“Because reading men is my job. And he told me the nickname he gave you. You’ve been on his mind since the day he met you. I never thought he’d find someone, but then you came along.”
Am I flattered or insulted that Tucker thought about me while he was with Queenie? “What did you guys… do? How did he… like it? Is that the right term?”
She giggles and leans against the table. “He’d only take me from behind. Doesn’t like being looked at. The moment our clothes came off, my eyes never reached his face. It was the rule.”
He took her the same way he took me those first nights. “Did he tell you why?” I ask, hating how my voice trembles.
Shaking her head, she shrugs. “That’s a secret only he knows.”
Ha! He told me! He didn’t tell you! I win!
I’m not sure I should be happy, but it makes me feel like I’m the victor in a competition neither of us knew we were in.
“And you don’t… love him, right?”
Her giggle becomes a laugh, and I hate how even that sounds sexy. “Honey, we don’t fall in love here. It’s kind of the first rule of being an escort.”
“But you’re not technically an escort. That’s why he and the other two could have you.”
I can’t believe I’m having a conversation about sexual logistics with the woman who used to give Tucker what he needed. This is bordering on psychotic.
“When I’m here, that’s my mentality. Work and home are very different versions of Queenie. My man knows the difference, too.”
Different versions of Queenie. I guess that makes sense. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“How did I get into this line of work?”
“No,” I say. “Not that I’m not interested, but you seem like you might kind of enjoy it.”
Her eyebrows lift. “Guess I’m not the only one who can read people.”
Blushing, I look down. “How do you do it?”
“Do… what?”
“Spend time with Tucker and Capone and… I don’t know the other guy, actually, but I know there’s three. How do you come here, have sex with them, and then go home to your boyfriend?”
She ponders my question for a moment, and I continue studying her. I hate how much I wish I could have half her sexuality. She owns it. Knows it. Loves it.
This is kind of new to me.
“I’d like to say it’s just part of the job, but the truth is, I could have said no when Johnny asked me. I like these guys. They treat me better than any other man has in this business. And I’m able to protect the girls the way I never really was,” she says. “So stepping back into my old role for three men who have been incredible really isn’t difficult.”
“But what about your boyfriend?”
“He knew who I was when we got together. And he understands this is just… sex. There’s no real intimacy. That’s saved for him.”
Sighing, I lean against the wall. “I’d like to say that I don’t think there’s a way to have sex without intimacy, but that’s what I had before Tucker.”
“Really?”
“I didn’t really… Because of my past, sex was just a transaction. Something I did for the guys who tolerated me enough to date me because they expected it. But I didn’t really know what it felt like towantit before.”
Queenie beams. “And Pacino has you soaking through your panties, doesn’t he?”
“I honestly thought something was wrong,” I admit with a laugh. “My exes—the few I’ve had—would always get so angry because I was never ready enough. They felt unwanted, but I thought it was normal. Because it was. Until Tucker…”
Purring like a cat, she curls her fingers like a claw and wiggles her eyebrows.
