Page 5 of Sold to Her Enemy

I scroll through the headshots again, knowing this is my chance to study the merchandise. The murmur of the crowd fades as Edward takes the stage.

I go back to the first headshot, the tablet slides automatically to headshot two. Guess I’m out of time to view.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Club Lust. We are pleased to have sixteen lots of merchandise up for sale tonight!” The mysterious and dignified owner of Club Lust stands next to the stage. His voice is stern, commanding all of our attention. “Please remember once the lights are fully off that no one is to move from their seats. This auction will be silent. As I announce the merchandise, a headshot will appear on your tablets. I will provide information on each lot. If you are interested, the starting bid is five hundred thousand and will go up in increments of fifty thousand until it reaches one million.”

I don’t know if my sister is worth the expenditure but I need a date who will respect our privacy and I’ll pay whatever that costs.

“At that time, each bid will raise by five hundred thousand. You may click the bid button as many times as you desire. Each auction will only be open for five minutes. At the end of that time, the tablets will announce the winning bid number only. A reminder we do not use names. If you are outbid, it will flash across your screen to bid again, and if you win, the tablet will flash, notifying you are the winner. Just a reminder that if you bid for two people and win tonight, then your tablet will automatically lock, preventing you from any additional bidding for the night. Our first lot for the night is Virtue.”

The first woman, or “merchandise,” struts out on stage, but I’m not interested and my mind goes over the work I left with my assistant.

Ever since my new company took over the entire operation of MM Industries, we realized that the accounting information that should be there isn’t on some of the contracts. It’s taken a team of forensic accountants to sort through the mess, and we’ve lost millions in the process.

The tablet flashes in my hand with the winning bid, then slides to the information for the next woman on stage.

Pushing work from my mind, I refocus on the merchandise to find a date. After the second girl is won, I look up as the third one takes the stage. Something is familiar about the sway of her hips.

Reading her info, a shiver of ice rolls through me. It can’t be.

I stare at the woman on stage, then back to the photo on the screen in my hands. My mouth goes dry as I read her kinks. My eyes glaze over the words. My heart feels like a two-by-four has rammed right through it.

“Lot Number Three, meet Davis. Her limits include watersports and blood play. Let the bidding start for this beauty.”

Edward’s voice fades out and all I can hear is my pounding heartbeat.

Her name is Davis.

On the stage, the woman struts, her long oak leaf burnt hair glowing under the lights.

Her shoulders are straight as she stops to do her walk, and I clue into what Edward is saying.

Numbers flash across my screen and I force myself to bid.

But my heart is trying to recover because I know this woman.

I never thought I would see her again.

It takes all my willpower not to rush from my seat onto the stage and carry her caveman style over my shoulder.

If I pushed back the hair on her nape, I would see a diamond-shaped birthmark.

I have to keep from screaming, “She’s mine!” even though she never wanted to be.

Tonight I am going to buy her, even if I have to spend every last penny in my bank accounts.

“The bidding is now up to a million,” Edward gives the update as the bids tumble in, numbers quickly rising on the banner on the tablet.

I stab at the tablet, taking in every inch of Davis, from her perfect breasts to the slender curve of her hips.

I can’t wait to get my hands on her. I can’t wait to torment her and have her under me, the only place I want her.

Electric white-hot need races through my body.

I enter a higher bid, and it flashes across the screen, telling me I’ve been outbid.

“Two point five million,” Edward announces.

I see Davis, grasp her hands together, and twist them. Her nerves make me grind my molars more because I have never known this woman to lose it under pressure.

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