She would be sold tonight. And Jewell had endured some rough nights when she’d been on the streets of Seattle, so she could certainly brave a month with a stranger. She just had to keep reminding herself why she was doing it — it was all for Justin.
“You will bid on the girls by holding up your sign. Each bid goes up by increments of five thousand dollars.”
The room quieted down as the first girl was brought onstage and made to twist and turn, to show off her assets. She smiled as she tugged on the material of her dress, letting her nipples show. That didn’t count as a wardrobe malfunction in this venue. An appreciative murmur rose from the audience, and her price climbed.
Jewell sat with the others off to the side of the stage, where they could see the proceedings, but where the audience couldn’t see them. Ms. Beaumont wanted to keep the men waiting, wondering, salivating.
The parading and the bidding and the winning seemed to go on and on, and Jewell sat stone-still while she waited for her name to be called. She refused to cave in to the tears that were fighting to fall. This wasn’t the time or the place. When she had her brother with her, when she was free of this place, free of this life, that was when she could allow herself a few tears.
And not a moment sooner.
“Our next lady of the night is Jewell, and a real gem she is. She’s our newest member and has only been with one client to date. Her training is complete, and she is willing and able to make all of your deepest desires come true. Let the bidding begin at twenty thousand.”
Signs bobbed in the air as Jewell stood up stiffly and moved onto the stage, turning as she’d been taught, bending down, her body nothing but a tool, an instrument of seduction for profit. The price rose higher and higher, and as no one voiced their bids, she had no clue what type of men were bidding on her, but the higher her price went, the more frightened she became, even though the more money that was spent for her, the more that went into her pocket.
However, men with the kind of money to bid this much expected much more than plain-vanilla missionary-position sex. Her unshed tears now burned inside her, but she pushed them back, made her mind a blank, and turned off all feeling — especially fear. This was just a month — even if it was a very long month. She would get through it.
“Two hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
The audience’s gasp was loud and clear, and Jewell’s body froze. The man had more than tripled the last bid, and he wasn’t bothering with holding up a sign. He’d spoken aloud. She had no idea who he was, but would she be able to give what a man willing to pay that price would expect from her?
After tonight she might be of no use to her brother, because the man could do whatever he wanted, and for that kind of money, she wasn’t sure she’d make it out alive.
Chapter Two
Sitting in his den with the lights turned low, a fire creating a pleasant crackling sound, and the perfect cognac warming his belly, Blake stared out his window, though he saw nothing but black. It was quite fitting, since blackness was all he’d felt for so long that seeing it was almost soothing.
A smile turned his lips up the barest of millimeters, though, for tonight some of that blackness would fade. It wouldn’t disappear — it never would. But tonight he would have Jewell back. Hell, he’d own her outright.
“Sir, I still think this is a very bad idea.”
“You dare to argue with me?” Blake thundered.
“You can save the tone for someone who might actually be intimidated by your bark.”
The only reason Max Kane was still standing in Blake’s den instead of being thrown out onto the street was that the man had worked for him for the past ten years, and he had always been loyal and discreet. And Blake trusted him. That wasn’t something that could be said for very many people.
“I’ll have her back and she will answer for her lies,” Blake said, when Max didn’t back down.
“She told you the truth about her brother. You thought that was a lie,” Max pointed out.
“So why didn’t she push the issue? And why would she be working as a call girl if she has a brother to care for?”
“Maybe if you asked her the reasons, she would tell you.”
“Or maybe she would just lie to me more. Lie by omission. And she owes me, dammit.”
“Owes you for what?”
“I paid for services that I didn’t receive,” Blake pointed out.
“Seriously, Blake? You were the one who dumped her back at the agency before her time was up, so don’t try to get away with this crap. I’ve known you a very long time, and though the rest of the world thinks you’re a total asshole, I’ve been privileged enough to see another side of you. Right now, however, you’re proving the world right about you.” Max’s breath came out in an exasperated rush, and he began pacing.
“Good. This is who I am. If you don’t like it, you know where the door is,” Blake growled.
“It would do you good if I walked out, but you know I won’t,” Max said before helping himself to a beer. “It’s a wonder I don’t drink a lot more working for you,” he added with a laugh before taking a long swallow.
“When did it become okay for you to put down your boss?” Blake asked him.
“Oh, I’m not putting you down, sir. I’m only speaking the truth,” Max retorted.
Tension hung heavy in the room, and Blake’s heart was pounding, his every sense on high alert. The auction was over. Jewell was about to be delivered to her new apartment, and soon he would see her.
She had no idea who had bid on her, no idea what was coming next. Good. That’s what he wanted, to keep her off-kilter. After their last night together, he could still taste the mint in the air, could still hear her gasps of pleasure, could still feel her body tightening around him. He’d tried, but he hadn’t been able to keep her from his thoughts.
Finding out that she hadn’t been cheating on him, that she really did have a brother, had changed things for him. No, he wouldn’t accept that she was anything more to him than a very pleasurable lover, but he knew he needed more of her. He wasn’t ready to let her go — not yet, at least.
“I can admit that she tried to tell me the truth, and I shut her down. But still, Jewell and I have unfinished business. When our business is done, we will both go our separate ways,” Blake said. “Does that sound more reasonable?”
“I think you’re lying to yourself, and I think you’re being more than a little irrational. If you like this woman, then why not just ask her out on a proper date?”