My boots hit the club carpet before I even agree to step inside.
Chloe just laughs, loops my arm through hers, and drags me forward.
Maya is already at the bar, ordering three rounds of something cheap and sweet.
“One night,” Chloe promises. “Champagne, music, and a chance to forget your lease is due in five days.”
I should say no.
I always say no.
But my bank account is a hollow thing.
My life is a treadmill.
And tonight I want to pretend I’m someone else.
The bass thrums through the floor.
Red light bleeds into the dark.
I’m thirty feet from the stage when the auctioneer takes the mic.
He’s too polished. Too eager.
I sip my drink. I watch the first bachelor step into the spotlight.
Twenty-four. Gym-rat smile. Suits cost more than my car.
Bidding starts at five hundred.
It climbs.
I don’t care.
I’m counting my remaining bills in my head.
One hundred and forty-two dollars after rent.
After groceries.
After the bus pass.
There’s nothing left.
I’m a walking deficit.
The next guy.
And the next.
Same pitch. Same pose. Same empty promises wrapped in designer fabric.
My eyelids grow heavy.
I’m ready to bolt.
Then the lights cut.
A single beam drops.
And he walks out.
Older.
That’s the first thing that hits me.
Not ancient. Not fading.
Just… seasoned.
Late thirties. Early forties. The kind of age that comes with weight.
Broad shoulders stretch a black turtleneck.
Dark hair, cropped close, a silver thread at his temple like a warning.
Jaw carved from stone.
Eyes like gunmetal.
He doesn’t smile.
He doesn’t need to.
The room just… stops breathing.
I feel it in my ribs.
In my thighs.
In the sudden, stupid heat pooling low in my stomach.
Chloe bumps my shoulder. “Oh, fuck.”
Maya whistles.
I don’t move.
I can’t.
The auctioneer clears his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, our final bachelor. Elias Vance.”
Vance.
The name means nothing until my phone buzzes.
A news alert.
*Vance Industries acquires downtown tech firm. Net worth: nine figures. Rumored to never stay in one place longer than a week.*
Billionaire.
Actual billionaire.
And he’s looking right at me.
Not scanning the crowd.
Not playing the host.
Locking on.
Like I’m the only thing in the room.
My breath catches.
He takes the mic.
His voice is low. Rough. Like gravel wrapped in velvet.
“I’m here to buy a night.”
He lets that hang.
“I don’t do games.”
“I don’t do pretense.”
“I want what I want.”
“And I want it done right.”
The auctioneer jumps in. “Starting bid: one thousand dollars.”
A hand shoots up.
“Five hundred over.”
“Ten hundred.”
“Two thousand.”
Numbers climb.
I should look away.
I should walk out.
But my feet are nailed to the floor.
His eyes never leave mine.
It’s not a flirt.
It’s a claim.
I feel it in my bones.
In my blood.
A deep, primal pull that makes my skin prickle.
Chloe’s hand finds my wrist. “Don’t do it. You can’t afford him.”
I don’t answer.
I’m counting again.
Rent.
Utilities.
Food.
My savings.
All of it.
One hundred and forty-two dollars.
Plus my emergency fund.
Two hundred.
I don’t have two hundred.
I have two hundred in a mason jar under my bed.
Cash.
For the deposit on a new apartment when this one inevitably kicks me out.
I stand up.
The room tilts.
I raise my hand.
“Five hundred over starting.”
Silence.
Then a ripple.
The auctioneer blinks. “Five hundred over starting. Do I hear more?”
A laugh from the front row. “She’s crazy.”
“Ten hundred.”
I don’t flinch.
“Two thousand.”
The man in front turns. He’s smirking. “Baby, you can’t even afford his coffee.”
I stare back. “Shut up.”
“Three thousand.”
I step forward. My heart is a drum.
“Five thousand.”
The room goes still.
Five thousand.
That’s my rent.
That’s my life for the next two months.
That’s stupid.
That’s insane.
That’s exactly what I need.
The auctioneer raises his gavel. “Five thousand. Do I hear more?”
The smirking man opens his mouth.
I cut in. “Ten thousand.”
A gasp.
Chloe chokes on her drink.
I don’t care.
The man in the front folds. Hands down.
The auctioneer smiles. “Sold. To the lady in the back. You just bought Elias Vance.”
The bass drops.
The crowd erupts.
I’m shaking.
I’ve done it.
I’ve just bet my security on a stranger.
Then Elias moves.
He steps off the stage.
The crowd parts like water.
He walks straight to me.
Up close, he’s even more.
Up close, he’s a storm.
He’s tall enough to block the light.
Wide enough to cage me.
He smells like sandalwood and something darker.
Something male.
His eyes drop to my mouth.
Then back up.
“You really did it,” he murmurs.
Voice like smoke.
“You really bought me.”
I swallow. “I… yes.”
He reaches out.
Big hand.
Cages my waist.
Pulls me in.
Hard.
My back hits his chest.
The crowd cheers.
I don’t hear it.
I only hear his breath.
Only feel his lips against my ear.
“You just bought yourself a daddy, sweetheart.”
The word hits like a spark in dry grass.
Daddy.
Not father.
Daddy.
My knees buckle.
He catches me.
One arm locks around my middle.
The other tangles in my hair.
Tilts my head back.
“No take-backs,” he whispers.
“You’re mine tonight.”
“And you’re going to carry my name.”
Breeding.
The thought crashes through me.
Raw. Unfiltered.
I should pull away.
I should run.
Instead, I press closer.
“Yes,” I breathe.
He smiles.
Just a flicker.
But it’s enough to ruin me.
He leads me off the floor.
Past the clapping.
Past the whispers.
Into the dark.
My rent money is gone.
My life is upside down.
But for the first time in years…
I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.