I’ll do my best to try to make it. But I can’t make any promises.
Love you
Kat
As I hit send, the doorbell chimes at the entrance. I hear the click of heels against the concrete floor and smell a sweet floral fragrance before I see her. I blink in surprise as Madam Lynn steps up to the counter, her hair pulled up into an elegant bun, her piercing eyes framed by wispy bangs. She looks totally out of place here, dressed in a designer black and white color block dress with a glittery black belt at its center, her heels a glossy white patent leather. She’s stunning.
I part my lips with surprise, my pulse racing in my chest. What in the world is she doing here? For a moment, I worry that I’ve done something wrong, violated some obscure rule of the club. “Madam Lynn-” I begin.
“You’re going to walk onto a stage upstairs in my club,” Madam Lynn tells me in a voice throbbing with authority.
Unconsciously I take a step back, my eyes wide. I’ve never heard or seen her act like this before, but the way she’s looking at me, her eyes filled with an intensity that makes my skin prick, I know she means business. I feel relieved that she isn’t here to tell me that I’m in trouble or that I’m being prosecuted for violating something I hadn’t been aware of.
“I’m sorry?” I ask her, not understanding what she’s talking about.
“It’s time to take a leap of faith, Katia. You know you need it. Stop hurting Isaac, and stop hurting yourself. You’re going up for auction.”
My hand goes to my throat, gently tracing over my scars and I find myself answering, “Yes,” almost as if against my will. I’m still shocked more than anything. Madam Lynn has taken time out of her busy schedule of running the club to visit me at my shelter. I never anticipated this.
“You’re going to stand there and offer yourself to be owned for one month,” Madam Lynn continues, and her voice is full of power. “You will be sold. And you will go through with your end of the contract.”
I tremble as her words wash over me, my limbs going weak over the realization. I need this. I know I do. And Madam Lynn knows it. I should do as she says, but I’m terrified.
The sharp edge in Madam Lynn’s voice draws my attention back to her. “You are going up for auction, do you hear me, Katia?” She leans forward slightly, her elbows on the counter, her sunglasses in her hands tap, tap, tapping against the counter. “I don’t do this usually. You’re an exception.”
The way she says it makes my eyes fall.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, but I don’t like to see relationships fail when they could be so successful. Some people need a push, some a swift kick in the ass, and some need to be told exactly what to do.”
I take in a shuddering breath, at a loss for words. I know I should say yes; I’ve already been thinking about it. It will force me to commit. Kiersten was just asking me last night if I’d consider doing it, and now this.
She suggested I donate half of the money I received from the auction to an abused dog shelter, and half to the women’s shelter I was at temporarily. I could finally give back. I’ve always wanted to.
“Katia.” Madam Lynn’s voice is so powerful, I’m shocked to my core to see tears in her eyes. I thought I imagined the emotion in her emails. We sent them back and forth for a week or so. And I truly felt connected to her, why, I’m not sure. I knew she cared about me on some level, but her display of emotion clutches my heart. There’s no way I can bring myself to deny her request. “You cannot treat your Master like you are.” She shakes her head slightly, her voice hushed and cracked. “You cannot continue to deny him. Worse, you’re denying yourself.”
“He’ll be angry with me, won’t he?” I whisper, clutching my throat. How could he not be? If I were to make myself available for another? He would be furious.
“To be given the chance to ensure your possession for one month?” She shakes her head, but keeps her eyes on mine. “No, he will be grateful. You will please him.” She puts her sunglasses back on, making her look chic and confident, and hiding the fact that she was nearly in tears a moment ago. “He already knows. You will do this. By pleasing him, you help yourself, Katia.”
“If I do this, I don’t want anyone else to have a chance to buy me,” I blurt out, my heart racing. I won’t go to anyone else. I don’t want to. There’s no one else that I want to give my power to. “It has to be Isaac.”
Madam Lynn is quiet for several moments, studying my face. “I’ll make sure of it,” she reassures me. She reaches across the counter and gently pats me on the hand. “Everything is going to turn out fine. You’ll see.”
As she bids me farewell and walks out of the shelter, her fragrance wafts through the air, leaving me wondering how I can possibly go through with this.
Chapter 15
Isaac
Dec. 15th.
“I will fucking murder you,” I say in a low threatening tone as Zander picks up his paddle.
“I’m only holding it. What’s the big deal?” he asks with a shrug.
Cocky fucker. He grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and everything’s a game to him. He’s a good man with a big heart, and I owe him more than I can ever return. But I will seriously smash his pretty boy face in with my fist if he bids on my kitten.
“I think he’s just fucking with you,” Lucian says quietly, although there’s a trace of humor in his voice. He’s a lucky fucking bastard, I think as I stare at his hard jaw and handsome smirk. Dahlia is his, only his, and he’s keeping her. He bought her here a month ago, but she loves him. She’ll never leave him.
And why would she? He’s worked his way from the bottom to the top. He wants a family--fuck, he has one to give her, if he wanted to. His parents are dead to him, but he has a sister who already loves Dahlia. He has wealth and a normalcy I’ll never have. I’m sure in only a few years, they’ll be a happy family, complete with children.
He’s not haunted by the fact that he watched his own mother die. While he did nothing.
He’s not a murderer.
I am. I’ll never be anything more than that.
What’s worse? I don’t want anything other than this relationship with Katia. I only want the exchange between a Master and Slave. I’ve never known anything else. And I never will.
I may be able to buy Katia now. She may learn to love being my kitten. I’ll make sure of that. But one day she’s going to want more. I know she will. I’ll just need to end it before she realizes it.
“I still don’t understand why you even let her participate,” Lucian says.
“There’s no collar on her neck. He has no say.” I grit my teeth at Zander’s immediate response. As the last word comes out of his mouth, he catches my glare and at least has the decency to seem apologetic.
Lucian shoots him a look, and I fucking hate it. It’s the same look everyone’s been giving me. I’m hung up on a woman who refuses to wear my collar. I have ideas of what they think about her going up on stage.
The first being that she wants someone else.