Throb by Vi Keeland

“Umm … sure. Where are we going?”

  “Mr. Montgomery would like to see you.”

  I turn and look back at the room.

  “He asked me to bring you to his office after the meeting was over.”

  “Oh.” Shit. Miles knows. He must have caught on with how the two of us were looking at each other. The guy would probably be thrilled if I’d been making out during the meeting with one of my fellow bachelorettes, but I’m likely to get fired for even flirting with one of his colleagues.

  Together, Helen and I make our way across the complex and up to the top floor of the building. She brings me to an open door at the corner of a luxurious-looking suite of offices. Much nicer than I would have expected of Miles. Classier. I would have thought he would be more a metal-desk-and-worn-shag-carpet kind of guy. The sleek, intimidating swank of this place doesn’t fit.

  “Ms. Monroe is here¸” Helen announces and steps aside for me to enter.

  I walk in with trepidation. I really need to make it to the top four.

  “Did you like kissing him?” The voice catches me off guard.

  “Cooper?” I look up, confused.

  He stalks to me. “Did you?” He infiltrates my personal space but I don’t move.

  “Where’s Miles?”

  “I don’t care where Miles is. Answer my question.”

  “But …”

  “Please, Kate. Just answer the question.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  He takes a step closer. I take one back.

  “Did you like kissing him? It’s a simple question, Kate. Yes or no.” His voice is flat, monotone, but it’s not the kind of flat sound that makes you think the words aren’t important. Just the opposite. The way they’re said in such a controlled tone makes me think the answer really matters and he’s controlling himself to even ask the question.

  “It isn’t a simple question. Nothing about what I’m doing is simple.”

  Another step closer. One more back for me.

  “Did you feel the same thing kissing him as you did when I kissed you yesterday?”

  I don’t say anything.

  He takes one more step toward me.

  I retreat another step. My back hits the wall behind me.

  Cooper leans in, one arm pressed into the wall on either side of my head. I look to the right, then the left. His stare is unrelenting, even while I avoid his eyes.

  “You’re not answering me.”

  I’m not sure how to respond, so I don’t. At least not with words anyway. Instead, I give in to what I’m feeling and let my body tell him the answer. My mouth closes the small distance between us and I literally devour his lips.

  I may have started the kiss, but it takes less than a heartbeat for Cooper to take over. With a growl, he pins me against the wall and devours me. Wrapping my hair tightly in his fingers, his grip is so firm, I couldn’t escape if I wanted to. But it’s irrelevant, because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be in this moment.

  “Wow,” I breathe when we come up for air.

  “Jesus, Kate.” His voice is low and thick, chest heaving.

  “No,” I whisper.

  Cooper’s eyes question me.

  “No, it didn’t feel like this when I kissed Flynn.”

  “Who?”

  “Flynn … the bachelor?”

  “Oh. I’ve taken to calling him Dickhead.”

  Cooper’s serious, although it doesn’t stop me from laughing. In fact, his stern demeanor makes me completely crack up. He doesn’t seem happy that I’m finding amusement at his expense. “Dickhead? Really?” I laugh.

  He tries to remain serious, but I catch the corner of his mouth twitch. “I have a few other names, if you’d like to try one of those on to see if it fits better.”

  I shake my head. “What did he do that made you conjure a vast dictionary of nicknames?”

  “He’s in my way.”

  Cooper hasn’t moved, and I suddenly realize where I am. “Ummm … where is Miles?”

  “Probably on the casting couch with one of the contestants from your show.”

  Miles is undoubtedly the casting-couch kind. I smile and look around. “Wouldn’t he be casting in this office though?”

  “My office? Miles tries to avoid me at all costs most days.”

  I pull my head back, confused. “This isn’t Miles’s office?”

  Cooper furrows his brow.

  “But Helen said Mr. Montgomery wanted to see me, and she brought me here.”

  Cooper inhales, then blows out a deep, audible breath. “Sit.”

  “Okay, now I’m ready,” Sadie says as she hands me a very full glass of wine. She kicks off her four-inch heels and settles in on the loveseat for the story of my bizarre day.

  “You do realize you aren’t supposed to fill the glass to the brim, right?”

  She shrugs. “I’m efficient. If I pour a half glass now, I’m only going to have to get up again in five minutes.”

  She has a point. I gulp a mouthful of wine and dig in. “Cooper is Miles’s brother.”

  Sadie is a lawyer—not showing surprise is her forte—but her eyes bulge when I give her the news. “We’re going to need a second bottle.”

  “Picked it up on my way home.”

  “So he knows you’re on the show?”

  “Yep. He didn’t know when we played cards last week. But he saw the dailies from the show and recognized me.”

  “And?”

  “And I kissed him when we were in his office.”

  “How was his office?”

  “Really? That’s what you want to know. Not how was the kiss or aren’t you in breach of your contract? How was his office?”

  “You can tell a lot about a man by his office.”

  I gulp another unladylike sip from my wine glass. “His office was beautiful. Sleek, overlooking the city. It oozed power.”

  “Nice. Bet he fucks like he owns you.”

  The thought of what he’s like in bed is enough to make me lose my train of thought.

  “Go on,” Sadie prods.

  I don’t continue immediately.

  “You forgot what you were up to because you were thinking of him fucking you like he owns you, didn’t you?” My best friend smirks knowingly.

  “Shut up.” I pause. “Anyway, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “Well, him. Obviously.”

  “I wish it were that easy.”

  “What was his take on the whole thing?”

  “He said he didn’t care if I was breaking the rules. He wants to get to know me.”

  “And by ‘get to know you,’ he means starting with the inside and working his way out. I saw the way that man looked at you. I almost had to come home and change my wet panties.” She pauses. “But I took them off instead. There’s something really empowering about walking around in a skirt and no panties at work, don’t you think?”

  “Can we get back to my issue? Dealing with yours will take years.”

  Sadie shrugs. “So, you both keep quiet, what’s the big deal?”

  “Forgetting about the contract, and the fact that Miles can sue me for more than I will probably earn for the rest of my life, I just don’t think I can be involved with two guys at once. Even if I don’t win, I really need to get to the top four to win enough money to buy some time to come up with the rest my mom needs.”

  “How long do you have left?”

  “Seven weeks.”

  “So tell Cooper you need a couple of months.”

  I drain the rest of my wine glass. “Something tells me that won’t go over too well … asking Cooper to wait around while I date someone else.”

  “What choice does he have?”

  “I don’t know. But Cooper Montgomery is not the type of man you give an ultimatum.”

  chapter seven

  Cooper

  “I thought that stupid meeting would never end,” I grumble, falling in step with Kate as she walks down the hall afte
r her morning production meeting.

  She smiles and keeps walking. “Were you standing out there long?”

  “Long enough to have lost my patience. Meet me in my office in ten minutes.”

  She stops mid stride. It takes me a few paces to realize I’m no longer next to her. “Bossy, much?”

  “I’ll show you how bossy I am right here in the hall, if you’d prefer.” I arch an eyebrow.

  “Coop,” Miles’s voice carries from down the hall. I wave and then return my attention to Kate.

  “My office ten minutes or do you prefer the hall?” She looks back at Miles and then me, quickly making the right decision.

  “Your office.”

  I gloat my victory with a smile and turn just as my brother approaches. Kate walks a bit ahead, but Miles stops her. “Kate, have you met my brother?”

  “Ummm … I don’t think so.” She turns cautiously.

  “Nice to meet you.” I extend my hand and my fingers stroke the inside of her palm inconspicuously.

  Her eyes widen and I take my time to release her from the shake.

  “Kate here is one of the contestants on Throb.” Miles puts his hand on Kate’s shoulder. I fight the urge to remove it for him and simply nod.

  “She’s one of Flynn’s favorites. A shoo-in for the final four overnight dates.”

  Between his hand still on Kate’s shoulder and the thought of her anywhere near Flynn, I need to get the hell out of here. “Did you want something, Miles? I have a meeting.” I look at my watch and then to Kate pointedly. “In eight minutes.”

  “Be a few minutes late. I need to talk shop.” Shop equals he needs something from me.

  “I can’t. It’s an urgent deal I’m in the middle of. I need to tie it up this morning. Call Helen and get on my schedule.” I turn to Kate and nod before stalking to the elevator bank.

  “Kate Monroe is here to see you,” Helen’s voice flows through the intercom.

  “Send her in. And hold my calls.”

  “I thought I was going to call you tonight so we could talk?” Kate says as she enters my office.

  “Change of plans.” I shut the door behind her and deadbolt it. The loud clank of the lock clicking shut captures her attention. She turns to look back at the door and then to me.

  “Are you locking people out, or me in?” She arches an eyebrow.

  “Both. Come here.” I crook my finger.

  “You really are bossy.”

  “Does that bother you?” I close the safe distance she’s left between us.

  “It depends.”

  “On what?” I brush the hair from her face.

  “On what you’re bossy about.”

  I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles. “Just about you.”

  “Just me?” The challenge in her voice softens as our eyes meet.

  I nod. “Kiss me.”

  “Bossy.”

  “Difficult.”

  “I’m not diff …” She doesn’t get the chance to finish her protest before my mouth is sealed over hers.

  “Wow,” she says when I release her a full five minutes later, and it makes me smile. I noticed she’s said it after each time I kissed her. Almost as if the effect it has on her takes her by surprise. “You’re really good at that.”

  “No. We’re just really good together,” I say. “I can tell already.”

  I pull her to me and hold her tightly against my chest. Neither of us says a word for a few minutes.

  “Cooper?” Her voice is quiet, but the simple two-syllable word tells me she’s about to bestow news I don’t want to hear. I tighten my hold on her.

  “Hmmm?” I kiss the top of her forehead.

  “We need to talk.”

  chapter eight

  Kate

  “I really like you. I do … but …”

  Cooper holds up his hand. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t give me the I really like you speech.”

  Well, there goes what I spent half the night planning to say.

  Cooper folds his arms across his chest. “Sit.”

  “Bossy,” I mutter under my breath, but sit anyway.

  “Is it the show?”

  I nod.

  Cooper paces while he speaks. “Is quitting an option?”

  Regretfully, I shake my head.

  “I’m not sure I want to hear the answer, but I’ll ask anyway. Do you have feelings for him?” He rakes his fingers through his hair and says the word him with harried disdain.

  “Who? Dickhead?”

  Cooper’s mouth twitches at the corners. “Yes, Dickhead.”

  “He’s really nice.” His jaw clenches. “But that’s not it.”

  “You’re locked into a contract?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll talk to Miles. He owes me one. Or a thousand and one. I’ve lost track.”

  “No. You can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I need to stay on the show.”

  “Do you want the exposure? I’ll tell him you need to stay on the show, but that you aren’t living up to whatever the terms his warped mind has conjured up.”

  “I don’t want the exposure.”

  Cooper stops. “Then what is it?”

  “I need to win.”

  “Why? If you don’t want the prize?”

  “It’s not the bachelor that I need.”

  “There’s a financial incentive?”

  I nod. Suddenly, I feel like a whore.

  The clock ticks by, long seconds where the silence hangs thick in the air, neither of us saying a word. Finally, I speak. “I can’t see two men at once. I need to keep my focus, and I won’t be able to do that if we keep this up.”

  When I see the disappointment in his face, my chest feels like someone stepped on it. “How long does the show have left?” he asks.

  “Seven weeks, two days.” Not that I’m counting.

  He blows out a thick stream of air, nods, holds me tight before we say goodbye. When his grip on me loosens, it takes everything I have to walk out his door.

  chapter nine

  Kate

  The more I get to know Flynn, the more I find there is to like. So why is it that I resist elevating things to the next level? He’s a complete gentleman with me. Taking things slowly, not pushing, leaving it up to me to decide the next step. We’ve definitely connected, yet there’s something holding me back from moving from friends to more. Damn you, Cooper Montgomery. It’s been a week since I saw him, yet I still can’t get him out of my mind.

  “Earth to Kate.” Flynn bumps shoulders with me.

  “Sorry. I overslept and didn’t get to have coffee yet.”

  “Well, we need to fix that. Al, can we pull over at the next Starbucks, please?” Flynn asks the bus driver.

  I smile. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “You’re going to need it for today’s challenge.” He winks at me.

  “You know what today’s challenge is?”

  “Yep. Not my favorite. You’ll understand why soon. But I need you to wake up so you can win.” The bus pulls into a strip mall parking lot. There’s a Starbucks at the end. “Al, you wanna see if anyone else wants anything?”

  I stand, ready to go inside to grab my coffee.

  “Sit. I’ll get it.”

  I smile, but not because of how sweet Flynn is. Sit reminds me of bossy Cooper.

  Flynn returns with my coffee, and it’s exactly how I take it, even though he didn’t ask. The bus driver hands out everyone else’s orders. You would think Flynn had handed me an engagement ring, rather than a cup of coffee, from the looks I get from some of the other girls.

  “So, you going to give me a hint about the challenge today?” I whisper when Flynn sits next to me, arm slung casually over the back of my seat. His fingers gently rub the exposed skin on my shoulder.

  “How about I give you three hints and you see if you can guess?”

  “Deal.?
?? I turn, giving him my full attention.

  “One. You’re really good at it. But we haven’t done it in a while and I miss it.”

  “Hmmm … I’m intrigued.”

  “Two. I hope no one wants yours today.”

  “You need to give better hints.”

  His eyes sparkle. “Three.” He leans in and kisses me softly on the lips. It’s an innocent kiss; his forehead rests tenderly against mine as the bus slows to a stop.

  Everyone crowds to look outside the windows at where we are. Santa Monica Pier. A minute later, Miles hops on the bus and delivers today’s challenge.

  “Ladies. Welcome to Santa Monica Pier. Today’s challenge may earn one lucky contestant immunity from going home this week. With only six women left, the winner will have only one more elimination ceremony before making it to the coveted final four. I’ll let your boyfriend tell you all about what we’re doing here at the pier.”

  Flynn stands. “You can bet this one wasn’t picked by me.” He catches my eye before continuing. “Your challenge today is to earn more money than me. We’ve each been assigned a booth and we’re going to see who the best salesperson is.”

  “What are we selling?” Jessica asks from two rows behind me.

  “You’re selling you, Jessica. Each of us is manning a kissing booth today. One dollar buys a kiss. The winner has to earn more money than me and all of the other ladies.”

  “How are we supposed to sell more kisses than you? Look at you,” Jessica coos.

  “I have confidence you’ll make a killing, Jess.”

  As we step off the bus, Miles hands us each a chapstick and flashes a leering grin.

  “Is she serious?” Sadie motions to Jessica’s booth, where the line is probably a hundred deep. We were each allowed to make one phone call and have a friend bring a single item to help us in our challenge today. Jessica received a bikini top from her friend—if you can call it that. Technically, I think “bikini top” is too generous; it’s more like nipple covers. Me? I asked Sadie to bring me a box of Altoids. Not my most well-thought-out plan.

  I kiss a young boy on the cheek and stuff his dollar into the box next to me. I actually have a pretty decent line, especially considering I’m wearing a tank top that covers my boobs. I look over to Jessica’s booth. I gotta hand it to her, she certainly knows how to work it. Leaning over at the waist to reach each tongue-wagging guy, her ass cheeks hang out from her short shorts almost as much as her boobs flow over from her sad excuse for a top. Each guy gets a full pucker kiss on the lips. Even the fourteen-year-olds. There are going to be a lot of wet dreams in Santa Monica tonight.