Page 15 of Sharing Their Prize

“What’s that look for?” Kez asks, switching to Ivy’s other foot and making her moan again when he works his thumb over her arch.

I huff out a short laugh. “I never thought I’d feel comfortable like this with another person. Definitely not two other people.”

Ivy turns her head to look up at me. “Is this not normal for these kinds of auctions?”

She means the explosive way we keep coming together and the connection that’s growing between us. Kez and I meet eyes across the tub, and an unsaid answer passes between us.

No. This is not normal. Somewhere in the last hours, what the three of us shared became much more than just sex.

“What are you going to spend your fortune on, Ivy?” Kez asks, changing the subject as he works his fingers over her delicate ankle. “It must be something important to make you go through with this.”

Ivy’s body tenses and she’s quiet for a long moment before she slowly nods her head. “That’s true. I never would have done this if it hadn’t been for…” her voice trails off and she takes a deep breath, relaxing back against me. “I was accepted into an academic program for my dream career. It’s expensive and requires upfront payment.” She glances over at Kez and then up at me. “The professor’s assistant told me about this auction. I’ve already exhausted all my student loans, and at this point I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to pay them back. Well, not before agreeing to this.”

Learning that Ivy is an academic isn’t a surprise. The moment I saw her, I knew she wasn’t the usual type to search out our auctions. It explains the clinical way I’ve caught her examining us.

“When you wake up tomorrow,” I begin softly, “you’ll have sixty million dollars sitting in your bank account. If you’re careful, you’ll never have to work again with that kind of wealth.”

“I’m not the type that can sit around and be… be rich. I’d go crazy.” Ivy says with a shake of her head. “Besides, getting into this program is what I’ve always wanted. I can’t give it up now.”

Kez chuckles and sets her foot back into the bath. “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

I nod my agreement.

Ivy takes a deep breath. “So, how does this work? It’s almost morning. My time will be up soon. Do you… do you want me one more time?”

Kez’s face twists with a pained expression.

And my heart clenches at the reality that our time is up. Letting her go isn’t supposed to feel this way. We were supposed to share a night of sex and then walk away. Ivy gets everything she wants, without any memories to confuse her reality that monsters are fictional.

Suddenly the thought of piercing her perfect skin with a needle, knowing that when she wakes she’ll have no memory of me, of us, or our time together, makes my chest ache and my hands clench under the water.

“I—Wewould… are supposed to…” I stutter as I glance at Kez across the tub again.

“Maybe we need to have a talk with Jarik.” Kez suggests and then adds softly, “You feel it too, don’t you?”

Fuck me if my heart doesn’t lift a little at his suggestion. Could we go to Jarik? Marcus, the old faction leader, would have never considered what we want to propose. In fact, he probably would have retaliated and harmed Ivy or even worse for our obstinance. Jarik is different. He’s Alpha of Alphas, for one thing. Bred from a long line of leaders. He also met his mate through the auction, in much the same way we found Ivy.

But what if he refuses? Would going to him inadvertently put Ivy in danger?

She looks back and forth between us, the little space between her eyes puckering in a frown. “Feel what?” she asks.

My arms come around her, holding her lush body against me, and I make the decision to ensure her safety over our happiness.

“When this is all over, we’ll tuck you into bed,” I say against the side of her face as my eyes meet and hold Kez’s. “When you wake up, you’ll be back in your apartment, and you won’t remember either of us, or what happened. There will be instructions explaining the money, where it came from and why, but that’s all.”

“That’s all? What if… what if I don’t want that? To forget, I mean.” Her voice is soft with an underlying panic that cuts into me.

“Those are the rules.” Kez says flatly. His eyes jump to Ivy, then back to me. “For what it’s worth, I don’t want that either. Do you, Jacob?”

Fuck no! The more I think about letting her go, the more I want to wrap her in my arms, take Kez, and run. But then reality sinks in.

“Being on the run from the Brotherhood would ruin all her carefully made plans and I can’t take that from her,” I say to Kez. Then I look down at Ivy. “I would rather live in a world knowing you’re happy and living your dreams, than to have you hate us because we took everything from you.”

“Don’t I get a say?” Her head tilts up and dark eyes burn into mine with a fury that surprises me. She’s been so docile, despite everything we’ve done to her, and seeing her claws makes my heart clench with pride that she would fight for us if we let her.

“No, baby girl.” I press a kiss to her temple. “We don’t get a say, either.”

When the bath water starts to cool, I lift Ivy out and wrap her in a thick towel. Drying her carefully, and maybe more thoroughly than necessary, I carry her over to the bed where Kez has already turned down the blankets. Our clothes are folded neatly near the end. A pre-filled syringe tucked inside the pile.

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