Chapter 1 - Prologue
Jake
“You want me to have sex with all of you,” she enunciates slowly. “Is that what you think I don’t understand? I think I understand it pretty well. Sex. With each of you. All five of you. Maybe all at once? Should we start now?”
Her green eyes flit from brother to brother, challenging each of us. The twins hold their hands in front of them, careful not to give into the impulse to simply pounce on her. Timothy, the youngest, bites his lower lip and scowls.
I watch Carty closely, trying to measure his dedication. He is the reason we are all here, the reason why we agreed to this life of solitude. And now that there is a spark of hope in the form of a beautiful auburn-haired goddess who seems legitimately excited at the prospect of enjoying us together, as hers, will he be able to let himself be happy?
The mountain light seeps through the tall windows, transparent on this side but protectively mirrored on the opposite side. We are truly alone in this secluded mountain habitat. No one in the world knows that we are here. Our security is practically impenetrable. Society has forgotten about us. Among the millions of acres of wild mountain terrain, it is practically impossible to find our fortress.
It’s possible that she is simply daring us, and will crack under the pressure. Sex with five men? Five grown, sturdy men who’ve been alone for years? No woman could undertake that effort without serious thought. In fact, maybe no woman should. Even the suggestion is preposterous.
But she is no ordinary woman. I can tell when she meets my eye. She reaches inside me to the wordless place I have kept hidden all this time. She finds me in my solitude, and to my surprise I am glad to have her there.
To say that solitude has been a struggle would be an understatement. It seems that fate has decided to intervene. Lola has arrived, and now we have to ask ourselves if we will all be ready to share our life with this strange woman.
And is she ready to share her life with us?
She holds her hands out in invitation, challenging Carty with her stare. “If I can handle it, you have to let me stay,” she purrs, her smile defiant and confident. “Okay? Do we have a deal?”
I think Carty agrees, but I know for certain everyone else does. Timothy and Liam tug at her sleeves, revealing the taut, smooth expanse of her skin. As though we have been waiting—and, indeed, we have been waiting—we set upon her all at once. Each of us strokes and explores one beautiful part of her body after another, curious and inflamed. Beneath us, she smiles and moans, settling in as though she was made just for this. She interlocks with us, easily navigating five sets of hands, five pairs of lips. Somehow, there is enough to go around, more than enough woman to get us all turned on, to satisfy each of our tremendous needs.
I pray that it always stays this way.
Chapter 2
Lola
After sundown, Lake Tahoe casinos are almost rowdy. All the skiers and snowboarders get back from the slopes and start hitting the blackjack tables and restaurants, preparing for a night of fun in the clubs. Among these young, wealthy, and well-muscled studs, there must be someone to entertain me, right? I mean, it can’t all be retirees and townies. There has to be somebody.
It’s definitely not Vegas, where hooking up is almost a given. Here, I have to put in a little work to
find a candidate. The casinos are smaller and less flashy, but there’s definitely still a lot of money happening here. A lot of younger money—kids who are spending off their inheritance before they get it and newly divorced women looking for their next husband, that sort of thing.
I lean one elbow on the bar behind me and chew on the tip of my straw, sipping the vodka and soda slowly as I scan the parade of snowboarders. Dark-washed jeans, woolen beanies, and tight half-zip nylon shirts seem to be the trendy uniform this year, coupled with an attractive amount of stubble and ski slope sunburn across well-chiseled features. That will do just fine.
Crossing my legs in the opposite direction, I catch the flickered glances of several men in their twenties who react to the sudden motion of bare skin in a predictable way. But none of them have that real athletic aggression that I’m looking for. They’re all just a little bit too soft for me.
On another day, sure, I might look for the sensitive type. I might want to discuss somebody’s feelings or long-term plans or something like that. But today, I want something just a little bit less complicated. I want something abbreviated and bound to end with a definitive sort of punctuation.
I just want to find a fuck, not a friend. Is that so wrong?
I feel the barstool next to me swivel as Nance settles into it and raises a finger toward the bartender for a drink. After a few moments, she turns out in the same direction I am facing, unconsciously mimicking my pose. In her long, skintight jeans and short shiny boots, she is fierce and unforgettable. I watch the men glance at us, startled by the new force of nature next to me.
“You’re going to scare them off,” I mutter sourly.
She sucks the inside of her cheek. “I’m just here to make sure you make good choices,” she mutters back. Twisting the straw between her fingertips, out of the corner of my eye I see her drag it across her full lower lip.
“I don’t need to make good choices,” I counter. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend. I just need to work out some nervous energy.”
“I know, I know, Lola,” she sighs dramatically. “And for the record, I am one hundred percent in favor of this plan. It will be nice if we could all just move past the Lola is Dumped and Super Sad chapter of our mutual fairytale. Oh, what about that one?”
She kicks the pointed toe of her boot in the direction of a tall, slightly block-headed jock in a lavender hoodie unzipped to his sternum. He’s talking with a group of friends, but posing in such a way that he thinks we’re looking at him, for sure.