Keeping Her

by Holly Hart

  “Twenty-five,” the fat man says.

  The room suddenly goes still. It’s one hell of a bid. I can’t help but respect the man’s balls – though I wouldn’t want to get anywhere close to them…

  “Twenty-five it is,” the auctioneer says. “Do I see any bids?”

  The fat man’s paddle goes up. It’s the only one that does.

  “Going, going, gone…”

  The redhead walks over to the fat man immediately, deepening my suspicion that she’s done this dance before. She sits down on his lap, and I notice that he makes no move to stand up.

  “Will you stay for another round, sir?”

  “Yes,” the fat man replies. “Also, get my girl a drink.”

  “Certainly, sir,” the auctioneer complies, and points at a waiter I hadn’t noticed standing at the back of the room. The man quickly springs into action.

  The bell tinkles again.

  I hold my breath, again.

  And this time, it really is Skye who walks through. Her footsteps are slow, awkward and nervous. When she sees the room of men arrayed in front of her, she almost physically cringes.

  But I don’t see her anxiety, or awkwardness. I see the most beautiful girl in the world, the only one I’ve felt anything for since Ashley. The only one I want to spend the rest of my life with.

  I do hear the almost audible intake of breath around the room. I see the fat man next to me straighten up with interest, and the tall redhead on his lap pout with dismay, even jealousy.

  She has Competition.

  “My, my…” the auctioneer whispers. Even he can’t tear his eyes away from Skye’s perfect, beautiful, freckled body.

  He gives his head a half shake and smiles at the room. “After Eleven has given us a twirl,” he glances meaningfully at Skye who stares back at him open-mouthed, “shall we start the bidding at – say – ten again? I think we all agree that she’s worth it.”

  I glance at the fat man to my left and chew my lip. He’s showing altogether too much interest for my liking…

  “Make it forty,” I growl.

  Skye’s worth that to me, and a hundred times more. I’d spend every penny I had on her and it would be cheap at twice the price. I don’t care what it takes. She’s going to be mine.

  The man in the armchair right in front of me rocks backward and whistles. “Holy shit…”

  It takes a second for the auctioneer to recover his poise. “Forty it is.” He turns back to Skye with an expectant smile. “Madam, if you will oblige us?”

  Skye just looks back at him, with an expression of confusion painted on her face. Then she realizes what he’s asking for, that goddamn twirl. I’d be on her side, except for one little thing…

  I want to see her ass more than anything in the world right now.

  I watch Skye bite her lip as she searches the room for my face, and looks only at me.

  Then, and only then, does she twirl.

  God, my cock fucking jumps inside my pants. If she’s making a sales pitch, then she’s already closed the deal. I wasn’t gonna let anyone outbid me before, and I sure as hell won’t now.

  “Do I hear forty, then?”

  My paddle flashes up instantly. It’s joined by the fat man’s, and then – almost reluctantly – the man to the right of me throws his hat in the ring.

  I scowl. I don’t care about the price, or the competition. I just want to know who the assholes are who didn’t bid on a girl like Skye fucking Warren.

  “I think it’s perhaps best if we go up in tens,” the auctioneer says, sounding short on breath. “Fifty?”

  Three paddles. I smile with approval.

  “Sixty?”

  Two paddles go up … and then … reluctantly again, a third. I glance at the man to my right. I know his heart isn’t in it. He knows he’s got no hope of winning Skye’s hand, so he’s just bidding for show. Hell, I doubt he’s got the sixty million to play with at all.

  “Seventy?”

  But my competitor’s risk tolerance has reached its limit. Only the fat man’s paddle joins mine in the air.

  “Eighty million?” The auctioneer chokes out. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind anyone in this room that once we pass seventy-five, we are operating in record territory for the club…”

  I lock my eyes on Skye. She seems to relax, if only slightly. I wish I could shoot her a wink from behind my mask to tell her everything will be okay, but I know in the dim candlelit room she’s got no hope of seeing my reassurance.

  Fuck, she’s the sexiest girl I’ve ever seen.

  There’s no way I’m losing this contest. I’ll do whatever it takes.

  My paddle flicks lazily into the air.

  “Twenties, then…” The auctioneer says, sounding stunned. “We’ll go up in twenties, a hundred million.”

  Even the fat man hesitates before putting up his paddle. Skye’s mouth drops open. I’m not even sure she’s embarrassed any longer. Hell, judging by the color in her cheeks, I’d say she’s pretty damn turned on.

  She has a damn right to be. She’s about to become a hundred million dollar kind of girl. I sure as hell ain’t stopping there.

  “One twenty.”

  Two paddles. This fat man’s persistent.

  “One forty.”

  Two paddles. He shoots me a leering stare. I can tell he’s trying to figure out how far I’ll go.

  “One sixty.”

  I allow my paddle to hesitate in the air, and the fat man makes a fist. He thinks he’s won.

  Fat chance.

  Pardon the pun.

  I stand up, keeping my eyes locked on Skye. Her back is poker straight now, and her chin is held tall and proud. If I didn’t know her better, I would think she was a completely different woman from the one who walked into this room.

  I drain my champagne flute, and set it down lazily.

  “Humph. Are you done?” The fat man grunts. “I was only just getting warmed up…”

  Skye stares at me, eyes wide behind her mask. They glint, reflecting the flickering candlelight.

  I shake my head.

  “Fuck no,” I growl. “I’m just done playing in Monopoly money. I’ll do three hundred, and let’s go up in hundreds.”

  The fat man gawks at me. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding. Who spends that kind of money on some bitch?”

  I’m on him in under a second. I push the girl safely aside, then I plant my knee on his crotch and press down hard. His eyes bulge behind the mask.

  “I wouldn’t say that again,” I growl in a low, threatening tone. “Or you’ll be walking out of here without the cock you just spent so much money on…”

  I flick my fingers dismissively at the man and stand up as though nothing had happened. He stares at me with frankly terrified eyes. Even the attractive redhead he bought is looking at him with barely concealed disgust in her eyes.

  “Three hundred, then?” The auctioneer asks, professionally acting as though nothing ever happened.

  He waits a tick.

  “Going, going, gone…”

  There, she’s mine.

  The auctioneer just shakes his head. He turns to Skye in a way he hasn’t done for any of the other girls who went through this room.

  “Well, madam, it looks like you’re about to be a very wealthy woman,” he says.

  “What do you mean?” Skye says, squeaking at first as she regains the use of her voice.

  “Three hundred million,” the auctioneer says, shaking his head with disbelief once again, “it’s all yours … less our five percent, of course.”

  “Oh,” she squeaks again, stunned, “of course.”

  I reach out my hand.

  227

  Skye

  I feel like a virgin all over again as I walk through the Penthouse’s lushly carpeted hallways holding Harlan’s hand.

  Heck, I feel like a newlywed on her wedding night.

  “This can’t be real,” I mutter, still stunned from what just happen
ed in the auction room. “Tell me this isn’t real?”

  Harlan shakes his head, and plays his eyes across the hallway. It looks like a hotel – each of the doors is numbered, one through six.

  It doesn’t take a genius to realize what they are. Six rooms – to put it crudely – six spaces where the victorious men take their prizes to…

  … Play with.

  I’m not going to lie, it feels kind of misogynistic, and definitely hot. This time, at least, I’ll let it ride.

  Especially as I’ve got a funny feeling I’m going to be doing a whole lot more riding very, very soon.

  Harlan pulls out a room key from his breast pocket. I realize now what the masked host pressed into his hand when we arrived.

  “Did you like my surprise?” He grins mischievously at me, pressing the key into the lock. The door opens, and he tugs me inside.

  The surprises, it seems, don’t stop at the auction. When I thought that these rooms were sex rooms, I didn’t expect them to be so, well – kinky.

  I kick the door shut behind me, and stand in front of Harlan with my hands on my hips. “What the hell is this place, Harlan?” I say, asking the question that’s been hovering on my lips ever since we arrived. “You’re going to need to walk me through what just happened before I have a freaking heart attack…”

  Harlan smiles, tugs my hands from my waist, and squeezes them tight.

  “You, Skye Warren, are now a very, very rich woman. Two hundred and eighty-five million dollars, by my count. It should hit your account tomorrow morning at the latest.”

  I feel like someone punched me in the gut, like they’ve reached into my lungs and sucked out all the air. My knees weaken beneath me. They feel like they’ll give way at any second.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me…” I whisper. “Two hundred and…”

  Harlan’s lips graze mine. He’s not wasting any time. Some part of me doesn’t want to either…whether or not I am still stunned. That part of me is burning up with desire for this man who throws money around like it means nothing, and who’s introducing me to a side of myself I never knew existed.

  “Why?” I ask, turning my face away from Harlan’s attentions.

  The cool breeze from a hidden air-conditioning unit kisses my skin. Goosebumps sprout, but I don’t think that they have anything to do with the room’s frigid temperature.

  “Because you’re worth it,” Harlan says simply. “You’re worth every penny, and ten times more. And,” he smiles, “because I wanted to. I want to buy you, Skye. I wanted to take you from your comfort zone, take you to a place where you are completely, utterly out of control.”

  “Well, it worked…” I croak. “And–”

  Harlan’s face takes on a determined look. He reaches behind his head and loosens the ribbon holding his mask tight. He tosses it aside.

  “And I’m done talking, Skye,” he growls.

  “I’m done playing games. But I’m definitely not done controlling you, not tonight. I’m gonna teach you what domination means. I’m going to teach you what it means to give up control. And by the end, by the time I’m really done, you’ll be begging me to never stop.”

  He takes a step towards me, closes his hands around my body and pulls my own mask loose. It falls from my face, and suddenly I feel naked – more naked, even, than I felt in front of that room of billionaires just a few, long minutes ago.

  I feel as though my soul is on display for the entire world to see. But it is not the whole world that I’m worried about – only Harlan. He’s the only one I care about. He’s made this incredible, enormous sacrifice for me – made me one of the richest women in all of America with a snap of his fingers – and yet what the hell can I give him in return?

  I’ve got nothing to give but myself.

  Harlan’s lips meet mine again. There’s nothing gentle about the kiss. This time, his teeth graze my lower lip, his tongue probes my mouth, while he nips and sucks until I’m lost entirely in the moment. His hands cup my ass, and he presses his bulge against me. I push my hips into it.

  I’m desperate for his cock in a way I don’t think I’ve ever been. Since the moment I first slept with him, Harlan’s been the most attractive man who’s bedded me. He’s all I’ve thought of since the moment I met him.

  But I’ve never wanted him like I do now.

  He drags me back, deeper into the room. I’m in a haze, a daze. I don’t even know where I am. I can barely see – my entire world is Harlan’s face, just a few inches from mine.

  “You’re going to come for me, Skye,” he growls. “Whatever it fucking takes, you’re going to come for me.”

  “No,” I moan as Harlan’s hands roam my body. I know he’s right. I am going to come for him, but that’s not all.

  Because I don’t just want to come for Harlan. I want Harlan to come for me. I want us to do it together.

  It’s going to happen. I have no doubt about that, because I finally realize the truth. Harlan Wolfe was made for me, and I was made for him.

  Harlan pushes me backward, and I collide with something that is both hard and soft. I look back, and see a padded leather wall. Straps dangle off of it. My eyes spring wide open.

  “Put your arms up,” Harlan orders gruffly. He leans in, close to my ear, and whispers five delicious, tantalizing words. “Don’t make me ask twice…”

  I don’t. I wouldn’t dare.

  I breathe with ragged, intense effort as Harlan straps me to the leather wall. I must look like a starfish, arms spread wide apart. Next Harlan goes for my ankles, tying them too.

  I’ve never been more exposed in my life.

  And I sure as hell have never been this turned on, either.

  “Fuck me,” I moan, “Please…”

  “Not yet,” Harlan growls. “Believe me, Skye, I want nothing more than to slide my cock in between your legs. But we’ve got all night – and I don’t have any other plans.”

  A mischievous, devious, scheming smile teases his lips. I gulp. I don’t know what Harlan has in store for me tonight. I don’t even want to ask.

  Because I’ve got a funny feeling that after tonight, there will be parts of me that ache that I didn’t even know existed.

  Harlan tears my panties off in one violent movement. Cool air kisses my bare pussy, and that’s all that’s needed for a little moan to escape my lips. I’m not sure anyone’s ever been as turned on as I am right now.

  And Harlan’s only just getting started…

  I watch, entranced, as he eyes me up and down. He drinks in my skin, every inch of it. Slowly, he puts his hand to his neck and loosens his bowtie.

  “No,” I whisper. “Leave it on…”

  Harlan looks as though he’s about to argue, but then shrugs. “Your wish is my command.”

  He undoes his top button, then turns away, going to a long chest of drawers at the other end of the room. He digs through it for a couple of seconds, and then returns with a length of black silk.

  “Give me your head,” he growls.

  I do as he asks, and a second later he wraps the blindfold tight around my head, and I’m lost in darkness.

  Every sensation is magnified. Every sound, every touch, even the taste of the air is stronger. But it is Harlan’s fierce, spicy, scent that is impossible for me to ignore. It fills my nostrils, invades every part of me. He smells like he was made to be mine, as if we were made together, separated, and left to find each other.

  “A or B, Skye,” he asks.

  “What?”

  Harlan cuts across me. “It’s a simple question: A, or B?”

  “I – I don’t know. A?” I whimper.

  “Bold choice,” he chuckles. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

  Had what in me?

  It doesn’t take long to find out. A buzz fills the room, a vibrator. I hear the motor squeal as Harlan tosses it from hand-to-hand. I listen, spellbound, entranced, as he walks towards me. My hips buck out a little, desperate for the touch of plea
sure.

  Then he does it.

  Harlan presses against me.

  But not what I expected, the way I expected, or where.

  His lips graze mine, and he leans in for a fierce, deep kiss. I kiss him back with everything I’ve got. But strapped to the wall, there’s only so much I can give. He pulls away, leaving me panting and begging for more.

  Then, and only then, does he press the vibrator against my pussy. It’s an exquisite pleasure. I’ve tried almost every toy the market has to offer, but I’ve never felt anything like this. Maybe it had to be the right one, at the right time, but I don’t think so.

  I think this is all about the right man.

  The buzz is all I hear. That, and my own heaving lungs. I press my legs together, and my hips forward, into the teasing kiss of the motor.

  Harlan kisses me again, holding the vibrator in his palm and pressing it between my legs. His other hand leaps behind my back and undoes the bra strap in one easy movement.

  “You’re getting better,” I tease, panting.

  “I always was,” he chuckles, returning to my lips.

  This goes on for – hell, I don’t even know how long. Harlan’s mouth alternates between my nipples and my mouth, and his hand stays firmly between my legs, with the vibrator.

  Teasing me, tantalizing me, taking me closer and closer to the elusive cliff edge he’s been testing me with for so long.

  “Oh my God, Harlan,” I whimper. Tears flowed into my eyes. I’ve never felt anything this good, so overpowering. I feel stars breaking out behind my vision.

  I think this is actually it – the moment when it finally happens.

  “Fuck no,” Harlan growls.

  The vibrator changes in intensity, causing my eyes to spring open behind the blindfold. It’s still pitch black.

  I let my breath out as I realize Harlan’s plans don’t involve stealing the vibrator’s kiss away from me completely … just moving it …

  … moving it so that his hands have access too.

  He nibbles my earlobe and whispers to me gruffly, possessively. “No fucking way am I gonna let a machine take you there. When I let you come, it’s going to be around my cock, you hear me?”

  Let me?!