A limousine was waiting in front of the building, and the woman wielding the clipboard ran toward it now, clicking her high heels. I followed behind, struggling in the ten-inch stilettos I'd been told to wear for the auction. My heart was pounding as I stumbled, the woman waving me over impatiently. "Come on now, hurry! No dillydallying."
I managed to make it to the car, my heels slipping on the ice-covered road.
"Wish me luck," I muttered to the woman. In response, she merely gave me a you-do-not-amuse-me look, opened the door, and ushered me into the dark interior of the black limousine.
I got into the car, and the moment I sat down, the vehicle pulled away from the curb, making my heart race in expectation. The interior was all smooth, buttery black leather and tinted windows. I fumbled around for the seatbelt when the dark voice I'd remembered from the auction spoke up.
"Leave it."
I looked around, finally spotting a dark shape materializing in the seat opposite mine. We were separated by three feet of space, yet his presence still made me feel a chill right down to my bones.
"But, it's safer to... I just wanted—"
"Leave it," he repeated, firmer this time. "Quintus is a driver with decades of experience. We won't be in danger with him."
I nodded weakly before placing my hands in my lap, staring at the spot where the voice was coming from. He was still hidden in the shadows, but as we pulled out of the parking house attached to the auction building, his handsome profile came into view, rendering me speechless.
He was handsome. Dangerously handsome.
He didn't look at me, instead focusing his gaze on the cityscape of London as we drove away from it. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, though. I was mesmerized.
“Why did you want me to come with you right away?” I demanded.
“I saw you,” he answered simply. “I didn’t want to wait.”
“Are you…” I bit my lower lip. So many questions were on the tip of my tongue, yet I was too nervous to ask.
“Go ahead,” he encouraged me with a sly smirk.
“Are you going to hurt me?” I blurted out.
He pondered my question for a moment, before nodding once, saying, “Yes. But you’ll be rewarded handsomely for it.”
“The payment I’m getting is meager compared to what you paid,” I muttered.
“I’m not talking about that.” His voice was sexy, dark and dangerous. And it was doing things to my insides I didn’t want to admit.
“What then?”
“I’m talking about another offer, from me to you, Kitty.”
My skin prickled when he used my nickname for Le Cabaret. “Do we know each other?”
“We will soon,” he answered cryptically.
I reached over to the car door and opened it. He called out my nickname and lunged for me, dragging me back into the vehicle and slamming the door shut. My heart beat faster than ever as he held me in his arms.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I hissed.
“Saving you from your own stupidity,” he scoffed, letting go of me. I retreated to my seat, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. He buckled me in himself then, careful not to touch me as he slid the seatbelt over my body.
For the next few minutes, he allowed me to stare sullenly out of the window. I had so many more questions. I needed to know what he’d meant by the offer he mentioned.
"What is your offer?" My voice was shaky as I delivered the question.
"I knew you’d ask soon enough. Well, Kitty, I'm not an evil man," Grayson told me, a wicked smirk taking over his handsome face. "I am a cruel one. I am offering you half of the money I paid for you today.”
"Three hundred and seventy-five thousand?" I tried not to show my own shock as he nodded.
"That's right."
"What do I have to do for it?" Couture House was only paying me seventy-five thousand quid. It was breadcrumbs compared to the money this man was putting on the table.
"I don't want one night with you, Amicia." He reached forward, his fingers taking my chin and making me look up at him. My breath catches in my throat, waiting for his next words. "I want twenty-four of them."
"What d-do you mean?" I hadn't meant to stutter, but I was feeling weak in his presence.
"I want you to be my willing captive for twenty-four days, and twenty-four nights. You'll begin today, December first. By Christmas morning, you'll be free."
"And until then?"
"Until then..." His fingers moved down my neck, wrapping around my throat with firm pressure. "You do everything I tell you to do. You don't leave, not once, or you renounce your right to the money. You are mine. For twenty-four days."
I gasped as his fingers squeezed, making my mouth open and my eyes flutter as I stared up at him.