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“And the—the customer would dictate how the . . . encounter would go?”
He seemed to be thinking that over. “The customer dictates the parameters. I dictate the particulars. For example, if the lady has any particular fetishes—”
“Oh, no. None.” Her only fetish was the desire to make love with a man who loved her, and that was something Kenny Traveler couldn’t provide. Just sex.
“—or if, for example, the customer said something like, ‘Kenny, honey, I want you to handcuff me—’ ”
Her head shot up.
“—then I’d go along with that because it’s a parameter, but the order of events after those handcuffs get snapped on is pretty much up to me.”
“I—I see.” She could feel bright red patches burning in her cheeks. Was she really considering doing this? Letting Kenny Traveler take her virginity would certainly be a lot more effective than getting a tattoo. He was the perfect man for the job—physically irresistible, but so foreign to her concept of a soul mate that she wouldn’t have to deal with any emotional scars afterward. She could get it over with and then forget it.
“I should tell you that I won’t wear female underwear or use a whip. The ladies do enjoy a little light bondage, of course, so there’s no problem with that. I mean, I’d be pretty much out of business without those handcuffs I was talking about, so I’m more than happy to oblige.”
“You handcuff women?” She was shocked. Not that it happened, but that the practice was so widespread. “Oh, no.”
“Now, don’t get too judgmental. I didn’t think I’d like it either until the first time I snapped those suckers around a pair of—Well, I’m not saying any more. If that’s not to your particular tastes, then we’ll just try something else.”
She drew a deep breath. She didn’t need a flashing neon arrow pointing the way to realize this could be the answer both to her own freedom and to saving St. Gert’s. So why did she feel like crying?
She mustered her courage. She’d known when she started this trip that her life would never be the same again. Without giving herself any more time to think about it, she nodded. “All right, then. Yes. That sounds satisfactory.”
He blinked. “It does?”
“Tonight would be fine.”
“Tonight?”
She finally managed to look at him. “Do you have another engagement?”
“Oh, no. Tonight’s just fine with me.”
She was relieved. If she had too long to dwell on what was going to happen, she’d go mad. She forced herself to focus on the practical. “Do you take traveler’s checks?”
His regular customers obviously were more worldly than she because her inquiry made him grin. She regarded him coolly until he pulled in the corners of his mouth. “Yes, ma’am. Plus American Express and Visa. I can even handle Diners Club, although it wouldn’t be my first choice.”
“I have traveler’s checks.”
“Then we don’t have a problem, do we?”
“No. No, we don’t.”
More than anything, she wanted to get out of the hot tub and hide away in her room upstairs, but she was stark naked and trapped. Her stomach felt queasy and her mouth was dry. She closed her eyes and sank farther down into the water.
From the other side of the hot tub, Kenny watched Lady Emma’s shoulders disappearing into the bubbles. She licked her lips nervously, and, as the pink tip of her tongue swept along the crease of her mouth, he felt as if he were going to explode. He couldn’t believe this. When he’d started talking about fees, he’d just been messing around, having a little fun. Not for a moment had he thought she’d believe him. But she was one serious woman.
Here he’d given himself a couple of days to seduce her, and it hadn’t taken much more than twenty minutes. He’d always been good with women, but this was a record.
As he gazed at the water swirling around the base of her neck, he felt a moment’s hesitation. Then he remembered how bossy and controlling she was, his least favorite kind of woman, and his hesitation disappeared. Lady Emma wasn’t any dewy-eyed virgin, and she knew exactly what she was doing.
He could just imagine what her lovers were like, probably a bunch of old guys with names like Rupert and Nigel. They let her make all the calls, didn’t give her any trouble, and didn’t give her any thrills, either. But she was on vacation now, where there was no one around to tattle, and she had a hankering to get laid by someone who still had his own teeth. He was happy to oblige.
Her lids opened and she met his eyes. “I want to keep a light on.”
He certainly didn’t have a problem with that. “All right.”
“No cigarettes.”
