There were signals if that didn't happen, but in my five years here it never had.
I was halfway through my list when I frowned. James was the next client looking for a woman I knew well, Angela. James, my husband. I sensed from his message that he was familiar with her and I bit my lip as I fought the urge to fire back something reactive. He didn't know where I worked and never cared, so I wasn't about to reveal the truth now. I kept reading the message until my head was throbbing, making me close my eyes and take a deep breath.
Angela was a beautiful brunette woman with an enormous chest, and my husband was fucking her. More than that, he was paying to do so, and I compared the differences between us for a long moment. I was more blonde with a more athletic body. I shook my head. That didn't matter at all. We never had a strong physical attraction, to begin with, and this wasn't jealousy that I was feeling.
I thought about just deleting the message. However, it was a job to Angela to let my husband fuck her between her toes as I read again and scowled. I never knew he was into that. I was still looking at the computer when someone walked into the office, making me tear my eyes away from the screen to see Lana. "Are you okay? You look like a ghost." Her eyes were filled with concern as she took me in and I licked my full lips. I moved away from the screen and gestured for her to look at it, frowning as Lana came around the desk. "What is it?"
"That's my husband," I replied as Lana bit her lip and looked at me. We all knew that men that came to us weren't often single, and Lana would admit that she'd slept with a lot of married men.
"Oh, shit." I knew that I'd have to admit that he didn't know what I did for a living as she stared at me.
"He doesn't know what my job is. They think I assist a freelance photographer for a hobby. There are so many secrets about this part of my life, so this isn't any type of revenge." I was hiding the bruise that was on my arm under the long-sleeved silk shirt, a secret from all the world. They were becoming more common, and I hated to admit that there was a part of me that was relieved that I'd caught him cheating. I could leave, even as the pain filled my heart. This marriage was truly a lie now, and there was no denying it. "To admit that I know he's doing this, I have to admit where I work. To say that my family would be devastated is putting it mildly. They would disown me, Lana."
"Well, I could delete the message. I could do that, but this is Angela's job, and I'm confident that she wouldn't do it if she knew who he was. I can tell you from experience that these men aren't discussing their family life at home. What would you prefer, Ray?"
"Book it. I can't do it but … I know it's done with him in my heart. I know that I'm holding onto nothing." I shook my head as I stood to give her my seat. "I'll be right back."
I left my office to walked into the small lobby, taking deep breaths. Did it matter if James slept with Angela once or twice? Did it matter how many there were more than that fact that he was cheating at all? I don't know why I was surprised because we had a business relationship more than a loving marriage. It always had been. Now I could leave it, and I dropped my head back before I walked back in. "Is it done?" I asked as Lana nodded and gave me a nervous look.
I was twenty-seven years old, and I had never done anything wild. I married James a year into college, and he was my first sexual partner, a very vanilla one from what I read in books and saw on television. I wanted to throw caution to the wind, and I looked at Lana for a moment. "Isn't Maria out for a week because of her surgery?" The newest escort had gallbladder surgery suddenly, and we were shifting her clients around to the others, and I had a crazy idea.
"She is," Lana replied carefully, staring at me.
"I want one of her clients," I stated bravely as her eyes widened. "Nothing crazy and nobody with any weird fetishes. I just want to know what it feels like to be with another man, Lana."
"Well, you are a beautiful woman. Any guy would be lucky to have you," Lana said after a moment as she took me in. "I'll advertise you to a clean-cut man as a newbie. Want to do a salon visit before and have some fun with your hair and makeup?"
"Yes, let's do it." I smiled as she rubbed her hands together with a hesitant smile.
CHAPTER 3
Declan
I looked at the vague response to my booking of the escort, something that was new to me. My wife just left me for her partner at the advertising agency that she worked at, so friends suggested that I hire a woman so it wasn't anything that would last beyond the night. I was the owner of a popular hotel chain, so I had the money even when Claire went after half of my money in divorce court. I was a rich man and deserved to pay for some great sex, even though they'd let me know that the girl was new to the job.
I rather liked the idea of a woman that hadn't been fucked by several men, someone that would cling to my cock when I was inside of her. It wasn't that I was asking for anything crazy during this experience, just regular sex that felt a bit more dangerous than what I was used to with Claire.
I knew the hotel that I'd be going to meet the woman, Rachel. That came in a separate message, something I assumed they did to keep it under the radar.
I stood in my office and walked around, knowing that I was going to pay for sex for the first time in my life. I could get any woman that I wanted, looking into the mirror as I ran a hand through my tousled dark hair. I also had ice blue eyes that every woman other than Claire seemed to appreciate. Women flirted with me every day, but I was foolish and stayed with my wife until she explained that she'd fallen in love with a man that was ten years younger than both of us at twenty-five.
I looked back at the computer and took a slow breath.
Men fucked to move past a relationship, and I found a foolproof way to make it just a one-night-stand. This was going to be perfect, and I added the appointment to my phone once I was back at the desk. All I knew that she was blonde and beautiful like I asked for, the exact opposite of Claire.
I asked my friends about this agency, and they all said that the girls were beautiful, swearing by the professionalism of the service. None of them had ever been disappointed. I held onto that through the week before I left work Friday to meet the mystery woman at the hotel, in the room designated for me.
It was one of the best hotels in the city, located in Beverly Hills near my house. I fully expected Claire to go after it once she had an attorney, but it was mine for quite some time before we married five years ago. I checked my suit before I left and parked in the garage, making my way through the lobby to the bank of elevators.
I had considered backing out of tonight, tempted just to go to a bar and take some woman home. It seemed easier, but I wasn't married long enough to forget how clingy some of the women could be. I just needed a fuck and run to balance my life with the recent separation so I could focus on the divorce. I pushed the button as I took a curious look around the expansive lobby, wondering how many men were here for the escorts.
It didn't appear to be like a brothel, and I stepped inside of the glass car, leaning against the back as it moved smoothly to the eighth floor. The hotel was fifteen stories high, not exceptionally tall as much as it was spread out. I'd been here for conferences before, and it was a beautiful place, even getting a room for Christmas parties a time or two.
This time, I'd be with a stranger that I never spoke to or even kissed before this. I stepped out into the hallway and moved to the right to get to the designated room. I found it and paused for a moment as I decided if I wanted to do this.
I raised my hand to knock, rapping lightly on the bright white wood. I stared forward until I heard the click of the lock, watching it open slowly. A beautiful face peered out at me, a woman with pale skin and deep, endless blue eyes. "Rachel?"
"Yes, you must be Declan?" Her voice was sweet and a little nervous as she glanced around and opened the door wider for me to enter. I couldn't help but stare at the small red dress that she wore with high black heels, exposing her toned legs and pert little breasts that were straining against the halter top. Her hair was thick and straight with strands of red underneath the light blonde outer layer, matching the dress as I turned to face her. Rachel was a healthy amount shorter than my six foot two, around five foot eight if I guessed. With the heels, she added a couple of inches, and I took another long look at her body.