Lance shrugged. “I don’t remember agreeing to any such thing.”
Marissa just grinned and handed Erin her bottle of whiskey.
“Don’t worry, Master Patrick, I already had Lance’s suggestion in mind.”
She crossed the room to where Dakota sat and held her hand out for the sex toy.
“I had a feeling you’d be interested in this one.”
With a sigh, Dakota headed for the pile of gifts yet to be opened. “I’m half tempted to take the whiskey but let’s see what else is under this tree, shall we?”
In the end, Lance’s plan worked, and they ended the game of dirty Santa with him in possession of the vibrator. Marissa ended up with a pretty diamond necklace.
As people began to disperse, intent on getting the play party started in the dungeon, Marissa noticed Hunter slip out looking tense.
Lance stayed on the couch with his arm around Marissa. “I’m glad we came, Kitten. I’m sorry about the weather ruining our plans, though.”
Marissa turned to him and smiled. “It’s OK. We’ll get married. I know we will.”
Just then, Hunter stepped back in and headed for Mitch at the bar. The man nodded as Hunter whispered in his ear and reached for the phone hanging on the wall behind him. His voice was amplified throughout the building.
“Folks, the weather is pretty bad out there again. We have room to house some of you in the cabins out back but if you’re planning to stay in town tonight, you may want to consider heading back to your hotels. If we get stranded we can survive, but the fewer that are stuck here the better off we’ll all be. We’ve got cars waiting in the parking lot to take anyone out of here who wants out and Simon is ready to escort people to the back cabins.”
Lance sighed and pressed a kiss to her cheek as the room around them became noisy with people discussing whether to stay or go. “I think that’s my cue, Kitten. You OK here or do you want to go back to the room? I’ll probably be awhile with the board.”
Marissa smiled. “I’ll sit here awhile and watch everyone. Let me know if you need help with anything.”
Lance smiled. “I will.”
Kissing her once more, he stood and made his way to a table where the other board members were already settling in for a conversation.
Tamara Mallincoat surprised her by coming to sit next to her. “I hear you and Lance are planning to get married.”
Marissa smiled and looked at her engagement ring. “We are. Hopefully soon if the weather cooperates. Thank your man for his help. I don’t know the results yet, but I suspect all will be well when I go back home.”
“May I ask why you’ve never married?” It was probably a rude question, but Marissa was curious. Tamara was a gorgeous, strong woman with a lot going for her, but she chose to have most of her interactions with paid clients. At least according to the little bit of information she’d managed to get out of Lance.
Tamara laughed. “I guess I’m too much of a feminist for marriage. Or something silly like that. Truth is, I’ve just never met the right person. I’m not opposed to it. But I enjoy my work—in both fields—and I’m set in my ways. It seems more convenient to have lots of play partners and clients to meet my sexual and romantic needs instead of relying on a single person to meet those needs.”
Marissa nodded and Tamara gasped. “Listen to me. I’m so sorry. I’m not saying it’s impossible to find your soulmate and you clearly have. David found his in Emily. It’s entirely possible. I think I’m just saying I’ve given up looking. Of course, maybe if I had someone, I wouldn’t be in the trouble I’m in.”
Marissa shook her head. “Don’t blame yourself for the bad behavior of other people.”
Tamara gave her a sideways glance. “Sounds like something a therapist would say.”
Marissa grinned. “Well, I went to therapy for five years after Lance and I broke up. Still go a couple times a month. I guess I’ve picked up a few pieces of wisdom along the way.”
Tamara laughed and stood. “I should stop babbling in your ear. Thank your fella again for me.”
Marissa gave her a little wave. “Let me know how it works out.”
The board was breaking up, and some were heading into the dungeon to play while others headed in different directions.
Lance made a beeline for her. “Hey Kitten. David and Emily are about to do something special if you want to watch. He’s presenting her with a new collar.”
Marissa gave him a pained smile. “Would it be awful if I sat it out? I’m suddenly feeling a bit bluesy about the wedding.”
“Ahh, Riss. I’m sorry. Of course. We can go to the room. I just need a few minutes. I’m waiting on confirmation that a package has been delivered. Once that happens, Tamara has to make a phone call and then hopefully all of her mess will be behind her. You can wait with me or I’ll meet you up there.”
Marissa snuggled against his chest. “I’ll wait with you.”
Lance leaned away from her and pulled her phone out of his pocket. She laughed and snatched it from him before he could change his mind. For the next half hour, they sat curled up together watching the small crowd. Many people had opted to leave, but a few were staying in the cabins out back.
“I feel bad for Lana and Bethany.”
Lance laughed. “I wouldn’t. Last time I saw them, they were in line to take Dakota’s new toy for a ride… literally.”
Marissa giggled. “Of course they were.”
Lance’s phone buzzed, and he untangled himself from the couch and stood to answer it.
“Are you sure?” he asked the caller on the other end.
He motioned for Marissa to hand him her phone. While he held his own phone between his shoulder and ear, he tapped something out on her screen. She stood and looked over his shoulder. He’d opened up a porn site and was searching for something specific.
“Aww fuck,” Marissa said when she saw what he was looking for.
“I can make it disappear. Thanks for the heads up.”
He ended the call and jogged toward David who was leaned against the bar waiting on Emily to return from upstairs. Marissa scurried to keep up with him.
“We have a little situation with Tamara. Looks like the bastard has already uploaded images and videos of them together on a porn site. I wouldn’t have recognized her if I didn’t know who I was looking for, but they’re their. I’ll have them down by the end of the night, but you might want to give Tamara a heads up. I was going to drop our little package on him tonight, but I want everything scrubbed from the internet before we do.”
David looked grim but nodded. “Thanks for your help. I’ll talk to her before Emily and I get started in the dungeon.”
Lance clapped his hand on the man’s shoulder. “I’m going to take Riss upstairs and we’re going to work on this for you. You two enjoy the night and tell Tamara to try not to stress.”
Turning to Marissa, he said, “What do you say we go race to see who can scrub a porn site faster?”
Marissa grinned and clapped her hands. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
David shook his head. “You two are… strange. We’ll see you tomorrow.”