Coldness.

Darkness.

I shivered against the bed I was tied to.

After the men — whose names I barely even knew — had left the Auction House, Jorry had led me back into a side room. I’d been blindfolded, and a silken robe had been pulled over my shoulders before I’d been led to a waiting car. We’d driven for some time, and while at first, I’d tried to remember the lefts and the rights we’d taken, I’d quickly and bitterly swore at myself at how silly an idea that was. After all, I had no idea where in Manhattan I’d been, and as the drive stretched further and further, and as the sounds of the city dwindled behind, I gave up.

The car came to a stop, and strong hands had lifted me, brought me through a doorway, up a flight of stairs, and down a hallway to a room. When I’d felt the bed under me as they set me down, I’d gone ballistic. I kicked and screamed and fought like the devil before strong hands had yanked my arms to the side and tied them apart.

And then they’d left me like that — tied to the bed in my thin robe, for, well, I wasn’t sure how long.

I knew it was dark in the room — my blindfold was loose enough that I could glimpse around the edges and see that. I was still gagged though, and still tied.

The door suddenly opened with a click, and I froze. Footsteps approached, and I strained against the binds, before the voice spoke.

His voice.

“Struggling will get you nowhere.”

I pulled again at the binds, and I heard him sigh. “You’re welcome to continue, but I can promise you—”

There was a pause, and then I gasped as I felt his presence right next to me.

“I am quite good with knots,” he husked into my ear, sending a shiver through my body.

Finger’s brushed my cheek, slipping under the edge of my blindfold. “I’m going to take this off now.”

My heart flip-flopped at the voice in my ear. My mouth was dry, and I could hear the thumping of my own pulse in my ear, but I nodded.

Suddenly, I could see, and I gasped.

It was the man Ryan had called Blackwood — the man with the dark hair and those piercing blue eyes. And even here, in the somewhat small, dark bedroom, his presence and the power surrounding him seemed to envelop me and draw me in.

My eyes darted quickly around, taking in my surroundings. The room was elegant, if not sparse, and it was a four-poster bed that I was tied to. I shivered, and when I glanced down at myself, I realized my robe was barely covering me.

Alone, here in this room with this man.

I swallowed as I shuddered.

“Ms. Thorne.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, the suit he wore pulling tight at his broad-shouldered frame. “Let me explain where you are, and what is going on, since it’s painfully clear you are far from your element. My name is Oliver Blackwood, but you may call me sir. Nod if you understand.”

I swallowed thickly again, my eyes going wide as I nodded.

“Good girl.”

The words purred from his lips, those icy blue eyes of his sliding over me, and somehow making me blush despite the scenario.

“The ‘what’ I think you already know. You see, you belong to us now.” My eyes went wide as his squared, chiseled jaw pulled into a grin. “Me and my associates, that is. Now, I understand that you aren’t like most of the, shall we say acquisitions that used go on the block at the Auction House. You should know that most would go there willingly, once they knew what was being offered — the experience they were being offered.”

Most come willingly?

I balked at the thought. What, there were women who wanted to get bought and auctioned off like livestock? I grit my teeth around the gag, my eyes narrowing and burning into him fiercely.

He chuckled. “She wasn’t wrong. You do come with fight.” His hand extended, the fingers grazing against my cheek. I jerked my head away, and he grinned.

“There it is.”

Oliver sighed, shaking his head as he pulled his hand back to stroke his strong jaw. “I’m aware that you did not arrive there willingly, and I know that pieces of human garbage like Ryan Cunningham believe rules do not apply to them. However, no matter the circumstances of how you got to that auction block, you were there, and now you are ours.”

Excuse me?

“And there are rules that go with that — rules you will learn to obey.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, straining against the binds at my wrists.

“Now, I’m going to take the gag off. You should know that no one can hear you anyways. Nod if you understand.”

I didn’t. I didn’t understand any of this — what had happened to me, where I was, the fact that I belonged to them now?

I shivered again, but slowly, I nodded just the same.

Oliver nodded, and pulled the gag out of my lips.

“Now then—”

I screamed. I screamed bloody fucking murder, straining at my blinds as I belted out for help.

Oliver just sighed, shaking his head.

Finally, I stopped, gasping for air

“Are you done?”

“Fuck you.”

His eyes blazed dark fire for a moment, and his jaw tightened. “You are welcomed to keep screaming until you lose your voice, Ms. Thorne, but I can promise you—” he leaned closer “—no one is going to hear you.”

I glared at him, panting. “You can’t just buy people! You can’t just keep me—”

“But we have.” He shrugged. “You being tied to this bed should sufficiently underscore that for you.”

“Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t hurt me. “I’ll give you anything you—”

“No one’s going to hurt you,” he growled. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, this is complicated.”

“Letting the woman you kidnapped go might make things simpler for you,” I snapped.

He smiled darkly. “I’m going to untie you now. You’ll be confined to this room, but there’s a bathroom—” he nodded at the door on the other side of the room “—and clothes, and food will be brought to you.” His eyes narrowed at me. “Do know, Ms. Thorne, that there will be consequences to you trying anything when I untie you.”

I nodded.

Because nodding meant at least appearing to agree with him. And I knew one thing: anything I could do to make it look like I was cooperating was a step towards winning their trust.

…And winning their trust meant a shot at escaping.

He stepped towards me, and I could feel my pulse skip as his powerful hands pulled at the ties, freeing one hand. I bit my lip, feeling my muscles coil and feeling my body ready itself. He moved to the other side of me, and undid the tie on that hand.

I bolted.

I lashed out, getting him in the ribs with a bare heel before I scrambled off the bed and went stumbling for the door. I made it three steps before I screamed as his arms went around me. I shrieked as he lifted my small body up easily, hoisting me over his powerful shoulder and striding back towards the bed.

“You disappoint me, Ms. Thorne,” he hissed, his hands tightening on me. My eyes went wide as I felt his hand slide up over the back of my thigh, pushing the thin robe up as he went, until my panty-covered ass was exposed.

His hand came down on it hard, with a sharp smacking sound, and I gasped out loud.

“Get your hands off—!”

The hand came down again, spanking my ass, jolting my pelvis against his muscled shoulder and sending a tremor through my body.

…And igniting something inside of me.

I blushed bright red at the way my traitorous body reacted to the spank, tingling, and moving against him. Growing hotter.

Getting wet.

I bit my lip, squeezing my eyes shut and shoving that horrible thought deep down inside.

I would not be turned on by this! This man may have been gorgeous, and captivating, and insanely powerful, and dominating in a way I’d barely dared to admit to myself that I’d dreamed about.

But he was my kidnapper.

He and his friends had bought me, against my will, at a fucking auction.

And I’d be damned if I let my body react like this to a man like that.

I lashed out again, trying to get my knee up into his side, but he suddenly tossed me down onto the bed. I screamed as he came after me, pinning me down against the sheets with his hands holding my wrists down, his weight against my body. I panted, gasping as I felt his hard, muscled, powerful body press the fight out of me.

And yet somehow, it did more than that. Somehow, it pressed heat right through my body as well. I gasped in horrified shock as my pussy throbbed with sudden and wildly unexplainable desire for him.

Yes, on a purely physical, base level, this was a gorgeous man pressing me down onto a bed, my legs spread beneath him and his thick bulge pressing hard against me.

Kidnapped! I reminded myself furiously. This man kidnapped you, or…bought you, or, whatever.

And there was no freaking way I was letting myself get turned on like this by a man like that.

I shoved at him, trying to push him off of me. Except of course, the only effect it had against his strength was my hips rocking up to grind into him, which only got me hotter, and wetter.

“Get off of me!” I hissed, trying to get the anger to cover the red heat in my face.

Oliver grinned.

“Careful Ms. Thorne.”

I glared at him, swallowing the lump in my throat as I felt just how hard and how damn big he was, pressing me there between my legs.

“Careful of what,” I spit.

“You might just find you enjoy being controlled.”

My jaw dropped. “I will do no such—!” I shoved my full weight up into him, shoving him off of me just enough for me to get a hand free. I swung it blindly, gasping in surprise when my palm actually connected with his face.

The room went still, and I froze.

Slowly, Oliver turned back, his eyes blazing ice blue fire. I gasped as he suddenly flipped me around, face down on the bed with my hands behind my back. I bucked against him, but one of his powerful hands held both of mine fast at the small of my back. He used his other hand to push my robe up high, and my eyes went wide as he suddenly yanked my panties down to my knees!

“Just what do you think you’re—!”

I shrieked as his palm came down with a firm crack on my bare little ass, the spank jolting through my body and spreading heat out from his hand. He pulled back and did it again, his firm palm connecting with the tender skin of my ass and making me gasp.

And then, I moaned.

God help me, I closed my eyes, and I moaned as he spanked me. I knew I was bare to him, and I was pretty sure he could fucking see how wet I was by this, there between my legs.

My cheeks burned hot with the thought.

I gasped as Oliver let his hand connect with my ass once more, before he stopped.

And chuckled.

“Looks like I was correct about you enjoying this, Ms. Thorne.”

I closed my eyes as the heat flooded my face.

Suddenly, he was off of me, and rising from the bed. I took a shaky breath before I slowly turned, avoiding his eyes with mine.

“Now then,” he spoke firmly. “That was a warning. I will not be nice next time.”

I looked up, my wide eyes meeting his. There was a raw, dominating fire there that left me breathless. Then, he turned and strode from the room. The door locked behind him.

I sat there on the bed, panting, my cheeks still flushed red, my mind still whirling, and my pussy still throbbing in confusing, horrible desire.

Because I didn’t want him to be nice.

I wanted him to be bad.

I wanted him to be the dark, dominant, even scary man I saw there in his eyes.

I shook my head, letting my breath out and pushing my fingers through my hair.

I must’ve been going insane.