Nicholas
I know it’s time to walk away, only I can’t get my feet to move quite yet. I am floored by this woman who just donated fifteen hundred dollars to spend one evening with me. However, the truth is I would’ve done it for absolutely nothing.
She is gorgeous. I won’t lie and say that the room wasn't filled with hundreds of beautiful women; but out of them, I noticed her right away. Auburn hair, those big eyes filled with curiosity that I longed to get a closer look at.
“You two have the remainder of your evening to get acquainted.” I look up to the woman announcing the event and feel the heat rise in my neck. It didn’t matter that she and every other person in the place had noticed my lingering. It was next to impossible to push myself to leave the stage. I fist my shirt in my hand as I start to back away. Just before I step behind the curtain, I lift my other hand and point toward her. This seems to gain quite a rise out of the room. There are some laughs and even a few sighs, but the woman in silver stares directly back at me with the same heat in her eyes.
Someone tugs on my arm and suddenly I’m pulled behind the curtain, and I come face to face with my friends. “What the fuck was that?” Frank asks as he peeks out at the woman who’d just outbid the others. It had become a full out war zone, and she was right up there, front and center with determination in her eyes. Nothing had ever felt more exhilarating. “That woman is,” he let out a whistle, “wow.”
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Terry adds as he shakes his head, wearing a smile.
I turn around and look out one last time, observing her actions. She has a look of surprise on her face, almost like she can’t believe what happened. After what I just witnessed I can’t imagine her to be a woman who is shy or quiet. But by the looks on her face and those of her friends, it is apparent this is one so far-fetched that they all seem a little taken aback. All three women at the table with her smile knowingly as they watch their friend have a mini freak out.
I chuckle when I see the beauty in the silver dress pick up the drink in front of her and down it without pause. Her friends laugh even harder, and I watch them saying something to her, nodding their heads seeming to all agree. Then she turns her head in my direction, and I notice the widening of her eyes when she sees me standing there, still observing. We hold one another’s gaze, her shoulders shifting with each deep breath she takes, and never in my life have I been more turned on than I am right now. This woman is fucking amazing and I haven’t even had the chance to meet her yet. I could sense she was not only going to challenge me, but excite me too.
Turning away, I step further behind the stage and grab a bottle of water in the large cooler set up for us. The liquid does very little to soothe me as I take in one deep breath after another. The adrenaline of the moment and the thrill of the event all hit me at once.
“So I guess we can all safely say that you’ve most likely won an evening out on us.” Spencer takes a seat next to me.
“Hey,” Terry interrupts, “I still haven’t had my turn.” He looks serious, and though we attempt to keep a straight face, it’s impossible. Frank was the first one to burst into laughter, shortly followed by both Spencer and me. “Do you all have to be assholes, all the time?”
“Have you seen Anna since she lost the bidding?” I ignore Terry and turn to Spencer.
“Nope,” he grins as he looks down at the water in his hands. He appears deep in thought and whatever he imagined only causes his smile to grow even wider. “She did text me though and told me to fuck off and have fun with the bitch.”
“Are you upset?” I press my lips together tightly to fight the smirk tugging at my lips.
“More like relieved.” I hear him take in a deep breath. “That woman has some serious control issues.”
“Ya think?’
“Did you see how pissed off she got when that sweet little fireball kept battling against her bids?” I hadn’t seen it, but I could imagine. “The woman that won though, she looks like she could chew me up and spit me out without a second thought. I’m sure she can handle her own quite well.”
“And that excites you?”
“Fuck yes it excites me.” His eyes grow wide with anticipation. “I can’t wait to get started.”
All I can offer him is a shake of my head because unlike myself, it would seem my friend enjoys being controlled. I, on the other hand, live for the thrill of showing women just how good it can feel to be pleasured by submission. I love the look in a woman’s eyes when she is hanging on the edge of desperation. The longing to have me touch her, to lead her over that edge.
I love control.
* * *
“We’re just allowing the room to clear out a bit, with only the women who had the winning bids remaining.” The director of the event stands before us, still holding that clipboard I haven’t once seen her put down since I arrived hours ago.
“Tonight was a huge success and we have all of you to thank. This was our first boy toy auction, and I know it won’t be our last. Each one of you has made this a memorable evening and I can’t thank you enough for your efforts.” She looks over the crowd of men standing before her. “I presume each of you is aware of the woman that outbid others to win your company, but if for some reason you aren’t, they each have been given the number that you wore on stage.”
I could feel my heart rate speed up with anticipation. I was more than ready to get this evening started.
Another woman steps in and instantly I want to laugh when I realize it’s Anna. “The room is now clear.” She doesn’t even take the chance to look at Spencer, and when I look over at him, he doesn’t seem to give a shit. He seems almost as eager as I am to get out there.
“Again, thank you all.” The director steps back and motions toward the stage. “Enjoy your evening, and who knows? Maybe a little magic was created here tonight.”
Spencer claps his hands and rubs them together quickly before taking off toward the stage, the rest of us following closely behind. The room now looks deserted compared to before. Before there were a couple of hundred women; now only about twenty-five to thirty are left behind, all of whom are now standing near the stage, looking up at the crowd of men.
I spot my woman in silver almost instantly as she stays back near the girl she shared a table with as she holds the number seven timidly in her hands. The woman who bid on Spencer was whispering something to her, and it doesn’t escape me just how nervous my girl looks. I find it intriguing that she stands in a barely there dress, her hair and makeup done to perfection, yet she seems so shy.
“Let’s go get our fiery women.” Spencer nudges my shoulder as he walks down the steps on the left side of the stage and directly toward the ladies. He is right, his girl looks like a wild one, her eyes landing on him instantly. I see the way she scans him hungrily, and I want to laugh as I picture her telling him to kneel before her. He was in some big fucking trouble with that one, there’s no doubt in my mind.
I look away as he steps up before her and she reaches out to hook his belt loop. My gaze lands on the silver beauty, and I can’t help the grin that covers my lips when she tucks her chin toward her chest taking in a deep breath. “Don’t get shy on me now,” I say as I place my finger beneath her chin and force her to look up at me.
When her eyes meet mine, I am caught off guard for a few seconds, lost in the emerald color. They were a gorgeous shade of green, one I'd never seen before. “This is so unlike me,” she mumbles the words, but I still hear them.
“Yeah, I don’t make a habit of selling myself to the highest bidder either.”
She smiles, and I swear I feel that smile throughout my entire body. Her beauty is astounding, and I find myself drawn to her even more than before.
“I’m Nicholas Vaughn,” I hold out my hand in greeting, fighting the urge to be much more demanding of her touch than a simple handshake. “You can call me Nic.”
“Emerson,” she places her hand in mine, “Mansfield.” I couldn’t stop myself from focusing on how small and delicate her hand looked in mine. In fact, everything about her was small and fragile.
“What would you like to do tonight, Emerson?” I enjoy the sound of her name on my lips. I don’t miss the alarm in her eyes as she looks to her friend for help. Though her friend seems to be quite intrigued by Spencer who already has his arm wrapped around her waist as their lips hover only inches apart.
Emerson reaches out and tugs on her friend’s arm, causing her to stumble toward us with an annoyed look on her face. “What?”
“You talked me into this,” Emerson tries to whisper, but with our closeness, I don’t miss her plea. “If you leave me alone to handle this, I will shave your head the next time you pass out from excessive drinking.”
“Dramatic much?” The other woman narrows her eyes in annoyance. The entire display was quite comical.
“No.” Emerson glares right back. “Honest.”
“Fine.” The wild one looks at me then Spencer. “I presume the two of you are friends?” We both nodded. “Great, then you won’t mind if the four of us go somewhere for a few drinks and after that, we’ll see what happens.”
Did I want to tag along with Spencer and his new friend? Hell no, but I understood Emerson’s need to have her friend with her. After all, I was a stranger.