Page 80 of Masters of Pleasure
Nick
This is a terrible idea.
“Seriously?”Avery’s voice rose to a high shriek behind him, a reaction he’d never gotten from her in the kitchen, no matter how much he’d ticked her off—and he’d done plenty of that.Their arguments about food preparation and the menu could get heated, which was fun as hell.“Nick, you can’t… you don’t…”
Her insistence he ‘couldn’t’ take the class made him want to do it even more.Luke would probably say that was to be expected.He claimed Nick had always been contrary.
“Yes, I can, and I’m going to.”He glanced over his shoulder.“This is what you want, right?”
Avery was right behind him now, Domi and Rae only a few feet away, their heads together as they whispered.Both of them seemed unsure how to react.He’d only met them a couple times, but he knew they were kinky, submissive, and had made friends with Avery not long ago.How, he didn’t know… maybe doing stuff on the second floor?
Fuck, he didn’t like that idea at all.Had Avery been coming up here all this time, and he’d not known?
Putting her hands on her hips, Avery took a deep breath that drew his attention to the tops of her breasts as they heaved within the corset.Seeing the direction of his gaze, she blushed bright pink, but it didn’t slow her down.
“This is what Imightwant,” she stressed.“And you and I, well… we haven’t… we aren’t…” Her tongue flicked out, licking her lips as if to help her think of what she wanted to say.
“We aren’t a couple?”He arched his eyebrow at her.“No, not yet.”That was when he realized his decision had already been made.No, they hadn’t done more than flirt and exchange a few hot kisses, but that was absolutely where he’d been heading.He hadn’t admitted it to himself yet, but he would have never fooled around with a co-worker if he didn’t want an actual relationship.It never ended well.
Not that any of his previous relationships had ended well, but that was probably why he’d been attracted to Avery.His previous girlfriends hadn’t understood a chef’s schedule or his dedication to his work and moving up in the restaurant industry.Avery did, although she didn’t have any ambition to become an executive chef—he’d asked her once if that was what she was looking to do.She was happy being a sous chef.She understood his schedule because she worked the same one.Even though she didn’t want an exec chef position, she understood the pressures he was under and why he was a workaholic.
He’d never tried dating anyone from work, but that might have been because he’d been working his ass off to move up in the kitchen and saw everyone else there as a rival.Now that he was in the top spot, all he had to do was prove he deserved to be there.Avery wasn’t a rival.She was an integral part of the team that was helping him do that.
They could talk about work and food to their heart’s content, and she wouldn’t get sick of it—or him.
Avery gaped at him.Apparently, she hadn’t been quite on the same page.
“You’ve never even asked me on a date.”Rather than shrieking, she was whispering as if it was some kind of secret.Her hazel eyes darted back and forth, looking behind him, and it didn’t take a genius to know she was looking to see Olivia’s and Luke’s reactions.
“Fine.”Nick crossed his arms over his chest.“Want to go on a date?”
Instead of answering, Avery hushed him, looking as though she was going to have a conniption.
“Avery?”Domi stepped forward to take Avery’s arm.She was a cute little thing, petite in every sense of the word, with tight, springy curls that bounced around her head with every movement she made.Behind her, Rae was glaring suspiciously at Nick, watching over both Avery and Domi with a protective gaze.
When Nick met her gaze, she tossed some of her long braids over her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest.Do not piss off the girlfriends.He quickly turned his attention back to Avery.“Do you want us to stay out here with you?”
Closing her eyes for a moment, Avery reached up to rub the center of her forehead, a move Nick recognized from the kitchen, which meant he’d gotten on her last nerve, and she was doing everything in her power to hold back her desire to yell at him.As always, it made him smirk.Normally, she was so cool, calm, and collected, he considered it a badge of honor to get under her skin.
“Domi, Rae, why don’t you two go inside.Freddy can show you to your seats.”Olivia came up beside Nick, making him jump.He hadn’t heard her approach.How the hell did she do that in heels on a wood floor?The office had a rug, but he was standing on the wood.“Avery will be in with you shortly, but I think it might benefit her and Nick to have a quick talk first.”
Avery
A quick talk?Avery wasn’t sure that was possible.There was way too much to talk about.
Nick discovering she was kinky.
Nick suddenly deciding he was going to try being kinky, too.
Nick thinking he would try to be kinky because he wanted to date her.
She’d barely gotten used to the idea dating the executive chef at the restaurant where she worked wasn’t the most insane idea in the world—this felt like they’d skipped a few steps.Getting into kink wasn’t something someone did for a casual hookup or even after a few dates.Yes, they’d known each other for months, but that time had been spent working together, not dating!
“You’ve got this,” Domi whispered in her ear, taking Avery’s hand to give it a squeeze.
“If you don’t want him, tell him.We’ll back you up.”Rae gave Avery’s fingers a quick squeeze as well, her words making Avery stifle a laugh.
She was so lucky to have found the two of them.
