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“It’s not an interruption,” Zach countered. “We can always come back here after. It’s not that big a deal.”
“It’s also not that big a deal for me to go back to my villa on my own. There are golf carts right out front, with drivers. It’s not like I’m going to be all on my own. This isn’t Stronghold or Marquis; you don’t have to make sure I get out to my car okay, much less back to my villa.” It wasn’t like the clubs back in D.C.; they didn’t need to chaperone her or anything. She hated the idea of inconveniencing them, but the desire to go was getting stronger.
They both frowned harder at her. Stubborn Doms.
“You’re going back to the villas?” Brian’s voice came from behind her.
Rae somehow managed not to groan. Of course, he’d come over and heard the discussion because that was how her life worked. Though the fact he’d been staring at her from across the scene should have clued her into the fact that he was paying more attention to her than he should be.
“Yes, I’m tired and need some time to decompress, unwind, and get a good night’s sleep,” she said firmly, turning slightly to include him in the conversation without actually facing him. “Everyone else can stay here. It’s fine.”
“I can take her back,” Brian said over her head to the two Doms, as if she hadn’t just said it was fine. “You guys stay here.”
“Okay, great, that works,” Kincaid said at the same time Zach thanked Brian.
Great. Decision made. It seemed like her input on what she was doing wasn’t needed at all. Thoroughly annoyed, Rae turned on her heel and stomped toward the front door.
Freaking Doms always thinking they knew best.
3
Brian
Following the clearly annoyed Rae out of the Dungeon, Brian couldn’t help but be a bit amused when she obviously was trying to get to a golf cart and take off without waiting for him.
“Hold on,” he called out to the driver. “I’m headed to the same street.”
The ‘street’ and the area in front of the building were well lit, so he had no problem seeing the glare Rae turned on him. The driver didn’t see her expression, though, so she smiled sweetly. For a moment, he thought Rae might try to tell him to take another cart, but it really didn’t make sense. One thing about Rae was she was willing to make a fuss when she felt it was warranted, but she didn’t like inconveniencing people.
The moment passed, and she proved him right. Huffing, Rae sat down in the front seat, leaving Brian to slide onto the bench behind her. Which was fine. The important thing was that she wasn’t headed off on her own the first night in a new place. Especially a kinky place. Though they’d been carefully vetted before being able to make the reservation on the island, which was reassuring, there was always the possibility of someone behaving badly.
Sure, there were security measures in place, but Brian intended to ensure they weren’t needed.
“Hi, I’m Kia,” the driver said cheerfully, glancing over her shoulder at Brian to include him in her introduction. She had a similar coloring to Rae, but unlike Rae, she kept her hair in two cute poufs on either side of her head rather than in braids. The look suited her. “So, you two are part of the same group?”
“Yes, we’re here for our friends’ bachelor and bachelorette party,” Rae answered her. Because he was sitting behind them, he noticed that Kia relaxed, which made him approve of her even more. He got the sudden feeling that if Rae had answered negatively, Kia would have stopped the cart immediately, and he’d have had a whole new set of problems to deal with. “He has the villa right next to mine.”
Brian turned his head, looking out into the darkened greenery to hide his smile just in case either woman looked back. The long-suffering tone Rae was using could have been insulting, but he liked it because he liked knowing he was affecting her just as much as she was affecting him.
He liked to torture himself that way.
“Did you just get here today?” Kia asked.
“Yeah.” Rae yawned, and he was fairly sure she wasn’t doing it just for effect. She was actually tired. He locked his jaw against his own threatening yawn. That shit was contagious. “I’m exhausted. We’re here for a bit, though, and tomorrow the ladies are going to the spa.”
“Oh, you’re going to love that,” Kia enthused.
Brian sat back against the bench, watching the lights through the greenery while the ladies chatted about the spa’s offerings. He was feeling the tiredness of travel, too, and since he didn’t have a partner to jump right into activities with, he’d already decided he wanted to leave the club and take a night to decompress and recoup. It had just been a fortuitous happenstance that Rae wanted to go at the same time.
By the time they reached the villas, he cheerfully hopped out and wished both ladies a good night. Rae eyed him suspiciously as she got out, as if she thought he was going to say something to her.
“Goodnight,” he said, giving her a wave before turning away.
“Goodnight.”
He resisted the urge to turn around as she called after him. He really was tired and planning on resting and going to bed. Rae had made it safely back to the villa. His responsibility as a fellow wedding party member ended there.
Though he did pause at his door, waiting until she made her way into her villa before entering his own. He couldn’t entirely ignore his protective instincts, even though everything told him she would be fine.
