by Ali Parker
Across from me and one table over was a young couple. If I had to guess, I would have said they were both in their early twenties. Neither had a clue how much harder life was going to get for them.
She was bundled up in a black coat and had a thick red scarf wrapped around her neck. She held her tea mug in both hands and smiled at him over the rim. Steam wafted up from the cup and hid her eyes from view.
He was dressed in a puffy blue jacket. His boots were well worn and stained. A laborer, I assumed. His facial hair was a bit uneven. He wasn’t yet able to grow a full beard, but that wasn’t stopping him from trying.
He watched her like he was watching a movie with great special effects. It was like every move she made was magic to him.
That was love. That was what I wanted.
And there was absolutely no fucking way I was going to find it in this whole Casanova mess. The guys I was up against looked better on paper and in person. And the girl was going to fall for their charms over my anxiety. I was an introvert by nature, and socializing in big crowds and with beautiful women was not my strong suit. Never had been.
That was why I wrote about them. It was as close to that experience that I could get.
I finished off my bagel, licked my fingers clean, and took my coffee out with me as I walked back down the block to the club. I tried to reassure myself that everything would be fine. It would be easier after this weekend. I would have to spend very little time with the other men, and I’d only be with her for one month. Then my life would basically go back to normal, and I could get my parents off my back by telling them that I was still trying.
Because that was all I could do, right?
When I was just feet from the front doors of the club building, I noticed the cowboy tucking a wad of cash into a Salvation Army Santa’s bucket. The two exchanged words, and the cowboy laughed, throwing his head back in genuine mirth and thumping old Santa Claus on the back.
He turned and came to the door as I was stepping through it and walked in behind me. Wyatt Brewer. He and the Canadian might have been the only two whose company didn’t make me want to shove knives into my ears.
“Morning,” I said as the door closed behind us.
Our boots echoed across the marble floors of the foyer. Wyatt slid his hands in his pockets and picked up his pace to fall into step beside me. “Mornin.’” He nodded. His accent was thicker than usual.
We arrived at the elevators and stood silently as we waited to get on. After we did and the doors closed behind us, Wyatt sighed and rolled his shoulders. “I’m good and tired of these meetings. Some of these boys get on my last nerve.”
“I think our time would be better spent in church,” I said.
Wyatt laughed. It was that same deep, big, great laugh I’d heard him let loose outside. “My momma would agree with you, writer. Instead we’re on our way to share a woman with ten other men. It’s a bit hard to wrap my head around, if I’m being honest.”
“Glad I’m not the only one.” I sighed, although I didn’t really struggle with the thought. Probably because I knew there wasn’t a chance that I would actually be a contender. She was going to choose one of them. Maybe someone like Wyatt.
I could accept that outcome. Wyatt was a good guy. He would give her—whoever she was—a good life. Sure, there might be a bit more hay and manure than she was expecting, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be a good life.
Chapter 13
Cooper
I opened the glass door of the hotel shower and turned the water on. It rained down from the shower head mounted in the middle of the ceiling, and steam fogged the glass within seconds. I let the door fall closed before turning to the bathroom door and wrenching it open.
The two women in my bed yelped in surprise and looked over at me.
Tasha, the raven-haired girl with smooth black skin, untangled herself from the white bedding and rose from the bed. Her hips swayed with every step she took toward me, and her deep brown eyes locked onto mine. Her legs were long and powerful. Her thighs rippled with muscle with every step. I knew firsthand from our time together last night just how strong those legs of hers were. When she passed me in the doorframe, she ran the tip of her finger across my chest. Then she disappeared into the bathroom at my back.
I folded my arms over my chest and nodded at Jessica, who was still curled up under the sheets. “You coming, princess?”
She rolled over to face me and pursed her full pink lips. “I’m still sleepy.”
“I don’t give a damn. Get your sexy ass in the shower.”
She pouted. “What will you do to me if I say no?”
Sexy little vixen. She knew how to play.
So did I.
I padded over to the bed and ripped the towel off from around my waist as I went. Jessica let out a cute little shriek, but that wasn’t going to save her now. My cock was already swelling with blood, and lust burned in my veins.
The night of fucking had not quenched my desire.
I caught Jessica as she tried to roll off the bed, and I wrapped my arms around her waist. She’d been sleeping in a red lace camisole and a pair of matching panties. It looked sexy as hell on her. She kicked and writhed and shrieked with laughter as I carried her effortlessly across the bedroom to the bathroom, where Tasha was already in the shower.
The water ran off her dark skin in winding rivulets.
I yanked the door open and stepped in to set Jessica down. She scolded me for getting her lingerie wet.
I arched an eyebrow and clicked my tongue at her. “Are you trying to tell me those panties of yours aren’t already wet?”
Jessica bit her bottom lip and stepped more directly under the stream of water. She tilted her head back and faced the showerhead. I watched, utterly transfixed by the way her blonde hair darkened from the water as she ran her fingers through it.
I was a lucky man.
“Cooper,” Tasha cooed, stepping up behind me to trace the tip of her fingers along the back of my shoulders. “Did you bring a condom?”
“Yes,” I growled. I was prepared but not by choice. This shit I was in with the Casanova Club made it so that I had to have protected sex. I’d gone through all my testing and passed with flying colors. Now that I was so close to the end, I wasn’t going to fuck it up. Not even for the mind-blowing sensation of sliding my bare cock into a tight little pussy.
Compromise was not my speed, either. I got what I wanted, when I wanted it. That was how it had been for me for a long, long time. A guy with my good looks and body didn’t have people saying “no” to him. I was used to them doing what I asked. Always.
And I wasn’t good at sharing.
Well, I could share two women. But all this nonsense of sharing one girl with eleven other men? Ridiculous.
They had no clue what they were up against. I was going to win this thing. I didn’t give a damn how it ended, but I was going to be the guy at the end—even if I had to play her.
For now, I would enjoy my last couple hours of freedom with two beautiful women—even with the rubber.
I reached over to the bathroom counter, tugged open a drawer, and pulled a condom out. I stepped into the shower and closed the door behind me with a smirk playing on my lips. “Right here, kitten.”
Jessica reached for the condom, and I pulled away. Then I pointed down at the shower floor. She put a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. “You’re insatiable.”
“You should have thought of that before you showed me what you could do with that pretty mouth,” I said.
Jessica, looking gorgeous and hot as sin in her wet red lingerie set, went down to her knees in front of me. Her eyes were big and blue, and she held my gaze as she took my cock in her hands and began stroking my shaft. Her nipples were hard under the red lace of her camisole. Damn.
The things I could do to her if I had the time.
“Don’t rush, baby,” I told her as I reached for Tasha.
She came to me with a smi
le on her lips. I dropped my head and kissed her throat and chest as Jessica took my cock in her mouth. It was warm and slippery wet as she held me in the back of her throat. She moaned deeply around my shaft. The vibration was delicious.
Tasha hooked a leg around mine as she plucked the condom from my fingers and passed it down to Jessica. She rolled the rubber over my shaft after worshipping my cock with her mouth to my satisfaction.
Then she stood up and leaned up against the glass wall of the shower as Tasha shoved her tongue down my throat in a desperate, needy kiss.
I reached down and stroked her pussy. Tasha moaned into my mouth. Her legs trembled as she fought to keep herself up on her feet.
Then Jessica was back. She stroked my cock a couple more times before putting her back to me and bending over, bracing herself with her hands flat on the glass in front of her. She pushed back, and her pussy swallowed the first inch of my cock.
I grabbed her hips and pulled her all the way down over my length.
Jessica sighed with pleasure. Tasha broke our kiss and stared down to watch me drive my cock into Jessica’s pussy over and over. I could tell she wanted in on the fun. Tasha was patient, yes, but like me, she’d go for what she wanted when she wanted it.
Tasha bent over beside Jessica.
And I obliged her.
* * *
After fucking the girls silly in the shower, I shuffled them out of my room. I had shit to do. Neither seemed all that happy about it, but that wasn’t my problem.
I busied myself with getting ready for the final meeting this afternoon and then the dinner afterward where I would finally have the chance to meet the ten women who had made it through all the rounds of elimination.
I wasn’t excited, per se, but I was curious to see how things were going to go.
There were a lot of personalities in the mix. I didn’t like some of the guys. Okay, most of the guys.
They were uptight and arrogant and perched steadfastly upon their high horses. We had already started butting heads, and I imagined it would only get worse from there as things became more intense.
I got dressed, slicked my hair back, and doublechecked my reflection. My suit was tailored perfectly to fit me. I blended in with the others in the room, despite the fact that I was a bit more adventurous than them. I was an athlete and a competitor, and I liked to spend most of my time outdoors, preferably at the beach. The conference rooms and meetings had been pure agony.
Thank God I was almost done with them.
I left my room and made my way down to the conference room. When I walked in, the only other person in there was Easton.
I poured myself a drink before taking a seat.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
Easton shrugged. “How should I know? I don’t keep tabs on those clowns.”
Easton might have been the most immature out of all of us. He was easy to provoke. Too easy.
I was in no mood to ruffle his feathers today, so I ignored his moody comment. “I sure am glad this shit is almost over. And we finally get to meet some women. About damn time. I’m sick of being surrounded by dudes.”
“Tell me about it,” Easton grumbled. “I need to get laid.”
I chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
I thought of Tasha and Jessica and how many times I’d got off between yesterday at ten o’clock and right now. Poor Easton was doing this all wrong. He should have indulged one last time before this thing really got started.
I shrugged. “Nothing man. Nothing at all.”
Chapter 14
Piper
“Are you going to tell him?” Janie asked. She was leaning against the kitchen counter as I washed my breakfast dishes. She was all dolled up for work and looked like a total smoke show, rather than an assistant. Her outfit was skin tight and black and revealed a good amount of beautiful cleavage.
I sighed. “I don’t think Phillip will be happy about my choice.”
“He doesn’t have to be happy about it. But he should know the truth. Maybe he’ll understand why he has to help your parents keep their heads while you’re gone, and it will be easier for everyone.”
I knew that was the main reason why I had to tell Phillip about the Casanova Club today. I would need someone here on the home front managing my parents. Sure, my cousin might be somewhat helpful, but she wouldn’t be as invested as Phillip. He would keep things going while I was away. He had to.
And if he knew there was big money coming our way at the end of the year—assuming I made it through this weekend—he would commit himself to it. I had to believe that.
“I’m worried that he’ll tell Mom and Dad,” I said as I turned off the kitchen sink. I dried my hands on the dish towel hanging off the handle of the stove. “If they find out, I don’t even want to think about it. They’ll never look at me the same way again. I mean, what do I say? ‘Hey guys, don’t worry. I’m just participating in a year-long, multi-engagement to twelve of the world’s most eligible bachelors. There isn’t anything that could possibly go wrong’.”
Janie smiled and shook her head. “No. I don’t think that would be the best idea either. They don’t need to know. Not yet. For their own good.”
“I hate lying to them.”
“I know,” Janie said. Then she stood up and went to her purse, which was sitting on the kitchen table. She opened it up and pulled out her wallet. After sifting through the pockets inside, she returned with a hundred-dollar bill in one hand. She held it out to me. “Take this. It’s not much, but if you hit some nice thrift stores, it might help.”
“You’ve already done enough, Janie. I can’t take your money, too.”
“You can pay me back later. The women you’re going to be compared to tonight are going to show up in outfits that cost more than you and I make in a month combined. You have to find a way to put your best foot forward. I can help. Let me.”
I stared at the bill in her hand. Accepting handouts from people made me sweat behind the knees. “I don’t want to—”
“How much cash do you have for shopping today?” she asked.
I bit my bottom lip. “About two hundred bucks. Tutoring money.”
“Then you need this. Trust me. When you win this thing, you can pay me back with interest, okay?”
“That’s a year from now.”
“Yeah, well, I can wait that long. Take it.” She held it out farther to me.
I sighed and plucked the bill from her fingers before tucking it away in my purse. “Thanks, Janie.”
Janie gave me a quick hug. “Good luck shopping today. I wish I could come with you, but duty calls. Later tonight, you can show me what you got. And I’ll make sure I’m home tomorrow to help you get ready. Deal?”
“Deal.” I nodded. Butterflies swirled in my belly. I’d managed to keep my nerves under control since finding out I might have a shot at this thing. But now it was starting to feel real, and the thought of dating twelve men had my teeth on edge.
I wasn’t the sort of girl these men would be looking to date.
They’d be looking for someone with class. Someone who walked into a room and turned heads. Someone with a pretty face and a quiet voice, whose opinion or smarts wouldn’t ever overshadow their own.
I was not that girl. I was the product of the hard-working lower class.
But I could pretend to be that girl. There wasn’t anything a good pair of heels and a red lip couldn’t fix. I’d hold my chin up high and own every room I walked into, no matter how terrified I was inside. The money that was on the line demanded I do my best to come out on top.
My parents’ livelihood was at stake.
And Aldo’s little girl ran through my mind every five minutes. I had to do this for all of them.
All of us.
Janie left for work shortly before my brother arrived at the apartment, and we caught the subway downtown. Phillip wasn’t in the best of moods when we stepped into a deli for lun
ch. He hated shopping. The only reason he’d agreed to come was because I told him I’d buy him lunch and that I had something important to tell him. Something very important.
After ordering us our soup and sandwiches, my brother and I found a table by the window. Whoever had sat there last did a royal job of making a mess. There were crumbs all over the place and rings of something sticky on the table most likely from a can of soda. I grabbed a few napkins and wiped it up before he and I tucked in and dug into our food.
Phillip crammed a big bite of his turkey sandwich into his mouth. While he chewed, I sat up a bit straighter and took a deep breath. There was no better time to tell him than now. With a full mouth, it might force him to think a bit about the information before he reacted emotionally. He was like my dad and was guilty of that sometimes.
“So, remember how I said there was something I wanted to talk to you about today?” I asked tentatively.
He nodded and continued chewing.
“Well, I don’t think you’re going to like it very much. But I want you to think about it for a minute before you react, okay?”
His eyes narrowed, but he nodded again.
I took a deep breath. “Okay. Here goes. I had Janie put my name in for a dating contest that takes place over the course of next year.”
He arched an eyebrow and, with a mouth still half full of food, mumbled, “Dating contest?”
“Yes. Long story short, I date twelve men over the course of 2019. One man per month is how it breaks down basically. The year will end with either a proposal that I can accept, or a payout if I don’t want to be engaged to any of them.”
Phillip’s forehead was creasing, and he was chewing more aggressively. I had seconds before he came out with his opinion, and based on the hardness of his stare, I had already concluded that he was not happy about this.
I held up both hands to stop him from bulldozing me. “I know this sounds insane. Trust me. I get it. And I thought that same thing at first. But then I took a minute and I saw how the benefits really outweigh the cons. Hear me out. All I have to do is spend a year dating these guys. They’re really wealthy bachelors from all around the world, so who knows? I might actually get some cool experiences out of this. And at the end of it all, I will walk away with a lot of money, Phillip. A lot of money.”