A Betty's Pledge: Volume One (33 page)

“Nothing better?” Nate scoffed, his eyes narrowing. It seemed he’d forgotten his place
as a Consort liaison, and was taking an active role in today’s discussion. “Explain
to me how temptation happens during the program if it’s so easy a fix with a perfectly
matched mate.”

“I never said that there wouldn’t be temptation. I only said that I’d never seen a
mating fail. Our methods are precise and insurmountable. To cheat would be to lose
the other half of your soul, and it would be the deepest regret any of you would ever
have.”

Part of my soul
 . . . I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I thought it was ironic he felt that way,
seeing as we were basically sleeping with every unclaimed pussy these people could
find until we took one for our own. It was foolish logic.

I’d been through this, and every time I was introduced to the women who were supposed
to be implicitly matched for me, it didn’t happen. To me, there were no guarantees.
That’s what I’d learned through this fucked-up program, not that I was destined to
be with the one they’d find. It was bullshit, in my opinion.

Images of Mady came to my mind for a brief second, of her smiling and laughing in
the hidden glimpses I’d stolen throughout the last week, but I pushed them aside.
I couldn’t deny that she had been an automatic interest in the beginning for me, but
she was here for only one purpose, and I had to remember that. She wasn’t here to
find a mate, but to get fucked, pure and simple. Her agenda was the same as the countless
women who’d graced these halls, who’d slept in those rooms, and fucked through those
mirrors. Why would she be any different? I didn’t expect her to be.

I let my mind stew in the negative while the others continued their discussion. I
tried to keep my thoughts away from the direction they were going—back to a year ago,
when I’d come here with promises that were broken at the end of six months.

Jennifer had been everything Adam had described earlier: gorgeous, intelligent, and
incredibly skilled in the bedroom. From our first meeting, she’d caught my attention.
She’d held it through our many late-night conversations, and despite her training
in the program, we’d spent most of our time together, making a silent agreement that
our experimentation would be limited to each other, or so I believed.

I evaluated myself back then—naïve, gullible—wanting to trust in the dream the founders
of the program had believed in. She’d fucked that all up for me, hadn’t she, that
scandalous shrew. Jennifer couldn’t let the erotic fantasy go. The one where she’d
come to play with no strings attached. She had to have her cake and eat it, too, didn’t
she? When the program was over, she dumped me like spoiled leftovers. Yet, I stuck
around to go through it all again. I’d believed the founders and their theories, hoping
that I’d find happiness and fulfillment with someone else who had been scientifically
proven to fit me perfectly, and that theory had been tried and tested through the
Consort program. Trust had been easy to give, and unfortunately, repeatedly broken.

I was a moron. I shouldn’t have done this again, despite the bargain Jackson had made
me. It was going to happen again, one way or the other. My faceless dream girl would
leave me, or I’d do it to her. Jennifer broke me of that fantasy, and I’d stolen it
from Britney six months later. Call me a fucked-up deliverer of Karma or a fucking
asshole, it wasn’t anything I didn’t already know about myself.

“Hey,” I heard Nate grumble, and I looked up to see everyone leaving our little man
huddle. I guessed I’d missed the tail end of a stimulating discussion about nothing
but bullshit.

Oh well . . .

“Hey,” I responded, pulling myself from the couch, wanting to get out of the stale
tobacco smelling room, thanks to Adam’s selfish indulgence. My lungs would be dying
tomorrow from the second-hand cancer he’d subjected us to.

“I’m sorry . . . you know . . . for earlier.” Nate stumbled through the apology which
caused me to gauge his sincerity. The expression he gave me was complacent, and I
felt the anger rise inside me once again at the accusation in his eyes.

“How’s Diane?”

Nate’s posture straightened, becoming defensive. “She’s fine.”

“Good.” I smiled without any humor or warmth. “Wouldn’t want her to be unhappy.”

“Isaac,” he said in warning.

“I know why you were there, Nate. It’s just more proof how fucked up this place is,
right?”

“Don’t do that, Isaac.”

“Do what?” I shoved past him indignantly. Nate grabbed my arm, stopping my retreat
and sparking an inferno of rage inside my veins.

“Diane and I are fine. Don’t make my wandering eyes be the reason you throw this opportunity
away.”

“Opportunity? Sure . . .” I scoffed, my eyes closing to hide the frustration. “Why
would you feel the need to look at any of these women, Nate, if you and Diane are
A-okay?”

“They’re beautiful. Of course, I’d look just like Diane when she drools over a hot
guy or girl she sees. We may have some new issues about her bringing a Betty into
our bedroom, but we’re dealing with it.”

“Is this about Mady?” My glare flashed to his in order to gauge his reaction. It was
important to me for some reason, like my inner demon was ready to tear him a new one
if his answer was yes.

“Isaac, you saw her with Diane, man. You have to admit that was the most erotic shit—hey,
fucker! What’s your problem, son?”

I shoved him against the wall, his breath coming out in a whoosh when his head hit
the hard surface. He looked at me incredulously before his eyes narrowed in challenge.

“Don’t,” I said, my tone flat. It was a warning as much as a threat, and Nate looked
at me for a moment, his blue eyes reflecting his confusion.

“So it
is
her.”

His words jolted me out of my anger like a hit to the back of the head, and I took
a step away from him, seeing my actions for what they were. I was staking my claim
in front of another male. What the hell was I doing?

“Nathan . . .”

He laughed wryly, stunted humor not reaching his eyes. He held a hand up to me as
if to ward me off, not having a reason to apologize.

“You have your work cut out for you.”

“Whatever. It’s not like that with her. I just don’t want you to hurt Diane.”

“Let me worry about my Diane,” Nate replied, clamping his hand on my shoulder. “You
have enough to deal with on your own.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, unsure if I wanted to hear his reply. Nate smiled at
me. A sickly sweet curve of his lips, looking more like the cat that ate the cream
then fed on the canary as an afterthought. He patted me lightly on the back as he
passed me, leaving me alone in the smoke-filled room, drowning in anger, frustration,
and bitterness.

A high-pitched flitter of feminine voices echoed through the hallway, and I pulled
myself out of the pit of misery and confusion I’d been left in. Walking out of the
room, the musky smell of tobacco clung to me like flies on shit, making me yearn for
a hot shower and a warm shot of Amaretto. It was just the thing I needed to wake me
out of my funk, but as I took the first steps toward my suite, I saw the source of
the girlie laughter.

“I hope I get the chance to take control like Colette did,” Sarah was saying, her
eyes alight with lust and anticipation. She was talking animatedly to two other women
with her but I couldn’t see the third. She was around the corner, blocked by the wall.
It didn’t matter; the atmosphere was thick with expectation, and I wondered what spawned
their topic of conversation. “The way she held him at her mercy, jeez, I don’t think
I’ve ever seen anything more erotic!”

Ah . . . I guessed they had a session with Madam Colette and her pain slut. No wonder
they were dripping with female dominance and excitement.
Perfect
.

“I don’t know,” a silky feminine voice replied. “I think I’d be a little turned off
by a man I could control like that.”

“How was he last night?” a beautiful brunette asked. Marissa, I remembered her name
to be.

“He . . .” the unseen Betty paused as if shy, and it piqued my interest. “He kept
me aware of every part of my body, playing me, keeping my synapses high with anticipation.
He was in control, but in a weird way, so was I. He showed me what my body was capable
of, and it turned me on more than his submission ever could.”

Mady?

I inched my way closer, her silhouette coming into view. She stood with her back against
the wall, a pink hue tinting her cheeks. Her eyes were cast downward in embarrassment,
and she never looked more beautiful.

“Mmm, he sounds amazing,” Sarah purred, her eyes rolling to the back of her skull.
Mady’s eyes snapped to her friend, her expression pensive before she nodded in agreement.

“Are you going to accept another invitation from him?” Marissa said. She’d been watching
Mady’s reactions closely, gauging her reaction.

“Um, I don’t know. I mean, it’s okay if I do, right? I won’t get kicked out or anything
if I spent another night with him, will I?”

“No,” I heard myself say, and all three women turned to look at me, shocked by my
apparent eavesdropping.

“Hi, Isaac.” Sarah smiled, stepping in front of Mady and blocking my view. “Fancy
meeting you here. Do the Consorts often hide in the dark to overhear what the Betties
think of them, or is it just a habit of yours?”

I chuckled, giving her a slanted smile as I took a step closer.

“Do you mind if I have a moment with Mady? In private,” I clarified when she didn’t
answer, only stared at me slack-jawed.

“S-sure.” Marissa grabbed Sarah’s arm and pulled her along the hallway.

“That was really classy of you.” Mady glared at me with bright red cheeks flushed
in anger. Her eyes were narrowed and her hands sat on her supple hips—the perfect
picture of female indignation.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” I told her through a chuckle. I liked seeing her flustered
because of me.

“I’m not. You’re just lucky I didn’t say anything unflattering. Maybe I should give
them the whole story,”

“Oh, really. And what disparaging attributes would you entail in this devastating
confession?”

Her eyebrow rose, matching the curve of her mouth as she thought for a moment or two.
She looked at me steadily, probing, and I suddenly felt naked in front of her. My
confidence wavered under her scrutiny, and I swallowed hard, trying to keep my indifferent
composure.

“You’re too arrogant,” she said blandly, her deep brown eyes watching as if assessing
scum on shit. I didn’t like it.

“I thought we were discussing my abilities in the bedroom, not my personality traits.”

“I am,” she said, pulling me up short.

“I’m an arrogant lover?” She nodded, and my eyes narrowed. “How so?”

“You think you are the only one who can make their partner weak in the knees, to induce
mind-numbing pleasure.”

“I think we’ve established that your sexual history has been somewhat lacking in the
past. Isn’t that right, Betty?”

“I’ve never had a problem pleasing my partner.” She smiled wickedly, a flash of devilish
charm in her eye. “Just because I’d never climaxed with sex before doesn’t mean I
don’t know what I’m doing. Just ask Diane.”

“Hmm.” I didn’t comment on either way.

“Is that a challenge?” she scoffed, a teasing smile curving her beautiful mouth. I
watched her for a second, weighing my options.

“I thought you didn’t want a man’s submission.”

“This is not about submission, but power.”

“Indeed.” I let my eyes wander down her body, watching how she heated under my gaze.
“Tonight, in the Green Room. This is your official invitation, my Betty. Do you accept?”

“What about the whole need to have it in writing?”

“Now, you haven’t been opposed to breaking the rules before.”

She smiled.

“Are you game?”

“Most definitely . . .”

The Lover

~ Madeline Cain ~

I stood in my room, staring for what felt like hours at my perfectly made bed covered
in enticing lingerie and skimpy dresses. I had no idea what to wear, which was ridiculous
because I’d been dressing myself for well over twenty years now.

But still, what did one wear to a challenge that was sexual in nature? I assumed it
should be something revealing, something that would make the other opponent’s head
spin, but for the life of me, I couldn’t decide on anything.

“Looks like you could use some help,” I heard a feminine voice say, and I turned to
see Diane standing just inside my closed door. It was testament to how far lost I
was in my thoughts; I hadn’t even heard her come in.

“What am I doing here?” I asked, sitting on my bed in a huff as a sudden wave of self-doubt
came flooding over me.

“Oh no, no, no,” Diane replied, coming toward me quickly with a determined look on
her face. “We are not doing this shit again.”

“That’s not what I meant.” I chuckled, looking up from my hands. “I meant, what am
I doing? Tonight? With him again!”