Page 42 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 1

Over my dead body would that cowboy put his hands on her.

When she moved close, I hooked her around the waist and plastered her against my much larger one. Julianne wasn’t a petite woman by any means. Actually, most would consider her full-figured or plus-sized. To me, the more curves the merrier. The woman was drop-dead gorgeous. Large, full tits, a soft, nipped-in waist, hips that were made to be grabbed, and an ass that begged to be bitten. All I wanted to do was run my hands over every inch of those succulent curves. Which was when my mind reminded me that Julianne had always been off-limits.

“The fuck you are,” I hissed, my breath making the fiery hair around her face shift slightly. “Just talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

Julianne sighed and dropped her head to my chest, all the piss and vinegar leaving her as she clung to me.

I soaked in the comfort of her familiar presence and the beauty of physically touching another human being. Since I’d walked away from my life, I hadn’t hugged anyone, preferring to stay alone and shut out the world at the lake house.

“She’s ruined everything. I have nothing.” she whispered as tears filled her eyes and fell down those creamy, pearlescent cheeks.

I cupped the back of her neck with one hand and embraced her fully against my chest, wanting her to know I was there and she wasn’t alone. Dipping my head, I rested it to the top of hers. “Who has?”

“Bianca!” she bitched, moving away from me suddenly.

“What did my ex do now?” I scowled. Even hearing her name was like a knife to my gut.

Jules huffed, then wiped at her eyes angrily. “Besides all that she did to you, she got my brother to fire me.”

“He can’t fire you,” I stated flatly. “Not legally, nor without my written consent. Besides, you’re an owner. I assume you received a quarter of their shares—as he did—after Lewis and Rachel passed, right? I’m my parents’ only heir, so I was left all of theirs in the company.”

She laughed haughtily as though I was missing out on some big joke as she paced the room. “God, you really have no clue what’s been happening in your absence, do you?”

“Enlighten me.” I crossed my arms and waited her out.

She approached an empty chair and slumped into it. “Hmm, let’s see if I can bring you up to date since you disappeared off the face of the planet after the funeral.”

“You know why I had to get away,” I grated through my teeth. “I couldn’t look my fiancée or my best friend in the eyes after what they’d done. Not after losing my parents too.”

“Yeah, well, while you’ve been hiding wherever it is you went, your ex has been very busy. Not only did she get my brother to marry her in a quicker-than-quick wedding I wasn’t invited to, but my parents’ will was also read. Let me give you the Cliff Notes version. They didn’t leave me any of their shares in the company.”

“You’re joking,” I deadpanned, shock and disbelief threading through my tone.

She shook her head. “I wish I was. They left me their estate and half the money they had in their accounts and investments.”

That was unbelievable and beyond what I could even imagine. The Myers had been devoted to both their children. And they knew that Julianne was responsible for most of the business’s recent success and the boon in the high-paying clientele. The woman was a beast in the real estate industry.

“You’ve worked at FM Enterprises your entire working life. You love it more than anyone,” I managed to croak.

Her bottom lip trembled as she nodded. “Which is why I’m contesting the will.”

A bomb going off couldn’t have been more of a surprise. “No,” I gasped. “That will tie things up for years to come.”

“I have no choice! Neither Brenden nor my folks left me any option. I still can’t wrap my mind around why they would do this to me. My entire life is in that company.” She sniffed, her eyes shimmering with tears that fell in perfect streaks down her cheeks. “Dammit all to hell!” She lifted her face to the ceiling as if to stem the flow, but it wasn’t working.

There was no way I could let this continue. I approached and sat in the chair next to her, then reached out and put my hand to her knee in support. “We’ll fix this. I’ll help you.”

“The thirty million you promised would help me,” was her sassy reply.

I ran my hand through my hair and leaned an elbow on my knee so I could face her. “You know thirty million is a drop in the bucket for me. If you need that money, Jules, I’ll give it to you.” There was a tendril of unruly dark-red hair that had fallen in front of her left eye. I reached out and gently pushed it behind her ear, then caressed her face with the tips of my fingers as I let go.

She shivered at the featherlight touch to her jawline, and I felt that response below the belt. My cock started to harden behind my slacks and I shifted my legs to allow for more room. I calmly started thinking of cats, old ladies knitting, dirty socks, and whatever else I could conjure so that I wasn’t focused on Julianne and how fantastic she looked in that white dress.

“I don’t want or need a handout, Gio. I want a partner. I want fucking revenge against Bianca and Brenden. Don’t you?”

I inhaled sharply. “I do, but it’s not healthy.”

“Says the man who’s independently wealthy with more money than you could ever spend in a hundred lifetimes. FM Enterprises may be just one of many successful companies you now own, not to mention the generational wealth your family has accumulated, but this was mylivelihood. My passion. My living, breathing dream job. And for all intents and purposes, it is my birthright. I don’t know why my parents signed the business away to Brenden, but I’m going to find out.”

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