I scurry off the stage and find myself in a holding room of some kind, not all that different than the green room we waited in before the auction started. There are a couple of sleek leather sofas, and I collapse onto one of them. I blink back tears.

There’s no sign of Ava, or of anyone else. I can still hear the auction going on beyond these walls — it seems to have calmed down out there, and the bids are coming in normally for the girl who’s on stage now.

The tears that have been threatening to spill over now trickle down my cheeks, and I brush them away in irritation. What a stupid thing to cry over. Why am I so upset, anyway? It’s not like I really wanted to be in the auction, and the magazine isn’t expecting me to do it either.

So why do these damn tears keep falling down my cheeks?

I lean my head against the back of the couch, closing my eyes and letting the tears leak out.

“You okay?”

My eyes fly open. Sky.

I sit up, brushing my tears hastily away. “I’m fine. Sorry.” I try to laugh.

She sails over and slides down onto the couch next to me. “Oh, God, don’t apologize.” She pats my knee. My eyes trace the fine network of scars that cover her forearm — thin, white, random.

“The auction is crazy intense, especially when it’s your first time,” she continues. Then she shakes her head. “To have Sam Baines and Bennett McCardiff go to war over you — well, to be honest, I’d probably be upset too.”

Sam Baines. Bennett McCardiff. I turn their names over in my mind. I shiver a little, and pray Sky doesn’t notice.

“So, does that happen often then?” I ask instead.

Sky bites her lip. “The fighting, yes. Everyone here knows they hate each other. But I’ve never seen an auction interrupted like that before, and I’ve never seen a girl leave the stage without a firm offer.”

I bury my head in my hands. This is crazy — crazy and humiliating. First I face plant on the stage. Now I’m the only girl to ever not get sold.

I should be jumping for joy, but instead tears spill down over my cheeks again. I feel like a failure.

Sky rubs her hand on my back, but that only makes me cry harder.

“Lila, darling, I’m so sorry.” The new voice cuts through my pity party and I look up to see Ava standing there, clutching my silver stilettos.

“That was completely unacceptable,” she says, handing me the shoes. “I’m furious with them.”

I force a smile. “It’s okay.” I slip my shoes on, glad to at least have them back.

But Ava shakes her head. “It absolutely is not okay. And we’re going to fix it. Come with me.”

I sneak one more glance at Sky, who shrugs, and then I follow Ava out of the room. We make our way down a hallway that I recognize — the one that leads to her office.

We stop just outside her door. Ava turns to me, her expression serious.

“Do you trust me, Lila?”

I blink up at her. “What?”

Ava licks her lips. For the first time since I met her, she looks slightly out of sorts. “I think I know how to fix this, but I need you to trust me. Do you?”

“Yes.” The word pops out of my mouth before I even have time to think about it, but I realize it’s true. For whatever reason, I do trust Ava.

“Good.” She smiles. “Then let’s do this.”

She pushes open the office door and I gasp as I see Sam and Bennett already sitting there. They’re accompanied by the man who’d escorted me into the club the other day. Remi.

Sam and Bennett both turn when they hear the door, and immediately their eyes travel straight to me. They eye me hungrily, like two wolves who stop fighting only long enough to take down the deer dumb enough to wander straight into their den. I swallow.

“Thank you, Remi,” Ava says. “That will be all. But please stay close in case these two decide to come to blows again.”

She glares at Sam and Bennett when she says that. They grumble and shift in their seats, but don’t argue.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Remi says, before he slips silently out of Ava’s office.

She takes her seat behind her desk, but Sam and Bennett are sitting in the other two guest chairs. Ava raises an eyebrow at them.

“You’d think, given how you fought over her, the least one of you could do is offer her your seat.”

Both Sam and Bennett jump out of their seats immediately, and for the first time in awhile, I bite back a smile.

“Thank you,” I say. I slip into Sam’s chair, which is closest. I don’t miss the smug grin he flashes at Bennett as he grabs an extra chair from across the room and carries it over to the desk.

When we’re all seated, Ava turns to face Sam and Bennett. She still looks angry. The office is darker than it was when I was here the other day. Without the daylight streaming in from the windows, the vintage chandelier casts eerie shadows on everything.

“Lila, these two bickering fools are Sam Baines and Bennett McCardiff,” she says. She turns to the men. “And this young woman, in case you care, is Lila Emery. Yes, the subject of your fight this evening actually has a name.”

“Lila,” I hear one of them say, softly, reverently. I can’t tell which of them said it, but the sound of it sends a rush of goosebumps across my skin. When’s the last time someone said my name like that?

But Ava doesn’t notice or acknowledge.

“You two have officially gotten on my last nerve.” She points at Sam and Bennett. “You’ve been causing disruptions for months. I’ve had complaints from staff, from other patrons …”

“Yes, but…” Bennett starts to interrupt, but Ava cuts him off with a glare.

“This is not your first warning, Mr. McCardiff,” she barks.

Sam snickers, and Ava turns her glare to him. “Nor yours, Mr. Baines.”

That shuts them both up, at least temporarily. As they glare at each other, I sneak glances at them. They’re both staggeringly, disarmingly handsome. Sam with his playful grin and dancing eyes; Bennett with the more serious countenance, his pillowy soft lips pressed into a firm line.

Ava folds her hands over her sleek black desk. “As I was saying, you’ve both been causing disruptions for months,” she says. “But to disrupt the auction, one of our club’s most honored traditions? You both know that I feel strongly about respecting the women who work in this club. What you did tonight to Lila was absolutely disrespectful.”

For the first time, Sam and Bennett both actually look chagrined.

“So I’ve had enough. I will not be issuing any more warnings.”

“You can’t kick us out,” Bennett says. His voice is commanding but I can hear just the smallest note of hesitation in it. “We bring millions of dollars into this club.”

Ava nods. “You certainly do. You’re both ideal clients for us — smart, wealthy, handsome, generous, generally respectful …” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “Which is why I’m going to give you one final opportunity to prove that you can continue to be that kind of client.”

Both Bennett and Sam are eyeing her now, and I am too. What exactly does Ava have up her sleeve?

“Since you both seem to want Lila so much, I’ve decided to let you share her.”

Excuse me?

I whip my head back and forth between Bennett and Sam, who are doing the same thing. I’m glad I’m not the only one taken aback by Ava’s suggestion.

“Share her?” Sam sputters.

“With him?” Bennett growls.

Ava just smiles benevolently. “Yes. You were both willing to pay ten million dollars for her. Instead, you’ll each pay five million, and you’ll share her for the month. If you can’t make it through the month, you’ll both lose your memberships to Orchid.”

Next to me, Bennett is gripping the arms of the chair he’s sitting in.

“This is ridiculous,” he blurts.

Ava smiles again. “Humor me, Bennett. If it’s so ridiculous, it should be no trouble for either of you. Sharing is caring, isn’t that right, gentlemen?”

Bennett’s eyes blaze. His knuckles are practically turning white. I shake my knee nervously. Ava had told me to trust her, but I’d had no idea that this is what she meant. Giving myself to not one man, but two? Could I really do that?

Of course, this way I’d get to go out with both Bennett and Sam … which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

And it would certainly add a great twist to my article.

I bite my lip. No way will these guys agree to this arrangement. The way they’re glaring at each other now, they barely look like they’re willing to share the same oxygen, never mind me.

But then Sam’s face breaks into a grin. “If you think this is for the best, Ava, then I agree to your terms.”

I don’t know who’s more surprised — me, Ava or Bennett.

“That’s wonderful, Sam,” Ava smiles. She turns. “Bennett?”

I can actually see Bennett grit his teeth. His jaw twitches.

“Fine. Agreed.”

I swallow. This is really happening. I have to be with both of them.

I look back and forth at Sam and Bennett. Both of them are staring at me, and I feel again like I’m about to be devoured. My pussy clenches, and I squeeze my legs together, trying to force myself to keep it under control.

How in the hell did I get myself into this?