Page 101 of Auctioned

“Suck.” After she does, I take my thumb out, watching her. Holding back from fucking her. “Talk.”

She licks her lips. “What about asking instead of ordering me?”

“No. I hold the power. Over Topher. Oliver and his son, though they’re unaware of it. The associates in the law firm. Our clients. Even the witnesses on the stand. They owe me answers, and they give them to me.” It should disturb me, these words that slip out of my mouth. “So do you. Now, talk.”

“You’re going to get me pregnant. Then take my child. Then kill me.” She mimics my voice. Cold and authoritative. In the little time I’ve shown her a side of me that isn’t a complete asshole, she’s grown accustomed to me. She might not even believe I could actually hurt her. Hell, I don’t believe that either anymore. “You’re not getting anything else from me. I won’t tell you a single thing about myself.”

“The fuck you will. I’m your owner.” Anger flushes through me. This is all wrong. We’re all wrong. I’m still hungry for the information Topher couldn’t or wouldn’t provide. “You dropped out of college. Why?”

Any semblance of humor has been wiped off her face. Her grip on the handle of her mug tightens. Her arm trembles. The hot liquid sloshes in the mug. “Fuck. You.”

“Put the mug away.”

“Fuck. You,” she repeats, her chin wobbling.

“Put the fucking mug away.”

Ophelia’s nostrils flare. As indignant and upset as she is, she places the mug behind her.

As soon as she does, I grip her jaw, forcing her to look at me. “Why?”

“You people.” Her lips twist, eyes narrowing. “You have it all figured out. You look down at people who still struggle. Who are still searching.”

“You’re putting words in my mouth.”

“And you put a dick in mine.”

“So this is how it’s going to go?” I’m miles away from what you’d call an empath. But I would’ve been a lousy defense lawyer if I couldn’t figure out people’s motives. How to read a jury. “I hit a nerve. You’re hurt, and you stay silent.”

“While you stay condescending, sadistic, and cruel.”

“I’m not being condescending.” I flip her on her stomach and lock her wrists behind her back with one hand. “I’m curious.” I shrug my pillow out of the pillowcase, using the latter to bind her wrists. “But you’re being obstinate.”

“Let go of me.” The fighter she is, she wrestles beneath me. Her hair falls over her beautiful face. “Sharing goes both ways, James. When I’m out of these binds, you owe me some truths, too, or I’m binding you.”

“Is that a threat?”

The knot around her wrists won’t cut off her blood flow. She won’t be able to free herself from it, either. I bend so my face is close to hers, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She snarls at me. “It’s a promise.”

“It doesn’t work that way. You belong to me. I’m the one who calls the shots here. Understood?”

“I’m lost. Okay? O-fucking-kay? Is that what you wanted to hear?” Her shouting at me is jarring. The volume of it doesn’t bother me. It’s how visceral it is. How hurt. How have I missed it? “I’m lost. Ever since my parents died, I’ve been struggling to survive. Not everyone in foster care was nice. A few screamed and slapped and mocked me. My parents were broke when theydied, so I had to fight to get good grades, be in the goddamn drama club for the goddamn scholarship for college. I had to be better than everyone. But I wasn’t living. I was surviving.”

The speed at which she spits it at me. The pain in her voice. Like she’s been dying for someone to listen to her. Really listen.

There wasn’t anyone who would.

I listen. To her aching heart. Her battles.

And I’m fascinated. I soak up every little detail. I’m furious at my son for keeping this from me. Or more like it—for never asking her just how badly she had to fight to become the person she is today.

“Then, when I finally made it to college...” She growls, and it’s hot. Her anger is hot. Her humiliation is as well. My heart keeps twisting for her, needing to go back in time and make everything right for her. “I started questioning myself. I couldn’t find any major I was drawn to. I was disappointed in myself. My parents are probably rolling in their graves. I hated that thought more than anything. So I dropped out. Is that a good enough answer for you? That I’m a quitter? That I have no idea where to go from here? That I left everything behind just so I wouldn’t have to ask myself what would make me happy for another goddamn second?”

I’ve never been this impressed with anyone in my life. Never this attracted to such a feral, perfectly broken person.

“You’re resilient. Bright. Young. Not a disappointment. You will find out what it is you want out of life.” Her eyes shimmer when she realizes I’m genuinely curious. I’m making a vow to her. I promise her life instead of death. “Until then, you’ll learn what it means to belong to me.”

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