Page 64 of Auctioned Surrender

The story is straightforward. I’m surprised at how easy it comes to my lips without ever having had to speak it before. “Somebody murdered my cousin. I was too late to prevent it, but I saw it happen.”

He caresses the side of my neck. “I’m sorry you saw that, princess. What happened?”

I sigh. “It’s been over a month, and I still can’t get the picture out of my mind. My cousin was bartending and got an offer to go out back for a side job.”

“Meaning?”

I shrug. “You know, the guy gets off, my cousin gets paid. It happens. Even in the nicest of places. It happens.”

Dereck gently tugs the end of my hair with his hand. “There, all done. The braid allows your neck to be completely exposed to me, just the way I like it,” he says gently into my ear while caressing down the length of my neck.

A shiver runs down the length of my spine, and he outlines it with the tip of a finger, letting it trail to my lower back. “Now, tell me what happened, all of it, Layla.”

The same feeling of helplessness every time I think about my cousin envelopes me. I shrug. “The man got off, but she didn’t get paid. That’s not what he was after, not entirely anyway. Once they finished, he tried to snatch her. He was working for the trafficking industry, and damn it, she just looked too good for that puta to pass up,” I say, barely holding back the tears.

“Turn and face me, Layla.”

I take a deep breath, willing the tears to remain at bay while I turn to face him on the cushion. The heat of his gaze causes me to look up. He slides a hand behind my neck and positions me so that his eyes meet my own.

They survey me keenly, and his other hand encloses my wrist, lifting it, placing a finger on my pulse. “Relax, princess,” he says, trailing his fingers from behind my neck down its length to my collarbone while my nipples turn to hardened points, straining for his touch.

“Somehow, you learned the man who killed your cousin worked at R.J.’s club, and you decided to take matters into your own hands and find out who he and the others are working for?”

That conclusion is precisely what anyone hearing the story was supposed to deduce, so a success by those measures. “Not exactly. She worked at a different club, but you’re close enough,” I say, not entirely a lie.

Dereck rubs the short hairs of his chin as he observes me, looking down at me, still watching me with those intense, steely eyes. “Are you going to tell me why you were going after Bernatelli tonight? We have things with your friend Bryanna under control, and you know she’s not there. She’s under my team’s protection, so why go to Bernatelli’s if not for her? Revenge for the young woman, your cousin?”

“Maybe a little bit,” I say, swallowing back the emotion that always threatens just thinking about it.

He lifts my chin with the tip of his finger as I try to look away, struggling to keep the tears away. “Look at me, princess. Tell me why, if not for that?”

I haven’t talked about this situation with one other person on this earth, and the caring tone of his voice when I’m this vulnerable is too much to deal with right now. I feel the tears spill and intend to dry them, but he’s already there, stroking my cheeks and wiping them as they fall.

“My sister was kidnapped too, about a month ago. These people took both of them from me.” I shrug. “So I started working at the club to see what I could learn. Tomorrow at midnight, it will be four full weeks with not one sign of my sister. It’s like she’s vanished into the air, not one trace.”

“Did you learn anything that will help except for what Larry told you tonight?”

I shake my head, feeling the overwhelming helplessness close in around me. “It took me this entire time to get close to R.J. I was hoping to find her that way, but the puta doesn’t make a mistake. Not one slip up, or one word of who he works for, or anything that will help, not one damn thing! Nothing! And then he saw me with you, and it blew that avenue all to hell. He was never going to trust me after that.”

“We’ll find her, Layla.” His voice is calm and soothing, but time is not on our side.

“I don’t have time. Every minute is a minute too long. For all I know, they sold her, and she’s overseas by now. I just keep holding on to the hope that they’ve wanted to keep her local, move her around from bar to bar, keep her making a little local money before selling her to the big spenders overseas,” I say, wiping away the damn tears that will not stay at bay.

Dereck leans down and lifts me into his arms, pressing me against his chest. “Let your tears fall, Layla. We’ll find her. We’ll develop a plan and look for your sister. We have an entire team dedicated to protecting people like her, okay?” he says, looking down at me.

It feels so good to share some of the burdens with the strength of this man. I simply nod, nestling against the comfort of just being in his arms.

“I’ve grown quite fond of your name, Layla. Tell me your real name?” Dereck coaxes, gazing down at me.

I smile at that. “It’s Layla. By some strange eery coincidence, my name is Layla,” I say, my body thrumming with desire as he holds me.

“I’m glad, princess. Tonight, we’re going to get rid of some of your stress, and then you’re going to rest and think about what we’ve talked about while I work on finding out a little bit more about Bernatelli. We’ll have breakfast in the morning and start working on a plan to find out where your sister is.”

I start to argue, but he places a finger on my lips. “Enough worrying tonight. It will do nothing but compound things further, and there are far better ways to spend the night,” Dereck says, picking me up as he stands and straightens with me in his arms.

“Your bed or mine, princess?” Dereck asks, looking down at me.

Chapter 11

---