Page 1 of Taking The Virgin

Chapter1

Under normal circumstances,I would’ve never dreamed of putting my virginity up for auction.

But then again, I also never dreamed that my life would spin out of control the way it did, either.

I guess there’s a lot of things in life that can surprise you…like being offered fifty-thousand dollars for one night with a stranger…like finding yourself standing on the doorstep of your highest bidder.

As the luxury limo that picked me up from JFK airport drives away, I check out the stately brownstone that resides in the elite “Gold Coast” neighborhood of Greenwich Village. My heartbeat pitter-patters around as if it’s trying to scurry away. A breeze skims down my body as it blows through the trees lining this posh Manhattan street.

Suck it up, Juliet, I think. This is what you signed up for with the Highest Bidder website, so ring that doorbell.

I lift my shaking hand and press the buzzer so I can meet the billionaire who boughtme.

My “date.”

My one-night-stand.

I remind myself for the millionth time that I have a good reason to do this. This is for my family. This is to give us a chance to survive.

As the chime rings inside the mansion, I adjust the duffel bag strap over my shoulder.

Nerves are sawing through me. I wish I’d at least gotten a look at my bidder on the website, but Owen Gregory didn’t provide an image of himself. Even a Google search didn’t help because it seems that every time a camera tries to capture him, he’s either in shadow or turned away from the lens, as if the picture will steal his soul or something.

All I do know is that the respected but mysterious man who purchased me is twenty-eight years old, a Harvard Med School top-of-the-class grad who became a young hotshot surgeon. He’s a wunderkind entrepreneur who made his billions by inventing some kind of sterilization device that’s more efficient, quicker, and more cost effective to use than any current models.

Now his company, Gregory Medical Innovations, provides the gold standard for all kinds of cutting-edge equipment to hospitals and physicians the world over, and that includes his recent successes in artificial intelligence and robotics.

He’s a genius. A high-profile prodigy who manages to avoid the spotlight while still devoting himself to his importantwork.

At least, that’s what my computer told me before I came here. The only other thing I know for sure was that a bidding war for my virginity took place between another bidder and my client.

My blood twists inside my veins as I continue to wait for the door to open. I have a client. I’m more or less a call girl who’ll be many thousand of dollars richer after tonight, and shockingly, the money will only begin to solve all of my costly problems.

Just one night, Juliet. You can get through one darn night for the sake of everyone youlove…

When the door begins to open, it seems to take forever as I hold my breath. I don’t know what to expect—a butler?

Or will Owen Gregory answer himself?

As the door opens all the way, shock hits me hard, and now I can’t breathe atall.

I’m staring at the most incredibly handsome man I’ve ever seen—tall, dark, and tightly muscled under the charcoal-colored, perfectly creased tailored suit he’s wearing. A pinstriped silk tie rests against his broad chest, and silver cuff links give him an impeccable air as he looks down on me with a dark and penetrating gaze. His black hair is cut short, and there’s literally not a strand out of place. His face is strong-featured, as hard and enigmatic as the look he’s givingme.

All in all, he doesn’t seem like he’s only six years older than I am—he’s too intimidating, and it looks like experience has honed him into this cut-granite god who is still waiting for me to say something.

But how can I talk to a man who seems like he could bark out an order at the world and it would stop spinning forhim?

As I stand there like an idiot, everything startsspinning for me. My mind is reeling, my tummy flipping while heat slips down between my legs and swirls there, too. I feel a tightness in my private parts that I’ve never felt before, and I swallow, hoping he doesn’t see how unexpectedly turned on Iam.

I think I’m even blushing. No—I know I am, because my skin is burning. I’m burning, and it only gets worse as he slowly runs an appraising look overme.

Everywhere his gaze turns, my pulse follows. I feel the thudding under my skin, over every heated inch. I start to go moist for him, but my mouth is dry, leaving me even more speechless.

Then I get myself together enough to say, “I’m Juliet. The limo just dropped meoff?”

Uh, duh. This is probably information he did notneed.

He continues to coolly survey me, and I start to wonder if he ordered more than one virgin named Juliet from the Highest Bidder site. So I goon.

---