I held my breath after giving the excuse, praying Mr. York didn’t know anything about how estates worked or why I really wanted the time off.
“Fine,” he huffed after a pause that nearly stopped my heart. “You can have the weekend off. “But I’ll have to give you Jordi’s Thursday shift if I’m going to put him in one of your weekend spots. Allen’s, too.”
“I’m good with that,” I said relaxing again. “Whatever you need. It’s just that I have to have that weekend off.”
Mr. York snorted. “You omegas. You’re all the same. You were born to serve. I don’t know why so many people are out there fighting for your rights when you’re clearly happier being bossed around.”
He turned and walked away, shaking his head. Part of me wanted to yell at him for putting omegas down. We were capable of anything and everything betas and alphas could do. The anti-omega prejudice was so old-fashioned it was laughable. But on the other hand, wasn’t that the one thing I wanted more than anything else? Some alpha taking care of me and telling me what to do so I didn’t have to make my own decisions? Wasn’t that exactly the sort of life I was flirting with throwing myself into?
I went back to restocking shelves, a hard and heavy knot settling in my gut. I just wanted to not think for a while. Was that so much to ask? That was the entire reason I had jumped at the DFC’s omega auction, why I’d gone into their office to fill out the form. I mean, I could have filled out the form online, like most people did, but I didn’t own a computer, and using the library computer to fill out a form about my kinky sex preferences was just a huge no.
Honestly, I wanted to get a taste for what it would be like if I sold myself in earnest. I needed to sample what it would be like to have an alpha buy me and own me. It wasn’t just a fun weekend sex game for me. The omega auction would be an audition. It would be a test for the life I could have if I agreed to the terms Rick Deluca had spelled out for me. If everything went well at the auction weekend and I decided I could tolerate that sort of life for real, I would give Rick a call on the Monday morning after the event and kiss my old, tired life goodbye.
IfI was accepted for the auction. From what I heard, only a fraction of the people who applied were accepted, and that was based on compatibility with a play partner. I’d applied in the summer, a month after Papa died, and been turned down.
“Seriously, I’m worried about you,” Amy surprised me when I looked up from restocking a bunch of pots from the garden section that someone had decided at the last minute not to buy.
“Shit, Amy,” I gulped, standing. “Let me know when you’re about to say something next time.”
“How?” she asked with a smirk, crossing her arms. “By saying something to you?”
“Okay, I get the point,” I laughed, grabbing the handle of my reshop cart and pushing it on. “And I’m fine, really.”
“You’re not, honey, and I know it,” she said. “Why don’t you come over to my place for a night or two. Erica won’t mind. She likes you. We could all?—”
Before she could finish, my phone rang. Surprised, and a little terrified, since my phone ringing never meant anything good these days, I pulled it out of my back pocket.
The number for the Dark Fantasies Club flashed on the screen.
“I have to get this,” I said breathlessly, then tapped to answer the call with an eager, “Hello?”
“Hi, Enzo, it’s Hamish Farrow from the Dark Fantasies Club,” Hamish said.
“Hi,” I answered, heart beating hard against my ribs.
“So, I just wanted to let you know that you’ve been chosen for next weekend’s omega auction.”
I nearly jumped and shouted right there in the middle of the garden section. “Really? Great!” I paused, then said, “Wow, that was fast.”
“It was,” Hamish laughed. “But it just so happens that we had a perfect alpha partner for you sign up this morning as well. We couldn’t have planned it better ourselves.”
“That’s great,” I said, sagging with relief. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing, really. I know you have computer issues, so swing by the office tomorrow or Friday and we’ll give you the dossier for your alpha. After that, all you have to do is show up at the time and address listed in the packet next Friday night.”
“Perfect. I can’t wait,” I said.
I couldn’t wait for a much-needed weekend of darkly fantastical fun, and I couldn’t wait for an answer about whetherI had what it took to throw myself into the life of a sex slave for real.
CHAPTER THREE
Shawn
Iwas really doing this. I couldn’t believe that I was actually at Kincade Slopes on a Friday night, dressed in one of my most expensive suits, preparing to walk into the lodge so I could pretend to be some mafia boss buying an omega for his pleasure. Something must have been really wrong with me that I was so quick to toss my moral compass out the window for a weekend of hot, more or less anonymous sex. I guess this was what happened when an alpha got too busy with work to get between the sheets with an omega. Abstinence might have been a virtue in some people’s minds, but I was beginning to question whether it had been a good idea for me.
I took a deep breath, then opened my car door and stepped out into the chilly, mountain evening. My heart raced even though the event hadn’t started yet. I smoothed a hand over my slicked-back hair—the hair products I’d used to look more like a gangster earlier had been kind of fun, actually—and glanced around the parking lot. A few other alphas were just arriving andthe lot was already half full, which meant the omega auction was a bigger event than I had thought it would be.
For a second, my feet didn’t want to move. That was just embarrassing, though, so I cleared my throat and pushed myself forward toward the lodge’s attractive front door. It was floor to ceiling glass with a gorgeous view of the warm, cozy lobby on the other side. It looked peaceful and inviting, not like a seedy club where omegas were bought and sold to the highest bidder.
