Page 7 of Room 710 (The Scarlet Hotel #15)

As if the show’s director had been waiting for the signal, a fresh wave of cheers crested from outside.

And a few moments later… Ding-dong . The doorbell sounded, but nobody moved.

We’d all simply walked in when we arrived, but there was some amount of ceremony to welcoming the alpha into the house.

The general mood around the back yard was stunned.

“Is anybody gonna get that?” I asked, and when nobody immediately jumped up, I stood on shaky legs and made my way through the house.

It felt foreign to be the one welcoming Devon home, when my own home, with its outdated kitchen and uneven floors, was so far from here.

Clasping the doorknob in my sweaty palm, I pulled the door open.

Standing on the front step was Devon Blake, and my mouth went bone-dry.

He looked just like he did on my poster, and then he smiled and he looked even better .

My heart fluttered in my chest. I clamped my jaw shut with a clack of teeth to prevent myself from blurting, “ I’m your biggest fan! ”

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked, his sultry eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Oh. Right. Yes,” I stammered awkwardly.

Man, I was killing this first-impression thing.

He kept smiling at me, until I realized belatedly that I was still blocking the doorway.

“Shit. Sorry.” I shuffled out of the way, by some miracle not tripping and falling flat on my face, because I had to be grateful about something right about now.

Devon stepped through the door, looking like unbridled sex appeal.

He took off his black cowboy hat and set it on a hook by the door.

My eyes trailed over his black t-shirt stretched tight across his chest, dark blue jeans that hugged his hips and thick thighs, down to his cowboy boots, scuffed and worn in to perfection.

I closed my eyes and wiped a hand down my face, reminding myself that I was currently embarrassing myself on TV.

“I’m really sorry, I’m screwing this up.

My name is Ziggy,” I said, wishing I could have a do-over.

“I promise I’m not usually like this. I’ve just…

” Seen all your movies. Have your poster on my wall. Dream about you plowing into my ass.

“I promise I won’t hold it against you.” Damn, please hold it against me. “Besides, awkward kind of does it for me.” He winked. “Nice to meet you, Ziggy.”

There was a high-pitched wheezing sound, and it took me a second to realize it was coming from me. Clearing my throat, I tried to hide behind a laugh and gestured down the hall. “Please come in.”

When we arrived in the open area, we found the others had made their way to the living room, aiming to look sexy and relaxed sprawled on the couches. “Howdy, boys,” Devon drawled. “Mind if I join you?”

“You can sit by me!” Rune blurted, shoving down to make room so suddenly that Alex fell off the other end of the couch.

I walked over and helped Alex up, and he offered me a grateful smile.

It was like they’d scented blood in the water, triggering a feeding frenzy.

Everyone was clambering for Devon’s attention, and he couldn’t devote more than a few seconds to any one conversation before someone else interrupted.

There was nothing I could do but stand back and hope not to lose a limb.

Alex and I shared a look, and I huffed a laugh under my breath.

Nobody said anything when I got up and whipped up some turkey sandwiches, but I knew they had to be getting hungry. It was past lunchtime, and it felt good to make myself useful. And at least with food in their mouths, they stopped talking quite so much.

Devon moaned a little as he bit into his sandwich. “This might be the best sandwich I’ve ever had, Ziggy. Thank you.”

My cheeks heated with his praise. “You’re welcome,” I said, while my inner fanboy was squealing, “ omigods I’m feeding Devon Blake! ”

I knew we couldn’t continue like this forever, just chatting and eating.

This was a reality game show, after all, and we were a source of entertainment for the audience.

There was a soft click, and as I turned my head to pick up what it was, a voice filled the space, coming from a speaker mounted on the wall.

“I hope everyone is having a good time. We thought we would help you all get to know each other better by giving you your first challenge.”

The voice was a deep purr that raised goosebumps down my spine. I tried to think of who it could belong to, but out of the few crew members I’d met, I couldn’t bring a face to mind. I bet he’s got big hands , I thought, dreaming of what other filthy things I would love to hear that voice say.

“Once more with feeling. Can we try to get a bigger reaction this time?” the disembodied voice instructed.

It took a moment for me to register what he was saying.

He wanted a retake! Reality TV was not all candid reactions.

In this case, we were being coaxed into giving a certain reaction that would look better on screen.

I laughed. It actually took some of the pressure off, knowing I would be told what to do and how to react.

I could follow instructions like a champ!

This was a game I could play.