TWO
Final Exam
I glared at Mother. The six women who'd just entered the room had all been my lovers over the past three years. They were, without exception, lovely, sexy, or both. They weren't my only lovers during that time, but any others were one-night stands and nothing more. Only Camila wasn't grinning at me like she was in on some cosmic joke, a joke I still didn't have a clue about.
"No more games," I growled, glaring at Mother as she lounged on the bed in all her womanly glory. "Tell me what the fuck is going on."
"I did. I've spent over three years, and nearly two million dollars, training you for a mission."
"Okay, so why are they here?" I asked, jerking my thumb at the women.
Mother smiled. "They were part of your training, and now they're here to prove to me you're ready."
A weight settled in my stomach. "Part of...? What do you mean?"
"I mean, these lovely ladies contracted with me to turn you into a hard-fucking beast." She smiled like a hungry cat eyeing a particularly tasty looking mouse. "They've been reporting your progress back to me. They think you're ready." Her smile spread. "From their reports, and what you just did to me, I'm inclined to agree, but I have to know. I'm only going to get one shot at this, and I have to be sure."
I met each of the women's eyes in turn, and their smiles began to disappear. "You were paid to be with me?" I demanded.
They all looked uncomfortable, except for Beth, who met my glare with her own unflinching stare, but then she never apologized for anything. Lori looked up and met my gaze. "I can't speak for anyone else, but no, not the way you mean. I was told to seduce you, to teach you... certain things." A faint smile touched her lips. "For me, at least, there was more to it than the money." Her smile returned, if with a little less wattage. "Trust me, I'd have done it for free."
The other five women nodded in agreement. It was all starting to make sense. For the past three years, I'd had one amazing sexual adventure after another. I'd done dozens of things most men could only dream of, but it was all a fucking lie. I didn't love any of the women, but it still pissed me off that for three years I'd been led around by my cock, and I hadn't had a fucking clue it was happening.
The only woman of the six that really hurt to find out was paid to be with me was Camila Muñoz. She was a raven-haired beauty with large dark eyes and a beautiful complexion that spoke of her Latin heritage. I'd been dating her steadily for the past two years, and unlike the other women, with Camila it wasn't only about sex. I fucked Alison, Beth, Lori, Misty, and Karen, but I made love to Camila. I didn't love her, but I did care for her. About a year ago I'd suggested we start seeing each other exclusively, but she'd claimed she wasn't ready for that level of commitment and wanted to keep our relationship open and casual.
Now I knew why. I was nothing but a job to her. Camila worked for one of the Houston Spanish language television stations as a prime-time news anchor, and her job had been to teach me Spanish. She claimed she spoke little English, so I'd learned Spanish as I taught her English. Having her invite me into her bed, cry out as we made love, and whisper sweet words to me, all in Spanish, was incredibly sexy. I still had an accent, but after two years of motivated lessons, I spoke fluent Spanish.
I glared at her. "I guess we won't be having dinner tonight?" I growled at her in Spanish.
She wouldn't meet my eyes. "I'm sorry," she murmured in the same tongue.
"Was any of it real?" She didn't answer and stared at her shoes. I glared at her a moment longer. "You could always speak English, couldn't you?" I said, switching to my native tongue.
"I'm sorry," she repeated in near perfect English, not the heavily accented and stilted version she'd used in the beginning with me.
I nodded once, my lips pulled tight in annoyance. Our entire relationship was a lie. No wonder she was able to so easily figure out what I was trying to say as I struggled to learn her language. I was so fucking stupid. I never had a clue. Not with any of them. While all the women except for Beth looked, to varying degrees, uncomfortable with my reaction, Camila seemed... hurt. I guess they thought I'd laugh it off as a big joke. Well, fuck them all. I was the one who'd been used. I returned my attention to Mother.
"So now what? They're going to give you my report card or something?"
Mother's smile became cold. "More like your final exam. You want to find out why I want you, why I've put so much time, effort, and money into you?" She nodded at the woman. "Fuck them, fuck all of them, and find out."
I glanced between the women and Mother. I'd already fucked the shit out of each these women multiple times, and enjoyed the hell out of it each time, but it still pissed me off that I'd been used. On the other hand, fucking part of the secret out of Mother had been incredibly exciting, and now I was going to have to fuck the rest of it out of these bitches. Then another piece of the puzzle suddenly fell into place.
"You," I growled, glaring at Mother. "You were the one that had TTS recruit me out of college."
Mother's smile never flickered. "You have a... unique... talent that I can use," she replied, and another piece of the puzzle locked into place.