My heart immediately jumps into my chest. Oh my God. No, this isn’t happening.

“C’mon, get out there.” She pushes me out of my chair. Before I get a chance to even gather my thoughts, I find myself on stage with a big spotlight in my face.

When Lizbeth introduces me, I stare straight ahead and silently threaten Aiden. You better bid on me, I say to myself. You’re the only reason I’m fucking here. If you don’t bid on me…I don't know what I’m going to do.

Slightly out of earshot, I hear Lizbeth say something into her Bluetooth, covering her microphone with her hand.

“Are you sure we can start? But what about…”

I can’t quite make out what she says at the end, but something is off. She is clearly reluctant to begin.

“Is everything okay?” I mouth to her. She gathers her thoughts and nods in my direction.

The bidding begins at ten thousand. The numbers slowly climb to seventy, ninety, one hundred. But they suddenly stop at one hundred and ten. Lizbeth counts to three and then says, “Sold for one hundred and ten thousand.”

I nod and walk off the stage.

“Wow, that was a lot less than last time,” Caroline jokes.

“I guess Aiden knows that I’m a sure thing,” I say. On the surface, I’m exuding confidence. It’s Aiden. Of course, it’s Aiden who bid on me. Who else could it be? But beneath the surface, I’m not so sure. My hands feel clammy as I sign the paperwork and give them my bank account number. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I have an uneasy feeling about this. Why didn’t Lizbeth want to start the auction? Why did she have that hesitation in her voice? I got a good price, but it wasn’t that high. Does that mean that Aiden just didn’t want to pay too much or maybe it wasn’t Aiden at all who bid on me?

As soon as the money transfer is complete, another woman comes up to me. She is the same one who escorted me last time.

“I will show you both to your rooms,” she says. “Please follow me.”

Caroline looks her up and down, winking at the way her breasts are spilling over the top of her corset.

“Where are we going?” Caroline asks, but the woman doesn’t reply. She doesn’t strike me as the type for idle chitchat.

As I follow behind the woman and Caroline, I get that familiar numb feeling all over my body. Even though I should be feeling better about everything, I’m not. Last time, I had no idea what I was in store for. But this time, things aren’t exactly crystal clear either.

The woman shows us to the other end of the yacht. As we make our way there, the rooms get more and more ostentatious and opulent. Again, we pass that large library, filled floor to ceiling with leather-bound books. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they were first editions. Again, I have an insatiable urge to run in there and hide. This is my second time here, and yet I haven’t visited the library once. Something about that is very off. Libraries and bookstores are my happy places. They were always the places I went growing up when I needed to get away from the world. Whenever anything got too hard to handle and I just needed a break, I always found myself in a little cloistered nook surrounded on all sides by books and stories.

The woman shows Caroline to one of the last doors on the right and me to the door right across from her. This isn’t the same room I had before. I know because it’s a single door instead of a gorgeous French double door. But once she shows me inside, I see that this room is just as opulent and large as our old suite. Again, there’s a large king-size bed on the far end, a separate sitting area, and large windows looking out onto the blackness of the ocean.

“Your buyer will be here shortly,” the woman says. “But first, I have to get you ready.”

I try to recollect if that’s exactly what I heard before. It is, but it’s not. No, last time, she used his name. She said, Mr. Black will be here shortly, not your buyer. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, does it? I have no idea. I don’t know if I’m just trying to read into it something that’s not there or if I’m actually on to something.

“Do I have to change?” I ask.

She looks me up and down and shakes her head. “No, you’re dressed just as he wants you,” she says. “But he does want you to wear this.”

She pulls a night mask from her pocket and dangles it in front of me. I stare at her. Then she goes over to the desk and pulls out a pair of black furry handcuffs.

“Please stand next to the bed post and put your hands behind it.”

I hesitate for a moment, but then do as she says. The bed post feels cold against my bare back, but the handcuffs are pretty comfortable. Once she secures my hands behind the back of the post, she raises her hands to put the mask over my eyes.

“Is this really necessary?” I ask.

“This is what he wants,” she says.

Just like last time, with the mask on my face, I become keenly aware of all sound. I listen to the woman’s heavy footsteps as she exits the room and the way that the yacht creaks slightly with each wave. Somewhere around the room, there is a quiet, disturbing noise that the furniture makes as it settles into the room. Again, I’m perturbed by the cacophony of sounds that surround me - the same ones that I was completely oblivious to only a few moments ago. As I lose myself in the moment, my racing mind finally settles down. I had to wear a mask last time as well. I was also tied up last time. The person who bid on me is Aiden. I shouldn’t have been making myself crazy with all that second-guessing. Of course, it’s Aiden. Who else would it be?

A loud knock on the door breaks my concentration.

“Aiden?” I ask. But the person doesn’t reply. The door closes and loud, heavy footsteps approach me. This must be a game, I decide. He isn’t Aiden now.

“Mr. Black?” I try again. But the person doesn’t reply. He slowly walks around me. His footsteps are heavy and deliberate. My heartbeat goes through the room, the longer he takes to speak. I feel his eyes all over me, and I’m keenly aware of how my breasts are moving up and down with each rushed breath.

“You’re so beautiful,” he finally whispers. I let out a little sigh. His voice sounds familiar. Not exactly like Aiden’s but not completely foreign either.

A moment later, I feel his touch. He runs his fingertips over my collarbone and the top of my breasts. Then he runs them up my neck, sending shivers down my body.

“Does that feel good?” he whispers. “Mmm-mmm,” I moan, nodding and losing myself in the moment.

“I want to see your eyes.”

Slowly, he tugs at my mask and pulls it off my face. Even though the lights in the room are dim, the light still blinds me and it takes me a moment to focus. When I finally look at the man before me, my body falls into a cold sweat.

“Blake?”

He nods.

“But…what are you…doing here?” I don't know exactly what I’m saying because my mind is running in circles. What the hell is Blake Garrison doing here?

“I bid on you,” he says proudly, running his finger over my lips. I move my head away abruptly.

“But why?”

“Because I want you. I’ve wanted you since I saw you at the last auction. But unfortunately, Aiden outbid me that time.”

“Where is Aiden?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Is it really important?”

Yes, of course, I want to shout on the top of my lungs. But I’m still stunned by the whole thing. Why isn’t Aiden here? He has to be here. He’s the one who invited me. Unless, he wanted me to….spend the night with someone else. No, the thought of that is unbearable.

“I need to talk to Aiden.”

Blake takes a step forward. He is so close to me I can feel his breath on my lips. He looks deeply into my eyes and licks his lips. He is definitely attractive, but there’s also something menacing and unsettling in his eyes. There’s danger in them, and not the good kind.

Blake brushes his fingers through his dark hair and lowers his chin. Then he lifts mine up to meet his. But just as he is about to press his lips onto mine, I pull away at the last moment.

“What are you doing?” I demand.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he says with a smile.

“No.” I shake my head.

“Ellie, I bid on you. You signed the contract to do anything I wanted tonight.”

I shake my head. I feel tears piling up in the bottom of my eyes. But I take a deep breath and keep them at bay.

“No, Aiden invited me. I was sure that he would bid on me. I didn’t want to participate otherwise.”

“Are you two dating?” Blake asks, crossing his hands across his chest.

“No,” I say slowly. “Not exactly.”

“So, why does it matter?”

“Because I don't want to.”

Blake walks around me and looks me up and down. He’s just playing with me. Toying with me. Right?

“Well, I don't know if that matters,” he says after a moment. My heart sinks. What did he just say? I run the words over in my head.

“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter?” I demand to know. “This is a voluntary situation.”

“Well, actually it’s not. You signed a contract. You can’t back out now.”

My hands turn to ice and my breathing becomes shallow. I don’t know what to do. Should I scream? Should I yell? Perhaps, but all I can manage to do is freeze. Somehow, even lifting a finger seems like too great of an effort.

Blake probably takes my lack of emotional outburst as a sign to go ahead.

“I can’t wait to do bad things to you,” he whispers, running his fingers down my stomach and along my panty line. When he brushes against my hipbones, something sparks within me. I lift up my leg and knee him in the groin.

“I said no!” I yell, kicking him away from me.

“You bitch!” he yells, toppling over in pain. A pang of fear rushes through me. What if I just made things worse? What if I made him angry? Well, of course, I made him angry. But I couldn’t very well let him do anything to me without fighting back.

After a few moments of wriggling around in pain, Blake stands up. His piercing eyes are a shade darker now. There is so much anger in them that I wouldn’t be surprised if steam came out of his ears like from one of those Looney Tunes cartoons.

“You better uncuff me now,” I say in the sternest voice possible. “I’m not playing. You can have all of your money back. I’m not consenting to doing anything with you.”

I use that word consent on purpose. In case, there are any cameras anywhere. In this moment, I pray that there are.

“I don’t care,” Blake whispers, grabbing me by my shoulders. “You already consented.”

I try to kick him again, but his legs are too close to mine. He’s pressing me against the bed post so hard that my back aches in pain.

“Help!” I scream at the top of my lungs. He puts his hand over my mouth and I bite down hard. Luckily, I’m able to bite into the fleshy part and draw blood. The metallic taste makes me gag, but I’m glad I was able to break the skin.

“Fuck!” He looks at his wounded hand and then smacks me across the face. Hard. The impact would’ve sent me clear across the room, but I’m handcuffed to the bed post and instead it feels like it nearly pulls my arms out of their sockets.

“We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Your choice,” Blake says, pacing in front of me.

“I mean, I’m not Aiden. But who cares? You didn’t know who he was the last time you got auctioned off, so what’s the big deal this time? I’m really a nice guy,” he says. “Can’t you see that?”

My vision is blurry and my head is pounding from the impact. I manage to nod slightly in his direction.

“Now, c’mon.” He comes over closer to me. I feel his breath on my lips and I want to throw up. “Be nice. C’mon, let’s have a good time.”

I run through all the possible scenarios in my head. I can kick him again and probably get hit again. Or I can go along with it. Just lie there and be quiet. My whole body trembles in fear. No, this isn’t a decision I can make with my head. Especially now that it’s pounding. This is a gut decision.

Blake takes my non-answer as an answer. He puts his hands on my body again and then presses his lips on my neck. The nausea in the pit of my stomach comes up my esophagus and I feel like I’m about to vomit. But before I know it, I lift up my foot and step down hard on his foot with my heel. Just as he winces in pain, I knee him again in the groin and kick him away from me.

Suddenly, the door to the room bursts open and I see Aiden at the far end. A moment later, he’s on top of Blake, punching him in the face.

“What the hell are you doing?” he demands. “I made it clear that there would be no bidding on her.”

But Blake doesn't take the beating lying down. He is taller than Aiden and heavier. He uses his weight to his advantage as he punches Aiden back. But Aiden isn’t having any of it. He moves with lightning speed and pins Blake under him once again. This time, he puts Blake’s arms under his knees and punches him in the face over and over until two large security guards run in and pull him off of him.

The rest is somewhat of a blur. Someone uncuffs me and hands me a robe. Someone else puts ice on my split lip and takes a look at the redness around my wrists. My wrists definitely hurt a lot when Blake slapped me and I got pushed away from the bed post, but I didn’t realize just how bad they looked. Red and bruised, nearly bleeding. The medic asks me to move my fingers and rotate my wrists. I do as I’m told even though it’s quite painful.

The medic also applies some ice to Blake’s injuries as he sits across the room with his hands handcuffed behind him. This time, the handcuffs aren’t the playing kind. They are metal; the kind that cops carry around.

When the medic is finished looking Blake over, security guards escort him out of the room. “You’re going to pay for this, Aiden!” he yells.

“No, you’re the one who’s going to pay for this,” Aiden yells back. “I told you to fucking stay away from her. You knew the rules. And then I come here and find you…”

His voice cracks and drops off as if the thought of what Blake was about to do to me is too much to bear.

“You care about your company?” Blake yells from outside the room, in the hallway. “About Owl? Well, you better forget about it now!”

“Fuck you!”