Auction Mate || TaeKook ✔️

Chapter - 5

The seven chairs began to lower around Min-ah.  When they rose again, each chair had a scantily clad, nubile body draped over it.

Each Gem was wearing a sash and translucent tights.  The sequined sash was embroidered with their auction names: Sapphire, Onyx, Pearl, Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Pearl.

Three females and four males were at auction tonight.  They kept their faces lowered and angled their bodies away from the audience.

Taehyung flicked his eyes back to Lee Byung-hun and his bodyguard.  Byung-hun was grinning and wiping his sweaty palms on his thigh.  He seemed to have his eye on the dark-skinned woman to Minah's right.  Seungho glanced at the stage and saw that the seven Gems posed no threat.  There was nowhere they could conceal a weapon.  They were wearing almost nothing at all.  Swiftly, Seungho's gaze returned to the patrons seated around the brightly lit stage.

Taehyung had a lopsided smile.  Good boy.  He wasn't distracted by all that bare flesh on stage.

Seungho's eyes met Taehyung's as he scanned the room.  Taehyung held his gaze and lifted his chin to see how the young bodyguard would react when he realized that he was being watched.

A small crease appeared between Seungho's brows.  His frown deepened into a scowl when Taehyung smiled at him.

It was not a friendly smile.

Taehyung made a quick mental note.  Seungho needed to work on his poker face.  Never let a target know that he's on your radar.

"Now, shall we take a better look at the Gems on display tonight?" Min-ah invited.

The auction had started.

Taehyung shifted his attention from the young bodyguard to the stage.  He was here for relishing, but he could appreciate the view as well, couldn't he?

On the slowly rotating stage, Min-ah was weaving gracefully between the seven chairs.  Her bright, red nails danced over the bare backs of her Gems as she introduced them to the audience.

"... the delectable, exquisite Topaz!" 

A chiseled, handsome young man of Asian descent turned around in his chair and smirked at the audience.  His sash was stretched across his smooth, broad chest and his translucent tights left little to the imagination.

Standing up in one fluid motion, Topaz swaggered to the edge of the stage and stood with arms akimbo, displaying his impressive physique to the bidders.

Taehyung saw the lady at table number eighteen lean forward with interest.  Her diamond choker glimmered as she tilted her head to appraise the beautiful Gem on display.  But the lady had competition.  Two other gentlemen were eyeing the same exquisite Gem.

Taehyung reached for his champagne flute but the glass froze midway to his lips.

Min-ah was slowly making her way towards the last Gem on the stage, but Taehyung saw him first.

Pearl.

He caught a glimpse of his face as he peeked out from his curtain of wavy brown hair.  His grey eyes were wide and showed a trace of fear.  The Gems were not supposed to move until Min-ah called out their names. He was new at this. 

Taehyung couldn't remember seeing him before.  Was this his first time at the auction?

Some of the more popular Gems appeared regularly at the auctions.  They sometimes changed their hair color and with the help of some skillful makeup and costumes, they could appear with a whole new look.

Namjoon liked to have a mixture of old and new Gems at his auctions.  It kept things fresh and interesting, yet orderly and professional.

Taehyung took a sharp breath and picked out Pearl's sweet, unique scent from the heady scents swirling around the room.  Pearl was fully human, and he was a new Gem.

He was trembling and fidgeting slightly in his seat.  The scent of his fear was so sharp and already he could see the other hybrids reacting to the scent of new prey.  Predators could smell fear.  The eyes of the predatory shifters were already glowing with relish and anticipation.

What the hell was a guy like him doing in a place like this?

Sweet, bright Pearl was in a den of predatory beasts.  Did he know what he was in for?   

Namjoon was a shrewd businessman, and he knew exactly what delighted and excited his clients.  Boys like Pearl were rare.  There was a sweetness to him, but there was a fierce light in his eyes.

Taehyung knew that all the Gems had to go through a selection process.  There was a certain quality that Namjoon looked for in his Gems.  Some of them might look small and fragile, but they were all tough. 

The patrons of The Phoenix were filthy rich, but they were all shifters.  If his Gems weren't tough enough, they wouldn't be able to handle one night with a shifter.

Shifters were strong, demanding and they had great stamina.  The Gems would never be hurt, but they had to be able to handle the voracious appetites of their subjects and give as good as they got.

Pearl was the only inexperienced, new Gem tonight and he was going to attract the highest bids.  The scent of his fear faded as he mastered his fear.  The fact that he was here meant that he had read and signed the contract. He had also attended the briefing and training session.  Pearl knew what to expect. He had agreed to do this.

Taehyung put his glass down to avoid crushing it in his fist.  He wouldn't let anyone else win Pearl.

He hadn't planned on bidding tonight.  He was a co-owner of The Phoenix, but he was usually here on business.  To watch, observe and memorize the faces of the new rich shifters in town.  In the security business, it was imperative to know everything before anything happened.   It paid to be prepared.

But...nothing prepared him for this.

He had never thought of anyone as his before.

Pearl was his.

He wasn't going to let anyone else have him.