Even though I am worried about him, I’m actually glad that Kyle is not in the room when I watch Aubrey in the paddling event. It’s just about the most intensely erotic thing I’ve ever watched in my life, the way she squirms and pulls at the cuffs around her wrists. The way her body jumps and the way she screams at each crack of the paddle. And that orgasm, good lord that was the most intense thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

I feel like a pig jerking off to her like the thousands of viewers are most likely doing at this very second, but I can’t look away. And if I’m looking at her, so perfect and beautiful in those cuffs and with that hot, red ass of hers, it is impossible for me not to come.

I’ve been hard all morning thinking about what she said last night. How confident she is and how kinky she is and, as much as I hate to admit it, what she said about being shared.

I’m back down to reality quickly when the next girl walks on stage. I couldn’t care less what she or any of the remaining contestants look like while they’re tied up. And when I see fake tits and hear fake moans it just reinforces everything.

The next two events surprise the hell out of me. All of the girls, including Aubrey, seem like they’re actually having a lot of fun. It’s awesome to watch the three remaining girls laughing while they’re racing on the exercise bikes, all naked and covered in sweat. I cannot even believe that Kyle has put this hilarious mashup in the playlist. It’s so like him.

Of course, since he’s not here, I nixed the bj event. I know the guy’s will be disappointed, but none of us knew some of the girls would pulling the glory hole act in the confessional room, so I’m sure they all got plenty of what was coming to them. And there is just no way I’m giving Aubrey’s mouth away to any other dude.

The longer I watch the girls laughing and biking as hard as they can to the music, the more I realize that Kyle was right. Evidently, they all want to be here or they wouldn’t be. And it sure as hell looks like they’re enjoying themselves, so who am I to assume this entire contest is degrading for any of them.

It also reinforces what I’ve known all along. Aubrey is the winner, and always has been. She’s the only one I will ever want. And not just as a sub for this contest. I want Aubrey for keeps.

But right now I’d also like to know where the hell Kyle is. He’s texted me twice since last night, but he hasn’t responded to me at all. I stare at my phone for a long time, my thumb hovering over his name, when suddenly it rings.

“Where the hell are you?” I ask. “Jesus Christ, I thought you were dead.”

“You don’t have much faith in me, do you? I’m fine. I’m just sitting here with Peterson right now. We’re having a little chat.”

“So what’s going on?”

“Do me a favor. Pull up the contestant named Zoe Beck.”

I go over to the monitor with the list of girls and find her name, then get her number and pull up her profile. “Yeah, I’ve got her. She’s the one you were kinda into, right?”

“Yeah, she’s the one.”

“What does she have to do with anything?”

“Well, it seems that Peterson had a reason for shutting down our website.”

“A reason? You gotta be kidding. Other than the fact that he’s a complete dick? Come on, Kyle, tell me what’s going on.”

“Apparently, Zoe Beck is Evan Peterson’s sister and he doesn’t want her in the contest.”

“Sister? I don’t remember him ever mentioning a sister.”

“Well, from what he tells me, she’s his stepsister. And he wants us to pull her and all of her footage.”

“Wait a minute, she’s the only one left besides Aubrey. The other girls have all been eliminated. They’re all gone.”

“Yeah, I saw that last event with the bikes. Man, that was so freaking awesome! We are so using that one again.”

“Kyle, we’re not … Jesus, what the hell does it even matter what he wants? Unless … is he willing to make a deal? Is that what this is about?”

“Yep. If we pull her out of the contest and don’t go to the cops, he is willing to give us half of the money back.”

“Does he have a gun on you or something? He grabbed that gun you brought with you, didn’t he? He’s got your gun, and is holding you captive in his living room. I knew something like this was gonna happen!”

“Dude, no! He doesn’t have a gun on me. I’ve got my gun. I haven’t had to use it … yet. I mean, we had a bit of a scuffle, But we’ve come to an understanding, haven’t we, Peterson?”

I hear a muffled voice in the background and Kyle laughing. “What’s that? What’s going on there, Kyle?”

“Look, Peterson is willing to work with us. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have the money then any kind of justice. Even though this is totally going to fuck up the contest, we don’t have a choice.”

“How do we know he’s really going to give us the money? Or that he’s not just going to turn around and try something else?”

“He says if we pull Zoe out of the contest and delete all of her footage out of the archives, he’ll transfer the money into any account we want. But I’m not leaving here until he does, so you’re going to have to find all the footage, give her her shit back, put her in a cab and send her over here. We’re also going to have to figure out where to put the money.”

“Well, I can’t open an account with no money up front. I’ll have to have Peterson do the transfer into one of my own accounts since he doesn’t have access to any of them, then as soon as I can open a new account I’ll transfer it there.”

“Okay, sounds good, but that all has to happen, like, now. Get Aubrey to help you with the video stuff.”

* * *

Aubrey, Zoe, and Josh are all in the gym when I open the door to the room. Josh looks surprised to see me without a mask, but I don’t give a shit about the contest anymore, I just want this whole thing to be over with.

“What’s going on?” He asks.

“Kyle found Peterson. He’s with him right now.” I look over at Zoe. “And this is his sister.”

“Seriously? Did you know she was his sister?”

“No. Neither did Kyle. Basically, he wants her out of the contest and is willing to give us a huge chunk of the money back if we remove her.”

“No way,” Zoe says. “I won. The two of us won. That’s not fair that my dipshit brother is trying to—“

“Look, Zoe,” I say. “I know this sucks, but there’s more to it than you realize. We’re fully prepared to give you the five-hundred-thousand you won, but we have to pull you out.”

“I can’t believe him,” Zoe yells. “I can’t believe he’s doing this to me … again!”

“I’m really sorry.” I say, then turn to Aubrey. “I need your help again. I need to find any footage with Zoe in it and delete it off the server, and I don’t have any idea how to do that.”

“Sure, no problem,” Aubrey says. She looks back at Zoe and seems really concerned. “Hey, I’m sorry about all this. But that’s great that you’ll still get the money.”

“Yeah, I’m glad about that, but my stupid step brother is always doing this to me. He’s always trying to control my life. I just want to get the hell out of here and never see him again.”

“Well, he wants us to send you to where he is. It’s part of the arrangement.”

“Arrangement? What the fuck? Am I just a piece of meat to all you guys?” Zoe storms out of the gym and leaves us all in silence.

“Can you go after her and make sure she gets her stuff together? And I’m gonna need you to drive her over to where Evan is. I don’t trust her in a cab. And you can tell the rest of the guys to head out. We can deal with this place in a few days after things have calmed down.”

“Sure thing. So I should just head home after? You two are gonna take care of the last event?” Josh asks.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine. I’ll give you a call in a day or two, when we have the money and Evan is out of our hair.”

“No problem. I trust you,” he says with a smile, then turns to Aubrey. “Congrats, Aubrey.” Josh gives me a handshake and heads out after Zoe.

* * *

“So, there’s just me left.” Aubrey says when we’re alone in my office.

“Yeah.”

“And two of you.”

“Yeah, two of us.” I know what she’s thinking, because I’m thinking the exact same thing. And I’d be lying if I said I’d only been sharing her since Aubrey brought it up last night. I’ve thought about it since the audition. I’ve gone back and forth between wondering if that’s what Kyle really wanted and wondering if I could actually go through with it. I knew I didn’t want to share her with any of the thousands of guys who’d been paying to look at her for the last few days, but Kyle is different. He always has been. We have a connection that I can’t put into words, and have never tried. Neither of us has. We just take it for what it is. Best friends who occasionally fuck the same woman at the same time. “Is that what you want, Aubrey? You don’t ever have to do anything you don’t want—“

“I know that. I appreciate you telling me that, but I can feel it. You’re not that type of guy.”

“What type?”

“The type that’s only out to get off. Only interested in having his own needs met. You’re not that kind of guy, Graham.”

I smile because I know that’s not the entire truth. But it is for her. “Not where you’re concerned, I’m not.”

“I want to do it.”

“Both of us at the same time? You’re sure?”

“I’m totally sure,” she says with a smile. “It’s kind of scary, but pretty much everything has been since I’ve been here. And it’s all been worth it.”

* * *

“Where is everyone?” Kyle asks as he walks in my office. “I looked in the gym and it’s empty.”

“I sent all the guys home,” I say. “I figured they didn’t need to be here for this. So everything went smoothly, I take it?”

Kyle takes off his jacket and throws it on the couch. “Yeah, Zoe showed up right before I left. You moved the money?”

“Yep. Almost three hundred million is back in our possession. I seriously can’t believe we got it back.”

“Well, it’s not all of it—“

“But it’s more that I dreamed we’d get back. It’s a hell of a lot more than zero. I seriously can’t thank you enough, Kyle. It wouldn’t have happened without you. None of this would have.”

“Thanks, man, but I couldn’t have done any of it without you,” Kyle says. “I might have awesome ideas, but you help make them actually happen. You always do. So, what, you want me to film the two of you?”

“No,” I say. “We can just set up the camera and let it go. I think it should be fine.” I pause a moment and watch Kyle’s face because I can’t wait to see the change that is about to take place. He has no idea what I’m about to let him do. “Besides, you’re gonna be way too busy to run the camera.”

“Dude, you’re not serious.” He stares at me in disbelief for almost a minute. “Really? You’re gonna let me … with the two of you … the three of us on camera? Together?” Kyle’s face lights up with a huge smile. I know how much he wants this and it’s worth giving up a little bit of control to see him so happy. “You’re okay with this?”

“Yeah, I’m okay with it.”

“Damn, I thought you were totally pissed at me just for looking at her earlier.”

“Well, I was. But, I don’t know, it was just bullshit jealousy. I don’t own her and this is something she wants. It’s something that both of you want. And I don’t want to stand in anyone’s way.”

“Look, we both know this is just about sex,” Kyle says. “I totally understand how you feel about her, and I want you to know that I won’t ever get in the way of that.”

“Yeah, I know,” I say. “Let’s just take this first step for now. Then we’ll see how it goes.”

“You got it,” Kyle says. “So do I get front or back?”

“What do you think?” I say.

“I’m totally cool with the back door, dude. So when are we doing this?” Kyle asks, rubbing his hands together.

“Right now.”

“All right! Let’s get this show on the road!” Kyle heads out the door and I follow him into the gym.