The Most Eligible Bachelor

by Delmire Hart

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedications

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Preview

  Coming Soon

  Copyright

  © 2017 Delmire Hart. All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  This is a work of fiction. All resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  This ebook contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers.

  Please don't read if you are under eighteen.

  For inquiries please contact: delmire.hart@outlook.com

  Dedications

  Shout out to Deang Kast for editing this for me, so many hugs for having to go through this twice due to technical issues ❤

  To my partner who always supports me and even named this story for me!

  And of course, to everyone who has supported me so far! So many hugs!

  The Most Eligible Bachelor

  By Delmire Hart

  Chapter One

  Takumi could think of several places he would rather be right now than a limo filled with over-dressed and overenthusiastic people. It’s not like he had even signed up for this.

  His mother was the one to blame for this entire affair.

  Japan had been taken by storm by the American reality TV show when the producers announced that they were getting their very own version. It had been all over the media, news, papers, magazines and the internet.

  Why?

  Because it was the world’s first ever openly bi bachelor.

  Poor little conservative Japan was torn apart by the news. On one side, people were applauding equality and the production company for going ahead with it while on the other hand people were claiming it was all just a disgusting publicity stunt.

  Takumi had been keen to keep out of the debate, to be honest. Something that had proven to be exceedingly difficult because every single person seemed to have an opinion on it. The models he took photos of for fashion shoots were the worst, they had been going on about it for months. It seemed like everyone he knew was putting forward a damn application to get in.

  All for someone who was supposedly the ‘most eligible bachelor’ in Japan. A reclusive billionaire that swung both ways. He had to admit that the man was attractive, what with the chiselled body and confident golden eyes staring out from the advertisements. But it was none of Takumi’s business.

  Except that his dear mother had decided to catch her recently-come-out-gay son the biggest fish of them all.

  You can imagine his surprise when he got the call. Worse still, the producers wouldn’t listen to his protests and told him in no uncertain terms he would be on the show. His mother was thrilled. Takumi had contemplated faking some horrific illness to get out of it but he knew he would never live it down. Because his damn mother had blabbed to every single person she knew that he was going to be on the show. His friends were certain that Takumi would be the one ‘normal’ person there, most likely chosen just to highlight the crazy.

  This was only emphasized by the ride in one of two limos that chaperoned twenty participants to the mansion where they would spend the next two months.

  Ten males, ten females. Apparently, the producers had changed the way some of the show worked and now they would all be living in the same mansion as Mr Big Hotshot Bachelor for two whole months. Worst still, the entire place had been rigged with cameras for livestreaming as well as the cameras that will no doubt be stalking them everywhere. No communication with the outside world except for once a week with one hour of computer time under supervision. Something about avoiding accidentally leaking information. No vote offs, just two months of dating hell.

  Group dates, solo dates. Bitch about other people’s dates.

  It was going to be hell. At least he could sit in the corner and ogle at the man in question for some of it. He was eye candy. He also couldn’t remember the man’s name.

  What a great start this was shaping up to be.

  His aversion to the whole thing was not helped by the people sharing his ride. A woman sat with a freaking chicken in her lap; it was cute but it had already shat on the limo floor once. Another was downing all the champagne she could get her hands on and exclaiming about how she would sweep this man off his feet while sneering at the men in the limo.

  Another blond man wailed on about unrequited love. Apparently, he was a manager at one of the bachelor’s establishments, and Takumi was sure he had heard the man’s entire life story by now. A famous idol sat next to Takumi, Miyara, who seemed sweet, if a little air-headed.

  The limo pulled to a stop, idling for what felt like an age before it moved again and a vibrant voice came over the intercom.

  “Are you all ready to meet Mori-san?”

  Mori; that was his name. Takumi winced as everyone screamed their enthusiasm. A laugh sounded over the intercom as they pulled to a stop and they were told to wait their turn until they were called to exit the limo. Then they would be formally introduced to Mr Bachelor. Theirs was the second of the two limos and Takumi was one of the last to be called forward.

  He was oddly nervous. It’s not like he expected anything out of this, other than what would probably be the most stressful all expenses holiday he had ever had. Still, he was meeting a rather intimidating man, the one he was supposedly dating for the next two months.

  Finally, he was called forward.

  Taking a deep breath, Takumi gathered his nerves and carefully stepped out of the limo. He nearly tripped over his own feet on the exit, barely catching himself on the door, and he walked unsteadily toward the dark figure standing near a garden with decidedly warm cheeks. He hoped that the man hadn’t seen him but no doubt the camera that followed him had caught everything.

  Perfect, first view on national TV was him barely saving himself from falling flat on his face.

  Takumi stopped in front of this Mori person and looked up. And up.

  Damn he was tall.

  And holy shit was he good looking.

  Those photos really didn’t do him justice. Takumi had never felt so out of place as he did in his ill-fitting suit while standing next to this perfectly put together man. He didn’t even realise he had been standing there wordlessly staring until an eyebrow rose. Takumi cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment before holding out his hand and finally introducing himself. Ugh, he wanted to sink through the floor right then and there.

  Soon enough he was heading into the mansion proper and he honestly did not remember a thing he said or even what Mori had said in return, all he could remember was that his voice was deep and smooth.

  They really did pick the perfect man for this.

  His thoughts were interrupted when he walked into a large room filled with chattering people and immedi
ately felt most of them dismiss him out of hand. Well, that made it easier for him, he supposed. It would give him a way to carry out his plan to ogle Mori from the corner of the room and not get drawn into cat fights.

  Accepting another glass of champagne, he felt like he would need a few to get through the night, Takumi moved to the side of the room only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a pretty white pony.

  What the hell.

  Turned out one of the women had brought her in to make a play on the whole white knight princess thing. Takumi didn’t entirely get it but took a few minutes to pet the mild-mannered pony. The others reminded him that there was some first impression guaranteed a solo date thing he had completely forgotten about. Well, that was out for him. Unless him tripping on his own feet counted as memorable to Mori.

  Which Takumi sincerely hoped wasn’t the case.

  Takumi soon found himself back at the bubbly idols side and gratefully let her lead their conversation. He began to feel rather shabby the more he looked around; glittering evening dresses and flashy suits adorned everyone else. The only person who wasn’t dressed so was a beautiful Chinese man who wore a stunning traditional outfit that Takumi couldn’t remember the name of, but wow.

  He was so screwed.

  He didn’t stand a chance.

  All conversations ceased abruptly, and he looked up to find Mori striding into the room behind another tall, fair-haired man. This one was dressed in a light grey fitting suit and walked with a cocky attitude very at odds with Mori’s sombre appearance. Takumi recognised him as being a very popular TV show host. While Russian in descent, he had been living in Japan long enough to speak fluently with only a slight accent.

  “Greetings ladies and gentleman. You may remember me from our phone conversations but I am Nikolai. I am helping to run this show and will be providing commentary to yourselves and the viewers at home. As you may remember, there are no cell phones allowed at the mansion and little contact with the outside world during your stay. But in an effort to make things more interactive, along with the livestreams on our website, you will be receiving specially profiled phones to use during your stay. I will hand these out shortly but with these you will have access to the camera, for selfie purposes obviously, a schedule of events, a forum to talk with each other and make requests of the onsite staff. Most exciting of all is a special closed twitter account.

  “This means you can post tweets, have access to see other show participant’s tweets and reply, but you cannot view the outside world’s tweets. The viewers however can see all of these. This show is all about helping Mori-san here to find love but also to make it a fun, interesting interaction for everyone involved, including our wonderful viewers. That’s all for now, I will make my rounds and hand out the phones over the evening, otherwise please take the opportunity to get to know Mori-san a little better.”

  Nikolai gave a small bow and left, leaving Mori to be suddenly swamped. Only a few besides Takumi remained sitting, one being the pretty Chinese man. He caught Takumi’s gaze and walked over to sit next to him.

  “I see we are playing at the same strategy.” The man had a nice voice and spoke with only the slightest accent. He moved with a graceful elegance that Takumi found himself a little envious of.

  “Ah, I wouldn’t say that.” Takumi looked over to the mob of people around Mori, the blonde-haired manager seemed to be leading the fray. “I just prefer my limbs intact, thanks.”

  “You don’t seem like all the others here,” he said before offering a slender hand. “Xu Jian Cheng. But please, call me Jian.”

  “Hisato Takumi.” He returned the handshake politely and sat back in the squishy couch. They chatted quietly for a bit, Takumi got the feeling he was being weighed up and judged but Jian soon relaxed and that feeling vanished. It was both a relief and mildly irritating that he had been dismissed once again. Not that he could blame him to be honest.

  The Chinese man excused himself after a while and Takumi found himself sitting between Miyara and a model called Riko with yet another glass of champagne. He tried to remember all the names but most of them blurred together, he felt sorry for Mori having to remember everyone. It’s not like the man could get away with forgetting anyone’s name.

  Placing down his now empty glass on the small coffee table in front of him, Takumi settled back into a recently vacated cushy arm chair and let all the sounds wash over him. It had been a long stressful day and he was done with all the drama.

  Takumi didn’t even realise he had fallen asleep until he was being gently shaken awake. He groggily opened his eyes only to be immediately met with intense golden eyes leaning in far too close. He let out the most unmanly squeak imaginable and flailed in surprise. Mori pulled back looking somewhat amused.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Ah, yeah, just a little tired is all.” He sat up, rubbing his eyes and flushed as he realised that everyone was looking at them. “I had a long photoshoot this morning as one of Enrapture’s photographers had a family emergency. It’s been a long day.”

  Mori’s eyebrows rose in slight surprise and he straightened, holding out a hand. Takumi let himself be pulled to his feet.

  “You work for Enrapture?”

  They moved out from the crowd of people and onto a small private balcony, Takumi still feeling a little disorientated from sleep. “Ah, no. I’m just a freelance photographer. So, I only work for that brand occasionally.”

  “I see. You seem rather worn out, Miyara-kun said you’d been asleep for a while, you’re the last person for me to speak with tonight. I almost didn’t want to wake you.”

  “I’ve been up since five am,” Takumi admitted with an embarrassed shrug. “I’m a little tired after the photoshoot and then all the rush and drama getting here. Must be worse for you though, having to try and remember and process things about twenty different people all in one night.”

  Mori hummed and changed the subject, asking about him, his home life, his freelance photography work, and his hobbies. Takumi got a few of his own questions in before they were interrupted by Nikolai popping his head out and beckoning Mori away. Apparently, it was about time for the final event of the evening and Takumi was glad.

  Yawning, he made his way back into the building and squished himself between an amused looking Jian and slightly worried Miyara. He waved off a few concerned queries sheepishly and was surprised when Nikolai waltzed back into the room and strode over to where they sat. He leaned down and handed over a flashy looking smart phone.

  “And the last one for sleeping beauty,” he said with a smirk.

  Takumi flushed and accepted the phone with mumbled thanks. He got a brief run through how it all worked and picked a new passcode for it. The last thing he needed was someone stealing his phone and pranking him, he imagined the cat fights would begin sooner or later. Overall, the set up on the phones was simple and easy to use and he noticed a few selfies already on their tweet network. Along with one of him sound asleep with a ‘sleeping beauty’ tag.

  Clearly, he had already made a name for himself and not the best one either.

  Further inspection was interrupted by Nikolai heading back to the front of the gathering and clapping his hands together for silence. Mori appeared from the doorway with a single red rose in hand and a collective dreamy sigh over took the room. Takumi barely refrained from rolling his eyes but he had to admit Mori did look striking with his tailored suit and perfect rose held carefully between thick fingers.

  “This is the first impression rose.” Nikolai gestured to the rose with a flourish. “One of you tonight left such a strong impression that Mori-san would like to take you on the first solo date in two days’ time. There has been a great deal of thought put into this, many of you left very strong impressions tonight.” His eyes flicked across the room and Takumi smothered a snort, he supposed him nearly falling over was not as bad as bringing a chicken or a pony. The poor animals had been removed during the first hour by very resigned look
ing staff. “Mori-san, if you would?”

  The man in question nodded and stepped forward. “After much deliberation, I would like to award this rose to one who impressed me with not only a stunning appearance but also wit and intellect and a drive that may even match my own…” The room fell dead silent, it felt as though every single person was holding their breath. “Xu Jian Cheng.”

  The Chinese man smirked and gracefully glided across the room to accept the rose. If looks could kill Jian would be writhing on the ground in agony but he wore the glares with a satisfied smile and a haughty toss of his long, silky hair. Their fingers brushed together a little too long as he accepted the rose before Jian stepped back to take his seat again.

  “No doubt you are all tired after such a big day.” Takumi struggled not to grimace as a few snide glances were cast his way. “Tomorrow will be a day for settling in; finding your way around the mansion, getting to know your housemates, and of course, Mori-san himself. If you would please follow our staff, they will see you settled for the night.”

  Takumi headed off towards the male wing of the mansion and mentally groaned at the thought of ten people sharing the same sleeping area. He was pretty sure that nerves would fray very quickly but no doubt that’s what they were after, calm situations didn’t make for good TV after all.

  All he could do was hope that this would all be worth it.

  Chapter Two

  It was day three and Takumi was already nearing the end of his tether. Yesterday had been exactly what Nikolai had said, settling into the mansion and getting to know the people he would live with for the next few months.

  Takumi was getting more depressed by the hour.

  There was a creepy set of female twins that would just randomly finish each other’s sentences and tossed thinly veiled suggestions of a threesome with Mori around as though that might help convince him to pick them. The pony had been sent back home but the chicken, who he learned was called Bethany, was still around and their owner was rarely seen without it in tow. It was surprisingly docile and a little bit cute, for a chicken. There was the club manager that Takumi had been forced to listen to for an hour ranting about his soon to be requited love, the pretty Chinese man, the bubbly idol, a mechanic, an artist. A woman claiming to be a professional housewife even.