“Good. Five minutes and no more. I’m turning on the timer on my iPhone and keeping a close eye on you.” Giovanna gives me a quick hug before turning on her heel and heading to meet Brian and Josephine.
I get on my toes and I quickly look around the room to spot him. Where is he? When I can’t see his handsome face in the crowd, I return my focus to my phone.
You’re the most alluring woman here tonight. When you walked into the room all the others seemed to fade in the background. How dare you look so divine?
Oh. I was hoping I looked good, but his words take me aback.
-----
You don’t look so bad yourself.
Even though Max was surrounded by a mob of people his impeccable three-piece suit didn’t go unnoticed. Honestly, I thought only older men or grooms-to-be wore a waistcoat, but the way he works his three-piece suit, you’d think he jumped out of the pages of Details magazine.
Can you find a quiet spot to hide so we can talk instead of texting?
-----
Give me a second to step out of the room. Where are you now?
Outside on the deck. Why don’t you head to the lobby? Since most of our guests have arrived, it should be quiet there.
Okay. Call me in a few minutes.
I quickly head to the entrance and I barely have time to close the door behind me before my phone rings. It’s Max.
“You’re too eager, buddy,” I say.
“Can you blame me? You’re radiant.”
“Stop, you’re going to make me blush.”
“You know perfectly well I can’t resist you when your cheeks flush. If I could get away right now, I’d kidnap you, lock you up in a bathroom and fuck you senseless for making my cock this hard.”
“You can’t get away?” I’m so disappointed to hear I won’t be able to see him until later.
“Not for a while, sweetness. We have press from all over the country, plus Brazil, the UK and Germany, and they’re all very interested in our three plus-size collections. It’s a wild night because all of these media outlets are eager to spread the good word to their readers.”
“Why are you hiding on the patio while I’m hiding in the lobby to have a conversation?” I ask, slightly irritated.
“I’m afraid if I get too close, everyone in the room will know how aroused I get around you because I’m certain it will be written all over my face. Don’t worry, I’ll make up for this charade when I have you all to myself.”
I wish I could be by his side right now. This hide-and-seek game isn’t doing it for me. I want him to wrap his arms around me and crush my lips until I nearly stop breathing.
“It’s unfortunate you’ll have to wait until later to find out which one of your creations I’m wearing under my dress…” I hope my cockiness motivates him to find some time for us to escape from the prying eyes of the partygoers.
“You dirty girl. You’re teasing me and you know I’m going to have to punish you for being so daring. I’m dying to touch you, kiss you and pound you, but given how many reporters are swarming in the room, it’s best if we keep our distance until later tonight when we’re behind closed doors.”
“I hate it, but I understand.”
“You can’t possibly hate it as much as I do. I’m going to have to exert a Herculean effort to avoid focusing on what you might be hiding under your emerald-colored dress.”
“It’s naughtier than you think.”
He lets out a low grunt. “Please, don’t tempt me any further. I want to protect you from the unkind eyes of the press. If they spot us together and suspect something is going on between us, they’ll have a field day—at your expense, since I’m immune to this sort of garbage by now.”
“I get it. I’ll see you later. You can text me when you want me to come up to your room.”
“Did you leave your things with the concierge?”
“Yes, I left my suitcase with Charles.”
“Excellent. I’m sure he already has it up in my room. I’ll make sure we leave together. Before I go I want you to know one thing, sweetness.”
“What?” I ask hesitantly.
“You do know I’ll only have eyes for you tonight?”
How in the world am I supposed to respond to that? “There must be at least three hundred attractive women in the room.”
“Yeah, but there’s only one of you,” he interrupts.
“Max…”
“Every time we lock eyes, you’ll know I’ll be counting the minutes until I’m able to have my way with you.”
Holy hell.
No man has ever made me feel as unbelievably sexy and as utterly desired as he does now.
BOOK 3—CLAIMED BY AN ALPHA
Chapter Five
After my short conversation with Max, I meet up with Giovanna, Brian and Josephine at the bar. For the next hour, we have our own little private party amongst all the industry people. The flowing drinks mellow me out somewhat, but not enough to ignore Bruna’s attempts at catching Max’s attention. She’s looking him up and down like a lioness eyeing a baby gazelle. Bitch. She’s tried everything—flipping her black mane, yanking up her giant boobs to make them more obvious, pulling up her already indecently short dress to expose more of her long tanned legs, and she’s even resorted to reapplying her red lipstick as if she’s performing a crude act in public. The woman won’t give up.
Luckily, Max has been too busy with the press and top retailers to pay the bitch any attention. It becomes so hilarious at a certain point during the evening, Brian starts betting on her next moves. Every time he predicts her next ploy, Giovanna and Josephine burst out in laughter.
Unfortunately, my stomach is tied up in a knot for me to enjoy myself. What the hell is she up to? I’m so troubled, I stand up from my stool and take a few steps forward with my arms crossed over my chest like protective armor. I want to make sure I keep a close eye on the human piranha and the man who makes my heart skip a beat.
Although the music has been playing in the background all evening long, the sudden change is unmistakable. The smooth vibe from Mexican superstar duo Camila changes to a sultrier and more provocative beat. Were it not for the fact Lexi is half Latina, I’d know very little about Spanish music, but I recognize a feverish tune she played last summer every time we visited her home—6 a.m. by J. Balvin.
The next thing I know, Bruna is gyrating her sinful body theatrically in the middle of the restaurant. It comes as no surprise all eyes are glued on the Brazilian as she undulates her hips to the cadence of the music. She’s making such a spectacle of herself, even the media who had been focused on Max turn their attention to the tall model. I’m fuming with jealousy as she approaches Max in front of everyone. What the fuck is she doing? My mouth is still gaping open when Brian behind me summarizes my exact feelings.
“She’s such an attention-seeker. I’m sure she must have masterminded her plan all night long so that she could bewitch everyone as she works her dirty-dancing moves on Max. The poor chap has no choice but to play along given how many reporters are crammed in this room and how many cameras are pointing at him.”
I really don’t need to hear this.
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s not as if he can brush her off in front of so many people. The next thing you’ll know we’ll read on the cover of every newspaper in the country tomorrow morning, Sexy Curves’ CEO Rejects Plus-Size Model On The Dance Floor! I know from firsthand experience the media can twist pretty much anything to sell more papers or get more page views online.” Giovanna’s observation should calm me down, but I feel so sick to my stomach right now, I could run to the bathroom and puke my guts out.
“Well, she did say in passing on the set earlier today she was determined to get to know Max a lot better before the clock strikes midnight…” Josephine’s words send me into sheer panic. No, no, no.
Unable to hold back any longer, I turn on my heel and face the group who has so accurately been commenting on the unfolding events and I dare to ask a ques
tion that might expose me. “What do you mean, Josie?”
“I’ve done many photoshoots with Bruna and I’ve seen with my own eyes how she plays men to her advantage. I’m not saying she’s not a beautiful curvy model—she is and she knows it. What I am saying is the reason she gets called back for photoshoots so often is because she’s not afraid of putting out. I’ve caught her quite a few times in compromising situations with photographers, representatives from the company who hires us, videographers and pretty much any human being walking around with a cock. The girl has no shame. In my opinion, she’s going to get him before the end of the night because she’s been hinting at it since we’ve arrived in Miami yesterday morning. I should know, since I’m her roommate. What Bruna wants, Bruna gets.”
God, please make it stop.
“I didn’t want to bring it up, but since Josephine let the cat out of the bag, I can share that Bruna cornered me earlier today and rubbed her tits all over me hoping I’d write the same kind of feature story as I’m crafting for Giovanna and Candy. I would have been flattered, but I caught her with her hands down the photographer’s jeans about an hour before she approached me. Frankly, she’s so obvious a blind man can see her coming a mile away.”
Jesus, this is my worst nightmare coming to life. There’s no way I can compete against her—she’s a star in the industry and I’m only me.
“At least we didn’t have to deal with Benita being on set this time around. I’ve dealt with the double-trouble duo before. It’s excruciating.”
My head turns in Giovanna’s direction so quickly I fear my neck might snap off. “Who’s Benita?” I ask in a higher voice than normal.
“Her twin sister,” Giovanna and Josie both answer together.
Fuck, there’s more than one of them? “I didn’t know she had a twin.”
“Benita’s super-popular in South America and she’s gaining popularity here. I’m sure you’ve seen her in ads for Tremendous Splash swimsuits,” Giovanna continues. “You haven’t put two and two together because they’re fraternal twins and not identical. Also, Benita dyes her dark hair blonde. This has helped her get bookings where she doesn’t have to go head to head with her sister.”
“Giovanna is right. The next time you see Benita’s photo in a magazine, you’ll immediately see the resemblance.” Josie’s words do little to comfort me as I rack my brain to remember the lineup of models under the Tremendous Splash brand. “Benita goes by her first name only, which is why you might not have connected the two sisters. She thinks she’s the Madonna of the modeling world. Whatever. Like Giovanna, I’ve also worked with both of them and they are indeed a nightmare. Here’s the other twist to the story—when they’re together, they never shy away from seducing men with the promise of a hot ménage a trois with two plus-size Brazilian bombshell supermodels. As they love to gloat, few mortals with a cock can resist such illicit temptation. To be honest, I know a lot of men who’ve bagged both sisters during an evening of debauchery where no kinks were off the table. Yeah, the Alvares twins are something else.”
For the love of God. Is there no end to this?
Although I haven’t missed one word Josephine and Giovanna shared, I still have my eyes glued to the dance floor, fearing the worst, and when Max wraps his arms around her waist and Bruna slams her tits against his chest, I lose all my composure. By the time she rubs her boobs up and down Max’s torso, I’ve officially had enough. I’m certain it would’ve been less painful if someone had poured a bucket of salt on an open wound than to watch Bruna grab Max by the back of his neck and crush her lips against his.
When the crowd roars with excitement, I concede defeat. Maybe he’ll stick the butt plug he bought for me earlier up her ass while teasing her clit with the vibrator as he pounds her with his hungry cock. See if I care. In an attempt to stop the agony, I turn to the trio still sitting at the bar with a proposition to allow me escape this hellhole.
I fist my right hand against my thigh to give me more courage. “There are tons of long black limousines in front of the hotel. Why don’t we jump into one of them and go discover Miami’s vibrant nightlife? Why would we stay here and watch her make a fool out of herself?” To my surprise I manage to muster up a tight smile. I can’t believe I was able to say those words in a steady voice considering how fast my heart is beating right now.
My idea takes them aback at first, but Brian’s beaming smile lets me know he’s on board. Soon after, Josephine and Giovanna both jump to their feet, excited by my suggestion.
“Candy, let’s hit the town and let’s go find ourselves a few hot eligible guys, since Josephine and Brian seem to be so smitten by each other.”
“I wouldn’t be averse to the idea of sharing my bed with three luscious women. Perhaps we should skip the club scene and head directly to my room.” Brian grins from ear to ear and earns himself a slap on the arm from both gorgeous models.
I need to get the fuck out of here. Now.
BOOK 3—CLAIMED BY AN ALPHA
Chapter Six
Just like New York, Miami comes to life when the sun goes down. My goal was to do whatever it took to erase the earlier traumatic scene of watching Bruna and Max embrace so intimately in front of hundreds of pairs of eyes, and if I’m willing to lie to myself that I don’t care, then I’ve somewhat succeeded.
After hitting six different high-energy nightclubs where we danced our heads off, where I flirted with any stranger willing to look my way and guzzled down probably more booze than I should have, Giovanna, Josephine, Brian and I are sprawled inside the limo like spoiled rich kids at the end of prom night on our way back to the hotel. The four of us are resting our heads with eyes closed against the seats until Brian breaks the silence.
“I wonder how many bottles are in the mini fridge.”
“Why don’t you open the door and do an inventory, Mr. Inspector?” Giovanna giggles and Josephine and I join her.
“From what I can see, it’s fully stocked and there’s enough to last us until we make it back to the Four Seasons.”
“Great. Can you grab me a bottle of white wine if they have one?” Even with my eyes closed, I can feel the shift of energy and I crack my eyes open. I’m met with three puzzled faces. I’m in such a cocky mood, I decide to ignore their stares. “What? Don’t they carry white wine?”
“They do. I didn’t take you for a person who could party this hard. Candy, you’ve surprised the heck out of me—in a good way.” Brian makes his confession as he folds back up with a mini bottle of wine in his hands.
I grab it and hold their gaze. “Don’t stare at me, get your own drink.” I twist the cap before taking a massive gulp, letting the alcohol burn away the memory of Max’s betrayal.
It doesn’t take long for all three of my party companions to follow my cue. Since we ventured far away from the hotel, our trip back gave us enough time to clean house. Each and every bottle from the minibar is emptied—we even take care of polishing off the bottles of water, and the mood inside the stretched car elevates with each sip.
At some point Josephine selects a playlist on her iPhone and suddenly the moving vehicle becomes a nightclub on wheels––there’s dancing, laughing, and Giovanna, who cracks us up by reenacting Bruna’s slutty moves. When we’re all tipsy, giggling in the back of the car and falling all over each other, the limousine comes to a screeching stop.
“Oh, my God. This was so much fun it should be illegal,” Giovanna chokes out, wiping the mascara running underneath her eyes.
“Giovanna, darling, you deserve an Oscar nomination for your rendition of dirty Bruna.” I burst into laughter. I’m way past the point of tipsy, as are my three partners in crime, but I’m still sober enough to feel a pang of sadness when a thought flashes through my head—Max might be upstairs right now with Bruna in his bed.
“Giovanna, Candy is right. You’re hilarious, girl, and I wish you were my roommate instead of bitchy Bruna.” Josephine is folded in half as she does her best to keep it
together.
“Well, I hope for tonight I can convince you to be my roommate, Josie.” Brian’s unabashed confession earns him a few whistles of admiration from Giovanna and I. The man has guts.
“It’s a good thing I’m already bunking up with Sarah, the curvy Texan model, and Candy is sharing a room with one of Mr. Keller’s top executives. You haven’t hurt our feelings by not including us in your sultry night of passion.”
“Since he’s writing an article on us, I think it’s a good thing he doesn’t know more than he has to, Giovanna. By tomorrow morning he’d have way too much incriminating information if we were to spend the night with him.” My witty repartee earns me high-fives from the group.
Hysterical laughter fills the limo as the door opens, prompting Giovanna and I to climb off the floor where we slid some time during our joyride. We hold on to each other for support as we make our way into the hotel and head for the elevators.
Luckily, we catch an empty car and we all cram inside, determined to keep the party going until we separate. Given the speed and the efficiency of this luxury hotel’s ride, it doesn’t take long for each of us to debark to our respective rooms for a much-needed rest.
Since I’m on one of the top floors, I ride the rest of the way solo and I can’t help but reminisce about our night of misbehaving in Miami’s hottest clubs. The morning after should be quite interesting to say the least, considering I have to be back on set at the mansion before nine.
Crap. That only gives me four hours of sleep if I want to leave here by eight o’clock to arrive on time. I’m going to look like shit in the morning. I totter off the elevator with an unsure step and for the first time this evening, I curse my high heels. Unable to continue, I kick off my designer shoes and stroll barefoot to my room. When I get to my door I tuck them under my armpit to free up my hands to fish for my keycard. When I locate the little gold and white plastic card, I slip it in the hole and crank the handle to push open the door. I guess I’m not nearly as tipsy as I thought because I didn’t even fumble, nor did I drop my shoes. Bravo to me.
Claimed By An Alpha Page 5
