“I’ll be right back.”
I walk to the kitchen and grab her a can of Diet Coke. We got this cute Airbnb in historic Savannah, so when we do some of the touring around the city, we can step out of our place and notneed a car. We can grab a ride share if we need to, but we’ll be doing a lot of walking over the next week.
When I get back to the living room, I hand her the drink. “Thank you.” She takes a long drink while I grab the box with our masquerade masks, opening it and showing her what they look like. Mine is black, and hers is silver. She reaches her finger out and rubs it over her mask. “Victor, they’re beautiful.” Her gaze wanders down my body with a small smile. “Your mask matches you perfectly,” she says.
I’m wearing a black suit, with a black shirt and tie. I chuckle. “The color of the masks has a meaning. Those who are wearing black masks are buying, those wearing white are selling, those wearing red are for sale, those wearing black and red mean they’re taken, but willing to share, those wearing silver mean they’ve been purchased and not up for sharing.” I motion for her to turn around so I can put her mask on.
“I know I didn’t buy you, but I sure as hell am not sharing you.” After I finish tying the ribbon on her mask, she walks to a decorative mirror hanging in the living room.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she says. “What if she’s there?”
I walk over to the mirror, so I can see to put my mask on. I rented a car for tonight because this is a discreet event. They very clearly stated in the invitation ride shares were not welcome and if we had drivers they were required to wear blue masks to set them apart as staff and not participants.
“Arden will be there, so he’ll confront her.” Making sure my mask is straight, I offer her my arm and we make our way to the car. I open her door and help her inside before walking to the driver’s side and put the address into the GPS, following the directions. Olivia is quiet, but keeps glancing at me.
“What’s on your mind, treasure?”
She takes a deep breath. “You mentioned there will be people there that will want to be shared. Is this like a sex party too?”
Ah, she’s nervous about that part.“Yes, after the auction, those who are purchased are required to have sex with the person who purchased them,” I tell her. Her head whips around to look at me. The plan is to purchase one of the girls that looks terrified to help her escape. That’s when it dawns on me how that must sound to her. “There are exceptions,” I say quickly. “If the person buying is married, they can choose not to have sex with the person they bought.”
She visibly relaxes and nods. “Okay, and we’ll agree on who it should be?”
“Yes, of course.”
I intertwine our fingers and bring the back of her hand to my mouth to kiss it. When we get to the house that’s hosting the auction, we follow the driveway to a roundabout where there’s a valet. Each person is wearing a blue mask. Someone opens Olivia’s door, but she stays in the seat until I come around the car and offer her my hand.
The valet must be used to this type of thing because they step back and wait. I hand him my car keys, then place my hand on Olivia’s lower back, guiding her to the entrance where there’s a short line.
“Good girl,” I whisper.
“Thank you, Sir,” she responds. “Are there any rules tonight?”
I smile, loving that she’s comfortable asking these questions now. “Yes, don’t look anyone directly in the eyes except me. Don’t speak to anyone, even if they speak to you, unless I give you permission.”
She nods in understanding and I can’t help the pride that swells in my chest. She is an amazing submissive. When we get up to the host and hostess, she follows each of the rules. She never looks at them and even when the host greets her, she onlysmiles at him without looking at him. He eyes her collar and gives me an appreciative look before we enter the house. Let the night begin.
Chapter eighty
Olivia
There are more people here than I was expecting. Thankfully, no one speaks to me. Not that it’s hard for me to not speak. This is one of the easier rules Victor has given me, but it’s probably because of how nervous I am about tonight. There’s an announcement that the auction is about to begin, so Victor escorts us into the large room that’s being used. We sit in the back and I watch as people take their seats.
The auctioneer comes up and welcomes everyone. “There are twenty-five people up for sale tonight. Eighteen women and seven men.” My stomach clenches at the thought of these people being sold off like cattle. Victor said there are some that are choosing to be sold, but the majority aren’t willing.
According to Arden, the majority of bids don’t get higher than four and a half million and it has to be paid in cash, so that’s how much Victor brought. Each person who is brought up has somefear in their eyes, but there’s a girl brought up with silver hair and she looks terrified. I place my hand on Victor’s forearm and squeeze.
I look up at him and speak to him without using my mouth. “Is this the one, treasure?” he asks. I nod and he gives me a small smile.
“The next person up for auction is McKenzie Knight. She’s twenty-three years old, recently graduated from NYU, and is an excellent baker.” I watch as McKenzie looks around the room, tears forming in her eyes. “The starting bid is seven hundred fifty thousand.”
A man toward the front raises his hand. “We’ve got seven hundred fifty thousand,” the auctioneer announces.
Victor raises his hand. “One million.”
“One and a quarter million,” the man up front says quickly.
I study that man as the bid gets higher and higher. He can’t get her. Somehow I know deep in my gut that he has bad intentions toward her.
