“I feel like I’m Julia Roberts in the movie Pretty Woman,” Victoria said as they made their way onto the highway.
“This car corners like it’s on rails,” Drake said as an ode to the movie.
“Well, I guess sort of like Julia Roberts, without the prostitution part of the movie. I never did understand why I liked that movie so much. considering the character they had her playing.”
“It’s the idea of meeting someone outside of your normal comfort zone and feeling a connection with them.”
Drake was entirely right on the money with his comment. Victoria had analyzed that movie over and over and why she, as well as other women, loved it so much. She even dedicated part of her history course to having her class analyze the role of women in historic films. She loved to hear the classes’ explanations for why they all loved the role in that movie.
“Yes, sometimes you can be surprised when you meet someone out of your normal comfort zone.”
“What kind of men do you normally date?”
“Professors. Really, boring professors,” Victoria said as she laughed. “How about you?”
Victoria knew from the tabloid coverage that Drake didn’t seem to have any particular type of woman. She also knew that he didn’t usually have the same woman around for more than a couple of days. She was very interested to see what kind of woman he said he liked.
“It’s hard. Most of the women I meet want something from me. They don’t want a relationship, they want a bragging moment.”
Victoria felt an instant sense of sadness as she heard Drake talk about his life. She hadn’t expected the sad tone in his voice at all. When she watched all the media coverage of Drake it usually showed him at some party or walking to his car with some hot woman. Never did he seem sad or like that wasn’t the life he wanted for himself.
He actually seemed to really enjoy the one-night stands and fun he had. But Victoria could tell that the more he thought about his future, the more Drake wanted to have something a little different. He seemed pretty tired of the same old one-night stand lifestyle that he had been leading.
“I’m sure you have your pick of women, though.”
“It’s really very difficult to meet a decent woman. There are so many that are only interested in my money. I don’t think I’ve been on very many real dates lately. Except for ones my friends and family set me up on. And those are difficult because I want to be polite, but there often isn’t very much chemistry between us.”
“I never thought about you having a hard time getting a date,” Victoria said.
“I wouldn’t say it’s difficult to get a date. I could have a date every night of the month. The difficult part is finding a woman that I feel interested in. I’m into more than just big boobs and tight asses.”
Drake reached over and squeezed Victoria’s hand as they continued their two-hour drive. It was an intimate thing to discuss his dating life with another woman and Drake usually only did that with his assistant Samantha.
“Oh, I forgot. I was supposed to call my assistant this morning. Do you mind?” Drake asked as he pulled into a lookout point that sat over the Pacific Ocean.
“Of course, you do what you need to.”
Victoria grabbed her light sweater and went out toward the edge of the lookout point as Drake dialed his phone. He hadn’t asked her to leave the car, but he did appreciate her willingness to give him privacy for his phone call. Drake didn’t want a woman who was jealous or obsessive and that small gesture from Victoria showed him that she was more confident than she thought she was.
“Hello,” Samantha said through the phone.
“Samantha, you really kicked it out of the park with Victoria. She is great.”
“I’m glad you like her. But why are you calling me instead of fucking her?”
Drake couldn’t help but laugh. Samantha’s humor was right in line with his. She had a filthy mouth and dirty mind, the perfect assistant for him.
“We did plenty of that last night. We are driving in a Tesla she rented on our way down to San Diego Zoo.”
“Tesla…Zoo…that sounds like a really fun date. I think I even like her at this point. Which one are you with again?”
“Victoria. Petite, brown hair, Harvard professor.”
“Oh, yes. She was one of my top choices. She’s really smart and loves all that weird history stuff that you like.”
“Weird. Are you saying my joy in watching the history channel isn’t a normal thing?”
“No, not unless you’re an eighty-year-old; then it’s normal.”
“How’s the office? Any big emergencies?”
“Things will run fine without you, Drake. I know you think the world will fall apart the second you are not in control, but Robert is really good at his job and so is everyone else.”
“I don’t think everything will fall apart. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need me for something.”
“I don’t need you. Go have fun with your date today. Oh, and talk to her about Paris. She really wants to go there someday and loves to talk about it.”
“Do I even need to go on dates with the other women? I like Victoria. She’s mentally stable, sexy as hell and smart.”
“You’re the boss. You can decide what you want. But I do have to tell you that I am positive you will like all of the women. They each have qualities that will make you happy. I’d really like it if you’d take the week and get to know them all. Then at the end you can certainly choose Victoria if she’s still your front runner.”
Drake appreciated Samantha so much. She always had his best interest in mind and was more than dedicated to the company. He made a mental note to give her another raise as soon as the week was over. Sam was probably already the highest paid assistant in L.A. but he thought of her as more than just an assistant, she was like one of the executives in the office. In fact, Drake thought maybe he should give her a new title, even. She certainly earned it for all the things she did for him all the time.
“I’ll try to tough it out,” Drake joked.
“Trust me, Drake, all the women are wonderful. Do you have anything planned for tonight to get to know them better ? I’m sure the other women are going to want to talk to you some.”
“I was just going to do a dinner party with them tonight.”
“You should play a little old-fashioned spin the bottle. That might be a good way to break the ice.”
“Samantha, it’s a house full of women who want to date me. They aren’t going to want to watch me kissing the other women.”
“Drake, just have fun with it. They can kiss you, each other, whatever happens with the bottle.”
Samantha had no problems with sexuality and was more than willing to discuss Drake’s sex life whenever he needed to. At first the whole week-long experiment seemed like it was crazy. But as she got to know the women that were going into the house, Samantha felt like having one of them around was just what Drake needed.
Plus, if Drake had a woman by his side, he wouldn’t need to bother Samantha nearly as much as he normally did.
“Oh, you think they are going to be alright kissing each other?”
“I happen to know they are all totally open to the idea of kissing other women,” Samantha said.
Drake adjusted in his seat as he took in the information Sam had just told him. If what she said was true, a little game of spin the bottle could turn into a whole lot of fun. Drake closed his eyes for a minute and imagined all the women making out in the living room as he spun a bottle to see who he would get to make out with next. It was a beautiful idea and he wasn’t opposed to making it come true, if any of the women were interested as well.
“Don’t tease me like this, Sam.”
“I’m dead serious. I almost kissed one of the girls to make sure, but decided against it.”
“You’re killing me here. You were going to actually kiss one of the girls? Which one?”
Samantha laughed and sounded like she
was getting into her car. Drake couldn’t tell if she was serious or not, but he loved the idea of thinking about Samantha kissing one of the girls in the house.
“Just trust me; all of the women are very open to any sexual things you’d like to try.”
“Alright, now this is going to be a fun week.”
“Go and have fun with Victoria. Enjoy your day and treat her nice. She’s a good possibility for you, Drake.”
“Thanks for everything, Sam.”
As Drake hung up the phone he looked out the window at Victoria as she stood overlooking the water. She had a peacefulness about her that instantly made Drake feel calm. He loved that about their connection. Drake really did want a woman in his life who could help him feel calmer and he loved that she was sexy as hell as well.
Victoria turned around as Drake came out of the car and walked toward her. She could feel her heart pounding with excitement as he looked at her with his deep blue eyes.
Drake was about twelve years older than Victoria, but she felt perfectly matched with him. She couldn’t help but think that she had been dating men that were way too young for her. Maybe that was why she never felt a good connection with the men she dated. The maturity and life experience that Drake had was a much better fit for her.
“Everything go alright with your call?”
“Yes, surprisingly, my company isn’t falling apart without me there. I’m a little disappointed.”
“I know the feeling. Well, sort of, when I take a vacation from work I always think the kids aren’t going to learn anything and will hate the new teacher. It’s slightly disappointing when I return and find out they had a good time.”
“You look so beautiful in the light of the ocean.”
“Thanks,” Victoria said as she grabbed Drake’s hand. “Look down there. We should go check that out.”
Victoria pointed to a group of surfers who had set up a small little camping spot at the base of the cliff. She wasn’t exactly sure how they had gotten down there, though. The cliff was far too steep from where they were standing.
“I’m slightly opposed to climbing down cliffs.”
“Only slightly?”
Drake had to laugh; Victoria certainly had a great sense of humor. It was another quality that he liked and he was starting to think there was no way any of the other women was going to be able to compare to her.
“Should we get going? I’m itching to drive that car again,” Drake said as he held onto Victoria’s hand and guided her back to the car.
“Yes, we better. I have a surprise for you at noon so we can’t be late to the zoo.”
“A surprise?”
“Yep, you’re going to love it.”
Drake pulled back onto the highway and they continued their journey to the San Diego Zoo. He was excited at the idea of a surprise. As the CEO of his own company, Drake didn’t often get surprises. Typically, he was involved in every aspect of his life and there just wasn’t a chance for anyone to surprise him.
“Did I tell you that dress looks amazing on you?” Drake said as he let his hand slide in between Victoria’s thighs.
“Eyes on the road, mister.”
Drake made a point to keep his eyes on the road while his hand continued up her thigh and then moved up her body to her chest. He slid his fingers into her bra and held onto her nipple tightly until he heard her moan with the pleasure of his touch.
“My eyes are on the road,” he teased her.
When they pulled into the parking lot of the zoo, Drake leaned over and kissed Victoria softly. Their connection was strong and he just wanted to practice showing her he was interested and paid attention to her. It wasn’t something he was used to doing, so it took a concerted effort on his part.
What Drake really wanted to do was pull Victoria onto his lap and fuck her. Every nerve in his body wanted her and the two-hour drive had just magnified his desire. He started to regret agreeing to the trip. If they had stayed back at home he could have been inside her body all afternoon until they collapsed from exhaustion.
“We need to get inside, it’s almost noon,” Victoria said and jumped out her door.
She moved around to Drake’s side of the car and opened it and pulled him out.
“I think we should stay here and play for a little bit,” Drake offered.
“Nope. Sorry, we have an appointment inside. Can’t miss it. Let’s go.”
Drake didn’t know what they were doing inside the zoo, but he saw the excitement on Victoria’s face and he was perfectly happy to follow her into the zoo.
It wasn’t very often that Drake was surprised by people. There weren’t that many people in his life that could surprise him. Mostly just Samantha or Robert and both of them were too busy to think about surprising Drake.
Chapter 5
They walked into the zoo and Victoria bounced with excitement. Drake enjoyed watching her and how elated she was to have a surprise for him. Victoria was more reserved typically and it was fun to see her let loose and show some excitement.
“We are here to meet with Edward,” Victoria said to the woman at the ticket counter.
“Oh yes, Miss Harting?”
“Yes, Victoria Harting.”
The woman turned around and made a phone call. It only took a few short minutes before Edward was at the front gate to greet them. Drake was impressed. He was familiar with people going out of their way for him, but to have them do it for Victoria was pretty impressive. Drake couldn’t help but wonder what she had done to get them to be so nice to her. A teacher’s salary probably wasn’t enough to bribe them and she lived on the other side of the country so he didn’t think she knew any of the people.
“Victoria, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” Edward said as he came straight toward Victoria.
It was another unique situation that Drake wasn’t familiar with. Normally people were excited to meet him, they would go out of their way to impress him. Sometimes they even wanted to take photos with him or have him sign autographs. It felt really comfortable to let someone else stand in the spotlight for a change.
“Hello, Edward, it is so nice to finally put a face to the name. This is my friend Drake Leblanc, he is the one I told you about.”
“Oh, yes, Mr. Leblanc. It is a pleasure to have you here.”
“Thank you.”
“I have everything ready, come this way,” Edward said as Drake and Victoria followed him into the zoo.
Victoria held onto Drake’s hand and squeezed it with excitement as they followed their guide.
“Where are we going?” Drake asked like a school kid on his first trip to the zoo.
“If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
Drake accepted that answer, for the moment, and they continued their trek into the zoo. It was a very large zoo and they walked past several exhibits that were much nicer than Drake had expected. Suddenly he wished he would have remembered what his donation had gone toward. He gave money to several charities and just couldn’t remember what the zoo had said the money was going to go toward.
“We’re here,” Edward said as he opened a small gray door on the side of a building.
As they entered the hallway, Drake looked on either side of him and saw that they were in the tiger building. He couldn’t contain his excitement. He could feel the giddiness of being a child and getting to see the tigers for the first time. This was a great gift that Victoria had arranged for them.
“The tigers. Oh, shit, yeah this is awesome. We get to walk back here and see them up close. Wow, Victoria, this is just perfect.”
Victoria didn’t answer him and smiled as they continued to walk down the hallway. She looked behind her and saw Drake with his face pressed against the glass in excitement as he looked at the biggest tiger of the group.
“What’s this one’s name?” Drake said from the end of the hallway.
“That’s Cinder, she’s our oldest tiger.”
“She’s beautiful,” Drake
moved across the hall to the other tiger. “What’s this one’s name?”
“He is Rory, the leader of our tiger clan. Come down here and I’ll get you ready.”
Drake came down to the end of the hall where Edward and Victoria stood in the doorway to a room. As he looked into the room he saw a huge pile of red meat and a couple buckets on the ground.
“Once you are done cutting it into manageable sizes, I’ll take you into the cage,” Edward said.
Drake looked at Victoria and then back at Edward. The shock and fear on his face made both of them laugh.
“Surprise, you are going to feed the tigers,” Victoria said as she put on the thick apron next to the table.
Drake continued to stare at Victoria and then looked back at Edward. He looked shocked, or like he didn’t understand what was going on.
“Go in there and cut that meat up, Drake, the tigers are hungry. The longer they wait the feistier they will be with you when you get in there.”
“Victoria…” Drake started as he looked at her.
She seemed perfectly at ease as she started to butcher the large stack of red meat. She also seemed very amused at the fear she had put into Drake. He wasn’t the kind of guy who was afraid to do many things in life, but getting into a cage with a tiger was apparently one of the things that he was afraid of.
“Drake, come play with this meat,” Victoria teased.
Drake reluctantly put on the thick apron and gloves and watched as Edward left the room. He wasn’t prepared to go through with actually feeding the tigers, though. As much of a daredevil as he was, Drake wasn’t stupid. He only took calculated risks and being in a cage with a tiger seemed like too much of a risk even for him.
“Victoria, this is insane. We can’t feed the tigers.”
“We can’t, but you can,” she laughed.
“Oh, I see how it is. You are going to have me in that cage with the tiger while you’re out here perfectly safe.”
“Yep, that was my plan.”
“I think you should come with me. It’s only fair.”
They continued to butcher the meat into fist sized bites and throw it into the large plastic buckets next to them. Victoria couldn’t help but laugh when she noticed all the color had drained out of Drake’s face. She knew her surprise was going to shock him, but she didn’t think he would actually be afraid to go in there.
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 84