Page 11 of The Auction (The Black Ledger Billionaires #4)

T o say I’m pissed doesn’t even scrape the surface.

I’m a fucking inferno in a white button-down, barely keeping it together as I storm through The Ledger’s interior halls.

The Companions are taken backstage after their lots are over, tucked away in private rooms while their contracts are finalized.

Cassidy’s back there too.

But she’s not a Companion.

She’s not some woman trained to stand on a stage and auction off pieces of herself to the highest bidder. She’s not polished seduction or curated fantasy.

She’s Cassidy.

My Cass?—

I stop that thought cold.

Mine?

No.

Yes.

I don’t know.

She’s not mine, but she sure as hell isn’t theirs .

And not like this.

Not offering up her virginity to a crowd of champagne-soaked billionaires like it’s some kind of limited edition.

My stomach churns at the thought.

If I’d walked out earlier—if I’d not been curious to see what the big deal was on the last lot—some mother fucker, like Elijah, could’ve walked away with her.

Fucking Elijah. That smug little bastard with too much money and no conscience.

He would’ve bragged about it for the rest of his life.

Turned her into some story he’d retell to dinner guests with a smirk and a brandy.

I nearly choke on the idea, shoving past a server and barely register his startled noise. The poor guy trying to guide me toward the private suites looks like he’s debating pissing himself or running.

He fucking should.

I’m hanging on by threads.

The moment he points out the door, I don’t wait. I don’t knock. I push through like a storm, half expecting to find her crying. Ashamed. Scared.

But what I get instead?—

She whirls around the moment I burst in.

Hair wild. Dress glittering. Her eyes—fucking hell, her eyes—blazing with fury.

No fear. No apology.

Just fire.

And it’s aimed right at me.

Her shoulders are squared. That glittering red dress hugging her curves like temptation incarnate. But there’s nothing soft or seductive about her right now.

She’s furious. And so the fuck am I.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” I bark, stalking toward her. “What the hell were you doing on that stage?”

Cassidy crosses her arms, chin high. “Whatever I damn well please.”

“You were auctioning off your virginity, Cassidy!” My voice spikes, something wild and frantic clawing its way up my throat. “To a fucking room full of strangers.”

“And?” Her voice is deadly calm. “My body, my rules. I don’t have to explain myself to anyone—especially not you.”

I reel like she slapped me. She doesn’t back down. Doesn’t flinch.

I don’t know whether I want to shake her or lock her in a room and never let her out.

The door opens again, and Lucian walks in—with Eve right behind him.

Lucian barely steps into the room before I have him by the collar.

“You son of a bitch,” I snarl, slamming him back against the wall. “How could you let her go up there? She’s not one of your girls. She’s not a Companion.”

Lucian’s body hits hard, but he doesn’t even blink. His hand comes up fast and grabs my shirt in return, his eyes just as pissed as mine.

“She’s a grown fucking woman, Kane,” he grits out. “She walked in this morning. Signed the paperwork herself. This wasn’t some conspiracy. We didn’t even know you two were acquainted.”

“Acquainted?” I spit. “She’s?—”

I choke off the word. Mine. Mine in ways I can’t even explain.

Eve leans against the doorway with a drink in hand like she’s watching pay-per-view. “This is so much better than last year’s auction.”

“Cancel the contract,” I growl, still staring Lucian down.

“Don’t you dare,” Cassidy snaps.

I whip around to her, stunned.

She steps forward. “If he’s not paying, then put me back up there. Or give it to the last bidder.”

“The fuck you will,” I bark, eyes wide. I bend at the knee to get closer to her eye level, trying to make her see me. “Cass, are you out of your damn mind? Do you even hear yourself right now?”

She stares me down like she’s not scared of the monster I feel like. “Are you? You look like a goddamn maniac.”

Eve nods. “He does look incredibly caffeinated.”

I glare at her. “No. You’re my friend. You take my side.”

Eve shrugs with a smirk. “Chicks before dicks, my guy. If it’s a man against a woman, I’m on her side every time.”

“What the fuck.” I blink at her.

“I appreciate female rage.” She finished with a close-lipped smile that's not actually friendly.

“Lucian,” Cassidy snaps. “Put me back up there. This is my choice, not his.”

Something in me breaks.

“Fine,” I grit out, pulling my phone from my pocket. “We’re fucking doing this.”

I open the payment portal and hammer the numbers in, punching the screen like it insulted my mother. A second later, the phone dings.

“Paid. A billion-dollar contract.”

Cassidy plants her hands on her hips, unbothered and smug. “One billion, two hundred and thirty-three dollars and seventy-four cents… to be exact.”

Eve chokes on a laugh.

Lucian doesn’t smile. But his mouth twitches. Close enough that I want to fucking slap him.

I jab a finger at Cassidy. “Oh, you’re so fucking funny, aren’t you?”

“Sometimes,” she says sweetly. “When a maniac isn’t breathing down my back.”

My fists clench. My jaw aches.

“Does your brother know about this?”

Her smile doesn’t fade. If anything, it sharpens.

“What do you think?” she asks, voice silk and sin. “You wanna be the one to tell him?”

I stare at her, breath locked in my chest.

She takes a slow step closer, eyes burning into mine, daring me.

“Tell him you bought his little sister’s virginity?”

Eve lets out a low whistle. “Oh, this is getting juicier.”

“You’re not helping,” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair.

Cassidy stands across from me, arms crossed, lips set in a hard line. She’s not backing down. She never does.

Goddamn her for being so fucking stubborn.

“Is it money? Is that what this was all about?”

Because if she needed it—really needed it—she could’ve just come to me. I’d give her anything. All she had to do was ask. But instead, she walked into this world, put herself on that stage, and gave every man in that room a chance to bid on what never should’ve been up for sale.

And still… she won’t tell me why.

She doesn’t owe me that. I know she doesn’t. But it doesn’t stop the anger from curling around my ribs like barbed wire.

“It’s my prerogative.” She answers plainly.

It’s always like this with us—two storm fronts waiting to see which one will break first.

So fine.

She wants to play by the rules? Then I’ll give her rules.

I bought the contract. I’ll honor it. Every single line. Every stipulation. Let’s see if she’s ready for what that actually means.

I take a step closer, lowering my voice. “You ready to give yourself to me, Cricket? Because that’s what this is now. No more hiding behind bravado. You signed the paper. And now you belong to me.”

Eve shifts her weight with a smirk. “Well, this turned awkward fast.”

She punches something on the control panel mounted to the desk. The contract lights up on the TV screen above it, crisp and glaring.

“We need to set a duration,” she says. “The contract requires a mutually agreed end date.”

“Ninety days,” I say without hesitation.

Cassidy lifts her chin. “A month.”

My jaw tightens. “Why a month?”

“Stop with the fucking questions.” she says flatly. “One month.”

She’s pushing me—again. Always testing, always drawing a new line in the sand, and daring me to cross it. It’s infuriating how calm she is, how easy she makes it look to stand there and act like I didn’t just spend the last half hour watching men try to buy her.

I hold her stare, jaw locked, breath tight. I didn’t even know what I was going to say until the words flew out of my mouth.

“Move in with me.”

Her head snaps toward me. “What? I can’t move in with you.”

“Then it’s ninety days.”

She hesitates, eyes darting like she’s searching for an escape hatch. But there isn’t one. Not anymore.

“Move in with me,” I say again, low and firm. “And I’ll agree to a month.”

I can already see the battle happening behind her eyes. The calculation. The tension. But I also see the moment she realizes she doesn’t have another move.

She exhales slowly. “Fine.”

My grin is slow and sharp as I step into her. Taking up the space in front of her so she either has to step back or hold her ground.

She doesn’t budge.

I lower my mouth close to her ear, smelling her perfume and letting my exhale tickle her neck and whisper, “Good girl.”

Cassidy stiffens, and I feel the pull in my gut that only she ever causes. This tension—this fire—it’s not going anywhere. Not now.

I turn to Eve. “Update the contract. Thirty days. She moves in tomorrow.”

Eve looks at Cassidy. She pauses a beat before sealing her fate and nodding in agreement.

The traitor, who used to be my friend, starts tapping the tablet again. Lucian watches in silence from the back wall, arms crossed like he’s just here to make sure no one sets the room on fire.

Too fucking late for that.

I glance back at Cassidy. Her chin’s still high. Her jaw tight.

But I can see that flicker in her eyes.

She thinks she’s won. That she still has control.

Poor thing.

She doesn’t realize yet—I already own her.

And I plan to make sure she feels it.

Every single day. Over every inch of her body.

I’m still standing way too close for this to be considered cordial, but I give her one more lingering look before I take a step back.

“See you in the morning, Cricket.” I wink and see that fire light back up. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you–” I let my eyes run down the seductive curves of her body, “so much better.”