The Auction (24 page)

“Get on the bed.”

She crawled onto the bed and fell breathlessly onto her back.

Foster licked his lips. “Best meal I’ve had in months.” He then crawled on the bed
with Tori and moved between her
legs. Once he’d placed his cock against her slit, he locked his gaze with her
s
. “After this, there’s no turning back. You’re mine.”

Her heart swelled within her chest. She loved this man heart, body and soul. “I’ve always been yours, Foster.” She
stroked his face with the back of her knuckles.

Foster maintained eye contact with her as he moved in and out of her with measured strokes. Tori wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting to pull him deeper into her still. They took each other by the hand, locking fingers. She never took her eyes off his face and he kept his focus on her.

They’d had sex, fucked, and even made love before, but nothing had ever come close to right now. It was as if their souls were touching. She’d never felt this close to anyone in her life, not even her family. Now that she had finally let go of her fear and allowed herself to love him she was free.

By the time they both reached completion, tears streamed from her eyes.

Foster gently wiped them away and kissed her on the forehead. “Why are you crying?”

Tori sniffed. “These are happy tears.”

He smiled before placing a light kiss on her lips. “I love you, Victoria. I intend to spend the rest of my days loving and cherishing you. But don’t think I won’t spank that ass every now and then.” His eyes twinkled with amusement
.

Tori laughed. “I wouldn’t expect it any other way.”

Epilogue

Tori felt like a princess. She’d never worn anything so beautiful in her life. She’d stood in
front of
the mirror for nearly twenty minutes just staring at h
erself and twirling around. The peach colored gown was made of silk covered in tiny crystals that made it shimmer. Even the spaghetti straps were made of sparkly jewels. Though it was formfitting, it was easy to move in because of the slit that went all the way to the top of her thigh. It clung to her body so comfortably, she never wanted to remove it although she was certain Foster couldn’t wait to do exactly that from the way he’d looked at her when she’d come down the stairs.

She couldn’t believe the difference a f
ew months had made. Tori couldn’t believe that not so long ago her life was bleak, she was under contract to a man who took pleasure in psychologically and physically abusing her. She’d bore the scars on the inside and outside. Her soul had seemed hollow and she was to the point where she’d nearly been completely broken, but then Foster reentered her life. Tori had fought so hard against loving him again that she’d only ended up hurting herself. Now she was glad she’d given love a second chance.

Things couldn’t be more perfect for her. She’d officially moved back in with Foster and they were talking about marriage although they’d decided there would be no rush. They had a lifetime together. They didn’t need any legal formality to make their love any more real. Foster was the man who made her heart soar with just a tilt of his lips or the gentle stroke of his hand. She loved that he was the first person she woke up to in the morning and the last one she saw at night.

The lovemaking was incredible. Being fully committed to each other seemed to make it better. Often after one of their
lengthy
sessions, she’d weep from happiness as Foster gently kissed
her
tear
s
away. While her love life was amazing, it made Tori happy that everything else in general seemed to be falling into place. Though Foster was extremely wealthy, Tori wasn’t content to stay around
the house all day or shop. She wanted to do something important with her life.

Since she’d worked most of her life and her family couldn’t afford to send her to school beyond a certain level, Tori decided to complete her education. She wanted to learn how to manage her own business. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do
from there
herself because there were so few opportunities for women, but she was eager to find out.

Macy had decided to go to school as well even though she chose to stay at Arthur’s part-time. Tori suspected her younger sister d
ecided to continue working at the bar
because she was getting closer to the errand guy, Mac. The two were adorable together although Macy claimed she and Mac were just friends. The rest of Tori’s siblings seemed to be thriving in their new home and
were
excited about getting their education.
Even her father had gotten his act together. He and his lady friend had amicably parted ways but he’d actually started working. Foster had offered him a job as a custodian to one of his buildings and to Tori’s surprise, Carl had taken it. She’d even gotten reports that he was doing well at it.

She’d become closer to Aya
over the past few months
. Aya had turned out to be a true friend, although Tori worried about the petite beauty. Lately her friend always seemed deep in thought or looked sad. Every time Tori would as
k
her what the matter was, Aya would smile and deny anything was wrong. She wondered if it had anything to do with Dare who always seemed a bit short-tempered and scary to Tori. Foster had said his friend wasn’t as bad as people thought. Tori could only take Aya at her word.

“We’re here.” Foster placed his hand on Tori’s thigh.

Tori had been so deep in thought she didn’t notice the vehicle had come to a halt. “Oh.” She looked out the window of the people heading inside the grand building. Everyone was so elegantly dressed.

“Where were you just now? You seemed to be
in really deep
thought.”

Tori looked at Foster with a smile. “I was just thinking about how happy I am. I can’t believe we’re at the Sapphire Ball! People talk about it but I never imagined I’d ever get to go.”

Foster leaned over and kissed her neck. “Well you’re here. And you’re be the bell
e of the b
all.”

She giggled. “If you
keep
do
ing
that, we’ll never leave the car.”

He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Oh yea
h? Shall I put that to the test?
”

“No way. This is my first b
all. I want to see what’s inside.”

“Should I be upset that you chose this ball over me?”

“
Of course not. No matter what I’ll always choose you. It’s just…you know, it’s the Sapphire Ball.”

Foster chuckled. “I guess I’ll forgive you for your excitement this one time since it is your first ball. Shall we?” He gestured for the driver to open the door.

Once they were inside, Tori was in awe of everything she saw, from the glitzy decorations to the beautiful people scattered around the room. She’d even recognized several celebrities. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, dancing, drinking and some people were practically having sex on the tables. The women were all dressed in expensive dresses each one more scantily clad than the next.

Tori’s gaze then landed on Aya. She was absolutely stunning in a silver and black sequined dress that seemed to be held up by sheer will. She wore a silver headband to match her
amazing outfit
. She was talking to a tall dark haired man. When she smiled at something he said
her entire face lit up.
The
two of them seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. Tori wondered where Dare was, but just as the thought occurred to her, he popped out
of nowhere and was instantly
at Aya’s side. He yanked the little woman roughly to his side, glared at the other man and practically dragged Aya away.

Foster must have noticed as well because he shook his head. “When is he going to
learn?
”

Tori gasped when Aya twisted out of her lover’s hold and stalked away from him. “I should
go after
her. Maybe you should talk to Dare and calm things down.”

Foster nodded.

Tori hurried to catch up to Aya who stopped only when
she
made it to the powder room. Tori entered just in time to see Aya go into one of the private stalls. As Tori got closer, she heard sniffling. She knocked on the stall. “Aya? Are you okay? It’s me. Tori.”

There was silence before the stall door opened. “Come in.”

Tori walked inside and closed the door behind her. “What’s going on?”

Aya’s eyes were red and Tori spied the faint trail of tears on her friend’s cheeks. “I’m sorry you had to see me this way. I take it since you followed me in
here you saw my boyfriend actin
g like the complete jackass he is.”

Tori nodded no
t
bothering to lie. “What’s going on with you two?”

“I’m not sure. At first thing were great but lately, Dare has just been…I don’t know how to explain it really. He’s always been a bit jealous and possessive. But lately, he’s out of control. Maybe he’s always been like this but I refused to see it because I love him. But my love can only go so far. He has me followed, he gets angry when I make plans for myself. He wants
me
to spend all my spare time with him and I can’t even look at another man without him blowing up. He punched one of our customers in the face because Dare claimed the man was staring at my ass. He’s
unbearable.
And I just can’t take it anymore. I love him but I’m tired of being Dare O’Shaughnessy’s possession.”
Aya’s fell into her palms and Tori gave her a comforting hug.

“It’s obvious the man is crazy about you. Isn’t there a way the two of you could work it out?” Tori asked gently.

“Crazy is the operative word here. Maybe I’m overreacting and need to think about this some more, but that guy I was just talking to was simply apologizing to me because we accidentally bumped in to each other and Dare comes along and pulls me away like I’m some mindless doll.”

Tori empathized with her friend and wanted her to be happy. She wasn’t sure what advice she could give. Love was so complicated. “I’m sorry you’re going through this. I can’t tell you what to do, but like you said, just think about this some more and maybe talk it out. Tell him how he makes you feel.”

“I wish it were that simple. If I tell him he’s smothering me, he backs off for a few days and then he comes on even stronger.” Aya sighed. “But you know what, we’re at the Sapphire Ball. Let’s go back out there and enjoy ourselves. I’m not going to let that jerk ruin my evening. I just need to repair my makeup. I must look like a mess. I’m not used to having all this stuff on my face.”

“You look beautiful.”

Aya smiled. “Thank you. You do too. That dress is fantastic. And I love how your hair is piled on top of your head like that. It looks very elegant.”

Tori preened at the compliment. “Thank you.”

Once Aya had fixed her face. The two women walked out of the restroom arm in arm. Their men were waiting for them on the outside.
Dare seemed to look a bit remorseful as he held out his hand to Aya. Aya hesitated a moment before placing her
h
and in his and allowed herself to be led off.

Foster held out his
bent arm to Tori. “May I have this dance, beautiful lady?”

Tori
gladly took it
. “Yes you may, handsome.”

As soon as they made it to the dancefloor, Foster twirled her around. Tori laughed as he continued to whirl her around until she was dizzy. There were a few fast dances and then a slow one where Foster pulled Tori into his arms and held her tight. Tori wrapped her arms around his neck and as their eyes locked, he lowered his head and brushed his lips against her. Then he went back for more until they were kissing long and deep.

She finally pulled away to catch her breath. Tori happe
ne
d to glance over Foster’s shoulder and she saw Dare standing alone. She frowned.

“What is it?”

“Do you think Aya and Dare will be okay?”

“I’m sure they’ll work things out eventually. That friend of mine can be quite stubborn. But enough about them. Did I tell you how sexy you look tonight?”

“About a hundred times.”

“Well let me tell you a hundred and one. You looked sexy.” He paused for a moment and cupped her face. “I love you, Victoria. I can’t wait for the rest of my life with you.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. She loved this man with every
ounce
of her heart, body and soul. “I love you, too Foster Graham. Always.”

Aya and Dare’s story continues in
MASTER
coming 2016