Page 48 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 4

“I thought you had a girlfriend,” Savannah asked.

Autumn shrugged and looked away.

My heart stopped. “Did you finally break it off with Raquel?” I said with far too much enthusiasm.

“As a matter of fact, I did. Don’t be so thrilled with my relationship ending. I’m still bummed about it. I hoped she’d be the one.”

I held my breath, doing my best not to react insensitively. I fucking hated Raquel.

Autumn glared in my direction, likely seeing through my expression I wasn’t unhappy about this breakup. “Just because you found Prince Charming over there doesn’t mean we all do. Sometimes it’s just not in the cards.”

That time my mother snorted. “It’s always in the cards.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a tarot deck.

“I’m the one that has the sight, Ma, and I’ve never seen myself walking down the aisle to the person of my dreams, male or female.”

“Do you want to be married one day?” Savannah asked.

“Honestly…more than anything. I would love to share my life with someone special. Someone who gets me, and of course, all of this chaos and family drama, I mean loyalty.” She grinned and gestured around the room.

Autumn was right. We did have an unorthodox family that only got more complex with the addition of Jack, TJ, and all of the Johansens. We were a lot. Our spiritual beliefs. Our culinary needs. The way we made a living. The average person might shy away from all that comes with our group. I’m just glad Jack wasn’t scared off.

“You know, you could always enter the auction,” Erik suggested. “Seemed to work out aces for me and Jack.”

Autumn’s eyes widened before she looked at me, then at Mom and then at Dad. “Holy shit, I could totally enter the auction and let fate decide who was my destiny. That’s a brilliant idea, Erik!”

“Whoo hoo!” Mom jumped up and clapped while dancing around the table and calling to the ancestors.

“I think that’s our cue,” Jack whispered.

“Wait, what’s going on now?” I blinked in confusion as Jack helped me up and around the table. We both kissed TJ’s head as he slept through all the noise like a champ. This boded well for our future sex life with a little one around.

“Come, darling, we have a long night ahead of us.” He growled under his breath, and we both waved as we exited the room.

Jack led me down the hallway and up the stairs. Each staff member we passed on the way to our room congratulated us on our nuptials.

By the time we made it to our room, my head was spinning with all that had happened that day but especially regarding that last part involving my sister.

“What just happened in there?”

“You mean after our reception wound down?” Jack asked, tugging his black cashmere sweater up and off, leaving him in a white V-neck t-shirt. Before I could comment, he whipped the t-shirt off, gifting me a perfect view of his golden, muscular chest. I wanted to lick him everywhere, from his waistband up and over every abdominal hill and valley, over his steely pecs and all along his tasty neck.

I nodded silently as I watched my husband undo his belt and pull it through the loops on his pants and drop it on the floor. I jumped at the sudden sound; my gaze focused entirely on each new bit of skin that was revealed.

“Your sister just decided to enter The Marriage Auction.”

I was about to respond when his pants and underwear hit the floor. Instead, I attacked him with my mouth. Anything else would have to come later.

Priorities and all that.

Episode 101

Angel of Death

MADAM ALANA

The shower was not hot enough as I pressed my forehead to the cool tile, letting the spray crash over my sore and battered muscles. Being bounced around in the cargo space of one car to another for most of the day yesterday had been murder on my body. Regardless, it wasn’t as bad as the heaviness within my heart. Knowing it was my choice thirty years ago that had set this entire mess into motion felt like the weight of the world rested on my weak shoulders. I was no longer built for such strife and sacrifice. I had been born into it, lived a tumultuous life my first eighteen years on this Earth, but not since Christophe purchased me in the auction. Since then, we’d lived a beautiful, rather pampered lifestyle. Something I wouldn’t apologize for as both Christo and I worked tirelessly over the years to get to this point.

“I can hear you thinking in there,mon coeur. Care to share?” Christophe’s sleepy voice filtered through the sound of the water spray and my turbulent thoughts.

---