Page 13 of The Ties We Break

The clothes she’s wearing, despite being incredibly sexy with the way they show off her tempting curves, they’re so much more reserved than the majority of the people in here. She’s showing off a little bit of that milky, pale skin, yet nowhere near enough to say she is confident with her body. Never mind the way she looks, it’s the way she holds herself. She seems almost anxious and nervous the whole time. Even now, as she mentally debates what to do next, I can see her fingers picking away at each other, like she has to have something to do with her hands at all times. Then, whenever we make eye contact, and I lock onto her pretty brown eyes, she dips her head or looks away. I've seen enough submissives to know that she isn’t doing that to show the power I have over her, she’s doing it because she is scared.

I’ve watched her tonight, way more than I would like to fucking admit, and I saw her getting turned on watching the scene. She looked shocked and unsure of herself. There were a couple of times when I thought she would lower her hand into her shorts, like her friend did, but she didn’t. She stopped herself every time, afraid to just go with the flow. Hence why I said she couldn’t go anywhere fucking near the auction.

I’m pulled back to our moment as the bubble bursts, and I hear a sharp, shocked intake of breath from Cherry and a whoop from my best friend.

“Now, this is a party,” Kian sings, far happier than he should be. He’s always trying to get me laid, and I think he’s hoping for the best out of this one.

I gather my thoughts to block out the others and whatever drama they are reacting to. That’s when I realise the beauty in front of me has slowly dropped to her knees. Her face is lit up like a bright red lighthouse, and her teeth lightly chew on her lower lip. As her hands break apart from picking at each other, she tentatively reaches up towards the button on my trousers, and it’s not hard to miss the fact she’s shaking like a pissing leaf.

Standing here, taking in the unbelievable scene before me, I ask myself: why the fuck haven’t I stopped her yet? Do I want her to go ahead? Even though it’s clearly something she is terrified of doing? I can see that. Hell, it’s impossible to fucking miss how scared she is. So why am I not moving? At that point, I realise I’m as frozen with shock as she is. But if I don’t react soon, my rock-hard cock will be out, and we will both have to see things through.

Despite her shaky hands, she manages to get the button open before I stop her with a harsh tone. “Enough.”

Smacking her hands away, I quickly fasten my button before taking hold of the tops of her arms and pulling her back to her feet as though she weighs nothing. Her surprised yelp is music to my ears, and I can’t help the cocky grin that appears. How the hell did this girl manage to surprise me? I won't be underestimating her again, that’s for sure.

“But…I–I thought…don’t I—”

Silencing her, I keep my voice stern. “Don’t ramble. Get to your point.”

Her pouty red lips fall open as her big chocolate eyes widen in shock at my stern, commanding tone. I don’t know why I’m even considering giving this girl a chance. If my gut instinct is correct, which it always is, this girl has no idea what her sexual limits are. At best, she has had some drunken fumbles that she immediately regretted. At worst, she is still a virgin. She will need a tutor if I do let her take part.

I know I said the drunken fumble was the best-case scenario, but the more I think about it, the more my lips curl into a disapproving snarl, and my knuckles crack under the strain of contracting my hands into fists. Why does the idea of this beauty fucking someone else make me want to kill someone? Fuck, I haven’t been in that life for a long fucking time, and I don’t ever want to go back. I am legit now, and I plan to stay that way. No timid little princess waltzing into my club, looking like my perfect wet dream, will change that. This is why women are too much hassle. They bring with them emotions, and feelings, something I can’t afford to let in ever again.

“Why did you stop me? I need to prove to you that I can do this. Please…I need to be in this auction.” Her pleading voice trails off at the end, and it’s clear she doesn’t feel comfortable begging and asking for help either.

Looking her up and down appraisingly again, I then risk a slight glance behind at Kian, who is watching the scene unfold with a beer in his hand and a bright fucking grin on his face. He looks like the only thing he’s missing is fucking popcorn. Cherry, on the other hand, at least has the decency to be leaning against the bar, facing the wall of liquor that lines behind the bar, making it look as though she isn’t taking any notice of what’s going on between her friend and me. But it’s not hard to miss her staring at us from the corner of her eye.

“If you are serious about this, we can go to my office and sign the paperwork. But let me be very fucking clear with you. From the minute you put your name on that piece of paper, nothing takes it off. You are signing up, and only death will get you out of it. So, you better be fucking sure,” I sneer before releasing the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“I want to, I—” I interrupt her before she can finish her demands to join the auction.

“You need to see the paperwork first. Come to my office.” Retaining the commanding edge it always has, my voice softens slightly to let her know she has a choice.

Looking over at her friend, she turns to me with her eyebrows raised, as though she is asking the question in her mind first before saying it aloud. Her face morphs into a small smile as she prepares to ask me, but I cut her off once before she has a chance. “No, Cherry cannot come. You come alone. I can make sure you get home safely if that’s what is worrying you.”

“How long will this take?” she squeaks before clamping her hand over her mouth. I don’t know if it’s through shock she spoke out of turn or how ridiculously high-pitched her voice just became. Either way, it’s hard not to smile at how fucking cute she looks when she’s flustered.

What the fuck is wrong with me? Cute?! Maybe Kian is right, and I do need to get laid.

“It will take however long it takes. Do you want to do this another night? I can’t guarantee I will be free though, or shall we do this now?”

She replies as soon as the words leave my mouth, not skipping a beat. “Yes, please, can we do it now?” She then turns to her friend. “Don’t wait for me. I will text you when I’m home, okay?”

“Are you sure, Boo? Because we can leave right now and come up with another plan,” Cherry responds.

“I will be fine. There is no other plan. This is it. I need that money, Sian. I will do whatever I have to do to get it. Go have fun, don’t worry about me.”

Now she has my interest really piqued. She’s right when she said earlier that desperate people do desperate things, but that still doesn’t mean I’m going to let her make the wrong choice. I need to make sure she doesn’t regret her decision.

“The live show is about to start, Cherry. You may want to watch. I’ve heard it’s a good one,” I say, and her blinding smile lets me know that is precisely what she has been waiting for. I waste no time turning to address my best friend. “You need to go home. Get some rest ready for tomorrow’s fight. Don’t make me have you thrown out.”

“I was going anyway,” he replies with an eye roll as he downs the rest of his drink.

Dropping down from his stool, he curves around me before holding his hand out to the girl in front of me, and it just occurs to me that I don’t even know her name. “Nice to meet you,” he says with his arm outstretched, those fucking dimples on display again. I’m choosing to ignore how her face tilts into a smile as she gently shakes his hand. Her tiny palm looks even smaller against his large hand, and never has she seemed more fragile to me. I have to find a way of getting her to back out of this auction, and quickly.

“Nice to meet you too, Cherry. Maybe we will see each other again soon,” Kian coos with his arm outstretched towards Cherry. When her hand touches his, instead of shaking like he just did with the other girl, he pulls her hand towards his face and gently kisses her knuckles. It’s an old-fashioned move, but given the extremely girly giggle that escapes Cherry’s lips, she clearly loves it.

“I hope so, too,” Cherry replies through her bright smile. “Actually, did you just say something about a fight?”

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