Page 73 of Pressure

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?”

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