Take Me [Dungeon Masters 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) (7 page)

Simon arrived back at the hotel to find a complete state of chaos reigning in the lobby. At first he thought it was just a large and very noisy group of new arrivals waiting to be attended to. And then he realized that a lot of the people weren’t dressed normally. One lady had a white sandal on one foot and a navy pump on the other, neither of which matched the short red dress she was wearing. Another man wore dress pants and a naked chest. One older woman was wearing a bath robe.

Okay, something kinky is definitely going on here.

He pushed his way into the crowd, ducking and weaving between people much like he’d had to do in the ballroom the previous night at the pre-wedding party. A lot of people seemed to be clustered around a rather frazzled looking concierge who was answering an endless series of questions. “Yes, sir, the fire alarm was a hoax. Several drunk guests have been chastised for their behavior in causing the alarm. No, ma’am, there is no fire. It’s safe to go back to your room. I’m sorry, ma’am, I can’t help you as regards a room key. You need to talk to the staff on the reception desk for that. Yes, sir…”

Understanding that the key factor appeared to be that some drunk guests had triggered the fire alarm, Simon headed for the stairwell. He could see the line for the elevators already and it was going to be a hell of a lot faster to walk. He walked up the first few flights and then moved faster wondering how Leif and Tamara were getting on. He supposed the fire alarm would have woken Tamara up, but maybe she’d gone back to sleep. Maybe he could climb back into bed with her and hold her in his arms for a while.

Then he stopped. Likely she’d have decided to go back to her own room to get showered and dressed. In all the confusion no one would notice a woman walking around in last night’s party dress. Judging by what some of the people in the lobby were wearing, no one was noticing anything right now. So he’d be more likely to see her if he went to her room. Except that he had no idea where her room was. He concentrated, mentally running through the conversations they’d had last night and this morning. But no, he had no idea what floor her room was on.

Of course, he could go back down and check at reception, but likely the line there was halfway around the lobby, like it was for the elevators. No, it was better to go back to his room and if she was there he could see her. And if she wasn’t? Damn. He didn’t even have her cell phone number. Or know her last night name. Hell! He really hadn’t been thinking clearly last night. All he knew was that he wanted her. But he sure as hell needed to fill in a few of the basic facts about her real soon.

Simon started up the stairs again, moving much faster now, needing to get back to his room and find out what was happening, needing to see Tamara and reassure himself she was all right, needing to—

He pushed open the stairwell door and stepped into the hallway. And there she was sitting in her black dress leaning back against the wall, half-asleep. Her bare legs and feet were crossed in front of her and he could see the black filth on the soles of her feet. She must have had to walk all the way downstairs and back up again, poor little thing. He raced down the hallway and bent over to pull her into his arms.

“Are you okay, Tamara?”

“Yes, sure, I’m fine. I’m just locked out.”

“Why are you locked out? Did the door slam on you?”

“No. You and Leif had already left and there was no swipe card left for me to take.”

“I didn’t take a key card with me. There should have been one left in the electricity slot by the door.”

“That’s the one Leif took.”

“Why didn’t he take his own swipe card? Why did he take that one? And why haven’t you got your own room key? At least then you could have waited in comfort.”

And that’s when the penny dropped. She had no key card and he didn’t have one either. The thought of walking all the way down the stairs and lining up at the reception desk really didn’t appeal to him. “Why don’t we go to your room and wait there. We can send a text message to Leif to tell him where we are.”

Tamara slid down the wall and sat on the carpet again. “You didn’t listen. I said I didn’t have my swipe card either.”

“Why not?”

“Leif took it to cancel my room. He was going to bring my stuff up here. But he hasn’t come back yet.

“Well, where the fuck is Leif then?”

“Good question.”

Simon stared down at her and then hunkered down beside her. “Obviously I didn’t get enough sleep last night. Could you tell me what’s been happening? Maybe in words of two syllables or less so I can understand it.”

Tamara laughed.

* * * *

Leif hadn’t stopped to think that he’d need to repack Tamara’s luggage. He hadn’t even thought that he himself tended to hang things in the closet, drop clothing on chairs, put things in nightstand drawers, and generally scatter his possessions all around a hotel suite. Until he opened Tamara’s hotel room door and realized he had absolutely no idea what she’d brought with her to the wedding and where she might have put it.

A quick look around the room made him feel better. Either she was a hell of a lot neater than he was, or else she’d bought way less stuff with her for the weekend. A single suitcase was unlocked and unzipped but with the lid closed, on the luggage rack. It was almost full which told him there shouldn’t be too many of Tamara’s things scattered around. There was nothing in the nightstand drawer, and nothing on the sink in the bathroom, not even a toothbrush. He left the top of the suitcase open and peeked into her beauty bag and sure enough her toothbrush was inside it. So far so good.

He lifted the pillows on the bed to see if she’d placed her pajamas underneath the pillows but she hadn’t. Once again he looked in the suitcase and saw nothing that said “pajamas” to him, but there was a rather faded T-shirt so he hoped that fit the description. Back in the bathroom he looked around carefully and saw nothing that didn’t belong there, so he opened the closet. A floor-length burgundy dress hung there. Ah! That would be her dress to wear to the wedding later today. He laid it flat on the top of her other luggage, folding it neatly and carefully. He looked all around for shoes but saw none in the closet or under the chair. Leif kneeled down and looked under the bed. Nothing there, not even a few dust bunnies. The housekeeping department in the hotel deserved to be congratulated.

This was starting to remind him of childhood Easter egg hunts where he didn’t know where to look and wasn’t even sure if there was anything to find. However, instead of just missing out on candy, if he got this wrong he’d be explaining to an irate woman why he’d mislaid half her possessions. Sighing, Leif pulled out all the drawers and looked inside them, even checking the refrigerator. But where were her shoes to wear to the wedding?

Carefully he poked around in the suitcase. He found a comfortable pair of athletic shoes, which was likely what she’d brought to wear today, but nothing else. Damn! He’d have to call her and ask. Likely she wasn’t even out of the shower yet. But it was best to be certain he hadn’t missed any of her things. Leif look out his cell phone and swiped it awake. And then paused with his thumb over the keypad. He had no idea what her cell phone number was. Or even if she had one.
Well fuck!
So much for the know-it-all Dom. He was batting zero here.

Leif walked back to the doorway of the room, stood with his back to the door and looked up, down, and all around himself. Taking one slow step at a time he searched the damn room as carefully as if he really had been looking for a gold-plated Easter egg. And found nothing. Well, that was better than failing his woman by leaving her possessions behind. But next time he’d better remember to think before offering to do something. Two seconds talking to her could have saved him half an hour’s work here.

He zipped up the suitcase and wheeled it to the door, sliding her swipe card out of the gadget that turned the electricity on, and ensuring the door locked behind him. He walked back to the elevator and pressed the button to summon it. There were actually three elevators and he stood back so he could watch the colored lights display which one would arrive first. It was only a couple of floors, but when wheeling a suitcase, it seemed much smarter to take the elevator than walk.

And then all hell broke loose. Screaming, yelling, male voices raised in both laughter and anger, and the sound of breaking glass. “What the fuck?” Leif stepped back into the hallway, looking up and down, but the pounding of feet in the stairwell told him where the sounds were coming from.

Three or four people raced past him, their feet and voices moving downstairs, when a siren over the elevator went off, almost deafening him. Instinctively he covered his abused ears with his hands, but he could still hear the announcement about the fire quite clearly.

Leif wanted to race upstairs and go to Tamara. She was his, he needed to protect her. But logic told him he’d never be able to fight his way against the crowds of people going downstairs. Instead it’d be much more sensible to wait for her in the lobby. Snatching up her suitcase, he raced through the stairwell door and started running downstairs.

Soon he had to slow to a walk as dozens of other people filled the stairway, some crying, some only partially dressed, many talking loudly and demanding to know what was happening. Leif had to struggle not to push his way past them and rush to find his woman. By the time they finally emerged on the first floor, the lobby was crowded and filling even more with guests, some panic-stricken, and others argumentative. Leif made his way to the registration desk, but no staff was there.

He left the suitcase at his feet and leaned back against the desk looking for the firemen, or emergency workers. And then he remembered the men in the stairwell just before the alarms went off.
It’s a hoax! Some idiots set the alarm off for a joke.

Several managers pushed their way through the crowds telling people to go back to their rooms, that there was no fire. Still Leif waited at the registration desk. When a woman finally arrived to help him, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, we can’t check anyone out until the situation is resolved.”

“But it was men who set off the fire alarm. I’m trying to check out a woman.”

“How do you know it was men? It could have been anyone. Even children.”

“I saw and heard them race past the fifth floor when I was waiting for the elevator to come down here and check Tamara out. They were men. Three or four of them.”

“Wait here, please, sir.”

Again he waited, staring at the confusion and congestion in the lobby. Now there were three other staff members working the desk, mostly giving out spare swipe cards to people who’d locked themselves out of their rooms in the drama. A few were people trying to check out, and they were told the same story as him. No checkouts allowed until the situation was resolved.

Leif was almost about to give up and join the line for the elevator, or maybe just walk up the stairs, when a more senior manager beckoned him over into a clear space at the corner of the registration desk.

“You saw the people who set the alarm off, sir?”

“I got a glimpse of them as they raced past down the stairs. I was waiting for the elevator on the fifth floor. I heard shouting and glass breaking and then three or four men raced down the stairs. I suspect they came from the sixth floor but I don’t know that.”

“Did you recognize them? Were they from the wedding party?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know ninety percent of the guests invited to the wedding.”

The manager sighed. “Thank you anyway, sir. What was your name again?”

“Leif Sneddon.”

“Likely it’ll be an hour or so before you can check out. There’ll be no late fees for checkout today. Aren’t you staying for the wedding itself this afternoon?”

“Yes. Tamara has just decided to share a room with someone.”

“Yes, sir. Very good, sir. I’ll ring your room when the system is back up and working again.”

Leif made sure the manager knew his room number before walking across to the elevator. He took one look at the enormously long line, picked up the suitcase again, and started climbing the stairs.

* * * *

The last thing Leif expected to see when he finally arrived at his floor was Simon and Tamara sitting on the floor. He wouldn’t have said he was tired from carrying the suitcase up all the stairs, but he certainly wasn’t going to be in a hurry to do any more lifting, carrying, or stair climbing for an hour or two. But as soon as he saw then he ran forward. “Are you all right.”

“Just fine and dandy,” said Simon.

“Tamara?”

“We’re fine. Just locked out and not interested in walking down all those fucking stairs again to get a spare key.”

“But Simon has a key. He has his own swipe card.”

“No, I don’t. I put it in the electricity outlet, remember?”

“But I took that one because you’d already taken mine.”

“Gentlemen, please. Just open the fucking door, will you?”

“Sorry.” Leif pulled her room card out of his jeans pocket, and then his own, opening the door and holding it for her.

She took the handle of her suitcase, said “Thank you,” and marched past him, through the living room. He heard the bathroom door shut with a snap.

“I guess she hadn’t finished having her shower before the alarm went off,” he said to Simon.

“Judging by the color of the soles of her feet, she’s going to be in there for a hell of a long time. I wouldn’t mind a shower myself, but likely we’ll be all out of towels. I wonder if housekeeping is answering their phone or if they’re as busy as the people in the lobby.”

“It’s worth a try. I’m damn hungry. I wouldn’t mind ordering some food as well,” said Leif.

“Oh yes, me, too. Whatever you’re having double the order for me.”

Simon picked up the room phone to call housekeeping as Leif looked at the hotel brochure for the room service menu. Then he put it down. There was still the problem of the missing keycard. He’d put the one he’d used to open the door in the holder to make the electricity work. Tamara’s swipe card was sitting on the table. He looked around the room. Most of their clothing from the night before was lying around, including Tamara’s little black silk bra and panties which were on the bedroom floor.
Oh fuck. She was out there in the hallway with a naked ass. I wish I’d known that.