“Communication?” she asks.
“Yup, communication.”
She shakes her head slightly, not tugging her hair out of my fingers. “I kind of guessed that you weren’t a daddy. When we were at the expo, you seemed a little uncomfortable with it. But by the end, you were really smooth and today you’ve been amazing.”
And we haven’t even had sex yet.
“Nice to hear. Anything you want to ask me about the contract? You didn’t email me any questions, but maybe you’d be more comfortable talking it through face-to-face?”
Her cheeks flush a gorgeous shade of pink and she shifts her shoulders. Embarrassed, but thinking. “There wasn’t much in there about what you want from me. I mean like, um, fellatio when you wake up in the morning, or calling you at specific times of day.”
“I’d never say no to a morning blow job, but I’d rather develop our rituals naturally as we get to know each other. I will give you a daily schedule. You won’t ever be in doubt about what I want from you. You saw the part about returning all calls or texts within an hour unless you’ve already told me you’ll be out of pocket?”
She nods. “Yes, sir. I’d do that anyway.”
“Good girl. Anything else?”
“There weren’t any hard limits for you.”
“Mmm, scat play, bestiality and gas masks.”
“I understand the first two.” She gives a delicate shiver. “Gas masks?”
“They creep me out. Not a turn on.”
She giggles softly as she takes a sip of her drink.
“Anything else?”
“It said punishments would be at your discretion but wouldn’t cross my hard limits.”
“That’s right. Anything about that concern you?”
“Um, just that my hard limits are really hard limits. I mean, you know that. It’s just that sometimes—”
“Sometimes people aren’t respectful of hard limits?” I give the curl I’m holding a gentle tug before lifting it to my lips. “Baby doll, I will always respect your hard limits. Your safe word works always, not just when we’re playing. If discipline exceeds what you can take, I expect you to use it.”
That gets me a wide, happy smile.
* * *
Manny rings the front doorbell as we’re finishing our drinks. He doesn’t need to; Manny’s keyed into my security system and all he has to do to get in is press his thumb to the sensor by the door. But Manny knows Emily’s with me, and he was raised right.
I leave Emily with a kiss on the forehead to answer the door.
He pushes off the doorframe when I open the front door for him.
“Sharp,” he says, touching his plain black tie while looking at mine. “Pick me up one next time you’re in Walmart.”
I grin at him. “Asshole.”
He slaps me on the back, which doesn’t stagger me only because it’s his usual greeting, so I’m expecting it. Manny benches a mean three-eighty and likes to throw it around.
I lead him through to the great room to meet Emily.
And watch her curl into a ball of shyness. Although Manny’s a big guy, he’s got the handsome Latino bastard thing going. I’ve never seen him as intimidating, and women are usually all over him. Not Emily. Once she shakes his hand, she tucks her hands behind her back, puts her head down and nearly disappears into her blazer.
Manny gives me a look that says, what’s up with your chica?
I shrug as I fix him a drink. I haven’t seen her like this before. She was cool and reserved at the expo, sure, but I just saw that as a submissive’s natural caution. She came out of her shell immediately with me. Is she afraid of big men? Of strangers? Or is it just that she only responds to Dominants?
I hand Manny his Corona with lime and put my hand in the small of Emily’s back. As soon as I do, she shifts closer to me and lifts her head, big eyes searching my face. I give her a gentle smile and say, “Manny’s a body man. Best in the City. He’s going to stick to the client all night so we can enjoy our date.”
She glances at Manny. “Thank you, Mister Costa.”
“It’s Manny, and it’s my pleasure, Emily,” Manny tells her.
This is the point when women usually melt all over him. Instead, Emily looks up at me and asks, “Is your job dangerous?”
Manny opens his mouth, but I cut him off before he says anything stupid, particularly about the times I’ve been shot at. “The worst things porn stars attract are paparazzi.”
Manny grunts. “And rabid fans. They’re worse than the shutter bugs.”
Emily drops her head again, effectively ending her participation in the conversation. I could bring her back into it, but I’d rather move on to our one-on-one time. I tip my chin at Manny. Taking the hint, he makes short work of his Corona and sets the empty on the kitchen island.
“Guess we better get going,” he says. “Don’t want to be late to pick up the glitterati.”
“Yup, let’s go.” I keep Emily tight to my side as we leave.
Manny’s parked his black Lincoln on the street in front of my house, which is begging for a ticket, but his sister’s on the force, so he parks with reckless abandon all over the city. His limo’s an older model, with the bench seats in the rear facing each other, rather than at right angles. Manny and I agree that’s safer in a collision, and safety is our primary concern with our clients. We’re not escorting kids to the prom here.
I help Emily into the back seat and Manny raises the glass partition between the front and back to give us some privacy.
As Manny pulls away from the curb, I lean across to buckle Emily’s seatbelt. She watches me do it, eyes gleaming. Once she’s secure, she shifts in the seat, pressing close, the way she did during the taxi ride. I slide my arm around her shoulders.
“Emily, Manny’s a good friend as well as someone I work with. I’ve known him for a long time. You can
