Chapter 4
FOUR
Tripp
Shit, I can’t fucking breathe.
My heart is going a mile a minute.
I only saw Vida for four seconds and it’s like a bomb has been thrown into the still pond of my existence. She was incredibly sexy in the near-darkness of my room yesterday, but in the light, she is hunger-inducing. Mouthwatering. Innocent in a way that shouldn’t get me so hot, but it does.
When I woke up this morning and immediately had to beat off to the memory of her tight cunt, I knew I was in trouble. I swore to myself that the off-limits maid would remain exactly that—off limits. A huge no-no.
One look at her in that uniform, though, and I’m stiff as a board.
It’s not just her body. It’s the memory of her voice. The intelligence in her eyes.
The quiet self-possession.
Despite my better judgment, I am so intrigued, it’s painful.
Don’t you dare, man. For one, she’s a virgin, and I am far from it.
I’ve had girls propositioning me since I was fifteen.
Granted, I do not take advantage of the unlimited sex as often as I could, because it just feels…
empty. But I’ve allowed myself to indulge often enough that compared to this girl, I’m probably a fucking lothario.
The second reason I should stay away from Vida?
She’s an employee of this place and I am a guest. An influential one—and an investor, at that.
Making a move on her would be a flex of imbalanced power.
My fellow privileged friends would not hesitate to use their wealth to get a girl into bed, but I refuse.
Especially with her.
She’s so pure-looking, I wonder how the hell I mistook her for a call girl.
Am I a moron?
Yes.
And the third reason I will stay away from her is she’s been traumatized enough.
I manhandled her. Fingered her without express permission.
Sure, as a call girl, I assumed her very presence in my room equaled express permission, but I’m not allowing any excuses for myself.
She was probably terrified to return to work today.
“Damn,” Calder, my blond best friend, says as he adjusts himself in plain view of anyone who is watching. “I don’t know what’s giving me this boner. That fuckable little maid or the way Tripp just looked at her like he wants to take her straight to pound town.”
“Seriously,” Shawn agrees, staring at the spot where Vida disappeared down the hallway. “I’ve never seen him look at any girl like that.”
Goddammit.
I’ve drawn their attention to her.
That’s never good.
Calder and Shawn are perpetually bored and forever looking for something to amuse themselves. I’ll be damned if it’s going to be Vida.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say, giving them both a dark look. “Shut the fuck up and get back to lifting. I’m not carrying your dead weight around the field this year.”
“Someone is touchy!” Shawn exclaims.
“Indeed,” Calder says, stroking his chin. “Methinks our captain needs to get laid. Maybe we should have sent the call girl this year. It was beginning to feel like a waste of money. You always say no.”
“I would have said no this time, too,” I reply, knowing it’s true.
Knowing I have the willpower to say no to anyone but Vida.
Why?
What is it about her that’s got me on a razor’s edge of lust?
“Aw, come on, Captain. Sometimes your best friends just know what’s best for you,” Shawn says, once again checking out his biceps in the mirror. “Pick a girl on the beach, work out some frustration in that fancy room of yours, and kick this vacation off right.”
Calder makes a sound in his throat. “I’m seriously thinking of kicking things off with that maid.”
He sticks his tongue out suggestively, and I almost rip it clean out of his mouth.
“Shouldn’t be much of a challenge, right? I’ll just make her believe I’ll take her away from all this servitude one day.” He rolls a shoulder back. “Piece of cake.”
“God, you’re such an asshole,” I manage, because my throat is shrinking to the size of a pinhole at the thought of one of my friends making a play for Vida, let alone putting their fucking hands on her. “Not every girl is a gold digger.”
Shawn snorts. “You’re saying that she wouldn’t enjoy being taken out on your yacht, Tripp? Or treated to a shopping spree at Prada?”
“A lot of girls would like that, rich or poor,” I point out.
“Yeah, but rich girls don’t need your credit card. They just like knowing you’re willing to spend your money on them.” Calder suddenly looks thoughtful. “You want to fuck the maid, don’t you? That’s why your panties are in a twist?”
Get their attention off her.
“I didn’t say that.”
“I’ve got an idea.” Shawn’s shit-eating grin instantly makes me nervous. “Why don’t you play with the maid for a while and see if she shows her true colors? I bet she’ll be asking for a black Amex by the end of the week.”
“She won’t.”
I don’t know how I’m so certain.
And I don’t know why I say that out loud, because they pounce.
“Hold on. Did you already fuck that maid? You work fast! How was she?”
“Stop,” I say through my teeth. “I didn’t fuck her. Drop it before I break your jaw.”
“I have a dentist on retainer,” Calder retorts, shrugging.
“You’re obviously keeping something from us, but regardless, I like Shawn’s little experiment.
Use the maid as your plaything all week and if she hasn’t proven herself a gold digger by Friday, we’ll show up to first day of classes in the fall in matching pink tutus. ”
“You would do that, anyway,” I mutter.
Calder leans in and shoulder-bumps me. “If you don’t play with her, man, I will.”
Fuck.
Panic bubbles to the surface.
If Calder purses Vida, he’ll lie to her. He won’t be kind. He’ll chew her up and spit her out because she’s too innocent for the ugly side of the flashy world I live in.
Maybe I should agree to their experiment, just to protect her?
What choice do I have?
“If she’s going to be mine for the week…to conduct this ridiculous experiment…then she’s only mine.” I look him hard in the eye. “I don’t share.”
“Too bad,” Shawn comments. “Sharing is a lot of fun.”
“Fine. I’ll keep my hands to myself if we have a bet,” Calder says, holding out his hand. “I bet she shows her social-climber nature by Friday. If you lose, though, I want that vintage Porsche that’s collecting dust at your Carmel house.”
Relieved to have protected Vida, even by unconventional means, I shake his hand.
“Fine, you got a bet. Done.”
All I hope is that I won’t regret it.