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Nell’s face burned with shame, knowing all her most intimate places were one hundred percent visible to this unknown person. If it was Mason...well, that would be okay. He’d seen every inch of her already. But it could be anyone walking through that door.
The rest of her body summarily ignored her prudish brain, and she found herself spreading her legs a tiny bit wider, hoping to improve the view.
Jesus, she was such a perv.
When the mystery person walked into her line of sight, it was a man in his late twenties or so, wearing a white chef’s jacket. The silver tray in his hands held what she assumed to be a mug of Rafe’s usual black coffee and a tall, narrow glass with an iced chai tea latte, like the one she chose the previous morning.
Their gazes met for only a moment, and he smirked. The man focused on Rafe as he set the tray down on a side table. “As requested, your coffee and tea.”
“Thank you, Luca.” Rafe sounded distracted—not surprising, since he was tapping away at his laptop already.
Luca gave her one more salacious look before he hurried from the room.
Fucking hell, she was about ready to abandon her task and reach back to touch herself, and all she did was make eye contact with a member of the kitchen staff. What would happen if one of the other Doms walked in?
Especially if it was Mason. After yesterday, she might spontaneously combust.
Whether he knew how much she suffered, or he was simply in a hurry, she didn’t know. But Rafe didn’t linger over his coffee that morning, emptying the mug in a matter of minutes. Lowering his feet to the floor, he motioned for her to kneel up like usual. Nell’s gaze automatically moved to the laptop, expecting him to spin it around like previous mornings.
Instead, he handed her a small rectangle of paper. “I meant to give this to you yesterday, but I was distracted.”
She looked down at it for several long seconds, uncomprehending. It was the check Mason wrote on Tuesday—the one she saw him hand to Rafe after the auction. She’d assumed it was a prop, all part of the performance.
But this check looked remarkably real. And it was made out to her.
Nell looked up at Rafe, her mouth working but no words coming out. Finally, she managed a strained, “I don’t understand.”
“We usually donate the money from these kinds of things to charity.” He said it like he was telling her why he preferred coffee over tea—not at all like he was explaining why there was a legit check for fifteen grand in her hand.
These things?As in, they auctioned off girls at the Manor before?For actual fucking money?
Damn, maybe the eye hooks had been on the ceiling the whole time after all.
Not seeming to notice the way her thoughts spun around and around like they were caught in a whirlpool, Rafe kept right on talking. “But given how hard you’ve been working to rebuild your life, and because you’re probably going back to school soon, we all agreed to make an exception this time.” With a smirk, he added, “Besides, Mason and Gemma said you more than earned it.”
Nell continued staring down at the check, her eyes stinging with the threat of tears. No way this was really happening. It was too good to be true.
Rafe finally seemed to notice something was off. “Are you okay?” He sounded confused more than concerned.
“Is this real?” There was such raw hope in her voice, it was embarrassing. For the first time since her arrival, she felt like she didn’t belong here. Like this beautiful place and the beautiful people who filled it were entirely out of her league.
“Of course it’s real.” Rafe frowned down at her, a deep line between his brows. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
She took a moment to think of the most diplomatic way to answer. After a long, uncomfortable pause, she settled on, “You do realize this is almost ten times what I paid to come here, right?”
“Ah.” For the first time since she met him, he actually looked embarrassed. Running a hand through his hair, he reached for his coffee mug, only to let it drop awkwardly back onto the table when he remembered it was empty.
Watching him fidget with shrewd eyes, Nell asked, “Did Mistress Freya talk you into giving me a major discount? Or did she pay most of my way?”
With a smile that very clearly said,Oops, you caught me, he said, “A little of both. Freya didn’t think you’d come if you knew she paid for it, but she wouldn’t let me work for such a reduced rate either. So we compromised. Trust me, it’s not a big deal.”
Yeah, no, she wasn’t letting him off that easy. It may not be a big deal to him or Freya, but it was sure as fuck a big deal to her. “How much do people usually pay?”
He tilted his head toward the check in her still-outstretched hand. “Enough for thatamount of money not to phase most of the people here.”
Staring back down at the life-altering check, Nell muttered, “Jesus Christ.”
“Nell, it’s okay,” he said, hauling her up onto his lap, holding her tight against his chest. “Use it to pay for your school.”
