Page 37 of The Ties We Break

“Thank you,” I tell Kian as he returns me to my room.

“No problem. Look, I know this is none of my business, and I do not mean to come off as someone who is interfering, but I just want to say that Declan isn’t the guy he makes out he is. He thinks he’s cursed to be alone forever because of some bad shit that happened in his childhood, but he isn’t. He's the one doing the cursing by pushing people away. I can’t make any promises because I have no idea how this auction will go down, but I know that Declan likes you a lot. He may be too scared to admit it, and I have no idea if you will be able to have a future together, but I want you never to doubt his feelings for you. They are there, and they are fucking strong. He just needs to figure it all out in his head, so please be patient with him,” Kian explains before walking towards the door to leave.

“You two really are like brothers, aren’t you?” I smile, and so does Kian. “Wait, are you bidding tonight? You don’t have a paddle.”

“I’m still waiting to find out. I always leave things to the last minute. But I have my eye on a girl, so wish me luck,” he says with a cheeky wink. I can’t help but roll my eyes and chuckle at the same time. It's not hard to see why women fall at this man's feet.

“She is one lucky girl,” I say as he closes the door with a smile.

Now all I have to do is wait my turn, which just happens to be the very end of the auction. Good thing I brought my Kindle to keep me entertained. Yes, I'm the girl who sits and reads her Kindle while waiting to auction off her virginity.

* * *

I haveno idea how long I wait, but Jasmine comes rushing into the room, announcing that I am up next. She takes a few minutes to straighten down what little fabric I’m wearing before pulling up my boobs to make sure they look good, then fluffing my hair and checking my makeup. I stand there, stunned that she actually grabbed and manhandled my boobs, but then again, we have been a lot closer before. A blush spreads across my cheeks as that thought enters my head.

Jasmine doesn’t let me stand still for long as she drags me to the stairs at the back of the stage. I can hear Declan’s voice, and it starts to soothe me. He is talking about me, almost like you would at a car auction, so people can ensure I'm a new enough model with no mileage on the clock.

Jas breaks through my daydream by shouting in my ear. “Do you remember what you need to do?!”

“Yes. Walk on stage and strike some poses, then when Dec indicates, I walk down the catwalk. At the bottom of the catwalk, I strike a few more poses and remove my robe before doing a few more rotations. Then I walk back to the main stage and stand beside Dec to wait for the bidding to begin.” I recite all the instructions I’d read before arriving, which have been drilled into me since I got to the club.

My heart is racing, my stomach is doing flips, and I feel incredibly sick. It’s a good job I didn’t eat before coming here. There’s a good chance it could come back up right now. Jas takes hold of one of my sweaty palms, squeezing before giving me a gentle push up onto the stage.

Standing on the main stage, I hear a roar of applause, but luckily, I can’t see anything because of all the strobe lights. I discreetly risk looking over to Declan, who looks even better than usual in a delicious black suit, but his eyes are firmly on the crowd. He’s behaving as though I don’t exist, which I guess after I do this, I won't to him.

Following all the steps I just recited to Jasmine, when I’m at the bottom of the catwalk and remove my robe, catcalls and wolf whistles echo around the building. Despite being terrified and a bit revulsed by the situation I’ve got myself into, I must admit it’s a massive confidence boost to have all these men think I’m good-looking.

As I walk back up the catwalk, I chance another glance over at Declan, and this time he is definitely staring. His normally crystal blue eyes look almost obsidian as the pupils are enlarged with lust. He looks like his body is burning for me, but as soon as he catches me staring, he looks away.

Once I reach my spot on the stage, Declan wastes no time opening up the bidding at just one thousand Euros. He did warn me when I signed up that they always start low to entice people, but it will go up, and he was right. Men and women are bidding left, right, and centre, so much so that I have no idea how Dec is keeping up.

A man who introduced himself as Walter raises the bid exponentially by calling one hundred thousand Euros, and I nearly fall off the stage. After hearing that number, many people dropped out, but there were still one or two left. As I hear someone call one hundred and fifty thousand, my body shudders when I recognise his voice. Guy. How the hell does he have that kind of money? Why didn’t I ask Dec to tell me more about Guy? He’s obviously some big-time criminal if he has links with Desmond Doughty. I just wish I knew more about what I’m dealing with.

I thought that amount would be enough to win, and I must admit my heart sank, but Walter and a telephone bidder continue to bid until Guy calls out for two hundred thousand. Walter confirms he’s out, as does the telephone bidder, and now I really start to panic. I look over at Declan, and he’s glancing around hopelessly, looking for someone else to bid.

“The bid stands at two hundred thousand Euros. Would anyone else like to bid? Anyone?” Dec asks desperately, but the room falls silent. “If there’s no other interest, I’m selling the beautiful Rose here to Guy for two hundred thousand Euros. Going once. Going twice—”

Before Declan finishes his sentence, there’s a flurry of activity at the entrance to the club, and I notice someone running into the room. When he gets closer to the stage, I see it’s Kian, and he’s holding a bidding panel.

“Sorry for the delay. I would like to bid two hundred and fifty thousand, please.” Kian smiles brightly, first at Declan before making it look slightly smugger as he aims for Guy.

“You can’t do that!” shouts Guy.

“Silence, please. The bid now stands at two hundred and fifty thousand. Would anyone like to raise that? Guy? Do you want to increase your bid?” Declan asks in a very sarcastic way, the humiliation clear on Guy's face as everyone turns to look at him.

“If there will be no increase, then I’m going to sell Rose to Kian for two hundred and fifty thousand Euros. Going once…Going twice…Going for a third and final time—” Declan looks towards Kian with a very confused look on his face, but as he looks over at me, his smile is evident, as is mine. Well…that is until Guy begins yelling like a banshee.

“You can’t do this! You are cheating. Kian is bidding for Declan, which breaks all the rules! Besides, Kian wasn’t here earlier, so he hasn’t been approved as suitable for bidding on anyone, let alone her. This is a complete fix, and I will not let it stand!” He continues shouting as people around begin to look uncomfortable.

Suddenly an older man appears on stage and takes the microphone out of Declan's hand. Given that Dec hands it over, no questions asked, I’m guessing this is the club owner, Desmond.

“Guy, will you shut up? I authorised Kian around fifteen minutes ago. Apparently, he saw our beautiful Rose in her yellow outfit and just had to bid. I mean, talk about waiting until the last petal has almost fallen, but his bid is legitimate and on time. He was late attending because he had to wait for me to run all the necessary checks. He has the money, and he meets all her sexual requirements. If they choose to include Declan, or you for that matter, in their night, that is nobody’s business but theirs. Now, if you have the money, you can win her fairly, but if you don’t, you better shut up and stop causing chaos in my club. Do you understand?” His voice started as friendly, but it soon turned menacing. At the mention of Guy causing chaos in his club, I didn’t miss the way his free hand instinctively lowers to the side of his waistband, where I have no doubt I would find a gun.

Guy quiets down, simply nodding his understanding to Mr Doughty before Desmond confirms Kian won a night with me. He tells everyone it’s the end of the evening and that the girls will return to their rooms to get changed before coming out and meeting their men.

Just as I’m about to walk backstage, Declan caught up and walked alongside me. “I’m so sorry. I have no idea why Kian bid on you, but I will get to the bottom of it. I can’t believe he fucking did that,” Declan fumes, his eyes raging, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Don’t you see? He did this for us. Kian has no interest in me. He never has. I think he’s done this, not only to prevent Guy from winning me, but also to give us a chance. Now nothing is standing in our way except you,” I explain as I reach my door. Declan stands there frozen, clearly unsure what to do, so I throw him a lifeline. “Give me five minutes to change, and I will come out so we can talk about it. Okay?” With a nod of confirmation, he heads off towards the main area, no doubt to speak to Kian, and I close the door.

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