Page 39 of Temporary Vows

Because the only thing I can think of is Dorian.

My legs shake inside the six-inch heels as we move through a corridor that smells like perfume and something darker underneath.

After a few minutes, we stop outside a door.

“Your bidder is inside,” the handler says, like he’s telling me my coffee is ready.

I try to speak, but my mouth is dry.

I stare at the door, my stomach twisting so violently I feel it in my throat.

He opens it, and warm light spills into the corridor.

He nods for me to go in.

I do, moving like I’m walking through deep water.

The room looks like a hotel suite, except there’s no bed.

The door closes behind me with a soft, final click.

I walk deeper inside. And there he is.

Dorian stands near the window in the corner, jacket open, tie loosened.

My breath catches. My lungs lock. I stop midstride, staring at him like I’ve forgotten how to exist.

His gaze slides over me, slow and deliberate, landing on my face last.

Shame floods me, but I don’t look away.

He pushes off the window and walks toward me.

One step. Then another. Slow. Measured. Then he stops, and his eyes rake over me again.

The suite suddenly feels too small.

“I wonder. What should I ask you first? What the hell you’re doing here or why you thought selling your body in an auction at a sex club was a good idea?” He clenches his jaw, and a vicious glint flashes in his eyes.

The words hit hard, and tremors race down my spine.

My throat tightens. I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out—only breath.

“Well,” he prods, brows knitting.

“I needed the money.” I guess that’s the first true thing I’ve told him since he came crashing back into my life.

Saying you’re saving and that you actually need money are two different things.

His gaze pins me. “What for?”

“A loan.”

“What the fuck kind of loan would bring you to a place like this?”

I think of how I can answer him without looking as foolish and trusting as I did when I told Jack. “A really, really big one.”

His eyes blaze. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so angry before. “Go on. Tell me more about this really, really big loan.” He cocks his head and intensifies his stare.