CHAPTER FIVE
The seven chairs began to lower around Patricia. When they rose again, each chair had a scantily clad, nubile body draped over it.
Each Gem was wearing a sash and translucent tights. The sequined sash was embroidered with their auction names: Sapphire, Onyx, Pearl, Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Amber.
Four females and three males were on auction tonight. They kept their faces lowered and angled their bodies away from the audience.
Nathan flicked his eyes back to Roland Nox and his bodyguard. Roland was grinning and wiping his sweaty palms on his thigh. He seemed to have his eye on the dark-skinned woman to Patricia's right. Jim glanced at the stage and saw that the seven Gems posed no threat. There was nowhere they could conceal a weapon. They were wearing almost nothing at all. Swiftly, Jim's gaze returned to the clients seated around the brightly lit stage.
Nathan quirked a lopsided smile. Good boy. He wasn't distracted by all that bare flesh on stage.
Jim's eyes met Nathan's as he scanned the room. Nathan held his gaze and lifted his chin to see how the young bodyguard would react when he realized that he was being watched.
A small crease appeared between Jim's brows. His frown deepened into a scowl when Nathan smiled at him.
It was not a friendly smile.
Nathan made a quick mental note. Jim needed to work on his poker face. Never let a target know that he's on your radar.
“Now, shall we take a better look at the Gems on display tonight?” Patricia invited.
The auction had started.
Nathan shifted his attention from the young bodyguard to the stage. He was here for work, but he could appreciate the view as well, couldn't he?
On the slowly rotating stage, Patricia was weaving gracefully between the seven chairs. Her bright, red nails danced over the bare backs of her Gems as she introduced them to the audience.
“… the delectable, exquisite Topaz!”
A chiseled, handsome young man of Asian descent turned around in his chair and smirked at the audience. His sash was stretched across his smooth, broad chest and his translucent tights left little to the imagination.
Standing up in one fluid motion, Topaz swaggered to the edge of the stage and stood with arms akimbo, displaying his impressive physique to the bidders.
Nathan saw the lady at table number eighteen lean forward with interest. Her diamond choker glimmered as she tilted her head to appraise the beautiful Gem on display. But the lady had competition. Two other gentlemen were eyeing the same exquisite Gem.
Nathan reached for his champagne flute but the glass froze midway to his lips.
Patricia was slowly making her way towards the last Gem on the stage, but Nathan saw her first.
Amber.
He caught a glimpse of her face as she peeked out from her curtain of wavy brown hair. Her gray eyes were wide and showing a trace of fear. The Gems were not supposed to move until Patricia called out their names. Clearly, she was new at this.
Nathan couldn't remember seeing her before. Was this her first time at the auction?
Some of the more popular Gems appeared regularly at the auctions. They sometimes changed their hair color and with the help of some skilful makeup and costumes, they could appear with a whole new look.
Patricia liked to have a mixture of old and new Gems at her auctions. It kept things fresh and interesting, yet orderly and professional.
Nathan took a sharp breath and picked out Amber's sweet, unique scent from the heady scents swirling around the room. Amber was fully human, and she was definitely a new Gem.
She was trembling and fidgeting slightly in her seat. The scent of her fear was so sharp and already he could see the other shifters reacting to the scent of new prey. Predators could smell fear. The eyes of the predatory shifters were already glowing with relish and anticipation.
What the hell was a girl like her doing in a place like this?
Sweet, bright Amber was in a den of predatory beasts. Did she know what she was in for?
Patricia was a shrewd businesswoman, and she knew exactly what delighted and excited her clients. Girls like Amber were rare. There was a sweetness to her, but there was a fierce light in her eyes.
Nathan knew that all the Gems had to go through a selection process. There was a certain quality that Patricia looked for in her Gems. Some of them might look small and fragile, but they were all tough.
The patrons of The Ring were filthy rich, but they were all shifters. If her Gems weren't tough enough, they wouldn't be able to handle one night with a shifter.
Shifters were strong, demanding and they had great stamina. The Gems would never be hurt, but they had to be able to handle the voracious appetites of their clients and give as good as they got.
Amber was the only inexperienced, new Gem tonight and she was going to attract the highest bids. The scent of her fear faded as she mastered her fear. The fact that she was here meant that she had read and signed the contact. She had also attended the briefing and training session. Amber knew what to expect. She had agreed to do this.
Nathan put his glass down to avoid crushing it in his fist. He wouldn't let anyone else win Amber.
He hadn't planned on bidding tonight. He was a client of The Ring, but he was usually here on business. To watch, observe and memorize the faces of the new rich shifters in town. In the security business, it was imperative to know everything before anything happened. It paid to be prepared.
But...nothing prepared him for this.
He had never thought of anyone as his before.
Amber was his.
He wasn't going to let anyone else have her.