Risky Business

Excerpt from: Risky Business

Erostatle Windgate. The embossed, gold lettering on his leather, black address book made his mouth twitch in a wry grin. There was little that the gods hadn’t freely showered on him; wealth, stature, and an incredible job. And charm? He was oozing with it. That and his impeccable good looks, were two of the many reasons he was in the position most men would give their eye teeth for.

That and the fact his mother, Aphrodite, had put him in charge of overseeing the company on her behalf.

Eros, as his family and lovers knew him, thumbed through the worn book’s pages, perusing the various names with home phone numbers, email, and cell phone numbers. Notations of work schedules, lunch breaks, and spouse’s business trips accompanied some of them. Eros had no complaints and a plethora of women at his disposal, depending on his needs. Tall, skinny, voluptuous, short, well endowed, svelte—it mattered little to Eros as long as she was willing and ready. He enjoyed perusing the variety listed in his black book as much as a kid enjoyed meandering through a candy store. His pleasure came from the screams and sighs of his faithful female entourage. He glanced at the dank, rainy afternoon, before his gaze rested on one name in particular. As though choosing a fine wine for dinner, Eros settled in his high back chair and picked up his phone, propping his feet on his massive, cherry wood desk. Veronica was the perfect choice for a cosy dine-in evening. They’d start with a picnic in front of the fireplace, good wine, a game of strip poker, and whatever followed. Delightfully, she seemed to always lose. Eros smiled, doubtful that the outcome was ever considered a loss, when they both gained so much pleasure from it.

The weather was despicable, cold and sputtering, the kind of damp misty rain that soaked into the bones. However, it was nothing that a crackling fire, a snifter of brandy, and the thought of Veronica’s creamy thighs couldn’t dispel.

He often enjoyed a quiet evening at home, partaking in the traditional amenities of lovemaking. His arousal was enticed more often by his imagination; however, he was the president of one of the hottest adult toy industries in the northern continent, if not on a global scale. He was, what his mother labelled, an explorer and that too, was another reason he did so well in this business.

His mother, Aphrodite, owned Aphrodite’s Pleasures, but Eros, with his charm and roguish personality, had made it a success.

“Ronnie, it’s me. Have you been stuck in that dreary cubicle all day?” He waited patiently as she filled his ears with the trials of her day. He’d learned early on that most women just wanted a shoulder to lay their weary head on and he was more than willing to oblige.

“You poor thing,” he cooed into the phone, swinging his chair so he could reach his fireplace remote. “Why don’t I fix us a little bite here at my place? You come on up after work and I’ll have the jacuzzi ready. Then you can tell me all about your horrid day.” He pointed the remote towards the massive stone fireplace at the end of the great room. A bright light illuminated the room as the flames leapt over three feet high, licking precariously at the cold stone.

Eros smiled a lazy smile, satisfaction titillating his libido. Maybe he’d show her the new line of body icing tonight. Veronica was, without question, the ultimate feminine dessert.

“You don’t worry about a thing. I’ll have everything you need right here. Even your favourite robe.” He grinned hearing her delicious sigh, imagining her dark hair swirled into a clip as she slipped into the frothy bubbles. Even more delicious was removing that clip and watching her ebony tresses tumble over her naked shoulders.

"Yep, the white one. You’ve barely worn it since I gave it to you. I should probably be insulted." Eros teased. "I love it when you call me your bad boy. Can I help it? You do inspire my bad behaviour, my little goddess, but I think you rather like it, don’t you?" She responded with a low chuckle that titillated Eros’s libido. Yeah, they were definitely on the same page.

"About six then?" Eros murmured into the receiver, lowering his voice an octave on purpose. He knew how it would affect her. He’d perfected the tone so that it worked as foreplay with Veronica.

Naturally, she all but purred into the phone. He stroked his rugged chin, kept satiny smooth by his daily facial treatments.

The light on his phone flickered red, signalling that the call coming in was not just any call, it was coming down from the top floor. An office that did not like to be kept waiting.

“Ronnie, see you later, I need to go.”

He grinned as he silenced her kissing noises with a sigh and punched the flashing red button with a hint of annoyance. This had better be good; he was on the verge of some decent phone sex.

“Erostatle?”

The prim voice laced with staunch don’t-mess-with-me authority spoke in an even tone.

“Good evening, mother. How are things in the clouds?” Eros propped his feet once more on the desk, stretching his long legs out in front of him as he tugged at the crease in his pinstripe pants.

“We have a problem.”

Problems were, as he could readily attest, a part of any business. He preferred to look at them as glitches. “What is the problem? Are the mail girls causing problems with the copy boys again?” He chuckled under his breath. Lucky was any brave bastard who could handle one of the postal babes. They could be very creative in showing the effectiveness of proper licking technique.

“Nothing so menial, Eros. I’m afraid this is much more serious.”

Eros straightened, dropping his feet to the floor, half-listening, as he made a mental checklist of his pasta primavera ingredients. “There’s nothing that I can’t fix. What’s up? Dad’s alimony stop again? Oops, we don’t really have an idea who ‘daddy’ is, do we?” It used to bother him when he was very young. But it didn’t take long for him to learn how to use it to his advantage. Particularly when playing the ‘I’ve always been alone’ card with women. Damn, they gobbled it up and most always made sure that he didn’t ‘feel’ alone—at least for that night.

“Must we dredge up that topic again?” Her tone was flat, businesslike. Pretty much the same as she was on every level. God help the man who tried to please his mother. Eros shuddered, sympathetic to whoever his real dad was. It was no great secret that the relationship between mother and son did not carry a lot of affection.

It was more of a business arrangement, based on facts and market quotes.

“By the way, how are the tests for the body icing coming? The holidays are coming up and we’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot.”

Eros grinned, checking his fingernails with a bored glance. “Tests are going fine. I should be able to give you a full and complete report tomorrow.”

“Good. Now, I need you to check into something else.”

“Anything for you, sweetheart. Who’s got your panties in a twist? More importantly, is he any good at it?” Eros grinned at his joke. There were days he loved to push his mother’s buttons.

“Her name is Psychedelic Rainbo.”