“No one touches her until she is bought and paid for,” he says, loud enough his voice echoes through the room.
There are some groans and protestations, but they dribble off, and then silence reigns. I’m drawn up onto a low stage or platform and left to stand elevated for inspection. I plead with every god I can think of that no one will go against his order to touch me. Any moment, I fear vomit will come spiraling up from some hidden depths. Of course, it doesn’t.
I shouldn’t love how protective he sounds or the tight hold he keeps on my neck. It’s almost soothing to feel owned by him. The devil you know, right?
I can’t afford to disillusion myself. He walked me through a warehouse full of people who want to buy me. As far as I’m concerned, this place can burn to the ground with everyone inside it.
He leans in and whispers, “Behave.”
I put on my fakest worst smile, and not bothering to lower my voice say, “Fuck you.”
His hand tightens on my neck for a flash, and then he shoves me away, releasing me completely. I guess I hit a nerve, but what does he expect? Me to sink to my knees and let him fuck my face again? After everything I’ve endured, even after the things he said to me, I know he has feelings. He’s just trying to hide them so no one else sees, especially me. Nicolo might not want to believe it, but he cares for me. And he hasn’t realized yet, but he’s killed any chance for me to return his affection now.
Air swirls around my legs, and a whisper of a touch across the top of my foot shoots me backward into him. There’s a scuffle in front of me and the sound of someone being dragged off.
“What part of ‘don’t touch’ do I have to make clear?” he says, his voice low and menacing. It’s the voice I heard the night we met, more monster than man.
Numbers start flying around me. Thousands of dollars turn into hundreds of thousands. My knees wobble, and I fear my legs will give out. But I don’t want to show that kind of weakness in front of these people.
There is a shuffle behind me, and then Nicolo draws me back to sit on his lap. I have to turn to keep my legs closed as the dress leaves me completely on display. His hand feels just as possessive around my waist, clasping me into his body. The memory of him on top of me, of him holding me naked, threatens to swamp me, but I shove it out of my head. We’re done with that now.
It’s all I can do to keep my head up and not let the tears fall as the auction winds down when someone shouts from the back.
I don’t hear him, but by the way Nicolo tenses behind me, he does. “Say that again, and I’ll drag you out of here. In the years I’ve been moving product, when have I offered something fake? Tell me,” Nicolo demands.
The other voice is closer now, the heavy scent of his cologne making my nose itch. “Look at her, Diavolo. How are we supposed to believe you didn’t fuck her while she was in your care?”
Now’s the time to speak out. I can tell them all I’m not a virgin, and maybe they will stop bidding. The second I open my mouth, Nicolo’s hand clamps across my lips, and my head is wrenched back into the curve of his shoulder. “You say a word, and I just let them have you. Understand?”
I move my lips until I can dig my teeth into the fleshy part of his middle finger. He doesn’t react to the bite outwardly, but his hands tighten around my face and waist.
“If you don’t want to bid, then don’t bid. It’s your choice,” he tells the man calmly.
There is more shouting, and Nicolo settles again, using his thigh to part my own instead of allowing me to keep them closed. I try to maneuver sideways again, but he spreads me wide open. No one can see my nudity since I’m so far up his thigh, thankfully.
The bidding is down to two men. Their voices rise and fall as they throw out numbers. Then one of them yells two million dollars, and the other falls silent.
I hear Soo say from across the room, “Sold for two million.”
The word sold blasts through me. Sold. Sold?
Sold.
This can’t be happening. Through the haze of sweet cigar smoke and the grating sounds of laughter, I hear it again. Sold. It’s like my stomach’s bottomed out into my toes. I can’t draw a full breath in. I just can’t believe he actually did it. All this time, some tiny part of me hadn’t released the hope that I’d be saved or that Nicolo would, by some miracle, change his mind.