By the time two weeks from Wednesday rolled around, Lori had worked up a fair amount of excitement.

After her weird awkwardness immediately following her first session with Ander, Lori concluded that the encounter had been a real success. She wasn’t looking for a fantasy. She was just looking for a way to rid herself of her virginity, a way that was easy and hassle-free. Ander was talented, accommodating, thoughtful, and very attractive. And his professionalism made the first engagement exactly what she’d been looking for.

She couldn’t imagine the second engagement would be a problem. It would likely go the same way, only with intercourse rather than oral sex. Because she had such a good impression of her first session with Ander, she began to anticipate the second one.

She was still nervous. But, as the days progressed, her excitement became stronger than her fear.

So Lori arrived at the hotel at six o’clock on the scheduled Wednesday. She followed the same routine as before: took a bath, shaved, applied lotion, counted cash, drank wine, and sat in a chair waiting for Ander. Her belly was fluttery with nerves.

But she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be sick.

She’d been a virgin for twenty-six years. And she’d spent many of those years looking forward to not being one.

And now it was finally going to happen.

When Ander tapped on the door, she walked over to let him in without even the slightest impulse to hide in the bathroom.

Tonight, he wore all black—black trousers, black dress shirt, and very expensive black leather shoes. He smiled at her, exactly as she’d expected him to. Urbane, sensual. Infinitely practiced.

“Hi there,” she said cheerfully, leading him back into the room. “You look all cool and stealthy tonight.”

Ander blinked and looked down at himself. “Stealthy?”

She raised her eyebrows—in an expression that mirrored his own—and handed him a glass of wine. “All black. Do you do a lot of lurking in the shadows?”

“Not if I can help it.”

His dry tone combined with that appealing twitch of his mouth caused Lori to snort. When he set his leather case in the chair, she moved to stand beside him. “What goodies have you brought today?”

The first thing he pulled out of his case was a slim, pink vibrator still in its original packaging. He offered it to her. “As promised.”

Her lips parting, she accepted the vibrator and stared down at it. “Thank you. It was nice of you to get it for me.”

“We can use it some this evening, if you want.” His eyes rested on her face, as if he were checking her expression. “It might help in foreplay, and I can show you some ways to use it.” When she just stared at him, he added, “But only if it won’t make you uncomfortable.”

Getting vibrator lessons from a male escort might make her a little uncomfortable, but it did sound like a practical idea. “No. That would be fine. A little weird, but fine.”

“Why is it weird?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Have you taught other women how to use vibrators?”

“Of course.”

“Oh.” A little taken aback by this matter-of-fact answer, she concluded, “I guess it’s not that weird after all.”

Ander smiled and reached into his case, pulling out a DVD. “This was the best I could find, if we want to start with erotica again this evening. Well-made, female-oriented erotic movies are few and far between. This is a series of short films, so each is just a half-hour. That would leave us more time, which might be smart if we want to practice with the vibrator before we move on to intercourse.”’

Nodding absently, Lori studied the DVD cover. “Is this as good as the one last week?”

“Not quite. It’s good—made for women and not tacky. But the stories are not as well-written. It’s the best I could find with business-type male leads. Manual laborers tend to be more popular—painters, carpenters, pool boys, you know.”

Lori sneered faintly at that inexplicable fact. Then she thought about the implications of what he said. “Did you look for this one particularly for me?”

“Yes. I thought it would be best to have a shorter film for this evening, but I didn’t have anything in my collection that would work.”

Staring up at his smooth, polished expression, Lori tried to imagine Ander rooting through shelves or online catalogs to find erotic DVDs. “That was awfully nice of you. Thank you.”

Ander gave a half-shrug. “It’s no problem. I can always use it again later.”

“Just exactly how big is your collection of erotic films?” Lori’s mouth wobbled with amusement as she imagined a secret room chock-full of sexy paraphernalia and DVDs in Ander’s doubtlessly slick, cool-toned apartment.

He chuckled briefly—with that same faint note of bitterness she’d heard in his laugh last time. “Big enough to do my job.”

He moved over to put the DVD in the player and asked over his shoulder, “Do you want to go about things tonight the same way we did last time?”

Lori lowered her eyebrows as she took her seat on the sofa. “I want to have sex this time. Intercourse.”

A tiny lip twitch. “Yes. I meant in terms of my behavior. Did you want to continue the same attitude or perhaps play out a fantasy tonight?”

“Oh. I get it.” Lori chuckled as she thought about how she’d misinterpreted him. It was very nice of him not to laugh out loud. “No, I like how we did it last time. Don’t pretend anything.”

“Understood.” He hit play on the DVD player and went to sit beside her on the sofa.

Ander was right about the movie. It wasn’t as good as the one last time. But it was basically well-made and still quite sexy. But the time it had run its course, Lori was plenty aroused.

“We can watch another one if you need to,” Ander offered.

“Nope. I’m good.”

Ander got up, turned the film off, and went over to the table. He pulled some batteries out of his case and then removed the vibrator from the package. As Lori watched him slide the batteries into the little tube, she couldn’t help but admire his long legs and firm, well-contoured ass. She wondered how often he had to work out a week to sculpt his great body.

Then she wondered what he looked like without clothes.

When Ander went over to the bathroom to rinse off the vibrator, Lori moved to the bed. She turned down the comforter and sheets and then sat down on the edge of the mattress. She took off the belted sweater she wore—the same one she’d worn last time. Under it, however, she was wearing a chemise in the same soft cashmere as her favorite pajama set. She thought it might be smart to wear something that could just be pushed up to have sex. And the graceful lines and little tie just under her breasts made her feel kind of sexy.

It wasn’t any sort of racy lingerie. Pretty tame in the scheme of things. It was sexy for her, though, and tonight she could use all the sexy she could get.

Before Ander came over to join her, he turned off the overhead lights. “Is it all right if we leave the light on in the bathroom? It will still be quite dark, but it might help to have a little more light to work with the vibrator.”

“Sure.” She’d kind of liked the deep darkness of the room last time, but she wasn’t about to argue with what was obviously good sense.

Ander picked up the tube of lubricant and a couple of condom packets from his case before he returned to the bed. “Did you want to lie down?” he asked, putting the vibrator and other stuff on the nightstand and turning off the bedside light.

With a long exhale, Lori pulled up her legs and reclined back on the bed. She’d been doing so well—focusing on anticipation rather than anxiety—but now she was starting to get nervous. She was still aroused, but not so much she stopped thinking about what was about to happen.

“Do you want me to keep my clothes on this evening?” Ander stood, dark and looming, beside the bed.

Since she felt braver today, she replied, “Oh. No. I guess not. You can take them off.”

Ander started unbuttoning his shirt. His motion was slow, almost mesmerizing, as he gradually revealed his bare chest beneath. When he’d untucked the shirt, he let it slide with unhurried ease to the floor. His chest was toned and masculine. She could see the clean contours of muscle development on his abdomen and shoulders, even in the dim light of the room.

He slid his belt out of the loops. He moved naturally, not ostentatiously, but Lori suddenly realized he was giving her a little show.

It was effective. As she watched, her intimate muscles clenched in excitement and jitters rose up in her belly, but she also felt a gurgle of amusement. She had to press her lips together to stifle it.

Who would have thought that Lori Addison would be in the position to get such an elegant striptease from a bald man?

She must not have hidden her reaction well because Ander paused in the midst of unzipping. He arched his eyebrows. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no,” she said, keeping her eyes wide and trying not to stare down at what would be revealed when his pants came unzipped. “Everything’s fine. You’re doing an excellent job.”

Ander narrowed his eyes, a little suspiciously, before he let his trousers fall to the floor, revealing black silk boxers and a pair of very fine legs.

“Boxers?” Lori asked, working past the surge of visceral admiration at the sight of his near perfect body. “I was wondering what you wore.”

Ander took off his watch as he replied, “I didn’t know what you’d prefer. Since you’re American, I thought boxers were a better bet.”

Lori blinked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“American women tend to prefer boxers on men. If you were international, I’d have worn briefs. Obviously, once I know a woman’s preference, I accommodate it.”

“American women prefer boxers?”

“I have only my own informal assessment to go by, but, yes, I’d say three-fourths of them do. I try to pay attention.”

“Wow,” Lori breathed. “That’s what I call attention to detail.”

Ander gave her a half-smile. “It’s part of my job.” His hands lingered on the waistband of his boxers. “Shall I?”

Lori gulped, torn between nerves and carnal interest. The silk was thin and slippery, and she could see evidence through the fabric that he was already half-erect. “Why don’t you wait on that?” she finally decided.

Ander nodded and came over to sit on the edge of the bed. “Like last time? Some foreplay with no kissing?”

She scooted over toward the middle of the bed to make room for him. “Yes. Thank you.”

He slanted her an odd look before he moved into bed beside her. Then he moved over her. Like last time, he started with some light kisses on the side of her neck, but then he moved up to brush his lips along the line of her jaw.

Lori sucked in a breath. Then a sharper breath when he trailed his mouth down to the pulse in her throat. She felt his teeth on her skin, very gently.

Without any conscious thought, her hands settled on his head, irresistibly drawn to the smooth scalp. Again, no signs of bristles.

It was silent in the room except the rustling of the bedding and Lori’s accelerating breathing. He was warm above her, generating heat she could feel even where he wasn’t touching her, and he slowly pushed up her chemise to bare her body to him.

Ander took his time—stroking her body, fondling her breasts, teasing out spots that made her gasp or squirm that she’d never imagined before. This time, she was too distracted by the sensations to point out the things she liked best, but he found them anyway. Eventually, Lori was flushed all over and writhing shamelessly from the need for friction.

Ander’s mouth was on her side, on a sensitive spot just above her hip. He mouthed it hard and fluttered his tongue against her skin. At the same time, he was rubbing the back of her knee in a gentle massage and occasionally flicking at one of her erect nipples with his other hand.

“Ander,” she finally rasped. When he raised his head, she continued, “Can we...can we try the vibrator?”

Nodding wordlessly, he reached for it and the lube on the nightstand. He knelt between her splayed legs and squirted lube out onto his hand. She could see everything much more clearly tonight from the light from the bathroom. “I’ll use my hand first, like last time,” Ander explained.

Lori gave a nod and then stared at him, hypnotized by her physical desire and by the sight of the mostly naked man reaching his hand down to her groin. Ander stroked her open and wasted no time in sliding two fingers into her wet, pulsing channel. She arched her neck and parted her lips at the feel of the penetration.

Rhythmically, Ander fucked her with his fingers for a few minutes, causing her to twist in pleasure and reach up to grab the headboard. He seemed to be stretching her, pushing against her inner walls. He avoided touching her clit, though, which is where she really wanted him.

Finally, she managed to choke out, “If you rub my clit, I think I can come.”

“I know,” Ander said in a low voice. “But when you come, you’ll get tighter. That might make intercourse more difficult. I know everyone says that orgasms relax you beforehand, but you get a lot tighter after an orgasm. You’re tight already and you don’t need to get any tighter. I’d suggest we wait, but I can do whatever you’d prefer.”

It made sense. She certainly didn’t want to make intercourse any more uncomfortable than it had to be, but the logic didn’t help ease her urgent, wriggling body.

“The vibrator?” she prompted.

Ander picked up the vibrator and slicked it up with lubricant. “You see how it’s curved?” He cleared his voice before he continued. “It’s made to easily reach your g-spot.”

He gently inserted the slim, pink device inside her, and she felt pressure on her upper wall. He thrust it slowly, and it moved easily with the lube and her own moisture. “Do you feel your g-spot? There?”

She felt a tingling pressure from the press of the vibrator. “Yeah.” Despite her intense arousal, she felt curiosity prompt her. “I thought from the way it’s described in love scenes that hitting your g-spot would cause this huge jolt of pleasure.”

Ander shook his head, still pumping the vibrator slowly inside her. “It can get that way, but it’s a cumulative effect. Most women need to be aroused before they can feel it at all. Then it takes some building up before you can get the best sensations.”

As he continued pumping, she started to feel the tingling pleasure intensify.

“Do you want to try it,” he asked, “To make sure you can find it yourself?”

Lori reached down between her legs to take the vibrator and slide it in and out like Ander had. It was a little embarrassing, but his lessons would do her no good if she couldn’t find it on her own. She angled it until she felt her g-spot again and parted her lips at the renewed stimulation.

“Good?” Ander asked, his eyes moving from her face to the device that was penetrating her intimately, wet now and making a faint, embarrassing sucking sound as she moved it.

“Yeah.”

She let Ander take over the vibrator again, and she gasped as he turned it on. The sensations swelled up so intensely and so quickly that she arched and clawed at the sheets.

“Too much?” he asked. She couldn’t see his eyes in the dim room. Couldn’t read his expression.

She fisted her fingers in the sheets. “Really, really good.”

He kept pumping the pulsing vibrator against her g-spot until Lori’s body tightened brutally and she panted loud and frantic.

Then he pulled it out. “Sorry. I better stop now or you’ll come. You should be able to get a really good orgasm that way. If you can’t get all the way there, try rubbing your clit at the same time.”

Lori nodded in acknowledgement of this advice. Her cheeks blazed, and she could feel herself perspiring. Her arousal was a throbbing ache between her legs. “I really need to come,” she admitted, tempted to sneak her own hand between her legs.

“Are you ready for intercourse?”

“Yeah. Please.”

Ander returned the vibrator to the nightstand as he climbed off the bed. She watched as he slid his silk boxers down over his hips. His erection sprang free and bobbed a few times. He was big—at least as far as Lori could tell—hand even in the low light she could see that his shaft was a slightly deeper color than the rest of him.

When he picked up a condom packet, a clench of anxiety tightened in her throat. To distract herself, Lori asked, “What happens if you aren’t able to get it up?”

Ander slanted her another odd look. “No worries. I have it up.”

Lori snorted. “I can see that. It’s very impressively up. I was just wondering in general. I mean, obviously you won’t be attracted to all of your clients. And maybe sometimes you find them very unattractive. Do you have some sort of mental thing you do to make sure you’re up for the job?”

There was a pause as Ander rolled a condom down over his erection. “Yes,” he said at last. “I do. When people say the brain is the most important sexual organ, they’re not making it up. With some practice, you can think yourself into arousal.”

Lori considered that as Ander slicked up his condom-encased cock with a good amount of lube. A weird impulse prompted her to quip, “But you didn’t have to do any mental acrobatics to get hard for me, did you?”

His lips twitched. “Of course not.”

She fought a smile and asked, “You say that to all the girls, don’t you?”

“What do you think?” He actually smiled at her. It wasn’t broad and it was half-ironic, but Lori loved how it changed his whole face. “You ready?”

She nodded again, gulping as he got back into bed and settled himself between her legs. He was big. And she tried not to envision how tightly he would fit.

“I think we better start with missionary,” he said, propping himself up above her. “There’s a good reason it’s the old favorite.”

“Sounds good.” Lori was washed with waves of heat—it seemed to radiate off his body.

“The pressure is going to be uncomfortable at first. There’s no help for it. You’re very aroused, so that will make it easier. The pressure will get a lot better once I’m all the way in. Try to breathe through it and not clench up—just like you were doing last time. If it’s too bad, tell me and I’ll pull out.”

“Okay.” Once again, her arms felt awkward and in the way. She ended up putting her hands on Ander’s shoulders. “I’m ready,” she said, breathing deeply and forcing her pelvic muscles to stay relaxed.

She felt the tip of his cock nudging at her entrance. Then about an inch of penetration. It wasn’t bad. She took another deep breath. As she released it, he eased himself in a few inches more. More pressure now.

“All right?”

“Yeah,” she gasped. Her fingers had tightened on his shoulders.

Ander’s eyes never left her face as he pulled back slightly and readjusted. “Take three more deep breaths. When you let out your breath the third time, I’m going to go in a lot deeper.”

She nodded, tossing her head back and forth on the pillow for a moment as she fought against her instinctive reactions. Then she focused on breathing as Ander had directed.

On her third long exhale, she felt a significant increase in pressure. His slide into her was careful, and at one point he pulled back and re-angled before he pushed into her again. The discomfort was momentarily so intense she choked out a pained mew.

She heard Ander breathing above her, and he held himself very still, his cock sheathed in her body. “All right?”

Lori nodded mutely. The worst of the pain was already easing, but the discomfort remained. She felt too full, too tight, too much.

“Just tell me when you’re ready.” His voice was a little hoarse, which was unusual enough to cause her to look up at him. His expression was neutral, however. Just as professional as ever.

She lay for a minute or two, breathing, shifting a little beneath him, and trying to adjust to his size. Finally, she said, “Okay. I think I’m good. Thanks for being so patient.”

Ander stared down at her, his eyebrows drawing together slightly. “You can take as long as you need.”

Lori shook her head, a few strands of hair sticking to her hot face. “I feel pretty decent. You’re going to help me, aren’t you? Show me how to do this?”

With a small smile, he said, “Whatever you want.”

He eased his cock out halfway, then pitched his hips forward in an experimental thrust. “All right?”

“Yeah.” She felt overly stimulated but her nervousness was nearly gone. Instead, a surge of excitement coursed through her. She was doing this. She was having sex.

Ander began a slow, gentle rhythm, his cock sliding inside her in an increasingly pleasurable way. “You can move your hips,” he said after a minute. “See if you can match my rhythm.”

She did as he instructed, still clinging to his shoulders. It made the friction inside her feel even better.

“How is it?” Ander asked. It was hard to see in the darkened room, but she thought he might be perspiring a little.

“It’s good,” she admitted, “Still a little uncomfortable but nothing too bad.”

Ander adjusted above her, getting more leverage with this knees. “Let’s see if we can get you to come. I’m going to rub your clit, if that’s all right.”

“Yeah. Good.” Her excitement was rising up now even more, now that the worst was over. And her previous arousal was building back up. She wanted to come. Really wanted to come. “Can we go a little faster?” she asked, starting to get breathless again.

“Of course.”

Ander adjusted his weight onto his knees, using one straightened arm to brace himself above her. He accelerated his rhythm, his pelvis pumping quickly against hers. Then he squeezed his free arm between their bodies, down near where they were joined.

Lori gasped in pleasure when she felt firm pressure on her clit.

“Try to keep moving with me,” Ander said when she began to wriggle shamelessly in response.

She adjusted her motion, making sure she met each of his thrusts. The erotic momentum inside her was now climbing quickly. Her body tensed and her breathing disintegrated into urgent pants.

Ander’s head jerked slightly, his eyes cutting to the right. But his voice was low and soothing as he murmured, “That’s right. Good. You’re getting tighter, but remember not to clench up too much. You’ll enjoy it more if you relax.”

Lori didn’t want to relax. She wanted to snatch at the coiled pressure and force it to finally let go. Her body started to shake as waves of heat and cold washed over her. Ander’s rhythmic thrusts and the skillful press on her clit trapped her in erotic urgency. The only sounds she made were thick drags for air, and her fingers dug into Ander’s strong shoulders.

“You’re almost there, Lori.” Ander’s voice came as if from a blurry distance. “Try to breathe.”

She sucked in air. Then let it out in a slow exhale. Her body bounced desperately with her feet planted on the mattress and her legs bent up.

“Almost there,” Ander murmured, “One more breath.”

He was right. On the next exhale, all of her tension broke in pulses of rippling pleasure. Lori’s mouth opened wide in a silent cry as her body tried to bend backward.

Ander’s cock suddenly felt so much thicker and harder inside her. He slowed his thrusting until he was just making little pushes into her tightened channel. And he stopped moving completely when Lori’s body began to relax.

A little giggle escaped her.

Astonished, she tried to bite her lip over the silly sound, but another one rippled out without warning. She released Ander’s shoulder so she could clamp her hand over her mouth as she kept giggling.

It was an absolutely absurd thing to do. But she was overcome with dizzying relief, pride and accomplishment. She’d had sex at last. And it had been good. And she’d even managed to come.

Ander’s eyebrows went sky-high.

“Sorry,” she choked out, managing to get herself under control. There was more discomfort between her legs now—since the rising pleasure had faded and his cock was still stretching and filling her.

“Is this a good thing?” Ander asked, his eyes scanning her face.

“Yes,” she admitted. “It’s good. It was good. Thank you.” Before Ander could reply, she added, “Aren’t you going to come?”

“Only if you want me to.”

“Oh. Why wouldn’t I want you to come?”

“Some of my clients don’t. And some of them want to delay it for as long as possible. Women are often able to climax more than once. If you want, we can try…”

Lori made a face. “I think I’m going to be sore already. No need to push my luck. Why don’t you come now?”

“It might take a few minutes,” he said, his eyes oddly searching.

She shrugged. “That’s fine. I can practice some more.”

“Tell me if I’m too hard,” Ander shifted his position, bringing both of his arms down to brace himself. “Or if you change your mind.”

As Ander built up a new rhythm, fast and just a little harder than he’d been thrusting into her before, Lori tried to imagine what kind of selfish, heartless bitch would expect a man to fuck her to orgasm and then pull out without coming himself. Like he was nothing but a tool, nothing but a dildo.

Then she realized that was exactly how a lot of men had been using women for centuries—as objects designed only for male pleasure. Lori knew why most women ended up in prostitution. Odds were the woman had suffered some sort of abuse or victimization.

Lori wondered with a weird little clench if men were different. Or if Ander had been victimized in some way, physically or emotionally, in the past.

“Everything all right?” Ander asked thickly, mid-thrust.

Realizing she’d let her mind wander at an inopportune time, she blinked up at him. “Yeah. Sorry. Everything’s good. Keep going.”

He hesitated, so she began to pump up her hips, trying to match his earlier tempo. This appeared to convince him, so he began to thrust again. This time, she watched him, fascinated by the tension on his face and the focused look in his blue-gray eyes as he stared down at her.

They moved together well, she thought, and she did her best to synchronize the rocking of her pelvis with his. She could already feel a particular kind of soreness, but it wasn’t bad. Ander was taking it pretty easy on her.

“Should I do anything else?” she asked, feeling a little breathless again. She knew she wasn’t going to come, but there was something exciting about watching the tension coil tighter and tighter in Ander’s face and body.

“You’re good,” he muttered. “You’re good.”

She was clinging to his shoulders, and she acutely felt something tickling her wrist. Shifting her eyes, she saw one of her brown hairs tangled in her hand. She clenched unconsciously in response to the tickling and wriggled her fingers, trying to brush the hair away.

“That’s good,” he grunted, jerking his head to the side abruptly. “You can keep doing that.”

Lori blinked once, keeping her expression blank. She couldn’t imagine how her little hand jiggle on his shoulder had pleased him. Maybe men really were different than women. He’d done a remarkable job of pleasing her, though, and if he liked it she would do it. So she rippled her fingers lightly along his shoulder, as she’d done before.

Ander blinked once, almost exactly as she had. Then he made a choked sound in his throat. Then another.

She gasped in shock and bewilderment as his weight suddenly lowered on top of her. His elbows had buckled and he was abruptly much closer than before. His face buried in her neck, he made more of those choked sounds and his body shook against hers.

Nothing, not even her orgasm, had felt as good as this did—the inexplicable, uninhibited collapse and his shuddering body against hers. His hips jerked with a few, clumsy, unpracticed thrusts as he huffed, his hot breath blowing against her skin.

For one dazed moment, she thought her little finger wiggle had snapped his control. But it only took a few seconds for her to process what was happening.

He was laughing. Trying desperately to hide and to stifle it, but he was definitely laughing.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded.

“Nothing.” With impressive restraint, he grew still and straightened his arms, pulling himself off of her again. “I’m sorry. Nothing was funny.” Only his eyes and his faintly twitching lips belied the word.

She narrowed her eyes. “You were laughing at me.”

“I wasn’t laughing,” he said, eyes wide now and mouth relaxed. “Sometimes, no matter how hard I try to control myself, something feels so good that I—”

Lori gave an outraged huff and interrupted, “What a load of crap! I know laughing when I hear it.” Then she realized suddenly why he was lying to her. Accidentally laughing at a client during sex must be a nightmare scenario for him. His job was to please her, no matter what. So her voice softened as she said, “I’m not going to get mad. I mean it. But if I did something stupid, I’d like to know about it.”

Ander let out a breath, and his mouth gave one more little twitch. “I was laughing, but not at you. You didn’t do anything stupid .It was my fault. My directions were unclear. When I said you could keep doing that, I didn’t mean the hand. You’d squeezed around me at the same time. That’s what I meant.”

Lori processed this. “Oh, I get it.” She choked on a laugh herself. “No wonder you lost it.” The more she thought about it, the funnier it got. As she laughed softly, she gasped out, “And I thought you were some weirdo who got off from a little tap on your shoulder.”

Ander had himself fully under control now, but he smiled as she giggled. “Sorry about that.”

“No, don’t apologize,” she said. “I told you I don’t want to pretend. Did you want to keep going, or have you lost your momentum?” He still felt very hard inside her, but the interruption must have distracted him.

“That’s up to you.”

“I said I’d like you to come, if you think you can.”

“I can. I’m almost there.”

Logically, she had trouble believing him, since surely laughing at her silliness would have been a turn off. But when he began to thrust again and she tried to pump her hips and squeeze her inner muscles around his cock, he was clearly not as controlled as he’d been earlier. His features twisted slightly and his breathing became louder. His thrusts got faster, then a little jerky.

She was definitely going to be sore afterwards, but there was something oddly pleasing, oddly compelling, about having a hot, hard, focused man about to lose it between her legs.

As silly as it sounded, she couldn’t help but feel a little proud of herself.

Ander jerked his head to the side and froze abruptly, the tension transforming on his face. He took a few ragged breaths and pushed against her a few final times.

He pulled out before she could fully process the alterations of his body—the softening muscles and relaxing tension. He carefully secured the condom as he slid his cock free, and the move made an embarrassing sucking sound and rubbed her raw inner walls painfully.

“Are you all right?” he asked, rolling over to swing his legs over the side of the bed. His eyes scanned her closely.

“Yeah,” she said honestly, “A little sore, but it was really good. Thank you.”

He gave her a little smile. “I’m going to take care of this, if that’s all right.”

At her affirmation, he picked up the vibrator and went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. She heard water in the sink and figured he was cleaning up the vibrator while he was there.

Lori pulled down her chemise and stretched her stiff legs. Then she had a private giggle over her successful devirgining.

She knew it would have been better if she had an emotional connection with the man. She knew there was something missing in doing it the way she had. The sex had been good, but she knew it wasn’t a lie that sex was better with someone you loved. She wrote romance novels. As silly or high-blown as some of them were, romance writers at least understood the importance of love.

She’d done this on her own terms, though, and the heavy weight of anxiety that had always been part of her thoughts on sex had now completely dissipated.

Ander returned to the room with a wet washcloth, which he used to gently clean between her legs. When she’d thanked him and he’d returned the washcloth to the bathroom, she invited him back to bed.

She had him until midnight, and she intended to take advantage of it. He stretched out beside her, rolling on his side and propping his head up on one bent arm. He was completely naked, and he was showing the long lines and rippling muscles of his body to their best advantage.

Lori stared at him in admiration for a minute until she realized he was posing for her. As always, the act was very subtle, sophisticated—nothing crude or gaudy about it. But he knew what he was doing. Women must leer at him all the time.

Because she wanted to talk to him and not get distracted, she leaned over and grabbed his boxers off the floor and tossed them over to him.

“Did you have questions for me?” he asked, pulling on his boxers. “Did you think it went well?”

“Yes. It went very well. Thanks so much for being careful and taking your time. I can’t imagine it going better.”

Ander’s eyes narrowed as he studied her face. “There’s something you want to ask me.”

There was. A foolish, nagging question at the very back of her mind.

“Ask me.”

So Lori blurted it out, “Do you think I’ll be any good at it? I mean, I seemed to mess up a lot. And there was the stupid thing with the hand. If I don’t have you there guiding me through every step, do you think I’ll be any good at it?”

To her relief, Ander didn’t brush the question off. He paused as he considered it, and then he met her eyes soberly. “I don’t think any of that reflects your sexual capacities. You were nervous at first. And, even when you got over that, you were still a little self-conscious, I think.” He slanted her a look, as if checking her expression. Maybe to make sure she wasn’t offended. “When people are self-conscious, they tend to fall into a defined role, something that will make them feel safe. You took on the role of learner, which might be why you kept wanting directions. But once you’re past that, you’re going to be just fine.”

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 bestselling alternate identity. She used a penname 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 penname. “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 penname. 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 bestsellers. 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.