© Copyright 2018 by Sloane Peterson - All rights reserved.
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The Billionaire Bachelor
By: Sloane Peterson
Table of Contents
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1
It was time for Ellie to see the man of her dreams again, even though the situation in which she found herself was entirely surreal. The last few weeks had passed by in a blur and she still wasn't quite sure how this had all happened. She was on a tropical island with the sun beating down on her. Palm trees swayed in a soft breeze, the white sands of the beach were visible, and the horizon of the shimmering blue sea appeared beyond it. The sun was warm and it made her skin tingle. The air was sweet, and yet it was almost impossible for her to relax.
As peaceful as the scenery around her was, the circumstances surrounding this paradise were anything but calm. In this brief moment, the woman with the golden hair and heart-shaped face who had captured the hearts of the nation reflected on the events that had led her to this moment. It had all started on a lonely night when she had been lamenting her fortunes in romance. She had been on a string of endless, hopeless dates with men who could offer her nothing she wanted. From a young age, she’d had a strong sense of who she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. The man of her dreams was strong and handsome, with a kind smile and nurturing eyes but a passion in his heart that burned for her like a thousand raging suns. He would be good with his hands and creative, honest and true.
Perhaps she was asking too much but she had always been told to never give up on her dreams. Maybe it was a tough task but it was something that was going to define her life. Ellie didn't want to be with someone who fell short of her hopes and dreams. What if her dream man came along when she was with someone else? The thought filled her with dread so she had made sure to never commit herself to any man who was not perfect. This, of course, meant that her life had not been filled with any long-term relationships. Ellie had developed quite a blunt and cruel streak, ending romances as soon as it was clear they weren't what she was looking for. It made for a very lonely life and as the years went by, Ellie felt the cold grip of loneliness against her heart. Often she was able to cope because she kept telling herself that it would all be worth it in the end when she eventually met her dream man, but he was taking longer to come along than she would have hoped.
Only 22, Ellie felt the pressure of time already. Because she had known what she wanted from life from a young age, she was more mature than most when it came to expectations about how to meet her ambitions, and many men her own age could not match her in these terms. She found that older men often only wanted her for her looks when she had far more to give in terms of the substance of her personality, and most of the good ones had been married anyway. Given her experience she had narrowed things down to a man between 27 and 35, unmarried, with good prospects and everything else that she wanted. These criteria were almost impossible for one man to meet though and she had been thoroughly depressed by all the men who had attempted to woo her.
It left her feeling empty, and as she stared at the four walls of her bedroom, she wished for a way to provide some excitement to her life. For all she knew the love of her life was somewhere out there, waiting for her to find him. However, she did not know how to go about this task. Meeting someone at a bar seemed sleazy and none of her friends knew anyone with whom she could go on a blind date. Then, while she was browsing the internet, she found an application for a dating show. It was called All's Fair in Love...and they were advertising for women to be on the show. It was a reality show where a billionaire was looking for romance. She had no idea why a billionaire needed a reality show to find a girlfriend when there were so many other ways for him to meet a suitable match, and there was not any information about him so Ellie didn't know who she was going to end up meeting but it seemed as good an opportunity as any. The fact that she got to spend weeks on a tropical island was a bonus as well, and it was certainly something that would shake up her life.
She spent that evening filling in the application and hadn't been done until three in the morning.
Now she was standing on that island with only four other women remaining. She had beaten out half the competition and she felt like her chances were good. She was America's sweetheart, the good All-American girl who liked apple pie and the fourth of July. She was the embodiment of purity and chasteness and her fortune on the show had been due to the fact that she hadn't sunken to the slutty levels of some of the other competitors, like Charlotte for example. Ellie hadn't like her from the moment they had met. Charlotte was an opportunist and only wanted to use the show to bolster her own career. Ellie tried to stay out of her way as much as possible. She was almost the complete opposite of Ellie in every way with black hair, milky skin (Ellie's was tanned), and an hourglass, voluptuous figure. Ellie was more athletic and slender, although she had quickly grown envious of Charlotte's curves and how to use them.
The other women remaining were Tanya, a tall black woman who acted as regal as a queen. Ellie found her intimidating. Annalise had been kept on the show mostly for comedy value, at least that was the common thinking between the competitors. She was sweet enough but it was clear that she didn't stand a chance at winning the thing, she was just ditsy and said whatever was on her mind, which led to a lot of good television. The last one left was the only who Ellie considered a friend; Jordan. She was shy and sweet, very demure. She played violin and was the only one who struck Ellie as completely genuine. The two of them spent a lot of time together and had shared pretty much every detail of their lives. Ellie hoped that it wouldn't come down to the two of them because she liked Jordan so much, it would be difficult to see her lose, but Ellie was confident of her own chances.
So far every date she'd had with Adrian had been magical. The two of them had enjoyed an instant rapport and fell into an easy rhythm of conversation. There was definite attraction as well and they had already kissed and held hands. Ellie felt as though her chances were good and although she wasn't arrogant, she did sometimes think that these last few weeks were a formality. She couldn't imagine that Adrian enjoyed being with any of the other women as much as he enjoyed being with her. He was everything that she'd ever wanted and it felt like this was fate. She'd always known that she would know love when she felt it, and she was definitely feeling it now.
Adrian was introduced and greeted all of the women with a kiss on the cheek. Ellie was sure that his lips lingered on hers a little longer than anyone else. She caught his eye and loved the way his eyes sparkled under the sun. He was so tall and handsome and there was much left to discover about each other. It was strange being on television, knowing that practically everything you said and did was being recorded, although it had been so long now that sometimes Ellie forget the cameras were even there. However, it had impacted their dates as Adrian was reluctant to reveal too much about himself before he was ready, so their conversations had mostly been consisting of general matters without really getting into the deeper, more meaningful things.
&nbs
p; Ellie was going to change that. Adrian was about to announce who he was going to take on the next date, a moonlit night on the beach, and she was sure it was going to be her. The dates mostly worked on a rotational basis as the producers wanted Adrian to spend as much time with different women as possible. Ellie didn't mind it all that much. There was no point being jealous because she was the one who was going to win the entire show, and Adrian's heart.
It was all so simple in her mind. She had to just keep doing what she was doing and everything would work out fine. She smirked a little when she heard her name being called as she caught Charlotte glowering out of the corner of her eye. It was getting down to the business end of the show and the best woman was going to win.
2
Ellie had had all day to prepare for the date. She'd been given a list of subjects by her handler, Debbie, a producer who tried to make the show run smoothly. They were all aware that Adrian had been evasive when asked about his innermost thoughts and Ellie had been tasked to try and coax some secrets out of him. She had been encouraged by the fact that Debbie told her she was far and away the favorite to win, but Ellie wasn't completely naive. She was aware that all the producers cared about was making a good show and that they didn't really care who won as long as they got good ratings. Still, Ellie was happy to play along with their little game as long as it didn't conflict with her own plans. She memorized the list of conversational prompts as she wanted to get more information from Adrian as well. So far he seemed perfect, with his rippling muscles, powder blue eyes, soft lips that formed a sensual smile. The taste of his kiss often lingered on her lips too and she felt warm tingles spread throughout her entire body.
Adrian was giving her sensations she had never experienced before, and she could only imagine what was yet to come.
She opted for a blue dress that hung off one shoulder and left the other exposed. Unlike Charlotte she wasn't going to show off the obvious parts of her body. There was an art to seduction and Ellie liked to consider herself a master. She was better than Charlotte, anyway. Before she left she bumped into Jordan, who pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. It was a frequent gesture, usually made when Jordan was nervous, and that seemed to be the vast majority of the time.
“Wish me luck!” Ellie said, smiling brightly.
“Good luck,” Jordan replied, although without much emotion in her voice.
“What's wrong? Ellie asked.
“It doesn't matter. You just have a good night.”
“No, come on Jordan, we're friends. You can tell me,” Ellie said, putting her hand to Jordan's shoulder and guiding her away to a corner where they could talk in low voices, even though secrecy wasn't really a thing in this mansion. Jordan hesitated for a little while and it took a little more prompting from Ellie before she actually admitted what was on her mind.
“It's just that I don't know what I'm still doing here. It's clear that either you or Charlotte is going to win. I just don't see that there's much point. I feel like I'm just making up the numbers.”
“That's not true. You've got just as good a chance as anyone,” Ellie said, trying to be supportive even though she didn't believe it at all. Ellie knew Adrian well and it was clear that Jordan was not going to be his type. It wasn't anything against Jordan of course, she was a great girl and Ellie cared about her a lot, but she and Adrian weren't a match. That was just a fact of life. Jordan shot her a disbelieving look. Ellie sighed. “I know it might not seem like it but you still have a chance. Just be yourself, you're charming and cute and adorable. Anyone would be lucky to have you and if you won this whole thing I would be ecstatic for you.”
“Even though you're in love with Adrian?” Jordan replied dryly. Ellie's cheeks flushed crimson.
“I don't know about that I mean, love is a strong word and there's still a lot I don't know about the man,” Ellie said, flustered.
“Everyone knows it Ellie. I'm not jealous, I mean, we all see the way he looks at you. It's clear there's something going on. It's why I'm having these thoughts. I guess I'm just ready for this to be over. I kinda want to put my efforts into something that I can actually succeed at I guess.”
Ellie squeezed Jordan tightly and then kissed her on the cheek. It was a strange situation, to be friends and yet competitors, and there were times when Ellie got confused by the dynamic. It was difficult to know what to say when clearly Ellie wanted to win, and she was buoyed by Jordan's words. Yet it was saddening to know that her success was directly hurting Jordan as well.
Those feelings soon faded when Ellie was out in the balmy night air, excited to be spending time with Adrian again. She beamed when she saw him. He wore dark jeans and a pale blue shirt that was open at the collar, revealing his wide neck. His strong, clean-shaven jaw made her heart flutter and when he greeted her with a kiss, he placed a large hand against the small of her back, lifting her off the ground onto her tiptoes. It was as though she was floating.
“I'm glad we get to spend this evening together,” he said in his low, rumbling voice. He led her over to a table that sat on the beach with a canopy overhead. The stars glittered in the sky and the full moon shone down over the dark sea. Silver light danced over the rippling waves and the white sand felt soft under Ellie's bare feet. It was the perfect setting, yet the beauty of her surroundings was not enough to entice her attention away from Adrian for even the briefest moment. She was entranced by him as though a love spell had played with her mind.
A meal had been prepared and there was wine being poured into fluted glasses. Ellie felt the warm buzz flow through her mind as she took a sip. She had never been a heavy drinker and was always intoxicated quickly, although when she was around Adrian her head was always light. He was a man of 32, experienced and mature. He had an easy manner and a confident aura about him. After getting to know him a little bit it had amazed her how he found it difficult to find the right woman when there must have been a sea of them all willing to give themselves to him, and that was one of the topics of conversation she had been asked to hit, and it was something she wanted to know herself.
They exchanged small talk for a little while first though, complimenting each other and speaking of the beauty of their surroundings. Adrian expressed remorse that it had been so long since their last date, but that some things were out of his control.
“I understand,” Ellie said. She wanted to prove to him that she wasn't immature and that she knew the way the world worked. “But we're here now, so let's enjoy the evening and not think about the times when we we’re apart.” They toasted to that and clinked their glasses together. Soon enough the first glass was drained dry and another was being poured. The first course was brought out to them, some succulent oysters. There was definitely a romantic, sensual vibe to the evening. Ellie was aroused just by being in Adrian's presence but she wasn't sure how far he was willing to go, or how far they were even allowed to go considering they were being recorded. Nothing would kill the mood faster than a bunch of producers bursting in telling them to stop.
Thoughts of sex had been on her mind since the first time she'd seen him. She wanted to roam around his muscular body and feel the heat of his flesh pressed against hers. She wanted those strong biceps and thighs to envelop her completely and irrevocably, with his lips scorching her with fiery kisses all over her sensitive skin. As she looked at him, she wondered if he could tell what was on her mind. So far she had played the innocent. It might surprise him to learn that under the angelic smile beat the heart of a passionate woman. Perhaps soon the mystery would be unveiled.
Nearby, the water lapped against the shore, providing the perfect romantic backdrop to the evening. She noticed how his gaze dropped down to her lips and roamed all over her body. It was pleasing to know that he desired her and she could not stop the thoughts of desire that ran rampant through her mind. The food was tasty and succulent. The wine went down far too easily, and Adrian was the entire focus of her body and her mind.
3
“Yes. I have to make a serious effort to not let things slip, lest I say something I should regret later on,” he said, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Oh really, do you consider yourself a man of many secrets?”
“Not many...but some I suppose. Then again we all have our secrets.”
“Indeed we do. Some are more fun than others though.”
“Such as?”
“Adrian my dear, that's for me to know and you to find out, if you're lucky enough. You should know by now that unlike some of the other contestants on this show, who shall remain nameless of course, I do not flaunt my sexuality for the sake of it. I think it's something that is much better when it's teased and anticipated and left to simmer until it's practically boiling over.”
Adrian gulped and fanned himself. It was the reaction she had been looking for.
The Billionaire Bachelor Page 1