He didn’t have a defense because he had been staring at Sharon, but not in the way Chris had been implying. Okay, maybe just a little bit in the way Chris had been implying. When her mouth was shut, or she was out of earshot, and he could just look at her... well she looked damned good.

Moving into the aisle, ignoring Chris snickering behind him, Jake made a beeline for the door. There was an open bar in the other room and he desperately needed a drink.

Hands in his pockets, Luke leaned against the wall, watching the flow of people in and out of the room. He hadn’t expected to be invited today, but Adam seemed to feel his place as a partner in Marquis merited it. They weren’t friends yet, but Adam expected they would be in the future. At least, that was how Adam had explained it when Luke had expressed his surprise.

A wedding invitation based on the expectation of future friendship.

The idea amused him, just like most of the people in this group of friends did. They were fun and funny, close without being too cliquish, and completely welcoming to him. Well, except for the one person he wanted to be completely welcomed by.

His eyes tracked flaming red hair across the room. Olivia Williams. Long red hair which flowed down her back, reaching just past her shoulders, and wearing a simple black dress, cut low in front and showing off a great deal of her ivory skin, lean muscles, and made the most of her curves. Thirty three years old, manager for Marquis as soon as it opened, faithful Redskins fan, and Dominatrix. Three things which should probably warn him away. He’d been smart enough not to wear his Cowboys jersey going to watch football at a new friend’s house in Maryland - no need to piss everyone off right from the start - but it was going to come out eventually. Luke also didn’t mess around with people he worked with. Ever. And while he’d always liked bossy women in bed, he knew there was a lot more to being a submissive to a Dominatrix than just enjoying confident women. Some of the porn he’d watched had had his balls cringing rather than his cock swelling...