Page 14 of Forbidden Desires

He rolled his eyes. “Dominique likes to talk, but I suppose when you’ve had the kind of life she’s had, you can’t reallyblame her for being as open as she is.” His expression softened. “Anyway, I’m glad I could leave you satisfied. It means that the conversation following breakfast will probably go smoother than I hope.”

“Conversation?”

“Yes. After breakfast. We both need to eat something good and filling and I don’t do business on an empty stomach.” He looked over to me, a sexy curve to his full lips as his gaze raked over me. “Besides, distracting my mouth is a good idea when I’m tempted to occupy it with other things.”

Heat flooded between my thighs again, but to my credit, I didn’t rise to the bait. I was too hungry for that.

Eric set up the spread of breakfast at the large island in the center of his kitchen. I piled my plate high, not shy about what I ate and certainly not about howmuchI ate. My stomach was making too much noise at this point for me to care.

“So, since we’re not talking business before breakfast,” I said after we’d settled at a small table in a nook of the kitchen and we started to tuck into our breakfasts, “what about non-business curiosity? I’ve been dying to know how you know Dominique. The way you two talk about each other, at first I thought maybe she just knew you through clients, but you seem to actually know her personally.”

“I do. Ironically, she was friends with my father.” At my intrigued expression, he laughed. “No, not that kind of ‘friends.’ She entertained a friend ofhis,and through that friend,theybecame friends. I suppose you could say, she’s very much like an aunt to me.”

I nodded, taking a bite of a delicious, fluffy pancake smothered in butter and syrup.

“And you?” he asked, his eyes meeting mine from across the table. “I know Dominique tends to set her sights on those sheconsiders special. It’s difficult to pinpoint how specifically she finds such people, however. Each has their own story.”

Each has their own story.That was one way to put it.

I was quiet and contemplative for a moment as I ate my breakfast. I’d learned that a good rule to have for this kind of work was to allow things to be friendly enough to keep your clients feeling an intimate connection, but not so personal that there was too strong of an attachment. It was much smarter to separate business from real life, and that principle worked for me. Opening up candidly about my parents was difficult even with Dominique, and she was the only person alive who could say that they knew me the best.

Eating another self-indulgent piece of bacon, I put on a smile, like it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t like I had to even talk about my parents to Eric; he hadn’t asked about them, specifically. He’d asked how I’d come to meetDominique.

“I dropped out of college freshman year when I was eighteen after I lost my parents,” I said.Truth.“It was a difficult time—”also the truth“—and since I wasn’t in college, I needed to do something with my time but also make money. I didn’t start with escorting. I started with camming. Truth be told, I was very green at the beginning, but as I learned how to market myself, how to interact with the men that watched me, I learned how to create an experience that drew people in and kept those people coming back.” I ate another bite of pancake before going on. “For a while, about a year or so, this went well. I started getting more and more clients who really liked my one-on-one work. My first ‘escorting’ job came of that.” I shook my head, remembering the not so pleasant experience. “Ugh, it was a disaster.”

“Disaster? Yet you’re here now as one of Dominique’s jewels,” he said, his expression clear of any judgement. “Clearly the story isn’t done?”

Reluctantly, I shook my head. “Far from. I was new to the idea of escorting but hadn’t really thought that it could be much different than going on a date. I just thought of it as a date that was paid for.” I picked up a ripe blueberry but didn’t put it in my mouth as I continued. “The problem was the guy who hired me was a complete creep when we actually met up, and we hadn’t made any formal contracts because I didn’t know any better. He was a younger member of a board of directors for a hedge fund corporation, and from what I could tell, was only in that position because his father knew people who knew people.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Nepotism at its finest.”

“Exactly.” I set the fruit back down and instead took a sip of my coffee, giving myself a moment before sharing more. “There was this dinner function that he was taking me to, and it seemed everyone there was bringing a lady entertainer. Only all of them were proper escorts and understood what the night was about. I hadn’t realized that I would be expected to act as this man’s submissive, let alone be comfortable with the kind of humiliation that he wanted to put me through.”

I swallowed hard. Even now, I could easily recall how he’d wanted me to be his little bitch. How that too-tight, too-cheap for an executive’s son collar had been put around my neck before other indignities began. I shuddered at the memory.

I met Eric’s gaze and continued on. “Anyway, Dominique was there as a guest of one of the older execs. He wasn’t really there for the showing off or the sex. He and Dominique were constantly talking to each other in decent and friendly conversation. She kept looking at me, though, while I dealt with that asshole. I wanted—desperately wanted—to leave, but it was a good paycheck and I needed the money, and I wasn’t sure how I would fair if I left suddenly or made him feel like I wasn’t grateful. Before we left for the night Dominique pulled me aside and asked me if I was doing okay. If I needed anything. I thoughtthat maybe she had to be some kind of psychic because I had kept everything together up until she looked me in the eyes and asked me if I was alright, and if I even wanted to go home with that man. I broke down and told her that I didn’t, that he was just…horrible, but that I needed the money.”

I heard the scratch of my own voice as I spoke, but I’d come this far and there was enough compassion on Eric’s face to make me feel comfortable enough to finish. “So, she tells me to wait there, in the bathroom where she’d pulled me off to, and I listen to her because Dominique has this disarming way of speaking that makes everything seem like it’s going to be okay, even when you think it’s not. She comes back a few minutes later, a check in her hand, and asks if I would like to go out to dinner with her and the man she’s with, no strings attached. I’m free to say no, and the check is mine regardless.”

I could still remember how shocked I’d been by her offer. “I have no idea how to respond, so I just nod my head yes. She’s this honestly gorgeous older woman, she seems worldly, and the man she was with was kind, too, even flirtatious. They take me to this classy, refurbished speakeasy where there’s low jazz playing, people dancing. We eat, and she asks me about myself. Where I come from. How long I’ve been escorting. When I tell her that it was my first time, that I webcam for a living, she nods her head and says, ‘I thought I recognized you’. I thought maybe I was in another bad situation—sometimes you hear about people who take an interest in a specific girl, and then they stalk them or…or do other weird and bad shit to them. That wasn’t Dominique. She sees I’m about to bolt and just smiles at me and says, ‘Don’t think anything bad of it. I was hoping to find a way to get in contact with you, but it seems you just fell into my lap tonight. I like your work but I think you can do more than just peep shows from your bedroom, and make a lot more money’.”

I smiled a little. To others, the last part of that memory wouldn’t be a good one. But to me, I could only ever look back on it fondly because Dominique had changed my life, for the better.

I shifted in my chair, still shocked to see that Eric was watching me avidly, still so invested in my history, when most clients didn’t care less about my past. “Anyway, to make a long story short, she became my mentor. Taught me how to, one, vet potential clients, and two, the power of a solid,safecontract. I’ve only ever had one other situation where I felt like I couldn’t just leave if I wanted to, but that had more to do with the client than with my set up. Dominique has been good to me…she helped me through that bad patch and she’s become a trusted friend. Escorting isn’t what I expected to be doing, but I don’t regret it.”

Eric nodded, his eyes keen on me. “Honestly, that sounds like Dominique,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “She’s not a fixer upper. She’s a polisher. She sees a rock and knows beneath it there’s a geode, waiting to burst forth with the right amount of attention.”

“You think that’s how Dominique sees me?” I asked before I could stop myself. It was a description I hadn’t expected. Then again, Eric was into the arts and speaking like an artiste wasn’t outside of his wheelhouse.

“I think Dominque sees what anyone with a functioning mind would see,” he said, looking at me with a tilted head. “A dedicated, beautiful woman doing work that requires skills most don’t associate with your line of business—but anyone would be crazy to squander.”

Before I could respond, or even express thoughts that weren’t just a gibberish embodiment of the blush I was certain was on my face, Eric finished his glass of orange juice and began cleaning up the kitchen while I cleared the table. A short while later, with everything put away, he turned around to face me, the large island in the kitchen separating us.

His direct gaze met mine. “Now that we’re done eating,” he said, in that brisk, straight-forward manner that I had first experienced in my ‘interview’ with him, “I think now is as good a time as any to bring my proposal to you. I drew up a potential contract this morning. If you’re agreeable, I’d like to stay on as your client, exclusively. I have formal business, events, charity functions, and semi-formal meetings within the art industry. I frequent galleries, music halls, contribute to local school programs for the arts. I would like a regular date for such things. As you actually know your way around the art world, and I enjoyed your company last night at the gallery, I would like that date to be you. You, of course, are free to decline. You’re not obligated because of last night, and you will still be compensated for our nightcap even if you choose to make this a one-time venture.”

The way that he could go from casual conversation to business was, honestly, impressive. It didn’t stop the mental whiplash, of course, but my mind reeled as I tried to process it all.

I cleared my throat. “Well, I know my way around art if we’re talking about paintings. Sculptures. Those kinds of things. I may have to brush up and do some research if you’re also someone who ventures into the music world.” Orchestra and opera were not usually my thing.

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