Nicole walked inside my office at nine in the evening. She was usually gone by five and never had to work late, but this was important. A quick text message got her down there in ten minutes.

She made an incredible living working for me, so she would do anything I asked. I could replace her with another eager employee in five minutes. Actually, in five seconds.

Nicole set her folder down and held her pen, ready to take my instructions. “What can I do for you, Conway?”

“I have to get these down to the factory tomorrow.” I placed the pile of lingerie on the counter, the seven different ensembles I’d created just from looking at Ten’s luscious body. “I want to have them ready by the show, if possible.”

She went through the pile, examining each piece with a designer’s scrutiny. She’d been working with me for ten years, and she saw every design that I created. Some she adored, others she didn’t care for. But she knew my work well and wasn’t afraid to critique it. “Wow…these are gorgeous.”

I organized everything on the counter because I’d made a mess when I was working with Ten. “Thank you.”

“There are seven here…did you do all these tonight?”

“Yes.”

She looked through them again before she stared at me through her round glasses. “That’s the most you’ve ever done in one sitting—by a landslide.”

Ten’s endless curves, bright blue eyes, and the sexy hollow in her throat got my imagination expanding. I wanted to show off every feature of her body, highlight all of her gorgeous attributes with the perfect fabric. I needed the right lingerie to accent the woman, but I also needed the right woman to accent the lingerie. “I guess I was inspired.”

“Conway, these are all incredible. It’s truly remarkable…your best work.”

I was passionate about my work, taking it seriously when others scoffed at it. Sex was the most beautiful and obsessive thing on the planet. We all thought about it every single day. We all meticulously picked out our outfits before we went to a bar with our friends. Why wouldn’t we do the same in the bedroom? Why shouldn’t a woman look her best before she gave herself to a man? It made fucking more sensual, more erotic. There wasn’t a single man on the planet who didn’t love lingerie—unless he didn’t know how to work a bra. “Thank you.”

“We have to get these into the show this weekend. I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you, Nicole.” I relied on her to do everything for me. She was a smart woman and a dedicated worker. I never needed to micromanage her because I trusted her to do her best. Her best interests were my best interests.

“You haven’t made a decision about your grand finale.” She walked over to the silver halter dress hanging on the wall. It took me three weeks just to conceptualize the piece. I didn’t design it with a specific woman in mind. That wasn’t the way I designed anything. The women in my head were usually faceless, just naked women with gorgeous tits and a perky ass. “Are you going to have Lacey Lockwood feature it? She’s been asking me about it almost every day…”

Lacey was definitely impatient. “I’m not sure.”

“Do you have someone else in mind?”

Ten immediately popped into my mind, the most gorgeous woman I’d ever laid eyes on. Perfect in every way, she looked like someone put her together in a factory. She was too beautiful to be true.

“Shayla is another favorite. She’d be great.”

No, not Shayla.

“Meredith?”

I shook my head.

“Lacey definitely has the most experience, and she’s the most famous model of the brand. You can’t go wrong with her.”

Lacey was a veteran. She had perfect grace, a dazzling smile, and she knew how to smolder for the crowd. I’d used her in a lot of photographs and live performances. She was in three different pictures on my walls at that very instant.

But she didn’t feel right.

“I want to use the new girl.”

Nicole hardly ever questioned my decisions, but she gave me a skeptical look now. “The one who was in here this morning? The brunette?”

“Yes.”

She set her pen on her folder. “Conway, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. She doesn’t have a lot of experience, and the grand finale is the part of the show everyone is anticipating. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a beautiful woman. But Lacey has a lot more experience. With her—”

“No. I want it to be her.”

Nicole slowly shut her mouth, accepting her defeat. “Alright. Would you like me to have someone work with her?”

I needed her to be flawless, and the only one who could make sure that happened was me. “No. I’ll handle it.”

---

I was checked at the door before I walked inside.

The basement of the old opera house was filled with circular tables covered by red tablecloths. Low burning candles sat in the center of each table, creating a light so dim it was difficult to make out the appearance of everyone else in the room. Their policy for no masks almost seemed pointless.

I was escorted to a private table with a number on a paddleboard.

A scotch was brought to me instantly, and then I was left alone.

Each table was reserved for a single man, creating space between each competitor. Sometimes when a woman was particularly beautiful, the bidding war between men became heated. Then it turned into a pissing contest—who had more money. I’d seen slaves sell for twelve million dollars before—far over their value.

I enjoyed my drink and didn’t make eye contact with anyone. I’d left my phone in the car because those weren’t allowed either. They didn’t want any of us being traced, and they didn’t want these events recorded.

They waited an extra five minutes for any last-minute stragglers.

Then it began.

One by one, the naked women were pushed forward, and the bidding war began.

I made a few bids just so it wouldn’t be obvious there was only one woman I wanted.

These women were forced to stand naked so all the pigs in the room could see exactly what they were buying. But a woman in lingerie was far sexier than one in the nude. The thin material hugged her body perfectly, accentuating her flaws. It made her nakedness the grand finale.

The girl I was there for stepped forward, a complete mess. She cried during the bidding, her wrists secured behind her back. She was over eighteen, but far too young to be sentenced to such a horrific death. Watching her cry made me think of Ten.

She would never cry. Even if she were buck naked in a room full of assholes, she would still keep her dignity.

Fortunately, no one particularly wanted this girl, so I got her for a good price.

When they took her off the stage, she sobbed even louder.

There was nothing I hated more than a crier.

---

She was fully clothed once she was handed over, wearing jeans and a t-shirt so she wouldn’t draw suspicion on the street. But once the men escorted her to my car, she started to wail louder.

I couldn’t tell her what was really going on, so I shut her up in the best way I could.

I slapped her across the face. “Keep crying and see what happens.” I became the monster they thought I was. I kept up the charade so they would believe I was a perverted bastard who didn’t possess even a quarter-inch of a heart.

She shut up instantly.

I got her in the passenger seat and drove away.

For fear of being bugged through my phone or car, I didn’t tell her the truth. I drove to the building I owned near my studio, parked in the garage, and then forced her into the elevator until we reached my space on the top floor.

By the time we arrived, she was crying again.

I cut off her bindings then set my phone in a different room.

When I returned, her arms were wrapped tightly around her body with her knees pressed together. She obviously expected me to rape her right then and there.

“You can calm down, Anastasia. I’m not going to hurt you.” I poured her a glass of water and made a sandwich for her at the kitchen counter.

She didn’t move an inch, her eyes watching the way I handled the knife when I sliced the sandwich in half.

I returned to her with the water and the sandwich. “Come on, I know you must be hungry.”

She still wouldn’t take it.

I set everything on the coffee table. “Long story short, your father paid me to buy you at the Underground. The Skull Kings are a psychopathic group of criminals that capture privileged women from their rich fathers and sell them for cash.”

It was the first time she’d taken a real breath since she’d stepped inside my apartment. She covered her mouth with her hand as tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. “Daddy…”

“So, you’re safe now.” I sat on the couch and patted the seat beside me. “Now, eat.”

She finally approached me with her guard down and took a drink from the glass. “So, does that mean he’s going to pick me up? Are you going to take me to him?”

“No. This is the shitty part. In order for my cover to be legitimate, I need you to work for me for a short while.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a lingerie designer. I need you to model for me a few times. That way, the Skull Kings will think that’s what I bought you for. After a few weeks, they’ll forget about you and move on to their next project. That’s when I’ll take you back.”

She grabbed the sandwich in both of her hands but didn’t take a bite. “How long will that be?”

“A few weeks. Maybe a month.”

Her happiness immediately died away. “Oh…can I talk to my parents?”

“Of course. Tomorrow. It’s not safe to do it right now.”

“Okay…I can wait until tomorrow. What will I do in the meantime?”

“You’ll stay here with me. I have a spare bedroom with a private bath.”

“Thank you… That’s really nice of you.”

I didn’t want her gratitude. “Your dad paid me ten million dollars to get you out. I wouldn’t risk my own neck for nothing.”

“But still, I’m so glad to be out of there. Those poor other girls…”

I didn’t want to think about their fate. “Did they hurt you?”

“Pushed me around a bit…hit me a few times.”

“But did they…?”

“No,” she said immediately.

I nodded. “Help yourself to whatever you want in the house. I’ll take you to work with me in the morning.”

“What should I say to people?”

“That you’re a new model I discovered. You were eating in a coffee shop when I noticed you. That’s all you need to say.”

“Alright…I think I can do that.”

I left the couch and moved away from her to give her some space. Even though I admitted I wouldn’t hurt her, that didn’t mean she was comfortable around me. I was a complete stranger—and I was a man.

There was no guarantee I wouldn’t take her father’s money and fuck her before I returned her.

People did some fucked-up things, after all.

I turned on the TV before I headed down the hall. “Good night.”

Her weak voice followed me. “Good night…”

I could head to the lingerie club I owned and pick up a woman for the night. I could sneak off into a corner there and get a nice blow job in the darkness. She would already be wearing my lingerie so it would be perfect.

But the work didn’t seem worth the reward.

Not when I could just jerk off—and think about someone else.