"That's okay. So what do you do for a living?"
And now he was about to lose all interest in her. She decided to play down her geek-i-tude. If her wardrobe didn't send him fleeing for a sexier woman, her career most certainly would.
"I … uh … own a business."
"What kind of business?"
When she hesitated and tried to think of way to make herself sound less geeky, he grinned.
"I know," he said. "You're a madam for high-class prostitutes. It would explain why you're so good in bed."
She was good in bed? News to her. Caitlyn was most remembered for her complete lack of athletic prowess. Any activity that required her to move her body in a coordinated fashion ended in disaster. But perhaps she'd finally discovered her sport.
"A madam? Now that would be an interesting career," she said. "Especially if you were one of my wares."
"You're done with me already? Going to sell me off to the highest bidder, are you?"
"No," Caitlyn said. "Hopefully, I'm just getting started with you. I think we have a lot of pleasurable moments in our future."
He avoided her interested gaze, and her heart plummeted. She hoped he knew that she was teasing about the male prostitute thing. Had she insulted him? It was a pretty insulting topic to joke about. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he patted her on the butt and nudged her toward the dressing rooms.
"You go get dressed. I'm going to find Kelly and let him know we're leaving. Would you be overly upset if he caught a ride back to the hotel with us?"
"Of course not," she said, but her heart gave an unpleasant pang. This was it. The thing that made him too good to be true. Kellen was her biggest competition for Owen's affection, and Owen didn't even realize it. "Should I wait for you outside?" she asked.
"Just wait here. I wouldn't want someone to pick you up off the street."
As if.
"Just so you know, I only have sex in sex clubs, so once we leave here, I won't want to have sex with you again tonight. I didn't want you to think it was anything personal if it came up."
Caitlyn blinked at him, her heart twanging with a strange ache. So she was good enough to screw in a sex club, but not after a sandwich? Of course she'd think that was personal. Fine. Even if he didn't want to screw her again, it didn't matter. She wasn't only interested in him for one thing. At least he'd been honest with her. It was something her husband had never been.
"I understand," she said. "I still want to spend time with you." Did that make her a desperate loser?
He smiled awfully bright for a man who didn't want to have sex with her. "You just made the honor roll, babe."
She had no idea what he meant by that, but apparently she'd said something right.
Chapter Five
Owen found Kelly sitting with a woman in a booth near the back of the club. So he might not want a ride back after all. Maybe he'd found someone to get busy with. Or maybe he was hoping that Owen would rescue him. It was difficult to read Kelly's face.
Owen paused near the corner of the table and caught a snippet of Kelly and the woman's conversation before either of them noticed him.
"Come on, baby," the woman purred, "you're hard as a rock. Let's go find a room and-"
"Of course I'm hard as a rock," Kelly said testily. "You keep shoving your hand down my pants."
Okay, it was rescue that Kelly needed.
Owen cleared his throat and grinned at his friend who, yeah, looked relieved to see him.
"Are you finally finished?" Kelly asked.
"Not really."
"Then what-"
"I'm taking Caitlyn out. She doesn't belong here. Or maybe I don't feel right with her here."
He wasn't sure what he meant exactly. There was just something about her that deserved better than this. Better than him. And for fuck's sake, she didn't seem to see it at all. He wanted to show her, but not here. Here was seedy, and being in this place made him want to take a shower. He'd never felt that way about one of Tony's clubs, but perhaps the entrepreneurial genius had just missed the mark with this one. Or maybe something in Owen's mindset had shifted and he was ready for more than a string of one-night stands. He honestly didn't know. But he meant to find out. Her reaction to his claim that he wouldn't want to have sex outside of the club had given him hope. He wasn't sure exactly what he was hoping for. More. But more what?
Kelly's eyes widened. "Wait! You're taking her home with you?"
It went against their rules and promises to each other, but Caitlyn was special. Kelly would recognize that soon enough.