by Ivy Nelson
She smiled. “I feel like we accomplished the key objective. That doesn’t mean I won’t need to go back, but it will be up to you whether or not we go together.
Inside Solitaire a few hours later, Lance kissed her harshly and headed to the conference room for a board meeting.
According to Lance, board meetings usually only happened once a month, but recent events had spurred more frequency. Not all board members were able to attend, but they did their best with who they had. Today, Marissa wished she were in the room despite the fact that she was a mere three yards away from him.
Her eyes constantly darted to the closed conference room door while she funneled through data for one of Lance’s many apps.
When he showed up at her apartment this morning, it almost felt too good to be true. She’d left the therapist’s office feeling defeated and had spent a day avoiding him. But he wouldn’t leave her thoughts. He was on her mind all day long and at night, he appeared in her dreams.
Was it wise to pursue a relationship with him?
Her gut told her no. But she couldn’t deny the palpable attraction to him. Would she ever be able to walk away from Lance?
She shook her head and stared at the closed conference room door willing it to open again. She needed to see him, talk to him about tomorrow night.
When the meeting finally ended and the small group poured out into the lobby, she watched for Lance. He trailed behind the others, on his phone.
“Thanks, Kimberly. I’ll get someone on it.”
His eyes landed on hers as he shoved the phone into his pocket.
“Everything OK?” she asked when he approached the desk and leaned on it.
He nodded. “All good. You hungry? A few of them are talking about grabbing dinner.”
She wasn’t hungry for food, not after looking at him. But she wasn’t quite ready to go back to bed with him either, so she gave a curt nod. “Just gotta pack up my tech. Can I store it in the conference room?” she asked as she tucked her slim laptop into the padded section of the bag.
He nodded. “Of course.”
A few minutes later, they were in the back of Patrick’s SUV with Austin riding up front.
Marissa couldn’t help but watch the way Patrick kept his hand stretched across the console, gently caressing Austin’s knee. Lance spent the drive typing on his phone.
Was he being distant on purpose? She’d asked for space and hadn’t exactly communicated why or for how long.
Dinner was enjoyable, and she talked with Austin while Lance and Patrick talked business.
On the way back to Solitaire, Lance finally slipped an arm around her.
“Tell me love, am I sharing my suite with you or should I have them drop me at the Glenview?”
She looked up at him in surprise. “It’s your suite,” she finally murmured. “I would feel bad if you weren’t in there with me.”
He kissed her temple and nodded. “Fair enough.”
That night, he didn’t attempt to have sex with her. In fact, he sat on the bed working quietly on his tablet while she drifted off to sleep. When she woke the next morning, coffee was waiting for her and he was already gone.
Dragging on clothes, she took her coffee and went in search of him.
He wasn’t downstairs in the conference room working, so she stepped onto the porch to see if his car was in the lot. It wasn’t.
As she was stepping back inside, the roar of a motor coming up with hill caught her attention and she leaned against the railing, watching as Lance maneuvered the sleek car into a parking space.
He stepped out of the car, sunglasses in place and flashed her a grin before he bent down and retrieved bags of food.
“Morning, love. I thought you might want food before we start our day.”
She nodded appreciatively, more at the sight of him than the food but didn’t say anything.
They settled in the conference room and quietly ate breakfast.
Finally, she couldn’t handle the silence anymore.
“I still want you,” she blurted.
Lance leaned back and watched her carefully before a slow grin stretched across his face. “I know,” he murmured. “I still want you. Just trying not to be overbearing while we figure our shit out and get this job done.”
“So… can we play tonight?”
He leaned against the table and seemed to ponder her question. “We can. Any requests?”
She shook her head. “You know I prefer it when you surprise me.”
“OK then. I’ll be ready with something fun.”
That night, she felt trepidations as she dressed. Lance had sent her into the club gift shop to pick out something skimpy that she thought he would enjoy peeling off of her later. Now she stood in front of the bathroom mirror adjusting the black and green lace dress—if you could call it that—trying to get it to cover more of her ass and thighs.
There was nothing she could do about the way her breasts nearly burst out of it, that’s how the piece was designed.
Finally, she gave up and slipped into a pair of heeled boots and went to meet him in the bar. It was just after seven so people were already drinking and talking when she stepped in.
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips as she spotted him leaned against the bar. The dark t-shirt he wore stretched tight across his body and the jeans hugged his ass. Her gaze wandered to his boots and her pussy clenched at the thought of the way he’d used them the last time they’d played.
Garrett Oliver was making his way through the bar as she made a path to Lance. He touched her arm to stop her. “Thanks for all you’ve done for us, Marissa,” the smiling Dom said quietly.
“You’re welcome Master Garrett,” she murmured. When he saw her gaze locked on Lance he chuckled. “I’ll let you continue on then.”
She grinned and took long strides until she reached Lance. His hand settled at her waist and he leaned in to kiss her cheek. When he pulled away, Mitch was standing in front of them holding out her drink of choice.
She took a grateful sip and set it back on the bar.
“Hi,” she murmured.
“Hi, Kitten. You look stunning.” His fingers traced the pattern of lace on one side and she shuddered.
“Incoming,” Mitch said with a whistle.
Lance and Marissa both turned in the direction of the bartender’s gaze.
“Shit,” Lance murmured. “Looks like she’s headed our way.”
Marissa tensed at the sight of Jodie King making a beeline for them.
“House subs are supposed to wear all black,” she said as her eyes traveled Marissa’s body. “And you should probably go up a size next time you go shopping.”
Marissa’s fist curled and she fought the urge to punch her.
Lance cleared his throat and gave Marissa’s shoulder a squeeze.
“That’s enough out of you, Miss King. Where is your Master?”
“You’re my Master,” she said in a breathy voice that made Marissa want to hurl.
Lance blew out a breath and looked at the ceiling as if praying for patience.
Simon came bustling by with a case of beer for Mitch and Lance motioned him over.
“Yes, Master Lance?” the man said as he set the alcohol down.
“Please escort Miss King to the lobby and stay there with her until I or one of the other board members get there. If she gives you any trouble, you have permission to call security and have her removed from the property.”
Marissa nearly smirked as the catty bitch’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly.
“Go. Now.” Lance’s eyes were like Ice as he pointed to the doors that led to the lobby.
Simon touched her elbow and gave her a gentle shove.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” she hissed. Turning, she glared at Lance and Marissa. “You’ll regret the day you came back into his life.”
Marissa shuddered at the disdain in the girl’s eyes. She opened her mouth to respond, but Lance dug a hand in
to her hip and whispered, “Not a fucking word. She’s not worth it, Riss.”
Marissa nodded with a shaky breath and sat on one of the barstools.
“Have you seen Matthew?” he asked Mitch.
He shook his head. “Nope. Not yet. He’s always late on Friday’s though.”
Eli came walking by and Lance flagged him down.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“I need you to go give Jodie a dressing down for me.”
Marissa did her best not to get angry all over again as Lance laid out what had just happened.
Eli’s face flashed with rage before he schooled his features and gave a terse nod. “One-month ban?” he questioned.
Lance nodded. “Seems fair. And this is her only fucking warning.”
Eli gave a terse nod of agreement.
Turning, Lance backed Marissa against the bar, planting a palm on the wooden surface on either side of her. She stared at him as he searched her face.
“I’m sorry about that,” he murmured finally as he leaned in to kiss her.
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m just glad she’s gone for a while.”
Behind Lance, Eli stuck his head in the door and motioned for her to come see him.
“Um… Elijah is waving me over,” she said, trying to squirm away from Lance.
“Master Eli, and he can wait a minute.”
She sighed as his lips danced down the column of her neck but she couldn’t take her eyes off Master Eli who stood in the doorway tapping his wrist.
“He seems impatient,” she said as his teeth nipped at a sensitive spot.
Lance growled and pulled away. “Fine. Come right back here when you’re done.”
She nodded and scurried toward the waiting Dom.
“Sorry,” she muttered when she reached him.
He chuckled. “It’s alright. I just need you to give a very brief statement for the record about what happened.”
As he led her to his office, Jodie called out, “You deserve whatever terrible things happen to you in life.”
Her words sent a chill down Marissa’s spine but she couldn’t quite pin down why.
“I’m thinking that girl will not be welcome back here,” Eli muttered as he fixed the bratty sub with a glare.
In the man’s office, Marissa sat and jotted out a summary of what happened when Jodie confronted them.
“I’m deeply sorry you had to endure that, Marissa. We don’t condone bullying. If she weren’t in a position of feeling snubbed by Lance, I would have already revoked her membership. But this is her only warning and she’ll be on a short leash when she comes back.”
Marissa nodded but couldn’t get the girl’s final words out of her mind. What did they mean?
“I should get back to La… Master Lance,” she said, standing on shaky legs.
Eli perched on the corner of his desk and stared at her. “You’re free to go. Just promise me you’re OK.”
Marissa gave him as bright a smile as she could muster. “I’m fine, I promise. I’ll be better when I can move on with my night. Sir,” she added when he lifted an eyebrow at her.
He gave her a lop-sided grin and nodded toward the door. “Go. Have fun tonight. You’ve been working hard.”
She gave him an authentic smile this time and backed out the door, heading toward Lance in the bar.
He was gripping his glass of scotch so tightly she feared it might shatter in his hand when she approached. She ran a hand down his shoulder. “Relax. She’s gone. I gave my statement to Master Eli for the record and we can just forget about the entire thing for a little while.”
Lance tossed back the last of his scotch and set the empty glass aside. “Let’s get inside then.”
22
“Come on, wake up,” Lance said as he sat on the edge of the bed nudging Marissa. They’d fallen into bed together and fallen asleep after a night of play in the dungeon. His goal had been to make her forget all about their encounter with the scorned submissive, Jodie.
Now, he wanted to take her on an adventure.
She batted at his nudging hand and he chuckled. “Come on, Riss. You know that doesn’t work on me.” His fingers continued prodding her and when she batted him away again, he slid a hand beneath the covers and harshly pinched her nipple. “Up. Now.” His voice held a decidedly dominant bite to it and she rolled to her stomach and raised her head to glower at him. ‘What fucking time is it? We just went to bed.”
“It’s time for you to get up. We’re going hiking.”
“Hiking? It’s fucking October.”
He laughed. “Perfect time to go hiking. We’ll be the only ones on the trail and I can fuck you against a tree.”
She eyed him skeptically. “It will be too cold to get your dick hard,” she muttered.
He tousled her already tangled hair. “I find that insulting. Get your ass up. We’re going.”
She grumbled something incoherent but rolled to the other side of the king-size bed and walked naked to the bathroom. He was already showered and dressed for the day, but he had to fight back the urge to follow her into the shower.
When she emerged ten minutes later, he’d already laid out clothes for her which she scowled at but put on anyway. He shoved a to-go cup of coffee into her hand and motioned for the door.
“I don’t get why you’re so grumpy. You always go for morning runs,” he commented as they made their way to his car.
“A morning run and a hike are vastly different things. I’m not going to get lost in the woods on one of my runs.”
He laughed. “If we stick to the path, we won’t get lost on a hike either. Breakfast now or lunch when we get back? I’ve got snacks in the backpacks.”
“You planned this shit? Enough to have backpacks?” she shook her head.
“I promise to make it worth your while, love,” he said with a wicked grin that sent a gorgeous blush up her cheeks.
Her stomach growled as they slid into the vehicle. “Breakfast it is then.”
He drove them to a nearby diner and laced his fingers in hers as they walked inside.
In the dungeon last night, she'd surrendered to him and they'd connected on a visceral level, but he still felt like she was holding back. Earning her complete trust would take time but the niggling thought that he could still lose her again stayed at the edges of his mind.
At their table, he bent down and fluttered a kiss across her cheek before taking his seat.
They made small talk until an aproned server came and took their breakfast order and filled their coffee mugs.
"We'll have that right out to ya," the woman said as she stuffed her order pad into her pocket and hustled to the next table.
"Do you think Jodie will be back?" Marissa asked as soon as she was gone.
Lance lifted an eyebrow. "It's hard to say. She ruffle your feathers a bit?"
Marissa shook her head but there was something she wasn't telling him. What was it?
He didn't want to ruin their day together, though, so he didn't press the issue.
When their food arrived, Lance encouraged her to eat quickly. It was early and the sooner they got on the trail the less likely they would be to run into anyone else.
As he slid his credit card to the waitress, his phone let out a shrill tone that startled everyone. The card fell to the ground and the server bent to pick it up while Lance whipped his phone out of his pocket. That was the sound of his assistant's emergency line.
At the same time, Marissa was pulling her own phone out.
"What is it?" Lance barked into the phone.
"Fuck," Marissa hissed as she lifted her phone to her ear.
"Fire in the server room," Kimberly said, her voice shaky. "We got it out quickly."
Her voice faded as he realized Marissa was on the phone with emergency responders.
"I don't know. We're not there. I just got an alarm on my phone. It may be nothing, but I would appreciate having the fire department
check it out."
He lifted a brow and mouthed. "What is it?"
"Sir?" his assistant questioned. "What do you want us to do?"
Fuck. Too much was happening at once. He stood and strode out of the restaurant. The server scurried after him with his card. Marissa scrambled to catch up with them and snatched the card from the frantic employee. "I'll get it to him," he heard her say.
"Kimberly, get a pilot on the line. I want to be on the jet in two hours or less. Keep everyone in the building. Lock it down."
He barely heard her reply as he shoved the phone in his pocket and turned to face Marissa. "What was your call about?"
"Server at Solitaire. An alert on my phone says it's overheating."
"God fucking damn it. The server at my building in Chicago caught fire. This is an attack. Why didn't I get the alert about Solitaire?" he asked as he scrolled his phone.
She shook her head and placed a hand on his arm. "It's something I just set up when I was reprogramming some things for you. I monitor everything for the first thirty days or so to make sure everything is working right."
His fists clenched. She should have told him.
"Let's get back to Solitaire. We've got some decisions to make."
As they sped toward the club, she reached over and gripped his hand and he felt himself relax.
He stayed on the phone with his security team in Chicago, barking orders and gathering information as quickly as they could.
Kimberly called to let him know a jet would be ready in an hour.
"Thank you. I'll let you know if I'm alone or if Marissa is coming with me as soon as I can."
"Why wouldn't I come with you?" she asked, worry in her voice.
He rested a hand at her nape and squeezed. "If this is a coordinated attack, we need one of us in both places. I might need you to stay here."
She closed her eyes but gave a subtle nod.
When they approached the front of Solitaire, a fire truck was sitting with flashing lights.
There were no signs of smoke, so Lance took that as a good sign.
He led them around back to the secondary structure on the property and unlocked the server room.
One of the machines was smoking but not on fire, thank goodness.
