Page 6 of Five Mountain Daddies

Ryan barks a laugh. “How’s thatdifferent?”

“Just home from college. Her name’sLondon.”

Henry raises an eyebrow. “Sounds like ahippie.”

“Daughter of my dentist, weirdly enough. But there was somethingthere.”

Ryan groans and rolls his eyes. “Okay, I’m sick of this shit.” He looks at Henry. “You wanna meether?”

I stare at them, but Henry grins. “That sounds fun tome.”

The twins both perk up, exchange looks, and laugh. “We’re in,” Wyattsays.

“Guys, what the fuck,” I say, but they’re already talking,excited.

“We’ll all try and get with her,” Ryan says. “Whoever gets it first, theywin.”

“We can’t treat her like a competition,” I say weakly, and Henry just laughs atme.

“Sounds good to me,” Henry says. “We can beat James at his owngame.”

“We’re sick of him bragging,” Calebadds.

“We’ll win this pretty easily,” Wyattsays.

Ryan makes a face. “You guys really do share everything, don’tyou?”

The twins shrug and go back to tossing theball.

I glare at them. These four guys are my closest friends, but sometimes they’re a bunch of fuckingassholes.

Although they do have a point. I think I brag too much about sleeping with women. Frankly, lately I’ve been getting so bored of it, like the magic is slowly getting sucked out of the chase and the game. I’m a fit, single man with a lot of money, and this town is pretty small. I’ve tasted pretty much every woman in it, so I’ve been going to neighboring towns just to meet newwomen.

I’m sick of the game, of the chase. I haven’t been interested in anyone in a few weeks, at least until London. I’ve had a lot of pussy in my life, but London seems like something else. I can’t say what it is about her, but I’m interested, and I want to get to know her forreal.

And my mistake was telling these assholes abouther.

“I think it’s fucked up what you guys are doing,” I say, slowly standing up from the table. The guys all look at me, and I slowly grin. “But fortunately, I’m going to fucking win, youassholes.”

They all laugh as I leave the room, a big smile on my face. I can’t help but get competitive with them, and besides, I have the advantage. We already had that little intense moment, and I know she wants me. Maybe I’ll throw the guys a bone though, give them a little helping hand and throw a party. She can meet themthere.

These guys think they can have her, but they’re going to be so fucking wrong. I’m going to taste London just the way I wantto.

3

London

I’m on my lunch break when I get thecall.

I don’t normally answer my phone when I don’t recognize the number. I glance down and frown a little as it buzzes, and the caller ID just says that it’s private. I sigh a little bit, and I don’t know why, but I pick up the phone and bring it up to myear.

Maybe I’m bored. Working the front desk at an ATV tour place isn’t exactly exciting and glamorous, although the pay’s steady and the work’s easy. I even like a few of the people I work with, including my old friend from high school, Maggie. She’s the reason I got this job, actually. She’s the owner’s daughter, and I think she’s being groomed to take over the family business oneday.

Either way, I decide to answer the phone, despitemyself.

“Hello?”

I recognize his voice right away. “Hi, London,” hesays.

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