I could pay all sorts of attention to her.
Jake gritted his teeth. His cock wasn’t really talking to him. That was just some bullshit which had started after he’d met Sharon and overheard her having a conversation with her lady parts. Somehow, she’d gotten into his head, and now he couldn’t help but think it was his cock talking to him whenever he had an inappropriately sexual thought about her. Which just made him want to bang his head against a wall until he was sane again. Not an unusual impulse when it came to her.
A poke in his side had him jumping. “Our turn to leave, dude,” Chris said as Jake shot a glare at him. “Stop staring at Sharon and pay attention.”
The seats on the other side of Jake were already empty, because Patrick and Lexie had moved into the aisle to head to the door and the other side of the dance studio, where the reception was going to be.
“I wasn’t - never mind.”
He didn’t have a defense because he had been staring at Sharon, but not in the way Chris had been implying. Okay, maybe just a little bit in the way Chris had been implying. When her mouth was shut, or she was out of earshot, and he could just look at her… well she looked damned good.
Moving into the aisle, ignoring Chris snickering behind him, Jake made a beeline for the door. There was an open bar in the other room and he desperately needed a drink.
******
Hands in his pockets, Luke leaned against the wall, watching the flow of people in and out of the room. He hadn’t really been expected to be invited today, but Adam seemed to feel his place as a partner in Marquis merited it. They weren’t friends yet, but Adam expected they would bein the future. At least, that was how Adam had explained it when Luke had expressed his surprise.
A wedding invitation based on the expectation of future friendship.
The idea amused him, just like most of the people in this group of friends did. They were fun and funny, close without being too cliquish, and completely welcoming to him. Well, except for the one person he wanted to be completely welcomed by.
His eyes tracked flaming red hair across the room. Olivia Williams. Long red hair which flowed down her back, reaching just past her shoulders, and wearing a simple black dress, cut low in front and showing off a great deal of her ivory skin, lean muscles, and made the most of her curves. Thirty three years old, manager for Marquis as soon as it opened, faithful Redskins fan, and Dominatrix. Three things which should probably warn him away. He’d been smart enough not to wear his Cowboys jersey going to watch football at a new friend’s house in Maryland - no need to piss everyone off right from the start - but it was going to come out eventually. Luke also didn’t mess around with people he worked with. Ever. And while he’d always liked bossy women in bed, he knew there was a lot more to being a submissive to a Dominatrix than just enjoying confident women. Some of the porn he’d watched had had his balls cringing rather than his cock swelling…
But none of that stopped him from lusting after the gorgeous redhead. When he’d seen a seat open next to her for the ceremony, he’d immediately claimed it - to her obvious annoyance. But she hadn’t moved, because she hadn’t been willing to give him that power over her. Which had been hot. Even just watching her walk through a room was sexy. She moved with complete confidence, like she owned the place, and the crowd parted before her as if compelled by sheer force of personality. Despite being shorter, slimmer, and less physically imposing than the Doms, people reacted to her in almost exactly the same way - and those who didn’t were treated to a death glare which had them scampering.
Yet she wasn’t mean. Well, she was kind of mean to him, in the most polite way possible which was also sexy to him for some reason, but he’d also observed her being incredibly kind. The other women obviously looked up to her, even the more independent ones, and she watched over them like a big sister. She was the one who kept an eye on everyone else, making sure they had everything they needed, with no one stepping up to take care of her needs.
Right now she was handing Angel a glass of water and Adam a beer, so they could have something to drink while being surrounded by well-wishers.
Luke pushed off the wall and sauntered over to the bar. Michael and Ellie were standing in line as well, cuddled up and being almost sickeningly cute. He couldn’t help but grin at the sight. Even though he’d only known Michael about a month, he’d seen Michael with Ellie and Michael without Ellie, and he definitely preferred the former. The two of them were good together, and Michael was obviously head over heels for the pretty, petite sub. She was wearing a dark red dress which matched the silver and red necklace on her throat; from the way she kept tenderly stroking it and the triumphantly possessive expression on Michael’s face whenever he looked at it, Luke was pretty sure it was more than just a necklace. From the research he’d been doing, quite a few people in the lifestyle wore collars that didn’t really look like collars.
As Luke approached, Michael looked up and grinned at him, straightening up with his hand in Ellie’s. “Hey Luke, glad you could make it.”
Ellie’s face was flushed, her eyes slightly glassy, and Luke was a little sad he’d missed whatever it was Michael had been whispering in her ear to make her look like that.
“Me too,” he said, glancing around the room again. Olivia was now talking to one of the catering waiters, pointing him towards the tables of food. “So ah… what does Olivia usually like to drink?”
“She’s pretty well rounded,” Ellie said, her eyes focusing on him as her face lit up with a grin. “Pretty much anything. I did hear her saying she’d like a glass of wine a little earlier though. She usually drinks whites, chardonnays.”
“Thank you,” Luke said, turning away from the rest of the room. “So… surprise wedding. It came off pretty well.”
“Oh really?” Michael asked, looking amused. “You think I’m going to let you change the topic of conversation, just like that?”
“I was hoping.”
Michael snorted. Ellie leaned back against him, her fingers coming up to touch her lips as if holding back a giggle. “Good luck. You’re going to need it, with both Olivia and the gossip.”
Shrugging, Luke gestured for Michael and Ellie to get their drinks since they were now at the head of the line. He then asked for two chardonnays and quickly retreated away from the smirking Michael and grinning Ellie. It wouldn’t take them long to turn their attention back to each other rather than him.
As he headed towards Olivia, it didn’t surprise him to see the waiter she’d been talking to heading back from the food table with two plates which he took to the bride and groom. They still hadn’t managed to leave their current position, since so many people wanted to speak with them, but they now had everything they needed being brought to them. Thanks to Olivia. She was standing off to the side, silvery eyes scanning the room as if looking for anything else which needed to be taken care of.
When her gaze landed on Luke, her brow wrinkled slightly. Then her eyes dropped to the two glasses he was holding, and her lips turned down in a frown even as her eyes widened with surprise.
Stepping in front of her, Luke held out a glass. “I’ve been told, by a hopefully reliable source, that chardonnay was the way to go.”
“You heard correctly,” she said, looking almost reluctant to take the glass from him. She did so carefully, keeping their fingers from brushing. “Thank you.”
The thanks was almost stilted, her gaze puzzled and a little suspicious, as if she was still trying to figure him out. Luke just smiled and took a sip of his own wine.
