“I’m yours,” she whimpered.
Ecstasy hooded his eyes, and a smile stretched his mouth, flashing that deep dimple in his cheek. His muscles were a hypnotizing flash of shadow and light as he curled over her and rewarded her admission with an orgasm.
The sound cut out, but a montage continued to play in the background as the announcer droned about the auction rules.
She shifted restlessly in her seat. Her panties were wet again. Hadn’t she just thought she’d had nothing left? Maybe it wasn’t that, after all. Maybe it was that, in the short time he’d known her, Sam had already managed to hard-wire her to seek only him. She let her eyes trail over the lineup of perfectly beautiful, nude androids on the stage, and she knew it was true. Nothing stirred in her until her eyes fell on Sam, on that burning promise in his eyes.
She blinked as a wave of paddles went up around her, her breath hitching. Shit, it had started. Sam’s mouth twitched as her paddle shot up.
The bidding started at two-fifty, just like Logan had warned. It climbed a hundred thousand. Another hundred thousand. Paddles began to drop. Five hundred, now. Her eyes watered a bit at the number, but she kept her paddle in the air.
There were only two of them left in the bidding. Sam was glaring a hole in the other bidder—a man sitting a few rows ahead. He wasn’t dressed like the others; no, this man was in a charcoal business suit with a briefcase in his lap. He had to be bidding on someone else’s behalf. He turned his head, and she could feel him looking at her from the corner of his eye.
Six hundred thousand. Seven. Eight.
Panic swirled within her. He might really outbid her. She didn’t have unlimited resources. She wasn’t supposed to need them; Sam was only a floor model. The numbers never went this high for them. Anyone with the means to pay this much would buy a custom.
Nine hundred thousand. Her arm trembled. Sam’s gaze was cool when she glanced at him in a panic, trying to communicate that things weren’t going to plan. His eyes began to glow blue as his expression went vacant.
A moment later, the businessman sprang out of his seat with a hoarse cry, flinging his paddle aside as he clamped a hand over his ear. He sagged to his knees, gripping onto the seat back in front of him.
“One million going once. Going twice. Sold to Ninety-Seven!”
Her arm hung in the air still; she was irrationally frightened to put it down. She’d won him. She’d won him? Was it really over?
“Thirty-One, would you please step off stage so you can be prepared for your new primary user?”
“Of course,” he replied, his dark eyes still tracking her as he crossed the stage. When he disappeared behind the curtain, she finally let her arm fall.
She sat through the rest of the auctions, wringing the handle of her paddle between her hands, desperate to see Sam again. Once they left this horrible place, they were free.
Free.
Had she ever felt that way in all her life?
Not for a moment.
Hope was unfurling in her chest, spreading its fragile, damp wings like a freshly metamorphosed butterfly.
When it was finally over, she was directed to a small, windowless side room. The number ninety-seven was taped to the door, and inside her coat was draped over a folding chair. She pulled it on and sat down to wait. Anticipation churned within her, twisting her stomach into knots.
Finally, the door opened.
She sprang to her feet, heart soaring—only to plummet a moment later. Her feet took an automatic step back.
The businessman who’d lost the bidding war stepped into the room, letting the door click shut at his back. Her throat clenched, her eyes darting as she realized there was no other way out of the room.
That had to be a fire hazard or something, right?
“Miss Sinclair,” he said.
Her blood ran cold. Reflexively, she reached up to see if her mask had slipped, but it was still firmly in place. He smiled coldly, removing his own mask. She didn’t recognize the man beneath—he was just an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with steel-gray eyes and a stern face.
“How do you…”
“I have my ways. Don’t worry, I’m not here to extort you.”
She hugged her arms around her chest, taking another step back. “What do you want?”
