Page 187 of Auctioned

He sold me a lie.

For a brief moment in time, I thought I could love him.

I never did.

For many reasons.

The main one being that I never belonged to him in the first place.

I realize it now as I’m standing next to James in the elevator that takes us to his office. The man I love. The man I breathe for.

The man I’ll kill for.

Killed for.

As if sensing my thoughts, James glances at me. His cold eyes send chills down my spine. They remind me of the icy night yesterday when we killed Oliver.

After we covered his floor with a tarp and chopped Oliver to pieces, he dressed me in warm clothes. Together, we went to the backyard. We set up a bonfire and turned flesh into ashes. Where the ground accepted Oliver’s bones and his phone, once I deleted his GPS history and smashed the stupid device.

Then James, my hero, went to Oliver’s Mercedes and deleted it from there too. He doused it in gasoline, set it on fire. The armchair and our clothes too. Not before James memorized every blood spatter on my face, my neck, my dress. He licked his lips.

We buried all the burnt evidence before we went to bed.

“Miss Monroe.” He cocks an eyebrow.

Right.

We’re headed to work. I’m dressed for my first day at the law firm. Black skirt, a matching jacket and a cream-colored silk blouse beneath. Sheathed in a black pea coat drapes over my body. My legs are covered in black tights.

It’s nothing compared to James’s. My God. He’s handsome at home, with his scruff and lounge clothes. He’s just as breathtaking in a black wool coat, a dark gray suit, a stark white shirt, and his shaved jaw.

The sheer power of him. Scary and formidable and fuck, I’m wet between my thighs.

“Ophelia.”

I clasp my hands together in front of me, interlacing my fingers. It’s not a good look to shudder on your first day in a new workplace.

My old workplace, Laurier’s, knows I’m not coming back. James had someone call to pass along my formal resignation while I was in the cell. I also found out that he passed a message to Sage the night he bought me. It was time for her to find a new roommate.

I don’t think she would’ve gone up against him. I don’t blame her for it. She did her best without putting her life at risk. Fucking with James isn’t wise; I’m well aware of that now.

He warned her against it, regardless. My man who leaves nothing to chance.

“Yes?”

“Remember what we talked about back home?”

It’s just the two of us in the elevator. The higher we go, the more people have filtered out. We’re about to reach the top floor. His employees should be swarming the office.. Usually, he comes in early, before anyone else.

Today, he’s making an entrance.

We’re making an entrance.

Holy shit. I really need to stop shivering.

“I remember.” Two floors to go. My heart is racing. “Chin high. Shoulders back. No one belongs here more than I do.”

“And?” His gaze is an iceberg, yet I see the warmth in it. He’s bathing me in affection. “What else?”

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