Alluring Attraction: Book 1 of Illicit Illusions Series Read online

  “Anything with a huge rack and a tight ass,” Jake crudely specified, licking his lips in anticipation.

  “That can be arranged, sir,” the woman smoothly replied, without so much as a blink of an eye. It made Ryder wonder what she thought about the clientele.

  The doors pinged open with a pleasant sound and they exited the elevator into a seemingly standard office hallway, lined with doors to what Ryder assumed were various conference rooms. They were led into the fifth room on the right, which looked like a high-end executive meeting room.

  Touching the smooth and polished wood of the long conference table as he sat down, Ryder said nothing as the woman smiled at them professionally while handing them each a leather folio with a black and silver pen inside, explaining, “Once you fill out the paperwork and sign the contract, we will be able to start your accounts.” She then gestured to the two portfolios that were in front of each of their seats. “After you’ve finished that, these are the company profiles of our employees, so please take some time to familiarize yourselves with them. When you’ve made your decisions, please press the intercom button and we will send someone up to take you to the appropriate office.”

  “Thank you,” Ryder said, Jake scoffing at his formality.

  As soon as the woman was out the door, Jake lightly punched Ryder’s arm and teased, “Getting into character already?”

  “It has nothing to do with that,” Ryder defended himself as he opened the folio to see what kind of paperwork they had to fill out. “I kind of feel bad for her, you know?”

  “You shouldn’t. She’s probably paid more in a year than we’ll ever make in a lifetime,” Jake said with a laugh as he started filling out the forms.

  “Speaking of which,” Ryder started to segue, trying to find a delicate way of broaching the subject of payment.

  Realizing what his friend was trying to do, Jake laughed as he waved off the concern. “Don’t worry about it. Consider it my thanks for accompanying me.”

  “But it’s your birthday,” Ryder protested.

  “Yeah, but this is my gift,” Jake explained. “My dad’s friend, Hugh, is a VIP here, and bet a visit in a game of poker.”

  “And you won?” Ryder asked, He knew how much his friend enjoyed card games, although his luck wasn’t always the best.

  “Hell, yeah!” Jake exclaimed with pride. “I told him I wanted four hours, thinking it would be an hour each for the four of us, but since it’s just the two of us, it’s more time for us and their loss, right? Enjoy it, man!”

  Sighing softly, Ryder began filling out the paperwork. It was fairly standard information requests, although he was surprised when he saw one of the things that they were signing off on was permission for Cole Corporation to conduct criminal and financial background checks.

  Jake had already finished his paperwork and started looking through the portfolio of employees. He joked, “Are you seriously reading the fine print? Who does that?”

  Ignoring the jibe, Ryder finished signing the contract, despite his reservations. He set it aside, then began to look through the employee portraits in the portfolio. It was surprising that there was a mix of both men and women included, given that the front desk was staffed entirely by women. Well, they did say they catered to every interest, Ryder thought to himself as he flipped through the glossy pages, his eyes skimming over the profile pictures.

  “Yo, did you see Nurse Laila on page eleven?” Jake asked Ryder, holding up his book and pointing at a rather slutty-looking nurse. “Man, if I knew a nurse who looked like that, I would get into fights more often so she could…”

  Tuning out Jake’s fantasies, Ryder started paying more attention to the names listed. “I figured Secretary Jenna on page twenty-four was more your type,” Ryder absentmindedly muttered as he turned another page.

  Ryder heard Jake rapidly flipping through pages, and when he found the buxom blond, he made a loud cat call at her picture. I probably owe that woman an apology, Ryder realized, as Jake set his sights on the woman.

  Having made up his mind, Jake tried to help his friend decide on a person. “What about Vice President Rodriguez on the next page?” Jake suggested.

  “Too old,” Ryder immediately rejected, although he had been amused by the footnote that she was available for threesomes with Chief Financial Officer Ashley.

  Jake continued to offer different suggestions, but Ryder continued at an unhurried pace, going through the book and dismissing everyone almost immediately. By the time he got to page thirty-seven, Jake was whining that he wanted to get on with the rest of the night, and by page forty-two, he was drumming his fingers impatiently on the table.

  Ryder ignored him, but his mouth actually dropped open when he turned to the fifty-first page. Immediately trying to rein in his reaction before Jake noticed, he cursed himself when his friend said, “Damn, someone must have really caught your eye.”

  Flipping to the page in his own book, Jake’s immediate reaction was the same as Ryder’s. He exclaimed, “Get the fuck out, that looks just like that bastard! What a dumb name, though.”

  Unable to comment, Ryder stared at the striking likeness to Hunter Cole, labeled as President Dragon. Ryder thought that the name was ridiculous, but it oddly fit somehow. The man in the picture looked several years older, but Ryder’s mind was racing at the possibility that maybe he had been wrong in his assumption that Hunter had no connection to Cole Corporation. Could he really be…? Ryder was unable to fully grasp the possibilities.

  “Maybe it’s his older brother or something? Cousin, maybe?” Jake suggested, squinting at the picture, as if that would somehow help him discern if it was really Hunter or someone with a disturbing familial resemblance to him. “Oh, god, I would never let that shithead live that down! Can you imagine if that was really him, though? There’s no way, but come on!”

  “Only one way to find out,” Ryder said as he leaned over and pushed the intercom button.

  Jake’s eyes widened in disbelief at his friend’s words and he exclaimed, “You can’t possibly be serious! You’re really going to spend two hours with some guy just because he looks like that asshole?”

  “What can I say? I’m kinda curious.” Ryder silently congratulated himself on finding a solution that didn’t involve hooking up with a random sex worker.

  “Well, once you get your answer, maybe they’ll let you switch people,” Jake suggested. “You really should reconsider that Vice President. She was pretty damn hot.”

  “Mm,” Ryder agreed noncommittally, taking a final look at Hunter’s doppelgänger before shutting the book.

  Before Jake could pursue the matter further, a new woman walked into the room with the Japanese woman from earlier. “I trust you have reached a decision?” the new woman asked in a honeyed tone.

  “I think Secretary Jenna is the perfect birthday gift to unwrap,” Jake answered with a playful wink at the women.

  The new girl led Jake away and the Japanese one patiently prompted, “And you, sir?”

  Ryder felt ridiculous as he mumbled, “President Dragon.” He tried not to show his discomfort as he was escorted to the elevator. The woman hit the button for the top floor and Ryder idly wondered if the floors were ranked by popularity.

  The ride up was silent, and Ryder frowned as a flutter of nervousness rushed through his veins. He wasn’t given much time to question the intelligence of his decision, as the elevator doors opened and revealed another hallway that was much like the previous floors.

  “It’s the third door on the right,” she informed Ryder. Thanking her before walking in that direction, Ryder took a deep breath to calm himself before knocking, refusing to back down from the challenge.

  It seemed like forever before the door opened, and when it did, Ryder’s emerald eyes were bright with shock at who stood on the other side waiting for him.

  For several heartbeats, they stared at each other. Ryder knew it was really Hunter the moment that all-too-familiar smirk appeare
d on his face as he leaned against the door frame. “I should have known you’d eventually end up here,” Hunter commented, with his usual arrogance.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ryder shot back, not liking the implication.

  Moving out of the way to grant Ryder entrance, Hunter shut the door behind them. “Since you’re so obsessed with me, this is the only logical outcome.”

  “I’m obsessed?” Ryder indignantly repeated. “You’re one to talk!”

  “And yet you don’t deny it,” Hunter retorted as he walked further into his room.

  “Neither do you,” Ryder retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Shrugging at the observation, Hunter said, “At least Jake’s comment makes more sense now.”

  There was nothing Ryder could say to that, not even when Hunter added, “As if getting fucked would somehow make that idiot a man….”

  Trying to calm his temper, Ryder casually looked around the room, which looked like a glorified penthouse suite at a luxurious business hotel. It was sparsely furnished, with two oversize chairs, two nightstands, and a huge bed, all of which seemed small next to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Hunter looked right at home in the room with his business suit, appearing every inch the businessman who worked at a place like Cole Corporation, had it been a real company.

  “So how do you explain this?” Ryder asked.

  “What’s there to explain?” Hunter countered.

  Ryder clarified, “What are you doing in a place like this?”

  “That is none of your business,” Hunter coolly responded, his eyes narrowing in displeasure at being asked such a thing.

  When Ryder started to address Hunter by name, he was sharply cut off with a rude “Don’t call me that here!”

  “Do you really expect me to call you by that ridiculous name in the book?” Ryder asked.

  “Most shorten it to Dragon,” Hunter replied with a shrug. Upon seeing Ryder’s frown, Hunter couldn’t help but smirk perversely and attempt to provoke his uptight rival. “After all, it’s rather difficult to moan the whole name in the middle of things.”

  Ryder’s cheeks flushed without his permission, but he refused to acknowledge his discomfort over the subject. “I’m not calling you that either,” Ryder decided, finding the whole thing ridiculous.

  “As long as you don’t call me by my other name, I really don’t care,” Hunter said as he deftly undid his cufflinks.

  Watching the nimble movements of Hunter’s fingers for a moment, Ryder insisted, “I don’t get it.” He awkwardly shifted on his feet, wondering whether he should walk over to the windows to sit in the chairs.

  “Get what? Why it’s hard to moan something as awkward as—” Hunter started to ask.

  “No!” Ryder interrupted, wishing the blush would disappear from his cheeks. “I don’t get why you’re here.”

  “Because I work here,” Hunter dryly responded as he took off his suit jacket and let it fall to the floor. “I would think that was rather obvious.”

  Clamping down on his annoyance with Hunter’s attempts to dodge his questions, Ryder said through gritted teeth, “Yes, but what isn’t obvious is why you’re working here.”

  Walking over to Ryder and coming to a stop before him, Hunter asked, “What difference does it make to you? Why should you care what I do with my spare time?”

  “This isn’t you!” Ryder answered, his mind trying to understand how someone as prideful as Hunter could stand to work in a brothel.

  Evenly meeting Ryder’s unwavering green gaze, Hunter murmured, “And what would you know about that?” He started to undo the knot in his tie, waiting for an answer that never came. “What makes you so certain that this isn’t ‘me,’ as you say?”

  “Because I know you,” Ryder replied without any hesitation.

  Slowly pulling the tie free, Hunter noticed the way it made Ryder swallow hard as the fabric dropped to the floor. “Do you?” Hunter challenged, his voice lowering in pitch as he wrapped one arm around Ryder’s thin waist and pulled him closer. “And how exactly do you know me?”

  The sudden feeling of Hunter’s body pressed against his momentarily flustered Ryder and he was unable to immediately answer the question. He pulled free of Hunter’s grasp and took a step back to put some distance between them. “Knock it off!” he growled.

  Laughing at Ryder’s obvious discomfort, Hunter began unbuttoning his own shirt, his eyes bright with amusement at his rival’s expense.

  Once Ryder processed what Hunter was doing, he managed to partially exclaim, “What the…!”

  “I have no intention of answering your question,” Hunter said, slowly undoing another button, “so we’re moving on.”

  “You don’t get to decide that we’re moving on!” Ryder objected, forcing himself to maintain eye contact instead of watching those slim fingers undo another button before sliding lower to the next one.

  “If you want to pay someone to listen to your bullshit, you should have gone to a therapist,” Hunter told Ryder, victoriously grinning at the agitation his words earned. “I’m not going to listen to your self-righteous protests for the next two hours, so save us both some time and shut up about it. That’s not why you’re here.”

  Once again, Ryder was distracted, this time by the sight of Hunter shrugging out of the dress shirt, revealing his pale, toned body, which was a thing of great beauty. “You don’t honestly think I’m here for that, do you?” Ryder indignantly demanded, refocusing his attention on those bright blue eyes.

  “Considering how many people would fuck you for free, it would surprise me that you would resort to this,” Hunter bluntly admitted, refraining from undoing the button on his pants just yet. “Even if you’re only here to keep an eye on that worthless mutt you call a friend, you’ve already paid, so—”

  “You can’t be serious!” Ryder exclaimed in shock, his mind reeling at Hunter’s complete lack of objections. “I’m not expecting you to…you know…”

  Reaching out once more and pulling Ryder closer, Hunter looked almost infuriatingly smug as he antagonized, “You’re not backing down from a challenge, are you?”

  Clenching his hands into tight fists at his side, Ryder tried not to let himself get pulled into Hunter’s game. “It’s not about that,” Ryder argued, although he didn’t pull away this time. “There is no challenge!”

  “Are you that confident in a victory?” Hunter taunted.

  “A victory?” Ryder repeated in disbelief. “This isn’t a game! There’s no victory in any of this.”

  “So you say,” Hunter retorted before lowering his head and languidly licking his way from the base of Ryder’s neck to his ear. “I would beg to differ, though.”

  The sensation of Hunter’s tongue on his skin effectively caused all of Ryder’s counterpoints to come to a screeching halt. He took a deep breath as he tried to process what had just happened. “Did you…?” he tried to ask, but failed to find the words.

  “I never would have pegged you for the blushing virgin type,” Hunter insulted with a laugh, completely undeterred by Ryder shoving him away with more force this time.

  “What the hell is your problem?” Ryder demanded, completely stunned by Hunter’s actions.

  “That’s almost cute,” Hunter cooed in a mocking tone, further incensing Ryder.

  Ryder’s words were lost in a huff of indignation, failing him when he needed them to defend himself. Finally gathering his wits about him, Ryder managed, “No, it’s not cute! None of this is!”

  “We’re not in the right room for that,” Hunter agreed, further confusing Ryder.

  Running his fingers through his dark hair in an attempt to calm himself, Ryder refrained from pacing. “I don’t get it!” He was still unable to find a logical reason as to why Hunter would be working in a brothel.

  “I suppose I should be grateful that you’re not always this dense,” Hunter said with a chuckle. “You wouldn’t be worthy of being my ri
val otherwise.”

  Whatever rant Ryder was about to initiate disappeared with Hunter’s admission, causing him to look up into those brilliant and calculating cerulean eyes. Oddly enough, Ryder almost got the impression that it was a compliment of sorts, backhanded as it might have been. “This isn’t about that,” Ryder finally commented.

  Sensing Ryder’s resistance wearing down, Hunter questioned, “Isn’t it, though?”

  Gritting his teeth, Ryder felt mortified as he ground out, “What challenge is there if you’re obligated by money?”

  Shrugging it off with the years of employment that had worn away his shame, Hunter said, “So you paid for the room.”

  Ryder didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it hadn’t been that nonchalant response. “What are you saying?” Ryder asked in a measured tone, once again crossing his arms over his chest to mask his discomfort.

  “Oh, like you haven’t thought about it before,” Hunter scoffed with a confident smirk.

  The source of their almost compulsive competitiveness with each other wasn’t something that Ryder had ever seriously considered, but it had been discussed in privacy by Kyle and Emily on more than one occasion. “And you have?” Ryder countered, feeling the heat creeping back into his cheeks once more.

  Closing the distance between them with a seductive sway of his hips as he approached, Hunter’s voice was lowered by lust as he pressed closer to Ryder and murmured, “I won’t deny it.”

  The reaction was instantaneous; Ryder went rigid and emitted a noise of shock.

  It made Hunter feel powerful, knowing that he could affect his rival in such a manner. “The thought of you moaning under me as I slowly demolish that obnoxious composure of yours in the most pleasurable way possible has crossed my mind once or twice before.…”

  Ryder knew that he should be incensed by Hunter’s comment, but it was almost beyond his comprehension. Against his will, an image of what Hunter had described popped into Ryder’s mind and his cheeks flushed even more deeply. Worse, Hunter leaned closer to tease in a sensuous tone, “You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”