Page 57 of High Class

“Most of his burns are from the neck down. The side of his face with burns was turned away from you, but those aren’t nearly as bad as the rest of him.”

“You told him about me?”

I sigh. “He declared I looked like I was…” I hesitate. “He said I looked like I had met someone special, and he wanted to know his name and if he could meet you.”

A twinkle lights his eyes and he gives me a cocky grin. “Special, huh?”

Luke, I can smack, so I do. But he grabs my wrist as soon as my palm connects with his shoulder and backs me against a wall. “I can make sure you suffer for that later, Flower. Imagine teetering on the edge of an orgasm for a few hours or maybe even a day or two the next time you think about hitting me.”

I suck in a breath and try not to think about how much his threats turn me on. “Stop. I’m working. What did you need to see me about?”

“I have to go to the club tonight while you’re at your show.”

I frown, not liking the jealous twinge at the thought of him being there without me. But I nod anyway. “I understand. I’ll be waiting for you in our suite when you come back.”

“Good girl. And don’t worry. I won’t be touching anyone tonight.”

I smile and lean in to kiss his cheek. “Thanks. See you later.”

“Enjoy your… date.” He shakes his head and stalks down the hall while I go back inside to play Uno with Joe and talk until dinner.

Chapter 18

Luke

Isitinmychair in the spades playroom at High Card and watch as various scenes unfold. Each of our play spaces have a seating area for the owner and their guests that provides us with an unobstructed view of the room. Right now, two women are putting on a show for everyone as they explore each other’s bodies. They’re both submissives who are unattached and enjoy showing off. As I watch, I remember Zara telling me that exhibitionism drives many people to get into Internet sex work. I wonder if the women in front of me have ever done any kind of camming.

Why am I even thinking about that?

“You look deep in thought,” Matteo says.

I glance up at him with a scowl. “What do you need?”

He chuckles and claps me on the shoulder. “Nothing. I noticed that Zara isn’t here. Wanted to make sure everything is OK.”

I nod and stare at the show ahead instead of making eye contact. “She’s… working,” I bite out.

Matteo whistles. “So, things are definitely not OK.”

“Go to hell.”

He doesn’t respond to my uncalled-for outburst. Instead, he squeezes my shoulder again. “I know it’s not exactly the same, but I had to learn a thing or two about sharing Skylar with the entire fucking world if you ever want to talk about it. Do the two of you have any rules in place about her work?”

I frown. Why is he trying to make nice with me? Matteo and I tend to exist together and tolerate each other. We aren’t actually buddies.

“It’s complicated. We’re not together, and I can’t stop her from doing a job she clearly loves.”

“But she’s having sex with someone else right now, yeah?”

I laugh. “No. Worse. She’s playing Uno with some poor schmuck who got injured in the war and can’t handle interacting with women on his own. They’ve never slept together, but he’s been her client for a couple of years. When he found out about me, he wanted to meet me.”

Matteo whistles again. “Interesting. I guess there’s more to being an escort than I realized.”

I chuckle. “Tell me about it. There’s some old guy in San Francisco who pays her a grand to come rub his shoulders and watch the news with him. Another guy in Los Angeles pays her to come sit in the front row of his first lecture of every semester at a university because he has crippling self-doubt. She comes and pretends to be a student and raises her hand and asks questions he fed her ahead of time. She said he’s a brilliant professor who doesn’t actually need her, but he’s convinced himself he does and it’s worth putting her up in a five-star hotel, paying for her travel expenses and giving her two thousand dollars to sit in on his class.”

“So how often does she actually sleep with guys?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, and I can’t ask. Once is too much for me to even think about. I get the urge to punch something every time I think about it.”

---