by Ivy Nelson
“One minute to spare,” Lance murmured when she opened the door. He was sitting at the small table in the living area of the suite drinking a glass of scotch.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “I’m just feeling defiant for some reason.”
He patted his knee and she went to perch on his lap. “Want to talk about it?”
She swiped his glass and swallowed what was left in it. “Not really. My therapist thinks you should come to a session with me if you’re planning to be back in my life.”
He reached for a liquor bottle and refilled the glass. “I can see where that might be a good idea.”
“Can we just go to bed and start over tomorrow? I can’t promise to be feeling any more submissive, but I’ll try.”
Lance set the crystal tumbler to the side and nudged her off his lap. When she stood, he rose and tugged her close.
“I need to know one thing before we go to bed.”
She pressed her forehead to his chest. “I’m listening.”
“How far am I allowed to go to put you in the submissive place you’re looking to be?”
She lifted her gaze and smiled at him. “Are you asking for permission to break me, Lance?”
“Sir,” he said, tapping her nose. “And I guess you could say that. We used to get pretty intense. I don’t want to just take for granted that we can jump right back into that.”
“I’ve got my safewords. I’ll communicate with you. I promise.”
“Good girl. Let’s go to bed.”
When she woke the next morning, the bed was empty. She listened but didn’t hear him in the bathroom. He must already be downstairs.
She rolled to get out of bed but didn’t get far.
“What the hell?”
One ankle was tethered to the bed.
“God damn it, Lance,” she muttered out loud.
She reached for her phone, but it wasn’t there. Oh, he was so going to pay for this.
She looked around the room and spotted her phone sitting on the dresser. Even with the slack in her rope, she couldn’t quite reach it.
“Dirty, rotten, motherfucker,” she said as she settled on the edge of the bed and tried to work the knot free. But he’d tied a good one and it would take some work.
The door opened as she cursed out loud again.
“Good morning, kitten,” he said, his tone silky and tender.
“Let me out of this you bastard,” she said icily.
“Is that any way to talk to me, Riss?” He placed a bag of food on the dresser. It smelled amazing and her stomach growled.
“This isn’t funny, Lance. Let me up.”
“In a minute.”
“What’s the point of this?”
“Do I need a point other than I enjoy having a naked sub tied to my bed?”
She wanted to scream. He was being too calm.
“I didn’t agree to be your sub until the party.”
“Party’s starting early. Now stop fighting me or I’ll leave you there all day.”
She glared. “You fucking wouldn’t.”
She closed her eyes as soon as she said it because she knew damn well he would. The bastard had done it before.
Of course, he’d spent most of that day fucking her, so it hadn’t been terrible. She had a feeling that wasn’t his intention today.
When she opened her eyes, he was standing in front of her, arms folded.
“Why?” she asked, jerking at the rope.
“I wanted you to wake up and understand that you’re a submissive again. It needed to be the first thing on your mind. Keep up the attitude and I’ll make sure it’s the only thing on your mind.”
Submissiveness was far from the only thing on her mind. She was also contemplating creative ways to murder him when she got free.
“Get up on your knees and put your hands on the back of your head,” he ordered calmly.
“Bite me,” she said.
He shrugged. “OK.” His hand fisted into her hair and forced her head to the side as he bent toward her. Teeth sank into her tender flesh and she cried out. His free hand forced its way between her legs and found her clit. He rubbed in gentle circles as she squirmed to escape the arousing touch.
He planted one knee on the bed and used her hair to lay her down. She clamped her legs together, but he used his knee to force them apart. When her legs were spread wide enough, he forced two fingers inside her tight pussy and fucked her. Soon she was on the edge of an orgasm, begging and pleading with him to touch her clit again and send her over. He pulled his hand free and stretched his body on top of hers.
“Do as your told, or I’ll keep you horny and on the brink of an orgasm until Sunday,” he hissed in her ear. “Up on your fucking knees now.”
Her pussy was soaked and she knew he would make good on his threat so she rose up and slowly put her hands on the back of her head, locking her fingers and jutting her elbows out to the side.
Her heavy breathing had her tits moving up and down.
Lance slid his hand between her legs again. “Better. Now don’t fucking move. I’m going to move breakfast to the living area. If you’re still in position when I get back, I’ll make you come, and we’ll eat. If you’re not…” he trailed off and lifted one shoulder in a shrug.
Still feeling defiant, she refused to answer him, so he gathered the food he’d unloaded onto the dresser and moved into the other room. She was sure he was taking his slow sweet time, but she stayed where she was because her pussy throbbed and she wanted relief.
Her racing angry mind was also starting to calm, and she could feel herself slipping into the submissive role she’d been purposely fighting.
When he came back and stood in front of her, she started to lower her aching arms, but he shook his head. “Don’t move.”
He cupped her pussy, which felt like it had to be dripping, and slid one finger inside. The heel of his hand pressed into her clit as he added one more finger, curling them inside her. She squeezed her eyes shut as her legs trembled and she ground into his palm.
“Hmm. I do love the way your cunt feels in my hand. As much as I want to drag this out, I don’t want our food to get cold, so come for me, Riss.”
He worked his hand against her clit and pumped his fingers in and out of her. When she got a little wobbly, his free hand wrapped around her and held her steady. “Come, kitten,” he urged again.
Had he not been holding her up, she would have collapsed when the orgasm crashed through her. Her arms dropped and wrapped around his neck as she shuddered through the onslaught.
He moved to where her ankle was tied and made quick work of the knots.
He tossed her a short silk robe as she climbed off the bed. Slipping it on, she followed him to the couch where he sat and motioned for her to sit on the floor in front of the coffee table. They ate breakfast together and talked quietly about the day ahead of them.
“We’ll work until four-thirty and then we’ll go meet some friends for dinner.”
Her eyes flew to his. “Do we have to do dinner?” she asked.
“I want you to get to know my family, Riss. I want them to know you.”
Her heart constricted. It was sweet, but that felt like a lot of pressure she wasn’t ready for.
He must have sensed her hesitation because he cupped her chin and gave her a reassuring gaze. “If it gets too uncomfortable for you, we can make our excuses and leave early. It’s guaranteed to last less than ninety minutes though because most of us like to be here early to make sure everything is ready for opening.”
She blew out a breath. “OK. I can live with that. Sorry I’m so nervous about these things.”
He stroked his thumb over her cheek. “It’s fine. I probably should have asked before I agreed to dinner.”
“What are we going to do in the dungeon tonight?” she asked as she swallowed the last of her coffee.
He leaned back against the couch and watched her. “I was thinking maybe I would let that be a
surprise. Are there any other limits I need to know about?”
She thought about it for a minute. Lance was always respectful of boundaries. Were there places she wasn’t ready to go with him? She couldn’t decide.
“We’ll say no for now. I’ll use my slow down safeword to let you know if you’re stumbling into something I wasn’t prepared for.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. “Good girl. Go get dressed and we’ll get started.”
Marissa nodded and headed to the bathroom to shower and dress. Thoughts of surrendering to Lance in the dungeon tonight had her slipping into a skirt instead of her jeans as she dressed. Tonight suddenly couldn’t get here fast enough.
18
Lance sat next to Marissa in the restaurant and listened to Hunter talk about his famous Vegas kink parties. He only had them every couple of months since Solitaire opened, but they were just as popular as the club. In some ways, they were even more popular, because high paying attendees could request themes and have their fantasies catered to by professional submissives. He was currently telling a story about a Dom who paid nearly half a million to have his sub auctioned off to another attendee for the night. It sounded like it had the potential for all kinds of legal problems to Lance, but Hunter knew what he was doing and knew how to keep everything just within the lines, so he avoided trouble.
His arm was casually draped around Marissa and he drew circles on her shoulder with his thumb as they listened.
She was talking animatedly with Austin who sat next to her. Neither were paying attention to Hunter’s story. “When are you all going to come to Vegas?” Hunter asked. We can make it a big party.
Isabelle cleared her throat. “Garrett and I are thinking of having the wedding there.”
All eyes turned to the blushing woman. “And just when the hell were you going to tell me you got engaged?” Austin demanded.
Isabelle giggled. “It just happened last night. And we think we’ve convinced Daddy that a big catholic wedding is so not for us.” She leaned across the table to show Austin her ring.
Lance watched as Marissa gave the ring a cursory glance and looked away. The idea of marriage had been terrifying to Marissa, but she’d accepted Lance’s proposal when he asked six years ago. Then she refused to set a date.
Looking back, he understood that neither of them were ready for marriage. He just wondered what she thought of it today. She’d come so far in so many ways. Had her views changed?
He forced himself to tear his thoughts away from that topic. He raised his glass to Garrett and Isabelle. “Congratulations, you two.”
When dinner wrapped up, everyone stood. Lance watched in amazement as Marissa offered Austin a hug. It pleased him that she was befriending the attorney. Now if only she would warm up to Isabelle and Dakota.
As they walked out of the restaurant, Marissa and Austin walked together and Hunter fell into step beside Lance.
“I hear you need to transfer a house sub to another Dom. Sorry If my letting Jodie in yesterday caused problems.”
Lance shook his head. “It’s fine. We hadn’t really connected anyway so it’s not entirely Marissa that has me doing this. I feel like Matthew will be a suitable fit for her.”
Hunter nodded. “Matthew won’t be here until closer to eleven, so if you don’t mind, I’ll keep an eye on her and give her a few lessons in protocol while we wait for him to arrive. That frees you up to enjoy Marissa.”
Lance grinned. “Thanks man. I appreciate that.”
“No problem. It’s good to see you smiling again. You’ve had a rough couple of months.”
“There’s just something odd about all of this,” Lance said.
“Odd how?”
Lance shoved a hand uncomfortably in his pocket. “Something about all of this just doesn’t add up. I understand Nick Sutton being angry with Elijah and Patrick but why me? I’ve never met the man. And him just happening to run into a hacker who wants revenge on me? It’s all too… clean.”
Hunter nodded. “I can see that. Let’s hope that’s exactly what it is and not something else. For now, let’s just plan to enjoy our weekend.”
In the parking lot, the group scattered to their various vehicles. Marissa gave Patrick and Austin a little wave before returning to Lance. “Hi,” she murmured as if they had been apart for days instead of mere minutes.
“Hey, kitten. You ready?”
His question was heavy with more meaning than just asking if she was ready to leave the restaurant. They both knew they were crossing a new boundary when they walked into Solitaire that night.
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered.
Her response made him grin. It was unlikely she would put up much of a fight in her submission to him tonight. Though he enjoyed that fight in her sometimes and was prepared to deal with it if she felt the need to rebel.
Her rebellion was often her way of pleading with him to be rough with her. When she was submissive and compliant, it was her non-verbal way of asking for something gentler.
He couldn’t wait to see where tonight took them.
In the car, he kept one hand on the steering wheel and held her hand with his other. As they stopped at lights and stop signs on their way out of town, he would press his lips to her palm.
“Anything we need to talk about before we get there?”
She was staring out the window.
“I want to become a real member,” she murmured.
“You don’t know how happy that makes me, Riss.”
She turned to him with a smile. “Can I be your trainee in the house sub program?”
He lifted her hand to his lips again. “You can just be my sub. You don’t have to go through the training program.”
She pulled her hand from his. “I know. But I can’t really afford the dues. And before you offer to pay them for me, just hear me out,” she said when he opened his mouth to do just that.
He chuckled and nodded for her to continue.
“I think doing the program would give us good boundaries at first. Think of it as easing back into the dynamic we had. Our kink was fucking intense and I think that’s part of why we crashed and burned so hard when things went south. Not that we can’t be intense, but we need better check-in protocols. I was reading through some of the material on the program when I was searching for your hacker. I think it’s useful.”
He rested his hand on the back of her neck and squeezed. “You’re right. I can agree to that.”
When they arrived at the club, Lance felt a knot form in his stomach. Jodie leaned on the railing at the top of the stairs outside Solitaire and she didn’t look happy.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “Sorry, love. I hope this doesn’t turn ugly but if it does just know that you’re mine and I’m handling it.”
She gave a tense nod and Lance stepped out of the car.
He didn’t hold Marissa’s hand as they walked up the stairs.
“You’re just giving me away?” Jodie said, stepping toward him as he reached the top step.
Lance cleared his throat. “Wait for me inside, please Marissa.”
She didn’t respond, just opened the door, and slipped inside.
“I told you last night that I would transfer your training to someone else, Jodie. It’s in the contract that either of us can make that request.”
She folded her arms and glared at him. “I signed up to be your sub. Not Matthew’s.”
“First, it’s Master Matthew and second, you signed up to be a house submissive. I was just training you. But I think you know as well as I do that we weren’t connecting. Matthew will be a good fit for you.”
She huffed. “This isn’t fair. Some random bitch who wasn’t even a member shows up out of the blue and gets your attention like that? Are you fucking her?”
Whoa. Not the path he expected this to take. But hearing her call Marissa a bitch made him want to haul her over his lap and paddle the hell out of her.
Instead, he just glared at her. �
��That’s enough, Jodie. If you can’t accept the decisions of the house Doms, you’ll be asked to leave the program. It’s that simple. And you do not speak about other house subs that way. Marissa is not a bitch and you will not refer to her as such. Am I clear?”
Jodie just continued to glare at him.
“You will go inside and help Mitch set up the bar. After that, you will go to the third parlor room and wait for Master Hunter. He’ll be watching over you until Master Matthew arrives.”
He took her by the arm and led her inside. Thankfully, Marissa was not in the lobby to see the daggers Jodie was shooting from her eyes.
Their application and vetting process was generally good at keeping out the bad apples, but now it seemed like perhaps they had gotten it wrong with Jodie. She was a brat and needed a unique kind of dominant in her life. Not that Marissa couldn’t be a brat, it was just a different kind.
After Lance delivered the sub to Mitch, he went in search of Marissa. He found her in the conference room with her headphones on. He wanted to scold her for working since they were supposed to be done for the day, but he knew Jodie ruffled her feathers, and she was turning to something that calmed her.
“Hey,” he said, gently lifting the headphones away from one ear.
She turned and stared up at him. “Hi. So that was awkward. Again.”
He grimaced. “Sorry, love. I promise I have no feelings for her.”
Marissa flashed a grin. “Oh, that’s obvious. You wanted to spank her or throttle her, and not in the sexy way. That much was obvious. I’ll be OK. Sorry for working. I just needed to clear my head for a few minutes.”
He pulled her out of her chair as she tugged the headphones off and sat them on the table. “It’s OK. We’re going to forget about this and move on with our evening. Do you need to go back upstairs for a little bit or are you good?”
He gently stroked her cheek as he waited for her response.
“I’m good, Sir. Let’s get in there. When does the party start?”
“Seven. Dungeon opens at seven-thirty.”
That gave them about thirty minutes to finish set-up and get the doors open. When they stepped into the lobby holding hands, Simon, the head of their set-up crew was bustling through the door.
