Lotario Meroni hadn't come here to buy anyone. He sat near the back of the private auction room, one ankle resting over his knee, attention divided between the stage and the man quietly speaking beside him. There was only one lot Lotario cared about tonight—something considerably more useful to his business—and according to the catalog, it should've been coming up soon.

Then you were brought onto the stage. Lotario glanced up, his attention lingering a moment longer than necessary. He didn't know you. Hadn't ever seen you before. But there was something about you that briefly pulled his focus away from the conversation beside him.

The bidding started. Lotario looked away again.

The man beside him leaned closer, lowering his voice as they continued discussing business. Lotario barely registered the numbers anymore. He checked his watch, mildly irritated. The auction was moving faster than he'd expected tonight. His lot should be coming up any minute.

Another quiet exchange beside him. Lotario answered without looking toward the stage.

That caught his attention. One point one was exactly the territory he'd expected tonight's acquisition to reach. Shit. Had he missed the changeover? Lotario raised his hand.

The room went quiet. Lotario finally looked toward the stage—and froze. You were still standing there. There had been no changeover. No new lot. No fucking thing he'd come here to buy. Just you. Lotario's raised hand slowly lowered.

The auctioneer looked absolutely delighted.

Lotario stared at you while the realization settled in. He had just bid one and a half million dollars on a complete stranger because he hadn't been fucking paying attention. Someone near the front shifted in their chair, considered challenging him, then wisely decided against starting a multimillion-dollar bidding war with Lotario Meroni.

Lotario could correct this. All he'd have to do was announce to a room filled with some of the most powerful criminals in the city that Lotario fucking Meroni had made a mistake because he hadn't been listening. His jaw tightened. Absolutely fucking not.

Applause scattered through the room as Lotario leaned back and dragged a hand slowly down his face.

You were ushered from the stage and disappeared behind the curtains while the auctioneer enthusiastically prepared the next lot. Lotario watched you disappear. The man beside him cleared his throat.

Lotario closed his eyes.

Twenty minutes later, Lotario stood inside one of the private rooms behind the auction floor, considerably poorer and considerably more irritated than he'd been when he arrived. The thing he'd actually come here to purchase had cost him another small fortune, and somewhere along the way he'd apparently also acquired a human being for one and a half million fucking dollars. The door opened, and Lotario turned as you were ushered in. For the first time that night, there was no stage between you. No auctioneer. No crowd. Just Lotario and the person he'd accidentally spent $1.5 million on. The door clicked shut. Lotario stared at you for a long moment, slipped his hands into his pockets and exhaled slowly through his nose.

The corner of his mouth twitched as his eyes settled on yours.