The Auction
Down and Dirty
by J.R. Gray
Date of
Publication: December 1st 2016
Publisher: All
Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Erin
Dameron Hill
Genre: BDSM Romance
One
night changes everything.
From The Book Junkie Reads . . . The Auction (Down and Dirty) . . .
Where did you
go wrong when your best friend is a drag queen and want you to go up on the
auction block. Everywhere if you are Stark, a recluse that finds it hard to say
no to a friend. But this time it may have been well worth the acquiescence.
It’s Christmas Eve and Scotty can get through a night at the club and the auction for charity. She had no plans to bid just watch. Except when she get back to her friend, after a break, she finds that she has a date with a mysterious dominant.
This was one Christmas Eve to put in the books. Scotty and Stark will make it memorable. I got to say the pages were on fire.
It’s Christmas Eve and Scotty can get through a night at the club and the auction for charity. She had no plans to bid just watch. Except when she get back to her friend, after a break, she finds that she has a date with a mysterious dominant.
This was one Christmas Eve to put in the books. Scotty and Stark will make it memorable. I got to say the pages were on fire.
BLURB
Stark is too old to be selling himself, or
his services. He’s too set in his ways, too piled in grief, and well...it’s
been too long. But when your best friend is a big demanding drag queen, and
hosting the event, it’s impossible to say no. It's one night, he convinces
himself, and then he can get back to his reclusive life.
Scotty can handle the club for one night.
It’s Christmas Eve after all, and the auction is for charity. If she saw her ex
she could deal with it, she hoped and it wasn’t like she had to bid on anyone.
But when she comes back from the bar she finds her best friend had other plans,
and now she has a date with a mysterious dominant.
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“We are going to be late, and I won’t
get a good one.” Cheri linked her arm through Scotty’s, forcing her to pick up
her pace.
“I was ready at nine. You just had to
try on four pairs of my shoes,” Scotty replied.
“You have better taste in shoes than
anyone else on the planet.”
“Because it used to be the only thing
I wore.” Scotty gave her a look, ignoring the pain in her heels. Shoes were
pain. A pain she used to like. Now it was a stark reminder. But everything was
a reminder.
“Well, now you’re a big shot lawyer,
and clothes are required.”
“But I like kicking ass, so it’s an
equal trade-off.”
Cheri rolled her eyes and turned into
the alley. This was a frequent trek for them while Scotty had been in law
school, not so much in the last few years.
“Are you going to be okay if we see
her?” Cheri asked.
Scotty didn’t meet her eyes. “I’ll be
fine.”
A sinewy naked man greeted them at the
door and collected their coats. They were long past showing their keys, getting
a rundown of the rules, or being briefed on the night’s events. Cheri was still
a regular, even if Scotty wasn’t. They were handed a menu of sorts. A heavy
black card with a bold silver typeface, it was more like something seen at high
dollar weddings, not a BDSM club.
“Good, because I know she’s on the
menu for tonight.”
Scotty wrinkled her nose. She didn’t
want to hear about it. She was blocked from Scotty’s mind, mostly. There was
still the errant dream, but those could be written off to nothing more than job
stress. She just hoped they wouldn’t last forever.
“I don’t care. The moratorium stands.”
Cheri held up her hands. “I thought
you’d want to be briefed.”
Scotty took a deep breath and wrote it
off. Cheri usually meant well, even if she did love gossip. Cheri probably knew
more about Tanya’s sex life than Scotty ever had, and she was more than okay
with it.
“Not necessary. It’s been years.” More
than that since she’d stepped foot in here. It felt the same and yet different
as they trudged up the well-worn metal stairs. Relationships don’t just end.
They sink long before, she’d learned, and once trained to see the signs, it was
easy to see when they started taking on water. It had been at least six months
before the relationship ended that they’d stopped coming to the club. Or
rather, Scotty’d stopped coming.
“If you say so.” Cheri took a left
before the long hall of private rooms, taking them to the main play space and
right up to the bar. “Two gin and tonics.” She looked at Scotty, who nodded.
“Let’s grab seats in the back and peruse our options.”
“I’m only here for moral support.” And
because Cheri had dragged her out, but Scotty wasn’t going to say as much. She
took her drink from the bartender. It was one of the few nights of the year the
bar was completely open, as there wasn’t going to be any play.
“And because you had nothing better to
do on Christmas Eve?”
“Rub it in.” Scotty took a seat with
her back to the wall. At least Tanya wouldn’t be able to sneak up on her that
way. Who was Scotty kidding, she was backstage. She shouldn’t be this on edge.
Tanya wouldn’t be down here.
Cheri set down her menu and brushed
her fingers over the elegant silver inlay. “They went all out this year.”
It was true, the place was decorated
to the nines. Mistletoe, garlands, and sprigs of pine garnished every surface.
They even had a centerpiece on each table with two little candles. The lights
were down low, and it gave the club a romantic air than it usually had with
slapping flesh and normal spotlights usually allowed.
“Since people like us don’t have
family to spend the holidays with, maybe they figured it would be nice.”
Cheri knit her brow, but she knew she
was one of the lucky ones. She’d been raised in the city, and her parents were
all welcoming when it came to her sexuality. They’d probably even be okay with
the Domme stuff, if they didn’t already know. “Sure you don’t want to come to
dinner tomorrow? My parents would love to see you.”
“As much as I love playing the role of
your girlfriend.” Which she had for a few years, while they were both in
undergrad. “I don’t want to keep intruding. They are going to start asking why
you’re not popping the question.”
“We are much better as friends.” Cheri
wiggled her brows, making Scotty laugh.
Cheri was the one who’d introduced her
to the club, but things between them had only ever been casual play, and even
that had ended when Tanya came around.
“We are. Now look here. There are five
Dommes up for auction tonight. Five.” Cheri was practically bouncing in her
seat.
“What?” Scotty made herself skim over
her ex’s name, reading the bios of the other Dommes listed for auction. “No
shit. It has been awhile since I’ve been around, hasn’t it? I didn’t think
there were that many Dommes who played here.”
“Have I not been trying to get you to
come play?”
“How do the Dominants look?” Scotty
ran her finger along the other side, checking out the penises.
Cheri winkled her nose. “Are you
serious?”
“You may be a confirmed lesbian, but
you know I’m bi. I want to see what’s on offer.” In reality, nothing jumped out
at her, but it was easier to look at the dick side of the menu so she didn’t
have to see Tanya’s name. She could read the entire thing without getting sick
to her stomach.
“I really thought you got that out of
your system.” Cheri laughed. She loved to give Scotty a hard time, but Scotty
never took it personally.
“So, who are you bidding on?”
“I don’t know.” She didn’t plan on
bidding at all. The number she’d been given at the door was going to stay
firmly on the table.
“Pick at least two.” Cheri flipped the
menu back to the female side and pointed. “I’m not taking no for an answer. I
want Tanya to see you putting yourself back out there. She’s fucked every sub
who’s walked in the door since you.”
Scotty groaned and probably turned a
little green.
“Don’t take it hard. You had to have
assumed.”
Scotty looked at her drink.
“You thought she was pining after you
like you have been her?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “She could
realize any day what a mistake she made.”
Cheri put a hand on her arm. “She made
a huge mistake, but her way of dealing with it is drowning in pussy, and you
should take a note on that.”
Cheri didn’t mean it, but her words
were like a knife to an old wound in Scotty’s chest. She was such a fucking
idiot for still caring.
“Can we not?” The plea in her voice
gave her away. It was too easy to slip back into that mindset. This was why
she’d buried herself in her job. It was easier.
“Of course.” She could hear the frown
in Cheri’s voice without looking at her.
“It’s going to start.” Scotty took a
drink and sat back. “Tell me who you’re bidding on.” She moved her gaze to the
submissive list on the female side of the card.
“I was thinking of bidding on Blue.”
Cheri pointed to a name, and Scotty obliged her by reading the bio. They were
similar to the weird things people put on dating sites. Along the lines of long
walks on the beach, only more personalized. Blue’s started with her favorite
breakfast cereal.
Scotty shook her head. “She’s right up
your alley.”
“If not her, there are a couple after
I’m willing to drop cash on. Now tell me your picks.”
Scotty sighed and flipped over to the
male side again. She couldn’t even stomach looking at the names near Tanya.
“How about Alexander?”
“He’s no Tarzan.” Cheri scoffed after
reading his bio.
“Have you met him?”
Cheri gave her a look. It was her
signature “he’s way overrated” look.
“That bad?”
“Yep.” She sighed and flipped over her
own list. “I can’t believe I’m being forced to look at the beefcakes.”
“They can’t all be bad.” Scotty was
secretly hoping they were all bad, then maybe she could get off without
bidding.
“There are a few tolerable ones, and a
couple I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to play it by ear.”
Her words were music to Scotty’s ear.
“Sounds good.”
“Oh, no. No, no, no. Don’t you dare.”
“What?” Scotty was confused.
“This is for charity so you must spend
some of your nest egg, and you have got to stop avoiding dating. Tanya is a
jackass, but you love submitting. Don’t let her take that away from you.”
She nodded and was saved by the lights
going dim.
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Author Info
J.R. Gray, when not staying up all night
writing, can be found basking in the warm glow of the Miami sun, or at the gym
where it’s half assumed Gray is a permanent resident. A dominant, pilot, and
sword fighting enthusiast, Gray finds it hard to be in the passenger seat of
any car. Gray frequently interrupts real life, including normal sleep patterns,
to jot down nonsense. The bane of Gray’s existence are commas, and even though
it’s been fully acknowledged they are necessary, they continue to baffle and
bewilder.
If Gray wasn’t writing…well, that’s not
possible. The buildup of untold stories would haunt Gray into an early grave or
possibly a mental institution where the tales would end up on the walls in
crayon and finger paint.
J.R. Gray is Gender Queer and prefers
He/Him/His pronouns.
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