Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Avery
Being home alone meant it was time to do laundry, especially because she only had one clean chef coat left.
It was also an opportune time to get some things around the house done because Nick had had to go into work several hours earlier than her.
While part of her wanted to be lazy and lie on the couch, she knew she needed to get stuff done. It wouldn’t get done after work.
She’d gotten one day of rest, then the next day, it was like Nick had something to prove.
Which she’d thoroughly enjoyed, even if she didn’t know exactly what he’d been trying to prove—that he could give her multiple orgasms without spanking, flogging, or whipping her?
Honestly, she’d been a little disappointed when he wouldn’t spank her, explaining he’d be more comfortable doing it for the first time with some supervision, but he made it up to her with his fingers, mouth, and eventually, his cock.
During round two, when she’d been on her hands and knees, he had gotten a couple of swats in, hard enough to make her clench and moan. That had been more than enough to whet her appetite and make her look forward to next Monday’s class.
When her phone rang, she glanced at the screen and grimaced when she saw it was her mom.
Not that she didn’t love her mom, but the parental guilt trip about having moved so far away was never-ending and never fun.
However, she’d feel even guiltier if she ignored the call when she actually had the time to talk.
Besides, it would be nice to hear her mom’s voice.
“Hey, Mom.” She put the phone on speaker and set it on the coffee table next to where she was sitting on the floor, folding the most recent load of laundry to come out of the dryer.
It was still warm, which was one of her favorite things.
Sometimes in the winter, she wanted to roll around in it.
Sadly, she was an adult, so she resisted, but the impulse remained.
“Hey, honey, how are you?”
“Pretty good. Doing laundry since I don’t have to be at work for a couple hours.”
“Oh, that’s good. You work too hard.”
Yup, dig number one at her job. Avery sighed inwardly and shook her head. That hadn’t even taken a minute.
“Are things still going well at the restaurant?”
It was a perfectly innocuous question, as long as Avery ignored the hopeful note in her mother’s voice—hopeful maybe things weren’t going so well, and Avery would decide to come back home, get married, and give her mom a few more grandbabies.
Apparently, she needed at least one from each of her children to be satisfied, whereas Avery wasn’t even sure she wanted babies.
“Yeah, it’s going great. It’s one of the best places I’ve worked.” It was true, although there wasn’t much to talk about when it came to the restaurant. “I got to go out on Monday. I went to a local meadery with a couple of friends.”
“A meadery? That must have been fun.”
“It was.” Avery elected to ignore the note of disappointment in her mom’s voice, but the guilt still simmered just below the surface. Maybe she should throw her mom a bone. “Um, so I’ve started seeing someone.”
“You have? You’re dating?” Surprise warred with happiness, then warred with more disappointment. Avery was sure her mom would rather she came home and met someone, but apparently, dating anyone was enough to perk her mom up, which was what she was hoping.
“Yeah, his name is Nick. He’s a chef, too.” She decided not to mention he was the executive chef, aka her boss, at the same restaurant.
“I guess that means he understands your schedule.” Her mom’s laugh was only a little forced.
“He does. He’s at work right now.” She smiled ruefully at the noncommittal noise her mom made. “He’s even better in the kitchen than I am.”
“Well, I doubt that.” Her mom sniffed, sounding offended on Avery’s behalf, which made her chuckle. She never doubted her parents were proud of her, even if they didn’t particularly like her decisions. “When do we get to meet him?”
“We just started dating.” She barely got the words out before her mom was already throwing another loaded question at her.
“Do you want to bring him home for the holidays?”
“Thanksgiving isn’t for another couple of months—”
“Have you asked him about it? Does he celebrate with his family?” The questions were coming rapid fire, and Avery very much wished she hadn’t brought Nick up. It was freaking September! Who asked about Thanksgiving now?
“I… no… We’re not serious yet.”
“Not serious? Avery, you are getting too old to be in a relationship that’s ‘not serious.’ If you aren’t going to be serious about someone, there’s no point in wasting more time with them. Not at your age.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“Mo-om. Sto-op.” She drew out the words the same way she had as a teenager.
In fact, she was feeling very much like a teenager right now.
What was it about her mom that made her regress?
“We’re serious in that we’re only see each other, but we’re not serious in that we haven’t been together for that long.
I’ll ask him about Thanksgiving by Halloween. Okay?”
The huffy sigh on the other end of the line indicated it wasn’t okay, but at least her mom would compromise.
“If you say so, Avery.”
“Thanks, Mom. How’s Dad? Has he gotten his cholesterol tested lately?” It was a dirty move, but the one surefire way to distract her mom was to bring up her dad’s health. Especially since he still wasn’t following the diet she was trying to keep him on.
Nick
Cuddled up on the couch with Avery after their shift, Nick rested his head on top of hers. They were watching a Cutthroat Kitchen rerun, which—since his first class at Marquis—he was seeing in a whole new light.
“Do you think Alton Brown is kinky?”
Avery laughed, her head moving beneath his cheek.
“Oh God, yes. Did you not think so?”
“I never really thought about it, but now it’s kind of hard to ignore the… you know… handcuffs and spreader bars.”
“Not to mention how often he refers to himself as Daddy.”
Oh, holy shit. He hadn’t even thought about that part.
“Maybe he’s not, and kink has ruined our minds.”
“Uh-huh,” Avery snickered, not sounding convinced. “You keep telling yourself that.”
“Are you getting sassy with me?” He tickled her, his fingers poking her ticklish spots. She giggled, twisting against him, trying to escape by burrowing into his side.
“Maybe I am… What are you going to do about it? Sir?” She gave a little shriek when his fingers found a sensitive spot, jumping up and landing on his lap, her knees slowly sliding down on either side of his thighs.
Fuck. She wanted to be kinky.
She’d been hinting, but other than a few swats during doggy style, Nick hadn’t been able to bring himself to do more, hadn’t been sure how to. One thing Monday’s lesson hadn’t included was ‘how to start a scene with your submissive that doesn’t feel awkward.’
Though he supposed that’s what Avery was doing right now.
Could he spank her?
No. He didn’t feel ready.
Maybe clamps? Clamps were their own thing. He couldn’t make them worse or mess those up.
Her expression was growing tense, and she looked as though she wished she hadn’t said anything.
Say something, dumbass.
“Do you have clamps?” He slid his hands up to her breasts, caressing them in case she didn’t understand what he was asking.
Under her tank top, the little buds of her nipples hardened, pressing against the fabric, and Nick’s cock jerked in response.
He ran his thumbs over the bumps, enjoying the way her back arched, and she squirmed on his lap.
Her pupils dilated, the happy smile spreading on her face confirming he’d made the right choice.
“Yes, Sir.”
Fucking hell. He wanted her to call him by his name because calling him Sir seemed demeaning, but he couldn’t deny he got off on hearing her say it. Though since he hadn’t asked her to, it was what she wanted, and he shouldn’t feel guilty for enjoying it, right?
“Go get them.” He tweaked her nipples through her shirt, hoping he sounded commanding. However, he sounded, she seemed to like it because she lit up from within. Smoothly, she got to her feet and sauntered toward her bedroom, which gave him a moment to compose himself.
What the fuck am I doing?
Shit. He should have planned something. Right? Was it okay to go with the flow? Why hadn’t he asked any of these questions in class?
Because you hadn’t thought of them yet.
Now he understood why there was a practical class with the submissives.
When he’d thought about putting clamps on Avery, he’d been so busy worrying about whether they’d be too much for her or that he would remove them in time, he hadn’t thought about the logistics of making putting them on her into something sexy.
It sure as hell hadn’t been sexy when he’d been the one being clamped.
On the other hand, Samantha had still reacted as if it was sexy, even though there had been no foreplay.
Olivia had said foreplay would be good to help prepare Avery. Clamps were painful, but there was a place between pleasure and pain, especially for masochists. If Avery had her own clamps at home, she enjoyed using them. He hadn’t, but she did.
Pain plus pleasure.
He could do this.
Foreplay. Clamps. Then sex. It was only one new element to their sex life.
When he thought about it that way, it wasn’t such a big deal.
Avery
Bad subbie, topping from the bottom.
Yeah, yeah.
She’d sensed Nick needed a little push, and it had worked, hadn’t it? So, it wasn’t really a bad thing.
Yeah, she knew a more experienced Dom would not only recognize what she was doing but wouldn’t accept that excuse.
She’d stop doing it as he was experienced to realize what topping from the bottom was.
Besides, she might not need to do it ever again.
He’d latched onto the suggestion right away, and once he’d realized what she was asking for, he’d taken charge.
Which was hot as hell.
She grinned as she opened her nightstand and scooped up her favorite pair of clamps—spring-loaded with rubber tips.
They were adjustable, and when she’d first started using them, the tightest setting had been too much, but now, it was what she needed.
It would feel so good to use them with someone again, instead of using them on herself while she went to town with BOB—her battery-operated boyfriend.
About to turn and head back, Avery paused and looked down at herself.
Nick hadn’t told her to take off her clothes, but it would be more fun to go out naked. Give him a little surprise and hopefully throw him off a little, which would help him with his nervousness. It would be harder to be anxious if she was naked, right?
Stripping quickly, excitement was already humming through her veins. She knew it was the beginning, but she wanted to show him how much fun kink could be. The classroom was all about learning. This could be about pure play.