Chapter One
Riley
The older woman pried my legs apart with force.
"Listen to me, girl. Don't fight it. Or I can't promise I won't hurt you." As she spoke, her fingers probed into my private area for the examination. "Weren't you the one who volunteered to be auctioned? Can't you cooperate a little?"
The cold, slick feel of latex gloves made my stomach clench. I forced myself to relax against the discomfort of something foreign entering my body.
"Good. She's intact." The moment her hand withdrew, I sat up on the small bed.
The harsh overhead lights made me dizzy. Honestly, no one wanted to be merchandise at an auction—not unless they were desperate.
"Tell me the truth. You're hoping some rich guy buys you so you can land yourself a sugar daddy, right?" The younger woman leaned in close, holding up different outfits for comparison. "I heard some VIP's coming to the auction tonight. Wonder if he'll go for your type..."
She cupped her hands in front of her chest, making exaggerated circular motions.
My breasts weren't that big. I swear.
"I... just need the money. I haven't thought about any of that." I swallowed the sourness in my throat and gave a bitter smile.
Yes, I needed money. A fortune I probably couldn't earn in fifty years.
My big sister was sick, and I didn't even have parents I could turn to for help.
Dad died when I was little. Mom started drinking after that, got into meth, and soon followed him. When my sister and I left home, we had nothing but a few coins... Now, just when our lives were finally looking up, my sister got hit with this illness.
"Alright, you need a bath." The older woman pulled out a large jar of body scrub and pointed to the bathtub nearby.
It sat right there in the room. No privacy screen. Nothing.
"Are you serious?" I pointed at the tub too, mortified. "Right here?"
Damn, I really wished this was all a hallucination.
"Yes." Without waiting for a response, she stripped off my clothes and pulled me into the tub, slathering the scrub all over my naked body.
She wasn't gentle. I felt like she was going to scrape my skin raw.
"Do you like this one or this one?" The younger woman held up the two outfits she'd picked in front of me.
"Isn't there anything else?" Goodness, I couldn't choose between them.
Those scraps of fabric couldn't even be called clothing. They barely looked like they'd cover the essentials.
"You need to look sexy, or why's anyone going to buy you?" The older woman's face was stern as she grabbed the one witheven less fabric. "Instead of being picky, you should be thinking about how to please those buyers."
With that, she forced me into the outfit.
The full-length mirror across from me reflected what I looked like now. My face was flushed, my blue eyes brimming with moisture. The straps binding my pale skin left marks, and my rounded breasts and hips were almost completely exposed.
I never imagined I'd be wearing something that only belonged in porn films. For a moment, I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
"Honestly, if I could be in tonight's auction and catch that VIP's eye, that'd be perfect." The younger woman looked envious. "I heard he's gorgeous, perfect body and everything. If he pinned me down on the bed—"
"Give it a rest." The older woman cut her off with a cold snort. "A big shot like him only goes for virgins."
"—And hardly any of them are normal."