Chapter 1

ONE

Letty

What the hell was I thinking?

I’ve made some dumb decisions in my life. Bleaching my hair when I was sixteen, loaning money to my brother over the years, agreeing to work for Hugh Walter—all of those decisions were terrible, but this has to be hands down my worst idea ever.

I go to wipe my sweaty palms off on my pants and then freeze.

Oh yeah. I’m not wearing any pants.

I shake my hands out, trying to dry them as I pace back and forth in the back room. I can hear the muffled sounds of people talking down the hall, and I move over to the door, pressing my ear there to try to make out what’s being said.

I know that I have to be next, or close to next, anyway. I’ve been here, waiting, for hours. At first, I thought that would give me a chance to calm my nerves, but now I realize that that’s impossible, and I just want to get this over with.

I listen for the sound of the last bid wrapping up, but I can’t make it out. It’s all just raised voices, rowdy laughs and jeers, and the sound of something banging as the auction really heats up.

Please don’t let mine be like that. Please just let mine be over quickly. I just need to be sold to someone kind and generous. I just need to make two hundred and fifty thousand, and then this will all be over with.

I take a deep breath and resume my pacing. I’m wobbly in these high heels. I’ve been trying to practice, but it hasn’t helped much. I’m too nervous, too on edge.

I’m not this girl.

I’m not ready for this. For any of this.

My stomach flips, and I press a hand to my belly, trying to calm the nausea rolling through me.

I should just call this whole thing off. I know that I could leave and they wouldn’t force me to stay, but then, my problem wouldn’t go away either.

What do I do? What’s the right decision here?

I shouldn’t be here, I don’t want to be here, but I didn’t have any other choice. I need the money, and I need it fast. My blood boils as I think about what led to me being in this predicament, and the anger helps to steady my nerves.

My phone buzzes, and I dive for it, looking for any distraction that I can get. Hell, I think that if it was a telemarketer calling right now, I would gladly pick up and let them ramble their spiel at me.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Has it happened yet?” Lilou asks, and I swallow and shake my head before I realize that she can’t see me.

“No, but it should be soon.”

“You could cancel? I have some money saved and you can have it,” she offers and I smile sadly.

“It won’t be enough.”

“There has to be another way,” she says and I sigh.

Lilou is my roommate. I moved in with her when I moved to town a few months ago, and we’ve become great friends. She’s the only one who knows about the debt and why I’m here tonight. She tried to talk me out of it, but no matter how hard we both tried to think of a different solution, we couldn’t. I know that she hates that I have to do this. I do too, but I just can’t see another way out of it.

“Why not ask your boss? We both know that he has the money,” she says, and I groan.

She’s brought up me asking Hugh for a loan a few times, but I just can’t do it.

“I work for him. That just seems so…unprofessional. I can’t afford for him to fire me right now on top of everything else.”

She sighs, and we’re both silent for a moment. I can hear movement outside, and my eyes dart to the door.

“I think that I have to go,” I whisper, and she clears her throat.

“Call me if you need anything. Call me when it’s over. Or text! Just text me for the entire time,” she orders and I smile.

I’m lucky to have at least one good friend who is looking out for me.

“I will,” I promise her, and we say our goodbyes.

No one comes to the door after a moment, so I resume my pacing back and forth across the marble floor. I did a lot of research for this auction house. It moves from one city to the next, and it’s exclusive. As in, you have to be filthy rich to even be considered to be invited to one of the auctions. That’s what convinced me to sign up. I knew that it was the best way for me to make the most amount of money, quickly.

When I showed up at this place a few hours ago to get ready, my mouth had dropped open. The house—no, not house. Mansion. This mansion is situated in a remote part of Wolf Valley. I missed the road to turn down three separate times before I found it. The place is nestled amongst the trees, perched right on the edge of the mountain. The room they showed me too overlooks the forest and I’ve spent most of today staring out at the trees, wondering how this became my life.

I’m here because my piece of shit older brother took a loan out in my name and then skipped town. If he had gone to a bank for the loan, I could have gone to the police and gotten it sorted, but he didn’t. He went to some scary, lowlife loan shark. The loan shark doesn’t care about who pays him back, he just wants to get his money, and since my brother is long gone, that means that it’s up to me to pay him back.

I had thought about going to my boss and asking for a loan, but in the end, I couldn’t. I like and respect Hugh. He was in the military, a Marine, and he got out and started his own company. Now, he has defense contracts, works with the government, and is worth billions. The thought of asking him for money was too embarrassing. I know that he would ask what happened and why I needed it, and I didn’t want to tell him. So now, here I am. About to sell myself.

“You’re up,” an older woman says, poking her head into the room.

I jump, startled out of my thoughts, and nod, pasting on a smile as I wobble towards her. I follow her out into the hallway, and my eyes dart to the other end, to the exit sign glowing in the dimly lit hallway.

I could make a run for it…but I’d probably break an ankle before I made it to the door. And I’d still be stuck. I’d still need a way to make two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the next few days, and there’s no other way for me to get that much money in time.

“Gentlemen, up next here at the Tease and Please Auction, we have a special addition. A virgin!”

Cheers go up, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. My stomach revolts, and I brace a hand on the nearest surface and try to take a few deep breaths.

I can’t believe that I’m about to sell my virginity to the highest bidder. Unfortunately for me, it is the only thing of value that I have.

Nerves eat at me as I take my first wobbly step up towards the stairs. I try to peek out behind the curtains to the crowd, but all I can see is shadows beyond the bright lights.

I fix the short babydoll dress that I’m wearing, trying to pull it down slightly. I groan when it just exposes my breasts even more. Although, maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it will bump up the bidding a bit.

I roll my shoulders back and take a deep breath. My pale blonde hair falls over my shoulders in soft waves, and I push some of it forward, wanting to use the thick mass as a type of shield.

I climb up to the next step as the announcer waves me out onto the stage.

Please be kind. Please be nice. Please be generous.

Please be kind. Please be nice. Please be generous.

I chant that over and over again as I make my way to the center of the stage. I blink as I stare out at the spotlights and the sea of men sitting around the tables.

“Gentlemen, let’s start the bidding at one hundred thousand,” the announcer says, and I swallow hard.

That much? So soon? One hundred thousand is almost half of what I need! Maybe this really will work .

“Do we have the first bidder?” The announcer asks, and I stand up straighter.

“Ten million dollars,” comes a dark voice from the crowd, and my mouth drops open.

Not because of the staggering amount of money. No, that’s not what shocks me.

It’s that I recognize the voice.

No.

It couldn’t be.

Then the man steps forward into the light, and I gasp.

“Now, end the auction,” my boss orders, and the announcer grabs his gavel.

I must be dreaming. There’s no way that Hugh, my boss, just bought me.

The gavel bangs down on the stand, making me jump, and I look away from Hugh as the announcer calls out.

“Sold!”

What have I done?