Page 14 of Another One Bites the Lust
“Thanks, Piper,” he said. “I appreciate it.” Then he turned to me and said, “I reserved the best seats for us.” He smiled as if proud of his accomplishment.
“Lovely,” I said, appreciating the gesture.
He introduced us. “Celeste, this is my friend, Piper. Piper, Celeste.”
After brief greetings, I thanked her for the seats and we sat down.
Piper and a shifter named Sloane started with a few smaller pieces that went quickly. I watched while I sipped my pink champagne, which was an expensive champagne with a healthy pour of blood. Van squirmed in his seat beside me.
I leaned over and whispered. “Is something wrong?”
“I can’t believe someone paid that kind of money for a bunch of swirls,” he spoke low in my ear. “Even I could paint that.”
I raised my glass back to my lips to stifle a chuckle. He’d dressed up in this suit and put on a sophisticated air to come with me tonight, but it was clear this was not his scene. Still, I appreciated the effort and liked having him with me—especially with the warmth of his breath on my ear, which affected me in a way I hadn’t experienced in decades. Definitely not with Lucien.
Speaking of which, there he was a few rows back and to the side, staring at me. I frowned and returned my attention to the next piece of art.
Finally, we neared the end of the auction and the dryad piece was pulled out.
“Can I get a starting bid of ten thousand dollars?” Her voice rose above the gentle hum of the crowd.
Bids quickly shot up, passing each other. My anticipation rose with each bid.
Time for me to play. “Twenty thousand.” I raised my number.
Van turned to me with surprise. I reached over and squeezed his hand to assure him this was fine. The bidding already felt like a contest of wills.
“Twenty-five thousand.” I knew that voice.
When I turned back, Lucien fixed his gaze on me and smirked. What was he getting at? Did he think he could win my affection by outbidding me?
“Thirty thousand dollars.”
I snapped my head back toward Van, who proudly held up his sign reading sixty-nine, almost as far as his arm would stretch.
I leaned closer to him and whispered, “What are you doing?”
“Getting you your painting,” he declared.
Oh my. He was so sweet. But could he even afford this? I had no idea how much he made working on a cruise ship, but I guessed it wasn’t enough to toss out fifteen-thousand dollar bids for a woman he’d just met.
“Thirty-five thousand,” Lucien hissed, shooting eye daggers at Van.
“Forty,” Van barked back.
Jeez, now they were going to have a pissing contest in the middle of the auction. This was ridiculous. Neither one of these men wanted the painting. The auctioneers’ eyes widened with excitement, and they sped up their bidding.
More bids passed, mostly with Van and Lucien warring against each other, and we passed the seventy-five-thousand dollar point.
I squeezed his hand and whispered, “I got this.” Raising my sign, I declared, “One hundred thousand.” While gasps echoed around us, this amount didn’t affect me. I had several more pieces that had cost much more and had appreciated with value over time.
I knew Lucien didn’t have that kind of money, and my bid finally shut him up. He didn’t want the painting anyway.
“One hundred thousand going once,” Piper said, her voice quick with excitement. “One hundred thousand going twice.” She paused. “And sold!”
I walkedout of the ballroom smiling with my arm looped through Van’s.
He joked, “If that’s how much art sells for, I need to learn how to start painting.”
