The Marriage Auction: Book One(42)
When the officiant brought up the part about rings, Sutton dug into his trouser pocket and unearthed two matching yellow gold bands. One was more dainty than the other, but they were definitely a matched pair. He handed his ring to Dakota, and I noted her shocked intake of air.
He’d actually planned this event down to the smallest detail. It seemed he knew she’d be up for auction, or at the very least, hadn’t anticipated leaving that event without a bride on his arm.
The rings were exchanged, and my sister’s hand shook as he placed the ring on her finger. I watched as he thumbed the gold metal and stared into her eyes longingly.
“I’m finally marrying the woman I’ve wanted since I was fifteen years old.” He leaned down and kissed the ring directly over her finger in a worshipful gesture that eased the tension in my heart.
He genuinely likes her.
She jolted, dropping the flowers at her side to the ground as her hand came up to cover her heart.
“On that happy note, I am pleased to announce that by the authority vested in me by the State of Nevada, you are now husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
“No, you don’t! Step away from me, mister! You’re getting nowhere near me with that mouth!” she grouched, but Sutton didn’t listen. He was a man on a mission, and she was his end game.
He put one hand to her waist, and the other to the back of her neck and hurled her against his body. His head came down and tilted deeply to the side, making enough room for his hat as his lips pressed to hers.
For a second or two she fought his kiss, her hands in fists at his chest, but then, surprisingly, her fight suddenly ended. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and slanted her head. The kiss went from angry to heated so quickly it almost felt indecent to watch.
They ate at each other’s mouths, growling and groaning as though they were fighting a battle with their tongues.
Her hands went up his neck and into his hair, knocking off his cowboy hat. Her fingers speared through the layers of his hair as one of his hands slid down to her ass. A manly, gruff moan filtered through the air as Sutton hauled her against his body more fully.
Erik and I stood there trying not to look at the furious coupling, but couldn’t help ourselves. It was like watching a train about to hit a car stuck on the tracks. We couldn’t look away. It was spellbinding. And yet, as Sutton pulled my sister off her feet, both his hands gripped her booty while he ground against her in a rather graphic display of his possessive side.
My chest heated, and I fanned my face. Erik chuckled behind a fist, but the two kept at it. If they’d been alone, the odds were they’d have torn their clothing off and fucked like rabbits, the rest of us be damned.
“Um, hello, you two? We’re still here,” I called out.
Not a moment later, my sister’s body froze. Her fingers slid out of Sutton’s hair, and she kicked her booted feet wildly, catching Sutton in the shin as she bit down on his lip.
I winced as he pulled away cursing. “Jesus, woman!” he roared. Blood dripped down his puffy lips as he prodded the flesh with his fingers. “You bit me!”
Her gaze narrowed, and she pointed a finger at him, her arm all the way out in front of her. “Serves you right for kissing me!”
He grinned, his teeth tinged red as he patted at the wound. “Worth every second. Even worth a fat lip and bruised shin.”
“Oh, yeah? How’s about a black eye to go with it?” She fisted her hand and cocked her arm back.
“You’ve already punched me today. I think we’ve reached our quota of violence and wedded bliss, don’t you?”
She huffed and shoved her wild hair out of her face, then put both her hands to her waist. “What now, husband?” she sneered.
He grinned manically. “Any chance you’re ready to consummate the marriage?”
She approached him with her finger out once again and poked at his massive chest. “No chance in hell, buster!”
He gripped her wrist so fast I barely saw it before he had it behind her back.
“Keep pushing my buttons and I’ll hog-tie your ass and play with you until you beg me for release,” he growled low in his throat.
“I. Dare. You. To. Try.” She gritted through her teeth, fighting back, but her body arched naturally toward his once more.
He grinned. “Being married to you is going to be the most fun I’ve ever had.”
“Your fun, my nightmare,” she countered flippantly.
“We’ll see about that. Come on, time to sign the wedding license. Then, back to our hotel.”
“Our hotel?” Her eyes went round.
“Of course. We’re married now, Dakota. You sleep where I tell you to sleep. And that’s right next to me. Check your contract, darlin’.”
The contract.
Oh hell, now I was questioning the fine print. Was I supposed to sleep next to Erik? Prior to the wedding?
I thought I had a month to come to terms with this man in my life and… in my bed.
Episode 21
Faith in Someone
FAITH
He had a daughter.
A child.
My heart clenched painfully in my chest. I gritted my teeth as Joel kept hold of my hand the entire way to The Alexandra, a resort he apparently owned. For the first time in years, the touch of another wasn’t repulsive or fear-inducing. Quite the opposite. I felt tethered to something safe like a buoy in open water. A feeling I most certainly had not had in longer than I could remember.