Man Candy (4 page)

The doors pinged open and an older couple stepped onto the car. The woman’s gasp had me pulling Becky’s hand from my pants and quickly fastening them.

“Oh shit! My tit fell out of my dress.” Sharon laughed as she fixed herself in the mirror on the door.

“Why I never,” the woman cursed as her husband discreetly eyed Sharon’s nipple before it disappeared.

The woman stabbed the button for the next floor and they quickly exited, murmuring something about complaining to hotel management about the less than upstanding characters that were staying there.

Something about the whole scene suddenly sobered me up. Well, not completely, but enough to have me recognize that this was all sorts of wrong. Fondling in an elevator, two women I didn’t even know—at the moment I could barely remember their names—just wasn’t who I wanted to be.

Standing up a little straighter, when the elevator opened on the ninth floor, I walked the girls to their room, studiously avoiding their attempts for more groping.

Taking the card from Sharon, I slid it in the slot and pushed the door open. The girls stumbled in all giggles, about what I had no clue. When they realized I was still standing in the doorway, they looked at me perplexed.

“You coming?” Becky asked. Pulling her dress up over her head, she gifted me with a view of her luscious—and very fake—tits and a completely bare pussy.

A woman going commando would be any man’s weakness.

When Sharon pulled down the zipper on the side of her dress and shimmied it over her hips, I second guessed my need to leave. Never had a simple, white thong been so sexy. I swallowed hard when she turned and tackled Becky to the bed, diving into her mouth with her tongue as her hands moved down, down... Oh God! I put my hands over my eyes and took a step back as Becky’s moans began to fill the air.

“Right there,” Becky screamed. “I want to come so bad.”

“Wait for Ben,” Sharon told her.

“Ben,” Becky said in a low moan.

“I’m just going to lea...” my voice trailed off when Sharon shifted to give me a world class view of her hand between Becky’s legs.

“Why?” she asked with a frown.

“I... I just... can’t?” It came out as a question because as I watched her hand grow more and more wet with her friend’s arousal, I was really wondering what was wrong with me for walking out without getting off.

A flash of the woman’s disapproving face in the elevator reminded me why I wasn’t going to do this. I was drunk. They were drunk. And I was going to regret this in the morning.

I turned tail and ran out the door listening to their objections as the door clicked shut behind me.

Safely ensconced in my room a few minutes later, I stripped my remaining clothes off and jumped in the shower. With my hand wrapped around my cock, I came with a deep groan. It wasn’t nearly as fulfilling as I imagined my threesome would have been.

Winding my way through the mess of tables and people scurrying around to complete the setup of their displays, it occurred to me that I was becoming an attraction. I surreptitiously looked from side to side, taking in all the women rubbernecking as I passed them. A few I recognized from the club and it instantly made me cringe knowing there was huge gaping holes in my memories from last night.

When I spotted Meredith standing next to a table at the end of the row, I quickened my steps to get to her before I could be accosted by anyone. The hungry look on the women’s faces may have been banked from the intensity of the night before, but I knew anything was possible when it came to this group of ladies. It probably made me a pussy to want to hide behind a slip of a woman. Didn’t matter because I was hoping she would protect me just the same.

“Hi, Ben!” A shapely brunette called out to me with a little finger wave.

“Hey,” I mumbled not wanting to be rude. I couldn’t really tell if I had met her the night before or if my name had just spread far and wide among the participants of the event.

“Will we be seeing you at the after party?” she cooed.

At this point, I was mostly past her and had to turn around to answer her question. I swallowed hard at the way she was running her red painted fingernail enticingly down her cleavage. Forcing my gaze up to her face, I nodded and then turned and scurried away, leaving the sound of her laughter behind me.

“Thank God,” I sighed as I plopped down in a chair behind Meredith’s table and lunged for the cup of coffee with my name written on the side.

This whole weekend was going to kill me. If Ed knew everything going on at this thing, he’d never let me live it down. I shuddered at the thought.

“Rough morning? Or should I say night?” she snickered. Her face had a wide smile stretching across it and her eyes danced with mirth. I was half tempted to do something childish like put her in a headlock and give her a noogie.

My eyes pinched shut, and I scrubbed my hands down my face. “Thanks a lot for throwing me to the wolves.”

“Oh, please. I didn’t see you complaining when bimbos one and two were grinding on your lap, giving everyone quite the show.”

“I barely remember that.” I cracked one eye open and glared at her. Unfortunately, I did remember some of it, and I prayed I wouldn’t run into them today.

“Although I must admit I had a wee bit of guilt over convincing you to participate in the KISS routine. That was priceless.” Her cackle made me grit my teeth.

“I’m going to kick Tanner’s ass for that. When I texted him last night, he swore you were telling the truth and that he committed to being Paul Stanley. He told me the truth this morning when he woke up my ass up. The fucker.”

Meredith placed her hand on my shoulder and gave me a placating smile. “Don’t be angry. It was hot. You probably sold a shit ton of books for me. I guess I should be thanking you, not poking fun at you.”

I puffed up my chest at that. “So what you’re saying is I’m important and you couldn’t live without me?”

Meredith rolled her eyes and gave me a dirty look. Then without another word, she turned back to organizing all the bits and bobbles littering her table, stacking her books neatly for display, and leaving me to my own devices.

I took a deep breath and looked around the room, hoping to find some of the guys I had met the night before. At least I could commiserate with them. Too bad they were nowhere to be found.

“Can you set the banner up behind the table for me? It pulls right out of the stand and clicks in place.” She gestured towards where she wanted it.

I grabbed the box and pulled the stand out, quickly getting to work.

“So how does this all work?” I asked her as we worked side-by-side.

“The doors open at noon. My cousin is going to be my assistant. She’ll take care of collecting payments for books and making sure people sign up for my newsletter if they haven’t already. All you need to do is stand there and look pretty. Oh and pose for pictures with the fans.”

“Great,” I murmured sarcastically and bent down to tie my boot.

“Shit, it’s almost time to start. Where the hell is Clarissa?” I looked up to see Meredith with her head down and her thumbs moving over the screen of her phone, probably texting the aforementioned missing assistant.

Turning back to the task of tying my shoelace, I gave myself a mental pep talk in order to get through all the groping and fawning that was sure to happen today. I didn’t know how these guys could do this all the time and enjoy it. I was counting down the hours until I could go home.

“There she is!” Meredith suddenly exclaimed. At her words, I lifted my head to see a blur of a woman running past me, leaving behind an intriguing trail of perfume. It smelled of lilacs and made me want to follow the scent.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” the woman murmured right as she stopped moving and our eyes locked on each other. I didn’t know what she was thinking. I can say without a doubt I was thinking my luck for the rest of the weekend might just be turning around.

Frozen in shock at the woman before me, I continued to kneel on the floor by her feet even though my shoelace was tied. How did I not know that Meredith’s cousin Clarissa was my dream woman, Rissa? And now here she was, in the flesh, ready to drive me out of my mind all day with her low cut top and short skirt, showcasing those world class fucking legs. It was enough to make any man drool.

Thank fuck it was a small fucking world.

Mouth dry and my tongue in knots, all I could do was stare at her like the idiot I was. Clearly the universe was against me ever making a good impression on her.

Clarissa’s eyes traveled over me in a brief perusal and then said, “You’re not Tanner.”

Taken aback by the fact that she could tell the difference when hardly anyone else could, I forced myself to stand, shaking my head at her but it was Meredith that answered. “Tanner had a thing. This is his brother, Ben. Ben, this is my cousin Clarissa.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” I murmured and held out my hand to her.

She hesitantly placed her dainty hand in mine and gave it a light shake. The moment our skin touched, I felt a zing of awareness shoot up my arm and a strange pull making me want to take her in my arms and mold our bodies together.

She frowned down at the contact before raising her eyes to mine. They were such a calming blue that I could have stared at them all day every day and never tire of it. “You can call me Rissa. Only Meredith, my aunt, and my mother are allowed to call me by my full name.”

I cocked my head to the side and gave her a bemused look. Clarissa was a beautiful name and fit her perfectly. I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t prefer it.

“My full name is Clarissa Darling. Like the nineties show
Clarissa Knows Best
?” she explained. When it appeared as if I didn’t know what she was talking about, she continued, “Melissa Joan Hart?” I shook my head. “Really?”

“Really,” I assured her.

“Well you look enough like Tanner that no one should notice the difference.” She shook her head and smoothly changed the subject.

Belatedly her hand pulled away from mine, and I felt like chasing after it in order to feel the softness of her skin against mine again. She fit so perfectly with me. It made me wonder if everything about her would fit perfectly with me. Even the naughty parts.

“I think Clarissa is a beautiful name,” I informed her hoping my smile was panty melting not creepy. “Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

“Trust me when I say there is nothing beautiful or endearing about being teased and compared to that show.” She turned back to Meredith yet I couldn’t help but notice the way her lips curved at the ends as if she were holding a smile back from me. “We ready to rock or do you need me to do anything?”

“No, we’re good. Why are you so late?” Meredith asked her and a blush moved up Rissa’s neck and face.

“Scott.” One word but based on the look that crossed Meredith’s face it spoke volumes.

“Please don’t tell me you let that fucker charm his way back into your pants,” she said snidely in reaction. Even I was taken aback by her change in tone.

“No.” Rissa looked down and started straightening the already meticulously neat piles of swag, avoiding her cousin’s gaze.

“Clarissa,” Meredith warned.

“He didn’t all right!” Rissa snapped and turned to face off with her cousin. I was starting to feel uneasy about being a witness to this obviously personal conversation even though a small part of me was glad that this Scott person was no longer in Rissa’s pants.

I wondered if he was the putz from the sandwich shop. If he was, I was glad he was no longer warming her bed. She deserved better than him. It was just a bonus that it left room for me to make a move.

Meredith turned towards me. “Scott is Clarissa’s married ex-boyfriend.”

My heart dropped hearing that. Why would such a beautiful girl waste her time on a married piece of shit? She could have any guy she wanted. Hell, I was standing right in front of her and would give my left nut for just a chance to be with her.

“Meredith!” Clarissa cried out in indignation. Her fists clenched at her side and her body vibrated with tension.

“What? Is he not your ex? And is he not married?” She turned back towards me. “Scott had commitment issues in case you couldn’t tell. He wasn’t ready to leave his wife. Go figure.”

“Shut up! He doesn’t need to hear about my love life. Or lack thereof.”

“Fine. Just remember Scott’s a pig and doesn’t deserve any more of your time. If he was going to leave his wife he would have already.”

“I know. All right. Can we talk about something else? Please,” Rissa pleaded. That blush still covered her face, and I ached to take away her embarrassment.

“Yeah. Doors are opening in a minute anyways,” Meredith mumbled under her breath.

Rissa’s shoulders slumped in relief, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. No one liked to hear they made a poor judgment call, and it was clearly evident she didn’t want to talk about her idiot ex, especially in front of a stranger.

I still couldn’t figure out why she wasted her time, but it wasn’t my place to judge. Scott better hope I never ran into him or I might have to teach him a lesson or two about toying with a beautiful woman’s emotions.

I didn’t have much more time to dwell on Clarissa and her ex because suddenly the room began to fill with people and we were overwhelmed by a long line of women wanting to get books signed and pictures taken. My head was spinning with how quickly it all happened.

“Ben, come here,” Meredith whisper shouted at me. I ducked down so that she could speak in my ear. “You need to take your shirt off!”

“What?” I asked dumbly. I hadn’t agreed to that. Last night when I was caught up in the excitement of the show was one thing. Today, it just felt wrong.

“Look at Calvin and Jase. They have their shirts off. I need you to follow suit.” She gestured towards where my counterparts were surrounded by a group of women down the way.

“I’m not comfortable with that,” I told her in a firm voice.

“I’m surprised he has an issue with it,” Rissa’s sarcastic murmur came over the din of voices surrounding us. I didn’t get a chance to inquire what exactly she meant by that before Meredith pulled my attention back to her.

“Please, Ben. I need this event to go well.” Her green eyes held a bit of panic beneath the desperation in them.

I mulled it over a second before coming up with a compromise that could work for both of us. I wasn’t about to compromise my dignity. If Tanner wanted to walk around half naked and get pawed at that was his decision. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take it off if and when a fan asks me to. Until then, this shirt is staying on.” I plucked at the tight blue material of my t-shirt.

“Fine.” She pressed her lips into a thin line and turned her attention back to the few people standing at her table.

After an hour of no requests for me to remove any clothing, I was beginning to think I was in the clear. Let me tell you something... Never start to think that way. That’s when you end up jinxing yourself.

“Hi,” a blonde with huge boobs said as she smacked her gum and twirled her hair.

“Hey,” I responded awkwardly thinking not for the first time that day that I wished it would over with already.

“Think we could get a picture with you holding up your shirt? I love a man with cut abs.” She blew a bubble and giggled when it popped on her face. I had to fight the roll of my eyes and the curse that struggled to break free.

I turned my attention from the blonde to her friend, who was also a blonde but with pink streaks through her tresses. She looked slightly embarrassed for her friend and gave me a tentative smile. “My sister tends to be a bit pushy. Tell her no if you want.”

“Faith,” the first girl pouted.

“Suzie,” the second girl said with a bit of an edge to her voice.

“No that’s fine,” I told them in an effort to move this along.

Faith stepped into my left side staying a respectable distance and not invading my personal space. Hoping to fend Suzie off a bit, I used my right hand to lift the bottom of my shirt, knowing my cocked arm would put some distance between us. Unfortunately, it didn’t work because she took the opportunity to rub her hand over my exposed abs while the other one dipped into the back pocket of my jeans and squeezed my ass. It felt like an eternity for the person wielding their camera to snap the shot.