Great. This is just fucking great.

Sure, I can campaign all I want, but there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to win against that good Samaritan, sleaze ball, Hiram whateverthefuck his last name is.

And, that “lighthouse that guides the poor souls blah blah” bullshit was prime. He really knows how to work a crowd, stroking the egos of the wealthy who have a heart. Which is few and far between, but hell, it got him in the damn running.

I’m not really sure how that happened. Not only did he bore us to death with a poetic rendition of Sucking Clarendon’s Cock, but he so easily swooned over the whole room.

Did you see something I didn’t, baby?

I don’t know, something about this whole damn thing doesn’t feel right.

I’m now standing in the lobby, watching as the crowd spills out of the room, waiting to see my sparring partner exit.

Yeah, I’m waiting for her. So what? I have a proposition for her that I know she can’t refuse. And no, it’s not my dick, baby. Get your mind out of the gutter, we have business to attend to.

Though, trust me, I wish I could throw caution to the wind and fuck her senseless. Maybe it’ll persuade her to give me the space? Nah, I know she’s too good for that. After playing her rival today, I know she’s not going to let this go. She’s fighting, and with every weapon in her arsenal.

A glimmer of blonde hair catches my eye and I look over her to confirm my suspicion.

Is that her ass?

Yep, that’s her.

She catches me staring and stops mid-stride. I take advantage of the moment and walk towards her.

“Serena, is it?” I ask.

“That would be me, Colt McCoy,” she states, proudly.

“Listen, I need to talk to you,” I grab her elbow, guiding her to the corner of the lobby away from the crowd.

I hear her breath hitch and feel her body lean into me. I fight the urge to push her against the wall and devour her right here and now, in front of everyone. But I restrain.

Sometimes being a good boy really fucking sucks.

But, knowing I have this effect on her like she has over me makes me harder than a fucking rod.

This is going to be so hard to get through. Oh, the irony. But this is for my business, for her business—we’re here for business. It’s annoying, but I have to keep reminding myself. Business.

“What is it?” She crosses her arms, pulling away from me. She tries to act like she’s not reeling from my touch but we both know nipples don’t lie.

“I don’t agree with the spa. I get it’s your business and you need a space and whatever. But, you know, and I know that if we go at this alone, we’ll both be fucked by Hiram.” I explain.

There’s a pause.

“You know I’m right, Serena,” I say to her.

“So, what are you saying?” She lifts her chin up and chews on her bottom lip, contemplating my next words.

Fuck, her lips are so damn luscious. I imagine them wrapped around dick, plumping around it so invitingly.

Shit. Focus, man. Business.

“I’m proposing we work together,” I let out.

Her brows shoot up in surprise. “You and I work together? Gym vs. Spa, together?” She waves her hands between us.

“Think about it,” I say. “As I see it now, if we don’t work together, we’ll both be going down. He’ll have a better chance of railroading one of us, rather than two of us. And, I don’t know what it is about that guy, but somethings off. He rubs me the wrong way. Don’t even get me started on that lighthouse, poor people bullshit. That shit didn’t make any sense.”

“I agree with you on that one.”

“Ah, you’re not all bliss and rejuvenation? You’re smart too?” I tease.

She rolls her eyes and for a second, I think I lost her. But she steps closer to me, taking me back a moment.

“Surprised? Women have brains too, they aren’t just walking pussies for you to cum all over.” She narrows her eyes.

“No one has a deeper appreciation of women than I do, baby,” I say to her. “Some of the top executives in my company are women. And I always told myself that if I found a Goddess with brains and beauty that I’d never ever fucking let her go,” I say seriously.

She ignores my veiled compliment and leans back to eye me over.

“I’d know she has brains, because no way she’d pass this body over,” I add in with my trademark smirk.

What? I have to say something like that. Sure I respect and love women. But I can’t be a pussy about it.

Serena lets out a loud sigh.

Oh, I know you like what you see, doll.

“Let’s be serious,” she continues. “Why should I work with you? How can I trust you?”

She’s asking and I can sense the wariness from her.

“With the two of us, we’re more capable of defeating Hiram. Our chances are higher, two against one; it’s easy math. But really, I want to put those brains to use. To outbid him, we need to figure out who the fuck this guy is—what he’s all about and why Seymour was jizzing all over him.”

“You’re right. He did seem way too…polished and confident. And, it was like our proposals didn’t even exist when he walked in.” She admits. “It almost felt like Seymour favored him immediately.”

I can feel her warming up to idea, though she’s still reluctant.

I get it.

Who wouldn't be worried?

We’ve gone from shattering our dreams of having an easy time bidding on the vacant retail space. We ended with a deadlock and a campaign. If we lose, we’re pretty much dead professionally.

And now, I’m asking her to work with me; to be my partner, in a sense.

But she hasn’t said no yet, so I still have a chance.

“There has to be some shady shit going on. No one who looks like that, acts like that and who is magically on the good side of Seymour can be good.” I add.

“Right….” She lingers on the word. She nods her head in agreement and looks off in the distance.

“So you agree? You’ll work with me?” I ask, my patience wearing thin.

“Wait…” She lifts her index finger up, indicating she needs a second. I follow her finger, mesmerized by it as it runs over her lips.

Fuck. I’d give anything for my dick be that finger right now. And, my dick agrees, watching her makes it throb for her attention.

Let’s be honest, the moment I saw her ass in the room it was eager to go.

“After this is over, what happens to us?” Serena asks me. “What happens when we take Hiram down?”

I shrug. “I guess we start fighting each other,” I tell her.

She cocks her eyebrows at me. “So why don’t we start fighting each other now?”

“Because while you and I are busy fighting Hiram Hooskins, he’s going to be taking us both out,” I say, wondering if she’s going to buy my explanation.

“So basically get rid of him before we start savaging one another?” she asks me, with a faint smile.

God, how much I’d like to savage her right now.

“Something like that,” I say slowly.

“How would this work exactly?” She asks, her arms back in a crossed position.

“Fair question.” I look around the lobby, hoping to come up with a grand plan. I have no idea how this is going to fucking work. If you can’t tell, I’m making this shit up as I go. “How about we discuss it over dinner?”

There we go. That’ll give me time to think over a plan and hell, I’ll be able to spend more time with her. It’s a win, win.

“Dinner?” Her eyes light up like a fucking Christmas tree, but she quickly recovers. Her expression rests into something bordering offended and surprised. But I know it’s the exact opposite of how she truly feels; she wouldn’t be standing so close to me if wasn’t the case.

I breath her in and the smell of her perfume intoxicates me. My need for her intensifies into an ache so strong that I want to punch myself in the fucking gut to get rid of it.

I need a fucking drink. I need to null the effect she has on me or nothing is going to get done. My whole plan could be fucked up, even though, I don’t have much of a plan yet. But then again, once the business is done, why can’t we have some fun? A little dessert after dinner isn’t the worse thing. It’s all about having balance in life.

Fuck it. I’m going for it.

I reach for her, gently pressing my hand on the small of her back to pull her close to me. I lean down to her ear and tuck the hair behind it.

“Work with me, baby,” I tell her. “Let’s be the good guys in this story and fuck over our mutual enemy.”

Her body becomes still.

I can tell she’s holding her breath. She runs her hands down my chest, landing on my pecs and pushes me away. But all’s not lost. I feel a tiny squeeze in there. She copped a feel.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend?” she whispers a question to me. “What if the enemy of my enemy is really just another enemy?

“Do you go copping a feel on all your enemies, Serena?” I plaster on my swoon-worthy smile.

“What you call copping a feel, Mr. McCoy,” Serena says with a slight smile before continuing. “I might call sizing up my competition.”

God, this woman is so fucking hot.

“Size has never been a problem for me,” I say with a grin.

“I’d say to let me be the judge of that, but I think you would enjoy it too much,” she counters.

“I think you would enjoy it too,” I say, teasing.

She laughs and shakes her head. “Fine. Let’s do dinner.”

“Tonight?”

“Sure, tonight works.” A playful smile emerges on her lips. “And, it’s a business dinner.” She pokes her finger into my chest to stress the business portion of our itinerary.

But really, she just wanted to touch my chest again. I don’t blame her. Having her so close to me made me even more excited for this dinner…and dessert.

“Yes, business. And pleasure. Can’t have one without the other, if I remember your proposal correctly.” I smirk.

“You’re incorrigible,” she huffs half-heartedly.

“Oh, baby, you have no idea,” I say with a teasing grin.

Her lips part and her cheeks become a pinkish hue; it’s fucking hot how my words can stir her like this.

This shit has never happened with another woman before.

Sure, I’m able to charm the panties off any fucking broad that walks up to me.

But up till now, I haven’t really cared about the outcome.

Up till now, I’ve always been rehearsing.

But with Serena?

It’s like this is the woman I’ve been waiting for my entire life.

She was made just for me.

And if my words have an effect on her, I feel proud, like I’ve accomplished something insurmountable. Like I’m a fucking action hero, saving my damsel, and conquering the bad guy.

If all goes right, that’s exactly what I’ll be.

“Dinner it is. Meet me at Per Se at 7.”

“Will do. Per Se at 7.” She repeats. “See you then.” She turns on her heels and walks away from me. Of course I take advantage of my view, watching her ass sway from side to side.

My dick is at full mast now. Imaging her spread beneath me, her body squirming as I work her over with my tongue, my hands and my cock has me almost cumming all over the lobby. Almost.

Dinner tonight is going to be rough. I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep my hands or my dick to myself.

I start to walk away, adjusting my erection so that I actually can walk.

What if I don’t keep my hands to myself? I know she wants this as much as I do. So, what if we do indulge? Would that be so bad?

A thrill of excitement surges through me. Dinner with her may have been my best idea yet.