And as he disappears from view, a shudder runs over me. Did I make a huge mistake? I’ve never seen Jackson so pissed off.
Let alone he just paid a million dollars to get his best buddy out of a jam.
The blazing look in his eyes says he may take it out of my hide before I even get a chance to talk to him.
CHAPTER2
Jackson
My hands shake as the handler walks me backstage to pay. I don’t know if it’s because I’m more furious or terrified.
As soon as I saw her up there looking so wide-eyed and scared, my heart started racing and possessive rage built up inside me until it felt like I was going to explode.
It’s taking everything in me not to launch myself up on that stage where that asshole is touching her and rip his arm off to beat him with it.
“Sir, you know this is a cash-only auction, right?” he asks me, opening a door into a small room with a woman behind a cashbox.
“Absolutely,” I growl, incensed all over again. How dare she do this? How dare she think that she needs to sell herself for money! If I hadn’t arrived, what would have happened? Who would I have to kill to make sure that no one touches what’s mine?
I see another door open and two women come in. Sasha and the woman that was onstage before her. Sasha’s beautiful hazel eyes widen and she cringes back a little when she sees me. Glaring, I hand a bag over to the cashier to count. She pulls out the wads of bills and starts to count.
I ignore her, keeping my eyes on Sasha. She’s fidgeting while she talks to the other woman. Until another handler comes up and leads her over to the man who just paid for her time.
They leave and it’s just us, the handler and the cashier. My eyes never leave Sasha’s curvy little body, even when she starts to pace back and forth.
“Do you need to see the paperwork?”
I turn to the older man in bifocals that just walked in the door. “Excuse me?”
He nods over to Sasha. “The redhead? Her paperwork. The medical records that show she’s a virgin.”
I swear to god, I feel myself black out for a minute. I didn’t hear what I thought I heard. Nope.
He nods over to Sasha again, her cheeks flushed beet red and clashing horribly with her ginger hair. “She had an exam to show she’s a virgin. We’ve got the records if you want to see them.”
I turn to face him fully, shaking with rage. “You touched her?”
He shakes his head violently, his face ashen. “No! Absolutely not! The doctor that we keep on retainer did the exam. He’s very reliable. A complete professional.”
The overpowering urge to shake this little passant has me gritting my teeth until I feel a crack in my jaw.
“I don’t need to see anything. It’s fine.” I take a deep breath and rein in the cauldron of anger rippling through my body. I cannot let anything mess this deal up until I get Sasha out of here.
I glance over at her to see another man standing next to her, his dark eyes locked on her tiny figure as she sidles away from him.
I turn to the man with me. “Perhaps you could make sure that one of your employees doesn’t touch my purchase,” I grit out between my teeth, the words like ash in my mouth.
His head jerks and he catches sight of the other man blocking Sasha in. “I’m so sorry. He’s new here. I don’t think he even knows what the hell is going on most of the time.”
My eyes burn. “Maybe you should explain it to him before I do.” He hustles off, shaking his head at the other man. He reaches him and jerks his head, leading him off to a corner. Hopefully to explain to him what his fucking job is. Because it’s sure as hell not cornering Sasha.
Her hazel eyes lift to mine and I see relief in them. For just one minute I can feel myself relax. Feel my body take in oxygen for the first time since I found out she was pulling this idiotic stunt. Then the syrupy warmth that turns my body to molten lava just being near her takes over and I feel that damn jerk in my pants again.
I turn away and focus on the cashier who’s finished counting out the bills and hands me a receipt. What the hell for I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I can turn this in on my taxes!
The smarmy handler wanders over and touches Sasha’s arm and that rampaging anger takes over again. Who the hell do these people think they are?
I roll my eyes and stroll over. They think they’re mafia and they’re doing something illegal that hopefully has no way to trace it. I don’t want to get busted for buying my best friend.