Page 5 of Captivating Nights

Chapter 3

SLAMMING BACK THE SHOT of bourbon, Zane Rhodes regarded his best friend with disdain.

“I can’t believe I agreed to come here to this island, X. If I wanted to be somewhere deserted, then I would’ve just stayed home in my penthouse.”

Xavier Rivera took another swallow of his scotch before releasing a deep sigh. “I know you would, which is the problem. You’re already here, so you might as well make the most of it. I’m worried about you, Z. And I have been for a while now.”

Zane eyed his best friend while pouring another shot, quickly tipping it back. The liquor barely made him grimace as it burned a trail of fire down his throat. The way things were looking, he’d be spending a fair amount of time in this secluded villa drinking. Thank fuck the liquor was complimentary since Xavier owned the resort.

Xavier was very much like a brother to Zane, and they were so close that oftentimes they shared the same women. Both men were Dominants and liked to frequent the same BDSM clubs together.

Being Italian, Zane was short-tempered and intense, his passion evident in everything he did. Xavier, while a Spaniard in every sense of the word, was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected on the outside. Beneath that exterior, though, he was a Dominant with drive and extreme intuition. He could see into a submissive’s soul, earning himself the title of Master of the Mind Fuck, a role he played to perfection.

Zane had his own role, one that was darker, yet equally intense. A Master in his own right, his tastes and desires were considered rawer when compared to his counterpart. His impatience was one of his biggest flaws, which increased the longer he stood in this room.

“I’m not sure I can handle three full weeks on this fucking island. I’ve only been here a few days and I’m already counting down the days until I can leave. I need to get the hell out of this room before I go stir-crazy.”

Zane heard Xavier calling out to him as he shut the door, but he ignored him. There was simply no need for him to stand around his room drinking in private. He could better drown his sorrows in public where he wouldn’t be alone with his thoughts. Especially the ones of Elena Marchand.

One would think she was someone special to him, and in a way, they’d be right, but not for the reasons many naturally assumed. The Spanish beauty was a former submissive of his, and while both he and Xavier had scened casually with her, there were no rumblings of changing that status to anything more. That was another reason why friends questioned why he was taking her death so hard.

No one understood the overwhelming guilt he felt over her demise. She was on his yacht when she lost her balance and fell overboard. Outside of the boat captain, they were alone, at night, somewhere in the Mediterranean Seaclose to the coast of Spain. Zane could still remember the evening in vivid detail.

It all started with various weather reports predicting a late summer storm. In all his arrogance, it didn’t matter because Zane believed he could actually defy nature. That decision turned out to be a deadly one that still haunted him to this day. He growled and mumbled under his breath, “You fucked up big time, man.”

And he did. Despite the worsening conditions, he’d wanted to take her to a barrier island off the coast and instructed the captain to set sail anyway. The horizon had patches of darkening clouds but other than those, the rest of the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. Zane had hoped to make it to their destination before the sun set for the evening, but the storm came upon them swiftly. Minutes after the skies opened up, Elena had slipped and gone overboard, hitting her head as she fell into the ocean.

He’d jumped in after her, but by the time he’d found her body floating on the surface, she was dead. The Spanish equivalent of the Coast Guard rescued them from the water, but there was no saving the submissive. The guilt ate away at him, and even after four months, it hadn’t subsided at all. It would explain why Xavier was so hell-bent on getting him here to this island with him. His best friend actually thought he could save him from himself.

That thought alone almost made him chuckle. There was no redemption for him. He didn’t want it and he sure as fuck didn’t deserve it. Zane would appease Xavier and stay here through the holidays, but then he was going back home to Washington DC. Unfortunately for him, the days were long and the nights even longer, and he had at least a week before the damned things were over.

There had to be something to do on this godforsaken island that would take his mind off his own personal turmoil. He’d been with women after the boating accident but never without Xavier there beside him. If he were being honest with himself, it was because he didn’t trust himself around one alone anymore. The other Dominant was here, so finding himself a woman to distract himself with was not only a viable option, it was the best one available too.

This place is so large I’m surprised Xavier can even find his way around here.Zane left the villa and headed down the stone walkway toward the main building that housed the three restaurants, including one with a full bar. That was a definite bonus as he hadn’t had nearly enough alcohol.

The Paradise Resort was Xavier’s idea of paradise and always stayed booked to full capacity, even during the holidays. While most of the guests were there with their significant others, some were single just as he was, wanting to escape their normal lives, also similar to him. And also like Xavier. His best friend was driven not only by ambition but by demons of his own. He wasn’t the only one hiding from himself.

Zane knew years ago that there was something different about his friend. His penchant for sharing women was more than just a preference. Things from Xavier’s past helped shape him into the man and Dominant he was today, as things from his own did for him.

He finally reached Champagne, the bar he sought, but after taking a look inside and seeing the crowd of people already there, he had second thoughts, immediately discarding his plan to drink publicly. Walking past the establishment, he continued along the stone path, knowing it would eventually lead him right to the beach. Zane loved the sea, but hadn’t spent much time in it since that fateful August night.

Passing one of the five pools scattered throughout the property, he came to a stop when someone caught his eye. It was a woman and if he was not mistaken, she was the same one he’d observed that afternoon in the lobby. The sun had since set from the time he’d left the villa to the present, so he took a few more steps, needing to get a closer look.

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