Society Girls: Sierra (20 page)

* * *

Joel

My phone is ringing when I get out of the
shower, and I smile when I see Sierra’s name on the screen. “Hi,
Kitten,” I tell her when I answer.

“That commercial. Oh. My. God. Do you have
an extra bat to beat the women off with? I mean, kittens, your sexy
words, and your abs? I almost fainted. Like, seriously swooned to
the floor. Did you have it done already when I saw you?”

“No swooning unless I’m there to catch you.
And no, I just did it today. They edited it immediately, and since
it was for charity, I convinced the network to let it be shown
right away. I still don’t know how they did it, but I’m glad they
made it happen.”

“Me, too. Your abs are so beautiful. Like,
they need a shrine beautiful.”

“I’m more than just my abs, you know,” I
say, trying to sound annoyed, when I’m actually quite amused.

“I mentioned your words, too.”

“You thought what I said was sexy, huh?”

“Mm-hm. I like how you talk just to me, and
almost no one else knows you’re doing it.”

“I’m glad you like it, especially since
those kittens did a number on my chest and abs with their little
claws.”

“They scratched you? Too bad I’m not there
to kiss your abs better.”

“You really do have an obsession with my
abs.”

“I’m sorry. Is it weird?”

“Kind of,” I tell her honestly. “It’s also
kind of funny, and more than a little sexy.”

“I’ll try to restrain myself.”

“Don’t you fucking dare. You want to kiss my
abs, you just go ahead and do it. I love having your mouth on me—on
any part of me.”

“I’ll make sure to give all of your parts
some attention next time I see you.”

“Please do.”

“There’s another reason I’m calling.”

“Okay.”

“Reina let me back in. I’m on probation, but
I’m a recruit again.”

Thank God. “Congrats, Kitten. I knew it
would happen, but I didn’t think it would be this soon.”

She tells me how her friends stood up for
her, and also about how she has to help with the gala. “Can you get
the night off?” she asks.

“Probably. Are you asking me on a date?”

“Um, no. I’m asking you to be auctioned off
for charity. Oh, and yes, to be my date, too.”

“Come again?”

“I’m hoping to. In the meantime, we’re
auctioning off dates with high profile guys to raise extra money at
the gala. I’m the emcee, and I was hoping you’d participate.”

“You really want me to go on a date with
someone else?”

“It’s just one date, and I trust you.”

“If you’re sure, then yes. I’m keeping my
shirt on, though.”

“Seriously? Your abs could bring us a bunch
of money.”

“Yes, I’m serious. I’m more than my abs,
Sierra.”

“I know. You’ll show your biceps then,
right? They’re almost as yummy.”

“It’s a good thing I know you love me for
more than just my body, or else I’d start to feel like a piece of
meat right about now.”

“Oh, I do. I love your mind and heart, too,
but you’ll show off your biceps, won’t you?”

Sierra

Reina and I have gathered all the women in
her office to go over the final details for the gala tomorrow
night. She delegated a lot of the work, while we’ve been
concentrating on the auction. Everything has come together with
everyone else, and I stand to give my report.

“We have lots of guys signed up, and I think
we’ll make a ton of money.”

“Kace will get the most,” Stella says with a
smirk.

“Are you bidding on him?” I ask.

“Hell no. I don’t need to pay for dinner
with him…or dessert. I can’t wait to see those high society ladies
get into a frenzy over him, though.”

“Blake might bring more,” Audrey tells
her.

“We’ll see,” Stella says, not looking
worried.

“How about a little wager?” Ainsley
asks.

The other recruits and I look at each other
in amusement. We’ve seen our mentors have fun and get drunk, but
this is something entirely different. They’re actually going to bet
on which one of their men is going to bring in the most money in an
auction where they’ll have to go on dates with the winners. Not all
of the mentors’ husbands are participating, but the ones who are
will definitely be bringing in big money. The question is, who will
bring in the most?

Before they can agree on terms, there’s a
knock at Reina’s door. She must really be into this bet if she
didn’t notice someone approaching. She tells the doors to open and
Jade’s husband, Nate Anderson, walks in.

“Oh, hey, ladies. I didn’t know you’d all be
here.”

“What’s up, Nate?” Reina asks him.

“I was going to ask why I wasn’t included in
this auction thing.”

I hear several of the mentors gasp and Reina
looks stunned. She’s literally speechless. It’s Jade who speaks for
her.

“She was just looking out for you, Soldier.
We all were.”

“This is…different. What I went through was
degrading, but this is just something fun that’s raising money for
the Foundation.”

“Women will be bidding on you. It could get
a little out of control,” Reina tells him, not meeting his eyes. I
don’t know what happened to him, but it must be bad.

“I can handle it. I promise. Besides, if it
gets too crazy, my own personal Angel will swoop in to save
me.”

“Damn right,” Jade tells him.

“Put him down, Sierra,”
Reina tells me with a smile, before finally looking at him. “If
anything—and I mean,
anything
—sets you off, or is too
uncomfortable, you let us know somehow. I will personally take down
any woman who disrespects you, or any of the other men. I know
there will be catcalls, and whistling, probably even some yelling,
and maybe a fainting or two, but it should still be
respectful.”

“I’ve got this, Rei. But I promise to let
you all know if I get overwhelmed.”

“Deal.”

Jade pulls him down for a kiss. “I love
you.”

“Love you, too,” he tells her, before
turning to all of us. “I’ll leave you ladies to the rest of your
planning.”

“I’m in on the bet,” Jade says when he’s
walked out. “My man is so gonna win.”

* * *

Joel

There’s some crazy shit about to go down in
this auction. I’ve got an ace up my sleeve, but the other guys have
pulled out all the stops, too. Literally, all of them. I don’t even
have words for what I’m seeing as we all get ready to take the
stage. It’s either going to be epically awesome or an epic fail
with some of these guys. Here’s hoping for the former.

Race car driver, Ares Dixon, is the first
one out. He’s got his racing suit on, but the top half is hanging
down around his hips. He comes across as cocky to me, but the
ladies seem to like it. He gets the Foundation $100,000.

Zack is the first one of the Society
husbands out, and the sight of him with just his shoulder pads and
football pants on brings the screams. He tosses the foam footballs
in his hands out to the crowd and flexes his muscles while walking
down the runway. I’m not surprised when he brings in $200,000.

Olympic swimmer, Knox Williams, goes out
wet. Literally. He had someone spray him down backstage, and water
is sliding over his muscles as he walks. The tiny Speedo he has on
hides nothing, and security has to carry a woman off the stage when
she rushes it in her ball gown. I’m thinking the $150,000 his
winning bidder pledges is a steal.

Kace goes next. He’s swaggering down the
runway while singing. He moves his hips in time to the music, and
the women go wild. $350,000 more is coming the Foundation’s
way.

His bandmate, Wayne, walks down the runway
with his guitar slung over his back and a cocky smirk on his face.
That’s all he needs, apparently, since it brings in $510,000.

Nate walks out with his hands taped, his
chest oiled, and his shorts slung low on his hips. He throws some
punches and brings in another $550,000.

Brayden just walks out in a tux with his
crown on his head, and brings in in $300,000. I guess dinner with a
prince is a pretty big deal.

When Aiden walks out
to
Sexy Back
, I
think he’s just going to strut. Until he stops at the end and
starts stripping. No lie. The guy has obviously done this before.
He’s swiveling his hips while dropping his clothes, and if I
thought the women were wild before, by the time he gets down to his
boxers, they’re positively crazed. Even Sierra’s fanning herself,
which makes me want to punch him. $625,000 is his donor’s
contribution.

NBA star, and Ellie’s brother, Dylan
Gallagher dribbles a ball down the runway while only wearing his
uniform shorts. He spins the ball on his finger, earning him
$275,000.

Blake goes out dressed as everyone’s
favorite movie character of his. He waves and blows kisses to the
women. An easy $350,00 more for the Foundation.

Matt struts out like he’s James Bond in his
custom suit. He poses at the end of the runway like he’s in a
fashion show. Cha-ching goes another $400,000.

Miles is wearing his old jersey open over
jeans. He doesn’t do anything special, just walking like normal.
And he walks off with $320,000.

The Griffin Brothers each bring in over
$500,000, and then it’s my turn. I pick up the little kitten from
her carrier and check my hair in the mirror as Sierra starts my
introduction. I did what she asked, and have a sleeveless shirt on,
showing off my guns. I have jeans and boots on, too. It’s the
kitten and the arms that will bring in the money, so I’ll be
playing up both.

“Joel has been very vocal about losing his
Kitten, but maybe a nice date with one of you lucky ladies will
help to ease the pain,” Sierra is saying as I walk out, holding the
kitten I brought up by my chin so she can nuzzle against me.
Sierra’s smiling, but I can tell she’s not enjoying herself at the
moment. She trusts me, but she doesn’t want me to go on a date with
one of the screaming women.

“Not a chance,” I whisper
in
my
Kitten’s ear
as I walk by her. “My Kitten is irreplaceable.” She smiles, and I
almost kiss her.
Almost
. I need her to make the first move in that
direction.

The bidding has already started by the time
I get to the end of the runway. No one except for security—and
Brayden—is expecting me to jump off the stage. The security guys
surround me as I walk over to the table where he’s sitting with
Darcy and their friends and family. Her eyes widen as I hold out
the kitten to her.

“From Brayden, because you’re his Cat, and
from me, because you take good care of my Kitten.”

She leans up and kisses my cheek before
kissing Brayden full on the mouth. That’s my cue to head back to
the stage. I hop back up and hear some yell out a bid for $600,000.
Not too shabby. I look that way and see a whole table of women
smiling. I recognize some of them from outside of the stadium, and
while I’m surprised to see them here, money is money. I was just
hoping to be going on a date with someone who wasn’t already trying
to get in my pants. Maybe I’ll bring security with me.

Just when I think they’ve won, another bid
comes from across the room. It’s for $700,000, and it comes from a
table that’s similar to the other one. Well, okay. This is
definitely not what I was expecting, and apparently neither was
Sierra, because before anyone in the audience can celebrate a win,
she yells out her own bid from behind me.

“One million dollars. Sold for one million
dollars.”

My head whips around, and I
see her shrug and bite her lip. I throw my head back and laugh as
she starts walking to me. I can hear yelling from the bunnies about
it not being fair and cheers from Sierra’s friends, urging her on,
but all I’m focused on is her as she comes for me.
Back to me.

She’s got on a sexy, one-shouldered blue
gown that has a sheer triangle showing a hint of her left breast.
The bottom is like a toga, gathered on one side, and trailing on
the floor behind her. Silver heels are peeking out on the side
where it’s open a little, and I want to run my hands up her leg,
opening her up to me. She doesn’t stop when she gets to me, but
grabs my biceps and pulls me to her, kissing the hell out of
me.

“Hi, Kitten,” I say when we break apart.

The crowd goes even wilder, and then I
realize she’s still got the microphone in her hand. They all heard
me, and now they know. I was never hoping for a cat to come back to
me. I was waiting for Sierra, my one and only Gatinha.

She leans her head on my shoulder, laughing
as she rubs my arms. After about a minute, she lifts her head and
turns back to the crowd. “Thank you all for coming and bidding.
Please go to the back of the room to pay if you’ve won a date. On
behalf of the Corrigan & Co. Foundation, we thank you for your
generosity in our live auction. The silent auction items will still
be open for another two hours. Your dinner will be served
shortly.”

She turns off the microphone, and drops it
to the ground before wrapping her arms around me again. “I just
paid a million dollars for a date with you.”

“I thought you were buying my arms.”

“Abs, Joel, abs. We’ve been over this
already. Focus.”

“All I can focus on is the fact that you
just claimed me in front of this room full of people.”

“Yeah, well, I went a little nuts when I saw
all those women bidding on you.”

“Just a little. Do you need a loan? I can
pay the million dollars. I’d be more than happy to do it.”

“No. I have the money.” She bites her lip
again, and I kiss her teeth away.