After I meet up with Darren to head back to our villa, I bring up the grant application I want to work on.

“But I don’t want you to miss out on the rehearsal dinner because of me,” I add.

“Something the matter?” Darren asks.

“Well, everyone here knows everyone else. It might be nice for the rehearsal dinner to be more intimate without a stranger like me.”

“There’ll be over forty people at the rehearsal dinner. How intimate can it get?”

“I also told Coretta I’d give her a call. I only texted her yesterday.”

Darren didn’t push it.

Once we were back in our villa, Darren gets ready for the rehearsal dinner. While he takes a shower, I decide to soak in the bathtub, which is right next to the window with the view of the beach.

“Does JD have a lot of ex-girlfriends?” I ask as nonchalantly as I can.

“What do you consider ‘a lot?’”

Unable to settle on a good metric, I ask instead, “Does he kind of move from one girl to the next?”

“Why are you asking?”

“He’s dating my friend. I’m curious to know more about him. So, does he?”

“Sometimes.”

“Has he ever had a long-term relationship?”

Darren sighs. “Maybe he hasn’t met the right person.”

“Does he want to meet the right person?”

“I don’t know. It’s not the kind of thing guys talk about a lot.”

I get the sense that Darren’s a tad uncomfortable, which doesn’t inspire me with confidence where JD is concerned.

“Amy’s having a lot of fun with him,” I say, and study his reaction.

“Yeah. I bet their sex is good. Not as good as ours, though.”

“I bet he doesn’t make her call him ‘sir.’”

Darren steps out of the shower and wraps a towel around his waist. “You’ll have to ask Amy about that.”

“What’s with the ‘sir’ thing anyway?” I ask, eying the way the water glistens on his bronzed skin. My gaze rakes over his pecs and six-pack.

“It reinforces the Dom-sub relationship.”

“Will I ever get to be the Dom?”

“If I allow it.”

“Since we’ve already ventured into BDSM, do I still have to give you a night at your club?”

“You better believe it.”

I sink into the water. So far, I’ve been able to handle everything he’s thrown at me. I wonder how Yu-Jin would react to Darren’s penchant for kink. I envision her fighting with Elaine over Darren. Who would win?

A surprising stab of jealousy shoots through me, but I quell it. Like I told Amy, if he can’t appreciate what he’s got, it’s his loss.

Darren takes off his towel and steps into the bathtub.

“Don’t you need to get ready for the rehearsal dinner?” I inquire.

“I’ll get there. After we fuck.”

“It sounds so romantic when you say it like that.”

He sits down with a smirk. Reaching for me, he pulls me between his spread legs and has me lie against his chest. With one hand, he fondles my breast. With the other, he strokes me between my thighs. I sigh at how good it feels to be wrapped in the steamy water, his muscular arms around me, my clit caressed to perfection, his erection pressed against my backside.