Page 35 of Cherry Auction

“Don’t tempt a sadist, lass,” I growl, brawl deep and low, “Often we’ve got a more’n a wee bit o’ masochism in us too. If ya manage to draw blood, I just might drench me drawers. You’ve got ‘em tight already.”

Her eyes drop to my pants. And quickly back up to my face, her cheeks coloring. I wasn’t lying. Every time I’m down here bickering with her, I go hard as a damn goalpost.

I had to take myself in hand once I got upstairs last night, and it wasn’t the first time since she’s been here.

“Bacon?” I decide to give both of us a moment’s reprieve.

Her eyes just watch me as I pick up another long piece and hold it out to her. She bites at it greedily. Always so greedy, my Madison.

My cock pulses for want of her.

Fuck. It’s times like this I have to remind myself why we’re both here. Because for fuck’s sake that’s right, she’s greedy. She’s so fucking greedy that after she and her abusivefuck of a father had sucked me dry, they skipped town with all the money I’d stolen for them.

It was a clever grift, finding a mark like me who was young with just enough skills to be able to get on the dark web but not much else. They taught me the rest, then were gone by the time the final transfer was made. The side hustle for Madison’s dad was the stalking and conquering. Once he’d done that, he wanted fresh quarry. A new town. More money. New young ass.

They were both insatiable beasts.

And Mads, what did she want? Was it all about the money for her? Or had it been about the hunt, too?

When she next comes near, I shove the eggs in her mouth before she can get close enough to my fingers to bite them. She looks surprised but turns around to chew just the same.

Did she get a thrill out of boys always falling all over themselves for her? Did she like playing honey trap for her father? She was two years older than me and a helluva lot wiser. How they must have laughed to themselves when she told him I asked her to run away with me.

“Eat the rest yourself.” I toss the plate to the floor. It lands intact on the carpeted ground, but a couple slices of bacon are upended. Better than she deserves.

“Wait,” she says, half standing up. “We haven’t even gotten to talk.”

“I’ll be back later to continue your training,” I snap coldly, furious that she’s still talking back to me. She’s nowhere nearbeing broken, and that’s all on me. I’ve been too soft. “I want you in position when I return. If you aren’t, there’ll be punishment, and it won’t be half so pleasant as last time. There’s only four days before I’m to present you at the club as my sub and I willnotbe embarrassed in front of my peers.”

More than that, I willnotlose her. When I take her to the club on Saturday, she needs to have given in to my control so deeply that by the end of the night, there’s no other thought in her head except pleasing me and climbing back into my car.

I fuckingrefuseto lose Madison Harper a second time. Nothing in this world or any other will stop me.

Not Quinnlynn.

Not even my sister. I protected her from everything when she was young, but she’s a grown woman now. A slightly fucked up grown woman, sure. But I’ve protected her as much as I can for as long as I can. It’s time I take the reward for all the suffering I endured. I don’t fucking care if I lose whatever might be left of my soul in the process.

I march out of the room towards the elevator.

Enough fucking around.

We’ve got work to do.

FOURTEEN

BROOKE

He made a mistake.I can’t believe Mr. High and Mighty actually made a mistake. He’s going to let me out in four days to take me to the club.

I was hoping to get him to talk, sure. But he was in a pissy mood today, so I didn’t think I’d get anything out of him. But then he drops that jewel right before he leaves?

I bite my lip and pace back and forth in the dungeon bedroom.

I’ve been to the club. Yeah, there was a lot of eye-popping stuff going on, but strangely enough, they all seemed like normal people. It’s like, even though some people there had masks on, they still were being themselves—with their mostreal, deepest desires on bare display. And Moira and Quinn will probably be there, right? Quinn seems like she’d rip out a man’s throat with her bare teeth if he fucked with her, and Moira… unless that was a mighty good act. She seemed so genuine in a way you rarely come across.

When we get there, I can just yell out that Domhnall’s kidnapped me or scream, “Red, red, red!” and someone will take me seriously. While we were there last week, I saw a girl use her safe word and everything in the scene and all around the room pretty much stopped until her dom had seen to her. The big burly bouncer, Isaak, looked ready to toss his ass, too, if he wasn’t extremely careful with her.

Just four more days, and then there’ll be no more collars or being locked in a dungeon or being forced to drink my water from a bowl like a dog.

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