Page 34 of Wicked Pursuit

My pussy is practically dripping. The voices have been calling out too fast, speaking too quickly, for me to be sure one of them is Wolf. I turn around, slowly and with a little extra swivel in my hips. As if on cue, slow, sensual music starts from somewhere.

The auctioneer whistles. “Looks like we’re in luck. We get a little preview. Can I hear five fifty?”

I bend in time with the music, and I swear I actually hear the collective inhale as the icy, air-conditioned air strokes my pussy.

“One million.” The voice is low with a hint of rasp, a hint of accent, and it strikes me right in my core. Iknowthat voice. I’ve spent days taunting its owner, have spent hours fantasizing about just what filthy things he’ll say to me when it’s finally just us without all the games.

Wolf. My spine snaps straight, and I turn around. “Sold,” I blurt.

The auctioneer laughs. “Someone’s eager, but the bidding isn’t over until it’s over. Can I get a million five?”

“Another person makes a bid and I’m putting a bullet in their brain, Reaper.”

The auctioneer—Reaper—drops his seduction act and goes cold. “Don’t threaten my guests, Wolf. You want her? Bid the highest. Otherwise it’s not myotherguests who will be getting a bullet to the brain. This is neutral territory, and everyone here is enjoying my hospitality... as long as they obey the rules. So obey them.”

The silence stretches and then keeps stretching, the threat lying heavy in the air. No one makes a sound. Reaper curses softly. “So be it. Our lovely Ruby Belmonte goes to the Mad Wolf. Good luck, love. You’re going to need it.”

11

I’m led off the stage in the opposite direction that I walked on. I can’t help lingering there, wanting to see what will come out next. It turns out to be another woman, this one petite and blond—and naked. Hopefully she gets a better rate than the brunette.

“Ms. Belmonte? Please follow me.”

I allow yet another staff member to gently take my elbow and guide me away. With each step, the truth hits me again and again.

Wolf was here. He won.

Was he wearing the mask when he did it? Or do all the other attendees know what I don’t—what he really looks like? Reaper certainly seemed to know who he was.

The Mad Wolf.

That name tickles some memory in the deep recesses of my mind, but the recollection slips away when I try to grasp it. All I know is that I’ve heard the name before, a long time ago. He’s not from Carver City—that much I’m sure of. If he were, I would have registeredthatnickname.

My guide takes me back to my dressing room, where I wait impatiently for the funds to clear. It seems to take forever, but I suspect is a very short time indeed. I’m still pacing in circles when they reappear.

They smile. “Everything is finalized. Please follow me to the room chosen for you.”

Within a few minutes, I’m led through the warren of hallways to a luxurious bedroom that puts the one I spent the day in to shame.

And it’s fully kitted out.

I step through the door and look around. I may avoid the Underworld like the plague, but I’m familiar with the equipment and toys that go along with some flavors of BDSM. This room has a significant number of them.

There’s an open trunk that displays crops, floggers, and paddles in every shape and weight. The four-poster bed has rings embedded in it at different heights, the better to bind someone to. There’s a rainbow of Shibari ropes and three different kinds of padded cuffs. That’s not even getting into the spreader bar, the spanking bench, or the seat that very much looks like a throne.

I cross the room, look through a door, and find a bathroom fit for royalty, all dark glossy tile with more showerheads than any shower actually needs.

“Damn, y’all really go all out.”

“Ms. Belmonte.”

I turn to my escort, belatedly realizing that they were waiting for me to acknowledge them so they can leave. I try for a smile, but I’m too overwhelmed to fully swing it. “Sorry. I got a little wowed. What do you need from me?”

“Nothing, miss.” They smile. “I just want to reiterate: once you leave the premises, you are agreeing to hold the auction harmless in any damages that result in the events that follow.”

Damages. They would see it like that, but I can’t exactly fault them. I’m here of my own free will, and I knew exactly what Wolf was capable of when I boarded that plane.

When I fucked him.

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