Page 3 of Love Me Not

She looked around and dropped her voice to a whisper.

“Pearl.”

I let out a sigh of relief.The last thing I wanted was to be kicked out of the auction for breaking the rules.

“I’m nervous,” I admitted.“I’m afraid no one will buy me.”I let out a laugh, but it sounded a bit manic even to my ears.

This got a real smile from Pearl.“Me too.How humiliating would it be to just stand up there with no bids?”

“Now, now, relax.Club Pétale would never let that happen,” a girl said as she walked across the stage and sat down right on the edge of it to speak to us.“After all, we have a reputation to uphold, don’t we?”

She had silver-dyed hair that was slicked back and shaven on the sides.Her face glittered with multiple piercings and her skin was covered in tattoos.They peeked out of her deep purple silk button-up that had the first few buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up.I could see a few leather straps underneath that were mostly hidden by the clothing.

She gave us a sultry grin.

“I’m Sloan,” she said, looking each one of us in the eyes.“I’m in charge of memberships here, but since this auction was my idea, my hard-ass of a boss decided to put me in charge of it?—”

There was a throat clearing off to the side of the stage.My eyes shot to the sound and my breath caught in my throat as an older woman with honey eyes and matching hair stared at the girl in front of us with a hardened look.

It had fear racing up my spine.She looked like she was going to kill someone.

“Speak of the devil,” Sloan muttered, never losing her smile.

“I don’t pay you to bad-mouth me.”

“You pay me?”Sloan asked, her gaze shifting to her boss, whose edges of her lips tilted before she turned.

“Finish up.Bidders are getting antsy.”

“That’s Ax,” Sloan explained as the other woman disappeared behind the curtain.“She’s the boss, and though she seems like she has a stick up her ass, we promise your experience here is of the utmost importance.”

Another girl with dark, curly hair and light umber skin pulled up to my side.

“This is my insanely beautiful wife, Lillian.She, along with Nyx, who’s waiting for you backstage, is going to make sure you’re comfortable.Lil will be in charge of taking pictures, so if you’re not okay with that, please tell her so.”

I looked up at her and she automatically gave me a warm smile.

“Let’s get everyone back before it starts, hm?I think Ax wants to say a few words.”

Ax.The scary one.

“Alright then, we will finish this back there.”

They showed us through the small back area where there were extra seats, a couch, water, fruit, and other snacks.

“If you need to change, you can do so over there,” the girl I came to know as Nyx said as she handed me a water.She had long brown hair with the ends dyed a deep purple with pink at the very end.She had a kind smile that made me like her immediately.“We have extra clothes and shoes in case you’re uncomfortable.I will also be the one to see you to your room after you have signed your contract and your bidding has concluded.”

“Speaking of contracts, you will sign one now and one after the bidder’s bid is accepted and the funds are transferred,” the scary one said as she addressed our group.“You will get a chance to back out at every step.After the bidding, we will ask if you’re comfortable continuing with your bidder, and there are call buttons in the rooms to alert us if you need help at any time.Nothing is more important than your safety.”

When her eyes fell to Nyx, I saw them soften slightly.I wonder how they ever ended up together.The scarier one seemed a bit too harsh for someone like Nyx, but maybe it was different behind closed doors.The thought had me flushing, and I turned my eyes to the floor as I wondered what would be happening to me behind closed doors tonight.

“Alright,” she said when no one spoke up.“Shall we get this started?”

* * *

Maybe I should back out.

I stood by the edge of the curtain as Ax and Sloan gave their speech to the bidders.

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