Chapter 14 #2
Anything she asks of me, I’ve given her honest answers, but I’ve told her none of what actually matters. As I step into the kitchen, Aspen looks up, her smile so genuine. She’s right where she needs to be, and I love that I get to experience this new adventure with her.
“First orders placed, Sir.” Fuck me, I want to throw her over my shoulder and take her to my private room like a caveman. She knows exactly what she’s doing to me when she says that.
“Excellent.” I walk to her side before taking the reins.
“Call me that again, baby girl, and you’ll end up over my knee,” I whisper as I graze the shell of her ear with my lips.
“Promises, promises.” We fall into an easy rhythm that keeps the kitchen running smoothly as orders pile in.
The rest of the kitchen staff is excellent, and I consider the evening a massive success.
There’s nothing like a busy kitchen. It’s such a high when you get to the end of the evening and all the guests are happy.
I gather everyone at the end of the night to congratulate them on a job well done, only to find Flex and Helena waiting in the dining room.
“Best meal I’ve ever eaten,” Flex says as he shakes my hand and pulls me into a hug. “Aspen must have cooked our meal.”
“She fucking rocked tonight.” He gives me that look—the all-knowing smug grin, and I can’t even begin to hide it.
Helena gives me a huge hug. “I adored the tiramisu.”
“Aspen actually made that. It’s my old family recipe.”
“Give her my compliments.”
“Even better…” Flex interjects, “… bring her downstairs for a drink. Everyone is down there and ready to raise a glass to you.” It sounds like a great way to end an amazing night. I’ve missed hanging out with everyone since Aspen and I started dating.
“I’ll ask. I need to finish up a few things first, but I’ll be down in thirty minutes.”
“Sounds good, bro.”
As soon as they disappear into the elevator, I go in search of Aspen, who I find crying in the kitchen. I rush to her side.
“What’s wrong, baby girl?” She wraps her arms around my waist and continues to cry. “Tell me. Are you okay?”
“I… tonight was everything I ever dreamed it could be.” She tilts her head up to meet my gaze.
I lean down, capturing her lips with mine. “You did so well. I’m so proud of you. Flex and Helena were just singing your praises.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You nailed my tiramisu. I can see that being the dish I’m expected to bring to any event now.”
“I just… it was such a rush, Ry. I don’t even know how to explain it.”
“I get it. It’s a high, and you’re going to have that feeling plenty in your career. Tonight, you really took the first step to running your own kitchen.”
She grabs my face in her hands, kissing me with everything she has, and I want to melt into her, but I also really want her to properly meet my friends.
“My friends are having a drink down in the bar, and I thought maybe you’d like to come and say hi. What do you think?”
“You mean I get to go into Venom?” She starts jumping up and down.
“The bar. There are no sexual acts or nudity down there. It’s where we usually hang out.”
“I would love to.”
I finish setting up for tomorrow and take Aspen’s hand in mine. “If you want to leave at any time, just let me know.”
“It’s a drink in a bar. In a kinky bar.” A devious grin spreads across her impossibly beautiful face. I pull her into the elevator and kiss her with wild abandon as we take it down to level one.
It crosses my mind as we step out into the bar that I should have prepared her for the possibility of seeing the Dom/sub dynamic at play.
“We leave at any time, okay?”
“Yes, Sir.” My cock hardens.
“You know what that does to me, baby girl.” She runs her hand over my crotch, feeling exactly what her word choice brings out in me.
“Take me to your private room.”
“Not tonight. My friends are waiting. Don’t worry, when we get home, I’m going to fuck you so hard you forget your own name. Watching you in action tonight was so fucking hot.”
“Hey, hey, hey. No fornicating in the bar. You know the rules, Ry.” I am going to wring Flex’s neck. The fucker just had to call us out. Aspen giggles against my chest.
I turn my attention to my table of friends, trying to kill me. Dalton has a wicked grin on his face as Nadia kneels at his side. I know the moment Aspen sees her, her body tensing against me.
“Is that normal?” she whispers.
“Yeah. Submissives often take their place at their Master’s side.”
“You make it sound like she’s a pet.”
“No, that would be my wife. Isn’t that right, pet?” Helena wraps her arms around Flex’s neck.
“Yes, Master Navarro.”
“All right, let’s give it a rest. I wanted to introduce my girlfriend, and you’re all making it weird,” I jibe, taking Aspen’s hand in mine and leading her over to the table. There are a few open bottles of champagne that Pierce sends my way as I take a seat, pulling Aspen down into my lap.
My body sags, as if suddenly, all is right in the world, being here with my friends and having my girl in my lap.
“So…” Aspen turns to me, “… do I get an introduction? I’ve met most of the men at the table, but I’ve yet to meet their ladies.”
“You may come and sit in my lap, kitten,” Dalton commands. Nadia crawls up into his lap, a blissed-out expression on her face. She leans over the table, holding her hand out to Aspen.
“Hey, I’m Nadia. So nice to finally put a face to the name. Your food was excellent tonight.”
Aspen reaches out, a little shy at first, before turning to me. “Am I allowed to ask questions?”
“Of course,” Freya chimes in from her seat next to Pierce. “I’m Freya, by the way.”
“And you’re a submissive too?”
“Yes,” she says with a warm smile.
“Ask away,” Helena adds to the mix.
I can see the guys in my peripheral vision as Aspen seeks my approval. I already know she displays many traits of a submissive, but that doesn’t make her one.
“Go ahead, baby girl.” I give Dalton and Flex a death stare.
“Do you like kneeling at his side?” She directs her question to Nadia, but the girls all answer in unison.
“Yes!”
“They are all submissives, Aspen. Genevieve is the only Mistress, and unfortunately, she’s gone for the night.”
“I just don’t understand wanting to drop to my knees for a guy unless I’m going to give him head.” I almost spit out my drink.
“Oh, she’s a keeper, Ry,” Flex declares.
“Can we talk about something else?” This is not how I saw this moment going down.
“Do you all have private rooms? Playrooms? Is that what they’re called?”
“You can refer to them as either. Technically, it is the Dom who has the private room, but since we’re all married, we definitely just see them as ‘ours’ at this point.”
“Wow. So, you still get married? I read that—”
“I think we’ve had enough of the questions. Why don’t you guys tell Aspen what you do for a living or something less kinky?”
“Why?” Dalton asks. “She has questions.”
This was a bad idea. I know they are all thinking she’s going to become my sub, but some of my tastes are darker than theirs, and I’m not going to put that on Aspen. At least not yet.
When everyone settles down into some lighthearted subjects, I can finally relax.
Tonight was amazing, but it was stressful as hell.
As I sit back, listening to everyone laughing and joking, I close my eyes and drink it all in.
Venom. I really fucking miss this place.
Maybe I’m just fighting against the inevitable, but I feel like I owe it to Aspen to at least try to give her a normal relationship.
The truth is, I’m too far gone to walk away now. What we have is so fucking important to me. She’s important to me. By the time everyone starts heading to their private rooms, I’m ready to head home.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah.” She leans in, pressing her lips to mine. “I’m still on such a high. I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”
“Oh, I don’t plan on you getting much sleep, baby girl.”
By the time we make it out onto the street for the short walk back to my place, Aspen is buzzing about meeting my friends.
“I’m not going to lie, I was really freaked out when I saw Nadia sitting there when we first went down to the bar.
It doesn’t look anything like I imagined.
Do all of them really just kneel while you all shoot the shit? ”
“It depends. Sometimes, if they’ve not behaved themselves, they are made to sit as a punishment. At other times, it’s simply a loving gesture between them.”
“I just don’t understand it.”
“I’m not asking you to.” I come off a little defensive.
“Do you do that? Would that be something you’d want me to do?”
“No. It’s consensual between them. You aren’t a submissive. I would never ask that of you.”
“But you like it, though?”
“Do you want me to lie and give you the answer you want?”
“No.”
“Then, yes. I fucking love having a woman kneel for me. Submit to me. Can we just drop it?”
“Why? I’m fucking asking you to let me in.” I pull her close to me, the evidence of my arousal against her thigh.
“Don’t fucking swear like that.”
“You do it all the time!”
“And your mouth is too fucking beautiful for it.” I back her up against a building. “Do you feel what you do to me, Aspen?”
“Yes,” she says, breathless as my lips hover half an inch from hers.
“Then why do you torment me?”
“How?”
“Those lips, purring Sir at me, asking to see Venom in all its glory. I can barely stand it. I’m trying to be honest with you, Aspen. That’s all I’m asking of you. Honesty. And you gave it tonight. You don’t want to be a submissive. At your core, you don’t want to kneel for me.”
“You won’t give me the chance! I want to see your playroom.”
“No,” I exclaim, pushing off the wall.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I don’t want to fucking lose you. Don’t you get it by now? I can’t walk away!”
My lips crash down on hers, desperate for even the smallest touch.
“Take me home and make love to me, Ryder Stevens.”