Three women and one man put themselves up for auction in a high-stakes game of marriage, money, and mayhem. The spice is high, the characters intense, and the plot will keep you guessing until the bitter end. This is the filthy, gritty, angsty soap opera you never knew you needed. Welcome to The Marriage Auction.

Meet the candidates:

Maia Rhodes – A twenty-four-year-old pickpocket with a tragic past and one goal: Do whatever it takes to secure enough money to save her family from the devil and his spawn back home…even marry a stranger.

Memphis Taylor – A college footballer who had big dreams of playing for the NFL but dropped out of college due to an injury. He needs to make enough money to help support his five sisters, his parents, and his sassy granny. What’s three years of his life?

Summer Belanger – A Californian cannabis farmer with an unorthodox family, a witchy faith, and a desire to find her life’s purpose. As a horticulturist, she finds solace and peace in plants and nature but doesn’t know the first thing about running a successful business. Her kookie parents suggest the auction so she can find a businessman who will help her succeed and also handle her pesky lack of orgasms.

Julianne Myers – Was raised in the lap of luxury, until her parents and their best friends were killed, leaving her brother and her childhood crush their empires. Her brother and his new fiancée attempt to take it all. Lost and utterly alone, Jules enters into the auction in order to make a huge amount of money fast. Only she didn’t expect her godmother, aka Madam Alana, to meddle and create a match she never dreamed possible.

Meet the Bidders:

Rhodes Davenport: A billionaire single dad with a wounded heart and no desire to purchase a bride. The Madam of the auction has other ideas.

Naomi Shaw – A stylish, stunning, and shrewd businesswoman who owns a jewelry empire. In her experience, men have only been good at one thing, using her up. Since she no longer believes in true love, what’s the next best way to secure a man devoted to her and only her? Buy one.

Jack Larsen – A stoic and stern businessman who runs the largest brewing company in the world. As an orphan, his friends are the family he has chosen. All his life he’s wanted nothing but to find a woman who will stay and create a family with him. Since his best friend found the love of his life in the marriage auction, he believes he can too.

Giovanni Falco – An only child who lost his parents and their best friends in one fatal accident. He thought he could count on his fiancée to see him through, but she betrayed him with his best friend the night of their wedding rehearsal. When he receives a strange call from an old friend and a picture of his childhood crush in the marriage auction, he seizes an opportunity he can’t let slip through his fingers.

Book Type:

Romance

Excerpt: The Marriage Auction 2

None of the men I dated online had any idea who I was or what I was worth. This was intentional because I had hoped to find real, true love. Unlike my parents whose marriage had been arranged. The top one percenters of the world loved to pair like with like. Money with money. Very few in my circles had a love match.  My father believed me wedding a man from the upper crust of society, handpicked to continue the upward trajectory of our generational earnings, was absolutely necessary.

I disagreed. Thus the entire reason I was in Las Vegas in the first place.

To choose a husband.

I tossed my cell phone onto the bar and made eye contact with the bartender just as a man smoothly approached to take the only seat available, the one next to me.

“Were you saving this seat for someone?” His voice was low and deep, reminiscent of my mother’s favorite actor, Mr. Morgan Freeman—the man, the legend.

I glanced up, readying a polite half smile when the scents of leather and spice hit my nose. My gaze settled on the striking, chiseled face of a startlingly handsome Black man. I opened my mouth and then clamped it shut, forgetting what he’d asked after taking in the grandeur of his good looks. He was at least six foot three with the build of a football player. Exactly the type of man I needed. One who would not only look exceptional on my arm, but strong enough to protect me from people who might want to hurt me. In my line of business, having a lover who could be both was ideal.

The man smiled wide, his bright, perfectly white teeth on full display as he gestured to the seat. “May I?”

“Oh, uh absolutely. I’m sorry. You…looked familiar for a second.” Fat lie. He looked like no man I knew because I would remember someone that handsome. He turned the barstool to the side and wedged his massive frame between me and the seat.

I inhaled deeply, letting his magnificent scent fill my lungs and settle my rapidly beating heart. I put my hand to my chest and cleared my throat. I was positively dying of thirst at the sight of such a gorgeous creature.

The bartender approached. “What can I get you two?” he asked me and my accidental companion.

“Oh, no!” I shook my head. “He’s not…” I moved to correct the bartender.

“I’ll have an IPA.” The man spoke in a sultry timbre that wove deep into my chest like a purr. “Whatever you recommend. And the lady?” His full lips twitched as he leaned a tad closer, quirking his head to the side in what I took to be a challenge.

“I’ll have a vodka martini, shaken, two olives,” I rattled off my favorite cocktail.

The bartender nodded and left to make our drinks. I turned to the side, putting my legs on full display as I crossed them not-so-subtly. My legs were my favorite feature. They were long, toned, and shined to perfection.

The man’s dark gaze dipped to my limbs as if on autopilot, and I watched, satisfied, as he slowly, almost sensually, licked his bottom lip and sucked that bit of flesh back into his mouth. He put a fist up to cover the move and promptly looked away, but I’d caught him in the act of checking me out. I’d crafted the moment. I’d have been salty all night if he’d been too gentlemanly. I liked a man who was chivalrous but also had passion and intrigue in his bag of tricks.

“You didn’t have to pretend we’re together,” I announced.

“Not gonna lie, I saw you from across the room while you were checking your phone. You seemed upset, and my momma always taught me that a kind word or a good deed goes a long way. I figured maybe you could use something to make you smile. A free drink never hurt anyone.” He grinned.

“Too true. Thank you. I’m Naomi Shaw.” I put my hand out in greeting.

“Memphis Taylor.” He took my hand, and like a grizzly bear holding the hand of a child, his swallowed up mine. “That’s a mighty paw you’ve got there,” I teased.

He chuckled, warm and deep, the sound causing butterflies to flutter their silky wings inside my stomach.

The bartender approached as a quiet hum settled over us.