I cleared my throat, stepping forward, my eyes locked onto her.
“Nice clothes.” Erik grinned, obviously also taken by how amazing she looked.
“You picked ‘em.” She smiled back.
Her eyes darted to Oliver, and her face reddened.
I grinned wolfishly — yeah, I knew what happened in her room earlier this afternoon. Oliver had told us of course. And as I said, I wasn’t a jealous type. But Jesus, Oliver taking her anal virginity?
I shook my head; a man was allowed some jealousy.
“Why don’t you sit,” I said quietly, gesturing to the couch by one of the floor-to-ceiling shelves full of old books.
She nodded stepping past all of us, and I swear her breath caught as she did. She took a seat in the middle of the couch, smoothing her skirt down. Erik sat to one side of her, while Oliver took a seat in his favorite wing-backed chair across from the couch. Me, I just stood, arms crossed.
“You need to know about the other night — about us…” Oliver looked down, trailing off.
“About us buying you,” I growled.
She looked up, eyeing me. “What is that place?”
“It’s what you think it is,” I spoke evenly. “It’s a place for men like us — men with means and with certain, I guess you could say tastes to buy what we need.”
“Girls.”
I nodded, watching that fire roar behind her eyes.
I could have sugar coated it, but I wasn’t going to. Because Mia struck me as the type to want things straight and honest.
“Yes,” I said evenly. “To buy women.”
Her jaw tightened, but I held a finger up.
“But, it’s not what you think it is.”
“Enlighten me how that could possibly be,” she hissed.
“It used to be different,” Erik said quietly. “Look, there are women to whom the idea of being auctioned to a man of means, and to be controlled and disciplined is quite appealing.” He raised a brow at her. “Apparently, some women don’t know they like having the control taken from them until they experience it.”
She blushed, and he grinned.
“The Auction House used to be different,” Oliver tapped his fingertips together. “It used to be, well, consensual.”
Her brows perked up.
“It was a show of a sorts — a stage. Yes, there was an exchange of money, and we’d go home with a woman—”
I noticed Mia’s face glower with jealousy, and I smiled to myself at the flash of emotion there.
Oliver continued.
“It was all a façade, because the whole thing was two willing parties. But things changed. Power shifted in the upper parts of the world we belong to, and—”
“And what world is that?”
“The criminal one.”
Again, I wasn’t going to sugar coat for her.
Mia’s eyes went wide, her lips tight.
“Nothing sinister,” I said. “No murder or mayhem or any of that. We sell arms.”
She barked out a laugh. “Oh, nothing sinister at all.” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“No, not—” I shook my head. “Not to the streets, or kids or shit like that.”
“To who then?”
I shrugged. “To who the US Government can’t be seen selling guns to. And they pay us handsomely for it.”
“So what changed?” she said quietly. “With the…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “The Auction House,” she said icily.
“Cunningham,” Erik spat. “Ryan, the man who dragged you there, and his father Johnson. Power shifted, they took over, and they also took over the Auction House, and that’s when things went bad.”
“Things stopped being consensual,” Oliver muttered. “At first we didn’t realize — we’d go and the girls would just be extra…I don’t know, like they were better at playing the role. It set off an alarm with us though, and we stopped going.” He gave her a hard look as she scowled. “No one else besides you has come home with us after the change, Mia.”
She managed a small smile at the floor.
“And then, something happened,” Erik said gruffly. “Something we couldn’t ignore anymore.”
Mia frowned. “What?”
“Amy,” I said quietly.
My two friends looked at me before glancing away. Mia seemed to sense the sudden cloud in the room, and her face fell.
“Who is she?”
“Was.” I looked away, glancing out the window at the trees and gardens of our estate.
“I’m so sorry,” Mia whispered from behind me.
“We came up in the foster system,” Erik said slowly. “The three of us coming up together. We were always bickering, always fighting each other.” He smiled and shook his head. “Then we met Amy, at one of our new foster houses. She was a little younger than us, a tiny little thing, but it was like she was the missing piece for all of us. She was the calming factor, the one that got us to stop getting at each other. Basically, she was the sister we never had — a kid sister for all three of us to care for and watch out for.”
Erik’s shoulders slumped as he slowly shook his head, his hand clenching on the arm of the couch next to him.
“We stayed together after that, through growing up, through getting out of the foster system, through us building our fortunes, all of it. Amy did her own thing though. She was off on her own a lot, sometimes in with the wrong crowds. But we were always there to protect her, and keep her safe.”
“Until we weren’t,” I whispered bitterly.
Oliver pushed his fingers through his hair. “We don’t know how it happened, but she was taken, sort of like how you were, and brought to the Auction House against her will. We weren’t there, of course, but we heard about it later.”
“Did you save—”
“No,” I husked out, “No we didn’t. Ryan got her that night.”
My voice sounded like it was coming from outside my body, my heart shattering like it always did when I thought of Amy.
“He took her home, he beat her senseless, he forced himself on her—”
My voice broke, and I watched Mia’s hands fly to her mouth.
“She died that night,” I said coldly. “He killed her.”
Silence took over the room, until Oliver finally spoke.
“After that, we had a new mission,” he said quietly. “After that, it was about getting back into the Auction House scene, putting things in place, getting Ryan to slip up, and making a move.”
“What’s the move,” Mia said in a hushed voiced.
I took a deep breath, leveling my eyes at her. “To burn him, his father, and everything they have to the fucking ground, and then sweep away the ashes.”
16
Erik
The room was quiet for a minute after that, Mia just shaking her head in the silence.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“It is what it is,” Ash growled, looking away.
“Thats awful.”
We were quiet another minute before I spoke. “We aren’t telling you this to bring you down or anything, Mia. We wanted to tell you because we need you to know why you’re here — why you’re really here. We couldn’t let Ryan do to you what he did to Amy, or any of the other girls he’s hurt.”
“So you bought me.”
I grinned, shrugging. “Yep.”
“Just…because?”
The three of us glanced at each other before I turned back to her. “We’d have bought anyone we saw that night to save them from Ryan, you need to know that. But…”
She glanced up into my face.
“But you were different.”
Mia blushed, swallowing quickly.
“You—” I shook my head. “You do something to us, Mia. You walked into the club the other day and you just… fuck, I don’t even know. You make something click in us we’ve never felt before.”
Her brow shot up, her soft lips parting slowly.
“We all
feel it,” Oliver spoke. “So that’s why it was hard taking you here. Because yes, we wanted to save you, but there’s also some things ingrained in us about women from the auction. Bringing you here was confusing for a moment.”
She smiled, looking down. “Seems we worked through that confusion.”
Ash chuckled darkly. “Apparently we did.”
Mia laughed nervously before shaking her head. “God, I— look I didn’t mean to do anything to get between the three of—”
We all chuckled at once, and she looked up sharply, frowning.
“Mia,” Oliver shook his head. “There’s no coming between us.”
I snorted, and though Oliver and Ash shot me a look at the dirty humor, Mia looked up and laughed.
My kinda girl.
I grinned. “What Oliver means is, no, you’d didn’t break anything with us.”
“So, what now?”
Ash nodded. “Now, ideally, you stay here until we can make a move on the Cunninghams.”
She balked. “And how long is that?”
“I don’t know, but it’s the only way you’ll be safe.”
“I have friends, and family—”
“They’re safe,” I said evenly. She looked at me and I met her eyes. “We’ve got people watching them.”
“Can I call them say least? Let them know I’m alive?”
Ash, Oliver, and I exchanged looks before I cleared my throat. “They think you got pulled away for job training. It’s remote, so no cell phones and all that.”
She stared at us.
“If they thought you’d been kidnapped, they’d be in much more danger of reprisal from Ryan,” Ash said evenly.
“So, yes,” Oliver nodded. “We’ll make arrangements. Ryan and Johnson are watching them too, so it’s tricky, but I swear we’ll make it happen. Soon.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
“So I just stay here, locked in your tower?”
I smiled. “You make us sound like evil beasts or something.”
“Aren’t you?”
I glanced back, holding her look. “Aren’t we what? Evil, or beasts?”
“Either,” she said quietly.
“Not the first one,” I said evenly, my gaze leveling at her. “The second one though, maybe.”
She bit her lip, her cheeks reddening.
“You’re welcomed to stay here — actually, we’d like you to stay here, at least until this is worked out.
She nodded at Oliver's words. “And at what times will I be expected to get back to my room so you can lock me in?” her brow arched sarcastically.
I grinned.
I’m not used to a girl with this kind of sass, that’s for sure. The women we’d had over the years tended to be FAR more…I don’t know, more willing to do as we said. And yes, when it came to domming a woman, you wanted that. When it came to having a conversation though, and being with a woman in a capacity outside the bedroom, it got old.
There was something refreshing about Mia’s ability to talk back, and I liked it.
Of course, in the bedroom?
Well, in the bedroom, she could be damn sure we’d strip her of that sass-back. In the bedroom, we’d have her begging to submit — on her knees, dripping wet, the word “sir” breathed across her lips.
My cock pulsed between my legs at the thought.
“I think it’s fair to say you won’t be locked in your room,” Oliver said with a dark smile. “Free range of the house, provided you stay inside of it. The house is alarmed and basically a fortress, but I can’t offer the same protection once you step outside.”
She nodded.
She bit her lip, and I felt myself growl, slowly losing my ability to keep my mind off of taking her and making her ours. I glanced at my two friends and saw the exact same look in their eyes as well.
Keeping Mia Thorne here would keep her safe.
But keeping her here meant she’d be ours — there was no denying that.
“Well, and I suppose I’ll have to keep sleeping with you to earn my keep.”
She said it as a joke — a completely light-hearted, sarcastic little quip.
…The room immediately got quiet, and I could see the blush creep up in her cheeks. I watched as her chest rose and fell with her breath, her hands nervously twisting in her lap.
Yeah, not a joke. Not with the chemistry and the barely contained desires floating around that room. And very quickly, that “joke” was starting to feel a whole lot more like an invitation.
“Being here with us like this, and if we continue what we’ve started…” Oliver trailed off, his eyes drinking her in as she blushed. “It might entail certain things.”
“Like?”
“Like submission,” Ash said darkly.
Mia gasped, swallowing quickly as the heat rose in her cheeks. Ash moved to sit on the couch on her other side, and even Oliver landed closer to her from his chair.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t feel what we all felt,” Ash whispered darkly. His hand landed on her knee, and she shivered. “When you were us, or with Oliver, you know you felt something you’ve never felt before when we took charge — when we dominated you.”
She moaned quietly, her eyes wide as she nodded slowly. “I— maybe,” she breathed. She shook her head. “This whole dom thing, and the whole being submissive stuff, I—” Her eyes darted to all three of us. “I mean, I’ve never—”
“But you’re dying to feel it again, aren’t you?” I husked into her ear, moving closer and putting my hand on her other knee.
She whimpered, her breath coming shaky.
“And you’re dying to see how it feels to completely let go with all three of us, and let us take you places you’ve never even imagined.”
Her eyes fluttered shut, and her lip caught between her teeth.
“Say yes,” Ash growled into her neck, his hand sliding up and down her thigh as her breathing got heavier and heavier. “Say yes, give us the control, and let us show you how good submitting can make you feel.”
The room got still again. Mia’s chest rose and fell with her breath, and her big blue eyes slowly moved between all three of us. I could see how badly she wanted to say yes. I could see the war there behind her eyes, the fear of letting go clashing with the raw desire to embrace that darkness.
Ash’s hand lingered on her leg, and mine did the same on the other, teasing across her knee and tracing up her thigh. We moved closer, the heat of the three of us enveloping her as her eyes moved faster and her breath came quicker.
“I want you to be our good girl,” I growled into her ear, my lips teasing her skin.
Her breath caught loudly, and she whimpered.
“Yes.”
The three of us groaned as we moved in, and she gasped as my lips pressed on one side of her neck, Ash’s on the other, Oliver, leaning in to claim her lips.
17
Mia
“Now be a good girl and stand for us,” Erik whispered in my ear as they broke away from the scorching kiss — if you could even call three gorgeous men kissing your lips and your neck all at once just a “kiss.”
I nodded, feeling the forbidden heat course through my body as I stood on shaky legs. Oliver led me a few steps from the couch before he slipped something from his back pocket.
I gasped.
It was a blindfold.
“Put this on, pet,” he whispered into my ear as he slipped it over my head. Darkness covered my eyes, and I felt my breath catch as his fingers traced back over my cheek. I felt Oliver move back away from me.
“Strip,” Ash growled lowly, making my pulse thump in my chest. “Do it slowly.”
I nodded, trembling with nervousness, and fear, and excitement as I reached up and began to unbutton my blouse.
Slowly.
The garment came away, and I shrugged it off my shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. I could hear them groan quietly as I reached back and undid the elegant black bra,
and I took a deep breath before I shivered as I let that drop as well.”
“Good girl,” Erik whispered darkly, making my nipples stand out hard and erect and my skin tingle. I could feel their gazes on me, burning into me. And the lack of being able to see them made it even hotter.
My hands dropped to my skirt, pulling the zipper down at the back.
“Come here, angel,” Oliver said softly. I panted, stepping forward until I swear I could feel them inches away from me.
“Turn around.”
I moaned softly, slowly turning in front of them. I pulled on the zipper, arching my back slightly as I slid it down over my ass. I shimmied my hips as I slid the skirt down over them, and I heard all three of them growl as my ass was exposed to them.
I shivered, standing there in just my heels, my thigh-highs, the lace black thong, and my blindfold — in front of three powerful, dominant men who wanted to devour me whole.
My pussy throbbed with heat as I slid my fingertips into the waist of my thong and started to pull it down.
“Bend over,” Erik husked out, his hand teasing up my spine and making me whimper.
I did as I was told, bending at the waist as I slowly pulled my panties down.
The men growled behind me — loudly.
I gasped as hands slid over my skin, teasing over my ass and down my thighs. I whimpered as one of the hands drew up the inside of one leg, moving high before pulling away just shy of touching my pussy.
I could hear them standing, and I moaned again at the sounds of belts being loosened, and shirts being taken off. Hands slid over my back, raising me up to a full standing position. My arms were pulled behind my back, and the feel of silk slid over my skin as something tied around my wrists, keeping them there.
“Be a good girl. Open your mouth.”
It was Erik. I did as I was told, feeling my pulse run hot in my veins as the shiver teased its way through my body.
I opened my mouth.
“Good girl,” he growled from behind me, much closer to my ear than he’d been before.
I gasped.
I could feel their presence in the room — could feel the power they exuded as they circled me like sharks.