“I love you,” she murmured. She liked hearing herself say it.
Mitch’s arm tightened around her, hugging her closely.
“I love you too, Domi Darling.”
Twenty-four hours later, as Mr. My-Immune-System-is-Better-Than-Yours worshiped the porcelain god, while Domi wiped his forehead with a damp cloth before offering him the glass of water she’d brought him, she raised her eyebrows.
“Still love me?” If he was mad her family had gotten him sick, it was his own damn fault for insisting on being there… but some little part of her was still worried.
She shouldn’t have been.
Blue eyes opened, and one winked wearily.
“More than ever, Domi Darling.” He put a hand over his chest. “This is just the price I must pay for my love.”
She burst out laughing. She really did love him.
From bondage buddies to serious relationship—she would have never thought it possible, but here she was… and she wouldn’t change a thing.
Epilogue
Avery
It felt really weird to be wearing a corset again. Going to a club again. Especially because the club was also work.
She wished she’d asked Domi and Rae if they could go to Stronghold instead of Marquis, but it was too late now.
Besides, there were good reasons they’d chosen Marquis. Once they were at their table, no one would be watching them, and she wouldn’t have to worry about someone asking if she wanted to scene. All she would be doing was watching. She was really interested in seeing if kink still turned her on, but she also wanted to fit in with her new friends.
Domi and Rae had been the first ones to reach out to her since she moved here. They were sweet, fun, and hearing them talk about the kink club had reminded her of how much she’d enjoyed kink… enjoyed being submissive. Their interest wasn’t the only reason for her renewed interest, but she was self-aware enough to know it was part of it. Besides, they also wanted to celebrate. Rae had recently self-published a book and had sold twenty copies in the first month, and Domi’s boyfriend was taking her home to meet his parents for an upcoming holiday.
She hadn’t told them, but she was quietly celebrating being friends with them.
Making new friends was hard for her. The other sous chef, Lloyd, worked days and had made it clear he wasn’t there to make friends with anyone. He just wanted to do his job, collect his paycheck, and go hang out with his ‘real’ friends. She couldn’t be too friendly with the line cooks because, as the sous chef, she was technically their manager. That hadn’t stopped her from getting too friendly with the executive chef, but… that was different.
Besides, she and Nick weren’t friends.
They weren’t even really dating.
They were coworkers who had had a few clandestine and totally hot kisses that set her on fire and left her aching all over. At first, she’d thought maybe something would come of it, but he never asked her out on a date. Though he had kissed her again last week after she’d told him off for yelling at a delivery guy. It hadn’t been the delivery guy’s fault Nick had rushed when he’d put in the order.
Maybe it was a good thing she was trying out Marquis before things went anywhere with Nick. It had been a long time since she’d dated anyone seriously–the restaurant schedule wasn’t exactly conducive to relationships—and she did miss kink. Was it a necessity to her life? She didn’t know.
She was hoping she’d find out tonight.
She was also really, really, really hoping none of her coworkers saw her.
Thankfully, Domi and Rae didn’t mind hurrying in the back entrance to the club with her.
“Coast is clear,” Domi said after peeking her head through the door. She opened it wider, gesturing with her hand. “Go, go, go!”
The gleeful way she and Rae were having fun sneaking Avery in made it fun for her. She laughed as she hurried up the stairs behind Rae, with Domi bringing up the rear to the BDSM club. The sounds of the restaurant faded as they went up, and every step made her feel a little lighter with relief.
The servers who worked the second floor wouldn’t say anything about her presence there, and the ones who worked in the main restaurant weren’t allowed up to the second floor. The moment she stepped foot into Marquis’ lobby, she let out the breath she’d been holding on a long sigh.
Safe!
“Hello, ladies.” Standing behind the front desk, Freddy grinned when he saw her there with Rae and Domi. “Avery, I’m so excited you’re joining us on the second floor.”
Avery smiled back. She liked Freddy. He ran the front desk at Marquis, though he wasn’t always there himself since he had a full-time job during the day. Not that he talked about that job, just that the club was his escape from all that.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Alright, let’s see it,” he said, gesturing to her jacket. Even though it was warm out, she’d worn a light jacket that went down to midthigh to cover her outfit, just in case anyone saw her on her way in.
Feeling both nervous and a little excited, Avery unzipped the jacket and shrugged it off.
“Doesn’t she look amazing?” Rae enthused beside her, clapping her hands. Avery couldn’t help but laugh. Of course, Rae and Domi thought she looked good. They’d basically dressed her up like a doll for the night, combining some of the few pieces she had left from her previous time as a submissive with offerings from their wardrobes.
Clapping his hands gleefully, Freddy gave her an approving once over.
“Hell, yeah, she does! Do you—”
The door to the manager’s office opened behind him, and the last person she wanted to see in the entire world stepped out. Their eyes met, Avery’s widening with horror, Nick’s with shock.
“Avery?”
Shit! Run! Her brain screamed, but it was too late. It had been fight, flight, or freeze, and her stupid ass froze.
Beside her, she could sense Rae and Domi freezing as well. Even Freddy went still, despite not knowing about her and Nick’s flirtation, clearly realizing something was very amiss. Though he probably thought it was nothing more than not wanting her boss to see her like this.
“What are you doing up here?” Nick asked, staring at her like he couldn’t really grasp what he was seeing.
“What are you doing up here?” she asked in a high, squeaky voice that made her cringe. Seriously, what the hell was he doing up here? He should be down in the kitchen, running the kitchen. Dinner had already started in the dining room. She’d been worried one of the servers or busboys would see her, not Nick. It shouldn’t have been possible.
Nick
In her chef coat and pants or wearing a tank top or t-shirt once she took off her coat, long brown hair in a ponytail or bun, sweaty from the kitchen, Avery always still managed to turn him on. She had a serious girl-next-door vibe going on that had always been his ‘type.’ She was sassy, confident, and not afraid to go toe-to-toe with him, even when he was at his most bad-tempered. All things great in a sous chef, but add in their chemistry, and it took things to a totally different level.
Now she was standing in the middle of the lobby of a sex club, dressed like she belonged there.