For a moment Janey couldn't breathe or talk. When she finally managed it, she said shakily, "You couldn't be more wrong."
"About what?"
"About guys wanting to…uh…be with me. I'm a virgin," she said bluntly. "I'm twenty-nine and I've never had sex with a man."
"You're gay?" His brow rose. He asked the question in that bemused way a person might say, "You've really never been to Canada?"
A laugh burst out of her. "I wish! I got so frustrated with the whole thing one time I tried to psyche myself up to become lesbian. That was a fail, too. My fantasies just wouldn't go there. It's males I like."
There was a minute of silence where she couldn't read his expression.
Then:
"You don't want to be a virgin?" he said.
"I don't care if I'm a virgin or not exactly. I just want to—" She blushed. "To know. What it's like. To feel—uh—"
"You want sex," he drawled. "With someone you won't catch a disease from."
"I could go off with one of the sleazeballs, I guess. I just haven't gotten that desperate yet."
His mouth slanted sardonically. "So why not ask some guy you know to fuck you?"
"They don't want to. Seriously," when he looked disbelieving. "Look at me!" She moved her legs down and spread her arms out. "I'm the classic girl next door. I'm the sister. I'm platonic city, Nyall. I'm not imagining it. Believe me. It's dogged me all my life." The tears were starting again. "I don't usually act this pathetic, but it's starting to get to me, you know? I don't understand your gender at all and I'm pretty sure at this point it's too late for me to ever be able to."
His lips twitched. "We're pretty simple."
"Yeah, right. I can't believe I'm talking to you about it, anyway," she muttered.
"You don't tell people about it?"
"Oh, sure, friends. But you're a stranger. Some strangers might be okay to talk to. But you're my last idea of a good confidante."
His amusement broke through in a laugh. "Why do you say that?"
"Oh, you know." She waved her hand dismissively. "Gorgeous. Sexy. Successful. Smooth. Out of my league."
As if to prove his popularity, his cell phone went off. He withdrew it from his pocket, but after one glance he put it back.
"Now, what were you saying?" he prompted, looking at her narrowly.
"Out of my league," she answered.
"Right. I take it you've heard of me?"
Her eyes widened. "No. Heard of you? Why, are you famous? Nyall Anderson," she said to herself. It didn't sound familiar.
He frowned, studying her. "No," he said finally. "I'm just a businessman."
She snorted. "A posh one, though, right? What do you do?"
"Start-ups," he said. "Starting them. Then selling them."
"I see," she said. "I have a small local catering business. Oh, I told you that already, didn't I? My specialty is allergy-friendly baking. Nut-free cookies. Seed-free bread. Dairy-free, egg-free donuts."
"I see." He stared at her.
She grinned. "Now you're hungry, aren't you, with all that food talk?"
"No, unlike you, I had lunch already. But you were saying about my being a bad confidante…"
"Oh, yeah. I'm talking about the whole package." She gestured vaguely at him. "The way you dress, the way you look, the way you live."
His tongue poked his cheek. "I see. Amazing what you can tell from first impressions," he drawled. "But what does all that have to do with who you talk to about losing your virginity?"
"I don't know. Just that if I were in a room full of people and had to pick someone to spill my soul to, you'd be the last person I'd approach. You're in a different universe from me."
"We seem to be in the same elevator."
"Purely by accident." She paused. "Although now that I think about it, you might actually be the perfect person to talk to. Especially if you're married. Or have a girlfriend. Or are otherwise unavailable."
He leaned forward and tilted his head. "Why do you say that?"
"Because then you could tell me why your type makes sleazy passes at my type."
"Oh, I can tell you that in any case." His gaze lowered pointedly. "It's probably your tits. They're sensational. And your ass isn't bad, either."
Janey gaped. Instinctively her arms crossed over her chest and her whole body suffused in a blush.
His lips quirked, but he went on. "But as to being committed to anyone…sorry to disappoint. I don't do girlfriends or wives these days."
"You're gay?" Her eyes popped.
"No," he said with forced patience.
"Then why…"
"I do sex," he said deliberately. "Not relationships."
"Oh." Get a grip, Janey. This is unreal, but you can handle it. "Anyway, you're not the kind of man I usually associate with. You're the right age, just…a different lifestyle. And you're hot. I don't usually go around with studly guys who belong on the covers of men's magazines."
He sighed. "I'm getting the point. I'm a god. You're a peon."
She blinked. Frowned. Then sighed wistfully. "Yeah. I just wish I could meet somebody nice and normal who wants me and wants to be my boyfriend. Everyday stuff. Somebody I'd trust to lose my virginity to. Who'd…"
"What?"
"Teach me all about sex. What the big deal is."
He shook his head. "You're doomed for failure."
Again, his words managed to bring the tears to the forefront. "That's what I thought."
"Not the way you're thinking." He sounded impatient. "You're looking in the wrong place. If you want someone to teach you how to enjoy sex, you don't look look to nice guys."
"I'm not having sex with a sleazeball," she said emphatically.
"I didn't say you should."
"Yes, you did. I mean, if not sleazeballs and not nice guys, what kind of guy should I seek out to teach me about sex?"
He shrugged. "That's easy. Me."
Chapter 2
Before Janey could respond to Nyall Anderson's unsettling answer, the intercom sounded. It was a bit of a shock; Janey didn't realize contact could be initiated from the outside.
"All right, people," a tinny male voice said through the static. "The crew's out and you should be out of there soon."
"Oh!" Janey said. "Yes, I can hear them."
Nyall said, "Great. How soon is soon?"
"Forty-five, maybe an hour."
That's soon? Janey thought.
"Thanks." Nyall leaned back against the wall, shifted his legs, and looked at Janey calmly.
She knew her face was still red because she could feel the heat in her cheeks. She looked up at the button panel until the static of the intercom ceased, then back at Nyall.
"Uh, did I just hear you say…"
"A guy like me," he said, and smiled. The smile was breathtaking. It didn't exactly soften his angular features, but it made his brown eyes not exactly warm up, but go smoky. "Who does sex just fine. Isn't attached. And isn't a half bad teacher."
"Are you…applying for the job?" Janey's voice ended in a squeak.
"Sure, why not?"
"But why? Why would you do that?" She was suddenly suspicious. "Are you sure you're not married?"
His eyes narrowed. "I'm not married or committed in any way. Five years divorced, if you must know, and paying alimony. No kids. As to why I'd do that…maybe I'm just noble that way."
She shivered, this time with a distinct chill. "You don't seem the noble type."
"Got me pegged again," he said. "What can I say? Tell you what, hand me your jacket, Jane."
"Janey. My name is Janey." Disconcerted, she reached into the tote bag where she'd stashed it and tossed it over to him.
"Right. Janey. Why don't you scooch over here?"
"Uh…"
"Come on. We'll do an experiment. See if you're interested. If you are, I think we can come to an arrangement that will satisfy both of us."
"What do you mean, an arrangement?"
"I've got a week's vacation coming up. I have travel plans, but plans can always be canceled. If you can manage to tear yourself away from your business for a week, you could stay at my place. We'll spend the week educating you. By the end, you'll be free of the hindrance of your virginity."
Was the man mad? Thinking she'd go over to some stranger's place and let him have his way with her? She decided to humor him. "And what would you get in exchange for this mitzvah?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I occasionally employ cooks and caterers, but I'm not particularly happy with any of them, and frankly, I like good food. You could cook for me."
"Cook for you?" She shook her head. "It's a vacation. I could probably manage a week away, it's the off season. But no way am I going to spend my time cooking for somebody on my vacation."
His jaw jutted out.
She relented. "I might, however, consider instructing you how to cook some dishes you like."
"I don't cook," he said tersely.
"What, not at all?"
"I can make tea and scrambled eggs."
Her jaw dropped. "Seriously? You're that useless?" She blushed. "In the kitchen, I mean."