Page 18 of Taken by Moonlight

“Show ‘em some skin, Peyton,” Norm hissed from thesidelines.

Tempted to flip him the finger, I stood stiff, fists clenched, my lips compressed. Maybe I’d been pressured into this, but I wasn’t about to have Norm push me into baring itall.

The auctioneer was clever, good at his game. “Gentlemen, as you can see our blushing rose is quite shy. She will be yours for the night, exclusively yours to deflower and have your wicked way with her. You will be her first and she will never forgetyou.”

Okay a little purple prose. But at leastrefined.

Then the auctioneer droned on. “Imagine her quivering pussy snug against your cock. There’s nothing as tight as a virginal pussy,gentlemen.”

Refined, right. Quivering pussy? I’m not acat.

“Do I hear fivethousand?”

Someone must have raised their card because the auctioneer nodded. “Five thousand. Do I hearten?”

I glanced downward and saw Dante sitting front and center. His gaze met mine; calm, thoughtful, assessing. And then he took a blush pink rose from the centerpiece, inhaledit.

Stunned, I watched him leave the table and walk over the stage. He reached up, handing me therose.

“For the beautiful lady,” he said in a deep, distinctivevoice.

I wasbeautiful?

I glanced down at him. He rested his hand on the stage. “Don’t be scared, Peyton. You arebeautiful.”

Something flickered in his dark gaze. “I want you,” hemurmured.

Then he resumed hisseat.

The most powerful alpha wolf in the room wanted me. Me, Peyton with the wide hips and the humanblood.

Confidence filled me.I can dothis.

Dante resumed his seat, the glass of whiskey on the table. He and his betas looked at me, but not with the cynicism on the faces of the othermales.

Anticipation filled their expression as they leanedforward.

Lifting the rose to my mouth, I took a long whiff, letting the fragrance override allelse.

A bear shifter stood. I knew him. Had waited on him and his den mates in the club. Rodney stood seven feet tall, with cropped brown hair and golden eyes. His aura glowed gold with flashes ofcrimson.

Definitely I had something heliked.

“Hey honey, show us your best asset!” The bear shifterbellowed.

Screw this. I might be a virgin, but I wasn’t a shrinking violet. I could play thepart.

I clutched the rose between my teeth. Toying with the belt of the robe, I swung it and sashayed across the stage. Then I removed the rose from my mouth and waved it like a magickwand.

“Honey bear,” I sang back, “You really want to see my best asset? I’ll let you in on a secret about us psi females I’ll bet you never heardbefore.”

A hush draped over the room. You could hear the males breathing, staring at me as if I were about to divulge the most sexual secret about Skinfemales.

Leaning over, I said, “My biggest asset is tech stocks. They’re whitehot.”

Silence. Crickets. I wriggled a little, hoping to draw away the attention from my burningface.

And then a loud laugh broke out, from whom, I don’t know. It rippled through the crowd and the laughter erupted, along withapplause.