Page 15 of Salacious Desires

“Yes, Sir,” I squeak.

The waiter appears again with two glasses of water and a menu, which he hands to Drake before he strides off to another table.

“What are you hungry for? The special tonight is a Japanese dish made from beef and noodles. It’s one of my favorites.”

“I’ve never had Japanese food.”

His eyebrows pinch, and his jaw clenches. He does that a lot. Especially when he doesn’t like something I say.

“You’ve never had Japanese?”

I tug on my hand, and this time, he lets me go. I wish he hadn’t because I immediately miss the way it made me feel. Calm.

“I’ve, um, I’ve never had any foreign cuisine except Mexican. My roommate took me to try it to celebrate when I got free. It was amazing. I’ve been craving a burrito again ever since.”

And I’ve said too much. Crap. Why do I vomit words around him?

Drake sets the menu down and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “What the fuck do you mean got free?”

Yikes.

CHAPTER 8

DRAKE

My patience is wearing thin.

How has she never tried Japanese food? And got free? She mentioned recently being divorced, so maybe that’s what she meant, but something doesn’t feel right.

She waves her hand dismissively, and I want to spank her for it. Because this isn’t something light, and I’m not going to allow her to be flippant about it.

“Lily, what do you mean? What did you get free from?”

Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she clears her throat. “I was raised in a less-than-traditional kind of life. The rules and views within that community were extreme.”

It’s like a bucket of ice has been dumped over my head. “A cult, Lily. You’re talking about a cult.”

She winces and clears her throat again. “Yes.”

Jesus, fuck.

“When did you get free?”

“About six months ago. My friend Hannah helped me.”

I want to drill her with questions and demand she answer every single one so I can destroy the people who raised her. I don’t know much about cults, but I know they have some fucked-up ways of thinking. Now isn’t the time for more questions, though. She looks as if she could burst out crying at any minute.

Slowly and gently, I reach out and take her hand again. “Thank you for telling me. I want to talk about it some more, but when we’re in private. So, how about I order us some dinner?”

Peering up at me, she gives a small nod and sniffles. “Okay.”

When the waiter returns, I order three different meals. Something tells me the beautiful woman in front of me hasn’t tried a lot of things in her lifetime, and I want to be the one to change that. I also want to keep hearing her call me Sir.

I’ve never had a reaction like that to the title Sir. But when Lily said it, my pants grew tighter, and I think my heart stopped for a brief moment. Maybe it’s because it seemed to slip from her mouth so naturally. Like she didn’t have to think about it; it just happened.

“Do you like working here?”

Small talk has never been my thing. It’s pointless. With her, though, it doesn’t matter what we talk about. I just want to get to know her.

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