Counting On You is live and available on Kindle Unlimited

Sharing an apartment should be easy, right? And it's only for 6 weeks.
That’s what I thought before I found out that my new roommate is female.
I don’t like her, but obviously my d*ck does
Until my best friend challenges me to a bet…
And did I mention she’s completely off-limits? 
A sizzling, enemies-to-lovers romp with steam!
Read the first chapter below

 

Chapter 1

 
Three days earlier
 
 
KAIDEN
 
My life sucks.
I'm not a s*x addict. Honestly, I’m not. That word makes me cringe. I’m not even sure why I’m here, but apparently the board thinks my healthy s*x life is spiraling out of control…
Well, they’re wrong.
It’s not an addiction if I enjoy every minute of it.
It’s not an addiction if I love what I do.
But tell that to the thick-sculled fatties with no sense of humor on my board.
“This is a catastrophe for the company,” Ben, one of the six board members, says. “We’ve already lost two million in revenue.” He slaps the paper for effect, then looks up, his gray-blue eyes meeting mine. “This cannot go on, Kaiden.”
I cringe at the last word. Only my friends and family are allowed to call me Kaiden, and they never do so lightly.
“What do you expect me to say?” I shrug. “That I’ll give up my private life to make you happy?”
There is a short silence.
My brother, Chase, leans forward.
Now, let me tell you something about my brother.
He’s a kickass attorney. He’s proven himself on numerous occasions. Whenever either of us needed to get out of a sticky situation, he always knew what to do.
Except, now I’m not so sure.
There’s a frown on his face, and he takes too long to reply. Either he’s preparing for a long speech, or worse, he agrees with the board.
For the sake of our friendship, I hope it’s the first option.
“Chase.” My sharp tone conveys a warning I hope he’s clever enough to heed.
He turns to me and exhales a long sigh. “Kade, they’re right.” I stare at him with a mixture of shock and anger. “You’ve painted the company in a bad light.”
“Et tu, Brute?” My mouth tightens in a line.
Again I’m reminded that we thrive on opposites.
I may have been adopted, but growing up in the same household and being closer than real brothers, I would have thought Chase would agree with me for once.
I guess I was wrong.
“Those are serious accusations,” Chase continues. “As your attorney, I can tell you this could ruin your career. Your life. The woman in question—” Chase waves his hand to Ben. “—what’s her name?”
“Brenda,” Ben says.
“Brenda went to the tabloids,” Chase says, as though I’m not familiar with the outcome of my last sexcapade. “This 365-day, non-stop s*x calendar of yours is earning serious attention right now—and not in a good way. We can’t afford for it to draw any more attention or else we’ll end up losing important deals and clients. If you don’t stop, we’ll soon be facing a crisis.”
When I came up with the idea of a 365-day, non-stop s*x calendar, I didn’t realize it would be such a rewarding challenge. My best friend, Cash Boyd, owner of the famous Club 69 establishments, couldn’t agree more. In fact, he’s the one who’s been more concerned that I make it than even I am. He’s my wingman. Sometimes I wish my brother would be more like him rather than have the brain of an attorney.
It’s not an easy task, let me tell you that.
In a city of one million women, half of them are married. A small percentage is gay, widowed or retired. That’s already a small pool. What I’m looking for is the small percentage (of an already small pool) that actually wants to stay single and enjoys s*x without any sort of commitment. The kind that just wants to have fun.
I admit, that’s my favorite kind of woman.
Unfortunately, they’re not easy to find. The majority are romantics pining for “The One.” I call them the “deluded lunatics.”
Maybe it’s because I don’t fall in love.
The only two things I’ve ever loved are my work and the way my d*ck always seems to know what to do.
I just don’t like the drama, the pleading, having to stifle a woman’s hope that someday we’ll be in a relationship. For the life of me, I cannot see myself depending on someone to make me happy, to let someone so close to me that I would have to trust her.
Which is why I’m always being upfront with every woman I meet before I invite her back to my place:
The only relationship I have is with my c*ck.
That’s another reason why I started the calendar in the first place.
The way I see it, I’m doing women a favor. They learn from me. I live to please them and treat them well. That’s one of the most important rules I set up.
I even love going down on them if I know they’re clean.
I’m not doing men though. I’m as straight as a cannon and love to dive into deep places that are warm, moist, and welcoming, like a hot apple pie fresh from the oven.
“I can assure you she had fun. And she never asked for money,” I say.
“Yet.” Chase sighs. “She hasn’t asked for money yet. But once she learns that you take photographs of all your conquests, she’ll want a payout. In the meantime, she’ll go to every rag magazine that wants her and can earn her media coverage.”
“She won’t.” I let out a chuckle because I know Brenda. I know what she really wants.
Remember the kinds of women you should never go for? Yeah, she falls into one of those categories.
“You can’t know that.” Chase interlinks his fingers as he stares me down. “Did you get her written permission to take photographs?”
I exhale. “No, but it’s not like I’m publishing and selling the snapshot of a face on the Internet.”
“Does she know that?”
I groan.
What’s the big deal? The snapshots I take are there to help me remember the women I’ve bedded. They aren’t even dirty, unless the woman in question wants them to be.
I always make sure I never photograph below the waist unless I’m asked to.
“For now,” Chase keeps saying. “But the moment your other conquests come forward, that’s the moment your entire life will go downhill.”
I drape my arm over the chair and lean back, thinking. Brenda was into me a bit too much. I gave in and slept with her in a moment of weak judgment. Once she realized we’d never walk down the aisle, the claws came out.
At last, I draw a deep breath as I realize that maybe that makes her unpredictable. “All right, little brother. What do you recommend we do?”
“You mean what we recommend you do?” Another board member, Vince, chimes in. He’s the oldest in the room. His hair is streaked with gleaming silver. I’ve seen him around a few times, but I’ve no idea what he actually does in the company. Investors and shareholders shouldn’t have the kind of power he has.
“There was a meeting yesterday.” Ben ignores the glances I throw at my brother and continues, “It’s been decided that you’ll attend the LAA Center. It’s the only place that will help save your reputation which, as I’m sure you know, is our reputation, too.”
The LAA Center?
I snort.
“I’m not a s*x addict.”
Ben sighs. “We’ve already discussed all other options. You have no choice. You either check yourself in or you retire. It’s that simple.”
With that he gets up. “Your choice, Kaiden,” he throws at me in the kind of voice I’d like to punch right out of him. “Your therapy starts tomorrow. If you’re not there, you can kiss your seat goodbye. For the sake of our friendship, we recommend you do as we say.”
I stare at him, my anger flaring up. “May I remind you that I built this company from scratch?” I point my finger to each of the six board members, including my brother. “You wouldn’t be sitting here if it weren’t for me.”
Ben nods his head as if he saw that coming. “We’re all aware of your hard work, Kaiden. But your company wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for our shares, connections, and support. Right now, you’re risking our investment and reputations for a bit of a good ol’ roll in the hay, so to speak.” He stares me down, which doesn’t have quite the threatening effect I’m sure he’s going for.
“It’s still my private life,” I mumble, irritated.
“That may be true, but we won’t let you ruin the very company you and your brother worked so hard to build.” His expression softens. “Your father and I were friends long before you were born. Remember our agreement before we agreed to invest in your business?” He pauses, but not long enough to give me a chance to reply. “We want you to get better.”
Better?
I snort.
Frankly, I’ve never felt better. The sex is ah-mazing. Like rip-your-clothes-off-amazing. Imagine you could have all the food you wanted. Now imagine that what you got is so deliciously and mouthwateringly melty you’d instantly lick your fingers—that’s s*x to me. Just give me a woman with hips and something to grab onto so that it doesn’t feel like I’m fucking a blowup doll. Give me a pair of tits—any size, any shape—I can push my face, or c*ck, in between, and I’m happy and ready to go.
“I’m doing very well, thanks for asking,” I say.
He shoots me a hard stare before he gets up, followed by the other board members. Only my brother remains seated.
As soon as the door closes behind them, I stand and walk to the bar.
“It’s not even ten a.m., Kade,” Chase says.
“It probably is…in Australia.”
I grab a bottle of whiskey and two glasses before I return to the table.
My hand’s slightly shaking as I pour the golden liquid into two tumblers, spilling a drop.
My anger flares up again. “It’s a fucking mess. I’m far too young and sexy to retire. Besides, they need me because I’m the only one who knows how to run my company the way it should be run. It’s not my fault they’re thick-skulled brutes, with their only interest being fluffing up their savings accounts rather than expanding this business. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to ask for investors…that I’d never sold the shares to start up.”
“But you did,” Chase says. “Nothing you can do about that now.”
“Obviously, I have to have some patience and understanding, what with most of them being past sixty and counting,” I say, ignoring him.
His lips twitch in understanding. “You can’t expect people who have no idea what Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and the likes are, to get you.”
“Obviously,” I mutter. I turn around in a dramatic manner. “I’ll tell you a secret. I do actually know what’s going on.”
“Please enlighten me.”
“They’re bored with their lives because nothing ever happens, which makes them jealous of me.”
That’s right.
They’re jealous of me.
Jealous because they’re married and stuck in their boring routine.
Jealous because they think they have left their best years behind and miss their old, carefree days.
Divorce is always an option, but not when it’s already their second and third marriage.
“They love their mansions, their Botoxed wives, but they still think the grass is greener on the other side,” I continue. “That’s because the grass is greener on my side. Not my fault though. You can’t have it all. Even I know it, which is why I do have a set of rules.”
“Rules?” Chase’s brows shoot up. “What rules?”
I smile at him knowingly. As much as I love my brother, some things aren’t meant for his prude ears.
Some of my rules:
 
1.I never do repeats. Ever. I’m fairly proud of that. If you’re a prude, don’t ask me what my magic number is because it’s only a number. To you, anyway.
 
2.I don’t hire prostitutes or s*x workers or strippers. And I don’t do married women or religious fanatics or virgins—not because they’re not hot, but because I have my own standards. These types of women get too invested in the idea of marrying, and I have no time for healing their broken hearts. I’m not a lifeboat, either. I don’t save anyone from their mundane lives.
 
3.I don’t do love…or commitment. As such, I avoid women who are looking for the white picket fence, or a rock on their ring finger. I’m a business strategist and marketing expert who always keeps things uncomplicated, because commitment = mess, which equals drama, which equals trouble.
 
My point is: don’t ask me for my phone number. Don’t tell me you’re married, or want kids. Don’t ask me how many women I fucked before you, just like I won’t ask you how many breaths you’ve taken in this little thing called life.
To me, it doesn’t matter.
You may think I’m a manwhore.
I assure you, I’m not.
“Let’s just say,” I respond in response to his inquiring look. “I just like to give back the enjoyment and learn from experience the same way you would read a book and savor each and every nuance of it.”
“Just do it, Kade,” Chase says quietly. “It’s only for six weeks.”

Get a copy of this sexy standalone and find out how Kade will do at the LAA center.