Chapter 2

He gave her a curious look as if he were mildly startled at her nosy questions. But before she could start to feel selfconscious about what might be inappropriate behavior on her part for meetings such as these, he said, “Demons is what guys from my tribe are likely called"

“Ah,” I replied. “So you like it"

“Exactly.” Idly, Oyin put a hand on my back to guide me over to an empty bench in the city park.

I sat on the bench and looked up at him noting that he was ridiculously handsome in the sunlight with a breeze blowing against his dark clothes. “I suppose your father must be especially proud of you then,” she said wryly.

Even she knew as soon as she spoke the words that the comment was far too presumptuous for first acquaintance. She bit her lip and felt a pang of guilt and embarrassment.

To her relief, Oyin didn’t look offended. He just looked off in the distance and murmured, “Oh, he’s proud all right.”

The note of bitterness told Sally something about this man’s feelings for his father. There was a whole story there, a mystery to unravel.

But it was none of Sally’s business and wasn’t at all what she was here for. Pulling herself back to the purpose of this meeting, she felt a new wave of selfconsciousness.

What the hell was I doing here?

Oyin sat down next to her on the bench and sipped his coffee, his expression becoming professional again. “I always meet with prospective clients to ensure we’re on the same page before we schedule an engagement.”

Sally nodded, dropping her eyes to stare at her hands in her lap.

“Did you have any questions about the prices your friend explained to you?” Oyin asked. “You’ll pay for an entire evening. That’s the base price. I offer nothing lower than that.”

I looked up at him, frowning. He didn’t have a website like some escorts, instead relying on personal referrals, but details Kelly had gotten from the women she’d talked to were quite clear. She was a professional woman. Not an idiot. “Yes, I was able to understand the services you offer and what you charge for them,” I said, my tone a little snippy.

His mouth twitched, so slightly she almost didn’t catch it. “Good. I just wanted to make it clear that you pay for the entire evening, whether or not you use it. I don’t hire myself out by the hour.”

For some reason his dry tone made me want to snicker again. I stifled it in case he would mistake it for mockery. “Understood.”

“We can do whatever you like for the evening. I can act as escort, play a part if you want, or provide general companionship. If you’re interested in anything sexual, that will cost extra.”

I couldn’t believe she was sitting here, in the middle of a park in downtown Seattle, having this conversation. My cheeks burned involuntarily, but I wasn’t as mortified as I'd expect. Oyin was so businesslike and matteroffact about the situation that it helped me feel that way too.

“I thought I made my interests clear when we talked on the phone,” I said.

Oyin nodded. “Of course. The prices differ for oral on you, oral on me, and full intercourse.”

A nagging question that had been bugging me for a few days prompted me to ask, “Who would pay you that much money for you to get the blow job?”

Again, that slight twitch of his mouth. I wasn’t even sure it meant anything—his expression was generally so calm as to be stoic. But I found that occasional little quiver of his mouth the most appealing thing about him. “Women have different desires when they make use of my services. Some find giving more thrilling than receiving. Some simply want the practice.”

I thought about that for a moment. It was something I’d never even considered before.

Oyin cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to him. “Perhaps you can give me a little information about your goals for this engagement.”

I nodded. “Right. Well, I sure as hell wouldn’t pay this much money for a date.” I took a breath. Summoned all her fortitude and courage. “I want to have sex.”

“Yes, but what are your goals for the sex? Are you looking for a particular mood or brand of excitement? Do you just want to relieve tension? Get something you can’t get from other partners? I’m not trying to pry into your personal motivations, but I need a little direction if we’re to make this a successful engagement.”

“Right.” I shifted on the bench. Told myself I would be paying this man a lot of money a few days from now, so I had nothing to be embarrassed about. And surely he’d encountered a lot of stranger things in his line of work. “I want to have sex because I haven’t had it before. Yet.”

To my infinite relief, Oyin didn’t even bat an eye. “I see. Did you have any specific details you wanted to play out? A particular fantasy?”

“No fantasy. I just want to get it over with.” When I realized how that must have sounded, I shot him a rueful look. “That came out worse than I meant it. I’d like it to be good, of course. As good as possible, I mean. I don’t have any unrealistic expectations. No romanticizing or anything.”

He nodded, his brows pulling together like he was reflecting. “Do you have oral experience?”

I shook my head with a long sigh. I seemed to have gone past embarrassment now to a weird state of restless resignation. “No. Nothing really. I’ve had some makeout sessions, but they weren’t very good and I couldn’t really get into them. I can’t even get myself off very well.” I slanted a sharp look over at his face to check his expression, but he still showed no signs of surprise.

“In that case, it might be a good idea to start with oral. There’s a better chance of your reaching climax that way.”

Despite the bizarre situation, Sally couldn’t help but give a little snort. “And I suppose that doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that that service is more expensive than intercourse?”

This time there was no mistaking the slight twitch of his lips. His eyes glinted briefly with amusement. “Just a suggestion.”

“Why is it more expensive?” I blurted out, her curiosity once more taking over.

“It’s more intimate,” he murmured, for the first time glancing away. “On my part.”

I wrinkled my brow as I mulled that one over. When I realized he was waiting for a response to their previous discussion, I pulled herself back to the topic at hand. “Well, you’re probably right about starting with oral.” I added glumly, “I would like to have a good orgasm at least once in my life.” Money wasn’t an issue for her. After four bestselling novels in three years, she had more than enough of that.

“We’ll do the best we can,” Oyin said matteroffactly. “Friday still works for you?”

“Yeah.”

“The evening starts at seven o’clock and goes until midnight—unless other arrangements have been made in advance. Did you want to do anything beforehand? Dinner perhaps?”

To me, that sounded absurd. I wasn’t trying to trick myself into believing this was a real date. I had no delusions about what I was about to do, and trying to romanticize it would only make things more confusing. But because I was starting to feel really nervous again, I quipped to break the tension, “I suppose I’d have to pay for dinner too.”

Oyin arched an eyebrow.

I snickered. “Right. I know. Sorry. That was on your handy list of prices and terms. I don’t want to waste time doing anything beforehand anyway.”

“We can meet at your place or at a hotel.”

“A hotel. I can email you the details tomorrow after I’ve made a reservation.”

“Excellent.” Oyin stood up and smiled down on me—once more that urbane, sensual smile he’d mastered perfectly. “If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to email or call me about them.”

I stood up too. I had to look up in order to meet his eyes. “Yes. Good.”

He extended a hand, and I reached to shake it. Once again, his hand was startlingly warm. “I will see you on Friday at seven.”

“Right. Good. I’m looking forward to it.” As he started to walk away, I watched his lean, st

raight back and tight butt in his welltailored trousers.

I gulped. “I think.”