Heartstopper

by Lauren Landish

  Chapter 9

  Lucian

  “How about her?” Zander asks with a raised brow. Neither he nor Isaac have their bidding paddles in hand. Judging from their conversation, they aren’t interested in the women tonight. There are at least fifty men in this room, and the pamphlet lists only ten women tonight. So I’m perfectly fine with them sitting this one out. I’d like to find someone who’d suit me well, and there’s one I’m eager to see.

  I shake my head as a man I don’t recognize starts the bidding off at five hundred thousand, raising his white paddle that’s barely visible.

  The woman is beautiful, and the pamphlet indicates she’s experienced as does the black rose in her hands. But the next woman is the one I’m impatient to see.

  “Six hundred thousand,” the auctioneer says loudly, searching through the crowd and then nodding his head. “Seven to the gentleman on the right.” I turn and see Zander’s raised his paddle.

  He smiles broadly as the original man yells out, “Eight hundred thousand!”

  “Stop fucking with him, Zander.” Zander's grin doesn’t fade as he sets the paddle down and shrugs at Isaac.

  “You better not do that shit to me,” I tell him. Cocky bastard.

  “Is that what you do here?” I ask beneath my breath.

  Isaac shakes his head and watches the stage as the woman is sold for nine hundred thousand dollars. “He just started doing it out of sheer boredom. One day you’re going to win one of them,” he turns to face Zander, “and then what?” he asks.

  “Then I’ll have myself a Submissive,” Zander says flippantly. Isaac answers with something, but I don’t catch it.

  The woman I’ve been waiting for walks out on stage. Her nude heels click on the ground, and it’s all I can hear as she walks in what seems like slow motion. Everything else turns to white noise, and the only sound in my ears is the steady click, click, click of her nervous steps.

  She’s utterly gorgeous, but there’s an obvious innocence about her. I thought I’d be interested when I looked at her information initially, but now I’m certain that I have to have her.

  Treasure. She’s the one. Her gold dress clings to her figure and sparkles beautifully, as though she truly belongs in it. The gold tones only make her sun-kissed skin that much more beautiful. My dick is already hard at the thought of my hand leaving a bright red flush across her lush ass.

  She centers herself on the stage, looking nervously at the auctioneer and then behind her, at Madam Lynn.

  The dusting of sparkles on her dress barely hides her soft curves. I want to see all of her. I want to feel her soft skin. I grip the paddle tighter and rise it up high. “Five hundred thousand,” I call out, starting the bid before the auctioneer can ramble like he did with the first woman.

  A man in the far corner, features behind a grey mask that covers three-quarters of his face raises his paddle. “Six.”

  Another man in the far back who I recognize as Stephen White, heir and owner of a few local car dealerships, raises his paddle. “Seven hundred thousand.”

  Although the thin wood of the paddle pierces deeper into the sweaty palm of my hand as anger washes through me, I maintain my calm demeanor and raise my paddle again. “Eight hundred thousand.”

  I watch Dahlia, my treasure, as her skin colors a beautiful red on her chest and up her cheeks with a blush. My dick twitches at the thought of seeing that color on her ass. I can imagine how she’d squirm in my lap as I smacked my hand down with a blistering beating. Gripping her tempting ass before spanking her over and over.

  “Nine. One million,” the auctioneer points at each man as they raise their paddles, upping the cost. I don’t care how much I have to pay. She's going to be mine. “One million one hundred thousand. One point one.”

  There’s a pause, and he looks around the room through his spectacles. “One point two,” he says as I raise the paddle.

  “One point three,” he calls out as the last bidder, White, raises his paddle again. I turn to face him, and although he must be able to feel my eyes boring into the side of his face, he ignores me.

  I raise my paddle once more and keep it in the air this time. “One million four hundred thousand,” the auctioneer says. I watch as White raises his and then takes a peek at me as the auctioneer rattles off, “One point five,” my paddle still in the air.

  “One point six,” the auctioneer says, pointing to me and then looking back to White.

  “Shit’s getting real,” I hear Zander say out of the side of his mouth. His humor doesn’t do anything to ease the anger flowing through me. She’s mine.

  White finally breaks my gaze and sets his paddle on the table. I stare him down as the auctioneer says, “One point six million, going once… going twice,” he takes a final look around the room and I swear to God if anyone were to speak I’d lose my shit, “Sold! For one point six million.”

  I watch as the woman, Dahlia, gasps. My treasure is ushered off the stage with unsteady steps in her patent leather heels as she tries to collect herself. A smile grows along my lips as I stand to go to the office in the back where I’ll collect her after the auction is done.

  “Congratulations, sir,” Zander says with a smirk.

  “You should have bid two mil, you pussy,” Isaac says to Zander, and I finally huff out a small laugh.

  “Maybe next month I’ll fuck with him,” Zander says before taking a sip of his whiskey.

  I ignore them and watch as Dahlia disappears from my sight.

  I knew the moment I saw her that I had to have her.

  And now she’s mine. I own her. A few sheets of paper stand in the way. And then tomorrow morning, I'll have my Submissive all to myself. I’m dying to get a taste tonight, but the rules must be followed. And that means one last night to herself, and then she’s mine.

  The door to the office I’ve been sitting at for nearly an hour finally opens, and my hand tightens around the tumbler on the table. The ice clinks as I move the cool glass, bringing it to my lips. My eyes never leave the door as I take a sip of the aged whiskey.

  It opens seamlessly, revealing Madam Lynn in her scarlet dress. She’s a gorgeous woman with poise and grace, but I ignore her entirely, waiting for Dahlia to be revealed. Her shoulders are hunched inward slightly, and her head’s down. Although she originally walked in with her eyes on me, they immediately fell to the floor.

  It’s like she’s scared to look at me. Maybe she’s overwhelmed. I imagine that’s normal, and I’ll be sure to put her at ease. The pamphlet only gave a tiny bit of information about Dahlia, my treasure.

  I know she’s a first-time Submissive. Her information indicated she hasn’t been trained, which only makes my dick harder and me more eager to get her back home and in the playroom. So her looking down is an instinctual Submissive behavior. That’s fucking perfect.

  She looks even more beautiful close up as she walks to the glass table and takes a seat across from me and next to Madam Lynn. The madam slaps a stack of papers down on the table, finally gaining my attention.

  She smirks when I look at her.

  I only care about two sheets in that entire packet. The non-disclosure agreement, and the page where Dahlia signs and consents to be my Submissive for the next thirty days.

  “Madam Lynn, Dahlia,” I greet them both, although my eyes are firmly on Dahlia. At the mention of her name those beautiful wide eyes look up at me.

  “Are you going to be keeping your mask on? Or is it acceptable to reveal your identity?” Madam Lynn asks.

  Ah, yes. I slip off the mask and place it on the table. I’d forgotten about the damn thing. I know Dahlia has already signed an NDA for the auction, and I want her to get a good look at me and read my expression.

  I don’t want her to question how much I truly want her.

  “Dahlia, meet your new Dominant, Lucian.” Madam Lynn leans back in her chair as Dahlia extends her hand to me.

  A smirk plays at my lips. She’s so fucking cute. I pla
y along, shaking her hand. When our skin touches, her soft small hand in mine, my body ignites with desire. The urge to pull her close to me takes over, a spark heating between us. I release her and move my hand to my lap before I do something stupid and take her before the contracts are signed.

  I clear my throat. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Eager, are we?” Madam Lynn thinks she’s funny.

  She sets a sheet of paper in the middle of the table and points to a list with a thin silver pen. The list has several boxes checked, but some are empty.

  “Do the two of you consent and agree upon the following conditions?” I look through the list carefully. The checked boxes are the ones that Dahlia desires, and the unchecked boxes are hard limits, meaning we won’t be engaging in those activities.

  I read through each stipulation carefully, making sure our tastes are agreeable. For the most part, it’s my choice on things while she’s still finding her limits. She’s new to this lifestyle, so she’s been assigned cream as her color for now. With over fifty specific fetishes on the list there are only a handful of hard limits, such as: scat, blood, breathing and permanent marks which remain unchecked. I agree with her on all of those, and I'm not interested in them either.

  The boxes checked include the usual: anal, bondage light and bondage heavy, nipple play, deprivation, spreader bars, and other kinks and fetishes. Fisting is also included, which makes me look up at this petite little thing with mild surprise. She blushes violently as I take in her expression. We could work up to that. I imagine she checked it as a soft limit.

  I sit back and nod my head, accepting the pen from Madam Lynn. “Everything looks perfect to me.” I sign on the line.

  “Wonderful,” Madam Lynn says as she takes the sheet and pulls out another. I’m getting anxious, and I can’t stop staring at my treasure. She’s not looking at me, and I know she’s nervous; in fact, I enjoy that she’s nervous. But I’m going to need some privacy to take full advantage of that.

  We sign a few more papers, including the NDA I require.

  “Alright, and now to summarize the above terms and conditions. You, Mr. Lucian Stone, are agreeing to act as Dahlia Days' Dominant at the locations of your choice for the duration of the next thirty days which will end at precisely one minute past midnight on the fifteenth of the following month of December. As her Dominant, you agree to the terms and conditions in the above contract, including and accepting that at any point Miss Days can terminate the contract and end the relationship entirely.”

  I nod my head as Madam Lynn pauses and glances at me. “And Dahlia Days acknowledges and accepts that by leaving this arrangement, all monetary gains in the sum of half of one point six million, which is the equivalent of eight hundred thousand dollars.” Dahlia looks as though she’s going to faint as Madam Lynn rattles off the figure, “will be forfeit.” She turns to Dahlia, who’s completely lost in thought; it’s obvious she’s still in slight shock. After a few seconds, my treasure sits upright and nods her head.

  “Yes, I understand.”

  “I’ll need you to sign here,” Madam Lynn says, and I wait for Dahlia to sign, my hands itching for the pen. “And Mr. Stone,” Madam Lynn hands me the pen and I’m quick to scribble my signature.

  “Your thirty days starts tomorrow,” Madam Lynn says, finalizing the procedure. It’s about fucking time.

  “I’d like you at my address at eight in the morning,” I say and scratch my address down on the pad of paper. I took tomorrow off just so I could enjoy her fully for the first day. I may be a workaholic, but my treasure is a real treat, and I’m going to need time to explore every inch of her body and test how every subtle touch affects her.

  “But I-”

  I stop and look up at her, not knowing why Dahlia would object. Maybe she doesn’t have transportation. “I can have a car pick you up, if you’d rather?” I offer her.

  “I can drive. I just wasn’t expecting it to start so early. And I thought maybe we’d be at the club?”

  “You’ll be in my playroom for training, and you’ll be available when I want you, which will be all times of the day and night, treasure.” She gasps slightly, and her eyes widen.

  “I-” she starts to answer, and then looks at Madam Lynn as if she’s the one she should be speaking to. I’m her Dom, for fuck’s sake.

  “You what? Tell me what’s bothering you.” I’m getting irritated by her hesitation, and my tone reflects that. She doesn’t seem too bothered by it though, which is good. She’s going to have to get used to it.

  “I have an internship,” she answers hesitantly. The poor girl hardly looks like she’s breathing. She can’t even look me in the eyes. Her shyness, nerves and even the hint of fear are all endearing.

  “Why was that not included in the contract?” I ask her.

  Madam Lynn opens a folder and produces a sheet, sliding it across the table. I glance at it, and her schedule is listed as flexible.

  “I didn't know my schedule ahead of time,” she explains meekly.

  “Do you know it now?” I ask her.

  “For this week,” she answers me quickly. I nod and let out a heavy sigh. That'll have to work.

  “I’ll need your schedule,” I say and hold out my hand for her to pass it to me from the pile of papers in front of her. She should have brought it.

  She looks at the stack on the table and then up to me. Her eyes are gorgeous, a beautiful mix of greens and blue with a touch of golden brown. They're the most stunning hazel eyes I’ve ever seen. Her chest rises with a sharp breath as she says, “I-” she stops, and swallows thickly. “I didn’t know to bring it.”

  My expression hardens, and I move my hand back to my lap. My fingers grip my thigh to keep from grabbing her ass and pulling her across my lap. She’s unprepared. My dick is hard as a fucking rock knowing I should punish her. But I have to remember, she’s new and still needs to learn.

  “I can get it to you tonight,” she says in a slightly more firm voice.

  “Is that acceptable?” Madam Lynn asks me from Dahlia’s right. I can feel her eyes on me, but I don’t take mine off my treasure. I can’t punish her just yet. But I’m going to give her a taste of it tomorrow. Whenever I’m able to get my hands on her.

  “How many hours a week is your internship?” I’m already pissed that I can’t have her whenever I damn well feel like it.

  “It’s forty hours,” she says softly. Her quick reply with an answer I was expecting makes me relax somewhat. I can handle forty hours of her away. It will be good for her to maintain a social life. I swallow down my selfish desire to have her on call at all times. For now, this will have to do.

  “What time are you done?” I ask.

  “Around six,” she says, then holds my gaze and nods.

  Around six. I give myself a moment to calm down. She isn’t trained. She doesn’t know me. But she will, and she has so much to learn. “Precision and timeliness are important to me.”

  She opens and closes her mouth, clearly at a loss for words and then nods her head. That’s a very good start. I’m enjoying this already.

  “I’ll need to know when and where to pick you up.” I could have my driver wait there, or I could wait outside of wherever it is that she works as well, but I don’t have any desire to wait around. I have a list of shit that needs to get done, and I want to know a specific time. More importantly, I want to hold her to this time.

  “No later than six fifteen,” she says confidently. Good girl. It’s irritating as fuck that I’ll have to wait, but I’ll have her to myself tomorrow night. I’ll bury myself in work until then.

  “I’ll need the address and your schedule sent to this number.” I jot my number down and slide it across the glass-topped table to her. She reaches for it, but I keep my fingers on the paper and wait for her to look at me. “I expect that message tonight.”

  “Yes…” I can practically hear the “s” on the tip of her tongue. She looks up at me and then back to Mada
m Lynn.

  “Ask me, Dahlia,” I tell her. “If you have a question, I’m the one you need to ask. No one else.”

  “Sir?” she asks with those sweet hazel eyes peering up at me, filled with vulnerability. “Do I call you sir?”

  My dick is harder than it’s ever been in my entire fucking life. “Yes, treasure. You will call me sir.”

  She starts to ask another question, but then pauses for a moment and licks her lips. “Always?” she asks.

  I shake my head gently. “In this club and when we’re playing, but if I take you out, then no, I don’t want you to call me sir.” She nods her head, accepting what I’ve told her as I let my own words settle. Take her out. When would I fucking do that?

  “Any last questions for either party?” Madam Lynn asks. She looks between the two of us, but her eyes linger on Dahlia. She’s seen many of these auctions; I’m sure she’s made up in her mind what type of match this will be already.

  Dahlia shakes her head as she says, “No.” Her breathing is coming in shorter and heavier, and I know the reality is setting in.

  “No, I’m more than ready for tomorrow to begin. And make sure you pack a bag with your essentials and a change of clothes. You’ll be staying the night.”

  Dahlia nods her head as she says, “I understand, sir.” Her voice is small and her words barely more than a whisper.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow at six fifteen,” I tell her as I stand and fasten the middle button of my jacket and then slip my mask into place.

  “Yes, sir.” Those sweet words stay with me for the rest of the night. The soft sounds of her submission from those plump lips are all I can think about. Tomorrow. Six fifteen can’t get here fast enough.

  Chapter 10

  Dahlia

  “Lucian,” I announce to Carla. “Lucian Stone. That’s who bought me.”

  I’m leaning against a clothes rack, standing in the fashion workroom on the third floor early the next morning, organizing Debra’s designs for an upcoming fashion show. I really want my coffee, but I’m so anxious I’m scared to drink any more caffeine in fear it will make me a jittery mess. I’m still in disbelief over the amount of money Lucian paid for me. 1.6 million. Jesus. It doesn’t seem real.