Just One Taste (Topped #2)(5)

“The first time you turn that mouth on your training Dom, you’re going to get a real not erotic spanking,” Tiffany said with a shake of her head.

Tiffany was going in with her. She was so happy to not do this alone. She gave her friend a saucy grin. “You are absolutely as untrained as me so you don’t know.”

Tiffany chuckled. “Yes, well I’ve read way more romance novels than you have. In Amber Rose’s books the Doms always get spanky when the subs talk smack. And from what I’ve heard, those Doms are based on the Sanctum Doms, so you should watch out.” She sobered a bit. “And you can’t talk that way around any of them. Not when it comes to work. It won’t matter that Chef has nothing to do with the training program. It will get back to him that you’re the brat of the class, and how is that going to make you feel?”

She hadn’t even thought about that, but it didn’t matter. “I’m going to behave perfectly. I’m not going into this on a whim. I want to explore and find myself, and this is a safe way to do it. I’m only being mouthy because Eric is going to cost me money.”

“Who’s being mouthy about what?” Ally strode through the door, ready for work. She had a smile on her lips and damn it, but the girl glowed a bit. There was no question what put the sunny expression on that girl’s face.

Sex. Sex with a superhot ex-soldier who adored her. Ally was married to Macon Miles, the pastry chef who apparently could do way more for a girl than ice a cupcake.

Tiffany pointed Deena’s way. “That one about you know who.”

Ally opened her locker and slid her bag inside. “What did Eric do? Did he finally ask her out for real?”

“He’s never asked me out and that’s a good thing because I would be forced to turn him down.” For all of her alphabetical reasons.

But mostly because he scared the holy hell out of her.

“He’s totally asked you out,” Tiffany replied. “He’s just sneaky about it.”

She shook her head because she wasn’t sure what she would do with an Eric who was actively pursuing her. And she couldn’t remember a single time he’d asked out. “No. He’s never wanted to date me.”

Ally shook her head. “That’s so sad. I thought I was unaware. You take the cake, D.”

What were they talking about? “I’m rarely alone with the man and honestly he doesn’t pay that much attention to me.”

The one time she’d been alone with him, she’d nearly fallen all over herself trying to get ready because he’d shown up twenty minutes early to pick her up for work. She’d been expecting Tiffany, but she’d opened the door and her tongue had nearly rolled out of her mouth because he’d stood there looking so lickable it hurt.

She’d rushed to get ready because the last thing she wanted was for Eric to truly understand how pitifully she lived. He would see her threadbare furniture and how crappy her décor was. He would likely wonder what the hell she did with her money, and she wasn’t about to admit she was still paying off debt from her first marriage.

Luckily, Eric Vail was practically Captain America. He was all moral and upstanding and would never stoop to spy on a fellow employee so she’d been safe. When she’d rushed out of her bedroom, he’d been standing by the door. He probably hadn’t moved the whole time.

He wasn’t a bad boy and she was going out to find herself one. A bad boy couldn’t break her heart. A bad boy might be able to make her feel like a woman. Even if it was only for an hour or two. That was all she needed from a man, all she would accept.

“You know all those times he’s asked if you have anything to do this weekend and do you want to hang out at his place? Or hey, a bunch of the gang’s going to see a movie. Why don’t you come?”

“He’s only being nice.” He was a sincerely nice man. He cared about his coworkers. He watched out for them. Sometimes he beat the shit out of people. He thought she hadn’t known what he was doing to the dirtbag who’d tried to roofie her drink. He’d even told her that he was only holding the guy until the police came, but she wasn’t an idiot. That dude had not gotten a black eye by himself.

But he would have done that for anyone. Right?

Ally laughed. “He’s not being nice. Don’t get me wrong, I like Eric, but I don’t know that I would call the man nice. It’s his way of getting close to you. You won’t let him in any other way. He actually asked you out once. He asked you if you were free on Monday about two weeks after you hired on.”

She remembered the day. She’d smiled and told him that she had classes on Mondays. “Oh, no. He was asking me because everyone was putting in an extra shift to get the new tables in.”

Ally groaned. “She’s extremely good at rewriting history. No. He asked if you wanted to grab something to eat. He didn’t work that day.”

Had she misinterpreted him so badly? Had Captain America asked her out? She shivered at the thought and about half of it was from fear. “No. I can’t go out with him.”

Tiffany shot her an incredulous look. “Why? He’s a stand-up guy.”

Because she wanted him. Because she dreamed about him at night. Because she no longer trusted her own instincts. “I’m not attracted to him.”

“So you stare at him because you’re not attracted to him?” Ally asked. “Because most of us like to look at the guys we’re attracted to.”