Chapter 1
Chapter One
Brian
“And this is where you’ll be staying.” The little line of golf carts was slowly coming around a cul-de-sac of villas.
His driver was a cute redhead named Ariel with a bright smile as she stopped in front of the pathway up to a small house.
The oppressive heat of the island was enough to make him very glad for the little electric misting fan that had been handed to him upon arrival.
He’d known it was going to be hot, but somehow, he hadn’t expected it to be quite this hot.
It might be more the humidity than the actual heat—Maryland was humid by August, but he hadn’t been prepared for this level of moisture in the air.
“Great, thank you so much for the ride,” he said, giving her his best smile.
Which had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that right in front of him, Rae was being helped out of her golf cart by the far-too-handsome driver.
Her braids were piled on top of her head to keep them off her neck and shoulders.
Her dark skin gleamed bronze in the sunlight that danced over her exposed cleavage and back, and he didn’t miss the way her driver’s gaze slid over her rounded ass as she moved past him before he went to get her bags.
“Let’s get you set up,” Ariel chirped.
Brian yanked his attention back from Rae and her driver, who was now getting her bags from the cart.
On the other side of him, Iris and Law were headed into their own villa.
Their group took up the entire cul-de-sac, with Mitch and Domi in the first villa, followed by Zach and Kincaid, Rae, him, Iris and Law, and finally Avery and Nick.
Why he had to end up next to Rae… well, what was done was done.
He sure as hell wasn’t going to make a fuss about it.
This trip was not about him. It was about making sure Mitch and Domi had a fun, relaxing time before their wedding.
For the others, it was about allowing them to celebrate their recent engagements—or in the case of Kincaid and Zach, to hopefully work through their shit.
He was worried about those two.
There wasn’t much he could do about that at the moment, though.
What he could do was go into his villa and not cause any issues right at the beginning of the trip, just because being right next to Rae made his skin crawl with hyperawareness of her nearness.
He could deal with it for a few days. And nights.
“Here’s the main room, then the bedroom is right over here,” Ariel said, waving her hand as she led him through the villa.
Brian was holding his own suitcase—he didn’t care if she worked here, there was no way he was letting a woman nearly half his size carry his suitcase—as he followed her into the bedroom, setting it next to the closet. He’d unpack later.
“Bathroom is right here, and you have a walkout to the balcony for your beach view from both the bedroom and the main room.”
“Everything looks great, thank you,” he said honestly. The cool air inside the rooms was a relief. He wasn’t sure he’d be spending much time on the balcony, though he couldn’t help the impulse to step out and see the view… and as he did so, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
Though there were quite a few lush branches of greenery in the way, that didn’t stop him from recognizing Rae…
also out on her balcony. She seemed to sense him at the same time, turning her head, and their gazes clashed.
Then she turned away and went back inside.
Brian’s muscles relaxed. He hadn’t even realized they’d tensed until he felt them unclench.
Dammit.
“Alright then, if you need anything, just call the front desk,” Ariel said cheerfully behind him.
“Thank you so much,” he said, turning back around to go inside and give her a tip. After he’d done so, he looked out the bedroom window—which just happened to be the one facing Rae’s villa.
Just like out on the balcony, there were plenty of plants obscuring the view…
but not entirely. His window looked into her main room, which had a glass door leading onto the wrap-around balcony.
The curtains could be drawn, but right now, they were wide open, and if he positioned himself just right, he could see straight in through the tree branches to her balcony and past it into her villa.
Where she was standing with her hand on the arm of her driver.
Fuck.
The surge of jealousy that went through him was not promising.
He thought he’d gotten past this when she’d been dating Master Damian.
And it wasn’t like he’d been celibate… he’d dated, too.
It was just that nothing had come of any of it, and now they were both single again and here with a bunch of couples.
Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the ceiling and let it out slowly.
That was probably the real issue here. Knowing they were the only two singles, it felt inevitable they should be paired up together…
but they already knew that wouldn’t work.
Setting himself up for rejection again was not on his to-do list.
He’d tried in the past. After being one of the Doms during her Introduction classes at Marquis, the local kink club they both belonged to, he’d gotten one glorious night with her.
Yes, it had been a discipline scene she’d earned through bad behavior, but he’d also seen it as his chance to show her how good being his babygirl could be.
He thought he’d done it, too.
But the next day, she’d never texted him back after he texted her, much less picked up his calls. The next time they’d run into each other at the club, she’d acted like the night had never happened.
Brian had gotten the message even before she’d started dating Master Damian.
Just thinking about trying again made his chest hurt. He’d learned his lesson in the past about giving people too many chances, and Rae had already had far too many from him.
Tearing his gaze away from her, Brian went to unpack his suitcase.
Rae
What does one wear to dinner at a kinky island resort?
Rae sifted through her suitcase. Since the weather was supposed to be hot as fuck, she’d been able to pack a lot more than she needed since no layers were needed and no cold weather clothes, which was both good and bad.
Good because she had options, bad because she had too many options, and she wasn’t sure what to go with.
Fetwear?
A cute dress?
Shorts and a tank top?
Sighing, she pulled out her phone and went to the girls’ group chat to see what everyone else was wearing.
Within a few minutes, she had her answer—cute dress.
Okay, check.
Digging through her clothes, she grinned with triumph as she located her blue dress with the thin straps, built-in bra, and flippy skirt.
It was cute, sexy, and easy access. Not that anyone was going to be accessing anything yet, but if the group decided to go to the Dungeon section of the resort after dinner, she wouldn’t feel totally out of place.
And she’d even be able to scene if she wanted to.
The cute driver, Jose, had indicated he would be more than happy to show her around the resort if she wanted an escort. She’d gotten pretty strong Dom vibes from him, though he’d been very respectful about his offer. Not at all like the overly bossy Daddy Dom who was in the villa next to her.
Maybe she’d find Jose later and take him up on his offer. Help clear Brian out of her head.
If she could after that little balcony eye lock.
Not that she was going out on the balcony again anytime soon.
Getting dressed, she did her hair and makeup, pulling her hair back into a high ponytail so the ends brushed against her exposed upper back.
Makeup was easy—natural eye and cheeks, with a lush red lip.
By the time she was done, she was feeling pretty damn hot and a lot more confident about seeing Brian.
This wasn’t her usual look, but it also wasn’t a look he’d be into. She knew that she dressed like a baby girl sometimes, but that was just her aesthetic, not her kink. She’d deliberately packed for this trip so her outfits wouldn’t be like a mating call to the solo Daddy.
Walking out into the main room, she happened to look out the window and realized she could see into his bedroom.
Not the whole bedroom, but she saw a flash of movement as he walked by the window—shirtless.
She could see his shoulders, so she knew he wasn’t wearing a shirt, even though she couldn’t see the rest of him.
Maybe he’s naked.
Maybe you’re a perv. Stop watching him!
She wasn’t trying to perv. She just wanted to make sure she couldn’t see too much… otherwise, she might need to tell him to close his blinds. In fact, she should probably go close her blinds just so she didn’t inadvertently give Zach and Kincaid a show at any point.
Doing an abrupt about-face, she went back into her room and looked out the window, just to see, but the vegetation on the left of her villa must be thicker than on the right because she couldn’t see them at all.
There was just less greenery between her and Brian’s villa.
Because, of course, the universe was conspiring against her that way.
Sighing, Rae closed the blinds, anyway, just for verisimilitude, before heading back out to her main room. She peeked through the window again, but there was no more movement. Turning, she tried to figure out how much of her space he’d be able to see.
Most of it, possibly? She was pretty sure he’d have a decent view of the couch. If he looked out the window, he’d certainly see her.
There was a curtain she could draw across the large expanse of glass if she wanted…
but she didn’t. Instead, she went outside to meet up with everyone for dinner.
This time, when the golf carts arrived, there were fewer of them since there was no luggage to contend with.
Rae sat beside the driver—not Jose—with Mitch and Domi behind her in the first golf cart.
She couldn’t see how everyone else arranged themselves.
Driving through the resort to the restaurant was just as nice as the drive in had been. The lush greenery was everywhere, lining all the pathways and hiding most of the small villas and places they passed.
There were some larger buildings interspersed throughout, the walls of the buildings a dark sandy color with roofs several shades darker and trimmed in blue. Ocean-blue shutters adorned the windows, just like the villas, standing out against the pale walls.
They pulled up to one of the larger buildings.
“Here we are,” the driver said, jumping out to help her step out. Mitch was doing the same with Domi in the back. Domi hopped out, and he curved his arm around her, pulling her against him rather than stepping away and dropping a kiss on her nose.
Rae sighed.
They were so fucking cute, it was stupid.
“Okay, lovebirds, plenty of time for that after dinner,” Iris teased, coming up beside them. The pretty brunette was wearing a dress similar to Rae’s, though her skirt was a little longer and a little tighter, with slits up the sides to nearly her hips. “We need to fuel up. I’m starving!”
Laughing, Mitch and Domi broke apart as Law came up behind Iris to corral his girlfriend.
Grinning, Rae kept up with Domi, comparing notes on their villas as they went into the restaurant.
It sounded like they were all the same, though as the soon-to-be bride and groom, Domi and Mitch had some extra goodies waiting for them in theirs—champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a welcome basket of fruit, crackers, and cookies.
Domi seemed happy and relaxed, which was good.
Not that anything had been going wrong with the wedding planning, but it was still a huge event—though Rae suspected this trip might have been the cause of some of her stress.
Domi asked about Rae being next to Brian, but Rae reassured her that it was no problem.
The villas were completely private, after all.
She didn’t mention the realization that he was able to see right into her living room or onto her balcony.
Domi didn’t need to know either of those things.
Their table inside was already set up with menus, and the hostess led them straight to it, a beaming smile on her face. There was nothing about the restaurant décor that hinted at it being a kink resort, but when Rae looked around at the other diners, there were signs.
The foursome at the bar, where the men were sitting and the women gracefully kneeling at their feet, was one sign. As Rae watched, one of them reached down to feed his partner a tidbit of something.
The couple in the corner looked like a regular, cuddling couple… other than the fact the man was wearing a leather harness and collar in lieu of a shirt.
Not all the diners were exhibiting their kink, but enough were to make it clear this wasn’t a regular beach resort.
Seating herself next to Domi, a frisson of awareness spread through Rae as the seat next to her was pulled out. Only one man made her react like that. It felt like the universe was mocking her as Brian sat next to her, and all the little hairs on the back of her arm stood up.
Really? He couldn’t find a different seat?
But no, she realized, everyone was already sitting down around them, no one noticing that the only seat left open for Brian was the one next to her. Because why should they be thinking about that?
Gritting her teeth, Rae smiled at him as he sat down, ignoring the way her pulse suddenly sped up and the area between her legs suddenly tingled as his arm brushed against hers.
There was no way she was going to say anything.
It was literally the first meal of the trip.
Domi was relaxed and enjoying herself, and asking him to move would make it clear that she was bothered by his presence.
The best thing to do was to show she wasn’t bothered at all, which would also be best for making sure Domi didn’t worry about her.
She smiled sweetly at Brian, pretending her entire body hadn’t just come alive in a way that it hadn’t been before.
“Settled into your villa, okay?” she asked.
He looked at her, his hazel eyes bemused.
“Yes, you?”
“Yup. Everything’s great.”
“Great.”
That was about all the small talk with him she could muster for now, so she turned her attention to the menu, thankful for the distraction.