Elegant Sins - Stasia Black Page 0,75
his face, that I would have no choice but to strangle him with my bare hands while the entire Order watched.
If my father won the auction…
There would be blood on my hands. I had no choice but to continue to block out the auction and try to focus on Grace and only Grace. If I didn’t tune out all else… I would ruin everything.
“And the winner of the belle is Elder St. Claire,” the other Elder finally announced.
I didn’t know if I should fall down to my knees in relief that my father had lost, or if I should demand for this all to end immediately.
It was Grace who made the decision for me. With her subtle nod and the stiffening of her spine, she silently spoke. She had this under control, even though I was about to lose it. She would do what it took. The plan. The goal. To the end…
Walker whispered, “I’m sorry. I wish he didn’t do this. I’m sorry.”
“This is beyond fucked up,” Sully said as I watched Walker’s dad escort Grace to a corner of the room that was draped in a silver sheet. I could see the faint outline of their shadows behind the fabric but nothing more. It was clear that St. Claire wanted just enough privacy, but still to be present so the entire Order would know he had the belle, and she was his.
Grace was his. I still felt sick, in spite of all my machinations.
“Do you want me to try to stop him? I can demand he leave her alone. Your call. How do you want me to handle it?” Walker asked. “This isn’t my Initiation. What’s the worst they can do to me?”
“It will just make the situation worse,” I answered, watching the silver sheet, hating myself for not being able to look away.
My father approached with a cocktail for himself and another drink for me that he handed off to my shaky grip. He looked at Walker. “Your father sure wanted that piece of ass. It cost him a pretty penny. I was hoping to have her for myself, but whatever.” He shrugged as he took a long drink. “A money-hungry whore is a dime a dozen at The Oleander.”
When he saw I wasn’t drinking from my glass, but obsessing on the silver material cloaking Grace, he nudged me. “Don’t let a girl like that get into your head. Just because you were fucking her doesn’t mean there was any sort of connection. You know as well as I do that girls like that are good in the bedroom but not marriage material.”
He then addressed all the guys surrounding me. “The first lesson you all must gain from your own Initiation is just how little your belle will mean to you in the end. She’s in it for the money, just as you are in it for your own gain. It’s about greed. Nothing else.”
He took another short swing, settling into the self-satisfied role of mentor. “They may make you feel like they are in love with your cock, but they only love your pocketbook and your power. But what makes them different than the woman you will eventually marry is that they’ll actually worship you if you can give them a small taste of both.”
“Your wife, however,” he waved his glass, sloshing some out the sides, “will come from family money and prestige of her own. She won’t value your wealth as much but has the ability to make your money shine. Don’t ever allow a woman to cheapen your value. The belles will do nothing more than flaw the diamond that is your empire. Remember that, boys. That’s my tip of the day for you.”
Sully huffed. “Whatever.”
My father studied the way I looked at the silver sheet. Was that movement I saw? “Shame that St. Claire is a greedy bastard and keeping all of his fun to himself. The least he could do for beating my ass is allow me to watch what I missed out on. Son? Do you want to walk closer so maybe we can at least hear her moans of pleasure?”
“I’m fine where I’m at.” It took all my might not to punch my asshole father in the face. He was enjoying this far too much, and knowing that my obvious misery was giving him pleasure made me want to murder him. How he could be so cruel to his own flesh and blood baffled me.
“I saw the way you looked