AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The sound of frantic bids fill the air and I walk closer, unable to look away from the little martyr on stage. The closer I get, the more clearly I can see her. And the fear in her pretty blue eyes is clearly evident. Especially as the men fighting over her grow more determined, more intense.
The bidding hits thirty grand fast, the highest of the night so far, and my gut twists. A group of men are going back and forth, each trying to outbid the other, and it makes me want to go over there and beat the shit out of them all. Can’t they see she’s scared? That she doesn’t want to be up on that fucking platform, practically naked in front of all these strangers?
My protector instinct flares to life, kicking in hard, and I decide she isn’t going to any of these idiots. They’re all up close to the stage now, salivating like a pack of feral dogs, eyes gleaming brightly with the idea of debauching that poor girl.
“Thirty-five grand,” the one man declares and glares triumphantly at his opponent who doesn’t offer a new bid.
“Thirty-six grand,” a voice says and I look over and see a man in a suit who looks vaguely familiar. He has a smug look on his face that I don’t like, as if he knows he’s going to walk away the winner tonight. Hmm. We’ll see about that.
I step up to the stage and say loudly, “Fifty-thousand dollars.”
Gasps fill the air and the angel on the stage turns her attention to me, jaw dropping open.
“We have a new bidder,” the auctioneer announces excitedly. “And a very impressive bid of fifty-thousand dollars for the lovely Mary Mary quite contrary who I’m sure has a very lovely garden.” He heckles out a laugh. “Why don’t you give the men a peek at your garden?”
Mary, or whatever her real name is, looks horrified and takes an unsteady step back. I frown at her reaction and the auctioneer’s perverse twist on the children’s nursery rhyme. Then my attention moves to my opponent and I wait to see if he will try to outbid me.
“Fifty-one thousand,” he snaps fast, glaring at me.
Here we go. I love a good challenge and he just laid one down. I play with him as he nickel and dimes the bid slowly up by one-thousand dollar increments. Cheap bastard. Is that all she’s worth to him? A lousy 56K?
After that last bid, I send him a scathing look then turn to the auctioneer and in a loud, clear voice, I state, “One-hundred fifty six thousand dollars.”
The crowd gasps, goes eerily quiet then bursts in raucous approval. They hoot and stomp their feet, and they whistle and clap wildly.
Beat that, asshole.
When he doesn’t challenge my offer, I turn back to the auctioneer and he declares me the winner. Someone hands me an envelope, but I’m more concerned about getting Mary—or whatever her name really is—off that blasted stage and out of this goddamn room of vultures. She doesn’t belong in here with these twisted people.
Her blue gaze meets mine and when I lift my hand up, offering it to her, she grasps onto it like I’m a rock in the storm currently tossing her around. As I help her walk down the steps, our gazes remain locked and it hits me hard that this poor girl is terrified. I can feel her shaking and before her small, bare feet can touch the floor, I sweep her up into my arms. Another cheer goes up from the crowd, but I ignore them and stalk out of the room, trying to get her away from all these deviant idiots as quickly as possible.
By the time I reach the elevator, she’s trembling so damn hard. I tighten my arms around her. “It’s okay,” I assure her in a low voice. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I have no plans to take this young woman’s virginity tonight. But the urge to get her up to the room where she’ll be safe fills me.
She tilts her head up and stares at me with startling blue eyes. “Do you promise?” she asks.
“I promise,” I whisper and step into the elevator.
5
HANNAH
My trembling subsides in the tall stranger’s arms as we ride up in the elevator. That takes me completely off-guard because I’m expecting the fear to kick in harder as we get closer to his room. But, for some strange, inexplicable reason, this man feels like my rescuer, not my enemy. The other men who were fighting over winning me, on the other hand, were not good news and left me terrified. They had evil intentions. Of course, maybe I’m just in denial and hoping this man who I’m clinging to won’t hurt me.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Am I fool to believe him? Yes. But, I want his words to be true more than anything.
My fingers curl into his shirt, clutching at the soft cotton, and I find myself looking up to sneak a glance at his strong profile. Whoever he is, he’s very handsome. Stubble covers his angular chin and he possesses high cheekbones and a straight, perfectly-shaped nose. His hair is thick and dark brown, shorter on the sides and longer on top, neatly swept back. And his eyes…simply stunning. Two bright green gems that suddenly look down and lock onto me. Very serious and full of…concern?
“Are you okay?” he asks, gaze searching my face.
I nod, unable to find the words to respond. They’re caught in my throat. A part of me feels like I should tell him to put me down, but I don’t want that. I want him to hold me in his arms and never let go.
