Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
SILVER
“ T hat asshole .”
Still seething at the absolute audacity of one Elias Turner, Silver whipped around to face the table where her new friends were watching her with a mixture of sympathy and curiosity.
“I know you said you two had some history but… damn.” Frankie waved a hand in front of her face. “The chemistry is something else. You’ve got the whole damn curriculum, girl.”
“Tell me about it.” Her body was still humming with need, which only pissed her off even more. “I thought I might spontaneously combust when he grabbed me like that.”
“Same, and I was just watching it.” Excitement lit Lottie’s pale eyes, and Silver had the fleeting thought that Braden was probably going to get very, very lucky tonight. “He’s still an asshole, though.”
“Certifiable,” Frankie confirmed as Silver slid onto the bench across from them with a sigh.
“Seems to be my type.” Guilt twisted her stomach as soon as the words left her lips. Ice might be an asshole, but at least she always knew that no matter what, he’d take care of her. Which was a hell of a lot more than she could say for Ace.
Lottie’s gaze shifted from Silver to something behind her, and the corner of her mouth twisted up in a smirk. “Wanna get him back?”
Before Silver could ask what she was up to, Braden stepped up to the table, a welcoming ‘Owner of This Fine Establishment’ smile on his face. “Ladies. I wasn’t expecting to see the three of you together.”
There was an undercurrent in his voice that had the hair on the back of Silver’s neck standing up. Lottie, however, seemed completely unaffected.
“Oh, yeah, we made plans yesterday to hang out tonight. I told you about it this morning.”
“Did you?” Judging by the way Braden’s brow quirked upward, Lottie hadn’t told him any such thing and he wasn’t buying her story for a second. “Odd, because I distinctly remember you asking for Ms. Sterling’s number this morning and pouting because I wouldn’t give it to you.”
Some of the color drained from Lottie’s face, but she covered it quickly by turning the wattage on her smile up to blinding. “Did I? I don’t remember. But, that’s not important. Silver needs a favor.”
“I happen to think lying to your Daddy is very important, little girl. But we can discuss it later.” His attention shifted to Silver, and she very nearly squirmed under the intensity of his pale gaze. “What can I do for you, Ms. Sterling?”
“You can start by calling me Mandy. Or Silver. Please,” she added with a strained smile.
“Of course. What can I do for you, Silver?”
“She wants a spot in the auction!” Lottie answered, bouncing excitedly in her seat. Even the sharp glare Braden sent her way didn’t seem to dim her excitement.
“Is that true, Silver?”
Shit. She’d only brought it up because Ice had gotten in her face about playing tonight. Did she actually want to auction herself off to the highest bidder just to get back at him?
A picture formed in her mind of a furious Ice watching her with an unknown partner for the evening, and she grinned. Unlike the night before, the thought of making him jealous didn’t make her stomach hurt. If he wanted to play the jealous asshole, she was all too happy to give him a reason. “It is absolutely true, Sir.”
Braden watched her for a while longer, his expression unchanging, and it took everything in her not to drop her head to avoid his steady gaze. “Very well. As it happens, we had someone back out a few minutes ago, so I have an opening. Would you like me to put you down as Mandy or Silver?”
“Silver, please. Um, do I need to do anything? Pay an entry fee or something?”
“All of that is taken care of by the bidders. I will need you to fill out a form with your hard limits and preferences. I’ll send Ivy up with that in a minute. In the meantime, no alcohol for any of you. And that includes you, Charlotte.” He turned to pin Lottie with a stern look. “I want you completely clear-headed for the discussion we will be having about honesty later tonight. Have I made myself clear, little girl?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Lottie answered with a long-suffering sigh.
“Good. Frankie, you and Silver will report down to the pit at exactly nine o’clock for the bidding to start. I’ll see you ladies downstairs.”
“Wait, you’re in the auction, too?” Silver turned to Frankie as Braden strolled over to the next table.
“She’s hoping her Giant Silver Fox Daddy will bid on her,” Lottie teased, giving Frankie’s shoulder a little bump.
“That is not why I joined the auction.” Brows drawing together, Frankie glared at her friend. “I just thought it would be fun.”
“Mmhmm.” Not looking the least bit convinced, Lottie leaned over the table, dropping her voice to a loud whisper. “Those two have been dancing around each other for months. But Frankie’s too proud to admit she fucked up by dumping him, and Holden is… well, he’s Holden. You’ll see what I mean if you meet him.”
Silver slid her gaze over to Frankie, who was doing an admirable job of looking bored. Except for the fingernail she kept tapping rapid-fire against the tabletop. “What are you going to do if he doesn’t bid on you?”
Frankie jerked a shoulder, a bit too strongly for it to come off as nonchalant. “Won’t bother me. As long as I get a spanking and an orgasm, I’m happy.” Her gaze turned sharp. “But what about you?”
“What about me?”
“What are you going to do if your Viking doesn’t bid on you?”
“I don’t want him to bid on me.” She wanted him to watch, while he choked on his own stubborn pride, or whatever the fuck it was that was making him act like such a dick.
“Because you want to make him jealous,” Lottie said with a sage nod. “Totally makes sense. That’s how I got Braden.”
Her own troubles temporarily forgotten, Silver shifted her attention completely to the grinning brunette across from her. “Okay, now that is a story I have to hear.”
“Not much of a story,” Lottie said with a shrug. “I sold my virginity in an online auction I thought was being hosted by the club but turned out to actually be an underground thing run by one of Braden’s ex-employees without his knowledge. Turns out I actually sold my v-card to one of our local mafia dons, and Braden sort of lost his shit. He paid for my contract, but he wouldn’t actually fuck me, so I talked said mob boss into sceneing with me. I was hoping it would make Braden jealous enough to stake his claim and it worked.”
For a moment, all Silver could do was stare as Lottie sipped delicately at the water someone had delivered to their table during her monologue. “You sold your virginity to a mob boss ?”
“Well, I didn’t know he was a mob boss when I sold it. I just knew him as Master O when he won my bid.”
“Your definition of ‘not much of a story’ needs a bit of work.”
Lottie threw her head back, her loud peal of laughter drawing curious looks just as a pretty dark-haired girl stepped up to their table, a small stack of papers in her hands. “Ms. Sterling?” she asked in a voice so soft and melodic it brought to mind visions of faeries dancing in the woods. It didn’t help that she looked a bit fairy-like, between her diminutive size and her somewhat angular features.
“That’s me.” Silver held out a hand, accepting the paperwork. It felt unusually heavy, as though she were holding the physical weight of her actions as well as the paper itself.
Ridiculous, and more than a bit fanciful, but she couldn’t shake the feeling.
“Mr. Elliott asks that you read over everything carefully, and fill out the questionnaire to the best of your ability. If there is anything you are unsure of, please leave that section blank until you speak with him. There is also a section at the end where you can indicate if you would like the profits of your auction to go directly to you or to one of the local charities listed on the form.”
“Thanks, Ivy.” Lottie’s smile, which was always bright and welcoming, warmed considerably for the other woman. “Are you working tonight or are you in the auction?”
Pink blossomed on Ivy’s porcelain skin, detracting a bit from the fairy image but only because Silver was pretty sure fairies were above blushing. At least in front of mere mortals. “Both. My shift ends in twenty minutes and then I’ll be heading down to the pit.”
“With Cordelia?”
Everything about Ivy seemed to light up from within. “Always. See you ladies in a bit.”
With that, she turned and floated away, her movements as ethereal and otherworldly as the rest of her. “Who was that?” Silver asked once she’d disappeared from view.
“Ivy. She and her girlfriend Cordelia are both servers, though Ivy’s been taking on more of an admin role for Braden lately. I think he’s giving her a test run before he offers her a job as his full-time assistant.”
“Her girlfriend is okay with her auctioning herself off?”
Waving a hand, Lottie let out another delighted laugh. “Oh, Delia loves it. She enjoys watching almost as much as she enjoys tormenting poor Ivy herself. Especially when Ivy’s bratty side starts to take over.”
“I can’t see her as a brat.”
“She wasn’t much of one when I met her.” Eyes sparkling, Lottie took another sip of her water. “I seem to have that effect on people.”
Silver was enough of a brat on her own without anyone else’s influence. Which meant she and Lottie could probably get into loads of trouble together.
I swear you need your ass beat on a daily basis.
The memory of those words, issued in Ice’s low growl of a voice brought a smile to her lips as Silver looked down at the stack of paper in front of her. Once he found out she’d completely ignored his directive not to sign up for the auction, he was going to be furious.
She couldn’t fucking wait.
Ice
“Stop glaring. You’re scaring all the girls away.”
Ice shifted his glare to Beckett, who was watching him with open amusement. “Maybe it’s your ugly mug scaring them away.”
Slapping a hand over his heart, Beckett gave him a look of faux outrage. “I’m only letting you get away with that because I know you’re pining over your girl.”
“I am not pining .”
“Certainly looks like pining from where I’m sitting.”
Before he could do more than snarl in Beckett’s direction, Braden materialized beside their table, looking far more chipper than Ice had been expecting. “Gentlemen. Having a look at the offerings before the bidding starts?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Ice shot Beckett another glare, but his friend only shrugged.
“Unlike you, I haven’t taken a vow of celibacy.”
“I’m not celibate. I’m just… not interested.”
Now it was Braden who was watching Ice with what could only be described as anticipatory glee. “I might have something to tempt you.”
The hairs on the back of Ice’s neck stood at attention. “What’s that?”
“One of my participants backed out at the last minute and Ms. Sterling was kind enough to offer to take their place.”
He was up out of his seat before he even realized what he was doing, both hands fisted in the lapels of Braden’s expensive suit. “What the fuck were you thinking? She isn’t even a member of the club!”
Braden didn’t even flinch, which Ice found equal parts impressive and infuriating. “No, but like you she’s here on a guest pass and she’s passed all of the background tests and interviews with flying colors. I see no reason not to allow her to participate in club events if she so chooses.”
“You’re a fucking asshole, Braden, you know that?”
A grin spread across the other man’s face. “I have two older brothers who make sure I’m aware of that fact on a regular basis. Now, if you’d please let go of my jacket, I have some details to see to before the bidding begins.”
Ice forced his fingers to loosen, just enough for Braden to take a step back. “I’ll see you gentlemen downstairs, I’m sure.”
As Braden sauntered away, Ice turned his attention to Silver’s table. The other girls were laughing, but Silver’s head was bent over the papers scattered in front of her. Papers that would allow her to sell herself to the highest bidder in a matter of minutes.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he glanced over at Beckett, who had followed his line of sight to the other table. “What’s the plan? Are you going to bid on her?”
There was no doubt in his mind the little brat was only signing up to spite him. Or she was counting on his jealousy to get the better of him and drive him to do whatever it took to win her.
And he didn’t fucking care. As long as there was breath in his lungs, nobody else in this club was going to lay a finger on his woman.
But first, he was going to teach her a lesson about trying to manipulate him. “No. I’m not going to bid on her.” Turning, he grinned at his friend. “You are.”