by Ivy Nelson
Marissa tried not to react to his pet name for her, but it was difficult.
“Come on,” he said as she swallowed the last of her drink. “Let’s check out the dungeon. Are you still a voyeur?”
Marissa blushed. “Maybe a little.”
His gaze grew heated and he smiled wickedly. “I’ve got just the spot for you then.”
She had no idea what that meant. He tugged her along until they got to the door at the other end of the bar. She heard the faint sound of thumping music. He raised one eyebrow at her as if to ask if she was ready before he pulled it open.
Her pulse sped as she stepped across the threshold. Despite the early hour, the room was full. Music with ominous undertones and a loud bass pumped into the space. The track complimented the sounds of flesh being struck, moans of pleasure, and cries of pain. She watched as a Dom—it looked like Russell—pulled a woman across the room by her hair. She winced in pain, but Marissa recognized the bliss on her face.
When they reached their destination, Russell shoved the girl against the cross and sank his teeth into her neck. Marissa’s hand drifted to her own throat as she watched.
“Fuck,” she murmured as Lance pulled her closer to the scene playing out in front of them.
Russell was clearly a sadist, and the woman he played with was getting off on the pain he inflicted. Marissa could appreciate pain and even enjoyed it under certain circumstances, but she was no masochist.
They approached a seating area that was conveniently placed to provide an excellent view of most of the dungeon. People could sit and watch the scenes unfold as they waited to have their own.
Lance dropped onto a loveseat and Marissa bent to sit next to him. His hand fisted into her hair and tugged, twisting until she fell to her knees in front of him.
As her hair fell from his hand, she looked up at him. “Seriously?”
He nodded, his expression stern.
“Why?”
He leaned forward so he could whisper in her ear. “I’m finding it harder than expected to keep my distance. You’re safer down there.” His hand fluttered down her scalp as she sucked in a deep breath and stared up at him. Was he serious?
The look in his eye was one she’d seen before. Serious was an understatement.
Wordlessly, she settled onto her knees, her eyes scanning the room for other submissives who might be house subs. The thought of meeting Jodie still had her on edge.
The array of people in the room was astonishing. Solitaire brought together people from all walks of life and relationship styles. She watched with delight as two women finished tying hip harnesses on themselves. She recognized it as something she’d learned to do as part of the Chicago rope scene. They were about to suspend themselves from the large wooden frame they stood under. She watched in awe as they both hoisted themselves off the floor and into the air, so they were hanging on ropes attached to the hip harnesses they wore.
Obviously a couple, they swung until they were close enough to each other to entwine their legs and lean in for a passionate kiss.
Fucking hot.
As she watched the scene unfold, a loud crack sounded, and she jerked her head in the direction of the noise.
She bit her lip as she watched a man flick his wrist and send a bullwhip flying. The crack it made sounded much scarier than it was. They were close enough to the scene that she could see the tip of the whip barely caress the sub’s back.
An hour passed as they sat and watched the erotic play around them. People approached to talk and introduce themselves. The nature of their questions told her it had indeed been wise to have her come in under the guise of being Lance’s new trainee. Marissa was miserable with need as she found herself just an observer in a world she used to be fully immersed in. The couple she’d watched playing in rope had come down and were now cuddled in a corner. The Dom with the whip was pressed against his sub, peppering her with kisses as they ended their scene, and twenty minutes ago, Russell had disappeared with a satiated submissive in his arms.
God, how was it that she’d allowed herself to go so long without filling this need?”
Lance tapped her shoulder.
“Let’s go for a walk,” he said when she glanced up at him.
He stood and offered his hand. When their skin connected, she gasped and nearly jerked her fingers away as sparks shot through her. Fuck. Horny was not even remotely accurate to describe the intense sexual need she was feeling right now. And If the look in Lance’s eyes was any indication, he was feeling it too.
They walked through the dungeon until they came to a curtained off area. He pulled the curtains apart and tugged her behind them.
Cool air danced on her skin, sending goosebumps down her arm. They were on a balcony of sorts, though they were technically on the first floor of the club.
“You OK?” he asked when she stepped away from him to look at the view below her.
“Not sure. I’m realizing that I’ve missed the energy of a place like this a lot more than I thought.”
He leaned against a small table and watched her. “I’m sorry if I somehow took that away from you.”
She whirled at his apology. It wasn’t one she’d been expecting. “It wasn’t all your fault. I learned that in therapy.”
“Are you getting what you need?”
She twisted at a bow on her dress. “Depends on what you’re talking about,” she murmured.
He stepped toward her, lifting his hand to cup her cheek. A sigh very nearly escaped as she let herself lean into his touch.
“I’m talking about getting a feel for this place and the people. Do we need to go sit in the bar so you can actually talk to people? What did you think I was talking about?”
Backing away from his hand, she inhaled deeply. “That’s what I thought.”
“Liar,” he said, his gaze boring into her.
“Maybe. But I’m not going there with you.”
His hands disappeared into his pockets. “Understood. I brought you in here to check in. But people also know it’s rare for me not to play with my subs, so if anyone asks, we were in here getting hot and heavy.
God. She did not need more help imagining getting hot and heavy with him.
“What prompted this place?” Changing the subject was vital to her wellbeing.
“Solitaire? It was the dream of a dying man. At least, he thought he was dying. Very well could have.”
She lifted an eyebrow, trying to imagine Russell or Patrick, or any of the others on death’s door. “Which one?”
“You haven’t met him yet. Until a few months ago he was undergoing cancer treatment and his wife was finishing a degree. He owns the property, but he set up a board of directors to run the place and stepped aside once everything was up and running. He shows up for parties occasionally. They might be here tomorrow night but I’m not sure.”
“But why here? In the middle of Colorado?”
“It was an impressive piece of property and he wanted some place that none of us lived. Not so much for anonymity, but if everyone is traveling to get here, that’s just one more thing that brings us all together. It’s our little hideaway. A retreat of sorts. That’s one reason we had the cabins built. There’s also another building on the grounds that we don’t really use. There’s been talk of expanding to make it more of a resort so we can have week-long events a couple times a year. Lots of big ideas get tossed around. Mostly, though, it’s just a place where we can all escape our daily lives and fully surround ourselves with the lifestyle we love.”
Marissa’s heart constricted as she listened to him describe a place that meant so much to him.
“That’s beautiful.” Extending her hand to him, she gazed into his eyes and waited for him to take it.
“I promise right now that I’ll do everything I can to help you take care of the problems you’re facing so your hideaway stays safe. Despite our past, you can consider me all in.”
He took her hand and tugged her to
him, crushing her in a hug. “Thank you, Marissa.”
The feel of his hard chest against her cheek nearly brought her to her knees. Lifting her head, she stared up at him. His eyes sparkled with unshed tears and she let her arms circle his waist.
“Fuck,” he growled as he dipped his head to press his mouth to hers.
The kiss was heated and rough. Five years of anger, hurt, and need flowed out of both of them and manifested in a teeth clashing, lip biting kiss.
She pulled away when she tasted blood. Was it his or was it hers? Her fingers gingerly touched her now swollen lips.
The music from the dungeon grew louder and they both turned to find a woman pulling the curtain open.
“There you are, Master Lance.”
The air shifted and Marissa watched Lance slip seamlessly into Dom mode.
“I should say the same to you, Jodie.” He glanced at his smart watch and lifted an eyebrow. “You owe Isabelle an apology for making her cover your shift at the desk, and then you can meet me in the parlor so we can talk about your tardiness.”
The girl bristled and for a moment, Marissa thought she was going to argue. Instead she bowed her head and started to back out.
“Wait.” Lance’s tone was commanding and god damn it if it wasn’t making Marissa wet and needy.
Laying his hand on Marissa’s shoulder, he said, “This is Riss. She’s also my sub now.”
Jodie’s mouth opened and closed again. Speechless.
Marissa stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet you, Jodie.”
Jodie didn’t take her hand. “Um. Yeah. Definitely. I should go apologize to Isabelle now.”
“Third parlor room in ten minutes girl,” Lance said, warning heavy in his tone.
When Jodie was gone, he turned back to her and cupped her cheek, his lip caressing her still tender lips.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “I got carried away with the kiss and then…” he trailed off as he looked in the direction Jodie had disappeared to.
She cleared her throat and looked out over the balcony. “It’s… it’s OK. I mean, don’t do it again. But it’s OK. I always enjoyed making out with you.”
He let his head fall back as he laughed.
“Come on then. I need to deal with Jodie. I’ll settle you at the bar.
The music grew louder again as he opened the curtains. She gasped when he grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged her along with him instead of holding her hand.
“Just keeping up appearances,” he said with a wicked grin.
She gave him her best glare and he eventually let go of her hair only to reclaim her hand.
Back in the bar, they sat at the counter where Lance introduced her to Mitch.
“He’s our head bartender and makes a mean drink.”
Marissa grinned. “Nice to meet you, Mitch. How long have you been part of Solitaire?”
“I’ve been here since opening night. I’m here so often I got an apartment in town. I co-own a handful of bars with Hunter and that’s how I got the invite.”
She nodded. These people were so intertwined in and out of the club. It was like one big family. A family she would love to be part of, but it just didn’t seem possible.
She stared at Lance as he made small talk with Mitch. Letting him kiss her had been a mistake. Delicious, but still a mistake.
The guilt and self-loathing simmered in her gut as she half listened to the conversation. Spinning on the barstool, she caught sight of Jodie making her way to what must be the parlor room. She had a feeling that’s where house subs received punishment. A shudder flitted through her as she thought about it.
The rest of the bar was mostly empty since the party was in full swing in the dungeon. As she scanned the room and landed on the lobby door, it opened, and a tall black man stepped in wearing a bespoke gray suit. He oozed Dom as his eyes darted around the room. They landed on her and Lance and he strode with purpose in their direction.
Marissa tapped Lance. “You know him?”
Lance turned in the direction she was pointing.
“Son of a bitch.” Lance jumped off the barstool and met the stranger halfway. “Where the hell have you been, Samuel?”
“Not now. We’ll talk later. I just came to tell you I’m here now and you can stop worrying.”
Marissa watched as Lance begrudgingly accepted the man’s answer. He turned and motioned for her to join him.
“This is Marissa, my new sub.”
“What happened to Jodie? I thought we weren’t taking new members.”
Lance winked. “If you’d bothered to check-in, you would know the details. She’s not really my sub. She’s working for us a bit undercover.”
The guilt and self-loathing returned as he uttered the words, “she’s not really my sub.” It was harmless and true, and she knew Lance meant nothing by it, but she couldn’t help but feel his rejection all over again.
“Excuse me. I need to leave. It was lovely to meet you.”
“Wait,” Lance said with that same tone he’d used on Jodie. That just made it fucking worse.
She shook her head. His eyes narrowed and he lifted a hand to her cheek.
“Firewall,” she whispered.
9
Lance watched Marissa flee the bar and head in the direction of the upstairs suites. He would have to check on her later. Right now, he needed to talk to Samuel and Jodie was still waiting for him to discuss her lateness.
“What was that all about?” Samuel asked.
“Don’t worry about it. Why the hell didn’t you respond to my check-in? What’s the point of a safety call system if you’re not going to use it?”
Samuel clapped his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Not the time, my friend. We’ll talk later. I’m safe. All is well as can be.”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Let’s go in the conference room so I can catch you up on the latest developments.”
Samuel nodded. “Isabelle was at the desk when I came in and gave me the highlights. Sounds like it’s been an interesting few days.”
Lance gave an abrupt laugh. “That’s one way to look at it.”
In the conference room, he gave Samuel all the details about bringing Marissa on board and the press starting to follow Garrett and Isabelle.
“What are we doing to protect our members?”
“Not enough,” Lance said. “But I’m hoping Marissa and I will be able to put our heads together and take care of the problem.”
“It sounds like you need to identify the problem first.”
The door opened and Elijah stepped in. “Samuel. How good of you to finally show up.”
“I don’t need the riot act from you too, Eli. You know this happens sometimes. And no, I can’t talk about it.”
“Where’s Marissa?” Eli asked.
“Upstairs. Something upset her.”
“Don’t worry. I’m handling it. Samuel walked in at the same time and it felt like catching him up was the more important task,” Lance said when Eli raised an eyebrow.
He nodded and sat on the corner of the table. “Oh, I wanted to tell you, the information Marissa was able to give Holly about the media that has Garrett and Isabelle’s information was helpful. We’ve convinced everyone we’ve talked to that they should sit on the story for a few days. Not that there’s really a story. Garrett disappeared a few minutes ago on a call from the Whitehouse so I have a feeling he’s being read the riot act right now, but the president values his input and I’m sure they’ll be doing whatever they can to squash any real leaks. It can’t undo any damage already done but we’ve bought a little time. I just hope you and Marissa can work fast.”
“I think we can. I just need to get her out of her own head. She may have gotten good insight into the feel of the place, but I think being back in a BDSM environment messed with her head a little more than she thought it would.”
Eli nodded. “I’ll let you handle that.”
“I’m going to check on Jodie and have her reliev
e Isabelle and then I need to get out of here for a bit and check on Marissa. I’ll see you two later.”
Feeling somewhat better knowing that his friends were unlikely to wind up on the front page of gossip magazines tomorrow, he headed to find Jodie and deal with her.
A half hour later, a properly chastened Jodie was sitting at the front desk with a sore ass, so he headed upstairs. At his door, he knocked since he’d given his key to Marissa.
“Go away,” she hollered.
“Please don’t do this, Marissa. Let me in,”
“I can’t see you right now. I’m not in a good place.”
“I know that kitten, but I need to talk to you. I’ve got some good news.”
The door flew open and she pulled him inside. “Don’t fucking call me that.”
Whoa. She was in a worse place than he thought.
“I’m sorry, Marissa. What’s going on? What happened out there?”
“We shouldn’t have kissed. I shouldn’t have come here. This was a terrible mistake. I worked hard to get over you and now it feels like all that work has just come undone.”
Lance pulled a chair from beneath the desk and flipped it around so he could straddle it.
“Look. If I thought you were open to it, I would say you don’t have to get over me. We’ve always been good together. I would definitely be open to exploring with you again even if it were just temporary.”
She shook her head. “No. Stop. Don’t. I’ve had enough temporary in my life.”
He held up his hands. “That’s why I started with ‘If I thought you were open to it.’ I completely get that you’re not.”
Marissa paced the room and he knew she was feeling like a caged lion. When they lived together, he knew exactly how to calm those feelings, but she was definitely not open to that anymore. He let his thoughts linger on the nights he would pin her down and make her beg for relief as he drove her crazy. Not a great place to linger right now.
“What did you need to talk to me about?”
He shook his head. Right. “It looks like Holly was able to work her PR magic and get the press to back off for now. Don’t ask me how because I didn’t get details, but we’ve got some time to figure this out.”
