Page 86 of Masters of Pleasure
It wasn’t her fault Shannon hadn’t seen things the same way.They hadn’t seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things before Avery left home.She hadn’t realized how deeply that one had dug in until this moment when she admitted she didn’t want Nick to think that.
“The job stuff is a little harder,” Domi said thoughtfully, a finger tapping against her glass.She leaned onto her elbows.“Does the restaurant have a policy against fraternization?”
“No…” Avery drew out the word and made a face.“But if we started something, and it fell apart, he could make working here miserable for me.”
“Do you think Nick is the type of guy who would do that?”The question was said with more curiosity than anything else.Domi’s head tilted to the side, her curls bobbing slightly with the movement.
“I… no.”Probably not.At least, she couldn’t imagine him doing so.If anything, he’d be icy cold but civil.Polite.Which would hurt after how close they’d become and their current good rapport, but it wouldn’t be unbearable.He wouldn’t actually fire her because they broke up.
Considering he worked for Marquis, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense that he would think she was sick in the head for liking kink, even if he didn’t understand it.If he really thought people who were into it were sick, he wouldn’t work here, no matter how much they paid him.And he’d probably be on a mission to rescue his brother.
Instead, he would be willing to try things out.
Shouldn’t she be?
“You guys are making too much sense,” she grumbled.
“Cheers to that!”Rae lifted her glass, filled with a pink Dirty Shirley Temple, and grinned.
Laughing, Avery lifted hers as well, gently clinking her glass with Domi and Rae’s before taking another sip.
All three of them nearly choked when Nick suddenly appeared at the side of the table.None of them had seen him coming.One moment, no one was there, then he was there, like a freaking ninja.Was it already that late?
“Hi,” Avery croaked, looking past him to the wall behind the bar.Just after ten.She hadn’t been paying attention to the time, but even if she had, she would have expected Nick to come out closer to eleven.Things had died down in the dining room, but service wasn’t over yet, and he was a control freak who had trouble stepping away.
“Hey.”His gaze flicked to Rae and Domi before returning to her.“You ready to talk?”There was just enough uncertainty in his voice to make her realize he wasn’t as confident as he’d appeared earlier, which made her feel a little better.
“We’ll go sit at the bar,” Domi said cheerfully, scooting out of the booth, Rae following only a moment behind her.
“Just shout if you need us.”Unlike Domi, Rae sounded threatening and narrowed her eyes at Nick before she went.
Nick slid into Domi’s vacated side of the booth, setting down the papers he was holding.Avery had been so discombobulated by his appearance that she hadn’t realized he’d brought them.She really needed to get it together.
ChapterFour
Nick
As soon asJosie let him know Avery was in the dining room—any time any of the employees came in to eat, whoever was leading the line was given a heads up—the burning desire to see her had overtaken him, which was not his norm.
He’d always gotten a rush of pleasure knowing when Avery was in the dining room and had sent out food he knew she’d like—sometimes specials that weren’t on the menu—but he’d never had the urge to run out to her.Especially when there were still tickets coming through with new meals being ordered.
On the other hand… George had this.Things had slowed down enough, it was more like a weekday night.
So, he’d clapped the other man on the shoulder and said he needed to talk to Avery.Surprise had shown in George’s eyes, but he’d nodded and gotten back to work.He’d even seemed pleased Nick trusted him enough to leave him earlier than usual.
Something to think about.Nick wasn’t entirely happy to give up control over the kitchen this early in the evening, but it would be worth it.He knew it the moment he sat down across from Avery.
“No more corset?”he asked, eying the deep vee of the light blue dress she was wearing.It looked nice against her dark blonde hair and hazel eyes, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun as the corset, and he didn’t think she was wearing it under the dress.Too bad.
“No.There was no way I was wearing that downstairs.We’re lucky Olivia had clothes set aside for people like us.”Avery took another sip of her martini, which was already getting down toward the bottom.
Josie walked up to the table just as Nick was eying Avery’s drink, wondering how much she’d already had.The server eyed both of them almost warily.Nick had snapped at her a time or two for talking too much in the kitchen, and now she was walking on eggshells around him, which he was fine with.
“Do you want another one?”she asked Avery.
“Yes, one more, please.”
“And you?”She looked at Nick, wariness still evident in her big blue eyes.Several of the men on staff had been suckered in by her beauty, and especially those eyes, but Nick had never had any trouble ignoring her attractions.
