Can't Buy Love (2 page)

Love Has No Pride

“Good evening, Star.”

“Hello, Dane. What can I do for you?”

We negotiate before I allow him to enter, as is customary. Not because I don’t trust him or wish to haggle, but because I’ve found it enhances his excitement to engage in the ritual despite our mutual understanding of exactly what he requires.

“A half-hour session, missionary, with you fully naked. I want to suck on your tits—”

I tune out his requests, which we both know I won’t deny.

“Star?” Dane, one of my more mature, less-aggressive customers, shifts from scuffed shoe to scuffed shoe, tossing uneasy glances over his shoulder. “Is…is that okay?”

“I’m sorry for your wait.” I reach out and enfold his chilled hand in mine. “That’s fine. Come inside so I can warm you up.”

“Never a problem there.” He pats my fingers as he slips through my window.

I lock the door behind him and slide the curtain across the pane, obscuring us from the world outside, blocking the teeming reality beyond my sanctuary. Inside, there’s only us and the encounter we build together.

Companioned by my lingering disappointment.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Dane pauses with substantial bills folded, poised above the slot on top of my lockbox. “I can come back another time.”

“It’s not that.” My bond with my customers allows emotion to flow between us, generally in one direction. I absorb their need, feed off it. They vent. I accept the burden.

Occasionally it goes the other way. I offer comfort, healing and no-questions-asked acceptance of their desire. Tonight, I wish I could be the one to unload. Maybe I’ll do some window shopping of my own in the last hour before dawn.

Or maybe… “Would you mind—”

What am I thinking? People employ sex workers for the privilege of a strings-free relationship. Despite our friendly rapport, Dane doesn’t give a shit about my issues.

“This isn’t like you, Star.” He brushes his thumb over the spot I bit on my lip. “Are you in trouble? Is it the man outside? Is that tall guy bothering you? I’ll call the authorities. I’ll vouch for you.”

He’s already digging in his jacket pocket for his cell.

“No!”

“You don’t have to be afraid.”

I still him with light pressure on his wrist. “The only thing Rick makes me fear is a broken heart.”

“Your boyfriend?” He tilts his head, an adorable wrinkle appearing in his brow.

“Maybe. I’m not sure. Is that even possible? Who would date a working girl?”

“Jesus.” He laughs. “I see your point. No offense, Star. Relationships are brutal. Heck, I’ve been married three times. Took awhile to figure out I’m not intended for that lifestyle. I’ll say this, only you can determine what works for you. Don’t be trapped by what society believes your affair should look like. The rules that count are the ones you both agree are important. It would take a man more secure than I could ever hope to be to know you were in here, servicing customers. If anyone can make it work, though, it will be you.”

I can’t help myself. I strip off his jacket. The cash he held flutters to the floor beneath the crumpled garment. He doesn’t resist when I lead him upstairs to my loft, barely big enough to accommodate the moderate mattress and ancient dresser, which holds my supplies.

I reach in a drawer for a condom before facing Dane. Unlike some of my clients, who are satisfied to yank my thong to the side and dive in, his cock is always hardest when there’s skin-to-skin contact between us. Even more, he seems to enjoy undressing me himself, so I grant him the privilege.

I raise my arms so he can peel the skin-tight, sequined tank from my torso.

His cheeks flush when my breasts are revealed. The lingering chill beads my nipples, presenting the perfect treat for my guest. He glances at me and I nod. “Go ahead.”

“You have great tits, Star.” He buries his face between the natural mounds and inhales deep enough to draw a breeze across my cleavage. Between my extreme heels and his slighter stature, he doesn’t have to lean very far.

His appreciative groan has my stomach fluttering. I’m looking forward to inviting him inside my body to seek his relief. When the time is right.

I blanket Dane’s hands with mine and guide them from my ribs to my hips and lower. He pauses his lavish attention at my chest long enough to tuck his thumbs beneath the waistband of my panties and caress the soft flesh between my bellybutton and my mound.

Like almost all of my customer interactions, the touch is for his benefit, not mine. The bulge of his small-end-of-normal erection bunches the fabric of his neat slacks. Still, something about becoming what he needs turns me on beyond belief. Knowing I can grant him what he seeks is an honor I don’t think I’ll ever tire of earning.

I wiggle my ass to facilitate his progress as he nudges the super-stretchy satin and lace from the curviest section of my figure.

“Damn, that’s sexy.” He stares as I continue to gyrate in time to the soundtrack thumping in my brain. Or is that the beat of my heart? The thrill of this moment never dulls. The anticipation is new, dangerous, wicked and oh so sweet. Every time.

What would Rick do if I danced for him? In no circumstance can I picture him waiting for me to encourage him to play. He’d probably drag me to his lap and put my energy to good use.

A tiny moan slips from my lips as I cup my breasts to ease the ache in them.

“What’s that for?” Dane is more observant than most of my customers. Hearing he’s failed at his attempted relationships disturbs me. If someone like him can’t succeed, who can? “Thinking of the tall guy in the street?”

Should I lie? Deception violates so many of my principles.

“Yes.” I wince.

“Don’t worry. I don’t mind.” Dane loosens his tie then whips it over his head. “It’s kind of hot actually.”

“We’re both a mess, aren’t we?” I return his grin as he unbuttons his plain white, starched shirt.

“I’ll be better in—” He glances at his watch, which he never bothers to remove. “Twenty minutes or so.”

“Me too. I hope.” I don’t bother to unlace my boots before crawling onto the mattress, treating him to a world-class view of my ass and nearly bald pussy before flopping onto my back. My fingers roam my torso while he strips off his basic black pants. “I keep trying to snuff this flame, but the more I try to suppress my arousal, the worse it becomes.”

“I can’t say I’m sorry for that.” Dane winks as he joins me on the mattress. He crouches between my spread knees, allowing me to roll a condom over his cock. “Your man could be good for business. You’re always a fantastic fuck, Star. Worth every cent. Tonight there’s something raw layered over your sensual calm. I’m glad I came.”

“Me too.” I wrap my fingers easily around his girth and guide him toward his target. I admit I might have found my mind wandering to my grocery list or my outstanding chores if he’d been one of the men who settles for any worker in the district so long as she performs a proficient suck and fuck.

My focus never strays from the link pulsing between Dane and me.

This is the kind of interaction that defines my world.
This
is the reason I choose to stay open for business when I’ve amassed a nest egg large enough to retire and live a conservative life on. No amount of money could replace this symbiotic exchange.

I clench my muscles, making Dane work to penetrate. He grits his teeth against the initial shock of his sheathed cock entering my pussy. The blunt cap nudges inside by degrees.

A sigh puffs from between my parted lips when he’s cradled fully at the juncture of my thighs, his pudgy yet adorable stomach brushing my mound.

“You’ve got it bad, don’t you?” He pants as he traces the trimmed patch of hair above my clit with the tip of one finger. The heart pattern brings his hand close to the top of my slit with every circuit.

I groan then arch, attempting to rub myself on his hand or his cock. Either will do.

My writhing baits him into plunging inside my drenched channel. “Damn it. Would love to tease you. Can’t.”

His grimace disturbs me. “This is your time, Dane. No worries.”

“Guess I’d like to pretend for a minute that it matters.” He pumps harder between my legs. “That you’re mine. Not like a stalker. Like—”

“I understand what you mean.” I slide my palm from his heaving chest to tangle my fingers in his too-long hair. I draw him down and cup the back of his head as I guide his lips to my chest. Accommodating his request is my job.

It’s also my pleasure.

His tongue swirls around my puckered flesh. He nibbles as he fucks me with uneven twitches of his hips. The irregular rhythm leaves me suspended, waiting for the next contact with bated breath. Periodically he finds a sweet spot inside me, but there are more misses than hits. It’s not enough to tip me over the edge.

I reach between us without disrupting his lavish partaking. He wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to suck my tits tonight. My fingers wedge between us, fluttering over the engorged knot of my clit.

He tilts his face to the side, murmuring against my breasts. “Imagine I’m him. That you’re with the tall guy.”

My eyes drift closed when his strokes add pressure, tapping the regular swirls of my rubbing into an unpredictable pattern. Tease!

If he were really Rick, the timid grasp on my hips would be fierce, the cock inside me longer and thicker, the rhythm of his fucking harder, stronger. And somehow twice as sweet.

“Can feel you. Tighter.” He scrunches his eyes closed as he humps faster, grunting with every re-entry. “Too good.”

His raspy communication turns into a rising shriek. I cradle his head against my bosom. “It’s okay to surrender, Dane. I’m with you.”

“Star!”

Something about hearing my name on his lips, even if it’s not my real one, infuses me with pleasure. He needs me. Tonight I needed him too.

My orgasm washes through my system, light and sparkling, resetting some of my elevated drives, which transforms me into a bolder version of myself.

If that’s even possible.

Dane’s fingers ball into fists in the light cotton of my sheets. He shudders between my thighs, emptying his longing into the condom he wears, the latex calling shenanigans on the illusion we’d attempted to cast.

Because nothing is as satisfying as the real thing. Sex with Rick wrings me out, leaves me wasted. The thought alone reignites a flame in my belly. Small and manageable for now. Present nonetheless.