The Auction (Down and
Dirty)
By: J.R. Gray
Genre: BDSM Romance
Publisher: All Romance eBooks
Date of Publication: 12/1/2016
ISBN: 978-1-945193-83-5
ASIN: B01N06JT1R
Word Count: 30000
Cover Artist: Erin Dameron Hill
One night changes everything.
Stark is too old to be selling himself,
or his services. He’s too set in his ways, too piled in grief, and well...it’s
been too long. But when your best friend is a big demanding drag queen, and
hosting the event, it’s impossible to say no. It's one night, he convinces
himself, and then he can get back to his reclusive life.
Scotty can handle the club for one night.
It’s Christmas Eve after all, and the auction is for charity. If she saw her ex
she could deal with it, she hoped and it wasn’t like she had to bid on anyone.
But when she comes back from the bar she finds her best friend had other plans,
and now she has a date with a mysterious dominant.
“We are going to be
late, and I won’t get a good one.” Cheri linked her arm through Scotty’s,
forcing her to pick up her pace.
“I was ready at nine.
You just had to try on four pairs of my shoes,” Scotty replied.
“You have better taste
in shoes than anyone else on the planet.”
“Because it used to be
the only thing I wore.” Scotty gave her a look, ignoring the pain in her heels.
Shoes were pain. A pain she used to like. Now it was a stark reminder. But
everything was a reminder.
“Well, now you’re a big
shot lawyer, and clothes are required.”
“But I like kicking ass,
so it’s an equal trade-off.”
Cheri rolled her eyes
and turned into the alley. This was a frequent trek for them while Scotty had
been in law school, not so much in the last few years.
“Are you going to be okay
if we see her?” Cheri asked.
Scotty didn’t meet her
eyes. “I’ll be fine.”
A sinewy naked man
greeted them at the door and collected their coats. They were long past showing
their keys, getting a rundown of the rules, or being briefed on the night’s events.
Cheri was still a regular, even if Scotty wasn’t. They were handed a menu of
sorts. A heavy black card with a bold silver typeface, it was more like
something seen at high dollar weddings, not a BDSM club.
“Good, because I know
she’s on the menu for tonight.”
Scotty wrinkled her
nose. She didn’t want to hear about it. She was blocked from Scotty’s mind,
mostly. There was still the errant dream, but those could be written off to
nothing more than job stress. She just hoped they wouldn’t last forever.
“I don’t care. The
moratorium stands.”
Cheri held up her hands.
“I thought you’d want to be briefed.”
Scotty took a deep
breath and wrote it off. Cheri usually meant well, even if she did love gossip.
Cheri probably knew more about Tanya’s sex life than Scotty ever had, and she
was more than okay with it.
“Not necessary. It’s
been years.” More than that since she’d stepped foot in here. It felt the same
and yet different as they trudged up the well-worn metal stairs. Relationships
don’t just end. They sink long before, she’d learned, and once trained to see
the signs, it was easy to see when they started taking on water. It had been at
least six months before the relationship ended that they’d stopped coming to
the club. Or rather, Scotty’d stopped coming.
“If you say so.” Cheri
took a left before the long hall of private rooms, taking them to the main play
space and right up to the bar. “Two gin and tonics.” She looked at Scotty, who
nodded. “Let’s grab seats in the back and peruse our options.”
“I’m only here for moral
support.” And because Cheri had dragged her out, but Scotty wasn’t going to say
as much. She took her drink from the bartender. It was one of the few nights of
the year the bar was completely open, as there wasn’t going to be any play.
“And because you had
nothing better to do on Christmas Eve?”
“Rub it in.” Scotty took
a seat with her back to the wall. At least Tanya wouldn’t be able to sneak up
on her that way. Who was Scotty kidding, she was backstage. She shouldn’t be
this on edge. Tanya wouldn’t be down here.
Cheri set down her menu
and brushed her fingers over the elegant silver inlay. “They went all out this
year.”
It was true, the place
was decorated to the nines. Mistletoe, garlands, and sprigs of pine garnished
every surface. They even had a centerpiece on each table with two little
candles. The lights were down low, and it gave the club a romantic air than it
usually had with slapping flesh and normal spotlights usually allowed.
“Since people like us
don’t have family to spend the holidays with, maybe they figured it would be
nice.”
Cheri knit her brow, but
she knew she was one of the lucky ones. She’d been raised in the city, and her
parents were all welcoming when it came to her sexuality. They’d probably even
be okay with the Domme stuff, if they didn’t already know. “Sure you don’t want
to come to dinner tomorrow? My parents would love to see you.”
“As much as I love
playing the role of your girlfriend.” Which she had for a few years, while they
were both in undergrad. “I don’t want to keep intruding. They are going to
start asking why you’re not popping the question.”
“We are much better as
friends.” Cheri wiggled her brows, making Scotty laugh.
Cheri was the one who’d
introduced her to the club, but things between them had only ever been casual
play, and even that had ended when Tanya came around.
“We are. Now look here.
There are five Dommes up for auction tonight. Five.” Cheri was practically
bouncing in her seat.
“What?” Scotty made
herself skim over her ex’s name, reading the bios of the other Dommes listed
for auction. “No shit. It has been awhile since I’ve been around, hasn’t it? I
didn’t think there were that many Dommes who played here.”
“Have I not been trying
to get you to come play?”
“How do the Dominants
look?” Scotty ran her finger along the other side, checking out the penises.
Cheri winkled her nose.
“Are you serious?”
“You may be a confirmed
lesbian, but you know I’m bi. I want to see what’s on offer.” In reality,
nothing jumped out at her, but it was easier to look at the dick side of the
menu so she didn’t have to see Tanya’s name. She could read the entire thing
without getting sick to her stomach.
“I really thought you
got that out of your system.” Cheri laughed. She loved to give Scotty a hard time,
but Scotty never took it personally.
“So, who are you bidding
on?”
“I don’t know.” She
didn’t plan on bidding at all. The number she’d been given at the door was
going to stay firmly on the table.
“Pick at least two.”
Cheri flipped the menu back to the female side and pointed. “I’m not taking no
for an answer. I want Tanya to see you putting yourself back out there. She’s
fucked every sub who’s walked in the door since you.”
Scotty groaned and probably
turned a little green.
“Don’t take it hard. You
had to have assumed.”
Scotty looked at her
drink.
“You thought she was
pining after you like you have been her?”
She shrugged one
shoulder. “She could realize any day what a mistake she made.”
Cheri put a hand on her
arm. “She made a huge mistake, but her way of dealing with it is drowning in
pussy, and you should take a note on that.”
Cheri didn’t mean it,
but her words were like a knife to an old wound in Scotty’s chest. She was such
a fucking idiot for still caring.
“Can we not?” The plea
in her voice gave her away. It was too easy to slip back into that mindset.
This was why she’d buried herself in her job. It was easier.
“Of course.” She could
hear the frown in Cheri’s voice without looking at her.
“It’s going to start.”
Scotty took a drink and sat back. “Tell me who you’re bidding on.” She moved
her gaze to the submissive list on the female side of the card.
“I was thinking of
bidding on Blue.” Cheri pointed to a name, and Scotty obliged her by reading
the bio. They were similar to the weird things people put on dating sites.
Along the lines of long walks on the beach, only more personalized. Blue’s
started with her favorite breakfast cereal.
Scotty shook her head.
“She’s right up your alley.”
“If not her, there are a
couple after I’m willing to drop cash on. Now tell me your picks.”
Scotty sighed and
flipped over to the male side again. She couldn’t even stomach looking at the
names near Tanya. “How about Alexander?”
“He’s no Tarzan.” Cheri
scoffed after reading his bio.
“Have you met him?”
Cheri gave her a look.
It was her signature “he’s way overrated” look.
“That bad?”
“Yep.” She sighed and
flipped over her own list. “I can’t believe I’m being forced to look at the
beefcakes.”
“They can’t all be bad.”
Scotty was secretly hoping they were all bad, then maybe she could get off
without bidding.
“There are a few
tolerable ones, and a couple I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to play it by
ear.”
Her words were music to
Scotty’s ear. “Sounds good.”
“Oh, no. No, no, no.
Don’t you dare.”
“What?” Scotty was
confused.
“This is for charity so
you must spend some of your nest egg, and you have got to stop avoiding dating.
Tanya is a jackass, but you love submitting. Don’t let her take that away from
you.”
She nodded and was saved
by the lights going dim.
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J.R. Gray, when not staying up all night
writing, can be found basking in the warm glow of the Miami sun, or at the gym
where it’s half assumed Gray is a permanent resident. A dominant, pilot, and
sword fighting enthusiast, Gray finds it hard to be in the passenger seat of
any car. Gray frequently interrupts real life, including normal sleep patterns,
to jot down nonsense. The bane of Gray’s existence are commas, and even though
it’s been fully acknowledged they are necessary, they continue to baffle and
bewilder.
If Gray wasn’t writing…well, that’s not
possible. The buildup of untold stories would haunt Gray into an early grave or
possibly a mental institution where the tales would end up on the walls in
crayon and finger paint.
J.R. Gray is Gender Queer and prefers
He/Him/His pronouns.
For more information on other books by
J.R., visit his website:
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