His Prize Model (A BBW Romance) Page 3

  Alex is the photographer who discovered me so to speak, during a visit to my home town, and the man responsible for getting me signed to the agency. I have been harboring a slight crush on him, but he hardly seems to notice and is always totally professionally when with me.

  “Riley, baby, what’s up? How was your first Go See?” Alex’s voice always brings a smile to my face, so I’m happy he is the first person I am talking to after my big modeling adventure earlier.

  “Man Alex, it was da bomb; the best feeling in the world. I think I wowed them and I think they like me.”

  “That’s great and I’m sure you did, girl, but what did we talk about? They are always polite when talking to you afterwards, so just don’t get your hopes up too high. It’s almost impossible to get a job on your first Go See,” he lectures. “Look, honey… I’m not trying to discourage you… no way, just telling you to be on even keel, just like we talked about.”

  I know Alex is right, but as always, I am my own woman, with an iron will and when I set my mind to something, nothing can shake my resolve.

  “So hmmm, Alex, how about taking me out for a celebratory drink tonight? I know I haven’t achieved anything yet, but today just felt so special that I’m in the mood to celebrate.”

  “Aww... I am so sorry pumpkin, but I’m busy finishing up some work for a major client that can’t wait. We can do it in a couple days, ok.”

  I hang up the phone, feeling a bit dejected. I had wanted to celebrate, and being new in New York I have no one else to hang out with. My roommate and fellow model Jada would be at home, but I am not in the mood to celebrate with a female, and besides, Alex is always fun and my first choice.

  I’m in a thoughtful frame of mind during the entire walk and I feel so freaking beat when I finally arrive home. My tiny apartment has never looked more welcoming, so I decide to settle for a warm bath and maybe curl up and watch a movie with my roomie.

  Yes it small and cramped, but we keep it tidy and homely, and coming from my small town, it’s like heaven.

  Jada is seated in the living room when I burst through the door, almost out of breath.

  “How was it, Riley?” Are the first words out of her mouth.

  “Shit girl, it was freaking amazing. I feel like I was born to do this,” I answer excitedly. “And guess what, they were impressed with lil old me. Jeez, I was so freaking pumped, but Alex told me to just keep my fingers crossed and don’t get my hopes up too high.” I am out of breath after letting out that mouthful on Jada

  “The first Go See is always memorable. I remember mine, but I was so nervous.” She laughs out loud, a forlorn look in her eyes.

  Jada notices me pouting.

  “So why the long face?”

  “Jada, I am in the mood to go out and celebrate and I called Alex, but he was too busy. That sucks, girl.”

  “What’s the deal with you and Alex? Is he the one hitting it?”

  I let out a healthy laugh and scrunch my nose. “Cut it out Jada, you know very well no man has been that lucky. The cherry still hasn’t been plucked.” I twirl hair around my fingers. “I wish. I always thought Alex was interested in me, but since I came to New York we have shared a kind of platonic friendship. He takes me out and we chat and have fun, but at the end of the day he doesn’t make a move on me. Every other man I have known wanted to get into my panties and the guy I am closest to giving it to, isn’t interested. Life’s so damn funny.”

  “Maybe he just wants to take it slow and easy. Or maybe he doesn’t want to mess up the relationship that you guys have.” Jada reflects thoughtfully.

  “Maybe, Jada, but talk about mixed signals.” I sigh.

  I open my handbag to look for my makeup case, when I see a business card peering up at me. Shit, it’s Ethan’s card. Plucking out the card and examine the lettering, it states Ethan Stone, Chairman, Stone’s Investments.

  My mind drifts back to our embarrassing meeting, but as they always say, every cloud has its silver lining. The guy is a hunk, and from the looks of it, a very successful and powerful hunk.

  I remember the piercing eyes, towering physique, booming voice and a tickle runs through my tummy.

  “Whose card is that?” Jada’s voice snaps me out of my day dreaming.

  “Some guy I bumped into today on my way to the casting.”

  “Really? Who is he?”

  I hand the card to Jada, who looks at it with a puzzled expression on her face.

  “Ethan Stone,” she screams. “You bumped into Ethan fucking Stone?”

  “Yes I did, but Jada what’s the big deal with Ethan Stone?”

  Jada doesn’t speak, but runs over to a stash of magazines on a side table. She quickly rummages through them before selecting one and returns, placing it in my hand.

  I stare at the cover of the Personality Magazine. Standing smack in the middle, looking all smug in jeans and long-sleeved shirt with a jacket slung over his shoulder, is none other than Ethan. The caption reads “Sexiest Man Alive.”

  “No freaking way,” I blurt out. “Oh, my God.” Now I am totally flabbergasted. I can’t believe I almost knocked down the sexiest man alive and here I am standing with his business card in my hand.

  “Read.” Jada prods, tapping me in the gut.

  I flop into the sofa and turn the pages to the article. For the next fifteen minutes, I sift through the items written about Ethan.

  “Whew!” I exclaim to Jada. “This guy is too freaking much.”

  Ethan Stone, according to reports, is one of the richest men in the country. He made his money in some shady deals that no one is quite sure about, as he has been the subject of countless investigations, but never charged.

  He also has a reputation of being quite the ladies’ man. It seems he loves them and leaves them. His name has been attached to several movie stars and high profile celebrities, but he never stays with any one woman too long.

  “There is more,” Jada informs me. “It appears he was linked to the death of a girl he was dating. She was strangled to death in some strange sexual ritual, but nothing ever came of the case.”

  “That’s a mouthful, Jada.”

  “Yeah girl, sorry. It seems this guy is a really bad boy and a dangerous one too. Maybe you should tear up the card and stay away.”

  Maybe I should.

  But somehow the thought of never seeing Ethan again makes me cringe.

  “Don’t you think a man is innocent until proven guilty?” I ask Jada.

  “Come on, Riley, wake up and smell the coffee,” she admonishes. “This guy is in the big leagues and you are just a small fish. He will snap you up and spit you out just like that, leaving your poor little heart broken and that little treasure chest you have been storing away between your legs, looted and plundered.”

  I laugh at the thought. The thing Jada and most people don’t understand about me is that I love a challenge. I can’t just walk away. I have to roll the dice and let the chips fall where they may. That’s just the kinda girl I am.

  I am not sure why, but just for the hell of it, I decide to call the cell phone number on the card. I excuse myself, sneak into the bedroom, close the door behind me and dial his number. The phone rings a few times and I’m just about to hang up when I hear his commanding voice on the other end of the line.

  “This is Stone.” The voice is cool and calculating; definitely sexy. This is the voice of a man who would brook no nonsense.

  “Hi, its Riley… you know, the hit and run pedestrian today. The one that almost ran you over.” I manage to suppress a giggle.

  I don’t want to come across like a giggling schoolgirl before this man.

  There is a crackle on the other end of the line, followed by a peal of laughter. “How could I forget, Riley? Anyway, I must say it was a pleasure being run over by someone as beautiful as you.”

  My cheeks become flushed and my head rattled.

  He thinks I am beautiful.

  “Sorry I had to run, but as you
know I am model and I was having an important casting today and I didn’t want to be late. Thanks for not pressing charges for my bad walking.” I have gathered my wits back about me and enjoying the verbal tussle.

  I can match you, Mr. Sexiest Man Alive.

  Again more laughter from Ethan Stone. What the heck? Am I a comedian or something? “So how was it? Did you get the job?” His voice throbs through the phone, causing my legs to tremble.

  “Well, I think I did great, but I won’t know until my agent calls me back. It’s my first try so I’m definitely beaming to a job well done, no matter what the outcome.”

  “That’s great news. So where will you be celebrating tonight?”

  “No celebrating, unfortunately. My night’s a bummer. My friends are too busy to take me out and I hate going out alone, so I’m stuck here tonight.”

  There is a pause… a very pregnant one. “You know, I am tied up tonight, but I cancelled an important business meeting tomorrow. Would it be too much to ask you out to dinner tomorrow night? Let’s call it a celebratory dinner.” Ethan offers. “My credit is good at Le Chalet where they serve some amazing French food and I hate dining alone. Shall we say pick you up at eight?”

  I won’t lie, I love a man who knows when to take charge. Chalk one up to him… Ethan appears to be such a man. Most men are intimated by my looks and attitude, but not Ethan Stone. There is a trickle between my legs, which for me, is a very foreign feeling indeed. It appears the thought of going on a date with Ethan has caused me to wet my panties.

  For a moment I am taken aback because the invitation has come straight out of left field. I had not expected him to offer to take me to dinner. I figured Ethan would have had a million things to do or a million other women he would want to date. But instead he asked me.

  Every intuition in my being tells me to run in the opposite direction. Ethan reeks of being a womanizer, but yet I find myself drawn to him and can’t say no. I want to see for myself what mettle this man is made of. “Well, eight o clock it is, dude. See you then.”

  And just like that, I let Ethan Stone walk into my life.

  I tell myself it’s just dinner, but deep down I know it could turn out to be much more. As Jada has said, I may be way out of my league.

  But so what? Life is one big gamble.

  I give him my address and after hanging up I am super charged with excitement. I am going out on my first real New York date and with a handsome, dashing, filthy rich man at that.

  My life is certainly getting interesting.

  Sauntering back into the living room with a smile on my face, Jada notices my happy disposition and is intrigued.

  “That must have been some phone call to put that big smile on your face. What happened, you charmed Alex into changing his mind?” Jada asks.

  “No, just a chat with Ethan Stone, who invited me to dinner tomorrow night at none other than Le Chalet, one of the trendiest and most expensive restaurants in New York.”

  “Jeez, Riley. I have heard so much about that place. There is a waiting list a mile long to get in and he just did, just like that?”

  “Sounds like Mr. Stone is a very influential man,” I blurt out.

  “Riley, are you sure you know what you are doing?” There is concern in Jada’s voice.

  “I don’t know, but I guess dinner at Le Chalet is worth it, girl.” I burst out laughing.

  Jada gets caught up in my mood and hugs me. “Just be careful. Keep those panties on.”

  “Jada, you are so naughty. I have kept my legs locked for twenty-one years. Don’t you think I know how to keep it shut for one night?”

  “Okay, then,” my roomie chimes.

  “Jada, it’s just a social date. Nothing naughty will happen, girl. I’m not wired like that,” I say with a straight face, but deep down I’m cracking up inside.

  CHAPTER 6

  Ethan

  I finish fucking the twins, shower and lay relaxing in bed, switching between the various business channels, not watching anything in particular. My cell phone rings and I glance at the screen to see who the heck is calling me, but no name comes up with the number.

  Who the fuck could be calling me on this line?

  I am tempted to let it ring out, after all fucking in the daytime does take a bit out of a man, particularly when I just screwed two demanding women at the same time.

  But I answer and it’s Riley, the thick, curvy drink of water who had come crashing into me earlier today. Surprisingly, I’m quite happy to hear her voice. I say surprisingly, because I don’t like to be interrupted by women calling me out of the blue. I prefer to be the one doing the calling.

  I give her a pass, however, since I don’t have her number and I’m the one who gave her my card.

  Riley has a sexy voice and she cracks me up. I find myself laughing out loud at her witty statements.

  The poor girl has no one to celebrate her first casting with, so what the heck, I volunteer to take her out. Now, since I have to really cancel an important business meeting to be with her, I hope to hell she is worth the inconvenience.

  I promise to pick her up at eight the following evening and promptly hang up.

  There is something about the call that excites me. I had rather enjoyed chatting to her. She sounds like fun and I love being with a fun girl, who also happens to have a big personality.

  I lay back down on the massive bed in my penthouse suite on top of the world, high above the madding crowd. Who would have thought that little old me would have climbed these heights.

  The little boy Ethan, who always chose to fight bigger and stronger kids… no matter that I often ended up with bloody nose and lips. The boy, who despite being poor, always thought of himself as something special and had a morbid fascination with death.

  Then one day my mom died in a car crash causing me to go off the deep end and enroll in the Marine Corps, straight out of high school. I was barely eighteen years old when I was thrown into the lion’s den in Afghanistan, a boy among hard, seasoned men.

  My peers and commanding officers had laughed at me when I was first deployed. They thought I was a young upstart who would wet my pants at the first sign of action. But were they ever surprised, as I quickly gained their respect. As I said, I have a death complex. Ever since my mom’s tragic death, I had been consumed by my own mortality, or dare I say, immortality. She hadn’t been the best parent, but she tried her best to make me happy, in her own way.

  I volunteered for all the most dangerous missions and many times put myself at death’s door expecting to be cut down by enemy fire. But that day never came. I seemed I lived a charmed life.

  My exploits got me transferred to the crack Navy Seal team operating covertly in Afghanistan. The training was a living hell, but I never broke, and in the end I was enrolled as a full-fledged member of the team.

  I grew to be one of the most fearless fighters in the elite Seal Squad. The one thing the army taught me, which helped me in business, was to be cool under pressure…not to panic under enemy fire. That’s why when the business world is in turmoil and my colleagues are crapping in their pants, I am at my most deadly.

  The young Ethan knew no fear, nor feared any enemy. I eventually developed a friendship with a Navy Seal captain by the name of Braddock. I saved his life during a mission and after that he took me under his wings. He was a Harvard trained financial genius and on many lonely nights out in the field, he would steel me in the art of high finance. I was a more than willing student.

  I found myself particularly interested in corporate takeovers, which just happened to be Braddock’s specialty and we decided that when we ended our tour and he went into the family business, he would take me with him.

  Man, I miss those days sometimes, especially when I’m in a pensive mood. On those rare occasions I rather miss the bullets flying over my head… the bombs dropping all around me. I never felt more alive that when facing death or in the heat of battle.

  I fidget restlessly
in the too darn big bed. My soul is tormented. I had enjoyed the bout of sex with the twins, but I hadn’t reached an orgasm. That’s the hardest part… the sex without climax. I just don’t like to ejaculate if the ante is not worth it. I need a crutch or someone who touches my core, to make me want to spill my seed.

  Tonight, I have a major business meeting at a high class lounge. I like to conduct business outside the office at times, and tonight is one of those nights. My second in command and I are meeting the owners of a company we are thinking of buying and I want to catch them off guard, hence the rendezvous at the club.

  I lazily hop out of bed, admiring my reflection in the mirror. Before entering the shower I drop to the floor and quickly do two hundred pushups. My body is a well-oiled machine, so that number is no sweat, simply par for the course. I bounce back up and stroll into the shower.

  Strangely enough, I find my mind straying to that girl, Riley.

  Strange, very strange. This is the second time today that she has invaded my thoughts.

  I quickly shower and put on a business suit. I dress down for pleasure, but once it’s business, I am always in a suit and tie.

  At nine and like clockwork, Braddock, yes, Captain Braddock, my most trusted ally and financial advisor, sounds the downstairs buzzer. I board the private elevator with my bodyguards next to me and in a jiffy we are downstairs and heading towards the underground garage where Braddock is waiting in the limousine. We squeeze into the back with Braddock, who, as usual, has a bottle of my favorite scotch open and ready to pour.

  “Ethan, you still alive old boy. I thought the twins would have killed you by now?” Braddock chuckles, squaring his broad shoulders.

  “You know me, I am pretty hard to kill,” I laugh, enjoying his company and the bit of banter.

  Braddock is the only one who makes small talk with me. In fact, he is the closest thing I have to a friend in the world apart from Frank.

  We knock back a few drinks and shoot the breeze on the ride over to the lounge. Braddock, however, never drinks too much before a business meeting. He likes to have all his wits about him. I, on the other hand, have a fucking wooden leg. I can drink all night and never feel the slightest bout of tipsiness.