Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Rae
How could an afternoon shower and nap go so horribly wrong?
Well, she didn’t even get to the nap, but that was part of what was wrong.
After lunch, Domi had been yawning, and they’d all decided that a siesta during the heat of the day was the way to go.
Plus, Rae was the only one who’d gotten to bed at a decent hour the night before.
The rest of them had stayed in the Dungeon until late.
Even with that, she felt kind of tired, so she figured a nap would help.
At the very least, she’d lay in bed and read. Rest up for the night ahead since she was planning on finding a Dom and, possibly, getting laid. Kink didn’t have to include sex, but that’s what she wanted right now. She wanted a spanking and a dick, not necessarily in that order.
Instead, she got in the shower and screamed as the showerhead nearly nailed her when it shot off of the base.
The water sprayed everywhere before she managed to turn around and get it shut off…
except it wouldn’t shut off. The handle just spun in place, the water shooting out in every direction, and it seemed like it was getting stronger rather than weaker.
Shit. It was going to flood the bathroom if it kept up, and she couldn’t turn it off. Thank goodness she’d gotten her bonnet on already or she’d be cursing for more than one reason.
Not even bothering to grab a towel, Rae dashed out to the bedroom and picked up the phone to call the front desk.
The woman who answered sounded horrified, apologizing profusely and promising maintenance was on their way.
As much as Rae wanted to screech at the woman to hurry, she knew there was only so much she could do, and she’d understood the situation was urgent.
Going back to her bathroom, Rae saw the spreading puddle on the floor and quickly put her towels across the doorway. Then she ran and grabbed the beach towels to do the same thing. At the very least, hopefully, she could keep it from getting on the carpet.
But she really hoped maintenance moved fast because the towels were getting wet faster than she was comfortable with.
Though she also needed to get some clothes on before anyone arrived.
Yeah, she was on kink island, but that didn’t mean she felt comfortable being naked when the maintenance guy showed up.
That felt too much like the beginning of a porno.
Quickly, she hurried over to her suitcase and grabbed a simple sundress, pulling it over her head just as she heard a knock at the door. Phew, that was fast! Thankfully, she was dressed now.
When she yanked open the door, she had to drop her gaze about half a foot to the tiny Asian woman standing in front of her.
Short and curvy, with tanned skin and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail, she was wearing grey coveralls with a white tag that said “Maintenance” in red letters.
A large toolbox sat on the ground next to her
“Hi, I’m Layne!” she said briskly, eying Rae as if she was expecting trouble—or a protest. Rae bet she ran into a lot of people who didn’t think she could do her job. “Heard you have a shower problem?”
“Yup, it’s spraying water everywhere. Come on in.” Rae stepped to the side, gesturing.
The set of Layne’s shoulders relaxed slightly at Rae’s lack of protest. She bent to pick up her toolbox and strode in with confidence, heading straight for the bathroom. Rae followed, curious about her reaction.
Layne stopped in her tracks as she looked through the open bathroom door. The water was still spraying everywhere, and it looked like there was about an inch of water now on the floor between the shower pan and the towel blockade. Fuck.
“Oh, wow. That is a pickle.” Layne didn’t wait. She put her toolbox down and started untying the laces on her boots.
Before Rae could ask if Layne’s pickle reference came from a certain blue cartoon dog, there was more knocking on her door.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Layne, who nodded but was far more focused on getting her boots off and her pants rolled up so she could take care of the problem. Which… fair. The bathroom was definitely the priority.
Hurrying to the door, Rae opened it, and this time, she had to take a step back as she looked up.
Dammit. There was just something about Brian that always made her feel smaller than she actually was.
Yes, he was tall and broad-shouldered, but it was more than that, and when he was looming in her door with a frown on his face, it was like being smacked with all that delicious, protective dominance.
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” she said, which was immediately negated by a shriek from her bathroom.
“Holy shit! That’s fucking cold!” Apparently, Layne had entered the bathroom and was a talker. Also completely audible through the door. Rae was just glad she’d gotten out if the water had turned cold.
“Um…” Brian looked over Rae’s head, then back down at her.
“My showerhead broke. Maintenance is here to fix it.”
“How’d you break it?” he asked as he stepped inside—stepping to the side as he did since it wasn’t like she’d moved out of the way to invite him in. Exasperated, Rae glared at him.
“I didn’t do anything! The head just popped off, then it wouldn’t… Where are you going?” She didn’t know why she bothered asking the question because she already knew the answer. He was going to see what was going on for himself because he was a bossy Dom who couldn’t help himself.
Dammit. She should’ve shut the door in his face as soon as she saw who was standing there.
Rather than answering her, Brian strode back and into her room. Rae made another exasperated sound of frustration as she trotted in behind him, which he also ignored.
“Oh, wow,” he said, coming to a halt in Rae’s bedroom as he took in the scene.
Layne was in the bathroom, soaking wet, with her coveralls clinging to her curves.
Somehow, she’d gotten the water turned off at least, but that didn’t solve the problem of what now looked like two inches of water on the bathroom floor that was slowly seeping through the towel barrier.
“I think we’re going to have to turn off the water to this villa in order for me to fix this,” Layne said apologetically, looking between Rae and Brian. “And I’m not sure I’m going to be able to fix it today, though I can try.”
“We’re also going to need someone to come clean up the water,” Brian murmured, turning his head slightly back and forth as he looked everything over.
“Not my department, but yes. I’ll let them know.” Layne glanced between Rae and Brian. “Are you two both staying in here or…”
“No, I’m next door. She can stay with me until this is fixed.”
“Hey, who says I want to stay with you?” Rae put her hands on her hips. It was just like Brian to come barging into her villa and bossing her around. At the same time, the moment he suggested she do so, her brain started pinging around her head with all the reasons why it was a good idea.
Everyone else was paired up, so she’d be a complete third wheel staying with them.
She also didn’t want to bother Mitch and Domi or make them feel like they needed to do anything for her—and Brian would keep his mouth shut about it.
Plus… okay, as anti-feminist as it was, there was a part of her that swooned over a man who led with problem-solving.
Even if she didn’t actually need him to solve her problem, it was still kinda hot.
Brian
“Okay, well, I’m going to go turn off the water from the outside, and you two can figure out what you’re doing in private,” said the woman in Rae’s bathroom, sloshing through the water to get to the door.
Her exit gave him the opportunity to take a deep breath and get himself under control.
Dammit, he should know better than to go into Daddy mode with Rae.
She might like it, but she hated admitting how much she liked it.
Seeing the golf cart pull up in front of her villa and the woman with a toolbox get out, he hadn’t been able to resist the impulse to come over and find out what was going on.
Nor had he been able to resist going into Rae’s villa and offering up his own place for her to sleep.
Except it hadn’t really been an offer. More like a demand. He’d seen a need and responded to it, the way he always did. And with Rae, he always forgot to have a gentler hand.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to face her.
“Rae, would you like to spend tonight in my villa, so you have a place to sleep near everyone else?” If she went elsewhere, that would stress out Domi, which would upset Mitch.
He didn’t think Rae wanted to go to a different villa on a different street, away from the rest of the group.
She just also didn’t like him making decisions for her.
Which, since she wasn’t his, was fair.
Rae lifted her stubborn chin in the air, and for a moment, he thought she was going to say no just to spite him.
“Fine. Since you asked,” she said haughtily.
It wasn’t what she said so much as the way she said it that made his palm itch to spank her, even though she had good reason for it.
“Great.” A night on the couch wouldn’t hurt him. It was a comfortable couch. But he was already regretting the necessity because the more time he spent with Rae, the more he struggled with his desire for her. “Do you want to pack up a few things to bring over?”
To his surprise, she turned around and walked over to where her suitcase was lying on the floor, crouching down to zip up the case.
“Done,” she announced, standing back up and pulling it up on its end with her. The way she handled it made it clear that it was heavy and full of her things.
Brian blinked.
“Seriously?” he asked. It wasn’t like they’d been go-go-go since arriving, especially yesterday, and she hadn’t unpacked at all?
“Oh, right, toiletries.” Rae looked at the open doorway of her bathroom, as did Brian. It was clear the towels were getting soaked. “I’ll get those later.”
“Right.” He took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to criticize her for not unpacking. It worked out right now, and he knew she wouldn’t respond well if he said something about it.
The maintenance woman walked back in, on her phone with someone, and she held up one finger to Rae and Brian as if asking them to wait.
He took advantage of the opportunity to walk over and take the suitcase from Rae, who scowled at him and held on for a second before letting him take it.
But she did let him take it, and a little surge of triumph went through him—which he did not let show on his face.
“Okay, so housekeeping has some people coming to clean up the water, but I’m definitely not going to be able to fix this today.
We’ll be giving you a full refund, of course, and we’re so sorry about the inconvenience.
” The woman rattled through the words almost as though she was reading off a list, her tone matter-of-fact rather than apologetic. “You’re going to be staying next door?”
“Yes.”
“Villa Forty-two,” Brian added helpfully, and the woman nodded.
“Great, they’ll probably send you some kind of apology basket or something. I’ll let them know where you’ll be.”
Rae took in a deep breath and let it out, sagging slightly as if the situation was now fully hitting home.
“Thank you. I appreciate your help.” Reaching up, Rae rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again, drawing on her inner patience.
It was fascinating to watch. Brian wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her exhibit this kind of patience.
“Guess that means I’m at your place tonight. Can we not… tell everyone else?”
“Fine by me.” He didn’t feel like being teased for the rest of the week about Rae sleeping over, either.
“Great.”
“Great.” He held his hand out, gesturing in front of him for her to go ahead. Maintenance woman’s gaze bounced back and forth between them, like they were a complicated math equation she was trying to figure out.
If she came up with an answer, Brian hoped she would be open to sharing with the class.