Page 87 of Masters of Pleasure
“Whatever’s on tap.Shane will know.Just tell him it’s for me.”
Josie nodded, her eyes dropping to the papers he’d set in front of him before she scurried away.Fortunately, he had his hands atop them, so there was no way she’d been able to see what they were.Not that he should care what she thought, but if he was going to do this, he didn’t want to shout about it from the rooftops, and that was what telling Josie would be akin to.
“Did you have a good time tonight?”he asked, keeping his hands on top of the papers since he knew Josie would be back in a moment.
“I did.It was… enlightening.”
Avery’s gaze shyly met his again, which he wasn’t used to.It stirred new emotions in him.He’d never expected to feel protective of Avery, but something about her looked more vulnerable than usual.
“And enjoyable.”She sighed, almost as though he was making her admit to something she wasn’t sure she wanted to.There was a bit of reluctance in her answer, subtle but detectable to him.Something he wouldn’t have caught if he didn’t know her so well and wasn’t focused on her.
Her expression became more closed when Josie reappeared at their table with drinks, looking at them curiously.
“Thank you, Josie.”Nick gave her a look.“We’ll call you over if we need you again.”There was a clear dismissal in his voice.Josie took the hint, although she glanced back over her shoulder as she moved away.
Taking a sip of his beer while Avery polished off her martini, Nick opened the file.The contract for the club was on top.From what he could tell, it was mostly a non-disclosure agreement—which he’d already signed when he started working for Marquis—and a list of rules.The small packet under it had the more interesting stuff.
He pulled that one to the top.
“You might need to explain some of these,” he murmured, pulling his pen from the top pocket of his chef coat.
Avery
Oh good, that didn’t make her feel like chugging her martini.
“Here?”she whispered, her voice hissing out in horror.
Blinking, Nick looked up at her.She raised her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side.
“You’d rather do this in private?”
“Yes.Yes, I would.”Crazy man.She couldn’t decide if he had no shame or was just ignorant about the kinds of things she’d be explaining to him.Maybe a bit of both.“We haven’t even agreed we’re going to do this, and you want me to explain… stuff to you.”Her eyes darted around, but no one at the bar was looking at them.Still.
“Okay.”Nick closed the folder and put his hands over it again, staring across the table at her.
His dark eyes pinned her in place, and she took a deep breath.She’d only had one martini so far, barely taken a sip of her second, but he’d made her feel completely off-kilter.Maybe it was a Dom thing, or maybe because this entire situation felt surreal, but either way, she needed to get a grip on herself.
“I can come over after my shift is done.Probably in about an hour.”
“Come over?”
He raised his eyebrows at her.“For privacy.Or you can come to my place.Whichever makes you more comfortable.”
Comfortable discussing kink and a relationship with him?Yeah, that would be nowhere.But… no.Private where she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing if she wanted to screech at him or explain some of the finer points of edge play… Ack.Yeah.Privacy.
“My place is fine.”She stared at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking and coming up blank.“So, we’re really going to do this?”
“Yes, we are.I’m signing up for the class regardless, but I hope you’ll be there to help me.”His gaze was steady.Probing.He meant every word.He would sign up, even if she told him she wasn’t interested in him.
From what Avery knew, he would need someone in class with him.The signup sheet for experienced submissives to pair with single new Dominants taking the class had gone around a month ago.If he didn’t come with a partner, one would be assigned to him for the class, possibly more.Domi and Rae said the Doms switched off when they did their submissives class to make sure no one got too attached.
She’d been wrong when she’d told Rae the worst-case scenario.Worst-case was Nick taking the class without her and falling for both the lifestyle and another submissive because Avery had been too afraid to try.
Nope.Big nope.Everything could crash and burn, but it was still better to try than stand on the sidelines and watch someone else get what she wanted.
“Okay, we’ll go to the class as a couple.”Nick’s lips widened in a grin, and Avery held up a finger.“On one condition—no one at the restaurant can know we’re dating or have a relationship other than a work one.”
“Done.”Nick held out his hand.Pressing her lips together to keep from smiling—and failing miserably—Avery reached out and took it.It didn’t matter that it was a handshake rather than a kiss.Just touching him and feeling his callused palm against hers set her body sparking with interest.“I’d rather keep the workplace professional, anyway.There’s enough gossip going on around here.”
