Chapter 19 #2
As she talked, Jelly came to stand beside her.
She looked… incredible. She was wearing a long, sparkling blue evening gown that hugged her perfect body.
It had a plunging neckline almost to her navel, and her breasts were held up in such a way that they were almost entirely visible.
There was also a slit that went most of the way up her thigh, allowing her to be able to walk in the tight gown.
She wore sky-high fuck me heels and held herself in such a way that she looked like royalty as she made her way across the stage and down the catwalk.
Her hair flowed loose and wavy down her back.
It fluttered around her some as she moved onstage, doing half spins and turns as Carmen talked about her.
Her makeup was heavier, but in a good way.
Her eyes really popped; you could tell they were that beautiful shade of crystal blue even from a distance.
I was overwhelmed by how stunning she was. She looked almost like Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. Minus the thick eyeliner and Egyptian clothing. I was so used to seeing her in scrubs or her hostess uniform, it’s as if I forgot that she could look any different.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“While many of you have gotten to know Jelly well over the past couple of years, you might not know that she has a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, and is about a half-year away from completing her coursework to become a physician’s assistant.
We’re proud of Jelly and everything she’s accomplished.
Of course, on top of all that, she’s one of everyone’s favorite hostesses. ”
“I’d like to get on top of that,” called out Thad Russett, the prick. I knew he and Jelly had a pact. He thought he was going to win her.
But, I thought with determination, he wasn’t going to get her.
I was.
All the men at our table were entranced by Jelly, too. I had to admit, I was glad I didn’t have to go up against any of the Salazars in a bidding war.
Carmen had to pause for another round of raucous applause.
“And, of course, she’s drop dead gorgeous.
Whoever wins Jelly in tonight’s auction will have the chance to spend plenty of time with her over the next four months.
” Carmen got a wicked smile on her face.
“Jelly loves taking care of her man sexually and believes she excels particularly well at giving head. She enjoys long, lazy days spent in bed and can’t wait to start a sexual journey with her new man. ”
Jelly ended her walk with her head held high, a hand on her hip, and gave a beguiling half smile to the audience. I saw her look at Thad and give him a wink.
It infuriated me. I couldn’t stand that she wanted to be his Cinnamon Girl for the next few months. Then I thought back to some of the conversations I’d had with Jelly. Conversations where I’d talked about the Vanilla Auction and how I really needed to be seen with a certain class of woman.
She’d just nodded, given me a smile that hadn’t reached her eyes, and moved on.
I scrubbed a hand over my face. Would she be angry if I ruined her plan to be Thad’s girl? Did I care?
“Alright, gentlemen. It’s time to start the bidding. Since we all know the final Cinnamon Girl of the month requires the most money to win her, I’m going to start at one million dollars for four months with Jelly.”
Several paddles raised immediately, including my own.
I felt eyes on me and looked up, locking eyes with Jelly. She looked down on me from the stage, looking bemused. I knew she had to be wondering what I was doing here. And why I was bidding on her. I glanced over at Thad, and he was staring at me with anger in his eyes.
I didn’t care.
The bidding went on, with bidders dropping out quickly as the money went higher.
Soon, there were only three of us left. There was Hugh McTavish, a debonair Scottish man who’d transplanted to West Bay a couple of years ago.
He was a handsome guy, but he had to be pushing sixty.
He had deep pockets, though, and he was staring at Jelly as if mesmerized by her. I couldn’t say I blamed him.
The other two were, of course, Thad Russett and I.
Jelly had walked back and forth on the stage as the bidding went on, and if she felt awkward, she didn’t show it.
She looked comfortable onstage, and I couldn’t help picturing her as a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
I wondered what lingerie she would wear.
This led me to wonder what lingerie she had on under that sexy dress she was wearing.
I realized, looking at it closely, she might not be wearing anything at all under it, and my cock, already hard, got uncomfortably larger.
Nico kicked me under the table. “Aren’t you going to bid?”
“What?” I came out of my daydream and instantly raised my paddle. I didn’t care how much she was going for. I was going to win.
“That’s three million, five hundred thousand dollars for four months with Jelly,” Carmen announced. I glanced at Hugh and Thad and was surprised to see Thad throw his paddle down and stomp out of the room.
It was just Hugh and I left now. It seemed that even if I hadn’t attended the auction, Jelly’s plan to be with Thad would’ve fallen through. I had noticed in the past that Hugh McTavish paid Jelly a lot of attention, but so did a lot of men.
Leo leaned in to whisper something to me. “Don’t let him win.”
“I’m not going to, but why?”
“He’s rumored to have wild parties where he enjoys watching his partners get fucked by lots of other men.
He reportedly doesn’t care whether or not they’re into that.
” Leo’s face was grim. “I’m not sure how he’s even participating in the auction.
I think maybe he somehow slipped past Carmen’s background checks. ”
I was horrified. I wasn’t sure, of course, but Jelly struck me as a one-man kind of woman.
I couldn’t picture her wanting to share or be shared.
Had I participated in some group sex from time to time?
Yes. I particularly liked it when I was with two or three women, and I’d enjoyed watching those same women get off with other men.
But that was casual sex; the kind you have at Cayenne where you know everyone is a willing participant.
If I had Jelly, I sure as hell wouldn’t want to share her. And the sex wouldn’t be casual, either. I’d want her to be mine alone, and I wouldn’t be interested in fucking anyone else if she was in my bed.
I raised my paddle as the bid continued to rise.
Hugh McTavish wasn’t backing off. I did some calculations in my head.
I knew that in addition to the money, I would need to buy Jelly a house, a car, pay off her school, and she would need designer clothing and jewelry.
She also would have a weekly spa appointment to keep her nails looking perfect and her pussy shaved how I liked it.
Fuck. That sounded amazing. I had to bite back a groan thinking about how if I’d won, I’d be able to sink inside her very soon.
We’d flirted around it for so long. She’d barely been able to stand me at Reynolds’ and Nadine’s wedding.
Or so she’d said. When we’d danced there had been a definite spark.
And at Daisy and Jack’s wedding? Well. I’d danced most of the night with her, and I’d known her feelings for me were similar to how mine were for her.
We’d worked together for months. I’d sat at her table at Sugar like a lovesick puppy every night for months.
It was time—past time, really—for us to be together.
I could easily afford it. I was a billionaire. In addition to my salary as a surgeon, I’d invented a tissue-like polymer that could be used in place of human ligaments. That alone had made me a billionaire. But I’d also received large inheritances from both my maternal and paternal grandparents.
I could wait Hugh McTavish out.
But I was getting tired of this. When Carmen raised the bid to three and a half million, and Hugh still raised his paddle, I called out, “Five million dollars.”
All chatter in the room stopped. Jelly even stopped walking and stared at me. Hugh tossed his paddle down.
“I could afford it too, you bastard,” he called out good naturedly. “But I can tell you’re not giving up.” He blew a kiss to Jelly. “Beautiful girl, I hope to get the chance to be with you one day.”
She smiled and blew a kiss back to him while giving him a saucy wink. I could tell the smile didn’t reach her eyes, but my fist still clenched possessively.
“Sold to Paolo Lanetti for five million dollars,” Carmen said. I saw her give me a ‘what the fuck’ look. I felt slightly guilty about showing up late and not filling out the proper paperwork. But right now? All I cared about was being with Jelly.
“Be careful,” Leo whispered. “I’d be shocked if he doesn’t ask you for a few nights with her.”
I nodded. “Don’t worry. I’d never let him have her.”
Nico cleared his throat. “What about me?”
The entire table turned and stared at him. “Seriously?” I asked.
He nodded, looking uncomfortable.
Enzo smirked. “I knew you had a thing for her, but I guess I didn’t realize how far it went.”
Nico and I had been friends forever. I’d met him before I was a teenager. We’d fucked the same women before over the years, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about him and Jelly. He was staring at me with his dark blue eyes, and I could see the desire in them.
“Let me get back to you on that,” I said. I didn’t want to share Jelly. But if there was one man I’d consider doing that with? It would be Nico Salazar. And I knew how much he liked her.
“Jelly is all yours, Paolo,” Carmen said into the microphone.
I nodded at her with a smile. “That concludes this month’s Cinnamon Auction.
I usually leave you with a tease as to who is going to headline next month’s auction, but I’m not sure yet.
I’ll let you all know very soon,” she smiled in a flirty way as all of the women auctioned off in the evening’s festivities came back out on the stage.
“We want it to be you!” a couple of men called out, but Carmen just smiled.
While her brothers shot dirty looks at the guys, I noticed that Byron’s hands were clenched.
He was doing his best not to look up at her, though.
I felt bad for him. Byron was an objectively great looking guy.
He was incredibly handsome, tall, built to the point of being shredded, and women pretty much dropped at his feet.
Add to that the fact that he wasn’t a manwhore like the rest of us?
He rarely fucked women he wasn’t in a relationship with. And he was rich? He was a catch.
But Carmen wasn’t looking to catch anyone, and I hated seeing my friend suffer in any way.
My mind snapped back to the stage, where all of the women were lining up. They were going to be announced once more as they made their way down the catwalk.
Jelly stood in the center of all of them, clearly the star of the show.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I stood, waiting for her to make her way to the end of the catwalk.
There were stairs on either side of it, where the women were coming down on the floor and exiting the auction room with their man.
I couldn’t wait to touch her. Even just hold her hand.
Enzo came over to me. “This is going to go a little differently than the Vanilla Auction was going to go.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re supposed to take Jelly to one of the rooms here in Cinnamon and fuck her. Carmen thinks that’s the best way to get nerves out of the way.”
I blinked at him. “You mean we were supposed to take the society woman we won in the Vanilla Auction to the Waverly for the weekend where we’d seal the deal at some point during that forty-eight hour period. But we’re supposed to just grab our Cinnamon Girl and fuck her in the nearest room?”
“Yep.” Enzo stood with his hands in his pockets watching the women climb down the stairs using the hand or arm of their auction winner for support.
Well. That sucked. The Waverly was the only five diamond resort in town. So, to fuck the society women, we were to take them there, wine and dine them, and build up the romance before taking them to bed.
The Cinnamon Girls? They were supposed to get right to it.
“I’m not doing it that way,” I declared, and Byron and all the Salazar men looked at me.
“What are you going to do?” Nico asked.
“I’ll fuck her here because she’s given me blue balls for months. But I’ll also book a suite at the Waverly and use it with Jelly sometime during the contract time.”
Byron gave me a fist bump and a bro hug. “Good deal. She deserves that. They all do, really.”
Leo frowned, watching us with interest. “Maybe I should talk to Carmen about changing that about the auction. It does seem a bit… crass.”
Joaquin smirked. “That seems crass? We’re running a sex auction.”
“Fuck off, you know what I mean. I think we could handle things better.”
I watched as Jelly got closer to the stairs. Before I could go to the stairs and help her down, Nico walked over to do it. I cocked my eyebrow at him as he walked her over to me.
“Just giving you a hand,” he said, but the look he gave me reminded me that he wanted her, too. He handed her off to me, and as I finally held her hand in mind, the other men in the room scattered. I knew they’d find their way to Sugar or Cayenne to enjoy the rest of their evening.
But I would have a beautiful woman on my arm. One I’d be spending a lot of time with over the next few months.
“Jelly,” I said, as I twirled her. “You’re looking absolutely ravishing.”
“Thank you,” she said, seeming a bit uncomfortable. “I… I didn’t think you were going to participate in the auction.” She studied my face. “At least not this one.”
“I changed my mind.”