Page 34 of The Auction
They’re a bit more carnal in nature…
What the hell does that mean?
Are people selling…themselves?
And he said “the uber-rich.”
If that’s true… this might be exactly what I need. Because I may not have money, power, or connections. But Idohave one thing of value.
And I’ve been looking for the right person to give it to for weeks now.
Maybe this is my saving grace.
A soft whinny cuts through the dark, and I turn toward the stables.
Saving Grace. Our other champion. The one pregnant with Dominion’s foal. The one I named when I was ten, believing in signs and fairy tales.
She kicks once, like punctuation.
My smile is faint, but real.
Maybe itisfate.
And Jaxon won’t be there. He said so himself. And with my brother gone, this is sounding more perfect by the second.
As I step into the house and close the door behind me, Jaxon’s taillights disappear down the road like the last flicker of a warning I’m going to ignore.
I don’t know what this Black Ledger auction is but by morning, I will.
Why I got dragged out to this thing is beyond me.
No, that’s a lie.
I know exactly why I’m here.
Lucian Vale called me personally.
WhentheLucian Vale—owner of The Black Ledger, Lord of Brooding Billionaires, Destroyer of Joy—puts your name on speed dial, you don’t ignore his calls. Especially not when you’re the one who promised his precious auction tech would run so smooth it could seduce a nun.
Which, to be fair, it does.
I didn’t just upgrade his systems—I rebuilt the whole damn thing from the ground up. Security, encryption, tracking protocols for the Companions, client filters, hidden backdoor logs for safety. He wanted seamless. I gave him bulletproof. Hell, I even launched a custom app this year—sleek, anonymous, and sinful as hell—to showcase theverysultry items up for bidding tonight.
And when The Black Ledger auctions something, it’s never simple.
It’s experience, indulgence, fantasy.
And the ultra-wealthy eat it up. They pay, beg, donate to get on the guest list. Every year, the auction grows more exclusive, more excessive, more… debauched.
This year it’s being held on one of The Black Ledger’s skyscraper balconies. The kind of balcony that makes OSHA weep—half a football field long, lined with fire features and plush seating, the kind of lighting that makes everyone look like sex, and not a single expense spared.
The champagne flows like water, the DJ is working the crowd into a slow, rhythmic frenzy, and the air itself feels charged—like everyone’s teetering on the edge of something wicked.
The Ledger Girls are out in force tonight—every last one of them wrapped in that signature shade of Ledger red. Some draped in silk, others in velvet or lace. They're mingling with the bidders, giving them a taste before the bidding even starts. A whisper of what could be theirs—for the right price.
And Eve is up on the block again.
She is every year.
