Finally he was done, and disappointment shuddered through her body at the loss of his touch. She wondered if he’d brushed her hair to comfort her and calm her, but then he grasped her arm in his commanding grip and turned her around, all hints of gentleness gone.
He took one of her hands and pulled it behind her, and then he claimed the other one, pulling it as well until he held her wrists together at the small of her back. Rope scraped across her skin, abrading her flesh as he bound her hands.
When he was done, he left her for a moment and returned a mere second later. He carried a leather belt of sorts. It looked more like a tether or a leash, though the circlet was far too large for her neck. Her unspoken question was answered when he secured the belt around her waist.
There was a hook in the front that the lead attached to, and it was then she realized that he was going to guide her with the harness. His hand cupped her chin, and he forced her gaze upward to meet his.
“You will speak only to answer a direct question asked of you. You will respect my authority and that of the man who ultimately purchases you. There will be many men watching you, wanting to touch the flesh that they would bid on. I will be at your side to protect you, and you are to trust that I will not let anyone go too far.”
“Yes, Keeper,” she whispered.
“Good, then we are agreed.” He gave a slight tug on her leash as he started for the door. “It’s time,” he said, and she followed him with shaking knees.
CHAPTER 12
Her keeper led her down a darkened hallway lit only by sconces on the wall. There was a decidedly medieval feel to the house, and she wondered if it was always so or if Damon had arranged a more atmospheric setting for her fantasy. Surely not. He wouldn’t have had time for such a venture, nor would he waste that kind of money, would he?
A slight tug at her leash made her redirect her attention to her keeper as he mounted the wooden stairs. As they neared the top, she could hear muted sounds in the distance. The murmur of male voices.
Her breathing shallowed, and her limbs went tingly.
At the top of the stairs there was another hallway with doors on either side. At the end there was another door, this one open with light spilling into the hallway.
Her keeper walked toward that distant doorway, and she followed behind, her fingers in tight balls behind her back.
The voices grew louder as they neared the room. Her keeper paused just inside and turned back to her. He didn’t speak. He just eyed her calmly, as though he was giving her a chance to prepare for her entrance.
She glanced down self-consciously at her nudity as embarrassment crept slowly over her body.
Her head came back up as her keeper tugged, none too gently, at her chin. His eyes bore into her, his expression stern.
“Do not look shamed. You will hold your head high.”
“Yes, Keeper.”
He nodded his satisfaction and then turned, and with a slight tug on her leash, pulled her into the room.
There were at least thirty men assembled, gathered in small clumps, others standing alone. They held drinks, sipping idly as they conversed, and waiters circled the room with trays of hors d’oeuvres.
It all looked ultra-civilized.
Her keeper conveyed her farther into the room, and it was then that the men took notice of Serena. They made no effort to disguise the blatant interest in their stares.
Serena and her keeper circled in and out of the throngs of men. Hands touched and caressed, sliding over her arms, her hips and her breasts. There were murmurs of appreciation as well as more overt compliments coupled with lascivious stares.
As promised, her keeper stood solidly by her side and allowed no more than the idle touch or gentle caress. When one of the men slid his hand between her legs, her keeper was quick to pry the man’s hand away with a tersely worded warning.
Fingers touched her hair, separating the strands. It was all like a haze brought on by too much alcohol. Everything seemed in slow motion, like a dream world. She heard the men, heard their every lustful thought. Heard their promises, that if she were theirs, how they would pleasure her and take care of her every need.
As she and her keeper circled the room, lustful gazes followed in her wake. Such power made her heady when she should have already relinquished it. She had none. Or did she?
She hadn’t expected to actually feel when Damon walked into the room. It was merely a product of her fantasy, her overwrought imagination. But she did indeed feel the shift in the air, the sudden rise of tension.
She looked to the doorway and saw him standing there, his gaze arrogantly searching the room. For her.
Her breath left her, and she swayed unsteadily. Her keeper put a solicitous hand to the small of her back and murmured a command for her to stand straight.
Damon found her and their gazes locked. Smoldering awareness danced between them. It was nearly tangible in the air. The room was thick with it.
Arousal sparked in his dark eyes, and a slow smile carved his sensual mouth. He strode toward her, and the crowd parted, leaving his path to her unimpeded.
It was as if the words she’d penned had jumped from the pages. Every nuance, every detail that she’d painstakingly written had come to life at Damon’s hands. Which could only mean he’d carefully orchestrated every detail according to her e-mail. And that meant . . .
She swallowed and tried to calm her shaking nerves.
Damon stopped beside her keeper and murmured close to his ear. As she’d done in her fantasy, she strained to hear what Damon said, but her keeper pulled sharply at her leash. A reprimand.
She straightened and waited, though her entire body was strung so tight with anticipation that she feared breaking.
Damon came to stand in front of her and then reached out, cupping his hand behind her neck. The strands of her hair were wrapped around his knuckles, and he pulled her roughly to him, tilting her head so that she looked him straight in the eye.
Her neck was exposed to him, and she felt vulnerable standing there as he towered over her. There was a pleased look in his eyes, as if he found her satisfying.
Her pulse jumped and raced, for she knew what he would say as soon as his lips parted. They were close to hers, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath, smell the crisp mint on his tongue.
“You will be mine, Serena,” he said in a silky voice.
She trembled, her body alive with need and desire. Damon stepped away and melted into the crowd, and it was all she could do not to call him back, to beg him not to leave her even for a moment.
Her keeper pulled at her bound hands and she stumbled as he led her away. She looked back over her shoulder, searching frantically for Damon, but he was lost in the crowd of men who were pressing close in anticipation of the auction’s start.
In the distance she heard a man announce that the bidding would start. Her keeper turned her around and positioned her so that her body was displayed. His hands coaxed down her sides then around her abdomen and slowly glided upward until he cupped one breast in his palm. He ran his thumb over her taut nipple as the crowd urged him on.
Slowly he circled behind her, his hand still at her breast. He pressed in close, his chest molding to her back. She began to shake in earnest when his arms enfolded her and his hands molded both breasts, plumping them to their best advantage, showing each man what could be his if he was willing to pay a high enough price.
He tweaked her nipples, rolling them between his thumb and forefinger until they were tight and throbbing.
The bidding started and immediately, hands went up. For the first several minutes there was a flurry of bidding as the price increased. Then, as it grew higher, only a few men remained, each determined to outbid the other.