Blissful Awakenings Read online

  Blissful Awakenings

  A Courtney Bliss Romance

  Penny May

  Copyright © 2021 by Penny May

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Edited by Jennifer Fincher

  Cover by GermanCreative

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Courtney stared out the subway train window at the couple making out on the platform. Just before the doors shut, the woman peeled herself away from her Romeo and dashed breathlessly toward the closing doors. She barely made it in time then threw herself into the seat across from Courtney. The woman caught Courtney’s eyes and rolled her own while jerking her head at the man on the platform as if silently saying, “Can you believe that guy?”

  Courtney wasn’t sure what to do, so she demurely smiled in agreement and quickly looked away. After another boring day at the office, she was on her way to meet her boyfriend, Daniel, to have dinner at their favorite Chinese restaurant with Courtney’s best friend Claire and Claire’s other half Anya. This dinner was the one bright point in Courtney’s calendar of events for at least the next few months. Daniel wasn’t exactly Mr. Spontaneous, so they were unlikely to do anything exciting until her birthday in November.

  Then Thanksgiving. Then Christmas. Then New Years.

  Sometimes, Courtney felt like she was only looking forward to a few dates in the year and was just frittering away the rest of her time to get to those bright moments. She’d always thought that New York City would keep her entertained forever, yet, at some point in the last few years, it had somehow lost its shiny allure.

  When she got off the train at the next stop, she looked around the platform. No Daniel. She fired off a quick text then waited until he finally responded. Apparently, rather than wait for her on the platform as agreed, he’d decided to head over to the restaurant since her train had been late.

  Courtney’s shoulders drooped and she trudged out of the subway station alone and down three blocks to the restaurant. She told herself that Daniel didn’t need to wait for her. That she was an independent woman who didn’t need her man to walk her down the street. But she also remembered when they’d first gotten together, and he’d been excited to spend more time with her. When they’d hang out for hours playing video games together or talking about movies or books. Now all he did was bury his head in his phone. And if he wasn't on that, he was playing computer games that didn’t interest her.

  She couldn’t remember the last time they’d just sat and talked.

  Or spontaneously made love.

  Lately, it was wham, bam, thank you ma’am, and he went instantly to sleep or back to his video games. No snuggling afterwards or pillow talk.

  When Courtney reached the restaurant, she stuffed her feelings away and put a smile on her face. No reason to bring the mood down just because she felt like her relationship was getting stale.

  Inside, Courtney quickly found the three at a back booth. Daniel sipped a beer while Claire and Anya drank fun-looking cocktails. Courtney sat down next to Daniel and gave him a peck on the cheek which he barely noticed. Her smile slipped momentarily before she snapped it back in place and turned to Anya and Claire.

  “Hey guys!” She said with a big smile. “Starting without me?”

  When the waitress came by, Courtney ordered the same blue cocktail as Anya and found herself lost in conversation. Daniel occasionally pitched in a comment here and there, but he only fully put down his phone when the food came. The ladies smoothly incorporated him into the conversation since they were used to his lack of attention, and the conversation continued on until Daniel finished eating and slowly returned to his phone.

  Courtney saw that Claire was about to make a comment about Daniel’s behavior, so she cut her friend off with something she knew Claire would find interesting.

  “Oh! Did you hear about the contest to get into Pleasure Temple?” She asked and took a sip of her second drink. She’d switched it up this time and ordered the pink drink that Claire had started with. It was a little sweet for her taste, but now she was stuck with it.

  “Yes!” Claire said, easily taking the bait. “I can’t believe two people are going to be lucky enough to get picked to go there for free!”

  The excitement pulled Daniel from his phone. “What contest?”

  Claire rolled her eyes. “Only one of the most talked about contests ever. Seriously, how are you on that thing all the time but somehow manage to miss the news?”

  This time it was Anya who derailed a potential argument between Daniel and Claire. Such blows ups had happened in the past, and both Courtney and Anya were keen to avoid that kind of drama again. It had taken almost a year for the two to be willing to sit in the same room again, let alone talk.

  “It’s a contest that anyone can enter, and they randomly draw a man and a woman to be selected to live in Pleasure Temple for three months. But it ends tonight at midnight.”

  “Three months? Seriously?” Daniel sounded more than interested. “And they don’t have to pay for it?”

  Courtney shook her head. “Nope. Completely free. They even fly the lucky winners out to Vegas to get to the Temple.”

  Pleasure Temple had been on the lips of almost every talk show host for the past three years since billionaire owner Bo Ryans had built the monstrous high rise in the middle of the Las Vegas strip. It had been a big mystery until it was topped with a gold pyramid and the words “Pleasure Temple” in giant letters across all four sides.

  Ryans had built his fortune on the illicit and well-televised Fantasy Island, which was literally a small island where people could indulge in their wildest fantasies. Initially patronized by the uber-rich and famous, it eventually drew social media influencers and the “sorta-rich” who drove out the old money. Well, that and Bo turned half the island into a porn/reality TV channel. He raked in millions but only at the cost of driving away his most lucrative customers.

  Word was that Ryans created Pleasure Temple to specifically meet his original clients’ demands. Unlike Fantasy Island, you needed more than money to get into Pleasure Temple. You needed an invitation. And lots of money, of course.

  “Can you imagine getting picked to go somewhere like that?” Courtney asked.

  “It would be something, that’s for sure.” Claire said.

  “I mean, you’d have to enter to win though. And you’d never enter something like that, would you?” Daniel asked Courtney, glancing back up from his phone again. “Plus, whoever wins would be gone for three months. No job is gonna wait that long for them.”

  Claire leaned toward Daniel, putting Courtney’s nerves on edge. She really didn’t want the evening to end on a sour note. “Maybe whoever wins won’t need a job because they’ll meet some ba-zillionaire who sweeps them off their feet and they live happily ever after.”

  “Sure, Claire.” Daniel said in his I’m-about-to-pick-a-fight tone. “I’m sure that’s exactly what will happen to whoever wins. Some billionaire is gonna choose some mousy, rando girl to be his wife instead of the super-hot models they’ve probably got over there.” He suddenly turned to Courtney l
ike she’d said something. “Go ahead and enter the contest, Babe. It’s not like there’s any chance you’ll win.”

  Occasionally wanting to punch your long-term boyfriend in the face was probably not the healthiest feeling. It was like the tenth time that day she’d wondered why she stuck with him for so long. Then she’d remind herself that it was unlikely someone else would want a woman in her late twenties, who wasn’t exactly on the thin side, had no real career prospects, and got excited by the idea of a great book and bubble bath.

  “I hadn’t planned on entering,” Courtney murmured. She couldn’t keep the hurt tone from her voice as she fought back the urge to cry.

  “She doesn’t have to enter the contest,” Claire said. “I’ve already done it for her.”

  “What?” Courtney and Anya said in unison, staring at Claire.

  “Oh yeah? What do you think Courtney’s odds of winning are?” Daniel pressed, completely ignoring his phone now. “One in one billion? Maybe more? Because I bet that’s how many people are going to enter that contest.” He suddenly sat back with a triumphant smile like he’d won their argument. “Besides, if Courtney won, she’d have to leave me because I wouldn’t put up with someone who whores around at Pleasure Temple. And you love me, right Babe?”

  Courtney wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole in the ground. She was embarrassed that Anya and Claire were witnessing this. There was a split second where she honestly considered leaping up and telling Daniel to shove it. She could leave Daniel. Maybe stay with Claire and Anya for a few days until she found a place of her own. Maybe she’d even move out of this gloomy city…

  And then the feeling passed, and she was stuck staring at Daniel. She’d have to go home with this guy. All her stuff was there. Her cat. Her life.

  “Sure, Daniel,” she said. Deflated, she threw back the rest of her drink.

  Dinner ended shortly after that when the conversation couldn't get back on track. Before they left, Claire hugged Courtney and confessed, “I didn’t really enter you into that contest.”

  “That’s okay. I didn’t think you had. You would have told me first or sent a screenshot of the entry or something.”

  Claire laughed. “You’re right. That does sound more like me.”

  The two couples went their separate ways, and though Courtney walked home with Daniel, she felt as if she was walking home alone.

  The man in the tailor-fitted jeans and authentic Queen concert t-shirt watched the couples leave the restaurant. As he did, he wrote down the woman’s name on a napkin and tucked it in his jeans pocket. He could have looked her up right then on his phone to find out more about the woman who’d caught his eye, but he didn’t. It wouldn’t have been romantic. And he was a sucker for romance.

  Instead, he watched her walk away, secretly willing her to enter his contest.

  Mostly drunk, Courtney watched Daniel playing his computer game with his friends online. She considered trying to pry him away from it and into the bedroom, but honestly? Even drunk, she was in no mood to deal with him.

  She was, however, feeling a bit rebellious.

  Which was why, tucked into bed a few minutes later, she pulled up the Pleasure Temple website and entered herself into the contest. It was a small thing, but it felt weirdly freeing to hit the submit button.

  Maybe tomorrow she’d take another step and start making concrete plans to leave Daniel. After all, wouldn’t it be better to be alone than to be with someone who made her so miserable all the time?

  With her cat curled up on the pillow behind her head, Courtney fell asleep wondering what it would be like living in Pleasure Temple.

  “Courtney, is there a reason that my coffee is cold again?” Michelle asked, her one eyebrow raised in that way that made Courtney wonder if she’d specifically practiced in front of a mirror to get it right.

  It’s Thursday, Courtney sternly reminded herself. All you have to do is get through today and tomorrow.

  She put on an apologetic smile and said, “I’m so sorry, Michelle. Let me get that warmed up for you.”

  Michelle ignored Courtney’s outstretched hand and instead dropped the coffee in the trash can beside Courtney’s desk. Coffee splashed out of the opening in the lid and spattered the floor and the side of Courtney’s desk.

  “Don’t bother. You know it’s not the same heated up. Get me a new one and get it right this time.”

  Somehow, Courtney managed to keep a smile on her face as she said, “Sure thing.” She gathered her purse, secretly happy that she was escaping from the office even if it meant Michelle was pissed at her. Again.

  “And Courtney?”

  Courtney stopped, feeling caught like an escaping prisoner in the spotlight. She turned, careful to keep the smile on. “Yes?”

  As the Executive Assistant to the CEO, Michelle far outranked Courtney. And she constantly took advantage of this. In fact, Courtney was pretty sure it was Michelle’s goal in life to make her three assistants’ lives a living hell.

  Her favorite pastime was singling out lower-level employees and occasionally having her assistants leave one of those cardboard filing boxes on their desk to make them think they were being fired. If the employee reacted like they’d been fired, Michelle would tell them it was a joke and let them stay. If the employee reacted instead by laughing at the box like it was a joke, Michelle would usually fire them.

  Courtney braced herself for whatever was going to come out of her boss’s mouth.

  Michelle pointed at the coffee mess around the trash can. “Clean this up when you get back. We can’t have the office looking like a pigsty because you can’t clean up after yourself.”

  As much as the crappy treatment irked Courtney, it honestly ranked pretty low compared to the many times she’d been outright screamed at just for doing her job. She avoided the other assistants’ eyes and focused on keeping a high-wattage smile.

  “Sure thing, Michelle.” She knew the chipper tone irked Michelle, so she laid it on thick as she added, “Text me if you think of anything else you need while I’m out.”

  She caught a few people staring as she left the office. When she got off the elevator, the people waiting outside to get on, immediately stopped their rapid conversation at the sight of her. Weird. Then again, maybe she was just being paranoid.

  Once outside and free from watchful eyes, she pulled out her phone. She hadn’t checked it since she’d gotten to the office this morning. Michelle had a no phones at work policy. Of course, if Courtney was out running errands for Michelle, then it was, “Why don’t you answer your cell, Courtney?”

  Courtney sighed. She could never win with Michelle.

  Panic slipped through her mind as she looked at her phone. Five missed calls, four voicemails, and thirty-six text messages. Had something happened? One of the voicemails was from her mom so she listened to that one first.

  “Courtney, hun, what’s going on? My friends tell me you won some sort of pornography deal? Call me when you get the chance.”

  “What?” Courtney said out loud. She’d forgotten all about entering the stupid Pleasure Temple contest, and for some reason it didn’t click with her mother’s voicemail. Only when she listened to Claire’s voicemail (skipping over two from Daniel) did she realize what had happened.

  “Courtney, I swear I didn’t enter you into that contest! Did you enter yourself? Holy shit! I can’t believe you won. This is so exciting! Daniel is gonna shit a brick when he hears!”

  Oh shit, Was Courtney’s first thought. Not excitement. Not elation at having won something so huge. No. Her thoughts were, Oh shit. Daniel is going to be pissed.

  She went to one of his voicemails and noted he’d called at 8:05. Five minutes after she’d started work. She hit play.

  “Courtney…is this some kind of joke? Tell me you didn’t enter that contest. I just… How could you do that? Call me back. We need to talk.”

  He’d hung up, then called back an hour later and left another voicemail. T
his one was more frantic and full of anger. “Why would you do that? How could you do this to me? Do you know what they’re saying about me at work? Why aren’t you calling me back? You can’t go to that place. I’m telling you right now. If you go, we’re done. Through. Call me back.”

  When the voicemail ended, Courtney had tears in her eyes. She felt panicky and guilty. Okay, yes, she’d entered the contest, but she honestly hadn’t ever expected to win! How could he think she’d ever actually go to a place like that? She stared at her phone for a second before replaying the message.

  This time around, Courtney realized he’d given her an ultimatum. She took a big gulp of air and tried not to cry right there in the street, her feelings at war with each other. Part of her still felt guilty for entering the contest, but a bigger part of her was indignant. Who was he to tell her what to do? And who cared what his work friends thought about him?

  I mean, sure, it would definitely put a kink in their relationship if she went. After all, she wouldn’t want him going and sleeping with other women, but—

  Her phone rang while she was staring at it, and in her startled response, she automatically hit the green answer button. It was the same number that she’d already had one missed call from but no voicemail.

  Before she could end the call, a man’s voice said, “Hello? Courtney? Courtney Bliss?

  She pressed the phone to her ear and tried to keep her voice from wavering, “Hi, yeah. This…this is Courtney.”

  “Oh good. Courtney, it’s so good to speak with you. I wanted to be the first person to congratulate you on winning the Pleasure Temple contest.” The man’s voice was deep, warm, and self-assured. This was someone who was used to having people listen to him. “But I’m guessing that I wasn’t the first to inform you, huh?” There was a note of humor in his tone that made Courtney feel like they were sharing a joke.