Ivy: The Ties That Bind (Auction Night Book 4)

by Ellie Masters

  Ivy

  The Ties that Bind: Auction Night

  Ellie Masters

  JEM Publishing

  Copyright © 2020 Ellie Masters

  IVY

  THE TIES THAT BIND: AUCTION NIGHT

  All rights reserved.

  This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, transmitted, or distributed in any printed, mechanical, or electronic form without prior written permission from Ellie Masters or JEM Publishing except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Image/art disclaimer: Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  Editor: Erin Toland

  Cover Artist: Kari Nappi

  Interior Design/Formatting: Ellie Masters

  Published in the United States of America

  JEM Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, businesses, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  AISN: B082VMKGSV

  Warning

  * * *

  This story contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and might be considered offensive to some readers.

  This book is for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country where you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely and where they cannot be accessed by underage readers.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my one and only—my amazing and wonderful husband.

  Without your care and support, my writing would not have made it this far. You make me whole every day. I love you “that much.” For the rest of you, that means from the beginning to the end and every point in between. Thank you, my dearest love, my heart and soul, for putting up with me, for believing in me, and for loving me.

  My husband deserves a special gold star for listening to me obsess over this book and for never once complaining while I brought these characters from my mind to the page.

  You pushed me when I needed to be pushed. You supported me when I felt discouraged. You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. If it weren’t for you, this book never would have come to life.

  Also by Ellie Masters

  Sign up to Ellie’s Newsletter and get a free gift. https://elliemasters.com/FreeBook

  Light BDSM Romance

  The Ties that Bind

  each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA.

  Alexa

  Penny

  Michelle

  Ivy

  Contemporary Romance

  The One I Want Series

  By Jet & Ellie Masters

  each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA.

  Aiden

  Brent

  Caleb

  Dax

  Rockstar Romance

  The Angel Fire Rock Romance Series

  each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA. It is recommended they are read in order.

  Ashes to New (prequel)

  Heart’s Insanity (book 1)

  Heart’s Desire (book 2)

  Heart’s Collide (book 3)

  Hearts Divided (book 4)

  Dark Romance

  Captive Hearts Series

  each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA. It is recommended they are read in order.

  She’s MINE

  Embracing FATE

  Forest’s FALL

  Romantic Suspense

  Changing Roles Series:

  this series is about one couple and must be read in order.

  Book 1: Command

  Book 2: Control

  Book 3: Collar

  HOT READS

  each book is a standalone novel.

  Off Duty

  Nondisclosure

  Down the Rabbit Hole

  Romantic Suspense (standalone)

  each book is a standalone novel.

  Twist of Fate

  The Starling

  Redemption

  HOT READS

  Becoming His Series

  this series is about one couple and must be read in order.

  Book 1: The Ballet

  Book 2: Learning to Breathe

  Book 3: Becoming His

  Sweet Contemporary Romance

  Finding Peace

  ~AND~

  Science Fiction

  Ellie Masters writing as L.A. Warren

  Vendel Rising: a Science Fiction Serialized Novel

  Contents

  I. Ivy

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Please consider leaving a review

  Also by Ellie Masters

  About the Author

  Connect with Ellie Masters

  Final Thoughts

  THE END

  Part I

  Ivy

  Chapter 1

  This is bad. It's really, really bad.

  And scary.

  I must have picked up a nail during that detour. Only I would get a flat tire, and it doesn't help I made a wrong turn. Now, I'm hopelessly lost. This part of town is unfamiliar and I'm feeling really alone.

  My phone is dead. I have a flat. And I need help.

  My mind is spinning with stories of rapists and thieves. I'm very well aware I'm a young woman alone on a strange street at night.

  Can anyone say Victim?

  I might as well attach a neon sign to my forehead that says Prime Meat! Assault Here! Easy Prey!

  Long rows of nondescript buildings line the street. I'm in some kind of industrial-ish part of town. I don't know.

  The doors I did knock on never opened. It's raining cats and dogs. I'm scared. I'm drenched. It's getting colder. My chances of getting robbed or raped, maybe both, escalate by the minute.

  But I swear I saw a shadow move near the side of that building. Maybe it was a person? It could be a drug lord, mob boss, or thief in the night. My mind is hyper-alert and sending overly vivid images of my impending doom if I don't figure something out.

  For all I know, that shadow could've been a stray dog, a cat, or maybe one of those super-sized gutter rats. Well, I'm doing myself no favors standing in the rain. I need help. Either to fix my flat or call a tow truck.

  There's no reason to delay. With my teeth cla
mped tight, I march to the side of a building which occupies an entire city block. I complete a quick check of the alley. There are no robbers, mob bosses, drug dealers, or giant sized rats. It's as empty as the street and cleaner than my wild imagination. It kind of looks well-maintained. I give a sharp rap on the door with my fist.

  There's no answer.

  Figures. My luck sucks tonight.

  I stamp my foot and give an unladylike snort. The sound rips through the air and times itself precisely for the moment a drop dead gorgeous Adonis opens the door.

  Ripped with muscles, taller than tall, and chiseled out of granite, I’m staring at perfection. I need to close my mouth, but I can’t. I may be drooling. Without being too obvious about it, I take a swipe of my chin.

  I’m good. No drool.

  My clothes are made for the street, but he's dressed in a tux.

  Here? That seems kind of random.

  I’m sporting faded, ripped jeans, a T-shirt stained with pizza, coffee, and something I can't remember spilling on myself. Add in worn out sneakers and I'm the complete opposite of this strange man. What am I missing? He looks dressed for a ball or some upscale gala event.

  I’m a rain-soaked mess.

  That's when I see the sign.

  The Ties that Bind.

  I know that name, and no, I'm not going to admit why I know that name. Let's call it deviant snooping, or too much interest in something I should have no interest in at all. The Ties that Bind is one of those secret clubs which doesn’t welcome strangers. They do stuff in there, adult, consenting, sex stuff.

  They're beyond exclusive and it looks like they're doing a bang-up job of camouflaging themselves. If you listen to the whispers, or know the right people, then you can find out about this place. I may have listened to one or two of those whispers, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would wind up on the doorstep of this club.

  It’s a place I don’t belong. I don't know the right people. I'm not from the right social circles. And I've most definitely never stepped foot in a sex club, least of all one like this.

  But I’m here.

  And I'm begging.

  Considering what kind of place this is, that's not such a good thing.

  But here's a little secret. I want to belong to a place like this, and even to a man like the giant staring down at me. By the expression on his face, the man-giant is well aware of this fact.

  Yes, I said man-giant; a sexy as fuck, taller than tall, broader than broad, drop dead gorgeous man-giant.

  I can't help the direction of my thoughts. I need to stop it, because those kind of thoughts will get me in trouble. They're not safe. Not sane. And while I'd like to say I would consent, the truth is I'm too much of a chicken-shit to ever consider stepping foot in a place like this.

  But, I have a flat.

  It's raining.

  My cell is dead.

  I'm shivering.

  All in all, I need a rescue.

  My pulse roars past my ears and I squeeze my eyes shut trying to recover from what has to be the world’s worst first impression.

  Or hide.

  He makes me want to curl in on myself and disappear.

  His chest is impossibly broad beneath the immaculate fitted tux straining to contain his bulk and he’s tall. Scary tall. I jerk my attention to his face, hoping he doesn’t notice my blatant stare.

  I’m gawking like an idiot.

  He’s graced with full lips set half-way between a smile and a scowl. Far beyond handsome, faint stubble dusts his jaw while dark, disheveled hair sweeps across his brow. He looks like he just crawled out of bed…in a form-fitting tuxedo.

  Those lips of his twitch and twist into a smirk. His towering presence terrifies me even as I’m drawn into the coal-dark blackness of his eyes.

  Thick brows draw together as the intensity of his entire being takes me in. I’m measured and weighed in that gaze, and tremble from head to toe as I decide my best route for escape. I'd run, but where would I go?

  He pulls back with surprise; perhaps shocked I haven’t moved. I’m still standing there, gawking like an idiot. But I’m not alone in my interest.

  He’s checking me out too. This confuses me. I’m a tiny, inconsequential mess that he’s devouring with a blatant hunger.

  Blatant?

  Hell, it’s ravenous.

  My response?

  I’m a blusher and I do what I do best. The heat radiating off my face is hotter than the surface of the sun. I hate how I can’t control my body’s reactions. I despise how my emotions are an open book and how my embarrassment becomes a public event. But this is my life. I blush and everyone within a five-mile radius knows it.

  He does.

  The scarlet hue that takes over my face isn’t something I can pretend doesn’t exist.

  He stares at me, a feral look, one belonging to a hunter, and it makes me feel exactly like prey.

  See!

  He just licked his lips.

  I’m a delectable morsel to him. Why do I like that? No really, I’m surprised how much his hunger excites me. I’m used to being the tiny field mouse nobody wants. My sister is the one who gets the guys. I'm usually stuck at home reading a book. Not that books are bad. It's just, I’m never the one the guys want and never like that.

  I don’t even try to exchange my wretched snort for a smile. This man cannot be interested in me. Not now. Not ever. I’m a nobody and my overactive imagination is at it again.

  The man leans forward. He’s close. Too close. He smells amazing. My personal space is filled by him. The scent of spice and sandalwood floods my senses and I do the unthinkable. I breathe him in and take a long, leisurely sniff like a bitch in heat. I can't help myself.

  "Can I help you?" His steely gaze meanders down my body and I'm very aware of my wet T-shirt. Thankfully, it's not white. I'd be mortified if it were.

  Did I just lick my lips?

  When I open my eyes, it’s to see a smile crinkling in the corners of his eyes.

  Holy hell, did he watch me lick my lips?

  It’s impossible to blush more. Except I do. My neck joins the inferno of my face and the blush creeps down between my cleavage. His gaze follows the path of my shame. The entire focus of this man is on my chest, my boobs, and the hardened nubs of my nipples. Yes, my nipples are standing loud and proud, practically poking through the thin fabric of my rain soaked T-shirt. Why the hell didn’t I wear a damn bra?

  I’m captivated by his examination. Yes, he really is looking at me, and it’s with a surety of purpose and confidence I don’t command. My throat tightens and my mouth goes dry.

  Why didn’t I at least put on a thin bra? Or better yet some padded monster?

  Something is happening. Something weird.

  A steady ache builds between my legs; something needy and wanton. I’m rendered mute by this whole situation. By him. His presence overwhelms me.

  I still have yet to speak. I’m standing like a fool, and I’m staring. I might be drooling. I will not lick my lips again. Except I do, and his heated gaze follows the sweep of my tongue. I try clearing my throat. What comes out is a pathetic squeak.

  "Can I please use your phone?" My voice is small and meek.

  “She speaks.” He seems amused.

  Chapter 2

  “My phone is dead and I need to call a tow truck. May I please use your phone?” I don't normally say please, but it kind of rolls out of me. This man makes me want to ask permission to breathe. What's up with that?

  His eyes widen and he draws back. If I didn't know better, I've surprised him. Not that I'm sure how that can be, or why. I'm simply asking to use his phone.

  The man reaches out and wipes a wet strand of hair off my forehead. Electricity sparks between us and I jerk away from his touch.

  Did he feel that? How could he not? My entire body trembles after the slight touch. He stares at me and that sense of being weighed and measured returns.

  His brows push together.
"You look like a drowned rat."

  "Gee, thanks. I feel like one."

  He gives a low chuckle, only it sounds more like a rumble of thunder.

  His gaze penetrates me, invading my skin, disturbing my breathing, making my pulse go wild. I’m frozen like a little field mouse in that moment before the hawk strikes. I should run, but I can’t move.

  We’re deadlocked in a stare, and I can’t blink. I can’t retreat. I’m stunned by something I can’t describe. That single look dissects me and everything I know about myself disappears in that gaze.

  My instincts are at war with what my body wants. I should be running, instead I’m rooted to this spot. There’s one truth in my life right now.

  I’m not moving until he says so.

  “I'll be quick. I just need to call for a tow. I'll be in and out of your hair before you know it.”

  “I don't have a phone on me, and only members are allowed inside.” There’s a deep resonance to his voice. It pulses through me, echoing with promise and compelling me to submit to his desires.