Love Beat (26 page)

He’s surrounded by some of the Bash Babes, part of his original stage act, dancers who double as session singers and bodyguards and accompany him at all times. As I watch, he greets Cade with a slap on the back. He takes him aside to talk for a few minutes before the crowd, herded into line by the Babes, push forward for autographs.

“And Garth Delaney’s back, too. Isn’t it terrific? They’ve come for the grand finale. It’s starting in a few minutes. Come on, Tunis. Even you mustn’t miss this. I only wish Jake was here to cover the Slave Auction.”

As I follow Mel back toward the stage, I feel a hand on my arm as the crowd surges around me.

“Are you really okay?” Cade holds my arm in a fierce grip, his eyes blazing. “When you left earlier, you said you were fine.” His low growl draws curious looks.

I try to pull away but he holds me fast.

“I was, then. It came later.” I glance round but no one’s paying much attention as they push past, crowding to fill the seats closest to the stage, where Nera’s introducing Garth Delaney as the on-stage co-host.

Cade glares down at me. “You should have warned me. You’ve taken a lot this afternoon. I’d never forgive myself if—”

At that moment his name comes over the loudspeakers. Nera’s just announced him as the chief sponsor and all at once we’re flooded in dazzling light as spotlights sweep the crowd and pick him out.

It shines on me as well.

“Catch up with you later.” He abruptly lets go of my arm and steps in front of me, shielding me from the glare as he smiles round to acknowledge the applause.

I slip back into the shadows and make my way quickly to where Mel and Ben are sitting.

“You will stay for the auction, Tunis? All the trainees are up for sale for slots of an hour. The money’s going to the Wannabe Fund.” Mel’s sparkling eyes hint she’s still flushed with her success in the Beat Fair.

“
Wannabe
?” At my puzzled expression, Ben leans over. “Izzy’s charity. Gets young hopefuls into the music business. That’ll be why he’s here. It’s his pet project.”

The Bad Old Man of Rock is up on stage now, beaming his trademark wrinkly grin as Nera starts the bidding and the Babes look on.

The bidding’s brisk. A blushing extra is offered as the first lot. Her dainty French maid’s costume proclaims her a sub. As she parades around the stage showing off her pert little rear and her plunging neckline, the bidding becomes frenzied, not all of it from men.

“Two hundred? Who’ll give me two hundred pounds for an hour with this cheeky little sub? Come, ladies and gentlemen, think of all the naughty things you can do with Lina in a whole hour.”

Nera’s in her element. She taps Lina briskly on the rump, making her trot and giggle. Soon a pink, excitable businessman near the back of the crowd carries the bidding at six hundred. He beams as Lina trots over to him and bobs him a curtsey.

Mel winks at me as the next lot clambers up onto the stage, a pale, bearded technician. He’s tightly trussed into a bondage harness and a loincloth. He flinches as Nera taps her riding crop absently against one boot.

At my side, Ben stiffens.

He catches my eye, his expression pained, and hisses in my ear. “He trained with me. There’s nothing he can take that I can’t. It’s so unfair.”

The auction’s clearly going well but I lean back and try to shut out the sickening excitement building all around me. I want no part in this. It’s unnerving to see how eagerly the trainees parade themselves, hoping to get an offer from the highest bidder. I know it’s all in fun and for charity, but still…

I look anywhere but at the stage and think instead of my emotional afternoon. Maybe after all I’m not so very different…

“It’s me! It’s me!” At my side, Mel leaps to her feet as her name is called. She pushes eagerly up to the stage.

Startled out of my reverie, I give Ben a reassuring smile and lean forward to watch.

Nera welcomes Mel up on to the stage with a rare smile. “And this is Mel, famous from TV and the media. She’ll give you a spanking good time, guaranteed—as I’m sure you all saw during her spectacular display this afternoon. What am I bid for an hour with the lovely Mel?”

“One hundred pounds.” Ben’s arm shoots up, and Mel blows him a kiss.

But bids pop up from all over the crowd. She’s clearly an even bigger hit than we thought.

“Seven hundred.”

“Seven fifty.”

“Eight hundred.”

By now Ben’s slumped back in his chair with a sullen frown. I reach over and pat his hand. “Bad luck, Ben. Don’t let it get to you. It’s only for an hour. And hey, you get it for free, right?”

“Five thousand, for a whole night.”

The marquee suddenly goes very quiet. Mel’s jaw drops as Garth Delaney strolls confidently up to the stage. Nera glances round at the crowd, now stunned to silence, waits a moment and bangs her gavel. “Sold, for one whole night, to the star of our movie.”

To wild applause, Mel, eyes shining, slowly walks down the steps and takes the hand of her heartthrob. She’s led away blushing and triumphant while I try to console Ben.

I fail spectacularly. With a bitter smile, he jolts to his feet and blunders away through the crowd, leaving me sitting on my own.

I get up and follow slowly, sad for him, glad for Mel. She’s always had a thing for Garth Delaney. She’ll dine out on this for years. Ben will come round eventually.

But my evening’s not quite over. As I reach the edge of the crowd Nera’s voice rings out behind me. “And our final star lot this evening, ladies and gentlemen, is a delightful former dancer, now a rising star in the world of TV and the arts. What am I bid for one whole week with the lovely Tunis?”

Chapter Twenty

I turn slowly, blank with shock as the onlookers cheer and clap.

There’s a surprise still to come.
Is this it?

I’ll panic later. Right now, I’m faced with an audience. Instantly I beam round at the crowd like I knew about this all along and I walk confidently up on stage.

Nera gives me a chilly smile but her eyes look wary, like she’s unsure how I’ll react, telling me instantly that this must be someone else’s idea.

Cade.
It has to be.

She leans away from the mic to whisper a greeting. “Hope this is okay, Tunis. You looked scared there for a second.”

The whispered words, like her tight, crimson smile, are meant to be friendly but I sense something held back. There can be only one reason.
She’s jealous
.

I give her a brief, non-committal smile as if I’m up for auction every day of the week and at that moment, I see Cade at the fringes of the crowd talking to some Japanese businessmen.

He glances up with a smile and a half-wave and instantly I relax.

He’s here. He’s in control.

Everything will be fine.

While I compose myself, Nera’s been pitching my charms to the crowd. Now she pauses for bids. “So, what am I bid for a whole week with the lovely Tunis? That’s one hundred and sixty-eight hours, ladies and gentlemen. Who’ll start us off at the bargain price of ten thousand pounds?”

How much?

The bidding starts well, the first for eleven thousand shouted out by one of the movie producers. My head spins as more bids fly, even one from Cade’s group. He stays noticeably silent.

But soon the bids thin out as the sums rise to crazy levels. The crowd grows quiet.

“Any advance on thirty thousand for this lovely celebrity presenter? Going, going—”

“Thirty-one.” The crowd gasps as Cade coolly steps forward. The businessmen with him exchange worried looks as the bidder in their midst weighs his options, fearful of offending his host.

They’re now in close discussion and one of them raises his hand. “Thirty-two.”

I shiver.

Maybe this is a group bid. Are the men planning a
share
? All at once this is no party game. I face a week with a group of strange men, doing goodness knows what…

How could he?
If this is Cade’s idea of a joke…

At this point Nera holds up her hand for silence. One of her assistants is walking quickly across the stage toward her, waving his phone. He whispers something in her ear.

I freeze as a murmur runs through the crowd.

Now what?

“Ladies and gentlemen, at this point I have to tell you that a new bidder has joined us and is bidding by phone. I have a bid of thirty-three thousand pounds from none other than our guest celebrity Dom, the Panther.”

What?
I stand very still.

The audience is equally stunned. After a few seconds, a buzz of excitement ripples through the crowd and the onlookers break into loud applause.

This is my worst nightmare.

Minutes ago I’d no idea I was even on sale. I was heading for bed.

Cade’s steady gaze keeps me calm. I let out a deep breath as he steps forward.

“Thirty-four.” His bid silences the crowd as they sense a real contest.

I can hear my heart thumping against my ribs in the agonizing wait as I scan Nera’s face, creased into a frown as she listens once more to her assistant.

It seems an eternity before she looks up. “The Panther bids thirty-five thousand.”

“Thirty-six.” Cade bids again, his tone casual, his voice low in the tense silence all around us.

But Nera’s frowning at her assistant. This time she makes him repeat what he said.

My mouth goes dry.

“The Panther bids fifty thousand pounds.”

There is a gasp from the crowd as Cade smiles lazily at me.

I’m safe.

But I rejoice too soon. His smile slides over to Nera and he gives a slight shake of his head.

He’s pulling out
? He’s handing me to the Panther on a plate.

I feel the universe spin.

I’ve known him a week. I feel like I’ve loved him a lifetime.

In just seven days we’ve scorched through all the emotions from lust to fear, ecstasy to despair. Now he’s turning away…?

There’s an agonizing silence as Nera scans the crowd for any further advance but the sullen looks from the handful of stunned competitors warn us they’re far outrun.

I feel like I’m turned to stone. So this is his surprise—and his revenge.

I agree to be his, and he sells me on to the highest bidder, a complete stranger. And not just to any stranger but to the Panther, no less.

All week he’s made my dream come true. Now he’s turned it into my worst nightmare.

How did I not see this coming?

I know the answer in a flash. He kept me deliberately out of the loop, split off from my team. It was all part of his trap.

And like a fool, I walked right in…

I close my eyes briefly. When I open them again, the universe is still the same. The faces in the crowd are jubilant. They’ve just seen an execution, the mighty Cade Fitzlean taking his revenge on the silly little TV presenter who dared to challenge the march of his empire.

“Are there any more bids?” Even Nera looks dazed. I get a twinge of satisfaction to think that she’s surprised too.

The seconds tick by while I scan the crowd for any sign that Cade’s changed his mind. Maybe he’ll step in at the last minute…

But as Nera triumphantly bangs her gavel, there’s no sign of him.

My fate is sealed.

I lean close to her to whisper. “I’ll be…tied up this coming week.” I try not to think how true this is. “I can make another date for the Panther, right?”

Maybe I’ll skip the country before then.

“Too bad.” Her eyes glitter as she hisses rapidly into my ear. “Our sponsors come first. Your contract’s very specific on that point. And these sessions are also covered by the legally binding confidentiality agreements. So the prizes take place right away. Technically you’re with the Panther from midnight tonight.”

I swallow. “But I’m already booked for next week. Cade said—”

Her eyes glint with triumph. “He’s fine with it. His idea, actually.”

Stunned, I turn and leave the stage, my smile fixed firmly in place.

I’m still on show. I have to make the best of this, nightmare or not. I’m a professional, and I’m here on a job.

The auction is followed by a massive firework display. It’s starting already. Rockets explode into the sky as I make my way through the crowd, thinning now as people hurry past, spilling out onto the lawns to get a better view.

Their faces light up in the glitter from the sky overhead but for me, the party’s over.

Nera’s final announcements are ringing in my ears. “And our finale tonight raised the staggering sum of one and a half million pounds for the Beat Hall Wannabe Fund for Young Musicians. And here to collect it is none other than the Bad Old Man of Rock himself, the infamous Izzy Bash…”

I have a sudden, desperate need to be alone. It’s been a weird day full of shocks, its climax the worst of all. I walk quickly, dreading an encounter with Ben or Mel. Tears are close. It’ll be too embarrassing.

As I finally make it to my room, I hear music, a stirring Bach Chorale. The door between our rooms is open, and the melody is coming from Cade’s sitting room—soothing, measured. After my emotional day, it feels likes like warm, flowing water.

To my horror the tears, held back for so long, threaten to squeeze out. I sit on the bed for a moment and will them away as a familiar, elegant figure leans in the doorway.

He looks debonair as ever, seemingly unaware that my universe has just fallen apart. “Enjoy your evening?”

I pull myself together and rise quickly to my feet. “No. Is
this
your idea of a surprise?”

“One of them. What’s the matter? Not to your taste?”

I look away. “I thought we had an agreement.” My voice sounds hoarse.

He walks toward me, his expression unreadable. “We do. You agreed to be mine for a week. I made no promises about how you’d spend it. As my sub, you agree to accept what I choose to give. If I choose to hand you over to another Dom, that’s entirely my right. If it’s in a good cause, that’s even better. You accepted my terms willingly enough, I seem to remember.”

So I did. Silly me. “But I thought I’d be spending the second week with you. I’d no idea I needed a team of lawyers to check the small print. I assumed you meant—”