Acquired: A Billionaire Auction Romance

by Charlotte Byrd

  Tom ordered another drink. He had time until the party tonight, so hopefully he would sober up by then. He swayed in his chair. I could see what he and April had in common, but I could also see how different they were.

  “What was April like when you guys were in college?”

  He laughed.

  “Between you and me, high strung. Type A personality. She had everything figured out and would finish her projects weeks in advance. She didn’t really have too many friends, at least not after a while. We kind of became hermits and hung out mostly with each other.”

  “Ah. Did you know Travis?”

  His eyes perked up. “I love Travis.”

  “Travis is the reason why we met. I’m actually from Las Vegas.”

  “I wondered why your card said that.”

  “Yeah. April and I sort of bumped heads at first, but the more I see her the more I love her.” I couldn’t believe I said those words. It had been too little of time to tell if I actually loved her, or so I thought. I didn’t know much about love. I had never been in love before. What I felt for April, though, was a stronger crush than any I have had on any other woman.

  “Well, I’m glad she found someone as great as you. Now maybe my parents will stop making puppy dog eyes at me and bringing her up in front of Chelsea. It’s getting obnoxious. They really liked her and never really let her go.”

  April peered into the room, two empty glasses in her hands. She was swaying a little as she walked, in a very cat like manner. She walked over to us and fixed her hair countless times before she reached the bar. She looked like her heart had dropped. When she noticed me looking at her she raised her nose in the air. She stuck the two drinks down on the counter.

  “Hey, you.” I said, grabbing her waist and pulling her towards me. She smelled like coconut. I could see her swim suit straps underneath the dress she was wearing. She smiled and looked less tense when I grabbed her, so I kissed her on the cheek too. She blushed and straightened her dress.

  “Hello, Tom.”

  “You look nice today, April.” She had had her hair up in a messy bun and was makeup less but I agreed with him whole-heartedly. She had a natural beauty about her.

  “Thank you, Tom.” She kissed me back and I could smell the pina coladas on her breath. I ordered her a glass of water, making sure that she had the same relief I did. I put the little card the manager had given me back in my pocket. I’m sure we could make use of it later tonight.

  “I was just telling Tom here about your work with the Huffington Post.” Her eyebrows raised up. I knew she was a bad actress, so I did the talking. “I told him about how it was secret, though. Seriously, Tom, I haven’t even read any of it.”

  “I’m sure it will be great.” Tom looked between me and April. Instead of anger or jealously I saw something else in his eyes. He looked relieved. It seemed that he no longer actually wanted April. I wondered if there was something about her that made him call off the wedding, something that I hadn’t noticed yet. In my eyes she was perfect.

  After seeing April, I no longer felt mad at her. I don’t know if she still only thought of me as an escort, but I saw that she had felt bad for it before and would stop treating me like one. That was all I asked. If she didn’t want to be with me, that was fine, but I didn’t want to be led around and led on. It would hurt much worse with her than the others. I didn’t mind being a toy to the others, but with her I wanted to be a person.

  I wanted her to know that I wasn’t mad anymore. I didn’t have harsh feelings about this morning towards her, but it did sting. I couldn’t tell if she thought I was acting or not. I liked it that way. That way she made the choice for how our relationship was going to continue forward.

  “I should probably be going.” I could tell Tom had felt uncomfortable around April, and April felt the same way back. It would be strange to go to your ex’s wedding. Especially when they weren’t on mutual terms. Tom put a tip on the counter for the bar keeper. “Thanks for talking to me, Grant. I’ll be seeing you, April.”

  “Bye, Tom.” When he left he did look over his shoulder at her, twice. Both times he had been struck with a confused expression. I could see him teetering back and forth between wanting her and wanting nothing to do with her. I didn’t mind. The more envious he was, the more my job was completed.

  April sat where he was sitting at the bar. She was silent and not making eye contact with me. I couldn’t read her right now.

  “Is that a swim suit I see?”

  “Yeah.” She picked at her nails.

  “That’s a great idea. Mind if I join you?”

  “You have your swim suit on?”

  “No, but it wouldn’t be hard to put it on.”

  “I guess that’s fine.” She was being a little cold, but I could now see it was a front. She had felt bad about the fight too. It was obvious to me. I knew this was a stressful and confusing situation. Maybe swimming would be the relief we needed.

  “How about I meet you out there then?”

  “That would be fine.” She picked up her towel and put her glasses down on her face, beginning to walk outside.

  When I got out there, I had a hard time finding her. She was about shoulder deep in the waves, bobbing up and down as they crashed over and against her. They would push her towards shore, and she would swim back out, fighting against them. I joined her, showing her how to be caught in a wave, riding the top of it. She laughed a lot. She was becoming more and more relaxed and I was too.

  The bridges of our noses began to burn red and she walked on the beach as I swam against the current for a while. The exercise helped take my mind off the morning. It made me feel strong, and although I was accomplishing nothing by beating against the waves, it made me feel like I had more energy than I had used. I felt powerful. I loved to test my strength, especially in nature.

  Eventually there wasn’t enough time left for us to enjoy the water. Though we were quiet, we walked back to the room together. I felt like lacing my fingers into hers, or like brushing her sandy hair behind her ears. I felt like singing a song and carrying her to our room, but I wasn’t sure about that. I didn’t know how she felt. I knew one thing was certain, if I found out she wasn’t sold on me, and she didn’t want me back, I was going to have to make her. A challenge that gave me more pleasure than discomfort, I was no stranger to wooing people over.

  19

  April

  I watched the sand and salt water wash down the drain. It trailed down my leg, in between my toes, and was swallowed by the hole in the tub. After rinsing down, it was time to get dressed for the party. I still wasn’t sure what to wear, what to do with my hair or make up. Looking in the mirror, I saw my burn was already turning into a tan and my hair was half a shade lighter from being in the sun.

  I had had a good time on the beach with Grant. It felt like we just went back into the natural swing of things, but I still had my reservations. I didn’t know exactly what to say to him, and we hadn’t talked about the fight since it had happened. My woman’s intuition was in bad shape, and so I was stuck performing a routine for my apology in the mirror.

  I didn’t want him to be mad. I didn’t know that he felt the same way towards me. I had never done anything like this, so I had no idea when to tell it was genuine or not. I was curious how tonight was going to go, after this morning went pretty well.

  I started to think of a possible future with us. My parents already knew him, and he had the perfect story for his career. I wondered if he would quit his escort job for me. If he wasn’t doing it for the money, what was he doing it for? I decided not to think about it. It was probably every man’s dream to be paid heaping piles of cash for having sex with women.

  I brushed the thoughts out of my head. I didn’t want to get carried away with this. I wanted to be a few steps ahead. At the very least, I could maybe ask for a job as a secretary at his hedge fund. Then we could keep in contact and see how that goes.

  I knew I was being
silly. We had only known each other for a few days. He had sold me, though. I liked him a lot. How could someone resist? He was handsome, intelligent, dreamy, and pleasant. I could tell my parents were already impressed and Tom was envious. I liked that even more. The best revenge is being successful. This was me going to the top.

  It was fun to have a little secret, doing a charade for these people. This was a stage, and this was my love scene. I felt weightless compared to the rest of the year. I was floating on a cloud, worry free. If all this went well, I would be better off than when I came here.

  I wondered what his parents were like. He had told me something about them earlier, but they didn’t talk much. He didn’t seem close to them at all. I had the opposite experience. Is that what drove him to be an escort in the first place? Issues with his parents? I stopped drawing conclusions about him. I am sure there was a valid reason for his life. It could have even just been the thrill of adventure.

  I went through my clothes, trying to figure out what would be the best thing to wear tonight. I buried the envelope that sat on top of my things deeper in the bag. I didn’t mind keeping it at all. I decided to go with the nude and black maxi dress. I felt the most comfortable in it, and I wouldn’t have to shave my legs, which I didn’t have time for. I put my hair up in a bun and did a cat eye with red lips.

  I rehearsed my apology once more before leaving the bathroom. I slipped on my heels and walked in the room. “You look lovely.” I looked up from my feet. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit with a dashing bow tie.

  “You look… wow.” He smiled when I said it. His perfectly white teeth glistened. He could be on a commercial or TV show. His hair was perfectly gelled back. My heart jumped. I could tell I was falling more and more for him. I could tell he felt the same by how he looked at me. We were going to give the bride and groom a run for their money with how great we would look together. “Listen, about last night,” I started the apology “I am really sorry, I didn’t – “

  “Apology accepted.” That was quick. I waited a bit for him to apologize too, but he stayed silent. I waited for a bit for him to say something. He straightened his tie and kept quiet. “What?”

  “Aren’t you going to say sorry too?”

  “I don’t see why I should.”

  “Really? After you threw that fit this morning?” I was surprised. I didn’t want to fight again, but I thought I deserved some form of an apology.

  “Nope. Besides, I’ve seen you throw a fit, too.” He said, kidding. He lightly pushed me back twice until I fell onto the bed.

  “Travis told me your real price. I can’t believe… That’s more money than I’ve made this year.”

  “Then you should appreciate what I’ve been doing for free.” He smiled and kissed my cheek. I felt warm, and I had to fight to keep my hands from rushing up to touch the spot he kissed. He saw the shock in my face. He loved it. It fed him more and more. He kissed me again on the other cheek.

  “We don’t have a ton of time.” I said. I wanted to make out, and I knew that was where he was leading, but if that led to sex we would be late for the party and I would have to redo my hair and makeup which would just take more time. It wasn’t worth it.

  “No, we don’t.” He said before kissing me on the mouth. He kissed me slowly, leaning over me. As he kissed me he pushed me back into the bed and crawled onto the bed himself, hovering over me. He put his hands on my waist and I wrapped my hands around his head, trying hard not to damage his perfectly done hair.

  As he kissed me, I began to regret not shaving my legs. If he liked me as more than just a client, I’m sure that tonight would lead to more than just kissing. Weddings have a way of making everyone else sentimental about romance and love. I was no different, and would probably fall for the tricks of the ceremony. If not, I would just be jaded by the fact it was my ex-fiancés wedding.

  I push him away a little “We already spent so much time at the beach than we should have.”

  “That was fun.” He started kissing my neck, very gently.

  “You just keep trying to get me side tracked.”

  “Maybe just a little.” He came over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. His thumbs rolled back and forth, rubbing my skin under the dress. His eyes looked hungry. I wanted him. He bit his teeth, fighting himself. It just made me want him more.

  I wasn’t over him yelling yet. I wasn’t mad, and I understood why he was upset, but I thought that this was a two way road of problems. If he could drive me crazy for wanting him, I could do the same by resisting him. I lightly pushed him. His hands were freed from my shoulders.

  He smiled, enjoying the fight. “I like you when you’re feisty.” He came back to me, kissing my cheek and trying to kiss my mouth. I stopped him, trying to speak with him.

  “And you haven’t said sorry yet.”

  “I think I’ll make it up to you, somehow.” He pulled my head towards his and kissed me again. This time I kissed back. I decided if I was going to be held hostage this weekend at a wedding, I was going to do it on my terms. We kissed and kissed and kissed.

  He kissed my lips and then led over to my cheek, down my neck. It sent shivers down my spine, and I’m sure he loved that. He kissed me several times, going down to my collar bone. He kissed my collar bone. The fabric got between the two of us. I considered taking my dress off. As I lifted it up, he stopped me midway.

  “We don’t have any time. If you take it all off, I won’t be able to stop.” He rested the fabric around my waist and went down to my ankles. He kissed the inside of my ankles and worked up my calves to my knees. I was breathing quicker and quicker, trying not to get too loud. He kissed up more, kissing my knee cap as he worked up further, kissing a line up my thigh. I started to get nervous.

  The anticipation was killing me. I wanted him. I was upset that we had started this, especially when we were so close to the wedding. I didn’t appreciate him teasing me like this, but it felt so nice that I didn’t stop him. I was going to force him to keep going later. He owed me that much.

  He got to the outline of my panties, which were covered in black lace. With both hands, he pulled them down and slipped them off both of my legs. He kissed my hip. And then he moved his way down, putting a finger in me and licking the outside.

  He kept going and going, hearing me sigh and moan, I could tell it only motivated him more. “We don’t have time.” I said. He didn’t respond, just kept licking. His hand pulsed inside me, and I was being driven crazy. I wanted him, I wanted him, I wanted him.

  I put my hands in his hair, I didn’t care about messing up it up anymore. He didn’t care about undressing me, after all. He worked harder and faster, and I could feel my pulse quicken. My back arched up and I fought back, trying not to give him the pleasure.

  It got to a point where I couldn’t fight it anymore. His fingers felt amazing. My toes curled. My mind went blank. I had the biggest orgasm that I have ever had. And from only him eating me out, I was in shock. Completely.

  He was eating it up, loving that I went weak over him. He knew I wanted more. He knew that now that I had a taste, I was going to get hungrier. He began to slow down, weaning me off. I took this time to gather myself, and try to remember what planet I was on.

  “That was pretty good.” I heaved, breathing every word.

  “I wish we had more time.” He said. He kissed his way back down my leg, slower than he had before.

  “That was… Really good.” I could feel him smile when he kissed. He slipped the panties back on my legs. “That was a first.”

  “First time someone has gone down on you?”

  “No.” I sassed back. I knew he thought I was innocent, but just because I wasn’t as experienced as him didn’t mean that I hadn’t experienced some things. “First time that it has made me, uh…”

  “Orgasm?”

  “Yeah.” I pulled the panties the rest of the way up and hopped off the bed. I fixed my hair and makeup in the mirror. It hadn’t
gotten too ruffled, so I wouldn’t kill him. I saw him perched on the bed, fixing his own hair and smiling from ear to ear.

  20

  Grant

  Following her down to the lobby was driving me crazy. I was pretty aroused from earlier, and looking at the back of her wasn’t helping. She peeked over at me, her face was gorgeous. The makeup highlighted her features, and having her hair pulled back drew attention to it. She was gorgeous. I hadn’t seen someone as naturally beautiful as her.

  Her dress perfectly complimented my suit. We looked fantastic together. I’m sure we would turn all the heads. We might even take all the attention from the bride and groom. Hand in hand, we glided into the dimly lit room. Tables were softly lit by the centerpieces, and the shadows of the candles danced on the floor. The room was decorated with drapes that made it look like clouds were floating on the sides of the room. The windows showed the early evening sun warming up the ocean, getting ready to take a dip into the night. I hadn’t been to a place this beautiful in a while. Weddings were always so elegant, but this one had a lot of them beat. Even the times before when I had been to this hotel, it had never seemed this dapper.

  Tonight was already a great night, and this scenery was making it perfect. We were going to dance. We had to. The band set up. We were there early. We should have stayed in our room for a little while longer. I kept thinking back to before and it drove me crazy. I wanted to go back upstairs and fling her on the bed. I wanted to show her all my learned skills. I wanted her to feel special.

  She rubbed my thumb with hers, and it felt so sweet and gentle. April was perfect. We kept hands linked as we walked through the room, greeting everyone. I just kept thinking of before, how her legs relaxed and toes curled. I had felt her hands grabbing at the sheets and I couldn’t get the scene out of my head. It gave me butterflies. I loved pleasing women, that was why I was in this line of business. Pleasing April magnified that. I was proud. I felt like a million dollars. Even if she didn’t want to see me after this weekend, at least I would be one of her firsts, and therefore made permanent in her memories.