Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Brian
Waking up with his arms around Rae was one of the best feelings in the world, and he was getting a little too used to it.
Only two more mornings.
Fuck, he didn’t want to think about that.
Especially when Rae was nuzzling into his chest so sweetly, making soft little sighing noises.
So, instead, he rolled her onto her back and woke her up with his mouth between her thighs until she was gasping and writhing for him, her fingers entwined in his hair. Then he got his cock in her and rocked them both to orgasm.
Talk about starting the day off right.
From there, they had to say goodbye. Rae snuck out to meet up with the girls on the beach while Brian headed over to the spa. He wasn’t sure what he disliked more—spending the day where he could watch her but not touch her or spending the day completely separated from her.
At the beginning of the week, he’d been relieved that Mitch and Domi had wanted the days split up between a full-group activity and gender-segregated activities.
He’d been looking forward to time with just the guys and resigned to the full-group stuff.
Not because he didn’t like Domi or the other women, but mostly because he’d figured he’d feel like a third wheel the whole time, and it would be incredibly awkward with him and Rae as the only singles.
Now, it was still awkward, but he felt a lot more willing to put up with it if it meant he just got to be around her.
This is the second to last day here. Better get used to not being around her.
Brian pushed away the cynical little voice in his head.
Yes, tomorrow was the last day. But it was also a day they’d all be spending together, which meant he would get to see her.
And they still had tonight and tomorrow night.
So, even though the guys were doing their separate thing today, he still had two nights and tomorrow to watch her, even if he couldn’t touch her.
Man, that made him sound like a creeper.
Maybe he had more in common with Mistress Julie’s secret admirer than he wanted to think.
Except when this week ended, he was going to be willing to let go.
“Hey.” The hand clapping down on Brian’s shoulder made him jump, and he blinked in surprise at Mitch, who was looking at him with concern. “You okay? I called your name like three times, and you didn’t answer.”
“Yeah, I’m good. Just lost in thought.” He yawned as he finished speaking and shrugged, giving Mitch a rueful smile. “Maybe a little tired, too.”
“Late night?” Mitch asked as Law and Kincaid sauntered up behind him. Nick and Zach were following a little farther back, deep in conversation about something. Kincaid and Zach were both smiling, even though they weren’t walking together, so Brian was going to take that as a good sign.
“Late night,” he agreed. Early morning. Though he didn’t add that last part on.
“Where did you get off to?” Law asked, obviously overhearing Brian’s statement as he and Kincaid joined them. “You were in the Dungeon one minute and then gone the next.”
There was a glint in his dark eyes that Brian might not have noticed if Rae hadn’t specifically told him that Iris had been watching her. Maybe Iris had seen him storming after her. And maybe now Law was wondering, too.
It was a good thing Rae had given him a heads up about that, or he might have floundered this moment.
“Oh yeah, well, I saw Rae walking off with some masked Dom, and she was on her own. I wanted to make sure someone knew who she was with, so I followed them out onto the porch. Then I met a very nice sub before I came back in, and we ended up not making it back into the Dungeon.” He shrugged one shoulder as nonchalantly as possible.
“Nice.” Mitch laughed, waving as Zach and Nick finally reached them. “Though I’m sure Rae didn’t appreciate you interfering.”
“She didn’t,” Brian said, turning away from Law’s too-discerning gaze.
The others didn’t seem to think anything of his claim, but there was something about the way Law was looking at him that made him feel like the other man wasn’t buying it.
Or maybe he was projecting since he knew it was a lie…
Either way, it wasn’t a topic of conversation he wanted anyone focusing on.
He focused on Mitch instead. “How was your night?”
“Very good.” Mitch grinned like the cat who got the cream, his blue eyes sparkling as he turned to head into the spa.
Everyone trooped after him. “There’s something to be said for staying at a resort where literally every nook and cranny is designed to cater to kink.
I wish I could convince Domi to play on the beach, but she says she’ll safeword unless I’m on the bottom, and I don’t want sand in my ass. ”
“I’m guessing that’s her objection as well,” Brian observed wryly.
“Of course, so I can’t really protest. I suggested doggy style, but she doesn’t seem convinced. Still, I’ve got two more days to get her around to my way of thinking.”
“Why not doggy style?” Nick asked, catching up with them. “Wouldn’t that fix everything?”
“That’s what I thought, but she pointed out that she can’t always keep her arms completely straight, and she doesn’t want sand burn on her nipples.
” Mitch shrugged. “We’re going to figure it out one way or another before we leave.
” From the sadistic gleam in his eye, he didn’t mind the idea of Domi getting sand burn on her nipples.
“Maybe she’ll be more amenable on the last day,” Zach suggested from behind them. “When she’ll have time to go home and recover rather than wanting to keep playing during the week.” The other sadist in their group, it wasn’t surprising he’d be tapped into the masochist mindset.
“That’s what I’m thinking, too,” Mitch agreed, a little too gleefully. Clearly, he already had his plans, which meant it was very likely he was going to get what he wanted.
If only Brian’s relationship had worked out that way.
Rae
“So, how was last night?” Iris asked as she settled in the lounge chair next to Rae.
Domi and Avery had gone to take a dip in the ocean to cool off.
Rae wasn’t quite there yet, and apparently, neither was Iris, though she couldn’t help but tense at the question, wondering if there was a deeper meaning behind it.
“Good.” With her eyes closed, she tipped her head back, drinking in more of the sun and doing her best to appear blissfully relaxed.
Fake it ‘til you make it. “Not the same masked Dom as the other night, but I’m starting to think I have a thing for masked Doms. There’s something fun about the mystery. ”
“Uh-huh. Law and I saw Brian running after you out of the Dungeon.”
Rae was grateful that Iris waited to drop that little bomb until the other two were away from the conversation. Not that she thought Iris would keep any juicy gossip to herself, but she appreciated that Iris was at least starting out with discretion.
Or maybe she just wanted to be the first to know.
“Oh, yeah. He was annoyed I was walking off with a total stranger. Can you believe it?”
“Yes,” Iris murmured in a way that felt very loaded.
Rae decided to ignore it. She didn’t want to encourage any of the ‘Brian really likes you’ or ‘you and Brian would make a good couple if you’d just give it a chance’ comments that occasionally got dropped.
She was already struggling enough with what she truly wanted. She didn’t need the peer pressure on top of everything else.
“Anyway… I told him you and Law introduced Marcus to me and that he needed to mind his own business, then he went off to do his own thing.”
“And you had a good night.”
“I had a great night.” She let the ends of her lips curve up in a smile because it was true. She’d had a really great night, even if her ass was a little sore this morning.
Maybe especially because her ass was a little sore this morning.
“What about you and Law? Do anything fun last night?”
“We took it a little easier. Which means I need to be prepared for something big tonight.” The anticipation was clear in Iris’ voice. Rae was so happy for her friend that she’d found the perfect Dom for her, though she couldn’t help the little streak of envy that ran through her.
Why did it seem like everyone around her was getting their happy ending except for her?
That is what happens when you’re the last single standing. It had to be someone.
It wouldn’t sting so much if she didn’t care whether or not she was in a relationship. Some people were perfectly happy without romance, they didn’t need it for their happy ending… but Rae had always wanted it. She’d dreamed of it. Her parents had set the example, and that was what she wanted, too.
Yet it was always just out of reach for her, while her friends had gotten theirs one by one.
Dammit. She hadn’t started the week feeling like this.
She knew it was because Brian was so close to being everything she wanted and needed, yet she wasn’t going home with him the way the rest of her friends were with their men.
Part of her wanted to pout that it wasn’t fair.
Another part of her thought maybe this was her sign from the universe… a taste of what was possible.
When she got home, she was going to get serious about getting what she wanted. No more wasting time excusing all the things about a man that she didn’t like. Brian had shown her that so much more was possible. She needed to raise the bar, thanks to him.
Too bad she couldn’t be everything he needed.
Something achy curled inside her chest, making her want to rub the spot, and she was glad her eyes were closed to hide the wetness that was starting to cluster there. Ugh. She needed to cut this chain of thought before she totally lost control over her emotions.
No matter which way she thought about it, the idea of calling someone “Daddy”—even Brian—was just not going to work for her. She wished it would, she really did, but even if she managed to, she doubted Brian would enjoy hearing it through gritted, reluctant teeth.
Which made him an even better man than some, who wouldn’t care how she felt as long as they got what they wanted from her.
Cold water splashed over her, and Rae shrieked as she jumped up, her eyes flying open to find Avery and Domi standing in front of her and Iris, snickering. Iris was doing the same jumping-shrieking thing Rae was.
“Domi!” Rae shouted, brushing the wetness off her stomach, even though it didn’t feel that bad now that it wasn’t such a shock.
“Ra-e!” Domi mimicked her, elongating Rae’s name into two syllables.
“The whole point of not going down to the water was not to get wet,” Iris complained, settling back down into her seat while Avery laughed and went to the bag to get the sunscreen.
Despite her constant application and the fact that she spent most of the time in the shade, her pale skin was slowly getting a little darker—and turning pinkish in some places.
“Sorry, not sorry,” Avery smirked. “So, what were you guys talking about?”
“The fact that Law is probably going to wear Iris out because he went easy on her last night,” Rae said quickly, skipping over any mention of Brian. Hey, it was the last topic of conversation.
“I think Mitch has the same thing in mind,” Domi said with a happy but resigned-sounding sigh.
Avery came to sit in front of Iris, handing her the bottle of sunscreen so she could do Avery’s back while Avery smeared it over her arms, chest, stomach, and face.
“He keeps wanting to have sex out on the beach.”
“Wait, you haven’t had sex on the beach yet?” Avery and Iris asked in unison before glancing at each other as they all cracked up.
“You have?” Rae asked curiously as the giggles subsided.
“The first night we were here,” Avery said with amusement.
“We waited ‘til the second night,” Iris said. “I feel like it’s mandatory at some point, though, isn’t it?”
“Not for me,” Rae said immediately, her hand going to her hair even though it was currently covered. “Trying to get the sand out of my braids is absolute hell. It’s not impossible, but it’s not how I want to spend my time.”
“Just make sure you’re not on the bottom,” Iris retorted.
“Were you on the bottom?” Avery asked as she got up, turning to look at Iris’ expression. Iris laughed.
“No, we did doggy style.” She looked over at Domi. “Just do that.”
“I don’t want sand burn on my nipples… and don’t tell me to put down a towel. Those get sandy, too.” Domi made a face and cupped her hands protectively over her breasts. “At the very least, I didn’t want to start the week off with sandy nipple burn, then have to deal with it all week.”
“It’s not that bad,” Iris said, glancing at Avery.
Avery shrugged. “I was on the bottom, so I had some sand burn in… other places. Which sucked, but Nick made it up to me with lots of oral.” She grinned.
It did seem a little weird to come to an island resort and not have sex on the beach, but Rae still wasn’t sure she wanted to.
She definitely didn’t want to have sex in the water.
Every time she saw that in the movies, she just had to shake her head.
It was like the couple wanted to get eaten by sharks.
Not that there had been any shark attacks in recent memory on this particular island, but why be the first?
There hadn’t been any recently, which meant the island was ripe for one.
Just saying.
But she still listened as the others weighed the pros and cons of sex on the beach. Just in case.