Highest Bidder

by Le Carre, Georgia

  “She tried to speak to my husband and me about her new boutique. When we showed her no interest, she had no choice but to move on. That’s what we should all do. We should boycott her.”

  “I’ll see how long I can stand her and then I’ll get someone to kick her out,” said a woman.

  I thought I recognized her voice. Her husband used to do business with my father. She was always on the committee of Charity events.

  Someone added something else that I couldn’t catch, but no doubt spiteful and cruel, and they all laughed. It was followed by clicks of their heels as they headed out of the Ladies. Like a pack they came in, and like a pack they left.

  Tears rolled down from my eyes at the memory of the father I had so loved, and of the last moment I had seen him, lifeless and hanging from the ceiling of our magnificent home back in Mayfair.

  I rose to my feet then and pushed the door open. I wanted to run to my mother, and to quickly drag her with me out of here, but as I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I loathed what I saw.

  A spineless scurrying victim, indeed akin to the very rat they had ascribed us to.

  My father had indeed been framed and no one in this room had any right to condemn us. We would be staying till the end no matter what. I went towards the mirror and after washing my hands, tidied my makeup and walked out into the party. But as I passed by the hallway leading to a small but glorious city garden, I couldn’t help wandering out there. Just for a few minutes. Then I would rejoin the jackals, hyenas and cold-blooded crocodiles.

  I was so numb I didn’t realize my legs were trembling, but as I was walking down the short flight of stone steps my knees wobbled, my footing slipped, and I began to fall, my arms flailing out uselessly as I tried to grab something and caught only empty air. I would have tumbled down the short flight of steps and turned the nightmare evening into a complete disaster.

  If not …

  For the strong arm that came around my waist to pull me up. Shutting my eyes with relief, I accepted the support and tried to regain my footing.

  “Thank you,” I breathed. Then something clicked inside me and my heart jumped. That aftershave. The strength of the hand. I glanced back to see the all too familiar hazel eyes of Brent Lucan. I wanted to move away, but he held me tightly in place. I tried to loosen his steel hold around my waist, but he refused to let go.

  Freya

  “Why are you crying?”

  “Let me go. Don’t you know I’m toxic?” I muttered.

  He frowned. “You’re not toxic.”

  “Well, you should go back in there and tell all those fine folks that.”

  “Are you alright?”

  “Let me go!” I repeated through clenched teeth, but to my shock, he scooped me into his arms.

  “Brent!” I yelled in shock.

  “I don’t trust you on these stairs. I’ll let you go at the base.” He did as he promised and looked down at me curiously. He had on a long dark coat and a simple black tuxedo. His torso filled out the rich material, his dark hair slicked away from his face. He looked like he had stepped out of a James Bond movie.

  I felt my heart start beating too fast.

  “Why are you so upset?” he asked.

  I wondered if he also knew. “Do you know about my father?”

  He didn’t miss a heartbeat. “What aspect are you asking about?”

  “About the … reason he … he … took his own life.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  I didn’t know how to feel. I shouldn’t have cared but I did. I looked away and brushed my hair over my shoulder. “And what is your opinion about it?” I demanded. “Do you also think he was a fraud?”

  “Why does what I think matter?”

  “I just want to know,” I insisted.

  His eyes glittered. “Tune out the world, Freya. These gossips are nothing. Focus on yourself alone. You have enough money now to pay all your debts and concentrate on your education. You have your whole life ahead of you and if you play your cards right, you could have a wonderful life.”

  I stared at him wordlessly. “So you were helping me that night when you offered so much money for me?”

  “No. Don’t fool yourself. I’m not your hero. I was being selfish and making damn sure nobody else got you.” His voice was harsh. It was clear he didn’t want me to feel grateful to him or read more into his actions than he had intended.

  I licked my lips nervously.

  His eyes dropped to my mouth, and a strange expression passed in his eyes. “Enjoy the rest of the evening,” he said before suddenly turning around and walking away.

  I stared at him, numb but for my drumming heart. His gait was enthralling. I couldn’t understand how he pulled it off, but even in his evening wear, he had a lethal and effortless animal grace to him. Like a panther sitting on a warm rock and calmly observing the world as it churned in turmoil, while he watched with pity from his own ordered powerful domain.

  “Brent,” I called out, before I could stop myself.

  He turned and glanced back at me.

  I walked up to him. “I want to feel good again.”

  He glanced briefly around the courtyard, and then slipped his hands into the pocket of his coat. “Go on,” he encouraged.

  I gaped at him, furious that he wanted me to completely lay out my request. “Don’t you understand what I mean?”

  “No,” he responded quietly. “I don't make assumptions.”

  I took a deep breath then. “I want you,” I whispered hoarsely. “You have a few minutes to spare, don’t you? I don’t care where.”

  He watched me intently, his eyes darkening with primal lust.

  In response, my chest swelled with a throbbing warmth that took my breath away.

  He fished out his phone from his pocket and lifted it to his ear. “Bring the car back to where you just dropped me off,” he said into it.

  I went with him, my heart pounding loudly. What the hell was happening to me? Was I under some kind of spell? As we walked past the garden pathway and towards the driveway, I started to consider that perhaps I was being too impetuous. Perhaps a quick phone call to Maddie right now would snap some sense back into me before it was too late.

  Then Brent’s midnight blue Rolls pulled up and the moment was gone.

  Freya

  He held the door open for me, the fire in his gaze was a promise of what was to come.

  I wanted to feel. I needed to wash away the hurt that was throbbing in my heart, and nothing else could do it but Brent, inside me, fucking me, taking me away to a place where there was no need to think.

  “Is a hotel okay with yo—”

  “No, the car is fine,” I responded, not wanting to make anything whatsoever out of this. “We’ll make it quick. Somewhere secluded.” As the words left my mouth, it amazed me that I felt no shame whatsoever. Perhaps it was because we both knew that he was the only one I had ever been intimate with, so there was little risk of me coming off as promiscuous. I had a feeling he would have rejected the offer otherwise as he didn’t seem like the kind to respond to just any call for a quick roll in the hay, but then maybe I was wrong about that too.

  “Michael, find a secluded spot to park in, away from the lot,” he instructed.

  A few minutes later, Michael exited the car.

  I was left staring at the massive but naked silhouette of the tree beyond the windshield, the rhythm of our breathing now the only sound in the car besides the steady hum of the running engine.

  Brent’s deep voice finally broke the silence, “What is this going to cost me?”

  For a moment, I felt struck.

  It took me a few more seconds to see that he meant absolutely nothing by the question. I realized by the frankness in his gaze that it wouldn't mean a thing to him if I said nothing or something. He didn’t know me and I wanted to keep it that way.

  “What are you willing to pay this time around?” I asked as I rose up from my side to position myself
astride him.

  “How much do you want?”

  “Double,” I said softly, as if I was really serious.

  “That’s a pretty expensive fuck.”

  I leaned forward, trailed his jawline with the tip of my nose, and breathed in his heady scent. Surrounded by his scent and warmth, I breathed him in and committed every little nuance to memory. This was just what I needed. I felt the knots inside my stomach slowly begin to unravel. I recalled then, like a splash of cold water that he had refused to kiss me even during our first time at the club.

  “Why didn’t you want to kiss me?” I asked, holding his gaze boldly.

  He didn’t retreat from the question. “I didn’t want to give you too much head space.”

  “But fucking is okay?”

  “Fucking is easier.”

  “So … I’m just a body to you?”

  “I think we both know the answer to that.”

  I waited to see if he would explain himself a bit more, but he just watched me intently with those glowing eyes of his. So, I closed my eyes and settled into the warmth of his body, letting it surround me like a shield; a shield from the ills of life outside the interior of this car. Slowly, he began to stroke his fingers lightly down my arm until my eyes fluttered open.

  He shifted, and the movement rubbed my already wet underwear against his hardened crotch. He pulled at the delicate ribbons behind my neck that were holding up my dress. They unraveled and my dress fell apart exposing my breasts. They felt swollen and heavy. I pushed my chest out and he inhaled sharply.

  His mouth latched on to my breast. I moaned as my arms cradled his head to my chest and my fingers dug into his hair. The rhythmic pull of his mouth on my nipples echoed the throb of my sex. I ground myself restlessly against his cock, seeking some kind of relief.

  Waves of red hot lust rocked through me. It felt as if my bones were melting.

  “I want to see you naked,” he growled.

  Quickly, I pulled the dress over my head. Before I could take my lacy thong off, he ripped it off me. I felt the sting of the rip and was glad that he was so eager to see me naked he could not wait for me to take it off myself. He flung away the destroyed strip of fabric and pushed me back so I was leaning against the partition that separated the front from the back of the car.

  “Spread your thighs and show me your pussy,” he ordered harshly.

  Immediately, I opened my legs wide and exposed my wet, eager sex to his gaze.

  “Look at you. You’re soaking wet,” he said huskily, as he inserted a thick finger into me.

  I gasped and closed my eyes.

  “Look at what I’m doing to you,” he commanded.

  There was something so erotic about a man leisurely and unhurriedly finger fucking a woman. I was so wet my pussy made sucking sounds as his fingers moved in and out of my puffy folds. He was calm and controlled, but I was not. My hips writhed and twisted uncontrollably as I tried to ride his palm.

  All the while, he watched the total and absolute control he had over my naked body. As if I was his toy. He could have done anything, asked me to do anything and I would have done it.

  I begged him to enter me, but he sucked hard on my nipples, and forced me to climax on his fingers. My chest was heaving and my breath was coming fast when I began to work with urgency on the buttons of his crisp dress shirt. The longing to taste any part of him that I could have access to beyond his lips was strong so I could only work a few buttons before my mouth was on his smooth chest. I kissed my way across the ridges of his toned torso, my tongue tasting and relishing the heat and taste of his flawless skin. I felt his breath become harsh at the graze of my teeth on his nipple. I pulled at the small bud.

  In seconds, his fly was undone and his hard cock had sprung free. “Now get your mouth on my dick.”

  I wanted to kiss him, needed to taste him fully, but he had restricted the act so I was only too happy to get on my knees and take his silky-smooth cock into my mouth. I sucked the thick hard shaft eagerly, swallowing more than I thought possible. The warm wet heat of my mouth made him drop his head back and groan.

  His hands slid down to cup my breasts and pinch my nipples. “Fuck. I’m not going to be able to last.” With a groan, he pushed a button to the left of me and brought out a condom packet. I didn’t stop sucking. I sucked as if my life depended on it until he pulled me off his cock. I watched as he rolled the rubber over his huge throbbing length. Cupping my ass, he lifted me up and positioned me over his shaft.

  My heart skipped several beats at the thought of that thick shaft inside me again. I grabbed it to fist from root to tip and stroked the head across the lips of my sex. Shutting my eyes, I positioned his thickly veined, hot cock at my opening, and let him impale me.

  Oh, the sensation.

  “Don’t move,” he rasped, as he too savored how greedily my walls gripped him.

  I couldn’t, however, remain still for too long. My hips began to buck, as wonderful tingles of pleasure shot through my veins and set me on fire. The moment his hands splayed on either side of my hips, I took it as my approval to set off. I rose along that thick tower slowly, and paused when the mushroom was all that was left inside me. I knew how it would feel when it was buried to the hilt inside me.

  “Fuck,” he groaned against my neck, when I slammed my ass back down on his groin.

  I lifted myself and did it again. And again. And again …

  The world outside ceased to exist. There was only this. Us. Our bodies, his hard cock, my wet cunt. Being with him was an escape like no other. I never wanted to break apart, or to return to the real world. Never. If I could just be here in this moment and time forever … It would be enough. It would be euphoria.

  He shifted at that moment and I instantly turned my face away, terrified of revealing any bit of the raw emotions he had wrenched out of me. But to my surprise he suddenly caught my hand and locked me in place, his breathing ragged, and his eyes clenched shut.

  He also did not want me to see into his soul.

  Before I even understood what I was doing, I leaned forward and pressed my lips on his. I expected him to recoil from me. Instead, he grabbed my body and pressing me against his body, he began to kiss me back. It was no ordinary kiss though. He kissed like a man who had been starving for me. His tongue entering my mouth, hooking my own tongue and taking it back into his mouth. Once inside his mouth, he sucked it hard.

  The kiss went on and on. Until I was breathless. Until my head was spinning. Suddenly, he pulled away. We stared at each other. Both of us shocked. His eyes were so dilated they were almost black. He was still inside me, but something had changed. I felt him pull away from me in some invisible way.

  I had done the thing he had asked me not to do—I had kissed him.

  He watched, without a word as I pulled myself off him. I threw my dress over my head and tied the ribbon with shaking hands.

  He watched as I pushed my dress down and pulled at the door handle to scramble out of the car. For a split second, I thought he would call me back … even expected it, but I escaped from the car without any trouble. The moment I landed on my feet, I hurried away from the parking lot.

  Freya

  I wanted to go straight home, especially as I saw the taxis passing by, but I didn’t want to leave my mother alone. Anyway, I had to go back. I left my phone at our table. Even so, I dreaded returning to the Ladies to clean myself up. I knew I must look a state. It would just be fresh ammunition for those gossipy bitches.

  Closing my eyes, I looked up to the vast night sky and allowed myself to feel. The waves of passion were still coursing softly through my body, almost making me forget how cold I was beginning to get. I couldn't believe I had kissed him. I thought about the kiss. No man had ever kissed me like that. I touched my lips and they were swollen. I thought about the expression in his eyes. He seemed shell-shocked, but he also seemed to be angry. I bit my lip. The way I left was childish. He didn’t even come, but I panicked and
ran off like an idiot.

  There was nothing he could do about it, except decide never to see me ever again anyway.

  What else was new? I was the toxic creature no man would touch with a bargepole, after all.

  After stopping by the thankfully empty bathroom for some damage control, I headed back into the hall to see that most of the guests were already seated. I saw my mother waving to me to come take my seat, so I hurried over to the table.

  A few minutes later, she was rearranging my bangs and I was brushing her off just as the announcer started to mention some of the big names present. My gaze wandered idly around the room. I wondered if he would come back to the party. I looked at the coveted tables in the front that would no doubt have been reserved for him

  Just then, I saw him come in, alone, his coat off, his superbly cut suit, showing his body in all its glory. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was shown to his seat, and slipped into it with a nod before turning his attention to the stage.

  I tasted my lips to recall our kiss. It was the perfect punctuation to the explosion that was the session we’d just had together. But was it a full stop, or a comma?

  Shaking my head to clear it, I decided not to care. It was just what it was. I’d needed to feel better, and now I did. Pulling my eyes away, I picked up the flute of champagne that had just been filled by a passing waiter, and began to sip slowly, doing my absolute best not to allow my eyes to go over in his direction, but more times than not, it did just that, and I didn’t stop myself. Who knew when I would see him again?

  “They’re really going all out with these donations, aren’t they,” my mom leaned over to whisper. “How can someone just drop five million a go for a cause he probably doesn’t care about?”

  “That’s what dad used to do,” I reminded her.

  She wrinkled her nose at me. “Your father cared.”

  “No, he didn’t, Mom. He did it for the same reason all these men are doing it. He wanted to be recognized as a great philanthropist.”