4. Layla

Amonth later, as I stood in the ballroom before guests began to arrive, I was glad I had gone with an event planner. Fredrico had done a fantastic job. I never would have been able to make it look this good. When I had mentioned to Scotty at breakfast shortly after the day in my office, when everyone had a good laugh at my expense, that I was looking for an event planner, he had suggested Fredrico. Scotty and Fredrico were "sort of involved," as Scotty put it, but swore by his skills. He hadn't been wrong.

"Fredrico, you outdid yourself," I praised when he approached.

"I did, didn't I?" The slender blond agreed. He turned his critical eye to me and twirled his finger for me to spin. "You look sexy as fuck, Layla," he gushed as he took in my red strapless sweetheart gown. Diamonds were sewn into the bust, fading into the dress's skirt so that it looked like I was dripping in jewels. The best part about the dress was that on the invitations, Freddy had said it was a black-tie affair but not to wear red so I would stand out in the crowd.

He looked at my guys behind me, and I turned to ogle them with him. They were all in black tuxedos. Every piece was black except for their blood-red bowties to match my dress. I couldn't wait to get them naked tonight. Except, maybe I'll have them keep the bowties. Freddy linked his arm through mine. "If you ever want to add someone else to your harem, I volunteer as tribute," he said, licking his lips. "Don't worry, I know my way around a woman's body, too."

"What about Scotty?" I asked.

"Trust me," he said, finally tearing his eyes away from my men to look at me, "he'd understand. If it's someone he's comfortable with, he might even be willing to experiment with women."

"I'll keep that in mind," I laughed.

"Do that," he replied, brushing his lips against my ear. "I like the idea of you between me and Scotty. Might be fun."

"You know if they figure out that you're hitting on me, they'll kick your ass, right?" I asked. The only reason they allowed us to spend so much time together alone was that they were operating under the assumption that Fredrico was gay. I knew shortly after meeting him when he kept ogling my breasts that he was bisexual and very much appreciated the woman form. I also learned that for all his flirting, he wouldn't cross a line without permission, and we had formed a playful and teasing friendship.

Freddy moved out of my personal space and winked. "I like it rough."

"You're terrible," I laughed.

"And you're up," he replied, nodding toward the door where the first guests were arriving. "Go be a gracious host. I'll make sure everything runs smoothly." He swatted my ass playfully to get me moving and then left to do his job as I joined my men at the door.

"Showtime, boys, "I said. "Have I mentioned that I can't wait to get home and rip those tuxes off you?"

"Careful, LG," Zach warned as he pressed himself against my backside so that I could feel his growing erection. "Keep teasing, and we'll find a coat closet to spend the party in."

I booty-bumped him to step back, causing him to moan. "Business first. Tonight is important," I reminded him.

Tyler stood to my side with his iPad to whisper the approaching guests' names into my ear while the others stood behind us. I fixed a smile on my face and greeted the first couple. Fredrico had only allowed a press representative from two local papers into the venue, and their cameras flashed as people arrived. I knew that more press was outside on the red carpet, but these two had the exclusive story.

"Mayor Campbell and his wife, Theresa," Tyler whispered.

"Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming and supporting our project," I greeted as I shook his hand. "This must be your lovely wife, Theresa. So happy to have you here with us tonight."

"The pleasure is ours, Ms. Romano. Atlantic City needs more socially conscious leaders like yourself," the Mayor replied. "I'll have to keep my eye on you, or before I know it, you will be after my job," he joked.

"Not something you need to worry about, sir," I assured him. "I much prefer the title of queen to mayor."

"Smart woman," Theresa giggled. "I like you. If you ever need any help, let me know."

"I'll be sure to do that," I replied.

They left to find their seats, and the next couple approached to shake my hand.

"Do I really have to stand here and greet all two hundred guests?" I asked Tyler after the tenth couple.

"You're the hostess, baby," Tyler replied.

I groaned silently. By the time I finished greeting people, this smile would be stuck on my face. I continued to welcome guests, Drew slipping me sips of water and hand sanitizer occasionally. Once the never-ending line of people finally ended, I slumped against Sean. "Can I go home now?" I whined.

"Sorry, Hellcat," Colton replied, "now we have to mingle."

"Am I late?" I froze at the question, more importantly, the person who said it. I turned slowly to see Anton standing just inside the door with a cocky smile and bottle-blonde-boob-job Barbie on his arm.

Tensions rose as my men prepared to take him down. The camera flash served as a reminder that this wasn't the time or place. "Considering you aren't on the guest list, no, you aren't," I replied evenly. "I'm afraid we're at full capacity, so you'll have to leave."

"Surely you aren't going to turn away a willing contributor to your cause, Layla," Anton replied smoothly, his voice raising slightly to ensure the reporters didn't miss a word of our exchange. So he thought he'd be able to use the press to manipulate me into accepting his presence. He was going to regret that assumption.

"Actually, I am, Anton," I replied, raising my voice and stepping away from my guys. I heard Colton make a frustrated sound in his throat as I did. "Any donations are welcome, but your presence isn't, considering you run the human trafficking ring that threatens the at-risk citizens we're trying to protect by building these shelters."

His eyes widened briefly in surprise before narrowing in anger as Zach snorted behind me. He hadn't expected me to go there. "You'll pay for that," he mumbled under his breath so the reporters hanging on our every word couldn't hear.

"You started it," I replied. "I just finished it. Now leave."

"This is far from over," he growled. He spun and stomped away, leaving the confused blonde behind.

"If you want to leave with him, you should probably hurry," I told her. "But if you want my advice, run as far as you can in the opposite direction before you're in too deep."

"Thanks?" she replied as she followed Anton.

I sighed. I warned her. If she chose not to listen to that warning, it wasn't my problem.

"Ms. Romano!" One of the reporters said as they ran over. "What happened with Mr. Kandicci? Is what you said true? Are the Romano and Kandicci families no longer on good terms? Is it because of your broken engagement six years ago? Is he the reason you left the city?"

I held up my hand to halt the barrage of questions. "I won't make any comments on anything regarding Mr. Kandicci. All I will say is that you heard what you heard, and you can draw your conclusions from there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner to host."

"I can't believe you did that," Zach laughed as we walked away.

"Well, I wasn't going to let him try to manipulate me into letting him stay," I replied.

"Time for your welcome speech and to announce the start of dinner," Freddy said as he fell in step with me. "You men can follow me to your table."

"She's not going on that stage alone," Sean replied.

"Yes," Freddy replied firmly, "she is. Try to remember that this isn't a shady shindig. This event is a very public, very above-board, and legal gathering. Everyone here knows who Layla is and what she does but is pretending otherwise. Let's play along, shall we? Normal people don't need five men with guns to escort them onto a stage to say a few words to their guests."

"I'll be fine," I assured him. "Go sit."

"I don't like this," Sean grumbled.

"Noted," I replied, kissing his cheek. "Stop pouting, or I'll make you go last tonight." I walked onto the stage where the microphone stood. I looked at the AV guy, and he nodded to let me know the microphone was on. I tapped it softly, and the room quieted as everyone turned to me.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to see so much support for this cause. My father always told me when I was growing up that a person in power who doesn't use that power to better the world around them is the weakest person in the room. Today, you've shown our great city how powerful you are. We have men, women, and children disappearing from our streets, and I refuse to let that continue. The shelters we are building will go a long way toward solving this problem. Not only will we add hundreds of new available beds for those in need, but we will also have advocates on-site to assist them in finding permanent housing and programs to help them learn skills and gain employment. This project isn't just a bandaid; it has the potential to be a cure. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of our citizens in need, for being here tonight and donating toward the cause."

I met Fredrico's eyes and nodded. At his signal, the doors opened, and servers with trays began an elegant dance through the tables. "Dinner is served," I announced. "Please enjoy." the crowd clapped as I left the stage. Freddy was waiting at the bottom of the short steps to escort me to my table, and I accepted his hand.

"That was brilliant, Layla. Nearly brought a tear to my eye and made me want to throw my money at you," he praised.

"Thanks, Freddy. Hopefully, it will help to loosen their purse strings," I replied as I sat.

"I bet it will," he said as he helped push my chair in. "Enjoy your dinner." I went to invite him to sit with us, but he hurried away before I could.

"That was even better than we had practiced," Drew said.

"You think so?" I asked. "It was unexpectedly more nerve-wracking than I had expected."

"Well, it didn't show," Colton assured me. "You looked like a queen addressing her kingdom."

I looked at Sean, who looked like he was still stewing. "You aren't still pouting, are you, big guy?" I teased.

"No," he replied unconvincingly.

I decided to ignore him and let him work through his feelings on his own. Since I had been kidnapped, Sean had become even more clingy. It didn't bother me all that much. I loved being able to spend time with my loves, but he was battling demons and insecurities that I couldn't fight for him. When dinner was finished, Tyler and I got back on stage to give a presentation on what the shelters would look like and the programs we were planning on putting in place. At the end of the presentation, we sent a message to each person in attendance with a link to donate additional money past their initial donation of one thousand dollars per plate. Based on Tyler's face as he snuck looks at his phone, we were doing well.

Once we were done, the dance floor opened up, and guests danced and chatted as trays of champagne continued to circle the room. By the time the night was over, I was more than looking forward to getting out of these heels. Colton took my hand and led me from the ballroom, but instead of leading me out of the hotel, he led me to the penthouse elevator.

"We're not going home?" I asked.

"I booked us for the night in the penthouse," he replied. We had used the penthouse suite to prepare for the party earlier, but I hadn't realized it was ours for the night.

"Oh, we are so using that oversized jacuzzi tub," I moaned in anticipation. The thing was the size of a small pool, and I was more than happy to ignore the amount of water wasted to use it. Six people would use it at once; that had to count as water conservation somehow, right?

"So, how did we do, Tyler?" Drew asked as the elevator doors closed, and Colton swiped the access card to get it to move.

"Funds are still coming in, but so far, we've matched our initial attendance donations," he replied happily.

"Tonight was a good night," I said. "I don't know if I want to do it again soon, but maybe we could make this an annual thing. I'd be willing to do this once a year."

"I like that idea," Drew said.

"Here's the plan, boys," I announced as we walked into the penthouse. "I'm going to start the water. Someone order champagne and strawberries. Then you'll strip down until all you're wearing is those bowties. Then you can come into the bathroom and help me out of this dress."

"Yes, ma'am," Zach replied.

I chuckled as I left them and went into the bathroom. I got the water going and then moved to the sink to wash off the makeup. Steam and a full mask of gunk just weren't sexy.

"Just leave the damn cart!" I heard Colton yell, making me laugh—poor, helpful attendant.

"Colton, stop barking!" I ordered.

"He wouldn't stop fucking asking where we wanted it," Colton explained as he wheeled the cart with several ice buckets of champagne and a giant bowl of strawberries on it into the bathroom.

"You're still dressed," I commented.

"Did you expect us to answer the door naked?" he asked incredulously.

"Not without me there to watch the show," I snickered, imagining the poor room service guy's face when he was faced with five naked men.

The others came into the bathroom, all still clothed. "Did you stop listening after champagne and strawberries?" I asked, disappointed.

"No," Zach replied, "we just thought it would be more fun to give you a show."

Now, that was an even better idea. "Oh! Well, in that case," I pulled my cell from my dress pocket, found a stripper playlist, and started it. I set the phone on the counter and leaned against the tub's ledge. "Proceed." I could tell by the looks on the other's faces that this had not been anything they had agreed to, but now they had no way out of it. Zach started to move his hips seductively to the beat of the music as he shed his coat and tossed it aside.

"Leave the tie," I reminded him as he reached for it.

"I remember," he assured me as he popped the collar up and unbuttoned his shirt.

I licked my lips as his chest was revealed slowly. All my guys had ink somewhere, but as Zach turned his back to me and gradually slid his shirt from his shoulders, I admired the large black wings he had tattooed on his back. The tips of the wings disappeared beneath his pants, but I knew they continued down his hips and curved around his ass. He turned to me as he ran his hands through his golden hair to mess it up and winked before trailing his hands down his abdomen to his pants.

My eyes zeroed in on them as he popped the button open and then ran a hand down to his cock to stroke it through his pants teasingly. I squeezed my thighs together as I began to get wet. My eyes flicked to the others awkwardly watching the show. "You guys should probably start stripping. I can't promise that by the time Zach is done, I won't demand he rip this dress off and take me. If that happens, you'll be late to the game."

That got them moving, and soon, my eyes were constantly shifting from man to man as more and more skin was slowly revealed. None of the others bothered dancing to the music, but really, I hadn't expected them to, and had they tried, my laughter might have ruined the mood. When they were naked, the power in the room shifted as they pulled me into the center of the room and circled me, stroking their hard cocks and eyeing me hungrily.

"Where's my knife?" Zach asked, searching the room with his eyes for his pants.

"Don't you dare," I warned. "This dress doesn't get cut off, these are real fucking diamonds!"

"I assume that means you object to tearing it as well," Colton purred behind me.

"I do. Take it off like a normal person, or I'll do it myself." Too late, I realized I'd talked myself right into their trap.

"Now that's an idea," Sean hummed as they moved to perch against the tub.

"Strip for us, baby," Drew ordered.

"Slowly," Tyler added when I started yanking at the dress.

I smirked at him and strutted to my phone to change the song to something more sultry. As "Play With Fire" started playing, I danced to Zach. I rubbed against him as I slid down his body. "Z baby, get my zipper, will you?" I purred. As soon as he had hold of the zipper, I started winding my way back up, causing the zipper to fall. Once I was standing, I leaned my head back and kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

Colton was next in line, so I moved to him as I held the dress to my breasts. I took one of his hands and placed them over my breast. His hand bunched the loose fabric as he massaged it. "You're teasing, Hellcat." It was a statement but said with a hint of warning.

Winking, I moved on to Sean beside him. My hips swayed as I moved toward the floor until his hard dick slid against my cleavage, leaving a trail of precum. I bent my head and licked the length of his dick tip to base before standing and letting his cock pull the top of my dress down. His hands reached out to take my breasts into his large hands, but I skipped out of reach as I moved on to Tyler.

Pressing myself against his chest, I moaned as my hard nipples came in contact with his heated skin. I grabbed his head and pulled his face into my chest, throwing my head back in pleasure as his tongue darted out to taste me. He slid his hands into my dress gathered around my waist to squeeze my ass, pushing the dress over my hips to pool around my feet. I kicked it out of the way as I untangled myself from him and moved on to Drew in only my red thong and heels.

I stroked his cock with my ass briefly before turning and whispering in his ear, "On your knees." He dropped immediately like the good little boy he was, and I pinned him against the side of the tub with one of my heels as I laid it on his chest. He didn't need to be told what to do as he fumbled with the little strap to take it off. Once he pulled the first shoe off, I shifted to the other foot so he could take the other off. When I had both feet back on the ground, I played with the fabric of my thong on my hips.

Drew watched my movements closely, and when I offered him the strap, he grabbed it with his hands. I clicked my tongue at him as I let the strap snap back to my hip. "No hands," I tutted. His light green eyes darkened as he cupped my ass in my hands to hold me steady as he licked along my hip. He nipped me before snaking his tongue beneath the fabric and grabbing it with his teeth. His mouth slid to the triangle covering my mound and then began to drag the thong down my thighs. His hot breath blew against my clit, making me moan lightly. Drew only got them about halfway down my thighs before his mouth traveled back up my legs, and his tongue curled around my clit.

"Fuck yes," I moaned. I felt Drew's hands push the thong to the floor, and then he lifted one of my legs over his shoulder to get better access to my pussy. I was knocked off balance and yelped as I started to fall. I was sure I was going to fall when I landed against a hard chest.

"I've got you, baby," Tyler murmured as his hands made their way to my nipples and began to tweak them. I felt like I was boiling from the inside out as Drew slipped two fingers inside of me to stroke against the bundle of nerves there. A needy whine fell from my lips moments before my orgasm exploded through my body.

When I stopped shaking, Tyler lifted me over the tub's edge and let me sink into the water. They followed me in, all reaching for me, but Colton won that battle, yanking me into his lap and impaling me on his cock in one shot. I cried out from the sudden fullness as he grabbed my hips and began bouncing me on his cock, using my body for his pleasure.

"Open," Tyler ordered, grabbing my chin and turning my head toward him. He pumped his cock into my mouth desperately, and I curled my lips over my teeth to prevent getting a chipped tooth from his piercings. I felt tingly all over, knowing that a simple thing like stripping had worked my men up into a needy frenzy. No other woman on the planet could do that. They were mine, and I was theirs.

Colton finished quickly, grunting beneath me, as he pulled me as far down as he could and emptied himself inside me. "I fucking love you with everything I am, Hellcat," he whispered in my ear as he lifted me off of him and slid out of the way for the next lucky guy.

"Tyler, move to the tub's edge," Sean ordered. "Up you go, Stór," he said as he lifted me to my feet and bent me over to face Tyler. "I want you standing for this. I suggest you hold on tight to the side."

I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to remain standing in a slippery tub, but I was game to try as I gripped the side of the tub as best I could and lowered my mouth onto Tyler's cock. I groaned as Sean slowly entered me from behind. The stretch wasn't as bad because Colton had already opened me up, but Sean still had enough control to take it easy to start. As soon as he was fully inserted inside of me, though, he snapped and began to pound into me with a punishing force. My feet slipped out from under me, and his large hands wrapped around my hips to keep me upright without a hiccup in his pace. My legs flailed around briefly, which couldn't have looked sexy before I wrapped them around Sean's legs as best I could from that angle. It still wasn't sexy, but at least I wasn't flopping around like a fish out of water.

Sean drove the pace and depth of Tyler's cock in my throat. I moaned around him as I let my brain settle into the blissful headspace of getting properly fucked. When the next orgasm was forced from me, I couldn't even scream as Sean relentlessly fucked me through it.

"That's it, Layla. Come on, my cock, fuck, you're squeezing me so tight," Sean groaned. "I want to feel you come again," he growled as one of his hands moved to support me from below as his fingers found my clit. "Keep coming for me. Show everyone how much your body loves my fucking cock."

I had barely recovered from my second orgasm when my third slammed into me. This time the vibration of my silent scream on Tyler's dick sent him over the edge as well, and he grabbed the back of my head to hold me in place as he buried his cock as deep as he could and came with a series of grunts. Sean couldn't keep his release back any longer, roaring as he shoved into me one last time, somehow managing to push Tyler even further down my throat. Once they removed their dicks, I was lowered into the water and propped up against a jet.

When feeling had returned to my extremities, I made grabby hands at the food cart, and Colton hopped out to roll it closer to the tub. "Give me a minute to recoup, and I'll be ready for the next round," I said as I accepted a glass of champagne. Drew plucked a strawberry from the bowl and held it to my lips.

"You realize you don't have to fuck us if you're too tired, right?" Drew asked.

I looked at him solemnly. "Will you promise me something?"

"Anything!" Drew replied, worry creeping into his eyes.

"If there is ever a time where I tap out early, or I'm not in the mood to finish, promise me you'll rush me to the emergency room because obviously something is critically wrong with me."

Zach cackled as Drew glared at me. "I thought you were being serious," he complained, shoving another strawberry in my mouth more forcefully than necessary.

"I was being serious!" I protested around it as I laughed.

"Actually, I'm all for relaxing in the tub for now," Zach said. "I have something I want to try, and it won't work in here."

"I don't know if I should be worried or excited," I joked.

"Both," Colton and Sean said at the same time.

"I don't know why you two are piping up," Drew replied as he settled beside me. "I'm the one that gets to be Zach's partner in crime for whatever his twisted little mind concocted."

"What song do you want us to play at your funeral?" Tyler kidded.

"No talking about dying," I ordered as my eyes closed and I relaxed in the water. "The only way any of you are allowed to die is if I kill you myself. And since that isn't likely, you'll just have to suck it up and live forever."

"Yes, ma'am," Sean laughed.

The comfortable silence that settled around us was broken by Colton five minutes later. "God dammit, Hellcat!"

My eyes popped open, and I looked around confusedly. "What? What happened? What'd I do?"

"In the end, you got your way and got us to undress you," he accused.

A slow grin spread across my face as I closed my eyes and relaxed again. "I always get my way, Colt," I replied. "You should know that. Though I will admit, your way was so much more fun."