“Didn’t work?”

Nora shrugged. “Mother and daughter did not good roommates make. Let’s just say when she found out about my lifestyle, who I was sleeping with and what we were doing, the proverbial excrement hit the metaphorical oscillator.”

“The shit hit the fan?”

“With gusto. That was the last straw for Mom. The world was depraved beyond redemption and the only hope for a woman of faith to remain pure in such a wasteland was to join a convent and never venture out into the world again. So she did.”

“Wow.” Lance gave an impressed whistle. “Catholic priest is a sadist and the sexiest Dominatrix on earth has a nun for a mother. Anything else?”

Nora only smiled.

“Nothing that matters.”

“So...” Lance stood up again. “What’s the plan for the day? You ready to go?”

“I actually don’t have any clients today. Rarely see clients on Sunday unless it’s an emergency.”

Lance narrowed his eyes at her.

“Do I want to know what constitutes a kink emergency?”

Nora laughed. Good question.

“Hard to explain. For some of my clients, kink is not a choice. It’s like a drug. And I don’t mean that in the bad way. I’m not talking a drug like cocaine or heroin. I mean it’s a drug like, I don’t know...insulin or Prozac. Our sadist priest, for example. Inflicting pain for him works like Lithium. He can get surly as fuck if he goes without too long. You get him a steady supply of kink—maybe once a week—and the man has the patience of the aforementioned Job. So I have a client or two who need kink like someone with asthma needs an inhaler. That’s one kind of kink emergency.”

“What’s the other?”

“The person is rich and horny and Kingsley wants to keep him happy.”

“That, I can understand. But if you don’t have appointments, why am I here today?”

“Kingsley’s orders. If I go out and about, he wants someone with me.”

“Even when you aren’t working?”

Nora didn’t really have a good answer for that.

“Nora?”

She started humming.

“Kingsley didn’t say I had to guard you when you weren’t working, did he?”

“What was that? I didn’t hear you over my humming?”

“I said—”

Nora started humming again.

“Nora.”

“If I flashed you my breasts would you be shocked into forgetting this line of questioning?”

“I’ve already seen your breasts,” Lance reminded her.

“Dammit.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that wouldn’t work. I’m just saying I’ve already seen them.”

Nora got off the couch and came to stand in front of Lance. She pulled her T-shirt off over her head. Underneath she wore a red push-up bra.

“Nora, I was just—”

“Too late,” she said, unhooking her bra in the front.

Lance covered her hands with his before she could finish.

“I don’t want to lose this job,” Lance said.

“You think if I show you my breasts you’ll fuck me right here on the floor? ‘Yes’ is a perfectly acceptable answer.”