He cleared his throat. “Um. Luca?”
“Yeah. You must be Ethan.”
He nodded and moved aside, gesturing for me to come in. I stepped into the condo. The click of the door behind me gave my pulse an uneasy surge, and when he turned the deadbolt, I jumped before I could tell myself not to.
Ethan stiffened. “Something wrong?” My eyes flicked to the deadbolt, and his followed. Understanding seemed to dawn as he met my gaze. “Would you prefer it that wasn’t… I mean, I can leave it if—”
“It’s fine.” I put on a hopefully convincing smile. “It doesn’t require a key to unlock from the inside, so it’s all good.”
Now if my heart would just slow down…
His brow furrowed. I could see the questions in his eyes. Had someone locked me in without letting me leave? Was I afraid of him?
I laughed and shook my head. “Honestly, it’s fine. I have to be cautious and protect myself, especially with new clients, but… it’s fine.” Anita would have my head if she knew I’d said that much; we were supposed to project confidence and not insult our clients by even implying that we didn’t trust them. I was halfway decent at reading people, though, and in the few seconds I’d been in Ethan’s company, I had the impression that admitting to the reason I’d startled would go over better than if I tried to pretend it was nothing. And that was actually reassuring—that he was concerned.
Ethan glanced at the door. Then he turned the deadbolt again. No fanfare. No comment. Just a simple gesture that tacitly said I could leave at any time.
My heartrate came down. Anything was possible, and I still needed to be cautious, but I already had the impression he was nothing like his present or past teammates.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
He smiled. “Don’t mention it.” Neither of us spoke. He slid his hands into his pockets and avoided my gaze as we stood in the small entryway. After a moment, he laughed shyly and scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve never done this before. You, uh… You might have to take the lead. I mean, do I offer you a drink, or… ?”
I laughed too, which unwound some of my nerves. “You can, but I’m all right for now. And I don’t drink when I’m on the job.”
“Oh. Right. That makes sense.” Silence fell. Nervous, uncomfortable silence. Not unusual for someone who was new to hiring someone like me, so I grabbed the reins.
“I guess the question is, what do you want from this?”
Ethan met my eyes, forehead creased with unspoken questions.
I shrugged. “Some guys want company. Some want to go straight to sex.” Inclining my head, I quietly asked, “What about you?”
He pressed his lips together, and the down-up look he gave me was surprisingly cute. Less of a leer and more… appreciative? Considering how uneasy I’d been on the way in here, I was startled by how at ease I was with him already. Probably because he was so shy and nervous; those weren’t usually precursors to someone getting out of line.
“I, um…” He met my gaze again. “I’m not even sure, to be honest. I mean, sex, yes. The rest of it…” Some more shyness crept into his expression. “I don’t know how interesting I am, so you might get bored.”
I almost laughed, but his earnestness gave me pause. Did he not understand how this worked? This wasn’t about me. He was the client. Whatever he wanted, that was what we’d do, whether it meant wild sex or playing board games all night. Beyond giving my consent, it didn’t matter what I thought about it. Why else would I keep going back to his jackass teammate?
But Ethan seemed genuinely concerned about whether he’d bore me if we just sat on the couch and talked. Did he have any idea how many clients had paid me for exactly that? Some guys were just painfully lonely, and at least prior to me jacking up my rates, plenty of guys had happily paid to have me hang out with them and talk about whatever. A lot of them never even took off their pants or mine.
I hooked my thumbs in my trouser pockets and shrugged again, trying to come off as casual and not dismissive. “I’m here on your dime. This is all about what you want.”
Ethan swallowed. “Oh.” Silence hung between us.
Wow, he really was shy. Some guys were, especially if they’d never hired someone like me before. And if experience had taught me anything, it was when to gently take the lead until they found their footing.
So I stepped a little closer and grinned up at him. “Maybe conversation can wait until we’ve… broken the ice?”
His eyebrows rose. “You think so?”
“Worth a try.” I trailed a fingertip along his arm, stopping just under the edge of his T-shirt sleeve, pretending not to recognize or even notice his Breakers tattoo. “Sometimes it’s easier to think clearly after an orgasm or two.”
Ethan’s lips parted. “Oh. Um. Maybe?”
I narrowed my eyes and closed some of the remaining space between us. “That is at least part of why you hired me, isn’t it?” It was never stated explicitly in electronic interactions, but it was usually why we were hired. And it was never a bad idea to make sure we were on the same page.
“Y-yeah.” Ethan sounded out of breath. “Yeah. Definitely.”
“Mmhmm.” I slid a hand up his chest, trying not to get distracted by the well-defined muscles underneath his shirt. “So tell me—what do you like?”
“I…” He closed his eyes as my thumb crested his hard nipple. “A lot of things. Just…” He shivered hard, planting his palm against the wall as if he needed the support. “Haven’t been touched in a long time.”
“No?”
“Haven’t had time. And…” His eyes lost focus, then he shook his head. “I’m on the road a lot. Makes it hard to connect with people.”
“Hockey?”
Ethan jumped. “How did you know?”
“Well, the tattoo.” I nodded toward the black and yellow ink peeking out from beneath his sleeve. “And from your photos…” I laughed softly, trying to sound like I didn’t have issues with men who played his sport. “Hockey players have a pretty distinctive physique.”
He laughed, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t blush. “Yeah. The sport is great, but it would be nice to be able to buy pants off the rack.”
“I’m sure, but…” I winked. “At least from where I’m standing, the results are worth it.”
“Oh yeah?”
“What can I say? I appreciate a great set of thighs and a nice ass.”
Ethan bit his lip.
I inched closer, sliding my hand around to his back. “That ass looks good in jeans. I’m curious how it looks without them.”
He laughed softly, and as he rested a cautious hand on my waist, he said, “I have to say—that’s a pickup line I haven’t heard before.”
“Is it really a pickup line when I’m already here?”
His laughter vanished, and the shyness came back. His fingers twitched on my waist. “I’m glad one of us is direct.”
“Just breaking the ice.” I closed that last bit of space between us, letting our hips brush. He gasped, and I almost did too—nerves be damned, he was fully hard. Lifting my chin enough to hint that I wanted him to kiss me, I murmured, “Any limits I should know about?”