24. Almost Holiday Time
Almost Holiday Time
Q
It was the week before Christmas, and for the first time, Q was kind of wishing he wasn’t leaving to see his family for the holiday.
Not because he didn’t want to see them but because he didn’t want to leave Sam’s side.
Everything was going really well with them, although he still hadn’t said the L word.
There was something wrong with Sam, and he didn’t know what it was.
Most people probably wouldn’t have noticed how distracted she was, but Q had made a study of Sam, and her brain was constantly elsewhere.
He couldn’t be sure the issue was just one thing, though.
There was her dad and his new girlfriend, and Sam’s upcoming holiday alone. Even though she didn’t say so, he could tell she felt a little weird about it.
There was Noelle and Iris. She’d mentioned that Noelle had gotten upset with her and was convinced that Iris was telling Connor stories about Noelle. That had been easy for Q to deny. Connor just didn’t connect easily with people—which apparently, was what Sam had told Noelle.
Q had bitten his lip against commenting that maybe Noelle was projecting since she had plenty to say about Iris. Sam didn’t need any more pressure on her right now, so he was stepping carefully until he figured out what was bothering her.
It could also be her job and the financial stuff, which he really hated.
He could help her but he didn’t know how to offer her money without it sounding skeevy.
He was also pretty sure she wouldn’t take it if he did, which was why he’d gone the slightly underhanded route with talking to Patrick about her club membership.
At least tonight, he was able to give her something that she couldn’t turn down because it was a Christmas present.
“I know we’ve been here every week for months now, but this feels different,” Sam said as they walked up the stairs. They’d gone in through the rear entrance of Marquis, skipping the restaurant portion, though they could still hear the people in there having dinner.
“Maybe because it’s a Friday instead of a Monday, and you’re not having dinner with Morgan and Noelle beforehand.” Q squeezed her fingers as he made the suggestion, glancing over to meet her gaze.
She laughed.
“There is that. It’s a little weird knowing we’ll be eating in the upstairs room and watching rather than participating… but like, good weird,” she quickly tacked on to reassure him, and Q smiled.
He wasn’t worried that she’d called it ‘weird.’ She was right. It felt different, and a little odd to be doing something different but in a good way.
When they reached the top of the steps and moved into the lobby, Q helped her with her coat and barely held back a low whistle. When he’d picked her up, she’d come down from her apartment, all he’d been able to see were her fishnet stockings but her coat had hid the rest of her outfit.
It was worth seeing.
She hadn’t worn a corset to class since that first one, but tonight, she was wearing a dark blue one that made her skin and hair glow gold in contrast. Her breasts were pushed up into a tantalizing shelf, the deep cleavage inviting further inspection.
Below the corset she had on a tight leather skirt that clung to her curves and ended maybe an inch or two below her ass.
The fishnets she was wearing turned out to be thigh highs, and the tops hugged her thighs, leaving several inches of bare skin between the stockings and her skirt.
Whether she was wearing anything under the skirt was up for debate, but she definitely didn’t have anything under the corset.
Q’s fingers itched to stroke all that smooth, satiny skin.
It didn’t matter that they got frisky, one way or another, most nights they spent together. When she was partially covered up and partially exposed, he wanted to touch everywhere that was exposed, then peel off all her clothes so nothing was covered.
“Damn girl, you look amazing!”
Turning slightly, Q mock-glared at Freddy for stealing his line. Standing behind the podium, looking especially dapper in a light blue suit that matched his eyes perfectly and made his blond hair appear even blonder, Freddy grinned back at him, unrepentant.
Laughing, Sam twirled in between them, so they could both see all sides of her.
“Thank you,” she said to Freddy.
“I was going to say the same thing, but I was struck dumb for a moment,” Q complained, making her laugh again.
Pink tinged her cheeks in a blush at the compliment.
“Well, thank you, too,” she said, leaning forward to give him a kiss. The heels she was wearing made her just a touch taller than him, which he liked. Put his face closer to her boobs. Definitely not a bad thing.
“I can take your coats and bags. We’ll get your bags to your room while you enjoy dinner.” Freddy came around the desk to retrieve them, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He winked at Q. “You look pretty amazing, too.”
“Uh huh. I’m not going to forget that you stole my thunder.” Q handed over the coats, shaking his head as Freddy laughed, and Sam giggled again. “But thank you, anyway.”
“You’re welcome,” Freddy replied cheerfully. “I’m assuming you heard that we have guest performers tonight?”
“Yeah, all the way from Pittsburgh.” Sam grinned. “Master Mitch is having a fit about it, last I heard.”
“I can’t blame him.” Q shook his head. “If my parents were kinky, I wouldn’t want to know about it, much less having them perform at a club I belonged to.” The very thought made him want to scrub his eyeballs with bleach.
“Did you know there is science behind the idea that genetics play a part in whether we’re kinky?” Sam asked. Turning away from hanging up their coats, Freddy froze and stared at her. Q felt his jaw drop as he stared at her. She shrugged. “What? I read an article about it.”
“I’m pretty sure I could have gone my whole life without knowing that,” Freddy said fervently. “As a grown-ass adult, I have accepted that my parents had and probably still have sex, but I have never, ever wanted to think about what kind.”
“I would like to scrub that from my brain.” Q rubbed his hand over his face as if he might actually be able to scrub away the thoughts now invading his head.
He and his dad’s very awkward birds and the bees talk when he was a teenager had included a lot of information but definitely nothing about kink.
As far as he was concerned, his parents were one hundred percent vanilla, and he didn’t even like to think about that.
Poor Mitch.
He wouldn’t think too much about Mitch because that would remind him that tonight’s show was Mitch’s parents, which would make him think about his own parents…
“They own a club up in Pittsburgh, right?” Sam asked. It took Q a moment to get his head back on straight and realize she was talking about Mitch’s parents again.
“Yeah,” Freddy answered as he picked up their menus and stepped out from behind the podium to lead them into the main room. “The Outlands. It’s undergoing some renovations right now, which is why they’re down here visiting. It’ll be reopening soon.”
“Are there clubs everywhere?” Sam asked curiously, following Freddy through the door into Marquis’ proper.
They weren’t the first to arrive for dinner, but the booths were only about half full at the moment.
Not everyone came for dinner beforehand.
Some viewers wouldn’t arrive until just before the show.
“Oh, yeah, all over. There’s an amazing island resort called the Hideaway I’ve always wanted to go to, and there’s some Daddy ranch out in Montana and an actual castle in Ohio—”
“Ohio? A castle?” Sam blinked owlishly, nearly stumbling over her feet. Q moved quickly to catch her. She wasn’t looking at him, though, her entire focus on Freddy. He had to admit, a BDSM castle in Ohio sounded pretty out there.
“Yeah, Jessica, Justin, and Chris went there for their honeymoon. You should ask them about it.” Freddy smiled as he came to a halt beside one of the tables. “Now, let’s get you two seated so I can get back to the front.”
Q helped Sam into the booth. She had a rather thoughtful look on her face. He did vaguely remember hearing something about them going to a place called The Castle for their honeymoon, he just hadn’t realized it was in Ohio. He’d thought, like, England or somewhere foreign.
Freddy put down their menus and gave them one last smile before striding back out to the lobby.
Once they scooted around to the back of the booth, so they had a clear view of the circular stage in the center of the room, Q leaned back and ran his arm along the top bench behind Sam.
He didn’t need to look at the menu—it was the same food they served downstairs in the restaurant, and he already knew what he wanted.
Instead, he watched Sam looking over the menu, sticking his hand in his suit jacket pocket for the box he had tucked away.
Next to her corset and leather skirt, he felt a little overdressed, but he’d wanted a pocket to carry the box in and… well, she’d once made a comment about how much she enjoyed seeing a man in a well-tailored suit.
Their server came by to take their drink order before whisking away again. One of the things about the Marquis serving staff, they knew to make themselves discreet.
Looking down at the menu again for a long moment, Sam then glanced over her shoulder at him when she realized he still wasn’t looking at his menu and smiled.
“Already know what you want?”
“Yes.” Q smiled wolfishly at her, turning his answer into an innuendo, and her eyes lit up with appreciation. “Also, what I want for dinner.”
Her pink tongue flicked out, swiping across her lower lip as heat filled her eyes.
Yes, this was a dinner date, but the very location of the date made everything feel erotically charged.
He wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen after dinner.
He’d reserved the Dungeon room for them.
It was their favorite, with all the standard kinky dungeon equipment, but he didn’t know who would ultimately end up being in charge.
“Naughty.” She breathed out the word, letting her hand drop from the menu down to his thigh and squeezing his leg. His cock, which had been half-hard since the moment she’d taken off her coat, swelled with interest at her touch.
“Shh, don’t say that too loud or Santa will take me off the nice list.” He winked at her, and she laughed.
“I don’t think either of us are going to make the nice list this year,” she teased, leaning back to snuggle in against him.
Shifting toward him on the seat, knee bending, she rested the top of her leg against his.
The flirtatious position gave him access that he hadn’t had before, and now it was his turn to rest his hand on her thigh, stroking his hands over the bare skin between her stockings and skirt.
Sam’s quick intake of breath and the way she shifted her hips toward him gave him all the encouragement he needed.
Catching and holding her gaze, he stared into her eyes as his fingers slipped between her skirt and found her bare, wet, and ready for him.
His cock throbbed against the front of his pants as he slid his fingers along her pussy lips teasing her.
“Yes, I can see you’re very naughty,” he murmured, leaning closer to her. Close enough to kiss, yet only teasing her with the promise of one as much as his fingers were teasing her sensitive pussy. “I’m going to help you with that.”
“Oh, you are?” Sam raised her eyebrow at him, tilting her head so her lips brushed against his as she moved. Her body shifted again, her breast brushing against his arm in front of her.
“I am.” He moved his arm away, reaching into his jacket pocket. “I have a little something here for you.”
To his surprise, her expression immediately changed, going from sexually charged and happy to a frown. Q straightened in his seat a little.
“I didn’t get you…” she started to say.
He immediately realized what the problem was. Her and her damn pride about money. But he wasn’t going to let her turn this down.
“Trust me, pretty girl, this is for me.” He smiled, pushing the box at her.
The suspicious look she gave him only made his smile widen. Yes, it was technically a gift for her, but she’d understand once she opened it.