“I think what you perceive as a weakness is your greatest strength and attribute,” Damon said as he reached across to take her hand. “You have a generous soul, but you’re also practical.”

She let him turn her hand over so that her knuckles rested on the table. He touched a finger to her palm and traced a path across her skin. In turn, he stroked each of her fingers as if he savored the sensation of her flesh.

How she loved his touch. She could sit for hours and simply let his fingertips glide over her hands, her arms. She shivered as she remembered how his hands felt tangled in her hair, massaging her scalp and caressing her neck.

“You said—” She stopped and cleared her throat. “You said you had arranged the auction?”

He slowly withdrew his hand and sat forward in his chair so that there was little space between them. “I have. Is next weekend too soon?”

Adrenaline spiked in her veins, surging like a flash flood. Excitement. Dread. Terror. All were accurate descriptors of the emotions battering her.

Her mouth went dry and she swallowed quickly.

“No. Next weekend is fine. I’ll arrange my work schedule so that I’m off the following week. The auction. What do I need to do?”

Damon smiled. “Not a thing. I’ll have my driver pick you up and take you to The House where your keeper will await you. He’ll assist you in readying yourself for the auction. You’ll remain under his care until I claim you.”

Desire thrummed heavy in her veins. Liquid heat pooled in her loins and simmered there, waiting to be stirred to greater heights.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked. It was something she’d already asked, but she couldn’t help the need to know more about this intriguing man.

“It’s very simple,” he said calmly. “I want you, Serena. I’ve wanted you since the moment we met. When I discovered that you were the one wanting a fantasy fulfilled, there was never a chance of me turning you over to another man.”

“And so I will be yours,” she murmured, liking the words—and their meaning.

“Yes. You will belong to me.”

Satisfaction glimmered in his brown eyes. They were dark, and warm with promise.

“Tell me, Serena. Have you opened yourself to the possibility of new and daring experiences? Have you given thought to precisely what it will mean to belong to a man? And not just any man, but what it will mean to belong to me?”

She paused as she stared back at him. “I think I’ve prepared myself for new experiences. I’m a little nervous because I don’t know how far a man—you—will take things. But I trust you. Maybe I shouldn’t, but you make me feel very at ease.”

“I’m glad,” he said in a soft voice. “I wouldn’t want you frightened of me.”

“I find myself entertaining crazy thoughts,” she admitted. “Some are so far out of the realm of my personal experience that I wonder if I should even entertain them in reality or if they are better left as fantasy.”

“I hope that you’ll explore your boundaries when you’re with me and not be too swift to withdraw. I want you to open your mind and your heart. Don’t judge. Don’t think. Just feel. But,” he added, “if there is ever a time you’re afraid, I want you to be honest with me. I will never do anything to intentionally hurt you or frighten you.”

“I know that,” she said huskily. “I really do know that.”

Deep down, she wanted him to push her comfort zone. She wanted him to take control, so that she wouldn’t have a choice. She didn’t want him to ask, rather she wanted him to take, to demand, to give.

“I wanted to see you tonight because it will be the last time we’ll be together until the auction,” Damon said.

She looked up in surprise.

He smiled. “I like the dismay that flashed in your eyes. It matches my own. And the arrogant part of me likes it that you enjoy spending time with me.”

“Then why—”

“Because I want you to think of me all week. I want you to imagine the night of the auction when I lay claim to you. That first time I touch you and establish ownership. I want you to anticipate it.”

“You’re awfully sure of yourself,” she said in a low voice. But he was right. She would think of him all week. She would think of nothing else.

“No, I’m merely hopeful. And regardless of what will be on your mind this week, you will be what occupies my thoughts. I haven’t felt this degree of anticipation in a long, long time.”

She smiled.

“Your arrogance matches mine,” he said with a slight tilt to his lips. “I like it.”

“The contracts?” she questioned.

“I’ll courier them over first thing Monday morning. I want all the paperwork out of the way before the auction. I would have nothing intrude upon our time once we embark on your fantasy.”

Her breath quickened and she nodded her agreement. Finally. This was it. She was actually doing it.

It amazed her that she was sitting across the table from a gorgeous, powerful man, making plans to fulfill a longing within her that had grown from an idle curiosity to a full-fledged need.

In just over a week, she would walk into Damon’s club and be auctioned as a sex slave. That she knew who her master would be didn’t lessen the adrenaline-laced fear and excitement that raced through her body. If anything, knowing that Damon would command her body heightened her anticipation all the more.

“What do you mean, Nathan drove you home, you woke up naked in your bed the next morning and you don’t remember what happened?” Serena asked in disbelief.

She propped her cell phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she fumbled for the paperwork she was trying to organize.

Julie groaned in her ear. “Faith set me up. The bitch.”

Serena laughed. “Oh come on, Julie. She was just trying to help.”

“I know,” Julie said with a heavy sigh. “But she was way too obvious. She all but shoved me at Nathan and suggested he drive me home. I really don’t remember how he reacted because I’d had too much to drink. I vaguely remember him driving me home, but after that? Nothing. I woke up the next morning in my bed, completely naked, and Serena, I don’t sleep in the buff.”

“Ah, and you’re worried that you did the nasty with Nathan and don’t remember it?”

“If I had sex with him and don’t remember it, I’m going to kill myself,” Julie said mournfully.

“Well, why don’t you just call and ask him?”

“Oh yeah, that’s what I want to do. ‘Hello, Nathan, this is Julie. Would you mind telling me if we fucked the other night?’”

Serena laughed. “I’m sure you could be more subtle than that, sweetie.”

“If we did sleep together, he sure hasn’t got the part down where you’re supposed to call the next day. For that matter, if we had sex, he sure hightailed it at the ass crack of dawn, which tells me I must not have been any good.”

“Quit getting down on yourself, Julie. From all you’ve said, I have to think you didn’t have sex. Nathan doesn’t strike me as the type to take advantage of a woman when she’s drunk.”

“But what if I took advantage of him?” Julie squeaked.

Serena laughed again. “Nathan is a big boy. Chances are he put you to bed and left. Simple as that. What you ought to do is call him and tell him you appreciate the ride home then offer to make him dinner as a thank-you.”

“You’re a fucking genius. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Does this mean you’re finally going to make a move on the man?” Serena asked.

“Uh, maybe.”

Serena closed her eyes and shook her head. “For the love of God, Julie. You make me crazy. Faith and I are supposed to be the wimps, not you. Remember? You’re Miss Brass Balls, take no prisoners. So start acting like it.”

“You’re right. I’m totally unworthy. I bow before your great- ness.”

“Shut up and go call him,” Serena said in exasperation.