Heart Racer: A Billionaire Love Story Page 16

  Iris bucked her hips, trying to get his fingers to venture even deeper inside. He continued to tease her. He stared at her face and watched her expression as he hooked his fingers in her velvet folds rhythmically, careful not to send her over the edge. She clenched her teeth and curled her toes. She reached down, fumbling with the clasp of his pants. She had to have him. Now!

  Finally, she managed to unbutton his pants. They fell to his ankles. Iris looked down to see a large tent pitched in his boxer briefs. She grinned, her hand slowly sneaking inside until it found his throbbing dick. Her soft palm slid along its length.

  “Mmm…” He moaned, his eyes rolling back in his head in pure bliss. His cock twitched in her hand, waiting for her to make her next move. She grinned, noting the effect she was having on him. She continued to stroke him, faster now. Her fingertips caressed the smooth surface until she took his tip between her thumb and forefinger, rolling it between them. Damien’s moans grew louder as primal instincts welled up inside him.

  He slammed Iris into the wall once more. Now it was he who couldn’t wait. She gasped, her back arching at the impact. Holding her with one arm, he yanked down his boxers and rubbed himself against her entrance. They looked into each other’s eyes. Iris felt her heart skipping a beat as she found herself drowning in a sea of hazel. Their faces drew closer and met in a passionate kiss.

  Subtly, Damien managed to pull out a condom from his wallet and slide it onto his length as their kiss intensified, taking their breath away. Right before she could pull away, Damien rammed inside of her. Iris gasped, feeling him fill every inch of her. She clung to him, her tight pussy expanding to accommodate his thick girth. Slowly, Damien started to move in and out of her, keeping a steady rhythm before he picked up the pace, going faster and faster, his head buried in her neck.

  Iris’ moans echoed through the stairwell. The sound of their heavy breathing soon turned into a cacophony of grunts and moans. Iris could feel his cock grow larger inside of her with each pulse. As Damien picked up the pace, he could hear her juices make a slurping sound as he thrust deeper into her.

  “Fuck… I’m going to cum.” Iris called out, pulling at Damien’s hair. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head in ecstasy as she shivered with delight. “Fuck me harder, please!” She cried out once more as Damien kept ramming into her, harder and harder.

  Damien lost all control. He fucked her with an animalistic lust he had never felt before. Desire coursed deep inside of his veins as he forced every inch of himself inside her wet pussy. Soon, however, it became too much for him. With his fingers tight around her hips, he let out a long, drawn-out groan that reverberated off the walls.

  He held her tight and soon after her waves of pleasure subsided he came hard inside of his condom, twitching against her quivering pussy. Blown away, he eased his grip on Iris, She felt weightless after her earth-shattering orgasm. Her heart was racing, her head was spinning and her cheeks were flushed. She breathed hard, leaning against Damien, his cock slowly easing out of her tight folds.

  Eventually, she gathered herself together. She pulled her dress back into place, zipped the back and smoothed the front. “Thanks. It was nice to meet you, Damien.” She smirked and said, “Just what the doctor ordered. I needed that.”

  She picked up her purse from the floor. She checked her makeup in her compact and refreshed her lips. Damien buttoned his pants and ran his fingers through his short hair. He watched as she fumbled inside her purse for a pen and scrap of paper. She quickly scribbled something on the paper and folded it neatly before placing it in the pocket of his jacket. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  Without saying another word to him, she turned her back to him, adjusted her heels again and made her way back to the exhibition.

  With the sound of the door’s thud, he quickly pulled out the piece of paper and looked at it.

  Call me!

  (678) 777- 0909

  Natasha <3

  To be continued…

  Alter Ego is an exclusive bonus novella available only to subscribers of the Starla Harris Author Newsletter.

  So if you want to know what happens next for Iris and Damien, sign up now at:

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  The Auction

  Book Description

  When Lia Malcolm agrees to take part in a fundraising auction to raise money for the theater she does art direction for, she doesn’t realize that the grand prize is a date with her.

  And when the son of one of the theater’s biggest donors, cocky billionaire playboy Travis Paulson, bids to win, she couldn’t be more annoyed. But, as one date turns into three, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Travis—against her better judgement.

  With the fate of the theater hanging in the balance, can Lia find a way to keep Travis close without letting him get inside her head?

  HOT, SEXY, and SWEET! A fast-paced billionaire love story filled with sensuous heat!

  Warning: This book contains some hot and steamy sex scenes. Intended for 18+ readers only.

  Download Your Full Copy of The Auction Here:

  www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSPR0MQ

  FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

  Chapter One

  Lia Malcolm took a deep breath. “All right, here we go. Wish me luck.” She smiled briefly at Maggie and turned toward the stage. From their vantage point behind the set, they could see the action perfectly. The show was coming to an end and now it was almost time for Lia to announce the winner of tonight’s fundraising auction. A delicious wave of excitement traveled through her body as she took a step closer to the stage. This moment was the culmination of months of her hard work, and she intended to enjoy every second of it.

  “Erm, Lia, wait,” Maggie said. “There’s something you should know.”

  Lia turned back to face her friend, who stood behind her fiddling awkwardly with a strand of frizzy red hair. Lia loved Maggie’s wild curls; she thought they matched her friend’s bubbly personality perfectly. “What is it, Maggie?” Lia ran a hand over her own dark brown hair. It was usually pulled back in a ponytail, but tonight Maggie convinced her to go for a stylish updo. A few strands escaped the pins and framed her heart-shaped face. “Did my hair come loose?”

  “No, it’s perfect. You look beautiful.” Maggie beamed at her, but then bit her lip sheepishly. “Do you remember when I told you I had a brilliant idea for the main prize tonight?”

  Lia nodded. “Sure. You wouldn’t tell me what it was, only that I should trust you.”

  “And? Do you?”

  Lia smiled. “Of course I trust you. You’re the best finance director this theater has ever seen and could ever hope for.”

  Maggie lowered her eyes. “Thanks. I don’t know about that, but I’m certainly the most dedicated.”

  Lia took Maggie’s hand. It was uncharacteristically cold. “Yes. I know you’d do anything to keep us going. Pages Theater needs people like you.”

  Maggie blushed. “And people like you. I’ve never seen an art director more invested in her job than you.”

  Lia shrugged and smiled. “I’m just doing my job.”

  Maggie nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly. You are Pages. Without you, none of this would be possible.” She gestured around the backstage area. As usual, it was buzzing with activity. Actors stood in the wings on tiptoes behind the set, listening intently while they waited for their cues. Wanda, the stylist fussed with some last minute adjustments to costumes and make-up. Ronnie, the stage manager peeked out from behind a large tree (the theme for tonight’s gala performance was ‘The Enchanted Forest’), and pantomimed instructions to the sound and light board operators. Lia’s heart swelled with love and pride as she took a moment to reflect in all that was happening around her. These were her people, her friends, and her th
eater family. I won’t let you down. We will save this theater together, she thought to herself.

  A violin sounded on stage and Christina, the female lead launched into the final song of the evening. A delicious shiver ran down Lia’s spine. It was her favorite song and Christina’s version of it was pure perfection.

  “Maggie, I really need to go now,” she told her friend, extracting her hand from Maggie’s grip.

  “Right. So, considering that you basically are Pages, I thought the main prize for tonight’s auction should be you,” Maggie blurted out.

  Lia’s eyes widened with disbelief and the color drained from her face. “What are you talking about? You’re selling me?”

  Maggie chuckled nervously. “Well, not exactly. I’m selling a date with you.”

  Lia took a quick breath in. “What? Why would you do that?” She suddenly felt queasy and lifted an icy hand to her stomach. A date? With a stranger? For money? Wasn’t there a name for people who did that?

  “Listen, Lia.” Maggie placed a placatory hand on her friend’s arm. “You said you wanted something out of the box. Something personal that would really get people bidding. Well, what’s more personal than quality time spent with the very person behind Pages? The heart and soul of our theater?”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of a costume from one of our shows,” Lia mumbled.

  “That’s totally not out of the box. That’s right in the very middle of the box,” Maggie pointed out.

  Lia shrugged. “Whatever. But you know I’m not dating right now. How could you do this to me without asking?”

  “Because you would never have agreed. And frankly? You need to get out more.”

  “I’m out all the time,” Lia protested.

  “Yes, because of work. You never go out for the fun of it. It’s a crime, really. This will be a perfect opportunity for you to re-enter the world of dating.”

  “I hate the world of dating.”

  The song was coming to a close. After a second of stunned silence, the audience broke out in applause. Ronnie waved at Lia to let her know it was time. Maggie pushed her toward the spotlight. “Go. Announce the winner.”

  Lia snorted. “Yeah. I’m quite sure dozens of people bid great amounts of money for a date with me.”

  Maggie held up a finger and pulled out her phone from her clutch. She tapped at the screen. “Let me see.” She grinned. “We’ve had fifty-eight bids so far. No, wait. Another one just came in.” She gaped at her phone. “Wow.”

  “What is it?” Lia asked miserably.

  “You wouldn’t believe how much cash this bidder is willing to pay for a date with you. We should sell you more often,” Maggie mumbled, still tapping away at her phone.

  The applause died down. Ronnie was gesturing wildly to Lia. It was time. “Just great,” she sighed and drew herself to her full height. She smoothed the front of her dark blue velvet dress and walked onto the stage as the familiar faint smell of sweat and petroleum oil enveloped her and the stage lights temporarily blinded her. How on Earth was she supposed to announce that the main prize was a date with her and not come across without looking conceited or desperate? How could Maggie drop a bomb like this on her at a time like now? Lia’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Jeffrey, one of the audio guys. She hadn’t noticed him come on stage behind her. He gently pressed a microphone and an earpiece into her hand and left just as quickly and quietly as he’d come. Wonderful. I come out on stage without a mic, she thought with a frown. Get a grip, girl!

  She inserted the earpiece and immediately heard Ronnie and Maggie bickering about the budget and how they should allocate the money raised from tonight’s fundraiser. All right, now or never. She raised the microphone to her mouth.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for attending Pages Theater’s first annual fundraising gala. I hope you enjoyed watching the show as much as we enjoyed putting it on.” The audience applauded. Lia smiled and felt her confidence returning. “As you know, Pages is a newcomer on the scene. A few of us started it three years ago with a bold dream and very little cash.” Ripples of laughter flowed through the audience. “But we were lucky, because we found people who shared our dream. You.” Lia gestured around the audience. “You believed in us and proved to us that our dream is worth living, that there is demand, and interest for our unconventional approach to theater.”

  The actors filed onto the stage, followed by Ronnie, Wanda, Maggie and most of the stage crew and technicians.

  “And we are eternally thankful for that. You are the most wonderful audience we could hope for. This is for you.” Lia looked over her shoulder at her colleagues and nodded. The crowd erupted into applause and cheering. The audience laughed as some of them even stood up and took a bow. Happiness blossomed in Lia’s chest. She was right where she was supposed to be.

  When the laughter and cheering died down, Lia continued. “We are intent on keeping our shared dream alive and we promise that we’ll continue surprising, shocking and hopefully, delighting you with great performances night after night, here, at Pages.”

  The audience murmured agreement. Lia cleared her throat. “In fact, I can tell you that we keep surprising ourselves as well. Right until five minutes ago, I had no idea what the main prize for tonight’s auction was.”

  A few members of the audience laughed.

  “But I’m really grateful to Maggie Mains, our brilliant finance director for the idea, because I couldn’t be happier that I get a chance to go out with one of you and talk about our shared passion for the theater. Maggie?” She turned and beckoned for her friend to come forward. Maggie smiled and joined Lia at the front of the stage.

  “Maggie here manages our online bidding page. How much time is left from the auction, Maggie?” Lia asked.

  “About thirty seconds,” Maggie said into the microphone, checking her phone.

  “Then I still have a chance!” somebody yelled from the audience. There was an outburst of laughter and a few people made a show of grabbing their phones and pretending to place last minute bids.

  “They really are bidding,” Maggie whispered. Lia felt herself blushing. Even though she disliked being thrust into the spotlight like this, she had to admit that it was nice to have people fighting for a chance to take her out.

  Maggie’s phone buzzed and the countdown started.

  “Alright, people, you have ten seconds left,” Maggie announced breathlessly. “Nine, eight, seven…”

  The audience picked up the countdown and chanted the numbers along with Maggie. “Six, five, four, three, two, one!” There was laughter, clapping and cheering. Then the audience fell silent. Maggie tapped away on her phone furiously. Ronnie barked a few instructions into his walkie-talkie and the spotlight swept over the audience. The low rumble of a drum flowed from the speakers.

  Lia stared at Maggie who was still hunched over her phone. Who is it going to be? she asked herself. Her heartbeat picked up.

  Maggie let out a small yelp and shoved her phone under Lia’s nose. It took Lia a few moments to understand what she was seeing. Her mouth fell open and she felt tears of excitement prickle at the back of her eyes.

  “Wow,” she said in awe. A wave of adrenalin washed over her whole body.

  “Tell us already!” a male voice demanded from the audience.

  “We can’t take the anticipation!” somebody else added.

  Lia glanced up, trying to gather herself. The drumroll became slightly louder. “A few minutes earlier I said that we were going to keep surprising you.” She took a deep breath. “But now here I am, unable to say a thing because you surprised me yet again with your passion and commitment to our theater. I’m incredibly grateful and happy to announce that we received seventy-five bids for the main prize. And the winning bid is no less than fifty thousand dollars! Thank you!” The last words were almost a shout.

  There were loud gasps of shock from both the audien
ce and the crew on stage. Maggie threw her arms around Lia. “This is so much more than what we hoped for!” she whispered excitedly into Lia’s ear.

  The actors and the crew cheered, clapped and hugged each other. Lia felt hands patting her back, then pulling her into a large group hug. She opened her arms happily. Fifty thousand dollars meant they could pay off their debts and operate for another few months at least.

  There were supporting cheers and yells from the audience. But after a few moments, impatient voices joined the chorus. “Who is it?” “Who won?”

  Lia laughed. She extricated herself from the group hug and raised her mic. “Sorry, I got carried away.” She checked Maggie’s phone. The drumroll intensified. “The winning bidder is SpaceRanger.”

  The drums stopped. There was a second or two of complete silence as the spotlight scanned the audience, looking for the winner.

  The VIP section erupted in a loud burst of hooting and cheering as a tall figure emerged from the shadows in the crowd. He punched the air in victory as the people around him congratulated him. Lia squinted her eyes, wondering if she would recognize their benefactor. When the limelight found its focus it zoomed in on the winner. She saw a mop of dirty blond hair and a boyish grin. He looked vaguely familiar to Lia, but she couldn’t place him.

  A techie shot out from behind Lia with a microphone in his hand. He trotted through the rows of the auditorium toward the VIP section. The winner was still celebrating with the enthusiasm and confidence of an athlete winning Olympic gold when the techie reached him. He took the microphone and cleared his throat.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” He spoke in a low and smooth voice. Lia tilted his head to the side. Where have I heard that voice before?

  “My name is Travis Paulson and I’m a great fan of Pages Theater. And possibly, an even greater fan of Ms. Lia Malcolm.” He gave a self-confident grin and at that moment, Lia felt her heart drop into her toes. She suddenly remembered where she’d met this guy before.