by J. S. Cooper
"Wet panties will do that to you." Anna laughed and I groaned.
"I have to go," I said hurriedly. "Thank you for being you."
"Have a good time, Lola. Remember that if you feel uncomfortable at any point, just leave. If push comes to shove, call me collect and I'll get you a ticket so you can come back to London."
"Thank you, Anna," I said and hung up the phone. I took a deep breath and turned around and hurried back to the men. Both Xavier and Stephan were looking at me as if I were the last woman on Earth and it made me feel a thrill of power and sexuality that I'd never wanted to own before.
***
We walked into a large room with couches on one side and a glass wall on the other side. There were four other men waiting in the room, including Casper, and three other women, including Violeta. I wasn’t happy to see Violeta and Casper in the room standing there, looking nonchalant. I checked out the other faces in the room, but I didn’t recognize any of them from the parties I’d attended with Xavier previously.
"Welcome, everyone. My name is Charles. I'm a member of the Dutch royal family and the inner circle of the Society of Brothers." The tall man with the long nose looked very pleased with himself and I couldn't help but stare at the smirk on his face. "I'll be the proctor today." He laughed. "I will go over the rules and placements and then we shall start."
"Are you feeling okay?" Xavier asked me quietly as we listened to Charles talking. "What did Anna say?"
"She said to stay as long as I feel comfortable." I made a face at him. "Honestly, I don't know if I'm okay and I don't know if I'm comfortable, but I want to do this for you. You want to make it to that inner circle, right?"
"I do." He nodded solemnly.
"Then let's get you there," I said and tried to ignore the feeling of warmth that had spread through my body as I'd noticed Stephan staring at me. “Let the games begin,” I said under my breath and I closed my eyes for a few seconds to stop myself from staring back into Stephan’s penetrating gaze. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but I knew I was more excited than I should have been, given the circumstances.
Chapter Eleven
Xavier
All’s fair in love and war they say. I don’t know if I believe that anymore. I don’t feel like I believe it. My stomach is in knots as I stare at Lola, her face a mask of worry and excitement. The worry I understand and, unfortunately, the excitement I do as well. I’ve seen the looks she’s been exchanging with Stephan. The promises in his eyes. I could kill him for the looks he’s giving her, but I know he’s doing it to rile me up. He’s doing it to make me lose focus. They don’t want me in the inner circle. Casper and Stephan are threatened by the changes I would make. They don’t want the status quo to be different. They don’t want to lose their authority and power. And that’s exactly why I want in so badly. I was mad at myself and at Lola’s friend Anna for letting Lola go through with this. For me. She was doing it for me and I felt sick to my stomach. It was a means to an end, but I didn’t wonder if I wasn’t selling my soul to the devil to reach that end. She looked so beautiful standing there next to me, waiting. I could see all eyes on her, wondering who she was and what she had that she’d gotten me. I could see the snarl on Violeta’s face as she glanced at Lola. She was going to make it even more uncomfortable for her, I just knew it. I was about to grab Lola’s arm and whisk her out of the room. I was about to grab her and tell her—command her—to leave with me, but as I stood there, I realized that a part of me didn’t want to. A part of me wanted to know who she was going to choose. A part of me didn’t want to give up the power of waiting to see what was going to happen. I didn’t know if that was stupid of me or not. I didn’t know what I should be doing as a man who loved her. For I was almost positive that I loved her with every fiber of my being. It was only a little voice in the back of my head that made me doubt myself. It asked me why I would have even brought her here if I loved her. That was the voice I ignored. That was the voice I didn’t want to hear. No one questioned my motives. Not even my subconscious.
Chapter Twelve
Lola
“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” Charles spoke up loudly, his voice smug as he looked around the room. I could see the other two girls looking as timid as I felt, and Violeta stood there proud and comfortable.
“Can I have all the girls come up to me, please?” He waved us over to him and I looked at Xavier, my heart pounding. He gazed at me with a slightly anxious expression and I knew that he was wondering if I was going to go ahead.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said softly as he stepped towards me, his hands touching my waist lightly. “If you’re not comfortable, we can leave.”
“We don’t have to leave.” I shook my head. “I’m fine,” I lied and watched the three other girls walking over to Charles. “I’m fine,” I said again as I made my way over to Charles myself. My warm face told me I was a liar, as did my clammy hands. I was freaking out inside. I had no idea what was about to go on. I had no idea if I was going to be okay with what was about to go on. And even worse, I wasn’t sure how I felt about heading into the unknown. A part of me felt excited and tingly all over. It wasn’t an emotion I was used to: this heart-pounding, panty-wetting, fear-inducing excitement.
“I’m going to be in charge today and I want to explain what’s going to happen,” Charles said as he gazed at all four of us. “Before we go into the main room, you can all wear as much or as little as you want.”
“Do we have to take our clothes off?” the girl next me said and I looked at Charles for his answer. They didn’t really expect us to take our clothes off, did they? They couldn’t expect that. At least not yet.
“At this point, you can wear as little or as much as you want,” he repeated, his eyes peering at the girl in such a way that let her know that as little as possible was preferred. I heard Violeta giggling as she unzipped her dress and stepped out of it. It fell to the ground and she lifted her long,tan legs up and moved to the side. I gazed at her body in admiration and a little bit of jealousy. She looked perfect in her slinky black thong—covering her pert ass—and her small black bra. I was envious of her sexy body. I felt like I didn’t come close to matching up, at least next to her. Her stomach was toned as well and I felt my stomach dropping as I looked back at the men to see if they were staring at her. My face grew red as I felt Xavier’s eyes on me. He had a small grin on his face as he raised an eyebrow at me and I knew that he’d watched me staring at Violeta. I raised an eyebrow back at him and he licked his lips and winked. For a few seconds I was taken back to that first meeting in the museum. It felt like years ago, even though it had only been months. My stomach still jumped at the sight of his silky black hair and laughing green eyes. He was so handsome, so suave, so sexy. He was a sex god personified and I swallowed hard thinking about being with him, having him next to me, filling me up, taking what he wanted.
“Are you ready, Lola?” Charles’ voice snapped me out of my daydream and I nodded back in silence.
“Then let’s go into the room. I’ll explain the rules in further detail there,” he said and opened a door. We all followed him into the room silently and I wondered if I had lost my mind. I looked around the room and the first thing I noticed was a big king-sized bed. Then I stepped back and looked around properly. The room was spacious and there was a huge window that appeared to be double-glazed. One of the girls saw me looking at it and made a face. I stared at her questioningly, not wanting to ask her why she looked so apprehensive, not wanting to know exactly what was going to go on today, in case it made me want to flee far away from here.
“They can see us.” She nodded towards the window. “It’s how they keep it fair.”
“Keep what fair?” I replied, keeping my voice low. I could see Violeta staring at us with narrowed eyes, but I turned my back on her.
“The tests,” the girl said and made another face. “Each round you accept, the stakes get higher and higher, but there are restr
ictions. The windows are there to keep the men honest.”
“I see,” I said in a small voice, though I had no idea what she was talking about.
“We can’t see out, though,” she continued. “We can’t see anything. And they blow some sort of overpowering air freshener into the room, so you can’t tell anything based on smell, either.”
“Oh, wow.” I looked at her consideringly. “How do you know all of this?”
“My sister came last year,” she said and shrugged. “She told me, well, she was trying to warn me not to come.”
“Oh?”
“She chose wrong.” The girl bit her lower lip. “Her lover, Prince Marx, wasn’t allowed entry to the inner circle and then he went and married Caroline, a lord’s daughter from Belgium.”
“Oh, no.” My eyes widened. “That’s awful.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “My sister lives with our parents with her son and she cries every night.”
“Her son?” I asked, shocked. “Not Marx’s son as well?”
“Yes, but he’s a bastard so he doesn’t count.” She nodded, her voice matter-of-fact. “My sister told me that a part of her knew it wasn’t Marx when Casper entered her.”
“Casper?” My jaw dropped and then my face paled. “Did you say ‘entered her’?”
“Yes.” She nodded and then touched my hand. “Don’t panic, that’s the later rounds—”
“All right, ladies,” Charles said, cutting the girl off and I stared at him with my heart in my mouth. Was another man going to try and have sex with me? Oh, my God, what had I agreed to do? “As most of you know, you’re about to take part in a series of tests. These tests are in place for two reasons. Firstly, they are to prove that you know your lover better than anyone in the world. Secondly, they are to bond the princes of the world together. These bonds are unbreakable and only when a prince passes all of the tests of the inner circle will he be allowed to join.”
“What does that mean?” the fourth girl asked, her voice soft. “I don’t understand what we’re doing here?”
“There will be four tests tonight,” Charles said simply and he went to sit on the bed. He sat back and gazed at us. “They are all very simple, but with each round the stakes will be increased.”
“What do you mean by tests?” I spoke up.
“Sex games,” he said with a smile. “That’s the easiest explanation.”
“Sex games?”
“We need to choose our partner,” the girl next to me said. “In each round, two men will do something to you, and you won’t see who they are. You have to choose the one that gave you the most pleasure. If you choose your mate, you advance to the next round. If you go through all four rounds and choose your mate, he is allowed to enter the inner circle.”
“Oh?” I bit my lower lip. “And they can do anything to you?”
“Yes.” Violeta looked at me and smiled, a smug, bitchy smile.
“Well, not exactly,” Charles corrected her. “Each round is different. Like this first round, neither of the men can use their hands or any other parts of their body to tease you.”
“Okay.” I let out my breath. “What’s the point of this all, though?”
“A prince that wants to be part of the inner circle must have control over every part of his life. Once he reaches this point, he has proven to others that he is good in business and in controlling his country, but we all know that the biggest test of control is with our partner. If a prince can show that he has mastered what his partner craves and likes, then he can show that he has attention to detail that is so finite that he can control the world.” Charles paused. “And, of course, we all know that the princes in the inner circle are the ones that rule the world.”
“So they are trying to pleasure us?” I said and licked my lips nervously. “And we don’t know who is touching us?”
“That is correct.” Charles nodded.
“Wait, so the guys are all going to touch the other girls as well?” My voice caught as I grew jealous. Did that mean Xavier was going to be touching Violeta?
“They can choose to be a part of all of the tests or just the test of the woman they brought,” Charles said. “All of the princes, aside from Xavier, chose to be with all the women.”
“So Xavier is or isn’t going to be with other women?” I asked again to make sure I clarified his answer.
“Xavier will only be in a room with you,” he said, unblinking, as he looked at me. “You must be special.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” My voice trailed off, but I smiled to myself. He wasn’t going to be messing around with any other girls. He didn’t want anyone else. Just me. It made me feel special. Inexplicitly special and I knew I was a fool. I had no idea what these other men were going to do to me. I had no idea how far this was going to go. “So what happens in round two?” I asked. “The same thing with different girls?”
“No.” Charles smiled. “In round two, everyone that chooses to remain in the tests will be told of the new rules.”
“You have to remove an article of clothing then,” Violeta said and stared at my dress with narrowed eyes. “And they can use body parts, too.”
“Well, no hands. Or cocks,” Charles said.
“Yeah, not until later rounds,” Violeta said and looked me in the eyes. “I hope you can tell Xavier’s thrusts from another’s. I’d hate for you to be fucked by another and choose him. Just imagine how hurt Xavier would be.” My breath caught as I gazed at her and it wasn’t because I was worried that I’d choose another man over Xavier. It was the fact that another man might even try and fuck me. I knew in my heart of hearts that I didn’t want that. I didn’t want a strange man inside of me. I didn’t want to go that far. Instinctively, I knew I couldn’t and wouldn’t go that far. I was about to walk out of the room when I realized that this could be a test of Xavier. If he had any feelings for me, he wouldn’t let anything like that happen. If he loved me and cared for me, it would kill him to see me with someone else. If he loved me, he wouldn’t be able to go through with this. I’d walk out before things got too crazy. And if he weren’tas angry as I hoped him to be, I’d be done with him completely—100% done.
“I want all of you to go to that couch,” Charles said. “We’ll tie blindfolds on all of you when it is your turn. However, you can watch each other if you so wish. Does anyone want to volunteer and go first?”
“Sure,” Violeta said with a silky voice. “I’m more than happy to go first.”
“Okay.” Charles nodded. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.” Violeta grinned, grabbed his right hand and I gasped as I watched her stick his hand down the front of her panties. “See, I’m more than ready.”
“Yes, you are.” Charles grinned as he pulled his fingers out and I watched as he stuck them in his mouth and sucked. I looked at the girl next to me and she looked like she was about to pass out. I knew that Violeta was trying to psych us out. I knew that she was only going to continue trying to work us up. And I knew that she was successful already. I just didn’t understand how she was so carefree and easy with her body. How could she just parade herself around like that? I wasn’t sure if it was me or not. Was I a prude? Was I missing something in not allowing myself to just submit to my every whim and feeling? The other two girls and I sat on the couch and watched as Violeta got onto the bed. Charles blindfolded her and I watched as he let his fingers rub against her breasts gently before moving away. I blushed as Violeta let out a loud moan and turned to look at the door as Stephan walked in. My breath caught as he looked in my direction and smiled, his blue eyes intense and breathtaking as he stared at me. My heart raced as I gazed back at him and watched as he took off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. He was gorgeous and his chest was perfectly lean and muscular, like that of a swimmer.
“If you were mine, you would not be in here.” He walked over to me and spoke softly as he continued to gaze at me, his eyes caressing me as I sat on the couch. I looked away and shifted u
ncomfortably as my stomach flipped. I felt confused and on edge as I realized that I was attracted to him. Like, really attracted to him. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. I was in love with Xavier, yet, I was physically attracted to Stephan. In fact, a part of me wondered what he was like in bed. A part of me wondered if he was as intense under the sheets as he was in person and I hated that I felt that way. It made me wonder if I was as in love with Xavier as I thought I was.
***
“This is scary,” the girl next to me said and made a face as we sat there waiting to see what was going to happen next. “I don’t know if I want to do this.”
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, wondering why she was going ahead after what had happened to her sister.
“I love Johan.” She sighed. “I have since we were kids.” She shifted on the seat. “He’s my soul mate and, well, his father said this was the only way we could be together.”
“That’s awful,” I said, my voice sad and upset for her.
“Well, you’re here too,” she said accusingly. “Prince Xavier doesn’t exactly have you on a pedestal.”
“Well, it’s not that he...” I started, but my voice trailed off as the lights went off. I was glad that the first test was about to start. I wasn’t really sure what to say. What could I say about all of this?
“Let us start,” Charles said and Stephan gave me one last look and winked before making his way to the bed. Suddenly some music started playing. I didn’t recognize it, but it sounded soothing. I stared into the room ahead of me and watched as he grabbed a feather from a box to the right of him and walked over to the bed. He ran the feather up and down Violeta’s body slowly and delicately and I could see her squirming on the bed. I felt like a voyeur as I sat there watching them and before I knew it, he was done. He walked out of the room without looking at me again and then I saw another man walking into the room. The girl I was sitting with looked down and I had a feeling that this was her Johan. He was a younger-looking man, early twenties with jet-black hair and bright blue eyes. He looked uncomfortable in his own skin and I watched as he grabbed a toothbrush from his pocket. I frowned as he walked towards the bed. What was he doing?