Waiting backstage, my heart starts to thump audibly. I can feel it pulsing throughout my body. I’ve watched a dozen women come back with smiles on their faces and I know some of them have gotten amazing sums of money. But am I really going to be able to do this? And what about what comes next? Am I capable of going through with it?

Before I have time to answer my own question, a woman in black with an earpiece motions to me.

“Emma Taylor?”

I nod.

“You’re up. Have fun, smile, good luck.” Her encouragement is perfunctory, given for at least the thirteenth time tonight and destined to be given another dozen times at least.

I walk out, steadier on my feet than I feel in my stomach. The room is dark except for the illuminated stage. Electronic music is playing over the loudspeakers. I follow the marked pathway and carefully ascend the short staircase. I am not very used to wearing heels and I would prefer not to fall on my face.

Up on stage, I am alone in a sea of darkness. The lights on me are warm, but diffuse. My eyes start to adjust as I walk around the circular stage. After a few moments, I can begin to make out faces in the crowd. I am surprised at how young everyone looks. And then I see him. A face I recognize.

I almost stumble, but continue walking around the stage. When I come back around, I look again. I’m sure this time. It is the guy who was staring at me in the bar the other night. Had he invited me to this auction? I mean, I probably would have gone out with him had he just asked me at the bar without the need for all of this.

Not hearing anyone bid is nerve-wracking. It is taking quite a while, it seems, so I guess that is a good thing. But on the other hand, it might just seem like a long time since I came up here. Finally, a little bell sounds indicating the bidding is done. I look over at the guy from the bar on my way off the stage and he gives me a little smile.

I head backstage and am immediately shepherded down a long hallway that I hadn’t seen before. The woman escorting me leads me to a door and ushers me in.

“Congratulations, your winning bid was eighty-three thousand. One of the higher ones. The bidder will be here shortly. If there are any issues, please press the red button on the wall over there and someone will be here immediately.”

My jaw drops to the floor.

“Wait,” I say as she turns to walk away. “Who had the winning bid?”

She looks down at her tablet. “Blake Ericson.”

I thank her and she walks away. I turn around and walk into the room. It is dominated by a large bed covered in dark red textiles.

The door swings open and he is there in the doorway. I am frozen for a moment. I recognize his face, but seeing him here, dressed in a suit that fits over his obviously muscular body like it was sewn on, I realize just how lucky I am that he’s the one who placed the winning bid.

“Emma.” His voice is throaty, guttural, thick with desire. “I, uh, well…I guess I bought you.”

I let out a little laugh, unable to resist the strangeness of the situation. Luckily, he laughs as well, breaking the tension. Now that I am committed to this, and that I know who I will be with, I am eager to get started. But nowhere close to as eager as Blake.

He crosses to me in two swift strides and takes my shoulders in his hands. His grip is powerful, but gentle. He pulls me close to him and plants his lips on my neck, just below my ear. Even though I had been preparing myself for this moment, I am still shocked when it comes. But his kisses send little electrical flashes radiating through my body. I can feel my muscles clench and relax. He takes my earlobe in between his lips and gives it a little tug, eliciting a whimper of pleasure from me.

I know there is still music thumping throughout the warehouse, but right now, I can’t hear anything other than the beat of my heart and the sounds of our breathing, which is becoming quicker and more ragged every moment.

Blake lets go of my shoulders and slides one of his hands down, settling in the small of my back. He pulls me in even closer. I can feel him. It presses against me, hard and long. Almost without my will, my hips start to rock back and forth, grinding against him. He gives a low groan of approval as he continues to kiss my neck.

It feels like our bodies are stuck together for eternity, but we both seem to realize at the same time that there is something in the way. He lets me go and we take a step away from each other. Blake whips off his jacket and begins unbuttoning his shirt. I reach up behind my back and slide down the long zipper.

His shirt falls to the floor and I stop a moment to stare. This guy is paying to be with me? His torso looks like it should be in a museum of classical sculpture. There is not a spare inch of flesh, everything is lean, rippling muscle. I drop my dress to the floor. He is looking at me hungrily. I start to move forward to touch him again, but he stops me with a quick hand motion.

“Wait, I want to look at you.”

I feel like I should be awkward, or nervous. But the only thing I feel is wanted, desired. I can almost feel the pressure of his gaze as it lingers on my breasts, my hipbones, and caresses me between my legs. I reach behind me to unhook my bra. He licks his lips unconsciously.

Finally, it seems like he is unable to wait any longer. I know I don’t feel like delaying. He takes a step forward and wraps his hands around my waist, lifting me into the air and tossing me backward onto the bed.

He catches my legs before they come down, placing them on either of his broad shoulders. He hooks his fingers around the waistband of my panties and pulls them straight up and over my feet. I can feel the cool air of the warehouse between my thighs. I had gotten more hot and wet than I’d realized. Blake seems to notice. He looks down with a grin and quickly drops his head, burying his face in my sex.

After only a minute, I pull him up. I want him inside me before I come. He seems to understand what I want instinctively. He rears up, towering above me. I watch, my hips rocking and rotating in anticipation as he undoes his belt and pants. He lowers his briefs and his erection springs free. Immediately I almost regret it. It is huge! But my desire quickly overcomes any reservations.

He pushes forward, opening my thighs with the touch of his hips. He holds himself up with one hand and with the other, gently pushes a strand of hair away from my face. The next moment, he pushes inside me. I stifle a gasp as he keeps going, deeper, deeper. Finally, his hips press up against my legs. Then he pulls out slowly, and then back in. Long, slow, sure strokes. I am desperate for him to go faster, to slam me down into the mattress, but he keeps a steady, disciplined pace.

Then, when I am almost ready to explode from the tension, he shifts gear. The long stroking intensifies, increasing pace and power. I almost forget to breathe. He leans back and takes my hips in his hands, lifting me up, and changing the angle of his thrusts. My vision goes white and pleasure explodes out from my center. I lose control of my muscles. Almost outside my own body, I hear grunts, moans, and screams that I barely recognize in myself.

Moments later, I feel him shudder and spasm inside of me and the room is filled with a deep, velvety silence, broken only by the distant sound of music from the main hall.