Page 15 of Obeying the Orc
“I’ll dance with you!” Floura clapped her hands in delight. “I’ll get Belle, Alice, Marguerite, and a few other sirens to step up with you too. You can stand in the middle of us and shimmy around while Yamennia plays the piano. Oh and I’ll be your auctioneer? How does that sound?”
I grinned. “It sounds perfect.”
Madame Sage’s expression grew serious and she touched my hand. “Don’t you forget, there’s a cord to pull next to your bed if the winner of the auction proves troublesome. Also, if you have a bad feeling about the winner, you can turn him down and go with another bidder. I won’t have you getting hurt or feeling uncomfortable, understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. I promise I won’t forget. Trevonn already went over the rules with me and had me test the bell out yesterday.” I appreciated that there were so many protections and rules in place to keep the sirens safe.
“Good.” Madame Sage scooted back. “Sounds like our first customers of the evening are starting to arrive.”
When I stepped into the main room wearing my glimmering, low-cut dress that left little to the imagination, complete with my very own blue oceanstone pendant necklace, I didn’t feel as naked as I’d expected. The other sirens were dressed similarly. It wasn’t like I was walking down the street wearing my siren outfit.
All eyes turned to me as I made my way to the stage. My stomach fluttered, but only for a moment. The steady and graceful poise of the sirens Floura had quickly rounded up to join us on stage buoyed my own confidence.
Hoots and hollers and whistles rang out as I stepped onto center stage. Yamennia played a short tune, during which I attempted to mimic the moves of the other sirens, and I breathed a sigh of relief when it ended.
Then Floura stepped forward and gestured to me. “Good evening, gentlemen! We have a special treat for you all tonight. As you can see, a certain someone is making her big début this evening. Go on, Julianne, show them what you’re hiding under that dress.”
Though my petticoats were already partially visible, I grinned and did an awkward shimmy during which I pulled my dress up to reveal the provocative undergarments more fully, as well as a good portion of my bare thigh. The crowd went wild.
“Quiet! Quiet, please!” Floura signaled for silence, and once the whistling and hollering—and in the case of some non-human males, lusty growling—settled down, she continued, “We’ve decided to celebrate Julianne’s first night going upstairs by holding an auction. That’s right, gentlemen, the highest bidder gets to go upstairs with this breathtaking siren whose looks rival that of the Goddess of Beauty herself. Now, who’ll start the bidding?” She put her hand up above her eyes and peered across the sea of eager males.
“Two gold pieces!”
“Three gold pieces!”
“Four gold pieces!”
The bidding quickly went all the way up to six gold pieces, when a familiar face appeared in the crowd. He stood and stared directly at me, his dark gaze not quite as kind as I remembered.
My heart nearly stopped.
“Fifty gold pieces!” the huge male shouted.
A collective gasp went up in the room, followed by disappointed mutters. After no one offered a higher bid, Floura excitedly announced the winner, though I barely heard what she said because my pulse was pounding so loudly in my ears.
The winner approached the stage and held a massive green hand out to me. I walked down the steps with his help and across the floor of the main room, still not believingwhohad outbid all the other males.
Why was he here, anyway?
Madame Sage shot me a questioning look, her raised eyebrows showing her concern. I gave her a reassuring smile and nodded, as if to say, “I’m fine going upstairs with this particular male.”
But was I fine?
My nervousness increased with each step.
Heput an arm around me as we ascended the steps to my new room. All the nervousness I should’ve felt before stepping on stage rushed through me now. Butterflies flitted in my stomach. Breathing became difficult. My hands commenced shaking.
Knot Thazurok had paid fifty gold pieces for a night with me.
My heart beat faster as we neared the top of the stairs. I’d expected a stranger to win the auction. My skin prickled with warmth everywhere the huge orc touched me, from the small of my back to my arm as he guided me down the hall.
“Which room is yours?”
I gestured to the left. “That one.”
He opened the door. “After you, my lady.” His deep voice made me tingle all over. What would it be like when he stripped me naked?
Former priest or not, this was a brothel and he’d paid a month’s wage for me.
