Chapter 1
Eden
She stepped out of the staff quarters, her lingerielifting and separatingbeneath her sheer cover-up. Eden had to slip on her sunglasses – the only piece of apparel allowed to be black, let alonedark.Even her brand-new slippers were white and beige, accentuating her gait as she sashayed out of the blocky hotel building that housed everyone working at La Mariposa that weekend. Her first shift started at noon, and she would be damned if she was late and pissed off her no-nonsense supervisor, who was about to be all up in her business that long weekend.
It’s. So. Beautiful.
That was her first impression when she got off the plane two days ago, and that was still what stuck with her as she gazed upon the tropical luxury that was this private island resort in the middle of the Caribbean. La Mariposa wasn’t the actual name of the island, but it was what this resort was called… whenoffering this seasonalexperience.Once a quarter, La Mariposa commandeered this little hideaway and offered life-changing money to twenty-five women – and life-changing experiences.
For the women. For the men who would be arriving throughout the day.
So far, Eden didn’t see any. Her first assignment was the pool area, though, and she was dressed to entice any guest who stepped off the small aircraft coming in and out all weekend.Be loud, be proud, and be available.That was Eden’s mantra as she adjusted her breasts in her tight bikini top and dropped her bag beside a chair by the pool. In it was her room key, her staff booklet, and her sunblock, which she immediately applied while enjoying the Caribbean sun.
I can’t believe I’m here. I can’t believe this is happening.
She hid her giddy, girlish grin as she applied sunblock to her stomach. The swimsuit was brand-new as well. For while she had brought one – as outlined in her predeparture orders – one of the supervisors in charge of La Mariposa had also brought designer frocks for the Butterflies to claim the day before. One such piece Eden laid her hands on when she realized there were things in her size was this Dolce & Gabbana bikini that tied around her neck. The golden accents on her hips and breasts only made her curves stick out more… even with the sheer cover-up on top of it.
Because Eden was a Butterfly, an elite crop of escorts who were paid a cool hundred grand to be there that weekend.Before the bonuses.Before the bonuses!
She still couldn’t believe it. Her. A twenty-five-year-old sweetheart from Bumblefuck, California, who had never done proper sex work in her life, had made the cut to behere.To make a hundred thousand dollars just for showing up and putting out.
Oh, she knew that the two main reasons she even got an interview were due to her connections and her overallinexperience, but she still had topassthe interview. That meant the pervy minds behind La Mariposa thought she was hot and confident enough to make it here. That her very essence, her body, and even a glimmer of personality would please the twenty guests who paid a decadent sum to be here for three days.
Of course, she had to pass a physical exam. And a psych eval. She had to provide proof of birth control and a clear blood test before being allowed to receive her onboarding packetandget on the small aircraft that shuffled all the Northeast staff to the Caribbean. There were other planes from California, the Midwest, and the South that arrived throughout the day. Eden was on her own getting to the departure airport, but otherwise, everything from the flight to La Mariposa, to her lodging, to her food and toiletries was paid for by the resort. She had received twenty grand just for getting through orientation and showing up to her first shift on Friday. Sure, a girl could call it quits and leave with 20k in the bank, but she would be backlisted by the mysterious cabal of clubs that made events like these possible. And as much as Eden could live with that, she liked the idea of a hundred thousand even more. Not to mention the bonuses…
The bonuses!
She wasn’t the only one by the pool now. The bartender had arrived, clad in a black one-piece swimsuit and a silk kimono over her shoulders. Her dyed-blond hair shone like gold in the sunlight before she was shaded by the tiki-inspired cabana when she got behind the bar. She assessed the stock and began wiping things down as another woman in white perched on the other side of the pool, her breasts completely out as she leaned back and tanned.
Eden vaguely recognized her from orientation. But that was the thing about the other Butterflies. They either already had their companions or cliques and weren’t interested in meeting morebesties.Not even for the weekend. Eden had kinda hopedthat there might be camaraderie among the Butterflies, but most were content to keep to themselves and focus on getting those bonuses.They call it “Boner Bonuses.”Eden had to contain another immature giggle. Still, there weren’t any men around, although she had seen two planes land already. It was still early in the day. Many of the guests who had corporate day jobs wouldn’t arrive until the evening, probably.
Still, Eden was on call at the pool. She had to beavailable.Her orientation made it clear that she had a daily quota to fill. Granted, it was one, but there were twenty-five women for twenty men. It could get cutthroat to stay on the island for all three days.
There was a joke about sexySquid Gamesin there, but Eden knew she’d have to keep it to herself that weekend.
Once she was satisfied that she wouldn’t burn by the pool, she got up with her bag and headed toward the bar in the middle of the pool. Only one walkway led to the circular bar beneath the straw roof, the rest of it surrounded by chlorinated water that sparkled in the sunlight. Eden inhaled the sweet scent as she picked a stool at the end of the bar and pulled out a pad and pen from her bag. There were no cell phones on La Mariposa. Probably for the best… but she was a child of the digital age and a recovered social media addict. Just because she had deleted most of it a year ago didn’t mean Eden knew what to do with herself at a bar.
Unless, of course, the bartender talked to her.
“Hey!” Eden was almost knocked over by that friendly tone hurled at her.That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard since I got here!Maybe the staff in black, who acted as support and hospitality, were nicer than the other Butterflies. All the black-clad staff had to worry about was collecting tips. “What can I get you? I’ve barely made it through the earmarked bin, but I see a lot of juice and iced tea for Butterflies.”
That was another great perk. Free non-alcoholic drinks whenever Eden wanted one! “Iced tea sounds great. Got any fresh lemons back there?”
“Tell you what.” The bartender’s kimono slipped down her shoulder as she saucily leaned a hand against the bartop and moved in Eden’s direction.Nice rack, hon!She would totally get some tips this weekend! “Just for you, I’ll cut up a lemon. I’m a sucker for pretty girls.”
Eden knew she blushed. “I’m Eden, by the way. Er… I mean… Brim.”
“It’s fine.” The bartender winked as she began preparing a fresh iced tea for Eden. “I won’t tell anyone you told me your real name.”
“I gotta get used to this code name thing before guests start asking for it. I’ve just never gone by another name, you know? Not even a nickname.”
A lemon soon met an unfortunate end on the other end of a large knife. “Brim must be short for Brimstone. Been a couple of seasons since I last met one. But I assume they recycle code names every season.”
The iced tea with lemon and a branded napkin appeared before Eden. By now, a couple of the other Butterflies assigned to the pool area had arrived, each spacing themselves out and either sunning, reading a book, or applying sunscreen like Eden had. Nobody was in a hurry to come claim a sparkling water or soda.I wonder how many of them have done this before.If this were old hat, Eden could understand their lack of interest in socializing.You get enough of that with the work itself.
“Also, I’m Blair.”
“Lovely to meet you!”
