10 Emeric
Serenity leaves in something like a fever dream. She’s fucking up my head with her flippant mood swings, and I’m not sure if fucking her was a mistake or not.
It’s her day off, and I had forgotten she was in here killing time when I spotted her talking to Chad. She didn’t even need to deal with him, but chose to put up with his crap anyway. Some things I can’t wrap my head around.
I watch her clean up in silence, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. I can’t say I make a habit out of sleeping with virgins, but I usually know about it before I stick anything inside them.
Why she didn’t think to tell me at any point, and why she preferred to let a finger take something from her instead of my dick, I don’t understand. She’s left me with more questions than answers, and I don’t have anything to say when she gives me an awkward wave and flees from the office.
Dragging my hands through my hair, I try to make sense of the past hour. I went from having a decent night to taking her virginity to fucking her, and she doesn’t want anyone to know.
Why does it matter so damn much?
I’m still going over everything I know about Serenity when I go back downstairs, checking my phone before leaving it in the office to see if she messaged me. Why she would bother and why I want to care gives me a headache. I need to stop thinking about her.
Downstairs, Callie corners me. She’s mid scene with Tyson, and the poor guy looks completely confused when she tells him to pause and literally gets up and abandons him.
I stare too, because that’s not how Callie is at all. But she storms over, her feet oddly bare tonight, and jabs a finger at me. “Did you do something?”
“What am I being blamed for?” I ask, glancing around for Nate. He’s on the other side of the room, standing beside Tyson now. They look completely confused, and when I catch Nate’s gaze he just shrugs.
That’s not good.
Callie grabs my arm, pausing when her hand touches my bicep. She stares for a beat before shaking her head at me. “Damn. You fucked her hard.”
I blink, not following her train of thought, before looking down as well. There’s faint red lines along my skin where Serenity dug in her hands, and a spot or two looks like she drew blood. I was so lost in the moment I didn’t even notice.
But I’m not admitting that to Callie. “What do you want, Cal?”
She rolled her eyes, grabbing a little harder over the lines. It irritates my skin but it doesn’t hurt. “Did you upset Serenity?”
“Why do you think that?”
She frowns. “Because Russel tried to joke around with her and she almost burst into tears. Anita looked stunned and upset just before Serenity ran out of here.”
It takes a moment to put all the pieces together. “She’s overwhelmed right now from tonight.”
It isn’t a lie. I’m sure Doe Eyes has a lot to think about. I know I do.
“So you didn’t do something dumb, like fuck the poor girl?”
I blow out a breath when she digs her nails into my arm again. She already knows the answer to that. “You don’t think I’d sleep with just anyone, do you?”
“No,” Callie agrees slowly, raising a brow. “But I think you like to play games, and she’s the best sparring partner you’ve had in a while. If you let your dick get ahead of you, you’re going to fuck everything up.”
Where the hell was Callie an hour ago? “I don’t think she takes sleeping around lightly either.”
“Well, if you did do something, and I’m sure you did,” Callie continues, shaking her head, “be nice. She isn’t as… direct as Jo. She’s got her demons too.”
Now I’m curious. So far as I know Serenity doesn’t spend much time talking to people around the club. Chad is an exception since he keeps butting in to talk to her whenever he gets the chance. But when did she get the chance to talk with Callie in-depth enough for her to know about something deep like that?
Without having to ask, Callie waves her hand at me. “No, she didn’t tell me. You can just see there’s something heavy in her eyes. Like she thinks every decision she makes is weighed in gold against her. It’s tragic really. She’s rich and even that can’t make her happy.”
I’m ready to tell Callie we both know money can’t buy what people really want, but Nate and Tyson choose that moment to join us. She squeezes my arm once more, probably hopeful that she’s irritating the scratches, and shifts back to slip into Nate’s embrace.
“Vinny messaged me,” Nate says, switching the conversation around while I’m still focused on Serenity. His voice drops, and although the club isn’t packed I can tell he doesn’t want anyone to overhear. “He said we’re doing an auction.”
My eyes widen. I know Vinny texted, but between my class and going upstairs I haven’t checked my phone. I thought the fine details were still being ironed out before we announced it to anyone, but the fact that these three are in the loop really doesn’t surprise me. “Oh?”
“And Emeric is just now finding out,” Tyson says with a laugh. “He said that you’d go over things with Serenity this week so we can have one by mid-June.”
Mid-June. They want to do this in a few weeks. “That sounds like something Vinny would plan.”
“You should invite all the singles that go to your classes,” Callie goes on, winking. “They are all over you.”
“I’m not going to be part of the auction,” I say automatically. That was never part of the plan.
“You’d make a ton if you were.”
I frown. “How would I make anything?”
“You should really check your messages,” Nate advises, looking surprised. “It’s going to be a big deal soon.”
Great, that’ll add to my list of problems. “Fine. I’ll go look it up after work.”
“Consider joining,” Callie goes on, batting her lashes. “Nate says I can join if I want to.”
“I said you could join if I get to bid.”
She sticks her tongue out, but I’m already losing focus. I just want to think about Serenity, but the weight of the club settles on my shoulders again.
An auction. We’re going to run a goddamn auction. It’s not simply an idea, it’s a fact. And something always goes down at an auction, no matter what you do to prevent it.
Something tells me this is going to get out of hand.