4. Addison
4
ADDISON
“D eep breaths, A,” Dante said as he took me backstage. He gave me that warm smile he was known for, and for the first time all day, the tension in my shoulders eased just a tiny bit.
I took a deep breath for him but was unable to give him a smile because of the nerves.
If he doesn’t bid on me…
I couldn’t let myself think of what would happen.
He would. I knew he would. The offer was far too tempting.
The hushed murmurs from the crowd on the other side of the curtain swam around me. I tried to brush them off, but a few of the crasser comments were harder to ignore than others.
I heard it’s Mercer’s daughter!
No way, really? That’d be a fucking million-dollar cunt, and her profile says she’s down for anything!
She wouldn’t have the balls to show up here after what her father did. No one would pay that much for a washed-up whore anyway! Her mother was the same.
I clenched my fists, my newly manicured nails digging into my palms. Dante’s hand was on my back, steadying me.
“You’ll fucking kill it, A.”
I took another calming breath and nodded. With one last look, he left me alone with the only thing separating me from the wild animals—the thick, black velvet curtain.
I am more than ready.
I had been preparing for this for years. This was the last big challenge before my goal was in my sights.
Piper had helped me with a makeover. Nails, hair, heels—all of it with his tastes in mind.
A week had gone by in a flash, and suddenly I was on stage with what felt like hundreds of eyes on me. It was so much worse than the welcoming party. Especially because I couldn’t fucking see anybody.
I didn’t recognize the loudest of the voices, but I didn’t need to. Talk like that at these places was common, especially when the girls couldn’t see you. They treated us like terse objects at the party, but when the lights were out, their more animalistic side came out. They saw us as objects to be used and abused. After all, for them, money meant they could do anything.
Buy you a willing fuck toy. One who signed an NDA and could have her pussy waxed on request.
No wonder a place like this thrived under him.
The payout wasn’t worth it for most of the monsters in the crowd, but luckily, I was here for a very specific one. One who would have to bid on me.
I had worn my hair the way he liked it. Curled yet tucked behind my ears to give him a view of my face. Perfect red lips for him to destroy only minutes after we met. And a tight-fitting, scrappy, all-black lingerie set. The same one he had sent to my doorstep all those years ago.
“Now for our next auction item,” the announcer said, his voice crackling through the speakers. “Spoiled Brat!”
The curtain was pulled back, and the light from beyond burned my eyes. I had to blink a few times to get rid of the black dots that swarmed my vision. Cheers rang from all over, along with whistles and laughs.
Beyond the lights, I could make out shapes and some faces.
They did this on purpose. Blind you with lights so you wouldn’t see everyone in the theater.
I could clearly see the few front rows, but the ones up toward the back were out of sight. Those seats were where the wealthy would be. They were reserved for those whose donations made Black Silk Auction House millions of dollars. That was where he would be.
As the owner, he would be expected backstage, but his ego wouldn’t let him stay there. Especially if he knew I’d be on stage.
He wanted to be seen. Wanted his presence known to all.
“Come on, no need to be shy,” the announcer teased. “Step forward, lovely.”
Squaring my shoulders, I did as he said. One heeled foot in front of the other until I reached the end of the stage.
“Daughter of a once voracious business mogul, she has been through a rigorous education and graduated at the top of her class. Down for some role playing, she loves a good office affair . When she was younger, she took ballet and gymnastics—” A few jeers from the crowd interrupted him mid-speech. “Yes, she did say she was flexible.”
Instead of shying away, I spun for the crowd and sent a wink to a few of the men in front.
God, their stares make my skin crawl.
But the disgust I was feeling was nothing compared to the anger that had been boiling in my veins for years.
He would absolutely hate that I was putting on a show for them. Good. He always did have a possessive streak, even for the things he had yet to own.
Like me.
The others were nothing to me. Pitiful, disgusting little bugs I couldn’t care less about. They were beneath me. I might not have had my father’s empire to back me up anymore, but I had something .
My mind. My wits. And a body someone would pay for.
“Same as always. A month with this beauty. Doing whatever, whenever. We will start the bidding at five hundred thousand!”
A fucking insult. I was worth five times that, but like Dante had assured me we wanted the bidding war.
When someone complained, I made a fake crying face in their direction and slowly teased down the straps of my clothing.
The bids came in quickly then.
“Six hundred!”
“Six twenty!”
“Six fifty!”
“Seven hundred!”
When we reached eight hundred thousand, my heart began pounding in my chest. He hadn’t placed his bet yet.
It’s his fucking auction house. He has to be here.
I turned around while looking over my shoulder and fully lowered the straps holding the corset up. Slowly, I unhooked husk after husk. Bids poured in.
“Eight hundred!”
“Eight fifty!”
Some voices were more distinct now, the rest dropping out as the price tag rose.
I could feel their eyes ravaging me as I paraded around for them, their dark fantasies of an uninterrupted month together floating around me.
By the time I had taken off my corset, we had reached nine hundred fifty, and there was no sign of him.
Let’s up the pressure then.
I swayed my hips and slowly, inch by inch, started to push the bottom half of my clothing down. I couldn’t hear the crowd over my racing heart.
And then the entire stage was plunged into darkness.
With a gasp, I jerked and covered my upper body before turning back to the crowd. I could see them all then. Hundreds of hungry faces staring at me as I put my body up for sale for them.
“Two million.”
Him.
In one of the balconies. He was standing, his face as cold as ice. His once messy dark brown hair was pushed back and out of his face into a sophisticated look that was feathered with gray. He wore a suit like most of the others in the room, but he had a dark emerald silk shirt underneath that shined in the dim lighting overhead.
It had been eight years since I last saw him. Seven and a half since my father took his life because of what he did to his company. And six months since my mother attempted to do the same only to be left in a coma.
A true monster. One that I had once gotten a thrill from.
His eyes met mine, and just like all those years ago, a treacherous heat licked at my spine. And then, that disastrous fucking smirk played at his lips.
“Sold! To Warren King for two million dollars!”
His smirk told me that he had me right in his trap, but in reality?
He fell right into mine.
Because before the month was up, I was going to destroy Warren King.
Just like he destroyed my family.