There she stood in skimpy lace, the pale pink tips of her nipples clearly visible through the scalloped edges of her lingerie. The panties were almost comical in the fact that they barely existed. The twin ribbons tied at each hip would be nothing to tug and get right to the heart of her.
I wanted to murder every man in the room for daring to lay eyes on my intended.
Nile took my wrist. “Joel, calm down, mate. You’re growling and sneering. You look ready to kill someone.”
My nostrils flared as I picked up my paddle, raised my arm, and clicked the light on before Madam Alana even had a chance to start the bidding.
“Twenty million dollars,” I called out, loud enough for everyone in the large room to hear.
Faith gasped, those striking eyes seeming to pinpoint exactly where I stood, paddle raised, the stream of light a warning to any who dared go against me.
I was filthy rich. Twenty million was nothing to me.
I’d pay much more to secure the one woman that I knew deep down in my soul my Alexandra had chosen for me.
“Number one, did I hear you right? You want to start the bidding at twenty million dollars to secure the hand of Ms. Faith Marino?”
“Yes.”
“Do I have twenty-one million?” Madama Alana’s hand went to her throat, and she audibly gulped.
I grinned as a pleasurable tingle spread over my entire body. It was the same feeling I got when I knew I was about to win something I wanted. Usually it was a building, a boat, or a contract for land. This time it was a wife. A mother for my daughter. A willing woman to warm my bed.
A goddess sent from Heaven above.
The sweet sound of a quiet crowd greeted me as I stared at my soon-to-be wife.
“Soon,” I whispered to Faith, my gaze never leaving hers.
“Sold, for twenty million to bidder number one,” Madam Alana declared.
I inhaled fully, letting the buzz of acquiring something I wanted desperately to flow over me in the smug taste of victory. It was sweeter than the finest French wine.
I closed my eyes and let my heart fill with happiness.
Thank you, my love, for bringing me a goddess. I shall cherish her as I did you.
Episode 14
Ruby’s Contract
NILE
Thirty minutes before during Ruby’s Auction…
After I helped my longtime friend Joel Castellanos get himself under control within the dark interior of the amphitheater, I waited rather impatiently to officially bid on Ruby. As expected, she came to life on the stage in a red satin robe and delectable lingerie. She gallantly highlighted her assets, but like Joel, I would not be outbid. In the end, I secured her hand for a cool six million dollars. I couldn’t wait to meet her in person. Once she left the stage, I excused myself to hunt down my brother Noah.
A smug sense of triumph simmered through my veins as I briskly made my way down the long corridor. I could see Noah’s gray-suited form pacing an open-air alcove overlooking Sin City.
I didn’t have to say a word when I arrived. His broad shoulders stiffened, and he turned around abruptly with a ferocious scowl marring the face that was identical to mine. He lifted his hand and pointed directly at me .
“That in there was not what we agreed to!” he shouted.
I smirked, living for every second of his loss.
“You know it, and I know it. We were both supposed to have the opportunity to bid on the same woman. That was part of the deal,” he growled.
I couldn’t help the joy I felt at the utter devastation of his downfall. Wanting to take in the satisfaction of prevailing where my brother did not, I calmly crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the balcony railing, watching while he unraveled further.
“This does not count. It’s not fair, and you know it.”
“You don’t think it’s fair?” I murmured, a twitch of my lips revealing my pleasure at his blatant tizzy.
He stopped mid-pace. “The parameters were clear, brother. We both bid on the same woman. Whoever won her and married her would secure the additional percentage of our family’s inheritance.”
Noah wasn’t wrong. We had in fact made a deal with one another, and I never went back on my word. Letting him stew in his anger, though amusing, was not palatable in the long term. My brother and I were identical twins. Not only brothers by blood, but we were also true life-mates. Best friends. Regardless of how different we were in our interests, work, and desires, ultimately, we were one another’s touchstone. Ever since our parents died in a high-speed train accident when we were ten and were left to our grandfather’s care, we’d been inseparable. That did not change the fact that we were wickedly competitive, almost to a childish degree. And when our grandfather finally passed earlier this year, may his curmudgeonly soul rest in peace, he left each of us forty-nine percent of our family’s fortune.