2. Fantasy Has a Price

With one eye on the stairs leading to the bedrooms where her sister and stepmother napped and the other on her laptop, Tania brought up the website Mandy had tried to hide.

"Holy shit!" She slapped a hand over her mouth, hoping her entirely too loud exclamation hadn't been heard.

Her eyes narrowed as she perused the site. It was indeed an auction, offering people of all genders, ethnicities, and body types to the highest bidder for a night of fantasy.

Well, the buyer's fantasy, anyway.

There was even a disclaimer at the bottom, saying that no sexual acts were required, which didn't make much sense for an auction like this, but Tania supposed it got them off the hook for charges of prostitution.

She swiped to navigate to the tab offering virgins and blinked at the average bid amounts. Mandy's photo had been in the MILF category, which had an average bid of around ten thousand dollars. The virgin bid average was much, much higher, and it didn't seem to matter that none had pictures showing the women's faces.

"Well, slap my ass and pull my hair," she murmured under her breath. The auctions were hosted by Club BDE, lending the website some credibility. She'd never been there, but according to the rumors she'd heard around campus, it was supposed to be one of the finest places in the south to get one's kink on.

In exchange for a useless piece of tissue in her vagina—which probably wasn't even there anymore—and a few hours of her time, she could pay off Mandy's mortgage and keep them afloat until she graduated, giving Mandy enough time to find a job of her own.

Folks in the deep-south bible belt had an ugly word for what she was considering, but Tania didn't see things that way. To her, the bigger sin would be to let her sister and stepmother lose their home when it was in her power to stop it.

Besides, given her dating history, she was looking at dying a virgin anyway. Her socially dictated innocence might as well go to a good cause, and it was certainly better than losing it in a crappy dorm room or the back seat of someone's car.

Hopefully, the folks running the auctions wouldn't care about self-pleasure. Tania's battery-operated boyfriend didn't complain about being washed and shoved into her nightstand when she was done with it. Unfortunately, men would probably resist that procedure.

Of course, if the person taking her virginity was one of Victor's friends… Well, having Desmond Elliott or Bastian Carter pop her cherry would be worth six figures. Hell, if she had the money, she'd pay them to do it—especially if they let her call them Daddy like the heroes in her favorite romance novels did.

She laughed at the thought, but god, they were gorgeous. Both were muscular and fit with salt-and-pepper hair. Mr. Desmond had a neatly trimmed beard she wanted to pet and was a few inches shorter than Mr. Bastian. Both men had warm brown eyes she felt like she could drown in.

They might have been at least twice her age, but she'd been crushing on them since she hit puberty. She had no idea how many times she'd gotten herself off thinking about them, but she always felt a little disgusted with herself afterward for objectifying them. Not only were they gay, but they were also in a relationship with each other.

Even if they'd been bisexual, she doubted either of them would have anything to do with her. They probably saw her as a little kid—their friend's daughter. Then again, there had been almost as many years between Victor and Mandy. Maybe, like her father, they liked younger women.

She tried to remind herself of their orientation but couldn't help wishing they were bisexual and looking for a woman to share.

Forcing herself to push the thought of being the meat in their beefcake sandwich deep into her spank bank, she focused on her task. Unfortunately, the website didn't have a phone number. Using the contact form, she sent a message asking for a return call. Surprisingly, her phone vibrated with an incoming call a few moments later. After checking the caller ID, which read Club BDE, she hurried outside.

"Hello?" She sat on the porch swing, making sure she could see the stairs through the front picture window so she could watch for Bee.

"This is Club BDE returning your call," a man said. "You had questions for us?"

"Hi. My name is Tania." She almost gave her last name but stopped herself at the last minute. "I'm calling to verify your auction website."

"May I ask how you found us?"

"It was a close friend. I prefer not to share her name, but she…" Tania crossed her fingers, unable to decide if she wanted her next words to be true or not. "My friend was one of the women you auctioned."

"All right." The man's tenor took on a clipped edge. "I'm sure your friend told you how the auctions work, but I'll sum it up in case she missed anything. The people who auction their services are willing and are legally able to give consent. All buyers are vetted, and all parties must provide health screenings. Protection against pregnancy is the responsibility of the female."

Didn't that just figure?

"Does that mean condoms aren't allowed?"

"No. It means the person buying the fantasy may not want to use them or may have a breeding kink. If you choose to engage in sex and don't want a child, I recommend other methods of birth control. Club BDE takes no responsibility for children conceived as a result of our auctions."

Tania pressed her lips together and shuddered, wondering if there was a reason behind that particular rule. If she decided to go through with selling her virginity, her next stop would be the university health center for birth control, along with the required medical screening. The last thing she needed or wanted was a child.

"What about physical injury?"

"While scenes can often include impact play such as spankings, participants agree in advance that no permanent marks will be left on anyone, and any injury requiring medical care will be reported to the police. You will also be asked to communicate your hard limits."

It sounded like they were trying to keep things safe for everyone, which she appreciated, but she wished he hadn't mentioned spankings. It would be impossible to get rid of the mental image of going over Bastian's or Desmond's knee.

"Fair enough. What percentage does the club take?"

"Twenty-five percent, and you're responsible for the taxes. There's a ten-thousand-dollar fee if you back out after the auction is completed, and the terms of the auction must be met within fourteen days. Are you over eighteen?"

The percentage seemed high to her, but if her virginity sold for the average amount, it would leave more than enough to pay off Mandy's mortgage. "I'm twenty-one."

"Okay. Click the sign-up link at the bottom to set up your own account. Follow the instructions to upload your profile, health screening, and pictures before midnight tomorrow night, and we'll set you up for this Friday."

"That should work for me."

"If something comes up, you'll need to withdraw your profile before the start of the auction, but there will be another next month. Use the contact form on the website or call if you have any further questions."

"Thanks."

After ending the call, she chewed her lower lip, knowing she'd already promised to watch Bee that weekend. She also didn't want Mandy to have to go through with the auction, especially when the amount she'd receive would only keep her and Bee for a few months.

Although the idea didn't sit well with her, she'd have to lie and tell Mandy something had come up. It wasn't too far from the truth and would keep her stepmother out of the auction.

Truly, it was a simple matter of economics involving the perceived value of a scarce resource. A diamond was just carbon formed into a crystalline structure by time, heat, and pressure. They were expensive because diamond brokers marketed them as luxury items instead of industrial abrasives and cutting tools.

Tania wasn't a diamond though. After all, one could only sell their virginity once.

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