The Bid

by Emma York

  Without another word, I pushed myself all the way into her. I was rewarded by her groan of surprise and by the feel of her pussy gripping me tightly in place.

  I didn't stay still this time. Instead I began rocking back and forth inside her. "You did well," I said as I moved. "This is your reward."

  "Thank you," she replied. "Yes, give it to me. Harder, fuck me harder."

  I almost came when she said that. I could feel her pussy twitching and I knew she was close too. Moving faster, I started slamming into her, nudging a finger into her ass at the same time, amazed by how tight it felt. She came the moment I did that. I grinned as I listened to her orgasm, her skin turning red, her body shaking, her pussy contracting around my cock, drawing it deeper.

  I thrust a final time, ramming home as I hit my own orgasm, spurting deep inside her, filling her with my cum. I rocked in place for a few seconds, her muscles squeezing the last drops from me before I slid free.

  "You can stand now," I said, watching as she slowly got to her feet. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wild, her hair over her face as she looked bewildered, as if she wasn't sure what had just happened.

  "Now I need to shower," I said. "And you're going to join me."

  I cleaned her slowly in the shower, using the time to examine her body closely, to taste parts of her, to feel others. By the end of the shower, I had her teased into exquisite agony, not giving her another orgasm yet. I walked her out, drying her with a thick towel before telling her to dress.

  A few minutes later, we were sitting in the lounge together, my arm around her shoulder, letting her recover. Her hair felt damp on my side as she nestled in to me.

  "What are you thinking about?" I asked.

  "I'm glad you bid on me."

  "Me too."

  She giggled. "I've never had a one night stand before."

  I growled in response. "I told you, I don't want a one night stand. I want so much more than that. You said yes to a kiss. You accepted this, being owned by me. This is no one night stand."

  "Really?" she asked, looking up at me and blinking slowly. "I thought-"

  "You thought it was just something to say to get you into bed. I'm sorry to disappoint you. I haven't lied to you once and I don't intend to start now. I want you, Alice. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything. So tell me something."

  "What?"

  "Do you just want this to be a one night stand?"

  ELEVEN

  ALICE

  I left Ethan's house at four in the afternoon. I didn't want to but I had no choice. If I was going to make it to work on time, I needed to at least get hold of a change of clothes.

  He dropped me off at the end of my street. I didn't want him to see my house, ashamed of it in comparison to his. I got the feeling he might change his mind about wanting to see me again if he saw the peeling window panes, the cracked window upstairs, the rusting wreck of a car outside next door.

  It wasn't much of a house but it was all I could afford in the city. The first place I'd moved to when I came here was a flat but the walls were so thin I could hear my neighbour snoring at night. This place was old, Victorian I thought, and it was ramshackle but at least it was quiet in comparison to the flat.

  I had the start of the after Christmas feeling building up inside me as I went inside. If I hadn't seen his house, mine wouldn't have felt so small. If I hadn't been warmed by his underfloor heating and triple glazed windows, mine wouldn't have felt so cold.

  But my feelings about the house were nothing compared to my feelings about him. I was confused above anything.

  He'd said he wanted more than a one night stand but I couldn't understand why. Why would someone who could choose any woman in the world choose me?

  I had said yes to him. Of course I'd said yes when he asked if I wanted more. After what we'd done together, I could only say yes. But something wasn't right about this.

  I couldn't put my finger exactly on what it was but it was a feeling that grew after he'd left me.

  He had kissed me goodbye, he had told me he would see me at the club tonight. He had done nothing to make me suspicious of him and yet I still was. I couldn't escape the thought that this was all just an elaborate joke and I was the punchline.

  I tried not to think about it. It didn't work. I showered when I got in, my body aching from the things he'd done to me. We'd stopped lunch halfway through for him to bend me over his lap and spank me again, for no other reason than he felt I deserved it.

  That was something else that troubled me. I had occasionally fantasised about being spanked before but I never thought it would happen in real life.

  It hadn't just happened. It had happened twice. I only had to run my hand over my ass to feel the still tender nerve endings and know what he had done. Was I allowed to like it though? Was it not weird to enjoy having pain inflicted on me? What did it say about me that I didn't just like it, I loved every second of it?

  I had loved everything we'd done. From stripping naked because he told to me to feeling him coming inside me, it had been like a dream, one I had unfortunately had to wake up from and head home.

  I wanted to stay at his house and I wanted to leave at the same time. It was too intense, too exciting. The longer I spent with him, the more I thought I couldn't be away. It was already hurting to be apart from him.

  My mind ran from one thought to another, unable to stay still. I felt suspicious, then in love, then ashamed of myself, then horny, then miserable. It was quite the afternoon in my head.

  I decided to ignore all of that and sit in front of Tangled, watch another girl who didn't know what the hell she was supposed to feel.

  I wondered what he'd say if I told him how much I loved Disney. Would he laugh at me? Would he want to watch it with me? That was too much to ask for but it didn't stop me daydreaming about it.

  I was still daydreaming when I started getting ready. It was tough choosing what to wear. There wasn't a strict uniform policy. As long as I wore black skirt and dark top, the rest was up to me. I had a few choices of skirt length and type. What would work best?

  What about hair and make up? I wanted him to see me at my hottest. I wanted him to come in and see me and immediately want me again. That way, if it was a joke, the joke would be on him. I would look the sexiest I ever had, show him what a vamp I could be.

  One day with him doesn't make you a vamp, I told myself as I ran a brush through my hair. I would do better to admit I was bloody nervous. He had told me he was looking forward to seeing me but what if that was just a platitude?

  My nerves got the better of me and I ended up in the bathroom about five times before finally heading out the door. I'd left my car at work when I'd gone home with him but he had insisted on giving me the money to get a cab even though I'd refused twice to take it from him. "Call it an apology for teasing you so much," he said, cramming it into my hand as I got out of his car. "I'll see you tonight."

  Would he even be there? Would he show up? Or worse, act as if nothing had happened. I wished I had a friend to talk to but there was only really my mother.

  No, that wasn't true. There was Rowena. I could get her opinion. But when I got to the club, she wasn't in the office. She had left a note for me on the bar with a list of jobs to do. I started at the top, shifting the empties to the recycling bin out the back, the part of the club no one saw except the staff. Just the detritus that hid behind every glamorous evening.

  A tiny voice whispered to me that was where he was going to put me. I ignored that voice as best I could but as the time ticked closer to nine, I couldn't help continually glancing towards the door.

  Would he take me home again? I had told him I wanted more than a one night stand. I hadn't lied. I did want more. I wanted so much more but I was afraid of the strength of my feelings. They were so much deeper and more intense than anything I'd ever known, I didn't know if I could handle this amount of emotion.

  It scared me how much I wanted him because if he t
urned me down or laughed at me or told me it was all a joke, I thought I might shatter like a dropped glass. I didn't think I could handle it.

  How had he gotten under my skin so much? I looked no different, the club looked no different from last night. But something had definitely changed. I had changed. It was invisible and I doubted anyone would be able to tell but he had marked me. I had become his in just one night. I just hoped he had told me the truth. I would find out any minute.

  There he was, walking into the club, looking as sexy as ever. My heart started pounding before he'd even taken two steps towards me. A smile flickered across his lips as he looked at me. He was coming towards me. Another few seconds and he'd be in front of me. Would he try and kiss me? Act cool? I could act cool too. I did my best.

  He was halfway across the floor when Rowena stepped out in front of him. Beside her was the man who'd bid against him and the auction master. None of them looked pleased.

  "I need a word," Rowena said. "If you'd come this way a moment, Ethan."

  TWELVE

  ETHAN

  It had all been going so well, I should have known it couldn't last. Like with Elora. That's what life did. It lifted you up and then threw you back down again. The only question was what you did when you landed.

  I had loved lunch with Alice, pausing it to spank her to see how she reacted. She seemed to enjoy it as much as me. I didn't fuck her then, though the sight of her so wet and ready for me made it difficult not to.

  I wanted her teased, I wanted her thinking about me all day. I wanted her desperate to come back so we could finish what we started. We spent half the afternoon just talking. I told her about my life, about my past, about my parents, about my future, a future that I hoped included her. There was only one thing I didn't tell her about, one thing I had no desire to share. That was my pain to handle alone.

  She told me about her hopes, her dreams of painting for a living, how her art degree didn't seem to have helped her achieve her ambitions. I didn't say it out loud but I could tell what was holding her back, what was stopping her from achieving her goal.

  It was fear. A nasty, horrible emotion that could take hold and paralyse as it had done with her. She was afraid of failure, afraid of rejection, of someone telling her that her paintings weren't good enough. So she'd not submitted anything to any galleries. Nor had she tried to sell anything online, not even a little Etsy store to test the waters.

  I could help her there. I could give her confidence. I could give her the push she needed, all by being her Dom. I would tell her to paint and she would. She would still doubt herself but she would be ruled by the need to please me. In return I would worship her, would give her everything she needed in life to succeed. If we both had some of the greatest sex ever along the way, well that wouldn't be so bad would it?

  Driving her back to her place was hard. I hated saying goodbye so I made it quick. I knew I'd be seeing her in a couple of hours anyway. I watched her walking up her street, my heart yearning to run after her and grab her, hold her in my arms one last time.

  I drove home slowly, feeling truly contented for the first time in as long as I could remember. Throwing myself into work might have been a good distraction from the emptiness in my life but it couldn't compare to having someone like her bringing warmth and light to my house, turning it into a home, all after just one visit.

  I spent the next couple of hours on the phone to the office. We had a buyout coming up and I wanted to be on the ball for it, not risk having them walk all over us during the negotiations.

  By the time that was done, I barely had ten minutes to get ready if I was going to be at the club for nine. I had a quick wash and got into my sharpest suit, already excited by the fact I'd soon see her again.

  It was strange. You could go on without knowing someone existed and not realising they were out there waiting for you to find them, waiting for the universe to connect you. But from the moment you did meet, you can't imagine the world without them in it. I couldn't imagine my world without her in it.

  I had barely scratched the surface of who she was but all I wanted to do was talk to her, find out everything about her, share my life with her, share my wealth and my bed too, give her everything she needed to make her happy, starting with my cock in her mouth and my hand smacking down on her ass.

  I was through the club door just after nine, one of the first to arrive. I saw her over at the bar and headed straight across. I needed to kiss her. It was an urgent need, one that came over me from the moment I saw those soft lips smiling back at me.

  I didn't make it.

  I was halfway across the floor when Rowena suddenly appeared in front of me. To her left was Jason Fry and to her right was Tony La Mesma, the auction master. This wasn't good.

  "I need a word," Rowena said, a serious look on her face. "If you'd come this way a moment."

  I thought about refusing but that would be as good as admitting my guilt. I already knew what they wanted to talk to me about. Rowena already knew, of course she did. But she would have kept it to herself as long as Alice was happy. But the other two. That was a different matter entirely.

  "Sure," I said, following them across to a corner table. Three drinks had been laid out. There wasn't one for me. This was really not good.

  "Sit down," Rowena said. "If you'd be so kind."

  "What's up?" I asked, watching the three of them closely, feeling weirdly like I was at a job interview, or an interrogation.

  "I'm going to ask you a straight question," Rowena said, glancing across at Alice over behind the bar. "And I want a straight answer. Did you put her name in for the auction."

  "Yes." There was no point lying. It was too late for that.

  "I told you!" Jason said, slamming his fist down on the table. "You fucking cheat!"

  "It wasn't cheating," I replied. "Anyone can put their name in."

  "Their own name," Tony said. "No one can submit another person's name. You know that, Mr Powers."

  "I'm going to have to ask for your membership card," Rowena said, sounding slightly sad about it, just a hint of her real emotion coming through. "You know what happens when a member breaks the rules.

  I dug into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. Reaching into it, I slid out the black card, Darkness written across it in flowing handwriting. I pushed it across the table.

  "I am sorry to see you go," Rowena continued as she picked up the card. "Tony, will you see Mr Powers to his car?"

  Jason sneered at me, a wicked smile that made me clench my fist under the table. I couldn't hit him, that would mean any shot at regaining my membership gone forever. No violence in the club. Break that rule and you were gone for good. Didn't stop me wanting to do it though.

  "Don't worry," he said as I got to my feet. "I'll look after Alice for you."

  THIRTEEN

  ALICE

  I didn't see him go. I had seen him sitting over at the table in the far corner but then a group appeared in front of me and I had to start serving. By the time I'd got their order sorted, there was no one at the far table. Where was he?

  I looked around the room but he wasn't anywhere. Gone to the toilet maybe? Forgotten something in his car?

  But what had they been talking about? And why did I suddenly feel so nervous?

  One of the men who'd been sat at the table appeared in front of the bar, smiling warmly at me. It was the man who'd bid and lost. What was his name? Jason, that was it. Jason Fry.

  "So," he began, his eyes running down my body. "You're Alice."

  "I am," I said. "What can I get you?"

  "How about you?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "Well, you went in for the auction, you're clearly the straight talking type so I thought I'd come straight to the point. I'd like your company for the evening."

  "Oh, right. No, thank you, I'm spoken for."

  It felt good to be able to say that. I was spoken for.

  "Are you sure? Only Ethan just told me you w
ere only a one night stand."

  "What?"

  I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. I physically staggered backwards, fighting for breath.

  "You saw the conversation just now right? Only I've paid handsomely for another auction to be run tonight and I wondered if you wanted to be in it. Thought it would be nice to ask Ethan first seeing as I wasn't sure if he was done with you yet. He said go for it."

  "He didn't say that, did he?"

  "As God is my witness, Alice, those were his exact words."

  "He said he was done with me?"

  "Yep, so what do you say? Fancy going into the auction again? Stick it to him where it hurts?"

  "Yes, fine, whatever."

  I wasn't really listening. I just said whatever I thought would shut him up. I was still reeling from finding out what Ethan had said. I couldn't believe it.

  "Don't get too down," Jason was saying from far away. "It's what he does with all the girls here. No doubt he did the 'you're so special, I don't want anyone else' routine? They all fall for it, that's why he does it. Works every time."

  I nodded slowly. I'd been taken for a ride. I had fallen for it. I had believed him. How had I been so stupid?

  "You know how you can get back at him?"

  I shook my head slowly, listening to him as if he was on the other side of the country. I had to concentrate to hear the words, my brain screaming at me to start crying, to hit something, to run off and find Ethan and kick him as hard as I could. I couldn't believe it but the truth was right there in front of me. Where was he? He'd clearly just turned up to mock me and then left me dangling. Damn him.