EPILOGUE.(Three years later…)While Kayla plays on the kitchen floor with her favourite doll that Holden had bought her for her third birthday just yesterday, I put the finishing touches on her birthday cake.My parents, Wicked and Ele have driven out here for the weekend with their kids. I’ve been looking forward to this day for months. Though living here in the middle of nowhere is nice, sometimes the silence can be just as deafening and lonely. For our safety, Knox and I rarely make the trip out to the city, and I’ve come to learn that I’m more of an introvert, and I’m fine with that. But the company of my mother and best friend is like nothing else. I suppose you could say that I like to live through them. I look forward to hearing their stories and seeing the kids. I know Kayla enjoys seeing the kids just as much as I do, and I can tell that she will make the perfect older sister when her sibling arrives. That’s right…I found out this morning that Knox and I are expectin
“Now we have number eight, Ms. Birdene Black.” I freeze, staring at the auctioneer, confused, and then I shift my gaze to the stage with a beam of light shining upon it. The woman with the clipboard in her hand pushes me, and I stumble forward, turning my neck to take one last glance at her. Cheers fill the room, mixed with growls of approval. “Ms. Birdene Black is twenty years old. She likes to read and listen to music. This is her first auction and I do believe she a virgin, which makes her a worthy prize if you win her. Do I hear a hundred thousand?” The auctioneer announces into the microphone as he slowly circles me like a predator getting ready to pounce on its prey. My chest rises and falls with every shallow breath I take. This is insane. I don't know how I ended up here on stage getting auctioned off like a prized possession. Bids start filling the air. Reaching over a million dollars. My jaw drops, stunned that men are willing to throw thousands of dollars away for p
Someone grabs me by the arm and leads me off the stage. Stunned into silence with my gaze penetrating Ace Ripleys’, I subconsciously allow them. “Birdene, I need you to pay attention.” Fingers snapping in front of my face pull me out of the bubble I created around me. Shaking my head; ridding the fog that clouds my mind. I look at the lady with the clipboard in her hand. “I’m sorry, you were saying?” I ask her after clearing my throat. She sighs with a slight roll of her eyes. I assume she’s the type of woman that doesn’t like to repeat herself. “I said… you are very lucky to have Mr Ripley. He is a generous man, and I believe you are the third girl he has placed a bid on since he joined us back in 2015.” I release a shuddering breath, raise my hand, and wrap my fingers around my throat. “I’m sorry. But there’s been a huge misunderstanding. When I was asked by the doorman if I was here for the auction, I thought he meant-” Her brows pinch together as her phone dings, and she sw
ACE. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as she stumbled onto the stage. Birdene Black. I’d know those brown eyes anywhere. Even ten years later, now that she has grown into a beautiful woman. Her eyes remind me of a woman I fell in love with in college. A woman who happened to choose my best friend over me. Andrea Simpson. Just thinking about her name feels like I’m committing the biggest sin of all. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever consider finding the daughter of the man I hate with a passion, being auctioned off. The murderous emotions that overtook every fibre in my body as other men bid for her drove me wild. Fuck… I was about to put a pretty silver bullet between Lawrences’ eyes if he dared to outbid me for her. She is mine. Even if it is for a month. She is mine, and I will return her to her parents once I’ve had my fill of her. Once I’ve ruined her for other men. After I've tattooed my name on her precious little heart. Ace Ripley. She will sc
Embarrassment and desire twine through me as my gaze darts from his piercing green eyes to his hand. I’m lost for words, and I can’t believe I’ve just agreed to give him my purity, let alone warm his bed for the entire month I am promised to him—under contract.But I guess my virginity is a small price to pay if he can help me escape my parents and uncle Flynn. Part of me feels like a sinner just thinking about Ace fucking me. The enemy of my father and a surge of arousal slams into me.Ace wags his finger, “straddle my thigh. Right here.”Gingerly placing one foot in front of the other, I approach him with my chest rising and falling with every shallow breath I take. “I’m going to stop you right there, Little Bird.” He growls with one corner of his mouth curling and instantly, I stop in my tracks with a frown on my face. “I know you are innocent. But I believe you aren’t completely sheltered to the point that you do not know that you need to remove your pants and underwear.”Swal
After I signed the contract and made no amendments to it. I quickly pull on my clothes, feeling Aces’ gaze watching me.After he returns the contract to the envelope it came out of. He walks around his large desk to stand in front of me.“From this moment forward, you realise that your body is mine, Little Bird.”Lifting my gaze to meet his, “yes. I read the contract before I signed my soul over to the devil himself, Ace.” I answer him upon exhaling through my nostrils. “I still don’t understand why you made me sign it naked.”A lopsided smirk stretches across his face. “Am I the first man who has seen you bare?”“Yes.”“There’s your answer, then, Little Bird. The thought of me being the only man to ever see you bare makes breathing worthwhile. Especially knowing that your uncle Flynn has been keeping you hidden from the real world to keep you pure for his touch only.”A violent shudder corrupts my body. “Please… don’t speak like that. It makes me feel sick to think that all this tim
ACE.My eyes snap open as I jolt awake. An icy shiver takes over my soul.Brushing a hand over my face, I try to shake the exhaustion that clings to me. Releasing a long sigh, I cast my gaze downward to find Birdenes’ arm slung across my bare chest with her leg over my hip. Half of her body is over mine, and she is using me as her human pillow.If she were one of my other girls, I would have rolled her over and turned my back to face her. I’m not the type of man who likes to hug. There are no roses and chocolates with a happy ending in sight with these auction deals.You bid on a number that just so happens to tickle your fantasies. You fuck her, feed her, house her, and give her some spending money to help pass the time.But with Birdene, there is no urgency to push her off me. If I’m to be brutally honest. I feel the complete opposite. I want nothing more than to crush her small frame against my large body.A few stray strands of her hair tickle my nose, filling my senses with he
I stir when the sound of the curtains being drawn back releases me from the clutches of my deep slumber. The warmth from the early morning sun rays caresses the side of my face, and I roll over, groaning. “Just one more minute, please, Lucy…” “Mr. Ripley asks that you swallow the small white pill next to the large glass of water I have left beside your bed.” I jolt upright in the bed, dragging the sheet with me. My eyes dart around the room until they finally land on Alanas’. “Shit…” I exhale, brushing a hand over my weary face. “I forgot Ace now owns me for a month.” A soft smile graces Alanas' tiresome face. “If I may offer you one piece of advice, Ms. Black?” She says in a hesitant tone as she dips her head, knowing that she is about to speak out of context. Swallowing thickly, I stare at her. “Please. I need all the advice I can get.” I reply honestly. Lifting her chin, she steps forward and picks up the small pill that sits on a round saucer and the large glass of water.