He had the audacity to wink.
“I may have to get in on this bidding. I enjoy spunk, when it’s harnessed in the right direction.”
Harnessed.
“Mr. Kidwell, assure me that you and Ms. Pierce will be up at the mansion at eight p.m.”
“We won’t back out on this, I promise you.”
I stood silently as Curtis walked Mr. Knapp through the cabin and to the door. When he returned, my head was shaking. “You bastard. You expect me to sleep with someone.” I lifted my left hand and pulled the diamond ring from my fourth finger. With a quick spin, I turned toward the water and threw the platinum and diamond symbol that no longer mattered.
“Fucking Christ.” He seized my wrist. “Do you know how much that cost?”
“Our future if you choose to go on with this. Get me back to Detroit tonight and we might have a chance.”
“Oh, no. You’re going to do this. You’ll either walk up on that fucking stage with a shred of dignity or I’ll carry you up there. Fuck, I’ll hog-tie you if I have to.”
“Who the hell are you? Why do you care so much that I do this?”
“Because I’m not losing my father’s company and I’m not ending up dead courtesy of the Ivanov bratva. I don’t give a damn who you have to sleep with. It’s one fucking night. Get over it.”
I started to walk past him when he again grabbed my wrist and spun me toward him. “What will it be, Briana? Dignity or hog-tied? Either one will work to inflate your price.”
The images of what he said went through my head.
“Dignity,” I said with an eerie calm. “When this is over, if Ivanov doesn’t kill you, I will.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Cameron
I make a phone call to the private helicopter company. “Mr. Kidwell?”
“Yes. Please have the chopper brought to the island. I’m leaving early.”
“Of course, sir.”
“No, wait.”
She holds her tongue over the line, probably rolling her eyes at the foibles of the rich. I’m not usually indecisive. Only one person has ever made me that way.
There were many reasons I left Detroit. A floundering economy and the bitter cold. Our father built a tiny empire of appliance stores. He left it to Curtis and me. Two brothers. A lifetime of rivalry. I could say I left when Curtis tried to force me out, but the truth is I could have fought him. He was already unethical then. I had enough to put him in jail if I wanted to. The real reason why I left Detroit wasn’t the recession or the weather. It wasn’t even my brother. The reason why I left was Briana.
For whatever reason, she chose Curtis. She wanted him. She put his goddamn pawn shop ring on her finger, and I didn’t want her heartbroken. So I walked away from my small inheritance, one-half of the appliance shops. I walked away from her because it hurt too much to watch her with him.
“Leave the schedule,” I say over the phone. “I’ll stay the night.”
It would be better to leave now, not to see her on that pedestal. Not to see men bidding on her sweet body. Not to be tempted to bid myself. She wanted Curtis. She chose him. She chose this.
Except no woman really would, would they?
Even if she’s head over heels in love with my brother, does she really understand what she’s giving up for him? There’s a stain that can never be fully removed, being sold in a room full of strangers. Having sex with someone who paid for the use of her.
I find myself putting on my tux, donning that costume of the businessman, the billionaire. It doesn’t matter if I actually am that person according to my investment portfolio. I’ll always be the scrawny kid from the shitty part of Detroit. This is always a part that I play.
Across the white sand and the carefully manicured strip of jungle, the mansion glitters.
Mr. Knapp made it clear that he expected me to purchase her.
I’d have the right to touch her, to fuck her. To do anything I want, even if what I most want is simply to hold her. Unrequited love is a fuck you from the universe. And then what? Give her back to Curtis? I’m not sure I could. I’m not sure I should if this is how he treats her.
Maybe she’s better off with me even if I have to buy her.
A massive staircase leads to the mansion. An upscale Alpine lift brings people from their huts to the top of the mountain because heels aren’t made for stone steps. I prefer to walk. I want the burn in my thighs to distract me from what’s about to happen.
I might be coming back down the island in possession of a woman.
Half a mile of steps. I’m almost late. Everyone’s already crowded into the ballroom, the men hungry with lust, the women glittering with avarice. They don’t mind watching a woman get sold as long as it’s not them. The pedestal is still empty.
Mr. Knapp stands at a podium. His eyes narrow when he sees me. He’s pleased.
At least someone’s happy.
Mrs. Changueng and Mr. Shah are here in the room, ready for me to make a deal with them. Gabriel Miller is expecting me to come back with sizable property and shares. I don’t give a fuck about that right now.
I only have eyes on the marble wall at the back and the little black rectangle in the center. That’s where Briana’s waiting.
Is she nervous? Scared? Excited?
“Now that we’re all here,” Mr. Knapp says, his eyes meeting mine, “we can begin the auction. I know you’re excited to see the precious item we have for the highest bidder.”
An appreciative laugh rumbles through the crowd. I want to throw something.
“Please, let’s give a warm, appreciative welcome to Ms. Pierce.”
Briana steps through the doorway, wearing what can only generously be called a dress. It’s more like two strips of silk covering her breasts, wrapping around her waist, and tying over her hips. It covers the space between her legs and falls to the floor. She also has on black high-heeled Louboutins.
She looks like a goddess. For a second the hoots and the applause and the catcalls fade away. There’s only her in this room. And me. Her eyes meet mine, and my breath catches. God, she’s beautiful. A lily in a goddamn swamp because we’re not alone. No, there are a hundred other people in the room, each eager to suck and lick her, to make her suck and lick them. Some of them want to hurt her, to bruise her soft skin. My hands turn to fists. She steps onto the pedestal, exposing her inner thigh, revealing the shadow of her pussy. The collective crowd draws in a breath.
Then she’s standing two feet above everyone else, on display in every sense of the word.
Mr. Knapp looks like a little goblin next to a princess. “You can see she has assets that every fine collector would appreciate. I’m sure the connoisseurs among you recognize first-class merchandise.”
“Show us the goods,” someone shouts
I curse under my breath. At this rate there’s going to be a mob. If Mr. Knapp flashes her beautiful tits, they’re going to overpower him. They’re going to rape her right here in the ballroom, all two hundred of them. And then I’ll have to kill every single one with my bare hands.
CHAPTER FIVE
Briana
Shit.