I slapped on another layer of makeup, trying to hide how tired I was. I had to leave a day later than Sid had hoped, since it took me a little time to arrange for my sisters to both stay with friends while I was gone for the weekend.

I hadn’t yet broken the news to them that we were going to have to move out of the house, because I didn’t want them to let it slip to anyone else. My plan was to get the check, which Sid had promised me would be delivered to me at the end of the weekend, cash it somehow, and get my sisters to pack a bag. We were going to flee in the middle of the night as soon as I could arrange it once I returned home.

First, I had to get through this weekend though. Travel had been grueling, because it was truly a remote island. I honestly had no idea where I was. The last place I’d known was at Denpasar Airport in Bali, where people from the show had met a few of us, and we’d spent the last ten hours traveling by yacht to reach the island.

I knew how dangerous it was to be here with no one aware of where I was, but I couldn’t see an alternative. I was scared, which had probably made the physical exam they made me take upon arrival—after collecting an introduction and brief soundbites—more painful and embarrassing.

At least a woman doctor conducted it, and she’d been quick and gentle in her own way, though her attitude was brusque. After confirming my assertion, she had me take emergency contraception to prepare for the weekend—after assuring me the hunters had to submit clean health reports with their payments—since I wasn’t using anything, and sent me on my way. Another staff member had brought me to the dressing room to prepare for the meet-and-greet party that was already underway.

What I really wanted to do was meet and greet a pillow for the next eight hours, but that wasn’t an option. I had to do all the steps they put in place if I wanted to get paid.

The door opened, and a plain young woman wearing black leggings and a dark gray tank top stuck her head in. “They’re ready for you, Miss Russo. I’ll make sure your luggage is taken to one of the contestants’ rooms, so just ask one of us after the party where to find your spot.”

I nodded at her, unable to summon the energy for real conversation. Somehow, I stood up and eyed myself in the mirror. I felt ridiculous and seriously underdressed in the gold dress that barely skimmed my ass before hugging a couple of inches of my thigh.

I also wore lacy beige thigh-highs, and there was a considerable expense of leg between the top of the thigh-high and the hem of the dress. It was all paired with ridiculously high heels, to which I was having trouble acclimating. I’d worn heels before, but never ones this high, with a platform built in. They made my butt look amazing in the dress, but they were just plain uncomfortable. If I’d had any say in it, I definitely would’ve rejected wearing the outfit, but it was another facet of competing.

I followed the directions of the young woman, making my way down the hall and across the patio to an open space with a glass ceiling. When I looked up, raindrops pelted against the glass, and I could feel the warm rain surrounding me as I walked into the next building.

Inside, it was far lavisher than the dressing room, and I instantly recognized the room as the same one that hosted the party on last week’s episode, which had been filmed three weeks ago. That reminded me they were filming everything, and the prompt helped me plaster on a smile when what I really wanted to do was turn and run away. Reminding myself I was here not just for my sake, but also for my sisters’, helped me take a few more steps into the room and look around.

I could see four other women besides myself circulating through the crowd. I wasn’t certain if they were all competitors, or if a couple of them were serving drinks or something else. A quick count revealed there were eighteen men who were prepared to hunt us, and it turned my stomach to know I was supposed interact with them.

A brief flash of the two men with the black woman last week helped me relax a little, but as I made eye contact with a nearby leering man, who was old enough to be my father, I couldn’t help remembering the far more disturbing scene I’d accidentally clicked on trying to figure out how one became a competitor.

I forced a sickly smile at him but veered away, not wanting to engage in conversation when he was so openly inventorying my physical assets. That’s all I was to him, but that’s all I was any of them—just a body to use however they wished once they caught me. What kind of disgusting people participated in this?

My own desperation drove me, but I was perplexed by the men who were participating. It just seemed so wrong, so how could they embrace it? Especially knowing it cost each of them half a million dollars to participate. Their entry fee would’ve been enough to get Dimitri off my back, and they just tossed it in carelessly without even the guarantee that they would be one to capture a contestant.

I was feeling ill and briefly considering the idea of leaving, hoping the producers wouldn’t notice I’d skipped out of the party early, when I looked up and locked gazes with a set of icy blue eyes. I shivered, but not from cold. Rather, heat unfurled through me, and I trembled as I looked at his face.

He was the handsomest man I’d ever seen, with classic, patrician features framed by slightly overly long dark-brown hair. My fingers wanted to run through the hair, and I clenched my hand in a fist at my side. There was a delicious amount of stubble on his chin and cheeks, and I wanted to know what it would feel like to rub my smooth cheeks against his, to pick up the burn of his bristle as I kissed him.

As he started toward me, I was frozen. I couldn’t move either toward him or away. If I reacted like this tomorrow, it wouldn’t be much of a chase, and any hunter would have an easy time capturing me.

* * *

For a moment, I wanted to kill Foster. Not literally, because he was my baby brother, and I guessed he meant well, but he had certainly lured me to this island under false pretenses. “You said this was a hunting trip. I told you I don’t hunt, and you told me it was no big deal. I could learn. You impressed upon me the importance of male bonding, but you never mentioned just exactly what we were hunting. I should have been suspicious when you said I had to submit a letter from my doctor declaring me healthy.”

Foster had the grace to look abashed, and it was obvious he was unprepared for both me and Nash to not be as receptive to the surprise as he’d expected. “It’s no big deal. You guys, the women participate of their own free will. They’re paid to do this, and they know what to expect. It’s just for fun.”

When he spoke, Nash went up a bit in my esteem, even though he was Foster’s best friend and just as reckless as my younger brother usually. “I don’t feel right about this. I didn’t even really want to hunt animals, but now finding out we’re supposed to be hunting women? I don’t think I could do that. What are we supposed to do with her if we catch one?”

I shot him a look that revealed how much I thought his intelligence was lacking with that question. “You do whatever you want to them. Remember that other guy talking to his friend?” No matter how they dressed it up, and even though it was supposedly voluntary, and the women were paid, it still boiled down to a group of men hunting women as though they were objects to do whatever they wanted with, and I wanted no part of it.

“Come on, Spencer. I really thought you’d like this. You’ve been so deep in your ennui lately that I was trying anything to shake you out of it.”

I didn’t immediately argue, not having any words to offer. It was true that I was bored. It was such a privileged thing to say or even think, but it was true. Everything was the same.

We managed a rather boring company that produced environmentally friendly commodities, so there were no corporate tactics to strategize or cutthroat games to play. The boardroom was just as boring as the office, since nobody was anxious to mount a hostile takeover of our company. We weren’t trying to take over anyone else’s either. There was no corporate espionage or office hijinks. It was all pretty much stable and secure, which was good from a financial perspective, but dead boring.

It was the same situation with the women in my life. As soon as they discovered I was Spencer Wallingford, one of the heirs to the vast Wallingford fortune, they were ready to fall with legs spread for me no matter what location we occupied. It could be in the middle of a dinner party, or probably even at a church, and they would’ve given me whatever I wanted.

It was so easy that I’d stop wanting it. I hadn’t had a relationship in two years, and I hadn’t had sex in eighteen months. I could still attain an erection, but had no desire to use it on any of the women I met. My own hand was more satisfying than yet another romp with the gold-diggers in my life. They all either wanted a ring or a payoff, and I was tired of being a banker, and I was never going to be a jeweler.

“I’ve been in a slump, but I don’t think this is the way to shake out of it.” I reached for a glass on a circulating tray, amused that the staffer holding the tray wore a T-shirt with “The Island” logo on it rather than something fancier, like a black uniform with a crisp white shirt. Maybe I’d spent too much time with socialites at interminably boring dinner parties and the like. Was I turning into a snob?

I tossed back the drink, discovering it was a neat whiskey, before placing the glass on another tray that was circulating by a moment later. “I appreciate you thinking of me, but I don’t think I want to do this, Foster. I’m gonna spend the weekend in the bungalow. I’m sure I’ll find something to do.”

Nash seemed to be wavering. “You’re sure it’s all consensual?”

Foster nodded eagerly. “I promise you that they’re paid, and it’s voluntary. Somebody’s always watching what’s going on, so if the guys cross a line, the girls are safe. Admit it. Aren’t you just slightly tempted by the idea of testing your mettle against these women? Don’t you want to see if you can hunt them down and catch them? It might not be politically correct, but the primitive side of me is digging the fuck out of this.”

I was listening with half an ear as I scanned the room, debating about whether I should head for the exit right now. I couldn’t deny that my brother’s words were spot-on. I didn’t like feeling that way, but part of me was curious about the process. It was rather primal in its setup—capture the female, drag her back to your “cave,” and claim her. Best of all, it was all over with at the end of the weekend. There were no expectations, no pressure, and no demands. If I caught her, no one expected me to keep her past Sunday morning.

“It is tempting, but I’m not sure I can follow through if I catch one.” Nash seemed embarrassed by the admission. “She’s a human being, with feelings and emotions just like us. I don’t think I’m going to be able to impose my will on her.”

Foster nodded. “I feel the same way. But I’ve watched some episodes, and it’s not like you have to impose your will, as you put it. It can be whatever you want it to be. I’ve seen some violent things, and I wished staff would’ve interceded on some of those, but they never crossed the line. I’ve also seen a lot of forced seduction, or even some downright willing women who seemed to let themselves get captured by whatever man they picked. They’re getting paid to fuck us, but it’s not like prostitution.”

I couldn’t help letting out a barking laugh. “That’s exactly what it’s like, but with tossing in a bit of mortal danger too.”

“There’s no real risk involved to anyone.” Foster remained adamant about that.

I shrugged, deferring to him, since he seemed to know. “How long have you been watching this show? And how the fuck did you find out about it anyway?”

Foster blushed a little. “I saw an ad on a porn site. There was a link to it, and I was curious. I like it and keep subscribing. So sue me.”

I shrugged. “Your kink’s not my kink, and that’s okay.” That’s how the saying went, wasn’t it?

“I’m happy to have your approval,” said my little brother dryly. Little being subjective, since he was actually the same height as me, though three years younger. If his hair had been a little darker, we probably could have passed for twins. At least that’s what several women had told us. One particularly naughty socialite daughter of an agribusiness CEO told us that as she propositioned both of us. Neither Foster nor I had an interest in sharing a woman, so we turned her down, but she hadn’t been wrong.

We looked a lot alike, though we were almost polar opposites in a lot of ways. Like “The Island.” Foster had stumbled across show, but I never would’ve clicked on the ad to start with, let alone decided to fork over half a million for this unique opportunity. Foster had already paid, “treating” me and Nash. He was out half a million even if I didn’t hunt, since there were no refunds.

I was still on the cusp, not having made a firm decision about whether to stay or go, when a beautiful woman in a gold dress was suddenly in front of me. She was several feet away, but I was certain she hadn’t been at the party until a few minutes ago. I would’ve seen her right away.

She was young; at least a decade younger than my own thirty-five, and probably even a few years younger than that. Obviously, she had to be at least eighteen, but I doubted she was much more than that. The naïve ingénue act was usually a turnoff, but something about this girl caught my attention.

Maybe it was her lustrous dark hair, parted to the left and hanging loosely around her face and down her shoulders. When she moved slightly, it brushed against her midback, which was revealed by the slutty dress she wore. I doubted she had any say in picking it, but my body was certainly appreciative of the view it offered. The garment didn’t hide much of her assets, and what I saw made me want to see more.

Her body was exquisite, with curves in all the right places, and breasts that were just the right size—bigger than a handful, but not so large that they were unmanageable. She had a creamy complexion that was paler than I would’ve expected from the shade of her hair, but I didn’t think she dyed it. Her eyes were a startling dark-brown, and when I met her gaze, I couldn’t look away.

Instead, I found myself moving toward her. For a moment, there was a hint of panic in her eyes, and I was certain she would flee from me, but she didn’t move. She seemed locked in place, and the closer I got, the less fearful she looked.

I reached her a moment later. I couldn’t resist the urge to reach out to put a hand on her shoulder. Sparks shot down my arm, and I swore her skin burned my hand. She seemed to have a similar reaction as she shivered at the light touch.

We stared at each other for a moment, neither one of us speaking, as though rendered mute. I was knocked speechless by her, and I instantly recognized her as mine. She was my prey for the weekend, and I was determined to catch her. All thoughts of leaving and walking away from the show in silent protest of its concept fled my brain. Instead, I was overrun with testosterone and primitive instinct that urged me to claim her right then.

“Why are you staring at me?” Even her voice was perfect, with just the right touch of husk to suggest she was feeling the attraction too.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Somehow, I managed to sound smooth when I made the reply, though I was still a jittery mess on the inside. Good thing I dropped my whiskey glass on that other tray, or it would’ve been shattered on the floor by now. As it was, it was all I could do to keep my other hand shoved in my pocket, so I didn’t reach out to grab her with both, pull her into my arms, and kiss her senseless. The hunt didn’t start until tomorrow, and I didn’t have carte blanche to do whatever I wanted to her unless or until I caught her then.

I had no doubt I would, and I knew exactly what I would do to her when I caught her—anything and everything. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I had every intention of fully owning her, controlling her, and dominating her for the weekend that she was mine.

She shrugged. “I’m not really sure why I’m staring at you.”

“You’re lying.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked angry. “How dare you?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “You’re lying to yourself as much as me. You feel it too, don’t you? The pull between us? The minute I saw you, I knew you were mine.”

She was actively glaring at me now, but I could see she was still trembling slightly too, and she made no move to pull away from my hand on her shoulder. “You’re assuming a lot, especially since you don’t even know me. And I’m not yours. I won’t be yours unless you catch me.” She said the words with dread, though I hoped it was a vague, unspecified dread of any of the hunters catching her, not me specifically.

“I wasn’t even going to compete, but now I guarantee you no one else will have you but me.”

She arched a brow, looking skeptical. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t really look like the rugged hunter-type.”

I laughed, feeling a tad self-conscious. “You’re right. My idea of the great outdoors is a walk through Central Park. It’s going to be an interesting challenge, but when I want something, I don’t let anything stand in my way.”

She eyed me up and down, and it appeared to be false courage, but she was doing a good job projecting it when she said in what sounded like a crisp, clear voice, “I could do worse than have you catch me, but I need the million dollars, so I’m not letting anybody get me.”

She was speaking with conviction, but I could see her own doubt in her eyes. I didn’t call her on it. Instead, I simply rubbed my knuckles across her shoulder and down her upper arm. I wanted to do so much more, but had to content myself with that light touch. “I’ll give you a million dollars if you come to my room right now.”

She gasped and took a step back. Her anger was real and tangible, and I knew I’d fucked up somehow. I frowned. “I’m just saying, you’re worth that to me.”

She put her hands on her hips. “What you’re saying is you see me as a whore for sale. You’re trying to bypass all the niceties,” she emphasized the word sarcastically, “Involved with this game by just purchasing me outright. If I had any other choice, I wouldn’t be here, but I’m damn well not going down without a fight. I’m not selling myself to you.” She spun on her heel and stomped away.

I had the urge to follow her and apologize, but quelled it. I’d definitely fucked up, and I was going to have to find a way back into her good graces, but she wasn’t going to talk to me yet. I truly hadn’t meant to imply that I was willing to buy her like a commodity. I was just ready to bypass all the niceties, as she put it, and get straight to the fucking. I wouldn’t miss the million dollars, but had a feeling it would make a huge difference to her.

My offer had been genuine and not entirely prompted by my own selfish need to claim her. I hoped I could convince her to believe that the next time we spoke, but probably wouldn’t get a chance until after I captured her and secured her in one of the cottages scattered around the island. Once I had her in one of the enclosures, at my mercy, I might beg for forgiveness, or I might just get straight to exploring her body and worry about apologizing in the middle of it. Either way, I knew I was going to have her tomorrow.