6. Drake

CHAPTER 6

DRAKE

“Not that I’ve noticed or anything, but are you going to keep watching the cocktail waitress like a stalker, or are you going to do something about it?”

My back tenses. Shit . I’d thought I’d been playing it cool.

Asher, one of my longtime friends, smirks. He’s a regular at Edge and has one of the rooms on the third floor. And right now, he’s being way too fucking nosy.

“What are you talking about?”

It’s been a week since Lily started here, and she is by far the best cocktail waitress in the building. She’s efficient, friendly, and doesn’t ever slack off. It bothers me. I’m glad she’s good at her job, but she’s almost too good. Like she doesn’t know anything different.

“Every time I’ve been here this past week, you’ve been gawking at that woman. Who is she?”

Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I cluck my tongue. “Maybe you need to get a life outside of Edge instead of worrying about mine.”

Asher grins, his eyes sparkling. “Nah. This is much more fun. Seeing you all twisted over a woman. She’s cute.”

My gut clenches. I don’t like him calling her cute. Hell, I don’t even like him looking at her. Or any other man laying eyes on her, for that matter. And that feeling is totally foreign to me.

“I’m not twisted over her. I just…I feel protective over her for some reason. She seems so innocent. I’m keeping an eye on her.”

“Uh-huh.” Asher crosses his arms over his chest. “And how many other employees do you keep an eye on?”

I scoff and turn to look at my soon-to-be ex-friend. “Don’t you have a submissive to tie up or something? Anything other than harassing me?”

“Maybe I’m harassing you because I know you. I can tell you like her, but it freaks you out because you don’t like women. Not in a long-term kind of way.”

Asher's words hit me like a cold splash of water. I swallow hard, trying to push the unease away. But I can't deny the truth in his accusation. I've never felt this intrigued by anyone. There’s something undeniably captivating about Lily, something that stirs deep within me.

“Let’s just drop it, okay? I'm not going to explain my feelings to you. You don’t know her or anything about her. Just leave it alone.” I turn around and stride for the privacy of my office, where I can watch her on the camera feed.

The thing is, I don’t know anything about her either. I’ve just been lurking in the shadows. Maybe I should try to get to know her a little bit. She might not have any experience in this lifestyle, but she was definitely intrigued by the scene we watched last week. It was like she couldn’t look away. I wanted to ask her questions. What did she like about that scene? Would she like to experience something like that?

Easton and Faye are in the office when I sit at my desk. She’s curled up on the couch with a book while Easton sits at his desk working on the computer.

“Hey, Drake,” she says softly.

“Hey, Faye. What are you reading?”

Her cheeks flush, and she glances at Easton, then back at me. “It’s a science book about Cell and Molecular Biology.”

I need to stop asking her that question. Every time I do, I feel a tiny bit dumber than the last time I asked. The woman is a brilliant scientist. She also makes my brother happier than I’ve ever seen him. So, I guess I don’t mind feeling like an idiot next to her.

“That sounds incredibly boring, Faye, but whatever floats your boat.”

She blinks at me several times. “I don’t have a boat.”

Right, she’s also very literal.

“Everything going smoothly out there?”

Thank goodness for Easton’s interruption. I’m pretty sure I’d lose the conversation about boats and all that anyway.

“Yes. It’s busy tonight. We’re almost at capacity.”

Easton raises an eyebrow and leans back in his chair. “Damn. Who knew when we opened this place that it would be like this?”

It’s true. We opened Edge because we wanted to. We didn’t need the money. The app we created back in college made us rich. Each app since then has made us richer. Edge is a passion project for both of us, and it’s gone exceptionally well. Hell, my brother found his woman here. And maybe I have, too.

I close my eyes and run my hands through my hair, pulling at the strands. Shit. Why am I even thinking that? Something is wrong with me.

“Can you have a mid-life crisis at our age?”

Easton and Faye slowly turn their heads to look at me. Fuck me. I asked that out loud. I’m losing it. It’s her fault. She’s got my mind all jumbled.

“Technically, yes, since the average length of life is?—”

“Baby,” Easton cuts in softly. “I don’t think Drake actually needs an answer. He’s panicking right now because he found someone he likes and is in denial about it.”

Faye scrunches her face. “Why are you in denial? Is it that new waitress?”

This time, it’s me narrowing my eyes at her. “What makes you think that?”

She shrugs. “I don’t always understand social cues and all that, but I’d have to be blind not to see the way you look at her. She’s pretty. She’s sweet, too.”

I sit up a little straighter. “You talked to her? What about? Did she say anything about me?”

My brother laughs, but I ignore him because he’s an asshole, and I want answers.

“It’s not in my nature to gossip, Drake. Maybe you should talk to her,” Faye says smugly.

Seriously, is everyone against me tonight?

With a sigh, I rise from my desk and head out of the office, mumbling to them about going to check on something. Maybe I need some time off. I’ve been known to be a workaholic. Then again, it’s not like I have much of a life outside of work.

I head to the second floor to check on things, even though I just came from doing that. Asher already has a sub restrained to a spanking bench and is using a leather strap on her, creating wide red stripes on her bottom. It’s hot.

Would Lily like that? Would she be into pain? Or would she like her scenes to be more sensual?

Shaking my head, I let out a sigh. Why am I getting so obsessed with this woman?

“Hey, Drake.”

Shelly passes me with a couple of drinks in hand that she quickly delivers to a couple cuddled up in the corner.

When she approaches me again, I smile. “Hey, Shelly. How are things going tonight?”

The older woman looks around the room, observing. She’s a Domme and plays here with her wife whenever they have time. Shelly is amazing at what she does. We’ve been lucky with all the staff we’ve hired. She’s firm but understanding. It’s probably why she makes such a good Top.

“It’s great. I might need you to pull some liquor from the basement later.”

A woman off to the side of us lets out a low moan, and we look over to catch the sight of a couple in the middle of play. The submissive is bound to a chair with her knees spread, and her Dom is pressing a vibrator to her clit while he toys with her clamped nipples. Her moans turn into screams as she thrashes as much as the ropes allow. When her orgasm subsides, the man gently but efficiently frees her before pulling her into his arms.

Aftercare.

What would it be like to give that to Lily? What would she need? Whatever it is, I’d give it to her.

“Is Lily doing well?” The question comes out before I think better of it, but that’s fine. I’m one of the owners—the one who hired her—so it would be natural for me to check on her performance.

“She’s fantastic. I can’t get her to take a break for the life of me, but she’s damn good at her job.”

Furrowing my eyebrows, I turn toward Shelly. The muscles in my neck are painfully tight. “She’s not taking breaks? She’s been working eight-hour shifts since Wednesday.”

Shelly lets out an exasperated sigh. “I know. I even tried using my Domme voice, but it didn’t work.”

“She might not obey your commands, but she’s going to obey mine ,” I murmur as I head for the stairs.