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Dedication

For everyone who daydreams about their very own older, grumpy billionaire—oh ya and angry sex. LOTS of angry sex.

ALSO BY AIMEE MONROE

Novellas:

Corrupt Intentions: Sweetest Revenge Prequel

Black Silk Auction:

Sweetest Revenge

Stolen Virtue

Envious Rage

ADDISON

Fucking my dad’s business partner in his office was the dirtiest thing I’d ever done.

He towered over me. His scruff was brushing against my neck as he groaned into me, and I groaned back as he sank into me.

He had me against the wall, my legs around his waist, his hands holding me still as he thrust into me.

“Fuck, Warren, hurry. Hurry.”

Time was ticking. Dad would figure out we hadn’t followed him soon and would likely be calling me any minute. If I took too long to answer, he might task someone to come find me.

As much as I liked the danger of fucking the ultra-rich Warren King in my dad’s office, I didn’t really want to face the consequences.

Not just yet.

“You’re fucking perfect, Addi. Your cunt’s already trying to milk me, and I just started.”

I groaned, jerking against him as he bottomed out, his movements getting rougher. His pelvis rubbed so sweetly against my clit, it had my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

He wasn’t kidding. Warren’s cock stretched me more than I’d ever been stretched before. More than any dildo I owned, and definitely more than any other man had.

Boys. They were boys in comparison to him.

He was right. It did hurt. But I didn’t care.

All I could think of was how good he felt inside me. How right and wrong it felt at the same time.

I pulled his head back, trying to force his lips to mine, but he dodged me. Again.

“Why won’t you kiss me?” I gasped. His fingers found my clit, rubbing hard circles over it.

“That’s not what this is, little girl,” he said with a shuddered breath.

“Then what is this?” I asked and pulled my shirt open, the buttons flying everywhere as my hands bared my breasts to him.

“It’s quick, dirty fucking.” His eyes fell to my erect nipples. “Nothing more.”

He leaned down and pulled one into his mouth. His teeth brushed against the tender flesh, causing me to cry out.

If anyone walked by, there was no hiding what was going on.

I tried not to let his kiss comment sting, but it did. I had done everything to get this man to fuck me. And it worked. But there was a part of me that wanted this to last. That wanted to be seen as more than just a quick fuck.

I pushed it to the back of my mind. I could unpack those feelings later.

“Warren, I’m gonna come.”

My cunt was already squeezing his cock, my orgasm just moments away.

“Come with me, baby. Now.”

There was something about his command that undid me completely. I threw my head back against the hard wall, coming so hard that black spots flashed across my vision.

He thrust into me. Once, twice, and on the third, I could feel his cum filling me up and leaking out.

“Get out of here,” I panted as he put me down in a gentler way than I thought he was capable of.

His eyes flashed to mine like he wanted to fight my command.

“What? You expect me to invite you to sleep over? Officially meet my dad?”

The last part had his lips twitching. I said it as if he was some boyfriend instead of my dad’s biggest investor and best friend.

He reached between my legs, his hand scooping up his cum. I gasped when his finger pushed it back in, pumping his finger inside me twice before pulling away and tucking his half-hard cock into his pants.

“Don’t bother me after this,” he said. “You got what you wanted.”

I rolled my eyes and shooed him away. After he left, I concocted a plan to get him back. I vowed to fuck him on every surface of this office just to prove him wrong again and again.

But I had no idea that the next day would be the second worst day of my life.

The first? My father’s death.

All of it because of the man I’d just fucked.

1

ADDISON

The constant beeping of the hospital monitor started to fade into the background as I looked over the newest email to hit my phone.

It was the one I’d been waiting for. The one that would change my life forever.

It had the power to give me back everything I’d lost. Everything he’d taken from me. But it also had the possibility to destroy me if I wasn’t careful.

It’s worth the risk. I would do anything to get back at him. The anger had been rotting under my skin and making it unbearable to think of anything but getting even.

There was nothing and no one in the world left for me. At least no one who was conscious.

My eyes shifted to the bed. My mother was wrapped in hospital-grade blankets that would be making her skin itch if not for the thin sheet in between.

She lay there so still that, if not for the constant beeping of the monitor, I would mistake her for a corpse. Her skin had become pale enough for it.

In the last few years, my mother’s mental health had deteriorated. I had been too busy working back-to-back jobs to notice just how much she had been struggling.

Mother said she couldn’t work because it’d ruin her image. And her perfectly manicured nails. My eyes fell to the now grown-out red claws. The nurses had helped me file them down because we didn’t know how long my mother would be in this state.

She’d be appalled.

She did all she could to keep up the image in front of her friends. Friends who kept her around from our previous life because they pitied her.

I’m positive she knew it, but it was the world my mother knew better than anyone. She’d grown up with them in their mansions. She came from money, so having none made her the outcast. But she dug her sharp red claws into them and hung on for dear life.

Even if they talked behind her back. Laughed at her.

She just couldn’t handle the violent dismantling of our life.

Her lack of a job meant that when she wasn’t with her friends, she was holed up in our apartment—the only property we now owned—all day long doing nothing but scrolling social media.

Our family’s scandal was long past, but the comments on her social media posts made it seem as if it happened just yesterday. There were always a few people still holding a grudge against my father.

Even when he’s dead. I often wondered if they would ever just let up.

He was gone, and so was all our money. We had been punished thoroughly by whatever god they believed was angry enough to take vengeance on us.

I was guilty of scrolling through the posts too, each one just another notch on the anger belt that was getting tighter and tighter around my neck.

Her blonde hair lay by her side in a careful braid. Another thing the sweet nurses helped me with since I'd been too busy with work.

How did I miss it?

Behind the anger, there was pain. Guilt. Shame.

I may have grown up with my father’s money, but I was young enough to adapt. He taught me that much at least before leaving this earth.

My mother, on the other hand…

My eyes welled with stinging tears while a renewed anger burned bright inside me, threatening to destroy everything in its path.

His fault. All his fucking fault.

If it weren’t for him, Father would still be here and Mother wouldn’t have dared⁠—

My throat caught. I couldn’t think about it anymore.

I looked over the welcome email again, my eyes catching on the bold title.

Black Silk Auction welcomes you…

I never thought I'd stoop to this level. Sell my body.

Being raised in a millionaire family meant I’d never really thought much about what would happen if we lost our money. It was almost impossible.

But the impossible happens every day.

And this would be my only chance to get back at him.

“Ms. Mercer?”

My gaze snapped to the door, Mother’s doctor standing there with a forced smile and sad eyes.

Shit.

“I thought Fridays were your day off,” I said and started to grab my things. A cheap tote, my Gentle Monsters that I hid from the creditor, and my phone. I didn’t have much on me anymore. A bit embarrassing. But nothing was more embarrassing than the conversation we were about to have.

“I’m covering,” he said and jerked his head back, signaling me to step outside.

Not like Mother can hear anyway. My thoughts were bitter, but inside I appreciated the gesture.

I stood and leaned over to place a gentle kiss on my mother’s forehead.

“I’ll be back,” I whispered. “Trust me. I’ll save us.”

I followed the doctor out into the hallway. It was late at night with only a few nurses at the station. Visitor hours were long since over, but they made an exception for the blonde Mercer girl. Even if it was out of pity, I would take what I could get.

I crossed my arms as the doctor turned to me, a silly habit and a way to physically try to keep myself together when it felt like the world was going to tear me apart.

The doctor had kind hazel eyes behind rounded frames, messy sandy blond hair, and a light scruff, no doubt from all the extra hours he’d been working.

I paused, the voices from the nurses making their way down the hallway.

“No, she’s the one!”

“No way. She doesn’t even look that rich. Did you see those roots?”

“That’s the point! They lost it all! Her dad was some crazy, fucked-up CEO who, like, stole everyone’s⁠—”

The doctor cleared his throat loudly, silencing the nurses. “Get back to work.”

There was a chorus of Yes, doctor, but nothing else.

“Sorry about that,” he whispered.

“I’m used to it,” I said with a grimace. It had been years, but some things didn’t change.

He cleared his throat, getting back to business.

“Ms. Mercer, last time we talked about the insurance costs⁠—”

“I have a plan,” I said quickly, cutting him off. “I’ll make sure it gets paid. I promise.”

He kept his gaze on me before sighing and looking back at my mother’s door.

“Look, payments and stuff aren’t usually something I handle, but I feel bad for you. I know you’re struggling, so I wanted to warn you before⁠—”

“And I’m grateful,” I said, laying my hand on his arm. His eyes fell to it, and I jerked it away. “Sorry.”

“You’re not…” He looked like he was struggling for words. “Going to do anything illegal, are you?” His voice had dropped to a whisper.

I swallowed thickly, feeling my face heat.

No, but I am going to sell the last valuable thing I have.

“Thank you for caring about us,” I said, a genuine smile spreading across my face. “It’s been a while since anyone has done that.”

He looked taken aback by my words.

“Just be careful, okay?” he urged.

I nodded and took a step back.

“I’ll fix this,” I vowed. “Please take care of my mom in the meantime.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but I was already turning on my heels and racing down the hallway.

I can’t be late for my welcome party.

* * *

My stomach twisted in knots, aching as I looked myself over in the mirror.

Music from the party filtered through the room, only making my nerves worse. I feel like I’m going to throw up.

They had provided an outfit for the welcoming party as a way of hiding who the girls truly were. Apparently, even the smallest detail could give away our identity, and they wanted to make sure it was a surprise until the very end.

My fingers rose to run along the edge of the shiny masquerade mask they’d given me.

It was made of a silver material and covered more than half my face. Each girl was assigned an animal, and mine was a cat. The ears were sharp, but not as sharp as the teeth displayed in the bottom half. It was lined with crystals and gems that shone in the dim light of the dressing room and matched the deep blue of my dress.

It was tight and shorter than I'd ever been allowed to wear, ending a bit higher than mid-thigh. The body was made of blue velvet, strapless, and the collar and hem were lined with more shine.

My hand trailed to the Swarovski collar on my neck. Chains with dangling crystals came out from it and circled my shoulders.

I was dressed up to look like a real woman. Beautiful. Desired. Elegant.

The type of woman the men out at the party would desire.

Even my hair was set in an elaborate updo.

“It’s time to go, A,” a warm voice said from the other side of the door.

I recognized it as the manager of the girls. My stomach flipped.

Can I really do this?

I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders, catching my blue eyes in the mirror.

“I can do this,” I whispered. For Mother. For Father.

For me.

I turned and opened the door.

Dante Sinclair met me with a shocked expression and a low whistle.

“Looking gorgeous, my love,” he said and held out an arm for me.

I took it and let him lead me out.

My face was heated at his compliment. When my family still had money, Dante and I ran in the same circles. The son of a billionaire who’d paved his own way was the talk of all moms with eligible daughters.

It didn’t hurt that he was hot.

With black hair, deep brown eyes, dimples, and a warm personality, it was hard not to love him.

Why he had ended up working at the auction and not owning part of it was lost on me. And a bit embarrassing, since someone from my old life knew me, but he was too sweet for me to feel ashamed around him for long.

“I bet you say that to all the women under your care,” I teased.

He sent me a smile that showed his dimples.

“Now that remains to be seen, but trust me when I say you’re going to be the talk of the party.”

My stomach churned, and my grip on him tightened. The music got louder as we closed in on the door.

He let out a laugh.

“No need to be nervous,” he said. “Remember, they won’t touch you. If they recognize you, they contractually can’t say shit. Hell, if you want to stay silent the entire night, you can, but the more you mingle, and the more they like you, the higher the chance you’ll start a bidding war.”

I took another deep breath.

“And we want that,” I muttered.

Correction: we needed that. The more money I got, the easier I could pay off the massive medical bill.

As it would turn out, bringing someone back to life and taking care of them while they were in a coma sucked up hospital resources and left me with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Because Mother had no insurance. Father took care of that with his company when he was alive; now, there was no one to help, and I couldn’t afford to get her a plan.

“Yes, you do,” he replied and squeezed my shoulders.

“What if I can’t get in?” I whispered, fear clawing at me. I might have been invited to the welcome party, but there was always a chance they wouldn’t pick me for the auction.

It all depended on the next hour and on how people felt about me.

He gave my shoulder another squeeze. “Go wow them, A. I know you can do it.” And with that, he pushed me toward the door.

I forced all the worries from my mind and stepped into the party.

2

WARREN

Another month, another auction.

Over and over, but never the same. New girls. New billionaires. A constant flow of cash running between the two.

The opportunities offered by the auction were endless.

It was part of the excitement.

When I had first founded the Black Silk Auction with a few of my closest associates, I’d never imagined the success it would have. The impact it would have, not just for those who sold themselves, but for us on the business side as well.

The only thing sweeter than the cash it brought was the information that fell with ease from the mouths of the wealthy.

It was like they just couldn’t keep it in.

Back then, I was bored. My business had been growing but not providing me with the same rush it had when I’d first started. So it wasn’t long until I wanted to expand it into the more devious side of things.

After all, buying, selling, and tearing down companies only did so much for me. Even the most fun, corrupt ones started to lose their flair after a while.

They were all the same. Crooked men sticking their greedy little fingers into the lives of their employees and sucking them dry of their money and happiness. It was just… the norm. I’d seen it all. Lived it all.

But the auction…

The auction was a place where the billionaires came to play. And boy, did they know how to play.

And I could play them.

They had the money to make anything they wanted come true, but once they were pitted against each other for a beautiful woman? They were stripped back down to their barest form.

Self-made billionaires knew what it was like to lose, and they weren’t going down without a fight. And those who’d never had to work for their wealth and never lost got to experience it for the first time.

It made them hungrier. Made them salivate at even the chance to win a beautiful woman—and beat all others in the process.

The rules were simple.

One girl. One month. All yours.

We had a handful of girls who were screened for the opportunity. Hundreds were rejected before they even made it to the second round. And once they passed that, they had one last trial.

The welcoming party.

A place where we invited the richest and most powerful men to come for a preview before the show. They were also screened, and anyone unsavory was declined entrance immediately.

The Black Silk Auction might have been a place for them to explore their stronger urges, but there was no way I’d put the girls in danger.

It was supposed to be exciting for both parties. A way to explore yourself and every desire they wrote down on the blank page of the contract we gave them. It was up to them to spill every single one of their desires or leave it blank.

The exclusivity worked in my favor and had people foaming at the mouth to get in. It provided me with endless satisfaction. I was the one in control of whether they got in or not. And most men would do anything to get in.

The desperate were the most gratifying to reject.

“They look good this month,” Maxwell said as he looked over the girls filtering out of the room one by one. Each of them had an extravagant animal mask on that hid their identity and cost at least three hundred thousand.

Maxwell was the newest CEO of Sterling Enterprises and has given it new life. During his first quarter, he’d reached earnings his father never could even after thirty years in business.

He was one of the first people I’d reached out to when I had the idea for Black Silk Auction. With his vision and connections, I knew we’d make this into something to be proud of.

“They’d better, or I’d fire Dante,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. There was no room for error, and even though I was continuously impressed by everyone in the auction, my standards were high.

“Hey, what about Maxwell? Ares? I’m not the only one who looks at the girls,” Dante replied, coming up to my left and handing me a glass of whiskey.

I gave him an appreciative hum.

“You have the final say,” I reminded him. At first, I’d wanted to handpick every single one, but after a while I realized it was better to relinquish some control.

“A job well done, Dante,” Maxwell said, turning his focus to him. “New dresses?”

“I knew you had a good eye.” Dante puffed his chest at the compliment. “Sponsored by none other than our friend Kian Knight.”

That caught my attention.

“Will he attend?”

Kian Knight was a world-class designer. Getting him in the auction would help us reach an audience we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. People in his circle, the artistic type, often wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this, and every time I tried to reach out, no matter my status, I’d been rebuffed.

If Dante managed to open this door, I would need to give him a raise.

“He’s out of the country, but when he comes back, he said he’d be here for sure.”

I nodded, satisfied with the answer.

“He even gave us his latest piece. Most expensive as well. I saved it for the best.”

Dante motioned to one of the girls lingering in the corner with a few men already circling her. They’d made their choice. I could tell by the way they looked at her and would immediately open the small phones we gave them to input their interest.

It wasn’t hard to understand why.

The dress hugged her body tightly, showing her perfectly toned body. Long legs, delicate hands that were currently wrapped around a champagne glass. I noticed her grip was tight. Nervous. Her blonde hair complemented the dress color perfectly. Crystals decorated her body, and she had a cat mask on.

She was drop-dead gorgeous, even if I couldn’t see her face.

But when I finally looked her in the eye, my heart stopped in my chest. Shock washed over me but was quickly replaced with anger.

Addison fucking Mercer. The woman who’d single-handedly almost ruined everything I’d worked so hard for and all because of her shit-for-brains father.

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