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21
Mare
Iam going to be in so much fucking trouble,I thought as I shuffled through the line of waitresses waiting to pick up their orders out of the window in the kitchen the next day. Never before had I been so aware of wearing panties. It was just a normal part of my routine. Wake up. Get dressed, and what was the first thing people put on? UNDERWEAR. Well, here I was, halfway through my workday and feeling guilty for not following Ian’s command from the day before.
I hadn’t been able to make myself do it though. I had to wear a goddamn dress to work. A stiff uniform dress that barely moved, much less that would blow up like Marilyn Monroe’s famous white dress, but a dress nonetheless. There was no way I was chancing someone catching a glimpse of my bare ass. And for several hours, I’d been confident in my decision, especially when Donny had laid into me about calling out sick the day before. Apparently, Charlotte hadn’t shown up for any of her shifts for the last few days, and he’d been slammed. I was almost grateful that I hadn’t come because there was no doubt that I’d have been stuck picking up the slack.
As I worked, though, stepping up and grabbing my tray of food to take to the dining room, I felt pangs of guilt. The panties felt unacceptable now. Oh, I loved being a brat of the highest order. I liked pushing Ian to his limits and seeing where he would take me. Enjoying it, that push and pull of power and control between us, but this felt wrong … he’d given an order, and while I loved to sass back, I still wanted to be his good girl. Shaking my head to dislodge those thoughts, I plastered a smile on my face as I passed through the rest of the kitchen and into the dining room. Carting out a tray filled with pastas and personal pan pizzas to my table, I laid them out with expertise and propped the tray on my hip as I asked if they needed anything else. When I was sure all was well, I headed off to the hostess podium to return some menus and nearly tripped over my own two feet when I saw three familiar figures.
Fuck. Me. Sideways.And not in the fun way. I barely caught myself on a nearby empty table before I made a complete and utter fool of myself. I watched, wide-eyed as the hostess led them past me towards the last booth left in my section.
Be cool, America,I ordered.Just walk over there. Take their order. It’s not like they have fucking x-ray vision. They’re just a group of overprotective, super hot, and muscley guys I’ve gone a few rounds with in bed, not supervillains. Ian was just kidding when he told you not to wear panties to work. He didn’t really mean it.Even as the words filtered through my mind I knew I was in a heap of trouble.
I swallowed and hefted the tray up, tucking it between my arm and my side as my internal monologue continued, fueled by anxiety I hadn’t even realized I’d been feeling. I strode up to the table as the hostess was leaving, her arm trailing along Jensen’s as she gave him a flirty wink.Oh, hell no,I thought venomously,Mary Peterson might be a sweet and quiet girl, but Mare was not. No one touches my men.
Without thinking, I let my foot slip out and watched as she tripped and nearly landed in another man’s lap. The man in question didn’t seem at all unhappy with having a young, twenty-something year old in his lap, but I watched as the girl’s face flamed red and she quickly apologized.
“Jealous much?” Jensen asked with a grin when he caught my eye.
I shrugged. “If you own me, then I own you too, don’t I?” I looked Ian right in the face as I made my point. “No one touches what’s mine.”
Ian’s eyes darkened as he roamed over my figure. “That’s right, baby, you show those pretty claws of yours all you want. I can’t wait to get you under me again when we have time for some real play.”
I blinked. Okay … not exactly the response I’d expected but he wasn’t angry, and that was good enough for me. I lifted my pen and pad. “What can I get you guys tonight?” I scribbled down their orders as they slapped their menus closed and slid them my way. “I’ll get that right in,” I said, flashing the automatic smile before turning and striding away. Unfortunately, it was several minutes later and no less than three stops to fetch a variety of condiments, retrieve napkins, and help an elderly man out of his seat before I finally managed to get to the POS computer in the back hallway. I huffed out a breath and plugged in the guys’ orders, hitting send with a bit more force than necessary.
The hairs on the back of my neck lifted, and I realized belatedly just how quiet the back hallway was. The rest of the servers were on the floor, and considering this station was the furthest from the kitchen, most of them never came back here to use it—which was exactly why it was my favorite. A shadow moved over the wall in front of me, the only warning I got before a strong body grabbed me around the waist, turning me, and pushed me back against the wall. Immediately, relief whipped through me when I inhaled his leather and musk scent.
“Jesus, Ian,” I snapped, lifting a hand to my breast as if that would still my thundering heart. “You scared the shit out of me.”
He watched me carefully, like a controlled predator. “You need to be more aware of your surroundings, baby,” he said, leaning close until I could smell mint on his breath.Had he been chewing gum before he came in?“Did that day with Jensen teach you nothing?”
“I don’t need to defend myself from you,” I blurted.
Something akin to satisfaction glowed in his gaze. “You’re right about that,” he replied, nodding. “But that’s not why I came back here. I wanted to know if you did what I told you to.” His hands slid from my waist down to my hips. “Were you a good girl for me, Mare?”
I went still. Silence echoed between us for several incredibly long seconds. “I-I’m at work, Ian,” I deflected, turning my face away.
“Mare.”
I squirmed in his grip, pushing him back slightly. “I have tables to get back to.” Before I could shove completely out of his embrace, his hands moved down even further, feeling along the band of my underwear from over the surface of my dress.
Ian sighed, and my breath hitched when it sounded … disappointed. “I’d hoped I could reward you tonight, Mare, but now plans have to change.”
“What?” I glanced up at him, his words not making much sense in my head in relation to his actions as he took a full step back. He held out his hand in much the same way he had the day before. I glanced from it to his expectant face. “What?” I repeated.
“Your panties, Mare. I ordered you to leave them off. In fact, if I recall correctly, I do believe my words were that you weren’t allowed to wear them.”
“I’m atwork!” I hissed, jerking my head to the side to glance down the back hallway. Thankfully, no one had noticed us yet.
“And had you followed my instructions, we wouldn’t be in this position,” he pointed out.
“Had I followed your instructions—ludicrous instructions, I might add—I’d be standing here without panties in a restaurant full of people.”
“It seems to me that regardless of what you think, you’ll still be standing here in a restaurant full of people, pantyless. You can either give them to me now or let me rip them off you later. I can assure you the punishment you’ll receive if you don’t hand them over right here and now will be much worse.” He dropped his arm and stepped forward, crowding me against the wall as those thick forearms came down and caged me in. “Have you ever been brought to the brink of orgasm and left wanting for hours, Mare? If what you said the other day was true, then I’ll hazard that’s a no. I’m pretty sure I never enacted that punishment with you before, but I’ll do it for this if you don’t give me your panties right fucking now.”
I panted, pressing my thighs together as heat rolled through me. It seemed that no matter what I did, I couldn’t escape him—not the way he commanded me and certainly not the way he made me feel when he did. If I were honest with myself … I didn’t want to escape him, so like before, I hesitated slightly, my fingers closing into tight fists at my side—clenched and released.
His mouth softened as he stared down at me. “What’s the problem, Mare? Why the doubt? You trust me. I know you do. So, what is it?”
