Had sex just become a job to him, or did he feel the same excitement non-gigolos did?
Question after question occurred to her, which put the idea of sleep in the rearview mirror.
“Trouble sleeping?” Rory asked, as if he could hear her thoughts.
“No.”
“Then how did you hear me ask?”
“I talk in my sleep.”
Sexy laughter floated through the car.
“You’re wide awake.”
Giving up the pretense, Jewell shifted to a sitting position. “How’s the road?”
Rory lifted his chin so he could look through the rearview mirror. “Worried about your friends following behind?”
“Nope, they’re excellent drivers.”
“Ahh … So, it’s my capabilities that worry you. Don’t. I’m used to driving in much worse conditions.”
“I wasn’t worried,” she countered.
“My driving isn’t what’s keeping you awake?”
“No.”
He shot a side-way glace at her. “Worried about tomorrow?”
“No, I’m looking forward to it being over for Elizabeth.”
“Don’t get your hopes too high. It’s not even been confirmed that she’s been stashed at the address Incog gave me.”
“I’m trying not to think of that scenario.”
“Me, too,” he admitted.
Silence resumed in the SUV for several miles.
“You enjoy your ride yesterday?”
“I’ve had better.”
Jewell didn’t have to ask how he knew she had gone for a ride. He had been sitting in the club room with Jade and Nickel when she returned. Jade had asked her where she had gone.
“You looked frozen when you came back.”
“I needed some fresh air.”
“I can understand that. Having to deal with people like Incog tends to have that effect.”
Incog hadn’t been why she had needed to get out the room. His body in those black pants should be illegal.
“Have you had to deal with many like him?”
“No. I’m pretty laidback about anything concerning sex. I live by the motto ‘to each his own,’ yet Incog scares the crap out of me with what he would do to someone unwary enough to be at his mercy.”
“In your line of work, have you been at someone’s mercy?” Jewell expected him to give her another glance. He didn’t.
“That’s a personal question from a woman who has made no bones about her dislike of me.”
Why was she even curious?
Unknowingly, Jewell gave a sigh. “Never mind.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t answer. Have I ever been at someone’s mercy?” he repeated the question. “I’ve been in some iffy spots, where things could have gone bad. Luckily for me, nothing I wasn’t able to get myself out of, though.”
“Those situations didn’t make you rethink your choice of profession?”
“No. Going to a grocery store puts you at risk more.”
Biting her lip, she had to agree. Elizabeth had been kidnapped outside her apartment building. She had no risky behaviors that would have put her in danger. For God’s sake, she was working on a hair product. Because someone assumed she was working on the vaccine, her life was in danger.
“You’re not afraid of STDs?”
“Now we’re really getting personal.”
Jewell stiffened in her seat when she saw icy drops of water hit the windshield. Rory decreased his speed, keeping his attention on the road as he talked.
“No. Most of the work I do now is on the computer with clients who I’ve worked with for years. Not only am I regularly tested, but so are they, even if we won’t be having physical contact.”
“You have different streams?”
“Would be boring if I did the same thing over and over. Each stream is based on what the viewers want help with. I give different lessons based on their questions.”
“Such as?”
“Like aftercare, how to keep from orgasming too fast, how to be a more confident lover. I cover a variety of topics.”
Surprised at the variation of streams Rory did, she had to force herself not to roll her window down as her imagination tried to lead her astray. “Here I was thinking everyone just goes with the flow.”
“Discussing sex is embarrassing to some people, especially if they are having problems. Men hate to admit to sexual problems, other than to a doctor. Even then, many won’t.”
“That isn’t mainly a male problem. Women have that problem, too. Good girls aren’t allowed to be friends with girls who sleep around, so they settle for passing out bad advice.”
A rumble of laughter came from Rory. “The majority of my business comes from repairing the bad advice my clients were given.”
“How did you …?” Jewell licked suddenly dry lips. “Why did …?”
“Why did I become a gigolo?” He completed her question with a wry twist of his lips. “My father was a truck driver. He was killed in a crash when I was seventeen. I dropped out of high school to help my mom. I have two younger brothers and a sister. Worked any job I could get without a diploma. For a couple of years, we managed to keep a roof over our heads until Mom was mugged coming home from work. Laid her up for months. Then the medical bills were coming in, and we had no hope of ever making a dent in them.