by Jenika Snow
Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2013 Jenika Snow
ISBN: 978-1-77130-404-7
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: JC Chute
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
This is for you. They said you couldn't have what you want, but you showed them that they were wrong!
A VIRGIN FOR TWO BROTHERS
The Virgin Auctions, 2
Jenika Snow
Copyright © 2013
Preface
The year is 2135, and young women are bid upon at the Virgin Auctions, a city-wide event that allows wealthy men to purchase young brides for an exorbitant price. These females are prepped from a tender age to be docile and submissive wives that will please their future husbands. Once they are bought, they are at the mercy of their owners.
Chapter One
The lights were especially bright when the announcer told McKenna Grey to lift her head to the crowd. She couldn’t see anything, aside from the blinding spotlight that showed everyone on the bidding floor what had been under her robe just moments before. Hands from behind lifted her breasts up and tweaked her nipples, so that anyone wanting to bid on her would know exactly what they were buying. After the humiliation of her body being put on display like a piece of meat, she was instructed her to lie back on a smooth wooden table and spread her legs. She hated this––hated knowing that someone was out there, watching her, seeing the most intimate part of her.
She wasn’t like the other girls. She hadn’t been trained and prepped for what to expect. The Virgin Auctions were more commonly reserved for the aristocratic families, but that didn’t mean a woman from a well-to-do family couldn’t offer herself up. She may not get all the benefits a wealthy family provided, but she could do this just like any of the other girls. How hard could it be, anyway?
At twenty years old, she was the ideal age to participate in the auctions. Because she had no money like the other girls did, she didn’t have an attendant to help her prepare for today. McKenna had done her own hair, her own waxing and rubbing oil on her body. She was alone in this, but the reason she was doing this made it worth it.
McKenna thought these auctions were barbaric and disgusting, but what other choice did she have? With her mother ill and her father using all of the family’s extra resources to get her mother well, it was up to McKenna to earn money for them to ease the burden. They had always been there for her, guiding her in making the right decisions, and now it was her turn to help them. They weren’t at the poverty level, but she had two sisters and a brother and when her father’s business failed due to their family problems, the stress in their home increased tenfold. She could not be a disappointment to her family or the reason her mother didn’t get the care she deserved. This was her chance to help her mom and dad instead of being a burden, like she knew she had been for years.
****
McKenna stepped out of the limousine and followed the driver up the stone steps of her new home. She wasn’t surprised to be bought, because every virgin was bought when they were on the auction block. What did surprise her was that her future husband hadn’t even been there to bid on her. He had sent his butler or driver, or whomever the hell this guy was who’d driven her here.
The front door opened and she was led inside the massive house. It was far bigger than any home she had ever seen. If she hadn’t already known her husband was one of the wealthiest men in the city, she sure as hell did now. That knowledge left a bad taste in her mouth and her stomach knotted with worry. He had to be old, very old, to be so well off. The majority of the rich men that bought wives were easily three times her age. Would he be cruel to her? What number wife was she to him? She knew she would never find out the answer to her questions––well, not the latter, at least unless he owned a harem, which could very well be a reality. A good wife never asked questions, and never spoke without being spoken to. It was also not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife, as if he needed more than one to keep his bed warm.
She knew she would find out if he were gentle or rough, sweet or cruel soon enough. Just thinking about her first time with him was enough to make her dizzy with worry. It was futile to have this internal debate, because it would only drive her to the brink of insanity––that much she was sure of.
The front door shut behind her and the sound bounced off the walls and the cathedral ceilings. “I’ll show you to the sitting room, where you will be seen momentarily.” The driver led her into a vast room with a roaring fire and the ambiance of a different era. The drapes were a soft, muted yellow that seemed to glow under the firelight. The furniture was a gentle cream color, with an elaborate embroidering. It was beautiful and soft, but she wouldn’t let the façade blind her to the fact that she might have just walked into the lair of a monster. Walking further into the room, she let her fingers glide over of the material of one of the chaises. Never had she been around such lavish and elaborate possessions. Who was this man that had purchased her, yet had never even been to the auction … never seen her in person, as far as she could tell?
Although it wasn’t uncommon for men to have their servants attend an auction occasionally, it usually meant they were too frail, sick, old, or a combination of the three, and therefore couldn’t make the trip or use the energy. The “merchandise” available for bidding wasn’t left a secret, though. Weeks before the auctions, the attendants were allowed files on the girls. No secret was left untouched for their reading pleasure. She may not know him, but there was no doubt in her mind that her husband knew every intimate detail about her. So although it was not uncommon for a virgin wife not to meet her husband until the night she was to lose her virginity, it was still strange to her that he’d pay such a high price and not be there in person to “collect” her.
She wondered what her husband thought when he saw her file? The photos that were in each woman’s file weren’t nudes, so it wasn’t like he was seeing anything obscene, which was even more curious because she could have had any kind of imperfection. Even a birthmark was viewed by some as a “deformity.”
Goose bumps popped out along her skin despite the warmth of the fire. She was scared of what her life would now become. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her waist. The only clothing she wore was the thin robe all virgins were dressed in before going upon the auction block. She had no personal belongings, nothing that she could have brought with her to remind her of home. She was completely alone here. She just prayed that the amount that was paid for her would be enough to help her family. Would she even be able to see her family again? There was no guarantee her husband would allow her out of the house, much less allow her to visit her family outside of city limits. Would her mother get better? Would McKenna even know it if she did? The thought of never seeing her family again was hard, too hard, but she had to stay strong. She hadn’t met her husband, so she had no idea what he was like. All this fear could be all for nothing.
She moved closer to the fire and sank to her knees. The flames licked over the wood, as if their sensual dance would elicit more heat, more light. The sound of the door opening made McKenna’s pulse race. This was it: the moment when she would meet the man she would spend the rest of her li
fe with. Maybe she would grow to love him like so many of the other virgins in past auctions had?
She didn’t turn around and greet him because she knew a good virgin wife was always docile and submissive. She would wait until she was spoken to. Maybe if she got in his good graces, she might win his favor and he would allow her some semblance of freedom? Dropping her head and clasping her hands behind her back in submission, she waited for him to approach. The heat from his body was just as hot as the fire in front of her. It seeped through the thin material of her robe and chills raced up her spine despite the warmth.
The light touch of his finger down the center of her back made McKenna close her eyes. The scent of him was potent and masculine and for just a second she imagined someone not the age of her grandfather. The smell sent a wave of memories through her. Her eyes opened and she stared at the flames. In fact, his touch was familiar too.
Chapter Two
“Look at me, McKenna.” His voice was so deep and commanding, and somehow so familiar. A gasp left her as she spun around to stare at the man behind her. It was he. Really and truly.
“Christopher?” Just seeing him reminded her of home and tears sprang to her eyes. “What are you doing here?” She scrambled up and threw her arms around his neck. His scent made her smile. “Where’s Victor?” Christopher and Victor Sterling had been her father’s business associates, that is, when his business had been flourishing.
Christopher held her tightly, his hand stroking over her hair. “I like your hair up like this. It’s pretty.” His words were soft and spoken against her ear.
With her head on his chest, she could hear the heavy thump of his heart. It certainly wasn’t the same tempo as her frantic one, but the longer she spent in his arms the more her own heartbeat calmed. McKenna realized he still hadn’t answered and she pulled back, but kept her arms around his waist. It had been a year since she had seen either of them and she’d forgotten how big he was, how intimidating and commanding. He towered over her five-foot-five inch frame by at least a foot, and the solid wall of muscle that made up his body was hard against her softer one. God, how many times had she imagined doing this? Of course she had been in his embrace before, but his touch had always made her feel like his little sister. It certainly wasn’t touch that she had ached for as she lay in bed in the dark. Now though, his touch was different. The way his hands slid up and down her back, drawing her closer to his body, seemed shockingly intimate.
His eyes, so blue they reminded her of the pictures of the ocean she had seen as a child, stared down at her with such intensity she grew dizzy. The short brown strands of his thick hair fell across his forehead and her fingers itched to brush the locks away. God, how long had she imagined being in his and Victor’s arms?
Far too long to admit.
“Wait.” She looked around the room, reality setting back in. “What are you doing here?” When he didn’t respond again she looked back at him, realization setting in and her body tensing. “You…” She tried to take a step back but Christopher held her tight. No, she couldn’t be right, could she?
“Don’t be scared, McKenna.” She knew his words were meant to soothe, but his low rumble increased her anxiety.
She was shaking her head because none of this made any sense. He had bought her? She was his wife? “How? Why?” Could she not form a coherent sentence?
“Did you actually think we would leave you to the wolves, after everything we have been through?”
“We?”
“Yes, McKenna. We. You’re our wife now.”
She heard Victor’s husky voice behind her and her breath stalled. Christopher and Victor, identical in every way possible, had been the only two men that she had wanted with a desperation that shamed her. They were twin brothers, had been business associates and family friends for as long as she could remember. Despite their identical features, their personalities were at different ends of the spectrum. Christopher, so sweet and caring, was always filled with compliments. Victor on the other hand had a rougher side, a more fierce edge to his voice that made everyone aware he was to be noticed. Both brothers were intimidating and respected, and because of that they knew no one would argue with what they said. Maybe she was the only one that could tell them apart? There had been several embarrassing moments when even her father had gotten them confused. The dual combination, the vast difference in their personalities, made her desire for the two of them wash through her like a tidal wave. There hadn’t been a day gone by that she didn’t think about them. They had made up her adolescent fantasies, but now, being a grown woman, their wife, all she could think about was what the night had in store for her.
“I don’t understand.” Oh, she had heard them all right, but she didn’t seem to grasp the actual words. A foggy haze had settled over her mind and body.
“Yes, you do.” Victor’s fingers, so big and smooth, ran up the patch of skin that was exposed on her arm. Sandwiched between the two brothers, McKenna felt beads of perspiration dotting her flesh under the robe, causing the material to stick to her skin. She was very aware that she was nude beneath the garment, and the way their hands started moving over her left no indication that she wasn’t. She liked their touch, but this was Victor and Christopher touching her. That knowledge was enough to cause her growing arousal to taper off. She needed to find out what was going on.
The feeling of Victor’s breathing on her left side and Christopher’s on her right had her eyes drifting closed. It was clear her mind didn’t care what she wanted to do, because her arousal picked up as quickly as it had ended. They smelled like pine and whiskey. The combination was addicting.
“You bought me…” McKenna really wished her breathing didn’t sound so desperate and needy. It wasn’t a question, although she knew she had meant to phrase it as one. Just having them this close, their mouths mere inches from her skin, had the signals in her mind misfiring.
“We did.”
She didn’t know who had spoken because everything around her was spinning. “But why? Why would you do that?” A breathy moan of desire was thick in her voice. Their dual chuckle informed her they knew too well the effect they were having on her. She needed to get her mind back on track. Moving out from between them, she looked at both of them. God, they were so big and powerful they seemed to take up the whole room. This was all too strange and she was desperate to find answers.
They stood side-by-side, mirror images of each other, yet she knew the difference in them immediately. With Victor there was a silent dominance surrounding him, wanting to take control, wanting to have her surrender. With Christopher the need to please her, to make sure she was happy, had always been his intent. Even though she sensed these things in them, they’d never shown an interest in her. At least not until now... but why?
The way they watched her, like they were hungry and she was the only thing they wanted, made her very aware that all of this, this whole situation, was surreal. The black suits they wore molded to their ridiculously toned bodies. Victor’s tie was red, the color of blood and power. Christopher’s was a bright blue that made his eyes blaze. Staring at the two of them caused realization to finally set in. The reality of why they had bought her. They were doing this to help her father, to help her. Of course they wouldn’t want her to be purchased by an old man that would do unmentionable things to her. They didn’t want her in the sense she wanted them. That knowledge caused McKenna’s shoulders to slump in defeat. God, she had probably made a complete fool of herself. There was no doubt in her mind they knew she had been turned on by their presence.
When her father’s business had failed and her mother became ill, the Sterling brothers had tried to help out financially, repeatedly, but her father was a proud man and wanted to earn his own way in order to take care of his family. Walter Grey hadn’t been able to stop her from being in the auctions, couldn’t stop her from giving him the money she earned from it. He would deny Christopher and Victor, but he hadn’t been able to deny h
er. It was her choice, her right as the eldest to make sure they were taken care of. All her life her father had made sure they never wanted for anything, and the first time that he needed help she hadn’t hesitated to step up and take that responsibility off his shoulders. There had been yelling, demands that she not go through with it, but in the end he knew as well as she that this was her decision.
All of it had been for nothing, however, because Victor and Christopher had done what they wanted to do initially anyway. They had helped a family they loved, had spent years around, and a man that they were closer with than their own father.
She took a big breath because her next words hurt her before she even uttered them. “I understand why you did it, but I wish you hadn’t.”
Chapter Three
McKenna’s head was still lowered when she sensed them approaching. Fingers, gently placed under her chin, made her lift her head and she found herself staring into Victor’s blue eyes. There was an emotion in them that she had never seen in his cool exterior.
“I know what you’re thinking. We did this because the thought of you up on that auction block, knowing that one of those men would buy you and claim you as his wife, was something I, we, couldn’t handle.”
“I’m not your responsibility.” The disbelief in his face as she spoke was evident.
“We’ve known you since you were a shy pre-teen, watching us like we were something special.” Christopher shook his head, but there was a small smile on his face.
“We know you, McKenna. We know everything about you. If you think we don’t care about your wellbeing, you don’t know us very well.” Victor’s hand stroked her shoulder as he spoke in a soft, yet still commanding tone, which sent warmth spreading through her.
