AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The first woman steps beside the podium, smiling and waving like we’re at a pageant. Her midnight-blue, floor-length gown shimmers in the bright lights, drawing hungry gazes from the men around us.
Many of them adjust themselves in their seats, sitting on the edge with their auction paddles at the ready. And while I get that this is their way of raising funds to keep the town operating, I find this entire event nauseating.
Had my mother really been subjected to this kind of sport? Men of all ages salivating over her—placing bids on her like she was some kind of novelty?
Then again, if Thomas arranged for her to be married, and my parents had crossed paths here… Could that mean Dad had potentially saved her?
“One thousand,” a man twice the woman’s age shouts from the table beside us.
A counteroffer for two, then three thousand, sounds from the back before the auctioneer bangs the gavel. “Sold!”
On and on this goes until I can’t stand it any longer. I check my watch, preparing to let Sam know I’m leaving.
“Up next is Miss—oh, hold on a moment, folks,” the auctioneer says, leaning down to a woman who’s hurried onto the stage. “Looks like we’ve had a slight change in our lineup tonight. Everyone, please welcome Miss Molly Hart.”
I lean forward, watching as Molly walks disjointedly to the spot the last woman left. She’s ditched her overalls for a long sleeve black dress that hugs her body and bares the tops of her round, handful-sized breasts. Her legs, smooth and toned, draw my gaze.
As uncomfortable as she appears, she’s still got every man’s gaze trained on her, and I want to riot.
“Like what you see?” Wade drawls, noting my attention as Molly speaks with the auctioneer. “I bet scarface is a real freak in the sheets. What do you think, boys?”
Wade’s posse praises him with laughter, but I’ve met cocky fucks like him before. He’s the kind of man who makes a show of distracting his peers from his own insecurities. And the way he’s pointing like she’s some oddity for him and his buddies to gawk at instantly pisses me off.
Glancing back at her, I watch as she frantically tugs locks of hair free from her bun to cover the right side of her face.
The auctioneer approaches the microphone, listing things about Molly the same way he’s done for every woman before her, but there’s a note of mockery in his voice, riling the crowd up and deepening the scarlet blush spreading from her chest to her neck.
“Five dollars,” Wade shouts, earning a playful jab from the man beside him.
Molly’s eyes widen as the men surrounding us start to chuckle, and her arms fold across her middle as she takes a tentative step backward.
My molars grind when she twists on her heel, ready to bolt.
Fuck. This.
“Five hundred thousand,” I say evenly.
A hush falls over the room, and she halts, fists clenched at her sides.
“Half a million dollars? Are you insane?” Wade remarks snidely.
Something tells me a woman like Molly is priceless, and I want no chance of another man claiming her tonight.
“I-I…” the auctioneer stammers as he searches the crowd. “That’s quite the offer, sir, but only participants are allowed to bid.”
A hush falls over the room when dozens of heads whip my way in shock. Molly turns, halting the world altogether when her wild eyes clash with mine. An overwhelming sense of longing takes hold of me, damn near jerking me from my seat toward her.
I give a curt order to my cousin beside me, “Raise your paddle.”
“What? No. I don’t have that kind of money.”
“We’ll sort that out later,” I assure him. “Now, raise your goddamn paddle. I won’t ask you again.”
Noting the threat in my tone, he does as he’s told. “Five… hundred thousand,” he repeats.
Both Molly and the auctioneer appear stunned, but I get a perverse sense of pleasure from Wade’s seething as he sits back in his seat.
“Sold, to Mr. Radley, for five hundred thousand. If you’d like to transfer your bid, you can fill out the necessary paperwork after the auction.” He waves for Molly to exit the stage. “And that concludes the auction, folks…”
