Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Nick
He had to sit down. Not because he was feeling weak or tired, but if he kept standing where he was, he would never be able to concentrate on anything but Avery’s breasts.
They’d been luscious when she’d been standing in front of him, but when she sat down, and he was standing behind her…
well, his imagination took flight. There was a part of him tempted to see if he could literally dive into her deep cleavage and snuggle in for a good, long time.
Which meant he’d had a natural physical reaction he wasn’t ashamed of but which might make her uncomfortable, considering the circumstances, and would be a lot easier to hide when he was sitting down. Thank God for loose chef pants.
Taking the seat his brother had vacated, he looked at Avery and saw her expression for the first time since they’d come into Olivia’s office.
Normally, she met his gaze easily, never backing down, but right now, she was staring at her joined hands where they rested in her lap as if she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Well, that wouldn’t do at all.
“Avery, look at me.” He tried to say it gently, but it came out as more of an order. It worked, though. She looked up and met his gaze, appearing a little more defiant. “If you don’t want to date me, that’s fine.”
“It’s not that.” The words came out in a rush, then she hesitated, and something in his chest tightened.
Yes, he could handle rejection and would never try to push a woman to date him, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed hearing it.
“Okay, maybe it is a little, but not because of you but because of our positions.”
Nick raised his eyebrows, giving her a gesture she should continue.
He wasn’t entirely sure what she meant. Yes, they worked together, and that could go badly, but he saw it as more of a positive than a negative.
With his exes, it had been hard to find time to be with them.
With Avery, they were together almost every night of the week.
“I’ve never dated my boss, and I’m not sure it’s a great idea. I don’t want to mess up the dynamic in the kitchen, and I definitely don’t want anyone to think I have my position because we’re dating.”
The very real concern on her face was the only thing that kept him from scoffing. Instead, he reached out to place his hand over hers, right over where her fingers were twined together, and he sensed her stilling. She’d been practically vibrating with nervous energy, which wasn’t at all like her.
“Avery, no one is going to think that,” he said gently. “You’ve been working for me for months. Anyone who thought you have your position because we started dating months after we started working together is an idiot.”
“Yes, because the world is full of completely logical people.” She sighed, only partially convinced.
“It’s not only that. Being kinky… it’s not something you’ve ever indicated you were interested in.
Every time you mentioned Olivia wanted you to take the class, you laughed.
I don’t want you to force yourself to do something because you think it’s what I want you to do.
That’s not a good way to start a relationship. ”
Okay, that was a good point. He pressed his lips together, trying to think of how much he should say. Baring his emotions had never been a strong point, but he had a feeling Avery would not accept anything less than honesty, and he didn’t have a good argument that it wasn’t the whole truth.
“I have some concerns, but working here has helped. I’ll be honest. I’m not sure I have it in me to hurt a woman. Olivia has wanted me to take the class for a while because she thinks it will help me understand kink better.”
Avery
Well, that was probably true.
A class with instruction and demonstration would be a lot better to explain to him it wasn’t a bad thing to ‘hurt’ a woman if she was consenting, a masochist, and all the terms had been agreed upon beforehand.
It definitely wasn’t the first time she’d heard this misconception about kink.
When she’d tried explaining it to other people, it was hard to explain with words.
Most of the time, she ended up sending them to romance books.
Lexi Blake, Cherise Sinclair, Kallypso Masters, BJ Wane…
so many of her favorite kinky romance authors did a great job of explaining the difference between abuse and kink.
She pressed her lips together, not reassured about the whole executive chef–sous chef thing, though he made a good point that no one could say she was hired because they had a thing going on.
She still didn’t want anyone to know. The kitchen could be a competitive place, especially in restaurants like Marquis.
Most of them were looking to move up from their current positions and eventually be in Nick’s.
She wasn’t, but only because her dream was a little different—she wanted to own her own catering company.
“We have chemistry.” Nick moved to the edge of his seat, so their knees were touching, his hand firmly holding hers.
Whether or not he realized it, he had a dominant personality, and she had no doubt it would extend to the bedroom.
That was a big part of why she was attracted to him.
But someone could be dominant in the bedroom without actually being kinky, and that might be enough for her.
To have Nick as a Dom in the bedroom?
Her inner muscles clenched.
Good Lord, yes, please.
Fuck.
She couldn’t say yes… not yet. That would be selfish and her getting everything she wanted.
She didn’t want to do that to him, although he might be curious and feel a little better about kink.
He’d been working at Marquis long enough to see the happy couples and play partners, but that didn’t mean it was for him.
“Let’s look at what Olivia gave you first,” she said, nodding her head toward it. If it was anything like the paperwork she’d received, there would be a list of limits. That might be enough to scare him off, then she wouldn’t have to be the one to tell him, ‘No.’
Letting go of her hands, he opened up the file and quickly thumbed through the documents while she tried not to miss the warmth of his hand too much. Craptastic. No matter today’s outcome, work tomorrow was going to be hideously awkward.
“This is a lot, and I have to get back downstairs,” he said, shaking his head and closing the folder.
Avery’s heart sank in her chest. She hadn’t realized how much she’d gotten her hopes up Nick would do the class and try out kink until he closed that door. Then he surprised her.
“How about we get together to talk through this after I’m done tonight?”
“I… uh, sure. Yeah, we could do that.” The words were spurred by the disappointment she’d felt when she’d thought he was writing off the experiment.
“Great. Come down to the bar when the show is over, and I’ll come out as soon as I can.”
Before she could respond, Nick was on his feet, and Avery instinctively looked up at him.
Cupping her chin, he held her in place as his lips descended.
Heat and need rose fast, her body responding to his kiss.
It was rough and deep, meant to claim and conquer rather than reassure, and it left her gasping.
Winking at her, Nick sauntered out of the room, leaving her staring after him, wondering what had just happened.
Nick
Taking a minute to go to the downstairs office, Nick safely tucked the file folder in with his extra chef coats.
He liked to keep two on hand at all times in case something happened in the kitchen, and he had to go into the dining room—he had an image to maintain, and the white coats he wore picked up some stains throughout the evening.
It was a shared office, so there wasn’t a guarantee of privacy, but no one else should bother his chef coats.
Energy buzzed through him, even more than usual. Despite everything, he felt on top of the world.
Avery was going to give him a chance. He knew it.
He’d expected to be a little more hesitant about getting into all this domination stuff, but if it was what Avery wanted, he was going to make sure he was the man who could give it to her. Nick had always been a fast learner.
If he was completely truthful, he could also admit he wanted to understand the new world his brother had entered.
It was hardly the first time his older brother had done something first, but Nick couldn’t remember the last time Luke had done something that Nick hadn’t understood.
He was a little nervous about the idea of having to hurt Avery, but hey, what was the point of being the one in charge if he couldn’t say ‘no, we’re not doing that? ’
“Chef, I have a special request at table twenty-seven.” One of the servers, one of the few he actually liked, came to a halt in front of him, looking a little nervous.
Everyone knew he hated changes to his dishes.
Nick put them together in a particular way for a reason, and that’s how they were meant to be eaten.
If someone didn’t like part of a dish, they should order something else.
Of course, that’s not how most diners felt.
“What?”
Alanna tucked a strand of auburn hair that had fallen free of her ponytail behind her ear, apology in her blue eyes.
“They have a shellfish allergy, but they really like the look of the scallops and lobster. So, they were wondering if they could get double scallops and no lobster.”
“Oh, yes, that’s fine.” Allergies were one thing he would never mess around with. “Put the allergy in all caps when you put in the order. Table twenty-seven you said?”
“Yes, Chef.” Alanna smiled brightly at him and scurried off to put in the order.
Nick went to his place on the line, joining the expediter, who was currently plating the food.
George was efficient and very good at what he did, but on the weekends, it usually took two people to keep things moving as fast as Nick wanted.
“Keep an eye out for table twenty-seven when it comes in,” Nick said, giving George a nod of greeting before turning his attention to Darnell, who was on the sauté station. “Shellfish allergy. They’ll be getting double scallops.”
“Yes, Chef,” Darnell said without pausing his motion of basting the fish he was working on.
Rolling up his sleeves, Nick got to work.
At least, he tried. He’d never had trouble focusing on work before, no matter what was going on in his personal life, but tonight was different.
He was supposed to be garnishing the dishes and handing them off to the food runners for the correct tables, but he kept thinking about how Avery had looked in that corset, the way she’d been almost shy, and wondering about that list in the office.
Wondering about the short glimpse of things he’d seen on it.
“Uh, Chef? That’s for table thirty-two, and that one is for table fourteen.
” George eyed him warily as though he wasn’t sure whether he should actually say anything.
A little older than the other servers, in his mid-thirties, he was about the same age as Nick, which was part of why Nick enjoyed having him as expeditor rather than food runner on the weekends.
He wasn’t as intimidated by Nick as some of the others were and would speak up when it was necessary—although he’d never had to make as big a correction as just now.
From across the line, Darnell glanced up, frowning in Nick’s direction. Not with judgment but concern, but it still didn’t feel good.
“Right, sorry. Got distracted,” Nick said gruffly, putting down one of the plates and handing the other one to George. “I need to run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
He’d splash some cold water on his face and get his shit together. Time to get his head in the game. He’d see Avery later—after his shift and after the show she was watching.