Chapter 31
31
R eaper had convinced me to stay in a secure room with Az keeping watch during the auction viewing, where he confirmed King had put my most treasured possession on display. The catalogue stated that I’d be modeling it during the auction, but Reaper said I didn’t have to. To my disgust, King had implied the Bryson Curse might come along with the dress, an idea sure to titillate.
The dress arguably belonged in the Smithsonian, but I hadn’t been able to part with it. Mama had loved that dress.
King was selling it to a random stranger, and if he succeeded, I’d never see it again. It would be hoarded in some private collection where they’d do god knew what with it.
Reaper promised he wouldn’t let it happen, but whatever solution he came up with to work around the auction rules, he’d be paying King for my dress. This was King’s first move to retaliate against me for the things I’d done, and I couldn’t let him get away with it. Now was the moment to strike back. Reaper would be in the middle of performing his duties as auctioneer, so there was no way to talk to him, but I couldn’t let the thought go.
I rushed out the door of the suite. “I need to go to the auction,” I told Az. Instead of telling me to stay put or saying he needed to check with Reaper, he studied me for a split second, then nodded once. He walked next to me without saying a word, but it felt like silent support.
I was allowed through the door to the backstage area because my name was on a list, and as soon as someone spotted me, they led me over to a holding area with seats.
“You’re up soon,” the busy-looking woman told me.
I tilted my fingers up to get the concierge’s attention.
The concierge was an unassuming-looking older white nonbinary person who spoke softly but wielded influence at the auction on par with Reaper’s.
I gave them a polite smile. “Can I pull my item from the auction?”
They pursed their lips, looking thoughtful. “Only if you replace it with something of equal or greater interest.”
Shit. Shit. I couldn’t think what would be considered of greater interest than the dress. “Does the item have to physically be here?”
They spread their hands. “Yes.”
“What about my ring?” I asked, holding up the giant rock on my finger.
They gave me the patient look of a person used to dealing with the excessively wealthy. “It’s valuable, to be certain, but another like it could be acquired outside the auction. For an item to be of interest here, it must be… unique , unattainable elsewhere.”
The low, playful rumble of Reaper’s voice carried from the stage, where he was auctioning marriage to a pretty though nervous-looking young woman, pulling my attention to him, until a stunning woman in a beaded dress and an incredible red necklace that looked like an elaborate collar walked past me backstage, obviously waiting for her turn.
Ruby Belmonte. Heir to the Belmonte territory, from a family as powerful as mine. She was so comfortable in her own skin, so confident despite all the chaos backstage.
“What’s she selling?” I asked.
The concierge looked in the direction I’d nodded. “Miss Ruby is selling three nights with her.” They said it so matter-of-factly, like an heiress suddenly deciding to do a little sex work was no big deal.
I was thinking about this all wrong! “The night with me,” I said, trying to sound like I knew what I was doing.
I held my breath, waiting for them to say he had to check with my husband. I didn’t realize just how much I’d come to accept that phrase until they simply said, “I’ll get you a contract.”
I almost burst into relieved tears, then fought the impulse to laugh. I was relieved that I was considered a person with enough agency to…auction myself for sex.
They returned almost immediately with a thick document. I didn’t bother reading it. I just filled it out, signed it, and handed it back to them.
They nodded. “I’ll notify the auctioneer.”
“What the fuck is this?” Reaper tossed the contract onto the table in front of me.
I took a deep breath, determined not to cave. “I’m going to be in the auction, and the winner can enjoy the pleasure of my company for the night.”
He leaned closer, and his tone turned lethal. “Is he somehow forcing you into this?”
I kissed him hard and quick. “This is my choice . He tried to auction my most precious possession…so instead I’m selling his. He won’t be able to stop it, or he’ll look weak, like he can’t control his own wife.”
Reaper closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, muttering, “Devil save me from brats…” When he looked back up, seriousness stamped the chiseled planes of his face. “This isn’t a game, darling. Do you know who’s out there? Do you know what they’d do to Nathaniel Bryson’s daughter if they had the chance? The depraved shit they’d do to Kevin King’s wife just to make a point?”
“I don’t care. Whatever humiliation I suffer, it’ll be worth it to make him suffer too. He hates the idea of sharing me with anyone else. The thought of his torment for the night will get me through it. I can’t think of anything more likely to make him snap.” I managed to sound sure, but I was trembling so violently, he must’ve been able to see it.
He put his hands flat on the table like he was keeping himself under control. “I don’t have funds already cleared in an auction escrow account or a proxy able to cover what those assholes will bid for you.”
King had shown too much control so far. If he was retaliating against me with the dress, then he thought he still had power. There was no telling what moves he was making in the background or when he might leave the auction and blow my chance. I needed him to lose control, and there was no better way to trigger him, no matter the risks.
I laid my hands on top of Reaper’s. “We don’t have a better plan.”
He gave me a look charged with intensity. “You remember when I told you I could protect you? I said it knowing perfectly well what kind of trouble you manage to get yourself into. If this is what you need to do…I’ll just have to be true to my word.”
Like it was settled, he nodded to a woman with a clipboard. “I’m ready for the next one, love.”
With a hurried but thorough kiss on my lips, he pushed past the curtain and strode into the bright lights of the stage.
A frantic-looking woman appeared, holding up my grandmother’s blue dress. “You’re next up! Put this on quickly please.”
I took the dress from her, clutching it to my chest and feeling irrationally emotional about it. I didn’t want it anywhere near any of this sordid business. “We changed the item. Please have the dress sent up to my room.”
She shook her head. “That’s the only approved outfit. You wear that or you wear nothing.”
The nervous thrill that unfurled in my belly wasn’t entirely coming from anger or fear. Did I dare walk out there naked in front of half of society? I’d been topless at Reaper’s party, but then everyone had been participating in the debauchery. Here they’d all be watching from where they sat fully clothed. They wouldn’t be able to say a word about it outside of the auction, so I didn’t need to worry about tabloids, but they’d all see me .
“Help me with this zipper please,” I said, turning my back to her.
Her eyes widened, but she unzipped it and patiently gathered all my clothing into a neat pile as I removed it.
She ushered me over to the edge of the curtain, where I could hear Reaper bantering with the audience. I peered out, but the lights were too bright to identify anyone sitting out there.
They were all about to see me naked. I’d never known nervousness like this, trembling that seemed to ripple out from my lower back where knots of tension twisted and made it hard to breathe.
But this was my body. Mine to cover or expose. Mine to offer to another person.
“The next item will be different from what was shown in the viewing.” Mutters and annoyed chatter broke out, but Reaper held up a hand. “I know…I know. Some of you were so eager to get your hands on that cursed dress. But I think you’ll be delighted to learn you can get your hands on a more…intimate part of the Bryson family.”
He held out a hand in my direction with a wicked smile on his face for the audience, but the reassurance in his eyes was all for me.
I slid my shaking hand into his steady one…and stepped out into the spotlight.