Page 238 of Bound By Her

She ran her finger along the curve of Seth’s glass, noting the rigid stillness of his body. He was trying too hard to look unaffected. Adria knew him well enough now to read between the lines. He was anxious.

She gave him a soft smile. He blinked, muscles easing.

Good boy.

Tomorrow, they’d be gone. That thought stabbed sharper than expected.

The black-tinted car would pull away from the estate, and Adria would watch. Even with Jonathan under herthumb and Callen nowhere in sight, the inevitability of their departure hung over her like storm clouds.

She was halfway through her next circuit of the room when Seth’s gaze shifted. His attention snapping sharply to someone behind her.

Adria turned.

It was the redhead. She was stunning, sleek, poised, utterly confident. Adria watched as she glided across the floor like she owned it. Like none of this fazed her. Her gaze flicked over the boys, but there was no hunger in it. Just calculation.

Adria’s spine tingled. Something about the woman itched at the edge of her memory, but Adria couldn’t place it.

Her instincts flared. Not a threat, exactly. But something to watch.

As she made her rounds—polished smiles, careful compliments—her eyes kept darting back to the woman. Eventually, Adria gave up pretending and crossed the room.

“I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Adria,” she said, extending a hand.

The woman clasped her hand with confidence. Her brown eyes scanning Adria like she was reading a file. “Kate. Callie’s cousin. She fell ill and sent me to check out your merchandise.”

“First time?” Adria asked, voice light.

Kate nodded, though her eyes returned to the boys. Her flush was subtle but real.

“It’s hard to find a good match for someone else. Are you sure Callie isn’t well enough to come herself?”

Kate tilted her head. “This is your auction, right?”

Adria nodded.

Kate’s gaze returned to the pedestals. No more pretense this time—she was evaluating. Auditing.

“Any injuries I should know about?” she asked.

Adria blinked. “Of course not.”

Anger surged through her, cold and fast.

“They’ve been well cared for. If your cousin has doubts about my reputation as a Dom, she’s welcome to speak to me directly. And as for the three of them—” Her voice sharpened, each syllable cutting. “They will go nowhere that will injure them. Is that clear?”

A hush fell. A few heads turned. Adria realized she had stepped in close, her body leaning aggressively towards Kate.

Kate merely raised an eyebrow, as if watching her reaction unfold like a case study.

“Protective,” Kate murmured. “Not what I expected.”

Adria forced herself to inhale. Steady. Recenter.

“Yes, well. These days, we have to be.”

Adria didn’t wait for a reply.

Turning on her heel, she weaved through the crowd again, the pounding of her heart louder than the music. The moment she was out of Kate’s eyeline, she exhaled shakily.

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