Billionaire Blaze, page 21
Of course, she had met me in a situation and place where people had all been wearing wedding attire and whatever suited the sunny climate. Here, it was far more about fashion and far harder for me to fit in without having money.
Lukas very quickly summoned his own car. Someone must have taken it and parked it nearby because it wasn’t long before someone drove it up and then handed him the keys. He quickly swept around the car to open the door for me and helped me inside as if I was wearing the most delicate of clothes and needed assistance.
It was a relief to be out of sight, and I found myself calming even further. Once again, Lukas made me feel safe enough that I relaxed and let him drive me away. I didn’t know where he was taking me, and for now, I didn’t care.
I was away from the restaurant and all the people who were judging me without knowing me.
After a while, I started to look out of the window more and take in where we were going. It appeared as if Lukas didn’t know where to go either, and he was just driving for the sake of driving.
“We didn’t get dessert,” I said, realizing that we had walked out as they were serving it. Another reason to have been embarrassed by the whole situation. Everyone had noticed us going in the wrong direction.
“Want to find a place to get some?” he asked, slowing the car slightly.
“Sure, why not? I could murder a milkshake and fries right now. Fast food style.” The portions we had been given at Lorenzo’s hadn’t been large, and I knew that it was a deliberate move. There were lots of courses, and I was sure dessert wouldn’t have been the last one. It was supposed to look pretty and take time to eat it.
“Fast food, like a cheap, quick place?” He looked as if he had no idea what I meant, and I wondered if I had disgusted him.
“You don’t like fast food?” I replied, not wanting to push this if he was totally against it. To my surprise, he shrugged.
“It’s not something I eat very often, or, well…I can’t remember ever really eating it. My mother was always set against it, and when you make over a certain amount of money, so many other options are open to you that are fast enough.”
He shrugged again, the gesture one I didn’t think he made often. It looked awkward.
“We don’t have to, but I’ll be honest. I am more used to it, and it’s the one thing that’s universal. A cheap, crappy burger and fries in any country is about the same.”
That made him chuckle. “You’re struggling with the food always being Sarai’s choice and fancier than you’re used to. I get it. Honestly, I couldn’t go to any other country for too long and not want a few home comforts, either. Especially after a shitty evening like this evening. Let’s go get milkshakes and fries. Do you have a chain in mind, or want me to just drive until you see one you like the look of?”
I relaxed, the tension that had built up in me at fearing he wouldn’t approve melting out of me with that one statement. He was so much more understanding than I would have expected. It made me feel so much better to be seen. And he’d even explained to me why I wanted what I wanted in a way that made sense.
It was total acceptance and understanding. And then accommodation of how I was feeling on top. How was this guy single and not already snapped up by one of the women who very clearly wanted him at Lorenzo’s?
Although I had been in Chicago for a few weeks now, I didn’t know exactly what chain restaurants Chicago had, so I got Lukas to drive us around and pointed out one I liked the look of. I wasn’t sure it was a big chain, but it looked like it would make a decent milkshake and fries.
Lukas found somewhere to put the car pretty swiftly, seeming to know the area despite not normally frequenting these sorts of places. Once again, he opened the car door for me, hurrying around the car before I could do much more than take off my seatbelt. He offered me a hand again and then took my arm.
I was still wearing his jacket, and I noticed him shiver as he pulled me in close.
“You’re cold,” I said, knowing I was stating the obvious but not sure what else to do. I started wriggling out of his jacket with the intention of handing it back, but he stopped me and shook his head.
“No, you keep it. I can get another one along here on the way.”
I frowned, looking around. None of the stores were open this late at night. Just the places to eat and drink, and this road was more the latter than the former.
“Are you sure?” I asked, not wanting to be too pushy. I was cold even with the jacket on.
Lukas looked at me as if he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. “Well, we’re going inside in a moment anyway. And then I want to show you something cool. A bit of a perk of being me.”
I raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth he could mean, but he didn’t explain, simply leading me toward the little fast food place I had chosen.
It had glaring neon signs outside of it that announced the name and claimed they had the most epic burgers. Inside, it had the bright red plastic and leather of a good old diner. It wasn’t very British, but I didn’t doubt it would be a similar experience to certain fast food chains and, with any luck, even a little better.
Lukas looked around as if he had no idea where to go or what to do, so I led him to the bar where they’d placed a bunch of stools and sat on one. The place was almost entirely empty, so a guy in a white T-shirt that had a few stains down it and a washcloth slung over one shoulder came over to us.
“What can I do for you two?” he asked. His accent was so strong it took me a moment to process what he had said.
“Can I get a chocolate milkshake and some fries, please?” I asked, briefly wondering if I had the money to pay for this, although I was fairly sure I did. I received an upfront payment from Sarai, and she had been paying for a lot since. I wasn’t going to be letting Lukas pay, that was for sure. Not that he knew it yet.
Both of us then looked at Lukas. Although he had no menu and couldn’t have known what to order, he didn’t hesitate. “I’ll take the same. Why not?”
The man nodded, moving his portly body a little slower as he backed up and then hurried into what looked like a kitchen. With him going to prepare our food, there was no one left out here serving, but no one seemed to mind.
There was another couple in a small booth near the back of the diner, but they were clearly more interested in each other than the food. And by the window sat a guy who looked as if he came here for a free meal now and then off the streets to keep warm. He’d been given a whole pot of coffee and was chowing down on the largest burger I had ever seen.
“Well, this is an interesting place you’ve brought me to,” Lukas said, drawing my attention back to him. He was smiling, thankfully, but it wasn’t lost on me how much we had gone from his world and into mine.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Lukas
Although I wasn’t entirely comfortable sitting in full view of the window and the entire diner, I relaxed as it became more and more apparent that no one would recognize me here, and no one seemed to care. I had grown so used to everyone knowing my name and what I looked like in the circles and places I frequented that it was strange.
Kit was perfectly at home and had found a cheap plastic menu from somewhere to look at. Given we had already ordered, I was surprised, but I also noticed the prices over her shoulder. I added up what it was going to cost us. Even with a generous tip, it wouldn’t have paid for even one course at Lorenzo’s.
I kept my surprise to myself. No wonder people ate at these sorts of places. They were a fraction of the price.
The guy who had taken our order seemed to be the chef and, this late at night, every other staff member as well. He quickly returned from the kitchen and started making two large chocolate milkshakes, loading in the chocolate ice cream, sauce, cocoa powder, and what looked like some kind of chocolate milk.
It was fascinating to watch him making them, clearly practiced. He made it look easy to build them up, making them look pretty, too, although he paused partway through them to disappear into the kitchens again.
He came out with two large plastic bowls of fries. Each was lined with greaseproof paper, and they were steaming hot. I wasn’t sure what to make of being handed such a large amount but I barely had time to consider it before he rushed off again to finish our shakes.
I also wasn’t used to having my order come in such a strange fashion. Normally, drinks would be served first, and there wasn’t any water anywhere I could see. Kit didn’t seem surprised or as if she was expecting any, and she picked up a fry, blew on it, and then ate it.
“Oh, that’s good,” she declared as soon as she finished her bite.
The lack of cutlery bothered me, but she happily used her fingers, so I did the same, wanting to try them. They were crisp and lightly salted, and I had to admit, they tasted good.
“Any sauces with those?” the chef asked as he finally brought the massive milkshakes to us.
“I’m good,” Kit replied, pulling her shake over to her.
“Uhhh…ketchup,” I said when I was put on the spot again. I didn’t know if I wanted them with ketchup for sure, but I was pretty sure it was the normal response to give, and I definitely wanted to be normal today.
Kit then did yet another unexpected thing. She picked up another fry, and instead of blowing on it and eating it as she had the first time, she dipped it into her shake.
My mouth fell open as she ate it without hesitation. Even the chef didn’t bat an eyelid as he brought me a red bottle with a nozzle.
“You kids need anything else?” he asked.
I shook my head, still staring in horror at Kit’s eating. She was already on to her second and only finally looked my way after she had stuffed it into her mouth, also letting the chef know she didn’t need anything.
“What?” she asked as the chef walked away to sit by a radio blasting out music and picked up some kind of magazine. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Does that taste okay?” I asked, pointing to the food.
At first, she didn’t respond, not seeming to know what I was talking about, then it was as if a lightbulb switched on in her head. “Oh, have you never dipped your fries in a shake or ice cream?”
“Nope. Not once. It’s not exactly the done thing at the places I usually eat. We don’t even eat with our fingers normally.”
“Do you want a fork?” she asked, glancing toward our chef as if she would call him over for me. It amused me that of all the parts she was most worried about for me, it was the utensils and not that she was combining two food groups I had never expected to see anyone combine.
I chuckled and shook my head. “No, I’m good, but I have to try your crazy combination.”
She smiled and watched as I repeated her actions, waiting to see if I liked it. It was weird, the sweet from the ice cream and the coldness hitting first, but then the salty heat from the fries came through, and it was strangely somehow decent.
“What do you think?” The words rolled off Kit’s tongue so swiftly I had trouble making them out with her British accent, but I nodded while I finished chewing.
“Okay, I don’t think that it’s something I’d want a lot of, but it somehow kind of works. You’re weird, though.”
“Tell that to all the other people who do this, too.” She grinned, not offended by my response, and it baffled me that this was something normal for others. People were strange.
I stuck to the ketchup after that, but it was fun to talk about other differences between our countries as Kit devoured her food. Although I didn’t add it to the conversation, I appreciated that we had done this. The food was good, and the milkshake was heaven. It was nice to sit somewhere with no agenda and no fear of being interrupted by anyone who recognized me.
Here, I was completely relaxed and out with a wonderful person. I was certain that this was exactly the sort of thing Daniel had meant when he had told me to just go on dates and enjoy myself. Thanks to Kit, I was doing something I’d never done before, getting away from the crowds and my usual life, and letting myself fully relax. It was perfect.
At some point, all the other patrons left, giving us the place to ourselves. Now and then, someone came in for some kind of takeout or drink to go, but the chef didn’t seem to care either way. He took money, made food if needed, and otherwise read his magazine and listened to the music.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I was going to show you a neat trick.” I grinned as Kit looked at me quizzically. This was going to blow her mind. “When you’re rich, there are certain perks. So…I need a new jacket, right?”
She nodded, finishing her food at a much slower pace, no doubt as full as I felt. I showed her my phone screen as I opened an app that let me browse a particular catalog of clothes. It didn’t take me long to pull up the jackets and choose one identical to the one she wore. I hit the ‘add to basket’ button.
“So what, they deliver wherever you are, immediately or something?” she asked, beginning to get the idea.
“Sort of.” I frowned, knowing she had figured it out and being a little miffed. It was still cool to show her it was possible, however. “But it’s more than just one clothing store and their clothes. It’s… What would you get if you could buy anything right now?”
She tilted her head to the side as she tried to think of something. “Honestly, the only thing I’ve wanted all evening that I don’t have is a better dress than this one, and I don’t need it anymore. At least, not right now.”
I frowned as she pointed that out, but I could see the sadness in her eyes before she looked down at the dress she was wearing. She looked amazing in it, and it clung to all the right curves. It just wasn’t the right cut or fabric for Lorenzo’s.
In most situations, it would never have come up or have been a problem, especially at any event I was running, but I knew Sarai didn’t always think about these things, and the women who went to a place like Lorenzo’s were insecure and catty.
Although I hesitated, I soon navigated to some of the better dresses on the app and showed them to Kit. At first, she didn’t seem to want to engage, but I began to ask her questions about styles and her favorite colors. Finally, she started to show interest. By the time we finished eating, she’d told me about two dresses she really liked.
“What size are you?” I asked.
“I’m not sure I should tell you. I appreciate that you’re being kind, but I don’t need you to buy me clothes.” She frowned as if she was intent on arguing.
“If you don’t tell me, I will guess. Sometimes, you just have to accept that you’re being bought a gift. I’d say there are no strings attached, but I’d be lying. I want you to wear a dress to come out with me in about a month when the project is coming to an end. I’ve been invited to a party, and I don’t want to go alone.”
“So my price for letting you buy a dress is that I wear it for you first on a date?”
“Doesn’t sound so bad, does it?” I spoke with far more confidence than I felt, but she smiled and nodded.
“I can accept those terms.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Kit
There was no hiding it at all from the others working on this project that we were dating. They all saw us come into the site together several times a week, and I couldn’t deny that I loved spending the nights with Lukas. He was everything I could have hoped for in a dom, and I was already getting used to what he wanted from a submissive.
While I knew a little of what he wanted, he had been building slowly toward the exact level and types of submission that made him happy, and a lot of it was in the bedroom. At first, I had been a little nervous as he had tied me up and very much against a blindfold, but once I had trusted him enough to try the latter as well, I found it freeing.
We were still only seeing each other a few times a week outside of work, the job consuming a lot of our time and energy, but it was amazing when I spent time with him.
That said, I was growing more and more tired. It had taken it out of me even more than I’d expected—the need to keep on top of this project. So many huts being built at once, and very few of them being repeats of each other meant I was being kept on my toes. I had to outfit some of them in only a few days each, and the workmen were finishing off even more over the next few days.
I made my way into the site office again, knowing that Sarai was waiting for me to take her over the two newest completed huts to make sure it was to her satisfaction. Lukas, Henry, and Richard were coming with us, mostly to make a list of snagging issues, but it meant I wasn’t alone in finding Sarai, and my work would be scrutinized by a larger group of people. I had hoped I would be used to it by now, but I wasn’t.
My stomach felt as if someone had twisted it into painful knots, and I struggled to look at anyone or focus on anything but finding Sarai and hoping that she liked the newest huts enough that it didn’t matter what anyone else thought. Richard, I wasn’t so worried about. He was happy as long as Sarai was happy and clearly trusted her.
But I wanted to impress Lukas, and I didn’t ever know how Henry would view things. Although he was often with Lukas, Henry was there to make the billionaire’s life easier, and that meant he was often busy and didn’t always get much sleep. When Lukas had ordered clothes for us while out two weeks earlier, I half-expected Henry to be the person to show up with them, but there really had been some kind of courier service that operated at all hours.
I knew that there were some websites that offered same-day delivery, but not that any of them also delivered through the night. Lukas assured me that it was a perk of being at his level and spending the kind of money he did, but it hadn’t made me feel any better.
“Perfect,” Sarai said, beaming as she saw us. “Everyone, I need to get started.”
Although I nodded, all of me was terrified. I didn’t know what it was about today that had me so nervous compared to others, but I felt on edge. This was one of the bigger days in terms of finished work, but Sarai had gone with me to the huts several times while they were in progress, and I had shown a lot of the purchases to her.
Lukas very quickly summoned his own car. Someone must have taken it and parked it nearby because it wasn’t long before someone drove it up and then handed him the keys. He quickly swept around the car to open the door for me and helped me inside as if I was wearing the most delicate of clothes and needed assistance.
It was a relief to be out of sight, and I found myself calming even further. Once again, Lukas made me feel safe enough that I relaxed and let him drive me away. I didn’t know where he was taking me, and for now, I didn’t care.
I was away from the restaurant and all the people who were judging me without knowing me.
After a while, I started to look out of the window more and take in where we were going. It appeared as if Lukas didn’t know where to go either, and he was just driving for the sake of driving.
“We didn’t get dessert,” I said, realizing that we had walked out as they were serving it. Another reason to have been embarrassed by the whole situation. Everyone had noticed us going in the wrong direction.
“Want to find a place to get some?” he asked, slowing the car slightly.
“Sure, why not? I could murder a milkshake and fries right now. Fast food style.” The portions we had been given at Lorenzo’s hadn’t been large, and I knew that it was a deliberate move. There were lots of courses, and I was sure dessert wouldn’t have been the last one. It was supposed to look pretty and take time to eat it.
“Fast food, like a cheap, quick place?” He looked as if he had no idea what I meant, and I wondered if I had disgusted him.
“You don’t like fast food?” I replied, not wanting to push this if he was totally against it. To my surprise, he shrugged.
“It’s not something I eat very often, or, well…I can’t remember ever really eating it. My mother was always set against it, and when you make over a certain amount of money, so many other options are open to you that are fast enough.”
He shrugged again, the gesture one I didn’t think he made often. It looked awkward.
“We don’t have to, but I’ll be honest. I am more used to it, and it’s the one thing that’s universal. A cheap, crappy burger and fries in any country is about the same.”
That made him chuckle. “You’re struggling with the food always being Sarai’s choice and fancier than you’re used to. I get it. Honestly, I couldn’t go to any other country for too long and not want a few home comforts, either. Especially after a shitty evening like this evening. Let’s go get milkshakes and fries. Do you have a chain in mind, or want me to just drive until you see one you like the look of?”
I relaxed, the tension that had built up in me at fearing he wouldn’t approve melting out of me with that one statement. He was so much more understanding than I would have expected. It made me feel so much better to be seen. And he’d even explained to me why I wanted what I wanted in a way that made sense.
It was total acceptance and understanding. And then accommodation of how I was feeling on top. How was this guy single and not already snapped up by one of the women who very clearly wanted him at Lorenzo’s?
Although I had been in Chicago for a few weeks now, I didn’t know exactly what chain restaurants Chicago had, so I got Lukas to drive us around and pointed out one I liked the look of. I wasn’t sure it was a big chain, but it looked like it would make a decent milkshake and fries.
Lukas found somewhere to put the car pretty swiftly, seeming to know the area despite not normally frequenting these sorts of places. Once again, he opened the car door for me, hurrying around the car before I could do much more than take off my seatbelt. He offered me a hand again and then took my arm.
I was still wearing his jacket, and I noticed him shiver as he pulled me in close.
“You’re cold,” I said, knowing I was stating the obvious but not sure what else to do. I started wriggling out of his jacket with the intention of handing it back, but he stopped me and shook his head.
“No, you keep it. I can get another one along here on the way.”
I frowned, looking around. None of the stores were open this late at night. Just the places to eat and drink, and this road was more the latter than the former.
“Are you sure?” I asked, not wanting to be too pushy. I was cold even with the jacket on.
Lukas looked at me as if he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. “Well, we’re going inside in a moment anyway. And then I want to show you something cool. A bit of a perk of being me.”
I raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth he could mean, but he didn’t explain, simply leading me toward the little fast food place I had chosen.
It had glaring neon signs outside of it that announced the name and claimed they had the most epic burgers. Inside, it had the bright red plastic and leather of a good old diner. It wasn’t very British, but I didn’t doubt it would be a similar experience to certain fast food chains and, with any luck, even a little better.
Lukas looked around as if he had no idea where to go or what to do, so I led him to the bar where they’d placed a bunch of stools and sat on one. The place was almost entirely empty, so a guy in a white T-shirt that had a few stains down it and a washcloth slung over one shoulder came over to us.
“What can I do for you two?” he asked. His accent was so strong it took me a moment to process what he had said.
“Can I get a chocolate milkshake and some fries, please?” I asked, briefly wondering if I had the money to pay for this, although I was fairly sure I did. I received an upfront payment from Sarai, and she had been paying for a lot since. I wasn’t going to be letting Lukas pay, that was for sure. Not that he knew it yet.
Both of us then looked at Lukas. Although he had no menu and couldn’t have known what to order, he didn’t hesitate. “I’ll take the same. Why not?”
The man nodded, moving his portly body a little slower as he backed up and then hurried into what looked like a kitchen. With him going to prepare our food, there was no one left out here serving, but no one seemed to mind.
There was another couple in a small booth near the back of the diner, but they were clearly more interested in each other than the food. And by the window sat a guy who looked as if he came here for a free meal now and then off the streets to keep warm. He’d been given a whole pot of coffee and was chowing down on the largest burger I had ever seen.
“Well, this is an interesting place you’ve brought me to,” Lukas said, drawing my attention back to him. He was smiling, thankfully, but it wasn’t lost on me how much we had gone from his world and into mine.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Lukas
Although I wasn’t entirely comfortable sitting in full view of the window and the entire diner, I relaxed as it became more and more apparent that no one would recognize me here, and no one seemed to care. I had grown so used to everyone knowing my name and what I looked like in the circles and places I frequented that it was strange.
Kit was perfectly at home and had found a cheap plastic menu from somewhere to look at. Given we had already ordered, I was surprised, but I also noticed the prices over her shoulder. I added up what it was going to cost us. Even with a generous tip, it wouldn’t have paid for even one course at Lorenzo’s.
I kept my surprise to myself. No wonder people ate at these sorts of places. They were a fraction of the price.
The guy who had taken our order seemed to be the chef and, this late at night, every other staff member as well. He quickly returned from the kitchen and started making two large chocolate milkshakes, loading in the chocolate ice cream, sauce, cocoa powder, and what looked like some kind of chocolate milk.
It was fascinating to watch him making them, clearly practiced. He made it look easy to build them up, making them look pretty, too, although he paused partway through them to disappear into the kitchens again.
He came out with two large plastic bowls of fries. Each was lined with greaseproof paper, and they were steaming hot. I wasn’t sure what to make of being handed such a large amount but I barely had time to consider it before he rushed off again to finish our shakes.
I also wasn’t used to having my order come in such a strange fashion. Normally, drinks would be served first, and there wasn’t any water anywhere I could see. Kit didn’t seem surprised or as if she was expecting any, and she picked up a fry, blew on it, and then ate it.
“Oh, that’s good,” she declared as soon as she finished her bite.
The lack of cutlery bothered me, but she happily used her fingers, so I did the same, wanting to try them. They were crisp and lightly salted, and I had to admit, they tasted good.
“Any sauces with those?” the chef asked as he finally brought the massive milkshakes to us.
“I’m good,” Kit replied, pulling her shake over to her.
“Uhhh…ketchup,” I said when I was put on the spot again. I didn’t know if I wanted them with ketchup for sure, but I was pretty sure it was the normal response to give, and I definitely wanted to be normal today.
Kit then did yet another unexpected thing. She picked up another fry, and instead of blowing on it and eating it as she had the first time, she dipped it into her shake.
My mouth fell open as she ate it without hesitation. Even the chef didn’t bat an eyelid as he brought me a red bottle with a nozzle.
“You kids need anything else?” he asked.
I shook my head, still staring in horror at Kit’s eating. She was already on to her second and only finally looked my way after she had stuffed it into her mouth, also letting the chef know she didn’t need anything.
“What?” she asked as the chef walked away to sit by a radio blasting out music and picked up some kind of magazine. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Does that taste okay?” I asked, pointing to the food.
At first, she didn’t respond, not seeming to know what I was talking about, then it was as if a lightbulb switched on in her head. “Oh, have you never dipped your fries in a shake or ice cream?”
“Nope. Not once. It’s not exactly the done thing at the places I usually eat. We don’t even eat with our fingers normally.”
“Do you want a fork?” she asked, glancing toward our chef as if she would call him over for me. It amused me that of all the parts she was most worried about for me, it was the utensils and not that she was combining two food groups I had never expected to see anyone combine.
I chuckled and shook my head. “No, I’m good, but I have to try your crazy combination.”
She smiled and watched as I repeated her actions, waiting to see if I liked it. It was weird, the sweet from the ice cream and the coldness hitting first, but then the salty heat from the fries came through, and it was strangely somehow decent.
“What do you think?” The words rolled off Kit’s tongue so swiftly I had trouble making them out with her British accent, but I nodded while I finished chewing.
“Okay, I don’t think that it’s something I’d want a lot of, but it somehow kind of works. You’re weird, though.”
“Tell that to all the other people who do this, too.” She grinned, not offended by my response, and it baffled me that this was something normal for others. People were strange.
I stuck to the ketchup after that, but it was fun to talk about other differences between our countries as Kit devoured her food. Although I didn’t add it to the conversation, I appreciated that we had done this. The food was good, and the milkshake was heaven. It was nice to sit somewhere with no agenda and no fear of being interrupted by anyone who recognized me.
Here, I was completely relaxed and out with a wonderful person. I was certain that this was exactly the sort of thing Daniel had meant when he had told me to just go on dates and enjoy myself. Thanks to Kit, I was doing something I’d never done before, getting away from the crowds and my usual life, and letting myself fully relax. It was perfect.
At some point, all the other patrons left, giving us the place to ourselves. Now and then, someone came in for some kind of takeout or drink to go, but the chef didn’t seem to care either way. He took money, made food if needed, and otherwise read his magazine and listened to the music.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I was going to show you a neat trick.” I grinned as Kit looked at me quizzically. This was going to blow her mind. “When you’re rich, there are certain perks. So…I need a new jacket, right?”
She nodded, finishing her food at a much slower pace, no doubt as full as I felt. I showed her my phone screen as I opened an app that let me browse a particular catalog of clothes. It didn’t take me long to pull up the jackets and choose one identical to the one she wore. I hit the ‘add to basket’ button.
“So what, they deliver wherever you are, immediately or something?” she asked, beginning to get the idea.
“Sort of.” I frowned, knowing she had figured it out and being a little miffed. It was still cool to show her it was possible, however. “But it’s more than just one clothing store and their clothes. It’s… What would you get if you could buy anything right now?”
She tilted her head to the side as she tried to think of something. “Honestly, the only thing I’ve wanted all evening that I don’t have is a better dress than this one, and I don’t need it anymore. At least, not right now.”
I frowned as she pointed that out, but I could see the sadness in her eyes before she looked down at the dress she was wearing. She looked amazing in it, and it clung to all the right curves. It just wasn’t the right cut or fabric for Lorenzo’s.
In most situations, it would never have come up or have been a problem, especially at any event I was running, but I knew Sarai didn’t always think about these things, and the women who went to a place like Lorenzo’s were insecure and catty.
Although I hesitated, I soon navigated to some of the better dresses on the app and showed them to Kit. At first, she didn’t seem to want to engage, but I began to ask her questions about styles and her favorite colors. Finally, she started to show interest. By the time we finished eating, she’d told me about two dresses she really liked.
“What size are you?” I asked.
“I’m not sure I should tell you. I appreciate that you’re being kind, but I don’t need you to buy me clothes.” She frowned as if she was intent on arguing.
“If you don’t tell me, I will guess. Sometimes, you just have to accept that you’re being bought a gift. I’d say there are no strings attached, but I’d be lying. I want you to wear a dress to come out with me in about a month when the project is coming to an end. I’ve been invited to a party, and I don’t want to go alone.”
“So my price for letting you buy a dress is that I wear it for you first on a date?”
“Doesn’t sound so bad, does it?” I spoke with far more confidence than I felt, but she smiled and nodded.
“I can accept those terms.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Kit
There was no hiding it at all from the others working on this project that we were dating. They all saw us come into the site together several times a week, and I couldn’t deny that I loved spending the nights with Lukas. He was everything I could have hoped for in a dom, and I was already getting used to what he wanted from a submissive.
While I knew a little of what he wanted, he had been building slowly toward the exact level and types of submission that made him happy, and a lot of it was in the bedroom. At first, I had been a little nervous as he had tied me up and very much against a blindfold, but once I had trusted him enough to try the latter as well, I found it freeing.
We were still only seeing each other a few times a week outside of work, the job consuming a lot of our time and energy, but it was amazing when I spent time with him.
That said, I was growing more and more tired. It had taken it out of me even more than I’d expected—the need to keep on top of this project. So many huts being built at once, and very few of them being repeats of each other meant I was being kept on my toes. I had to outfit some of them in only a few days each, and the workmen were finishing off even more over the next few days.
I made my way into the site office again, knowing that Sarai was waiting for me to take her over the two newest completed huts to make sure it was to her satisfaction. Lukas, Henry, and Richard were coming with us, mostly to make a list of snagging issues, but it meant I wasn’t alone in finding Sarai, and my work would be scrutinized by a larger group of people. I had hoped I would be used to it by now, but I wasn’t.
My stomach felt as if someone had twisted it into painful knots, and I struggled to look at anyone or focus on anything but finding Sarai and hoping that she liked the newest huts enough that it didn’t matter what anyone else thought. Richard, I wasn’t so worried about. He was happy as long as Sarai was happy and clearly trusted her.
But I wanted to impress Lukas, and I didn’t ever know how Henry would view things. Although he was often with Lukas, Henry was there to make the billionaire’s life easier, and that meant he was often busy and didn’t always get much sleep. When Lukas had ordered clothes for us while out two weeks earlier, I half-expected Henry to be the person to show up with them, but there really had been some kind of courier service that operated at all hours.
I knew that there were some websites that offered same-day delivery, but not that any of them also delivered through the night. Lukas assured me that it was a perk of being at his level and spending the kind of money he did, but it hadn’t made me feel any better.
“Perfect,” Sarai said, beaming as she saw us. “Everyone, I need to get started.”
Although I nodded, all of me was terrified. I didn’t know what it was about today that had me so nervous compared to others, but I felt on edge. This was one of the bigger days in terms of finished work, but Sarai had gone with me to the huts several times while they were in progress, and I had shown a lot of the purchases to her.
