Surprise Bidder

Just as I thought, it’s one of the “playrooms”. That, however, is not my most upsetting discovery.

Inside the room are Elias, Owen, who has a gash on his cheek, a member of security, and Leah in a torn lavender dress, handcuffs and a gag.

A knot forms in my throat. I swallow it and turn to Elias with a rigid chin.

“Gavin, finally, you’re here.” He taps the arm of the chair he’s sitting on and glances at Leah. “I do believe this is your prize.”

I look at her. She tries to come near me but the man from security stops her.

“I didn’t want to gag her, but she wouldn’t keep quiet,” Elias adds.

Even now, she’s trying to tell me something, but her words only come out as garbled noises. I turn back to Elias.

“What happened here?”

He glances at Owen, who starts talking.

“I came here to see if the room was, um, available for some fun and found it already occupied by your prize… and another man.”

My hand clenches into a fist at my side.

“I thought at first that it was you. I was about to leave her alone, but I realized it was someone else and I became suspicious. After all, the last time we spoke, you told me not to lay a finger on her. I couldn’t help but think something wasn’t right, so I… um, interrupted them. The man left… quite unhappily.”

“Who was the man?” I demand to know.

Owen shrugs. “I’m sorry, but as much as you think I know everything and everyone, I don’t. Besides, I was more concerned about Leah.”

He looks at her. She glares at him.

“I asked her where you were,” Owen goes on. “She said she didn’t know. I told her I’d bring her home since it wasn’t safe for a prize to be alone tonight, but she told me to leave her alone. When I insisted, she had an outburst. As you can see, she attacked me.”

Owen touches the gash on his cheek. Leah makes even more noises through the gag.

Owen lets out a breath. “As you can see, she’s still quite enraged with me.”

Leah’s noises grow louder.

“Silence!” Elias commands her.

Then he turns to me. Disappointment brims in his eyes.

“I thought you had her under control.”

I thought so, too. I never thought she’d come here to the Ball all by herself.

“Clearly, she is not. She harmed a member of Ambrosia and she showed me no respect. So either you punish her right here and now or the Council will deal with her.”

Behind me, I hear Fiona gasp. Leah whimpers and shakes her head. A plea screams from her eyes. I can almost hear her asking me to save her, to show her mercy. But like she said, I can’t save everyone. And I can’t show her mercy now.

I’ve shown her patience and kindness and this is how she repays me. Enough is enough.

Besides, if I don’t deal with her, the Council will. I’m not letting that happen again.

Leah is my prize. She is mine. Mine to enjoy and mine to punish.

I meet Elias’s gaze. “I’ll do it.”

For a moment, he just looks into my eyes, his own stern, reminding me of my father. Then he glances at the guard.

He brings Leah forward, handing her over to me. She looks at me with that same plea. I grab her arm and pull her to the center of the room.

I stand behind her and grab the delicate fabric of her gown. I pull and the sound of ripping fabric fills the room.

I tear the dress off her so she’s just in her panties. She bows her head and bunches her arms together in front of her to cover her bare breasts.

So she wasn’t even wearing a bra.

My jaw clenches.

“Go down on all fours,” I order through gritted teeth.

She doesn’t move.

I grab her arm and whisper in her ear. “You brought this on yourself, Leah. Now you must face the consequences. And make no mistake, the more obstinate you remain, the harder they will be.”

She lets out what sounds like a soft whimper but obeys. She goes down on her hands and knees. Her head droops.

I take off my coat and hang it on the wall. Then I roll up my sleeves, kneel beside her, and bring my palm down between her firm butt cheeks. The smacking sound and Leah’s muffled cry hang in the air.

I hit her again. And again. Not enough to cause any long-lasting damage or harm the baby, just enough to inflict pain, to make her realize what she’s done wrong and dissuade her from ever doing it again.

This will be the last time she displeases me.

I pull the elastic waistband of her panties down past her hips. My palm cracks against the bare skin of one half of her ass. It blushes. I do the same with the other.