Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Nick
As soon as Josie let him know Avery was in the dining room—any time any of the employees came in to eat, whoever was leading the line was given a heads up—the burning desire to see her had overtaken him, which was not his norm.
He’d always gotten a rush of pleasure knowing when Avery was in the dining room and had sent out food he knew she’d like—sometimes specials that weren’t on the menu—but he’d never had the urge to run out to her. Especially when there were still tickets coming through with new meals being ordered.
On the other hand… George had this. Things had slowed down enough, it was more like a weekday night.
So, he’d clapped the other man on the shoulder and said he needed to talk to Avery. Surprise had shown in George’s eyes, but he’d nodded and gotten back to work. He’d even seemed pleased Nick trusted him enough to leave him earlier than usual.
Something to think about. Nick wasn’t entirely happy to give up control over the kitchen this early in the evening, but it would be worth it. He knew it the moment he sat down across from Avery.
“No more corset?” he asked, eying the deep vee of the light blue dress she was wearing. It looked nice against her dark blonde hair and hazel eyes, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun as the corset, and he didn’t think she was wearing it under the dress. Too bad.
“No. There was no way I was wearing that downstairs. We’re lucky Olivia had clothes set aside for people like us.” Avery took another sip of her martini, which was already getting down toward the bottom.
Josie walked up to the table just as Nick was eying Avery’s drink, wondering how much she’d already had. The server eyed both of them almost warily. Nick had snapped at her a time or two for talking too much in the kitchen, and now she was walking on eggshells around him, which he was fine with.
“Do you want another one?” she asked Avery.
“Yes, one more, please.”
“And you?” She looked at Nick, wariness still evident in her big blue eyes. Several of the men on staff had been suckered in by her beauty, and especially those eyes, but Nick had never had any trouble ignoring her attractions.
“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. ”
Well, he wasn’t wrong about that. Avery didn’t want to add to it and was relieved he didn’t either, no matter how blasé he’d been initially about having this conversation in public.
“My house when you’re done?” she asked as he got up, taking his half-finished beer with him. She kept her voice low, though not quite a whisper.
Nick nodded. “I’ll text you when I’m on the way.”
He didn’t ask for her address as he sauntered away, even though he’d never been to her house. Of course, he’d have it on file in the office.
As soon as he walked away, Domi and Rae abandoned the bar and rushed back to stand over her, demanding in low whispers to know what he’d said.
Knowing they hadn’t been able to hear, Avery felt better about whether anyone else had overheard her and Nick.
Domi and Rae been sitting the closest and would have been trying to listen in.
Avery quickly updated them, then tossed back the rest of her martini.
“Let’s get going,” she said, hooking her arms through Rae’s and Domi’s. “We gotta get our clothes, and I need to get home.”
“You’d better text us tonight after he leaves,” Rae threatened.
“If he leaves,” Domi tacked on with a giggle. Avery came to a halt, blinking, in the middle of the stairs.
“Shit… you think he might… shit! I need to get home!” She slid her arms from theirs and hurried up the stairs.
“What? Why?” Rae was right behind her, more curious than concerned.
“I need to shave!”
“You’re wearing a skirt. Didn’t you already shave your legs… OH.” Rae’s voice changed substantially when she realized.
Yup, there it was. Avery had been planning to go out tonight, not get laid, or she would have taken the time to shave both. Not that she was definitely sleeping with Nick tonight.
Just in case.
Nick
If keeping his head in the game had been difficult before, it was fucking impossible now. Thank God it was the end of the night, and things were already settling down. Basically, he stood back and let George handle the plates going out while he pretended he was watching over everything.
In reality, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, he was staring at absolutely nothing.
All he could think about was going to Avery’s place tonight.
When he’d made the suggestion, he’d expected her to change her mind and want to stay here.
They could have gone upstairs to talk for more privacy…
but either the thought hadn’t occurred to her, or she preferred having him come to her place.
Personally, he preferred the total privacy since he knew how skittish she was about doing anything on restaurant premises, but he hadn’t actually expected to get it.
Not that he was expecting anything more than that, but he could damn well hope.
If he went home tonight with nothing more than a hot kiss from Avery, he’d be happy, but he was hoping he might get a little farther than that. They may have started officially dating tonight, but they’d been flirting and dancing around their mutual attraction for months.
“Uh, Chef?”
Crap. George was standing right in front of him, and Nick was pretty sure this wasn’t the first time he’d been addressed.
“Sorry, I was thinking about tomorrow’s special. Do you need something?” He would need to do a better job of covering.
“I think we’re about done if you want to get out of here.” George’s hazel eyes were full of concern, and he lowered his voice a little. “Maybe get some rest.”
Nick opened his mouth to say he was fine, then he realized George had the line handled. The restaurant would close soon, anyway. Although he never left early, maybe this once, he’d give himself a break.
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Hiding his grin at George’s surprise, Nick went to fetch the file. It was finally time to go through it with Avery.