Just like that, his expression softens. “I’m being a jackass, aren’t I?”
“Yes.”
His lips curve, a sensual line that has my stomach leaping in response. “I’ve missed you, Zuri. Terribly.” He glances at Hercules. “If we didn’t have an audience, I’d kiss you right now.”
“Kiss me anyways.”
Surprise widens his eyes the tiniest bit. “If you’re sure.”
I don’t remind him that I’m going to be naked and on display on this stage tonight. What’s a kiss compared to that? Instead, I just nod. “I’m sure.”
He steps closer and cups my face between his hands. Alaric is built lean, but he’s tall. He has to bend down quite a bit to take my mouth, a soft kiss that starts with the barest brush of his lips against mine and then deepens in slow strokes. He teases my mouth open and then he’s kissing me fully. My entire body comes alive under that single point of contact, as if his tongue stroking mine is touching me elsewhere, too. I shiver and arch toward him, needing more, but the clearing of a throat freezes us both.
I step back, my skin flushed. Alaric looks at me like he wants to consume me whole, but he increases the distance between us.
Hercules walks up, his expression carefully neutral. “I think it’d be best if you made yourself scarce until after the auction.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Alaric smiles, but it’s a faint echo of his normal charming one. “I’ll see you soon, Zuri.”
Just like that, the nerves I’ve been trying so hard to quell rise up to flutter in my throat. “Okay.” Soon. After the auction. After the week I’ll have spent with someone else. Do we even have a chance together after I go through with this?
We have absolutely no chance if I don’t.
In the end, it’s still the only option.
He reaches out and strokes his thumb down my neck. I feel that possessive touch all the way to my bones. “We’ll get through this.”
“Yes. We will.” I have to believe that. I have to.
Chapter 6
Zurielle
An hour before the auction starts, I’m back in Hades’s office. This time, we’re joined by Hercules and two women. One is white with brown hair and features sharp enough to cut the unwary. From the way she casually touches both Hercules and Hades, this is the Meg I keep hearing about. The other woman is around my age and Black with a head of blue hair that I envy. She’s so pretty, it takes my breath away, and when she smiles, I find myself getting a little dizzy.
Hades folds his hands. “Hercules has assured me that you’re committed to this.”
I’ve come to expect Hercules questioning me at least once an hour with the hopes that I’ll change my mind. I didn’t expect it from this cold man. “I am.”
He nods. “Meg.”
The sharp-featured woman steps forward. “I’m going to handle the bidding. Aurora will be the one displaying you.” She motions at the blue-haired woman, who smiles again. “Do you have any issues with orgasming in front of an audience?”
I blink. “No?”
Meg gives a small smile. “Was that an answer or a question?”
My skin goes hot and tight, but I fight for focus. Honesty is important right now, and I don’t want to promise something that I can’t deliver on. “I’m not sure I can.”
Her dark brows rise. “You’re not sure you can orgasm?”
Is it possible for a person to die of mortification? I fight to keep my spine straight and not melt into my chair. “I can orgasm,” I manage. “I mean I’m not sure I can with another person and in front of an audience.”
Meg tilts her head to the side. “Does being on the stage bother you?”
“Not as much as it probably should.”
She chuckles. “And Aurora?”
I look at the woman in question and, again, answer honestly. “She’s one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen.”
Aurora beams. “Thank you.”
“Do you have any issue with her touching you? Being intimate?”
I should. I really, really should. I have deep feelings for Alaric, and that means I shouldn’t look at this woman and have things low in my stomach clench. I shouldn’t wonder what she tastes like. I lick my lips. “No, I don’t have any issues with that.”
A small, dark part of me doesn’t feel guilty in the least. Alaric has been with countless people before I met him and who knows how many since. I don’t hold that against him. Not really. He’s not indebted to Hades entirely by choice, but before coming to the Underworld, I was under the impression that he’d been pressured into the sex work. After meeting Hercules and brushing against others who work here, I don’t think I can believe that any more. They’re too concerned with consent to force someone to do anything, bargain or no. Even Hades is checking in with me, which boggles the mind.
I wonder what else I was wrong about?
Meg nods. “Up. Let’s see how Hercules did.”
I stand slowly. Aurora moves behind me to help me out of the silk robe. Beneath it, I wear a deceptively complicated lingerie set. Thigh highs and a garter belt. Panties and bra. Even an underbust faux corset. All in a creamy ivory that makes me think this might be something a bride wears on her wedding night.
Meg whistles softly. Hades nods once. “Well done, little Hercules.”
For his part, Hercules is blushing in a really sweet way. He picks up a length of fabric and walks to me. “You’ll start in this.”
I take it from him, and it unfurls into a dress. I raise my brows. “Isn’t this a little redundant? Why not just walk out there naked like you said?”
“I didn’t say you’d walk out there naked. You’ll end up naked.”
Meg moves up and presses a quick kiss to his mouth before turning to me. “It’s about a show, honey. The more we rile the crowd, the more money you walk away with. You start in that sweet little dress, and they’re going to be howling by the time Aurora gets you out of your panties.”
It makes sense when she puts it like that. “Okay.” I step into the dress and pull it up my body. It’s a loose sheath dress that covers me from shoulders to the tops of my knees, but when I eye the fabric, it’s nearly sheer. Depending on how they have the lights on the stage, the audience will be able to catch glimpses of my body through it, even if it hangs loosely around me.
“I’m placing bets on Malone.”
For a second, I think Meg’s talking to me, but she looks at Hades. “She really goes for the innocent thing.”
“So do you.” Hades gives a small smile. “Maybe I’ll bid on her for you, love.”
Meg arches her brows. “You give the best gifts, Hades.”
My jaw drops as he rises and ushers a muttering Hercules out of the room. I turn back to Meg. “Isn’t there some rule against the host bidding?”
“It’s the Underworld. The only real rules here are Hades’s, and he does what he wants.” She shrugs. “Besides, if he wins the bidding, it will reassure Hercules that you aren’t going to be whisked off to be ravaged by someone else for the next seven days. He’s been driving us both up the wall worrying about you.”
Something relaxes in my chest. I don’t know how I feel about being shared amongst three people, but I like Hercules, and neither Meg nor Hades seems that bad. Maybe this really will be okay. “I don’t think I’d complain about being in your bed.”
“Honey, I know you wouldn’t.” She grins. “Let’s go. We’ll be getting started soon.”
I jump when Aurora takes my hand, lacing her fingers through mine. She smiles. “It’s normal to be nervous, but it will be okay. Hades runs a tight ship.”
The walk to the public playroom seems to take no time at all. One moment Aurora is leading me out the door of Hades’s office and the next we’re following Meg into the darkened room. As promised, there’s a stage set up in the middle, complete with lights pointed right at it.
Meg steps up easily and spins in a slow circle. “You’re in for a treat ton
ight.” She was arresting before, but it’s like she’s amped everything up. She commands the stage, commands every eye in the room. “We have a true treasure in our midst—and she’s just for you. A virgin.” She motions with an imperial flick of her fingers, and Aurora tugs me up onto the stage. Meg gives the crowd a slow smile. “Not just any virgin, though. An Olympus virgin.”
Buzzing fills my ears, and I can’t tell if it’s my panicked thoughts or a murmur going through the room. Lean arms go around my waist, and Aurora’s whisper sounds in my ear. “Relax, Zurielle. You’re safe. I have you.”
I close my eyes for a moment and exhale slowly, doing my best to release my tension. I chose this. I am actively choosing it.
“Give her a spin, Aurora.”
Her arms slip away, and she takes my hand again, lifting my arm above my head and spinning me like we’re dancing in slow motion. My dress flares out around my thighs, and Aurora brings me back against her chest. She’s about my height and built petite like I am, but she feels strong enough to hold me up when my legs shake. “Here comes the fun part,” she murmurs.
Meg chuckles, low and husky. “We start the bidding at twenty-five thousand.”
It’s nowhere near enough. I need ten times that much to pay off the rest of Alaric’s loan, more when I add in Hades’s percentage. I start to look at Meg, but Aurora gives my hips a squeeze. “Trust us.”
Movement in the crowd. Meg laughs. “Twenty-five to my dearest Hades. You treat me too well.” Her gaze sweeps the room. “But I think we can do better than that.”
The only warning I get is Aurora’s nimble fingers at the back of my dress and then it’s fluttering down around my feet. I’m still clothed in more than a swimsuit, but it feels different. Especially when Aurora starts skating her hands over my sides. She’s not really touching me anywhere untoward, but it feels good. Really, really good. I shiver as her thumbs skate along the undersides of my small breasts.
“Look at that tight little body.” Meg’s voice has gone husky, as if she didn’t see me in this exact outfit less than an hour ago. “Untouched. Unbreached. I know you, friends. Tell me you wouldn’t get off on being her first, on being the one who introduces her to how good it feels to be filled, to come around fingers and cock and tongue.”
“Fifty thousand,” someone calls.
“Fifty thousand to Malone.”
“Sixty.”
She laughs. “Now we’re talking. Sixty thousand to our new friend in the back.”
Aurora gives me a squeeze. “Ready?”
“Yes,” I whisper. I’m not sure if it’s a lie or not. Things are moving too quickly. There’s too much to focus on, so I choose to focus on Aurora instead of the rest of the room. She’s my pillar in the midst of this, the one thing keeping the panic at bay.
She teases my bra straps over my shoulders, tugging them until she almost exposes me, and lifts her voice. “Seventy-five to see her pretty breasts.”
Meg shoots her an amused look but doesn’t contradict her. Especially when the woman from before—Malone—confirms seventy-five. “Stop teasing the nice bidders, Aurora.”
Aurora’s laugh is light and sweet even as she unhooks my bra and eases it down my arms. She presses a kiss to my shoulder, her voice going low. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”
I manage a nod and then her hands are on my breasts, cupping them and pressing up as if offering me to the audience. She tugs lightly on my nipples, and I can’t stop a gasp.
“Ninety.”
“One hundred.”
“One-oh-five.”
I lose track of who’s bidding. All I can focus on is Aurora’s clever fingers playing with my nipples. I arch back against her, just a little, and she skates one hand down my stomach to cup me between my legs. Aurora makes a sound that’s damn near a purr. “She’s so wet, friends. I can feel her through the lace.”
Meg laughs. “Now you’re just teasing us.”
“How about a taste?”
Meg’s brows arch up. “That’s not a terrible idea.” She turns back to the audience. “How much is a taste of that virgin pussy worth? A little enticement of things to come.”
“One-twenty.”
She crooks her finger at the crowd. “Give me two hundred and you can lick her off Aurora’s fingers.”
My whole body clenches at the words. I’ve felt desire. Of course I have. Desire and need and sheer lust. It’s never been anything like this before. It feels good and it’s uncomfortable and Aurora’s barely touching me, but I have pleasure coursing through my body all the same.
I feel…wicked. Really and truly wicked.
“Two hundred.”
The white woman who appears at the edge of the stage is a study in icy perfection. Her short blond hair is styled back from her face, and she’s wearing high-waisted fitted black pants with suspenders and an off-the-shoulder white blouse.
Aurora goes tense behind me for the barest moment, and then she tugs my panties to the side and drags two fingers through my folds, holding them up so everyone can see the way they glisten with my need. She leans us forward and the blond woman holds her gaze as she sucks both fingers between her dark-red lips. It’s horribly intimate, a little filthy, and I can’t tell if the heat in her gaze is aimed at my taste or the fact that it’s Aurora’s fingers in her mouth.
“Two-twenty.” Comes from the back of the room. I think it might be Hades, but I can’t be sure.
The blond moves back, throwing casually over her shoulder, “Two-fifty.”
“Two-seventy-five.”
Holy crap. It’s enough. I’ve made enough to free Alaric. I look at Meg, but she’s studying the room like a predator scenting prey. “We can do better than this. The panties, Aurora. Let’s see how pretty our little virgin is when she comes.”
Aurora drags them down my legs slowly, teasingly. I’m still wearing the underbust faux corset and the garter belt and thigh-highs, but I’m exposed in every way that counts. Aurora presses another kiss to my shoulder. “Do you see the way they’re looking at you?”
I can’t see anything but vague impressions of people. Heads and shoulders, occasionally hands lifting drinks to mouths. “No.”
“I can.” Her fingers trace the garter belt where it presses against my lower stomach, framing my pussy. “They want you, Zurielle. They’re practically panting after you.” She laughs softly as the bidding continues. “They’re so damn jealous of the fact I get to touch you right now, they’re willing to drop insane amounts of money to be next. That, my girl, is power.”
My skin feels too tight for my body. I shift against her, not entirely sure if I’m trying to shift toward her hand or away from it. “It doesn’t feel like power.” I can’t quite catch my breath. “It feels like hunger.”
“Yes.” Another of those surprisingly sweet kisses to my skin. “I’m going to stroke your clit now.” She barely waits for me to nod before her fingers are between my legs. Not entering me, but sliding through slick folds, gathering my wetness to trace playful circles around my clit. I tense. I can’t help it.
Aurora’s free hand comes up to lightly cup my throat, bending me back against her body. “Close your eyes, pretty girl. It’s just you and me up here. Nothing matters but how good this feels.” She drags her thumb over my clit again. “It does feel good, doesn’t it, Zurielle?”
“Yes,” I gasp.
I’m vaguely aware of the room going deathly silent, but I push it from my mind. Aurora is right. It’s easier to close my eyes and let her touch me. I…want her to touch me. But she doesn’t go after my pussy like she’s on a mission. Aurora strokes me like she’s enjoying this as much as I suddenly am, her breath shuddering against my neck. “I might pay two hundred grand for a taste of you, too,” she murmurs.
I don’t mean to roll my hips to rub myself against her fingers. I don’t mean to do anything but submit. But pleasure coils through me, tighter and tighter, all slippery touches and the heavy feeling of so many eyes on my skin
. I thought I couldn’t come like this, but now I think I might die if I don’t. “Aurora,” I moan.
“Show me.”
I grab her hand and press her palm hard against my pussy, grinding wildly against her. I bite my lip, trying to hold in another moan, but she shifts her grip on my throat to tug at my chin. “No. Don’t hold it in. Let me hear you.”
It’s as if her words unlock that last bit of resistance. I orgasm, a whimpering high sound emerging from my lips. Aurora coaxes me through wave after wave, until I’m a boneless mess of a person in her arms.
“One million dollars.”
I blink slowly. Surely I just heard wrong. Surely someone didn’t just bid a million dollars on me, and surely that voice isn’t as familiar as I think.
I look at Meg, but she’s giving nothing away. “One million dollars to Ursa. Would anyone like to bid higher?”
Silence.
I lean forward, trying to see into the shadows of the crowd. Not Ursa. Accepting her help to set this up is one thing. Giving myself to her sexually for an entire week? Unforgivable doesn’t begin to cover it. My father will hear about this. He has spies in her territory even now. He’ll…
It’s too late.
I know it’s too late the second Meg nods almost to herself and says, “Sold to the Sea Witch for one million dollars.” She spreads her arms, every inch an entertainer. “Thank you so much for playing, my friends. You may not have bought yourself a virgin tonight, but the Underworld has the best Dominants and submissives on staff. Please avail yourself of them.”
Aurora shifts to hold my hand, steadying me as the lights shift, the room brightening and the stage dimming a little bit. I blink rapidly. “I…I can’t do this.”
“What?”
“Ursa wasn’t supposed to bid. She wasn’t supposed to win.”
Aurora turns me to face her and clasps my shoulders. One look at my face, and she glances at Meg. “I think she needs a drink.”
The Sea Witch: A Wicked Villains Novel Page 5