by Claire Kent
She let out a breath, oddly comforted by his matter-of-fact answer. He hadn’t been flattering her or trying to delude her into believing she was some sort of sex goddess. He’d told her his honest opinions.
Rubbing her belly absently, she thought about his words. She thought about them for a long time. The she finally said, “You know, I think you’re right about that self-consciousness thing. I never thought about it before, but that is what people do. How did you get so smart?”
Ander cocked an eyebrow at her. “My job provides me with a wide variety of experiences with human nature.”
She snorted. “I guess so.” Still thinking about Ander’s comments, she put a few more pieces together in her mind. She mused, “You know, I think maybe I intuitively knew that about self-conscious people even before you mentioned it. In one of my books, I had the heroine feel really self-conscious about her appearance. And she always acted—” Lori broke off, noticing a distinct expression of curiosity on Ander’s face.
For some obvious reasons she wasn’t planning to tell Ander about her best-selling alternate identity. She used a pen name for a reason, and she was very careful about keeping her private life private—especially something like this.
“You’re a writer?” he asked. He appeared genuinely interested.
“Yeah,” she admitted, figuring it was all right as long as he didn’t know her pen name. “I write novels. Romance novels.” She snickered. “Pretty funny, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think one needs vast experience with sex to write a love scene in a romance novel.”
“Hey,” she said, immediately bristling at any apparent slam on her genre. “Don’t be snide about romance novels. Some of them are silly, but there are novels in every genre that are silly.”
“I’m not slamming romance novels,” he assured her with a half smile. “I’ve read a lot of them myself. Most women who come to me want to have their romantic fantasies fulfilled. It’s emotional as much as sexual for them. Romance novels are one of the best expressions of those romantic fantasies.”
“Wow,” she breathed, eyeing him with faint awe. “You really do your research.”
He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. “Of course.”
Irresistibly compelled, she asked, “So who’s your favorite romance writer?”
Ander thought for a moment. Then he made a face. “I guess it will sound clichéd since she’s everyone else’s favorite too. But Lucy Anderson is probably the best I’ve read. She gives her characters a humanness that pushes them beyond the average. Plus she has a great sense of humor.”
With effort, Lori kept her face perfectly bland. Lucy Anderson was her pen name. And she was thrilled beyond measure by the casual, thoughtful compliments Ander had just given her writing. He obviously didn’t know he was talking about her. He looked leisurely and reflective.
Which implied he really meant what he said.
“I like her too, of course,” Lori said. “But everyone can’t write best sellers. Some of the rest of us are pretty good too.”
Ander chuckled. “If you give me a couple of titles, I’ll be happy to read your books. Maybe I already have.”
“I doubt it. But who else do you like?”
Ander told her about some of the romance writers he liked, and Lori had a fabulous time quizzing and arguing with him about his opinions on one of her favorite topics. Before she knew it, she glanced at the clock and saw it was eleven forty-five.
She gasped. “Wow. It’s almost midnight.”
Ander glanced over, and she could have sworn she saw a faint flash of surprise on his face too. “Did you want to do anything else in the last fifteen minutes?”
“No. I’ve definitely had all I can take for tonight. You can take a shower if you want.”
Ander thanked her. Then picked up his clothes and went into the bathroom. Lori pulled up the covers, deciding she felt a little chilly.
When Ander returned, fully clothed and characteristically cool and polished again, he picked up the lube, extra condom, and the DVD and returned them to his case.
Lori got up and joined him by the table. “Thanks again. I mean it. I can’t imagine anyone else making it as easy for me as you did.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you feel fully satisfied.”
“Definitely. You’ll get another glowing referral if anyone asks me about you.”
He flashed her a quick smile, and she slid the envelope of cash toward him. As he put the money in his pocket, he said, “You can always schedule another engagement. There’s plenty more we can do.”
“No, thanks,” she said mildly, stifling the urge to snicker at his excellent business skills. “I just wanted to do this. I’m good now.”
“All right. Just email me if you change your mind.”
She walked him to the door where they looked at each other for a minute. Then Lori asked one final question. “How many virgins have you had sex with?”
Ander glanced away, and she could tell he was trying to compose the best answer.
“The truth,” she said. “No pretending. How many?”
He let out a breath and met her eyes. “Just one. You’re my first.”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “You’re my first too.”
They said goodbye then. And as Lori watched him start down the hall, she acknowledged that he was probably one of the most fascinating people she’d ever met.
And really, really good in bed.
She’d done what she wanted to do. She was a virgin no longer. Now she could approach the rest of her life without the burden that had been troubling her for years.
Getting Sabrina to research male escorts for her had been an excellent idea.
THE FOLLOWING WEEK, Lori emailed Ander asking if she could schedule another engagement.
He replied within the hour, saying he’d had a cancellation for the following Thursday.
She’d decided she might as well get a little more experience while she was at it since he was available.
Four
THAT WEEKEND, LORI went out and bought some new lingerie.
She didn’t have much in the way of lingerie, usually sleeping in tank tops and pajama pants. She really liked the cashmere nightie she’d worn for her second session with Ander, and she thought it might be wise to buy up a few more similar pieces of nightwear.
It wasn’t that she thought she needed to impress or attract Ander, but feeling pretty and sexy had made the evening more enjoyable for her. If she was going to do this, she was determined to have a good time.
So she and Sabrina had a grand shopping expedition on Saturday, searching boutiques and department stores for lingerie that was simple and classy and didn’t look overtly sexy.
Sabrina, of course, thought the whole situation was hilarious. She couldn’t believe her virginal cousin had scheduled multiple engagements with a male escort. Lori was forced to tolerate a significant amount of teasing over her decision to extend Ander’s services.
Lori put up with it good-naturedly. She was kind of embarrassed, but she knew it wasn’t worth getting uptight about. Sabrina’s mockery hid genuine affection, and Lori thought her cousin was probably pleased that Lori had started to get over her hang-up over sex—even if it had taken this atypical form.
The shopping trip had resulted in several purchases, one of which Lori put on as she got out of a bath on the following Thursday. The chemise was a silvery-gray satin with gorgeous black lace on the straps, and the same lace overlay the princess-style bodice. It nearly reached her knees and wasn’t particularly revealing, but Lori felt pretty and elegant as she looked at herself in the mirror.
She brushed out her hair, applied her favorite lotion, and tied on the gray satin robe that was sold with the chemise. Then she went to count her cash and wait for Ander to arrive.
She’d been anticipating this evening for several days and more intensely for the last few hours. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t need the help of a DVD to
get in the mood tonight.
Ander showed up five minutes early again, dressed in a gray suit and black shirt without a tie. When she opened the door, his eyes scanned her from newly brushed hair to bare feet. Then his mouth slowly lifted into a smile.
That same urbane, sensual smile that he obviously used as a standard technique.
For some reason Lori realized she hated that smile. She felt the irresistible urge to slap it off his face.
Instead, she asked bluntly, “Don’t you ever wear anything but black and gray?”
Ander blinked and the smile faltered. “Excuse me?”
“Every time I see you, you’re dressed in black and gray. I was wondering if you own anything in another color.”
He lifted his eyebrows slightly, and his eyes lingered on her own outfit. Black and gray.
Lori sniffed disdainfully as she stepped aside to let him in. “I’m not saying anything is wrong with black and gray. I was just wondering.”
“Were you?”
Confused by his slightly amused expression, she wondered what he was implying. Then she decided to just be pleased that she’d gotten rid of that annoying fake smile. “Did you have a good week?” she asked, following him into the room.
Ander put his case on the table as usual and turned to look at her. “It was about normal. You?”
“Pretty good.” Now she was torn between ironic amusement over the bland nature of their small talk and the acknowledgment that, in this context, they would just never get any less superficial.
His lip twitched as he opened his case. “Did you try the vibrator?”
“Yes,” she said, beaming up at him as she thought about her successes. “It’s great. Thanks so much for getting it for me.”
“Any problems coming?”
“No. I mean, once I get in the mood, I can make it work pretty well.”
She’d been so excited about the vibrator that she’d tried to use it every day. But she’d found that she still had trouble reaching orgasm if she wasn’t really aroused. Concluding that there was no reason to come if she wasn’t really turned on, she’d determined it to be a success.
“Good.” He pulled out a DVD, a tube of lube, and a couple of condoms from his case. “So in terms of the parameters for tonight...”
Lori drew her brows together. “Parameters?”
“Do you want to continue as we have been? I know you’d originally intended to simply have sex for the first time. Does your choosing to continue my services imply you’d like to try something different? I’m happy to help you play out a fantasy. Most of the clients who come to me regularly prefer me to play a more seductive or romantic role than you initially asked for.”
A random thought flashed through her mind, and she wondered if he preferred to play roles, to pretend something that didn’t exist, to act as someone other than himself when he was with his clients.
But that wasn’t what she wanted. It would make her feel fake, silly, and kind of sleazy. So she shook her head. “I prefer the way we did it before if that’s all right. No pretending or anything.”
“Of course,” Ander said mildly. “Shall we watch another one of the short films?”
Lori opened her mouth to say she didn’t need one but then was hit by an unexpected wave of embarrassment and self-consciousness. There was no good reason for it, but she was suddenly mortified by the idea of admitting that she was ready to jump into bed right away. So she just smiled, nodded, and went to sit down on the sofa.
It wasn’t like they could fuck for five whole hours anyway. It was still just her second time.
The second of the short erotic films on the DVD was actually better than the first one, and Lori was extremely turned on when it ended thirty minutes later. While Ander was shutting it off, she stood up and slid off her robe.
She thought she looked nice, and she had every right to wear what she wanted when she was paying a lot of money for the experience. She still felt a wave of self-consciousness, though, when Ander turned around and took in her lacy chemise.
No expression was evident in his blue-gray eyes. She really hoped he didn’t think she looked silly.
Without being prompted, she went to turn back the covers and lie down. Ander moved the condoms and lubricant to the nightstand and turned off all the lights except the bathroom light.
She watched as he wordlessly undressed, and this time she wasn’t remotely tempted to snicker.
When he got into bed and moved over her, she sucked in a gasp as his face lowered toward hers. For a moment she was sure he would kiss her, but he just trailed a line along her jaw with his lips.
The foreplay was just as slow, attentive, and delicious as it had been before. Lori panted and squirmed beneath him, occasionally having to bite back a few helpless moans.
After what felt like an exquisite, torturous eternity, Lori finally couldn’t wait any longer. Her hands were splayed across the back of his bald head, and she had to fight not to use her fingernails to dig into the smooth skin. One of Ander’s hands cupped her breast, alternating between squeezing and rubbing circles against the nipple. And the other hand had bent up one of her legs so he could reach the sole of her foot. He was giving it the most delicious massage she’d ever experienced. Which, when combined with his mouth moving skillfully between her free breast and her belly, sent Lori into agonized erotic urgency.
She couldn’t remember ever being this aroused before. And Ander showed no signs of slowing or stopping.
Part of her was amazed that she was no longer embarrassed or self-conscious. Her classy chemise was pushed up brazenly above her breasts. Her body was twisted into an undignified position, her spine arching and her hips rocking wantonly. Her hands eagerly clutched at Ander’s head, pushing his mouth more firmly against her flesh. And one of her legs was folded up so that her knee was pressed toward her shoulder. The position stretched her groin, and her throbbing arousal was sopping wet and exposed to the cool air of the room. She wasn’t making any noises, but even her frantic breathing sounded shameless and overly eager.
But she wasn’t embarrassed. Not even when she finally gasped out, “No more. Please, Ander. I need you to fuck me. Please.”
He straightened up immediately, releasing the nipple he’d been suckling with a faint smacking sound.
As he rolled the condom onto his hard erection and lubed up, he murmured, “I think we better try missionary again this time. You’re still likely to be really tight.”
Lori just nodded mutely and tossed her head on the pillow, barely able to hold her body still as she waited.
Then finally Ander settled himself between her legs, pushing her thighs farther apart and lining his cock up at her entrance. He didn’t use his fingers to test her readiness. He must have already known that she was hotly, wetly aroused.
“Breathe a few times for me,” Ander said, bracing himself above her and staring down into her face.
Lori did as he said, and on her third exhale she felt his large cock pushing into her, stretching her inner walls and slowly sinking inside her.
It didn’t hurt nearly as much this time, but the discomfort was still there. She arched up dramatically and fisted her hands in the sheets.
“Is it all right?” Ander asked a little thickly, holding himself perfectly still.
She managed to look up at him, noticing that his skin had broken out with a faint sheen of perspiration. “Yeah. Just give me a minute.”
He waited patiently until she’d relaxed and caught her breath again. Then she reached up to grab at his shoulders the way she had last time. “Okay.”
“Are you going to want me to come again this evening?” Ander asked before he started to move.
Lori just stared up at him, so turned on she had trouble understanding the purpose of the question.
“It’s easier if I know beforehand so I won’t take so long after you’ve come. But I’m more than able to delay it,” Ander explained, “if you want me to stay hard. If you want
to come several times—”
“Oh,” she interrupted. Once again she found the whole idea a little disturbing. “No. I don’t think so. It’s just my second time, and I don’t want you to thrust me raw, trying to give me multiple orgasms. You come like last time if that’s all right.”
“All right.”
He helped her adjust her legs, bending them up on either side of his hips. Then he braced himself on straightened arms and started to thrust.
She focused on pumping her hips in time with his, and she even remembered to squeeze around him occasionally with her internal muscles. This time they didn’t speak, and the only sounds in the room were her accelerated breathing and the rhythmic squeaking of the bed.
For some reason the squeaking of the bed—the audible result of their carnal motion—gave her silly jolts of pride and pleasure.
After a few minutes, Lori’s pulse began to race and she felt overwhelmed with waves of heat. Her steady rocking beneath Ander became more urgent and clumsy as the deep pressure of her arousal began to tighten into a delicious knot.
Ander’s eyes were focused and unreadable, but she thought she could see his features begin to tense up a little. That tiny evidence of physical response made Lori clench around his cock.
He grunted when she did and jerked his head to the side. His steady thrusting speeded up but never faltered. She’d moved her hands unconsciously down to his ass, and she could feel the firm muscles there clenching and unclenching with each pitch of his hips.
She began to shake as the erotic pressure got deeper and deeper at her center. She writhed beneath him, desperate for it to finally break.
“You’re about to come, Lori,” Ander murmured hoarsely. “Try not to clench up like that.”
She gave a soft, tiny sob as her body twisted. “I can’t. Help.”
He shifted his weight onto one hand. He adjusted her legs again, pushing them up even farther. Then he pulled up enough to squeeze his free hand down between their bodies so he could find and massage her clit.
Her orgasm broke at the first pressure of his thumb. Her cry of pleasure and relief was no more than a raspy exhale, but her whole body shook and jerked beneath him as the spasms sliced through her.