest of the night, but she recovered and faced the crowd.

“Thank you all so much for your generous donations toward cancer research. Enjoy your dates!” More cheers and whistles rang out, and Jacey made a conscious effort to not fall down the steps as she moved offstage.
That look.
She didn’t know what it meant and wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out. But she had a feeling it was inevitable.

• • •

Carter held back a flinch as his date’s inch-long, red fingernails dug into his palm. She had him in a death grip, and he wondered briefly if he’d need a tetanus shot by the end of the night. Jacey looked pretty amused that he’d ended up with one of the Phlynn-addicts.

Just thinking the word made his face flush. Sure he played along and acted like he liked it, but it was
embarrassing
. It occurred to him he didn’t even know what to call her. He’d only seen her at games in painted on T-shirts that said Mrs. Phlynn in rhinestones. He inwardly shuddered at the thought. She wasn’t a bad-looking woman. She sure filled out the sequined dress nearly tattooed to her skin. In fact, most men in Las Vegas would probably envy him. But she wasn’t his type. Not anymore. He touched her shoulder while they waited for drinks at the bar. “I don’t think I ever caught your name.”

“Oh, it’s Amber.” Her tinkling giggle grated on his growing headache.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“We’ve met before,” she laughed and batted lightly at his arm as if he should have known that. When his blank expression turned searching, Amber frowned. “I’m always first in line when you do a signing after a game. And we skated together at the meet and greet.”

None of that was news. Carter was all too aware of having to put on the polite act for Amber and her friends during signings and publicity events. He knew they’d spoken before but couldn’t remember any of it. He could flirt in his sleep, so he wasn’t surprised Amber expected him to remember. Probably he’d said something cocky or leading, but he was sure it hadn’t happened recently. Not since …

His eyes landed on Jacey sitting at her table. She held a pink cocktail, and he watched as she took a sip. Her eyes met his for an instant then darted away. His chest tightened and he leaned forward, but a hand appeared in front of his face, fingers snapping for his attention. He blinked and glanced back at Amber, who didn’t look happy.

He dialed up the charm with a small grin. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Of course I remember. How could I forget a woman like you?” Not possible. For all the wrong reasons. But Amber didn’t need to know that. He just had to keep reminding himself she’d paid four thousand dollars for him tonight. Or her father had. Either way, it was money for a good charity.

• • •

Jacey made a conscious effort not to look toward the bar and instead focused on the crowd. She sat alone at the table since everyone was dancing or drinking or mingling, and that was fine with her. Alone wasn’t so bad. She just couldn’t stand to be near Carter and Bimbo Barbie any longer. As she finished her drink, Dylan Cole dropped into the chair beside her.

She gave him a pleasantly surprised smile and arched a brow. “Hey, kiddo. Where’s your date?”

Dylan frowned and leaned back in his seat, stretching out his long legs with a sigh. “Pukin’ her guts out in the bathroom. Said she had some bad sushi. I offered to drive her home, but she said she’d call a cab. I think she was embarrassed. I kinda feel bad, ya know? After spendin’ all that money. If you have her address from the auction list, I’d like to send her some flowers tomorrow.”

She smiled and set a hand on Dylan’s forearm. “That’s really sweet of you; I’m sure she’d love that.”

“Ehh, it’s only right.” He shrugged and looked at his shoes, then the crowd, and finally back at her. “You really do look beautiful tonight, boss. All the guys think so.” She blushed and shook her head, but Dylan nudged her with his elbow. “No, I’m serious. ‘Specially Cap. You didn’t see, but when you touched my arm just now, I think he had an aneurysm. And tomorrow at practice, I think he’ll make sure that I have one.”

Cap. Captain.
It took her a minute before Jacey realized Dylan was talking about Carter. Her lips parted, and a mirthless laugh bubbled out. “He is an ass.” Her gaze cut to Dylan and she amended, “Don’t quote me on that.”

Dylan barked a laugh and shook his head. “Naaah … we chirp at him in the locker room, but he really cares about you. He’d never say it to us … and by the way you’re lookin’ at me, I can tell he hasn’t said it to you — hell, he probably hasn’t admitted it to himself yet — but the guy’s crazy about you.”

She scoffed, watching Carter lean in and hold Barbie’s hand, meeting her gaze every now and then when his eyes weren’t glued to her E cups.

Dylan cleared his throat and sat up straight. “He’s just getting you back for flirting with me. I mean
I
know you weren’t, but
he
doesn’t. Make no mistake. His logic’s missing an
On
switch right now. But you can’t fault a guy for being an idiot when he likes a girl. It’s … in our DNA or somethin’.”

“It’s nice of you to defend him, but I stick to my previous statement.”

Dylan shifted uncomfortably until the words tumbled out. “I know you guys must be on some kinda break since you haven’t been in the paper lately. He made a promise to the team it wouldn’t happen again. And we don’t wanna be a joke, but when the rumors die down, if there’s any way you can … I think you should give him a second chance. Guy’s been like a big brother to me since I was drafted. He deserves to be happy. You both do.” He looked at her to solidify his point then glanced out at the dance floor.

She was speechless. The things Dylan said didn’t mesh with the Carter who was concerned about the city thinking he was “screwing” his boss. But they
did
mesh with the Carter she’d known before that.

Dylan looked back to her and stood, holding out his hand. “If he’s going to kill me in practice anyway, I might as well deserve it. How ‘bout a dance?”

She glanced at Carter just in time to witness Barbie fall against his chest in the fakest trip she’d ever seen. The Russian judges would give her a ten. Jacey rolled her eyes and slapped her hand into Dylan’s palm, letting him pull her to her feet. “You’re on.”

The floor was crowded with couples, so they had to dance close. Dylan kept one hand respectfully on her back while the other cupped her hand like he was afraid of breaking it. She smiled and set her chin on his shoulder. They swayed in small circles to the slow music, and on every rotation she locked eyes with Carter, whose teeth were clenched tight enough to crush diamonds. With a pointed look and a tilt of her head, she reminded him to be nice to his date, and he turned back to Barbie reluctantly.

Dylan murmured, “Told you,” in her ear.

She smiled, hoping the rookie was right. When the song ended, she excused herself to the restroom.

To her back, Dylan called, “Hey, if you see my date in there, tell her the offer’s still good to take her home! Her name’s Lauren.”