The Marriage Auction: Season One Volume Two Read online

  By Audrey Carlan

  The Marriage Auction: Season One, Volume Two

  By Audrey Carlan

  Copyright 2021 Audrey Carlan

  ISBN: 978-1-957568-37-9

  Published by Blue Box Press, an imprint of Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Editor: Jeanne De Vita

  Cover design by Asha Hossain

  Note to Readers/Content Warnings

  This entire saga needs a variety of trigger warnings. These were listed in Book One. This is a reminder of what those warnings are:

  - Reference to rape

  - Reference to child endangerment

  - Reference to child abuse

  - Domestic violence/intimate partner violence

  - Reference to suicide

  - Murder and attempted murder

  - Reference to sex trafficking (including that of minors)

  - Morally gray characters

  - Violence

  - Gun violence

  - Graphic depiction of sexual acts (consensual)

  - Taboo themes such as auctioning individuals in exchange for money (consensual)

  - Profanity

  This saga was originally written and published on the Amazon Kindle Vella platform in weekly installments for over a year. Each volume includes more than ten percent new content with many new scenes that have never been published before. I recommend you read the books in order, since Book Two picks up where Book One left off!

  Episode 38

  Passing the Torch

  FAITH

  A concussion. A broken nose. A lost tooth. Fifteen stitches across his palm. Bumps, bruises, cuts, and sore muscles. Besides the lost tooth, everything else would heal with time, painkillers, and bedrest.

  “Cara mia.” My father squeezed my hand to gain my attention. Eden lay curled up to his side, her little arm hugging his broad chest while she slept next to her grandfather. My sweet baby girl had been traumatized by her experience, but the doctors had assured me that her glucose levels were perfect, and she was in good health. They’d prescribed Eden enough insulin for the next several weeks as Joel had mentioned we’d be traveling to Greece soon.

  I bit down on my bottom lip hearing my father’s tone. Joel was giving me and my family some time alone. He’d put two guards at my father’s hospital room door and was speaking hushed, curt, rapid-fire Greek into his phone as he walked the corridor. Joel’s plan was to get us out of Las Vegas as soon as possible, but I was loath to leave my father in such a state.

  “Faith, look at me,” my father urged, his voice a scratchy rasp, reminding me of sandpaper grating across wood.

  I swallowed and turned my head from our clenched hands to his beloved face. Shame and fear tore through me in equal parts as I surveyed the damage Aiden had done.

  “You must go. Leave this place and go where that man can’t find or hurt you and my grandchild again.”

  I choked on a sob, putting my fist to my mouth to cover the cries that threated to explode into a million tears all over my poor father’s broken body. “You’re hurt. I can’t leave you like this… Don’t make me.” I held his hand with both of mine.

  He shook his head, the bandage across his nose and the deep black bruising around his eyes making him look like he’d gone a round with a famous boxer and lost woefully.

  “The doctor said I’ll be fine. Just a couple weeks of bedrest and I’ll be ready to work the restaurant again. Joel has already offered to put me up in The Alexandra. I’ll have regular checkups with his onsite medical team for as long as I need. My sister and your cousins will be arriving soon to overload me with attention. I have people here to help.” He squeezed my hand tighter. “You don’t. Please, Faith, please give me this one thing. The gift of your and Eden’s safety is all I need in order to heal. Please, cara mia.”

  I closed my eyes, let the tears fall, and nodded. I’d give anything to my father, especially after all he’d done for me. I owed him far more than I could ever repay.

  He sighed, pulled his hand from mine, and patted the top. “Good. This makes me happy. Check in with me when you are safe and settled in Greece.”

  “I will, Dad.”

  My father shifted to the side and kissed Eden on the crown of her head. “Show her the world, Faith. Give her what I couldn’t give you…a safe home.” His chin shook, and he pressed it to Eden’s hair again, as if he were soaking her in.

  My heart was ready to burst. Sadness coated my throat and made it almost impossible to speak. And still I whispered, “I will do my best.”

  I’d been trying to do my best since I’d gotten into this situation with Aiden years ago. My best had not been good enough. Even now my father sat broken in a hospital room because of my poor choices.

  The door opened behind us, and Joel entered alone.

  “You ready, Faith? The jet is waiting.” Joel’s voice was soft yet direct. Something I’d come to appreciate about him. A person never had to guess what he was thinking or feeling. He made it clear with his words and actions. He’d promised to get Eden back safely, and he had. Joel would be capable of doing what my father and I had tried to do for years. Keep us protected and out of harm’s way.

  I stood up from my chair near the head of the hospital bed. “Yes.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I love you, Dad, and I’m going to miss you terribly.” I swallowed down the sorrow and put on a brave face. “And when you’re feeling better, Joel says we’ll fly you out for the wedding. Sound good?”

  My father graced me with a sweet smile filled with pride. No matter what I did, he always showed me how proud he was, even if I didn’t feel I’d earned it. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said, then kissed Eden’s hair.

  Joel went over to the other side of my father’s bed, curled his arms around Eden, and lifted her up, placing her loose arms over his shoulders and her legs around his waist. She snuggled right against his neck, her face touching his skin. I watched in awe at how natural he was with her. As though he’d done this a million times. Probably because he had—with his own daughter, who was just a bit older. He rubbed a soothing hand up and down Eden’s back, assuring her even while she slept that she was being taken care of.

  I chanced a look at my father, who was beaming with joy even with his black-and-blue, bandaged face.

  “You’re a good man, Joel Castellanos,” he announced, loud and clear.

  “Does that mean I have your approval to marry your daughter, Mr. Marino?” Joel asked point-blank. Always direct.

  My father chuckled lightly. “You have my permission to marry my daughter, Joel. Take care of her and Eden. I’m counting on you.”

  “With everything I am and everything I have. They will want for nothing,” Joel vowed.

  While the men looked at one another, something silent was exchanged. It was as if my father was passing the torch to Joel, and he was accepting it with eager hands.

  The weird thing was that I knew it was me. I was the torch.

  A warmth filled my chest while butterflies took flight in my stomach. There was a change in the air for a moment as Joel looked at me, his eyes alight with confidence and determination.

  He wanted to take care of me. He wanted me in his life. Me. I didn’t know why or how, but knowing a man of Joel’s caliber, grit, and kindness wanted me, baggage and all, did the one thing I feared more than anything.

  It gave me hope.

  I’d never seen Eden interact with anyone outside of me and my father. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily she fell into step with me after not having seen in her in months, even though I’d video chatted with her twice a day when I was on the road.

  On the road.

  That’s what I used to call it when speaking with her or my father. In reality I was on the run. Hiding until I felt it was safe. Then I’d ask my father to bring Eden to me so she and I could be together for a few months. When I caught wind that Aiden and his team were closing in on finding me again, she’d go back with my father. That process had worked well enough since Eden was born, even though she spent more time with my father than me. Our goal had always been to provide my sister, Grace, with limited access to Eden, while keeping her off Aiden's radar entirely.

  Eden ran from one side of the jet to the other and back, squealing with glee. I’d worried she might hate it or be a difficult flyer. She was the exact opposite. Worse, Joel egged her on by clapping and grinning every time she “tagged” him as “it.” Over and over she played this game. Every time she got near, he’d reach out to tickle her, wiggling his fingers as though he was trying to get her, although he never left his chair by my side.

  The last time Eden ran close to us, he scooped her up, twisted her around, and placed her sideways on his lap.

  She giggled and kicked her socked feet.

  “Are you ready for some lunch, little one?” he asked her. “
If Mimi says it’s okay, we have some pasta with marinara and garlic bread ready for you.”

  “Hungry.” She nodded and licked her lips, sticking her tongue way out to one side and then the other.

  Joel chuckled and put her down on her feet. The flight attendant approached at that moment with a plate of food portioned for a child.

  I got up and helped Eden into the booster seat that they’d already had on the plane because apparently Joel had thought of everything under the sun. Once she was settled and buckled in, I took the food from the attendant. An animated Disney movie was already playing on a flat-screen TV across from Eden’s seat. The attendant handed me a pair of children’s headphones, and I placed them on her head. Within moments, she was eating happily and bopping along to the movie.

  “You’re good with her,” Joel said as I returned to the back section of the plane and eased down in the chair next to him. He took my hand and interlaced our fingers. I enjoyed his overt desire to touch me physically. To connect with me simply by holding my hand. It felt…intimate.

  “I want to be. I’m afraid I’ve done so many things wrong when it comes to her. And now she has kidnapping by scary men to add to the list of childhood traumas. I just want her to be happy and healthy, with her only worry being what Santa is going to bring her for Christmas. With her diabetes, she already has more to manage than the average child. Add to that a mother who abandons her regularly…”

  “You can only fill in for your sister so much, Faith. You’ve done the best you can with the cards you’ve been dealt. Now you’re showing a royal flush, darling. It’s a winning hand from here on out.” He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek tenderly.

  Our gazes caught and held. I rubbed my cheek into the warmth of his palm.

  “You’re amazing, you know that? I can’t possibly believe my luck that you were there, that you were the one who saw me. Really saw me that night as I stood on the stage, feeling like I was selling my soul to the highest bidder.”

  “Not your soul, but your hand in marriage. I endeavor to win your heart and your soul.” He closed the distance between us and pressed his lips to mine.

  He tasted of the cappuccino he’d sipped when we got settled on the plane and a rich, dark flavor that was all his own.

  I sighed into his kiss, tipping my head to the side and allowing him to take it further. He accepted the invitation, threading his fingers through my hair and cupping my nape, holding me close. I wasn’t going anywhere. Not in this lifetime would I have pulled away from soaking in every second of his affection. I wanted it with a passion that couldn’t be denied.

  Chills raced down my nerve endings, making the air thicker as we drank from one another’s lips. I weaved my fingers through the long, silky layers on top of his head and moaned as he dug his teeth into my bottom lip. He hummed at my response, his other hand landing on my waist and moving up to my rib cage. He held me upright when I wanted to sink against him, crawl into his lap, and never leave this experience.

  Unfortunately, Eden laughed heartily in that high-pitched kid-scream that had me tearing my mouth from his. Which was when I also realized I was half in his chair, my entire upper body pressed to his, my fingers fisting his espresso-colored hair. His eyes were on me, pupils widened to twice their size. His lips were red and bruised from our kisses. I couldn’t help but lean forward and suck his bottom lip into my mouth, bite down on the plump tissue, and snap it teasingly.

  His arms came around me more firmly, locking me against his chest and holding me in place.

  “You tease me in such a way I want to eat you up, right here, right now.” He ran his nose alongside mine, revealing a playful trait I hadn’t seen much from him.

  I grinned widely, enjoying this side of the man I would marry soon.

  “And she smiles, when I’m clearly using Herculean effort in order to not ravish you where you sit.” He sighed dramatically.

  That had me chuckling and blushing like a schoolgirl after being kissed stupid by her high school crush.

  “We will be in Greece soon, and there you will share my bed. We shall see how you feel when I tease you mercilessly, my precious fiancée.” He dipped his head and nipped a line down my neck.

  My heart pounded in my chest as gooseflesh rose on my skin. Imagining him meting out a teasing, pleasurable punishment in his bed sent a flood of arousal between my thighs.

  I shifted my legs, squeezing them together in a desperate attempt to stave off the ache he had built with his kiss, his words, and his touch.

  His eyes were blazing when I licked my lips. He zeroed in on the movement and cocked a brow.

  “I see the future Mrs. Castellanos likes this idea.”

  “Very much,” I admitted, wishing we were already in Greece and Eden was settled, sleeping the night away so I could fall into this man’s bed.

  He hummed a low rumble in his throat. “I think we are very evenly matched in our desire for one another.”

  I nodded, wanting nothing more than to jump his bones. He was so manly, his manner so take charge without being overbearing. Though I imagined he probably could be that way too. We still didn’t know each another that well. All I knew was I wanted to know him better. I wanted to know him in every delectable way possible.

  Starting with us both being naked and in his bed.

  With as much strength as I could muster, I pushed aside any reservations and old wounds from my time with Aiden and his treatment of me. Ever since meeting Joel, there’d been this low-level hum of sexual chemistry fermenting the air around us. He was the first man I’d wanted to touch sexually in longer than I could remember. My fingers itched with the desire to explore Joel’s body, despite the doubts and fears that lingered from the last sexual experience I’d had with Aiden.

  I felt ready for this step. Ready to heal those parts of my mind, heart, and body. And I wanted to do that healing with Joel.

  I glanced over at Eden, who was happily shoveling pasta into her mouth, red sauce all over her sweet face. Fully strapped into her chair and facing away from us, Eden was completely enchanted by her meal and the characters on the screen.

  Feeling bold, and knowing Eden was far enough away that she couldn’t see or hear anything, I trailed my hand down between us and palmed the very large package I’d felt during our heated kisses.

  Joel grunted as I watched him dig his fingers into the leather armrest.

  “You do not play fair, Faith.” It was a statement and a warning.

  My excitement soared as the long-lost feeling of sexual pleasure skittered along my skin. I wanted to make this man feel good, feel something amazing from my touch alone. Especially after that hot and needy impromptu make-out session. I rubbed the steel pipe behind his dress slacks and watched him tip his head back and hiss with his eyes closed. Needing to taste the golden-olive skin on display firsthand, I dipped my head to his neck and eagerly dragged my teeth, tongue, and lips across the heated expanse.

  Delicious.

  Joel rewarded me by sliding his free hand up my rib cage to boldly cup my breast over my blouse, swiping against my nipple with impeccable precision.

  A mewl left my throat as I pushed into his palm more fully.

  “I want to rip this shirt off you, wrap my lips around this plump breast, and bite down on your nipple until you beg me for more,” he growled against my ear as I continued teasing and sucking his neck.

  I lifted my head and pressed my forehead to his while continuing to rub him through his pants, loving how long and hard he was. His hips moved in a counter rhythm from my hand as we got lost once more in the sensations flowing between us.

  Suddenly his hips halted their movements, and he let out a long, pained breath of air. “Faith, you need to stop.” His body, however, was one hundred percent telling me to keep going.

  “I never want to stop,” I taunted, picking up the pace, rubbing harder, faster.

  He groaned, tipping his hips again for a couple more strokes. “You’re going to unman me in my pants, on my jet, in front of your niece,” he grated through his teeth. Then he let my breast go and covered my hand, stopping my movements and his own.