Chapter 11

11

Dmitri

The crowded bar isn’t helping my headache. Some whiny douche wails through the jukebox. People are laughing, talking. One woman in the background shrieks when she laughs. Someone drops a glass and the entire place goes silent for a half beat before conversations resume.

It reminds me of when I dropped a glass at Low Vice. Seeing Leah and Gage kissing like that had twisted something inside me until I snapped.

Fucking Gage. Always running some kind of game.

Leah isn’t a toy.

Tomorrow is the auction. I haven’t been able to think about much else. I haven’t heard whether Leah will be there or not.

Guess I’ll know soon, because I have to fucking work that night.

Patrick knocks on the bar top. “Yo. Are you paying attention?”

“No.”

“Fuck you, man.” He laughs.

He’s the one who insisted we grab a drink at a bar near Vice before I go in for my Friday night shift.

“I’m trying to talk to you about Smooth Riff.” He takes a gulp of his vodka tonic.

“And I’ve been telling you we need to cool off with the planning. Or you should do it on your own.”

“You’re still obsessed with Leah.”

“No. Fuck no.” The accusation is rich, seeing how he panted after her at Granddad’s party. “It isn’t her?—”

“You nearly lost your fucking cool when you saw her on a date with that actor. Don’t tell me it isn’t her.”

I take a swig of beer, buying time. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does. This is our dream, Dmitri.” He scoots his barstool closer to mine and leans in. “This is the perfect moment. Don’t waste it, okay? I’ve been looking forward to this for years.”

“I don’t think it’s the perfect moment.”

“Well, I do. Granddad says he’s in. He knows exactly what to do, how to set up the business aspects. He’s hooking us up with a friend who specializes in this stuff.” Patrick holds out his phone so I can see a name and phone number. “This guy.”

I recognize the name. That guy is a crook. I know it. Patrick knows it. I’m pretty sure the police know it—they just haven’t been able to pin anything on him.

I have to get Patrick to understand how serious I am. “I texted you my position the other day. If Granddad is in, then I’m out.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. So it isn’t exactly a hundred percent like you envisioned. That doesn’t mean you can take your toys and go home. Come on, Granddad is family. He wants to help. Look.” Patrick taps his phone and shows me some paperwork, but I don’t bother reading it. “He already bought the building and he’s urging the tenants to leave. This is our chance.”

He bought the building? When I spoke to him and Patrick at Abdul’s, Granddad was talking about a loan.

This is how it is with my family. A small favor turns into a tangled web.

“No.” I pound my half-full pint glass on the bar and stand up. “That’s his foothold into the Salding district. Do the club with Granddad, because I’m fucking out .”

I start to walk away.

Patrick grabs my arm. “Wait, Dmitri?—”

“No.” I shrug out of his hold and stalk out of the bar. A group of coeds block the exit, but they part as I approach. They probably sense that I’m done taking shit. I’m goddamn tired of Patrick. I’m goddamn tired of Granddad.

I’m goddamn tired of missing Leah.

* * *

Leah

The auction is today. I wake up to a text from Dmitri.

Can we talk?

I look at the clock. Eight a.m. on a Saturday. Gage is most likely in the exercise room. Out of earshot. It’s not that I want to hide the phone call from him—I want to hide the awkwardness, the conflict.

Tugging the blankets around me, I call Dmitri.

“Leah.” His voice is warm and low.

I’m immediately transported back to that night on his couch when we…

My body gives a throb of need. “Hey. What do you want to talk about?”

“Are you doing the auction tonight?”

“Dmitri.” That’s none of his business. My lust is doused, replaced by frustration. “You don’t want me, but you don’t want anyone else to have me, is that it?”

“Sorry, no. Fuck, I’m fucking this up. I’m just worried.”

Footsteps sound down the hall.

He sounds so lost and quiet, I take pity on him and ask, “What are you worried about?”

“You, I guess. I want us…”

“What?” I ask, trying to hurry him up.

Gage appears in the doorway. He’s shirtless and magnificent. His facial hair has grown back, as he promised it would. He cocks his head, eyes on my phone and a curious expression on his face.

“ It’s Dmitri ,” I mouth, pointing to the phone.

Gage nods, whispers, “Can I come in?”

I gesture him forward. “Dmitri, what do you want?”

“I don’t want anything to change.” He sighs. “Between us, I mean.”

He should’ve thought of that before he covered my nose and mouth while making me come.

Gage sits on the edge of the bed and tugs at my blankets. I give him a look, but allow him to pull them away. His brown eyes are bright and excited, like he’s unwrapping a package.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” I say into the phone.

Gage scoots closer and cups one of my breasts. I lean into the touch even though a part of me thinks this isn’t the best time to fool around.

“Ask him if he’s going to bid on you tonight,” Gage whispers.

I try to glare at him, but the way he’s fondling my breast makes that impossible. He pinches my nipple tightly.

Fuck. I better obey or safe word out.

“Are you going to bid on me tonight?” I ask Dmitri.

He pauses. “Fucking Gage. He’s with you right now, isn’t he?”

Gage gives me a sadistic smile, the one he wears when he’s getting his way, or when I’m faced with a particularly strong punishment.

“Go ahead.” Gage’s voice is quiet. He puts his free hand on my knee and starts moving it upward.

“He is,” I say to Dmitri.

“Christ. What’s he doing? No, I don’t want to know.”

Gage smiles wider. “He does want to know.”

“I gotta go.” A thread of anger runs through Dmitri’s tone. “It’s your body. You can do what you want for the auction.”

Gage’s fingers are warm, insistent against my skin. I bite my lip to stop a moan.

Dmitri takes a deep breath. “Gage plays games, Leah. Like right now, this is a game to him. I just want to make sure you don’t have regrets.”

Gage’s hand travels up my thigh.

I hold back my moan when Gage’s fingers reach my pussy. “No regrets here.”

* * *

Leah

Our nighttime drive to Low Vice is short. Excitement flares in my gut, brighter than the twinkling city lights that speed past the car window.

Gage parks behind the building and helps me out of the car. He tugs me against him and squeezes my ass. “I can hardly keep my hands off you, little girl.”

“What if someone else wins me tonight?” I bat my eyelashes at him. He’s already assured me that won’t happen, and I believe him.

“I’ll win you.” He kisses my forehead. “But remember, you’re always in control. If you don’t want to be with whoever wins you, you can opt out at any time. You have the power, Leah.”

He’s always saying that I have the power. I’m starting to believe it.

We knock on the back door of Low Vice.

Dmitri opens the door. Because of course he fucking does. I shoot an accusatory look at Gage, who didn’t warn me Dmitri would be here.

Gage gives me a bland grin.

Dmitri clears his throat. “Miss L, Gage J.”

His voice is even. Professional. There’s hardly a flicker of interest in his eyes.

“Hey, Dmitri,” I say.

“Hey.” He gives me the briefest of smiles. It’s as if he barely knows me.

I suppose I prefer this to drama, but I want my friend back.

Gage leads me down the hall. Before we reach the corner with the stage, we turn down a second hall. This one leads to the offices, as well as the prep rooms for the auctionees.

“Betty will be here in a second.” Gage squeezes my hand. “Are you nervous, baby girl?”

“I’m nervous about what we’re doing. Not so much about the auction itself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m worried it isn’t allowed. For me and you to have this agreement…it seems to go against the spirit of the auction.”

“Couples make these arrangements all the time.” He grabs my waist, whirls me around, pushes me against the wall. The hard length of his dick presses against me, hot like a brand, even through his pants. “Plenty of other people are up for auction tonight. Nobody will be left wanting at the end.”

I push my hips forward, seeking more contact with his cock. Who the fuck cares that we’re in a hallway and anyone can walk past at any time? I want him. I want him to fill me, wreck me, put me back together again.

He nuzzles my neck. “Besides, if I outbid everyone on purpose, it just means more money for charity and club improvements.”

I rub against him. Maybe we can skip the auction and he’ll get me off in this dark hallway. The danger of being discovered is part of the appeal.

The door next to us opens. I squeak in alarm, and Gage chuckles.

Betty leans out of the room and waves. “Leah. Get your ass in here, sweetheart. It’s time to get ready.”

I kiss Gage goodbye, then head into the room. There, I strip down. Betty dabs some lipstick on me. She helps me put on a new belly chain.

“Robe off, bra off,” she says. “It’s time to go. You still wish to do this?”

Gage is out there waiting for me, so I nod. “Totally. I’m ready.”

She leads me out onto the stage and picks up a microphone. I stand, clad only in panties and the belly chain, in front of mostly strangers. I’m embarrassed and self-conscious like the first time I was here, but I have a much better idea of what to expect.

I feel a lot more powerful this time, too. Maybe it was Gage’s lesson. My body is power. I’m wielding it here onstage.

The light shining on me is bright, like last time. It makes it hard to see everyone. Still, I look.

I find Gage in the audience. He nods and gives me one of his public non-smiles, a faint softening of the lips.

Sitting with the bidders is another man I recognize—the guy from Caro Boulevard. He’s the one who watched from the other car while Gage got me off in the front seat. He notices me staring and gives me the same fuckboy grin as last time.

He’s going to bid on me, for sure. Well, he can try. Gage is going to win.

Dmitri is nowhere to be found. I’m disappointed, although I should be grateful. No drama.

But I want him here. I want him . Not only his sexy, muscular body, but his easy friendship, his dry humor. The way he looks at me and makes me feel valued and precious.

I have it bad for him…just like I have it bad for Gage. Hell.

Betty goes through the introductions. “Miss L is twenty-three years old. She’s had seven sexual partners, men only. She is willing to be auctioned to any gender. Please refer to your programs to see Miss L’s limits. Most of her hard passes appear in Column Three.”

She takes the audience through the regular reminders about remaining quiet and respectful. “We’ll begin at ten thousand.”

Several bid cards go up, held by both men and women. Gage lifts his. So does Fuckboy.

“Ten-five,” Betty says.

Not a single card goes down.

She checks her phone. “They’re requesting you remove your panties.”

My gaze shoots to Gage. His phone is in his free hand, held loosely against his lap. I have a feeling that request came directly from him.

His face remains expressionless, but I detect a sparkle in his eyes that can’t be hidden by his glasses.

As I strip out of my underwear, though, a woman with gray-blond hair comes up behind Gage and taps on his shoulder. He turns and she says something. He frowns, gestures at the stage. The woman shakes her head and points to the door.

Gage sends me a regretful look. He gets up, sets the bid card face down on his chair.

And he leaves.