Page 237 of Bound By Her

Bryson shrugged, bringing his lips inches from hers. “A hunch.”

“And the photos?” she said.

She closed her eyes, lips parting, she let the warmth of his proximity envelop her.

“I had some help,” he said mysteriously.

He didn’t elaborate, and she felt him move impossibly closer. He still hadn’t touched her, and the anticipation of it burned on her skin.

Finally he leaned in, the soft brush of his lips caressed her cheek, feather soft. She burned for more. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

She could get lost in those eyes.

Seeing him looking at her like that. He didn’t take her power, he fueled it.

“See you soon, beautiful,” was all he said before disappearing from the room.

Adria touched the side of her cheek, which was still tingling from the brief contact. The three of them were going to be the death of her.

She scooped up each photo in silence, carefully putting each one of them back into the envelope. Right after the auction, she was going to find out where this place was and shut it down.

CHAPTER 59

NORTH CAROLINA

Adria stood at the top of the entrance stairs, the spotlight cutting through the noise as she addressed the crowd. “Welcome, everyone.”

From her elevated position, she scanned the room. Her eyes lingered on familiar faces and quickly dismissed the unfamiliar. Callen was nowhere to be seen. Under normal circumstances, it would be ridiculous to see him at an auction for his son’s sexual service, but Callen’s actions were routinely ridiculous.

Her stomach twisted, and she forced herself to keep her expression neutral.

“Tonight, you will be presented with not one, but three of my fresh charges.”

Every eye shifted to her.

“You may have heard rumors. All I ask is that you let your own eyes decide what’s true.”

Adria told herself it was for their safety. That this was part of the plan. That what they were doing was strategic. But that didn’t make it feel any less like betrayal.

“Tonight’s attendance is larger than prior auctions. As such, we’ll be doing things a little differently.”

She paused and gave the room a smirk. “When you are ready, please join me in the ballroom.”

The double doors opened as she approached, revealing a modern cocktail lounge with an opulent chandelier hanging in the center. Black and white high tops were scattered throughout the space. The room dripped in gothic opulence, but it was the far wall that held the party’s true center of gravity.

Three glass pedestals. Three men on display.

Bryson in the center. Kaydon to his right. Seth to his left.

They were magnificent. Silent, still, powerful in their restraint. Their hands behind their heads, bow ties the only scrap of clothing left on them. The glass cases had been her idea. A layer of separation, a breath of safety. She told herself it would make things easier.

A ripple of attention moved through the crowd as guests took them in. Adria watched Bryson closely. Somehow, impossibly, he had shifted from shadowed menace to pliant object. In ten minutes. Maybe less.

“Why are they under glass? We can’t touch?”

The complaint was loud, entitled.

“They’re decorations,” Adria replied smoothly, voice laced with charm. “Don’t worry. We have plenty of time.”

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