“A what?” Well, that got his attention.
Safe material, she thought, the topic of sex toys was right up her alley, and she could talk over the subject all day. “Yeah, they look like a flashlight but are soft and squishy on the inside. Some are even shaped like a mouth and throat. The guys seem to like them. They aren’t as good as the real thing, of course, but can be different and fun.”
“Hmm. Okay.”
She pointed to the calendar. “So, tomorrow would be good for you?”
He took a step back. “How about Thursday? It’s my turn to teach a wrestling class at the boys’ center tomorrow. The other coach will be there, but we do the class together. I can’t miss it.”
Now that was intriguing. “You teach wrestling?”
She studied him as he walked back around to the other side of the desk. When he turned, his dark brows were knitted together. Had she offended him?
“Yes, so will Thursday be okay?”
“Um, sure. Thursday will be fine. Just be here around two. Ron will get you all set up.”
“Just straps and that flashlight thing?”
She couldn’t lie to him. “Well.” She cleared her throat. “Would you be opposed to the use of nipple clamps?”
“Nipple clamps? That sounds painful.”
“It’s a good pain. I promise. We have novice ones. I’m sure those would do just fine for the client.” I’d love to see those brown points squeezed into the purple clamps. “Maybe the purple ones? Ron can have them ready. They’re lined with little pads.”
“Will I get paid the $1,000?”
“Actually, it will be $1,500 because of the toys, and you’ll be…you know.”
He flattened his big palms on the desk and leaned in. “No, I don’t know. Maybe you should clarify. What exactly am I going to be doing?”
She stared at his hands. Those rough fingertips could circle her clit with just the right amount of pressure. She would come quickly. Her clit hummed with the thought. The urge to shift in her seat was overwhelming.
“Um, you’d be touching yourself.”
His face was so close she could smell the scent of spearmint waft from between his full lips, kissable lips that were built to be on her skin, between her legs. “Where? My chest, my stomach? I really need you to be more specific.”
Her T-shirt was way too damn tight. She couldn’t breathe. “Your…your cock.”
She’d ripped the words from her clenched chest, and what reward did she get? He stood back up and started toward the door. “Sounds good. I’ll be here on Thursday, two o’clock.”
Before she could curse his birth and call him a bastard, he was gone. Damn, the man was frustrating and a pain in her ass, but she couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way he walked from the bathroom to the bed in the first video made her squirm. There was such a sense of confidence in the way he tugged on the blankets to crawl into that bed. He was at ease in front of the camera, but there was something behind those beautiful eyes, something sad. Abigail knew the look. She’d seen it a thousand times in the mirror. No matter how wide her smile was, there was always the pain behind it. She could see so much of herself in Sean.
She rubbed her hand over her stomach. The memory of that horrible night slammed into her brain. The blood, there was too much blood spilling on the floor, and she knew it. There was no way she thought she could have survived the assault. Really, she thought, she’d been dead inside for years. Between Justin’s beatings and trying to hide from her parents, it’d taken its toll and killed the happiness inside, leaving behind the crippling anxiety she had to live with even now.
She tried to grip the handle of the coffee cup and couldn’t. The shaking was getting worse every time she thought about the marriage that almost destroyed her. She still couldn’t figure out how she had the courage to file the divorce papers. Every book she’d read said the violence would get worse if she tried to leave, but she couldn’t live the lie any longer. But, really, she just traded one lie for another. Now her pathetic life consisted of dinners alone in her apartment and watching videos of a man she knew she couldn’t ever have.
“You’re a piece of work!” she said to herself and used both hands to steady the coffee mug.
Chapter Five
“Damn, double damn!” Abigail kicked the skinny jeans off her ankles and stomped back to the closet. The bed was already covered with various shades of blue jeans, some stone-washed, some boot-cut, and some were even ripped in just the right places.
She started in on the summer dresses. “Yellow? Jeez, no. Pink? I’m going to look like I should have a wad of cotton candy in my fist! Come on…come on. Wait!” She flipped through the dresses, then knelt to rummage through the shoes. She stood back up and started in again on the dresses. “This just might work.”