A strange tingling crept along her arm, followed by a slow, unfamiliar heat that seeped into her veins. Disbelief flooded her luminous eyes.

With a fingertip roughened just enough to feel real, Charlie brushed the tears from her lashes, slipping back into the role of a flawless gentleman as he murmured in a low, coaxing tone, "Easy now-seeing you cry like this really does hurt me."

While the words lingered, he produced a silk handkerchief worth a small fortune and wrapped it carefully around her wound, his movements deliberate, almost tender, as though concern truly guided him.

At that moment, the bald man shoved his way forward, his presence crashing into the space like a blunt threat.

Heavy muscle packed his frame, oily sheen clung to his flushed face, and the ferocity in his eyes warned that he was not someone to provoke lightly.

All around them, the audience leaned in, fascination crackling through the room as they eagerly watched the tension sharpen.

The auctioneer rushed forward to stop the chaos, but he never got the chance to speak before the bald man's fist sent him sprawling across the floor.

Without sparing the fallen man a glance, the bald man fixed his sneer on Charlie and jeered, "Look at you-barely out of diapers and already useless in bed?"

Laughter exploded through the hall, sharp and merciless, rolling over Charlie like a wave of ridicule.

"Tall, refined, looks like old money-and still can't get it up. What a joke."

"I'd pay just to take a look at that pathetic little dick of his. Bet it's no thicker than a sewing needle."

"Men built like that are always a disappointment. They're useless when it actually comes to fucking. Nothing but hollow muscle."

"Now it makes sense. Throwing around a billion like that-he's probably desperate to fix his penis. Isn't that hilarious?"

Basking in the ridicule, the bald man puffed himself up even further, rolling his shoulders and flexing as he loomed toward Charlie. "Don't test my patience," he barked smugly. "Give her to me, and I'll let you walk away untouched today."

Not once did Charlie spare him a glance. With unhurried precision, he focused on the woman in front of him, fingers steady as he finished wrapping the bandage around her wound.

That deliberate indifference cut deeper than any insult could have.

Fury flashed across the bald man's greasy face when he realized he was being ignored, and he lunged forward without another word, fist tearing through the air.

At the exact moment the bandage was tied off, Charlie reacted as though he had anticipated the attack all along-his hand snapped out, locking around the incoming punch and wrenching it aside. Rising smoothly to his feet, he drove a brutal kick straight into the bald man's chest.

A dull, sickening thump echoed as the bald man was launched off the stage, crashing to the ground below and coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Before he could even struggle upright, a shoe came down hard on his face, pinning him there without mercy.

Agony flooded through him, cold sweat bursting across his skin as his twisted features locked in place.

From above, Charlie stared down with glacial indifference, his tone stripped of warmth. "Did you really think you could pull that kind of stunt in front of me?"

Rage burned in the bald man's eyes as he spat through clenched teeth, "I'll... fucking kill you..."

The threat never fully formed-Charlie calmly lifted his foot and brought it down with brutal precision between the bald man's legs, ending it in one merciless strike.

A shrill, gut-wrenching scream tore through the auction hall, and moments later, the bald man collapsed into unconsciousness, broken by the pain.

Charlie flicked a dismissive glance at the unconscious body, a thin, glacial sneer curving his mouth as his frostbitten eyes swept the room.

That single look made the surrounding spectators suck in sharp breaths, finally grasping just how merciless the striking man truly was. Whether the rumors about his impotence were true or not no longer mattered-no one dared to jeer again, each person snapping their mouth shut to avoid drawing his attention.

With a measured breath, he drew his oppressive presence back in, restoring the polished, aristocratic calm he wore so effortlessly.

As he turned, he caught the young woman staring straight at him, unflinching, her gaze clear and bold rather than afraid.

What a fascinating little thing!

Curtains of long hair veiled her smooth skin, yet they couldn't hide the elegant length of her legs, a quiet provocation all their own.

One brow lifted as Charlie closed the distance, his fingers catching her cheek in a light pinch while his tone dipped into something perilously inviting. "Come with me?"

There was no real reason to decline; spending a single night in his company didn't sound like a loss, especially given his looks. And if the rumors about his impotence were true, then there was nothing for her to dread.

She answered at once, dipping her chin in a quick, unhesitating nod.

Caught in an unusually indulgent mood, Charlie unlatched the golden cage, bent down, and drew her straight into his arms.

The disparity between their bodies created a vivid, almost cinematic contrast-her lush, heavy hair spilling over them both, wrapping the moment in a dark, forbidden allure.

His broad palm tightened around her narrow waist before drifting lower, settling possessively against the curve of her hips. Mouth brushing her ear, he murmured with a teasing, unapologetic grin, "Put a girl like this in front of any man, and you're asking for trouble."

The words carried the easy insolence of a practiced charmer, yet his movements remained controlled, polished, almost restrained.

A faint shiver passed through her as she realized he was both impeccably refined and quietly warped, elegance and danger coiled together in the same man.