“Pleasure and Punishment!” he shouts. The group looks nervous and I don’t blame them. “This one will test the bonds of matrimony, people!” Just as I thought. They’re going to play dirty. I don't believe they’d throw money like this around if there wasn’t a real chance we could all lose. The couple exchanges a glance that’s half panic, half curious, and I get it. Their partners are probably just as uncertain somewhere out there in the crowd.
“Your task is simple.” He lets the pause drag on, building anticipation until it’s so quiet in here, you could hear a pin drop. “One of you will seduce the other, using every move you’d normally save for your spouse. Whispers, teasing touches, lingering glances…” His grin sharpens. “But here’s the catch. Your partner must react convincingly. You’ve gotta sell it to the audience to make it to the next round, after all, they’re your judges. There are no limits. Only you can decide your limitations.” He turns to face the crowd, bouncing around the stage and giving off a spiel that only hypes the game up, meanwhile the contestants stand slack-jawed, staring at the wheel, probably regretting coming tonight. Their eyes dart fromthe host to the audience and back again. “How far will they go for fifty-thousand dollars?”
Whistles, laughter and applause fill the air, giving the couple much needed encouragement, but their worried expressions only prove just how dangerous this is. Toying with relationships for money. Good thing I don’t have one. They shift nervously, staring at each other for a beat, before the woman crosses her arms, closing herself off.
“I… uh. No. I can’t. I’m sorry. This is my honeymoon. I can’t do this.” She storms off the stage as the room breaks out in awkward chatter.
“Well… That’s one group down. Sorry buddy. Maybe next time,” he says to the guy who looked more than willing to participate, but he just shrugs and makes his way off the stage as the crowd gives him a round of applause. Daniel turns his attention back to the rest of us, waiting nervously for our turn. The next couple steps up, trying their best to appear confident, but they’re not fooling anyone. They’re just as terrified as the rest of us. They spin the wheel, and just like the first round, the arrow lands on a category before they read their first task. Only this time, it’s the guy who throws his hands in the air in protest, unable to go through with it. I respect the hell out of him for it.
“That’s unfortunate, folks. But there are still two couples left! Will they make it past the first round?” I look up at West, and damn. The corner of his lips is tilted into an amused smirk. His heated gaze is almost assessing as his brilliantly blue eyes lock onto mine. I take him in properly for the first time, letting my eyes roam, not caring if he notices. His crisp white button-up is rolled to the elbows, revealing tattooed arms that flex beneath my gaze, fighting to break free of the fabric covering them. This man has muscle. Lots of it.
There’s a palpable edge to West. Like standing too close to a fire on your coldest night, desperate for warmth, for that rush ofheat against your chilled skin, knowing it could leave you burned if you’re not careful. One look too long, and I could find myself hypnotized, drawn to a flame like a moth that has unknowingly sealed its fate.
“How badly do you want to win, trouble?”Trouble?I push the word aside, forcing myself to focus. I lock eyes with him, letting every ounce of determination and intent shine through, daring him to challenge me, and after a beat, I finally answer.
“Enough to make you wish you’d stayed in your seat.”
CHAPTER 8
WEST
CAME FOR THE PRIZE… STAYED FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION
What kind of man am I if I can’t keep my thoughts or my eyes to myself? She’s my son’s girl. Even though she’s his ex, I didn’t miss the way he claimed her the other night. Theo called her his girlfriend. Which means what we did, what never should have happened, crossed a line with him, and I can’t say I blame him for reacting the way that he did. In his eyes, I betrayed him. In my defense, not that it matters, I didn’t know who she was, let alone that there would be a woman waiting in the dark for who, at the time, I thought was me.
We were both wrong.
I thought with my cock, not my head. I don’t know what the hell she was thinking, either, only that she believed I was my son.
So why can’t I control my own damn thoughts right now?
Jovi Stone.
She was probably sent here to ruin me.
Her presence alone steals the air from my lungs. The stage lights wrap around her like a shimmering halo, but I can’t shake the feeling that this woman is no angel.She’s trouble.I also know I shouldn’t be staring like I am, but I can’t help it. I trace the lines of her glowing silhouette, memorizing details I have no fucking right to notice. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Her blonde hair falls down her back in thick waves, her hazel-green eyes wide with nerves, and for some reason, I find myself wanting to reassure her. To tell her I’ve got her. That there’s nothing to be afraid of, and thisgamethat I could give two shits about… I'd do whatever it takes to win.
For her.
The smell of her sweet perfume is seductive, clinging to the space between us, and I fight the urge to reach out to touch her.
God, I’m fucking pathetic.
She doesn’t belong to you, idiot.
I should do the honorable thing and walk off this stage without so much as a glance in her direction because, what sort of father am I if I don't?
Every part of Jovi being here is a punishment. An invisible line I can't come back from if I cross it. A living, breathing temptation dangling like forbidden fruit before me, promising everything I crave and everything that would shatter my already fragile relationship with Theo.
I haven't been able to get her out of my head since the other night and that’s not for lack of trying. Every time I close my eyes, I see those perfect, full lips, wrapped deliciously around my cock, taking me so well while I gaze into her mischievous, wide eyes, captivated by the way her tongue feels tasting me. Every time I see it in my mind, after fucking my fist in the shower because simply imagining her on her knees before me isn’t enough, the guilt that follows is unbearable. I’m a piece of shit for thinking about her in the first place. A piece of shitfor wondering what things would be like if the situation were different. If she wasn't my son’s ex-girlfriend.
“Enough to make you wish you’d stayed in your seat,” she finally answers, her voice dripping with challenge and rapturous honey. I grind my molars, the sound lost beneath the low murmur of the crowd, and the only thing louder is my pulse pounding in my ears.
“Alright, alright!” The annoying host, Daniel, or whatever the fuck, says enthusiastically through his mouth piece as he walks closer to where Jovi and I stand, almost awkwardly, by the wheel. “Time to see what fate has planned for these two.”
My gaze drifts to Jovi, her eyes almost pleading as she silently begs me to go through with whatever bullshit is about to happen.
“You sure about this?” I whisper.
