The Marriage Auction: Book One(25)
Noah stood abruptly, his chair flying backward toward the floor. “You’re going to regret this,” Noah barked.
“I highly doubt it.” Nile sat back and brought his ankle to rest on his opposite knee. Then with the smuggest tone, he said one word to his twin brother. “Checkmate.”
Noah growled under his breath, buttoned his jacket, and stormed out of the viewing room.
The event continued with a beautiful Asian woman who ended up running off the stage in tears when asked to remove her dress. I understood that fear. I myself wouldn’t appreciate being gawked at by a dark room filled with onlookers I couldn’t see. A couple rowdy bidders yelled expletives and were ultimately removed by security in the process. I silently cheered Madam Alana on for that response. At least I knew she cared for the women in her auction.
The next candidate was plucked up by a cowboy, securing a strawberry-blonde who looked so far out of place, I had to chuckle. The woman had fallen on stage, been asked to remove her dress, and pranced around in a pair of cowboy boots. Entertaining, but a reminder that this type of event was not for me. No longer interested in the auction, I yawned and focused my attention on my phone, checking in on Penny. Mother was being bullheaded per usual in her correspondence about my daughter. This time it was a string of damning texts, regurgitating everything she’d said over and over the last four years since I’d been left with a one-year-old daughter to raise on my own.
She needs a mother, Joel. I cannot be that for her. Penny deserves a young woman who can run, jump, and play. Someone who can be there for her all the time. A woman to look up to. Someone to love and dote on her.
I sighed as the next candidate was announced. A stunning redhead named Savannah. I took in the woman’s ample curves wishing my libido would return. I’d been unintentionally celibate since Alexandra’s passing. Hadn’t so much as given a thought to the opposite sex, or the physical act for that matter, in four long years. My entire focus had been on the business and making my daughter as happy as she could be. Though I couldn’t deny that I was lonely. Missed the warmth a woman brought to my life.
I slept in a cold bed every night. Drank coffee alone each morning. I attended events solo because no plus one was needed. When Alexandra died, she took my happiness with her. I’d been an empty shell of a man since we’d lost her.
Gritting my teeth and clenching my fists, I tried to ward off the negative reminder that I was alone and would be when I left here tonight, just like every night. As I let out a long, tired breath, I glanced over to the right and noted Noah's hulking Norwegian friend was bidding on the sultry redhead. I’d met him a few times. Erik Johansen. From what I recalled, he was in the beer business, whereas Nile was known for his vineyards and music compositions, his twin Noah for his nightclubs.
I blinked in surprise as the redhead was sold to Erik for an enormous amount of money, but I wouldn’t dare judge. My Alexandra was priceless. I’d have given my entire fortune to have just one more day with my beloved.
Another ping hit my phone and I read the newest thread of Mother’s ongoing texts.
You deserve happiness too, my boy. Alexandra told you to find love again. To give her daughter the love of a mother. You are doing a disservice to her and her memory, as much as to Penelope. I have several beautiful Greek women I will introduce you to when you return. Please agree to meet them.
“Next up we have the incredibly spectacular Faith Marino,” Madam Alana announced.
Just as I was about to respond to Mother, I lifted my gaze and was gifted the sight of an angel come to life.
A goddess dressed in blue velvet.
My mouth went dry as I stared at the most stunning creature I’d ever laid eyes on. My Alexandra was gorgeous in my eyes. Neither before, nor since my wife, had I seen a more beautiful woman. Until now .
This woman stole my breath.
I gaped as Madam Alana noted some details about her that I didn’t even hear. Sound left me along with my ability to breathe. A tightness wrapped around my chest like a vise squeezing my heart.
The woman, Faith, walked to the edge of the stage and looked up.
Clear blue eyes, the exact color of the sea back home in Greece, greeted me.
Immediately my cock hardened in my pants.
I wanted her.
Wanted her with a ferocity I hadn’t felt since the day I met Alexandra.
My palms were clammy, a nervous, anticipatory energy filling my veins as I stared at the beauty on stage. She was tall and lean, but with an hourglass shape. Instantly the image of my hands curled around those nicely rounded hips made my heart beat faster and my manhood throb against my slacks. Her skin was a golden, sun-kissed honey color that I wanted desperately to run my lips all over. And her lips, my God, they were pink, pillowy bits of flesh that demanded a man’s attention.
I wanted to devour this woman whole.
My heart squeezed again, and a warmth spread through my chest. Conflicting feelings of guilt and desire roared through me like a freight train. It was the same feeling I’d had when I kissed my wife’s lips for the last time, right after she begged me to find love again.
In that moment, I knew my lost love had brought this angel before me. Made me feel things for a stranger I hadn’t felt in four years. As if desire, longing, and excitement were wakening from an intense term of hibernation. And I was hungry. Filled to the brim with a need so intense I shook with it.