Destination Flirt - TEASER ;)

“Showtime, baby!” Leaning into Daniel’s office, Dominic grinned at his boss.

Daniel grinned right back at him. “Sure is.”

The relaxed expression on his friend’s face was different from his typical determined and somewhat serious look. Ever since he’d snatched himself a gorgeous and fun-loving subbie, he seemed more laid back. Vanessa was awesome, and Dominic most definitely approved of the influence she had on Daniel. The man had been a bit too tightly wound sometimes. Not that they weren’t great friends anyway, but especially with the soft-launch happening, it was nice to see Daniel relaxed, rather than in managing mode.

This week was Dominic’s baby, and he was damn determined to show Daniel that he’d made the right call bringing him on board. Which would be a lot harder if Daniel insisted on having his fingers in the pot more than he already did. Too many dominants trying to run the show was a sure way to get their floggers in a tangle.

The thought made Dominic’s grin widen even further, which Daniel apparently saw as his cue to turn boss-mode back on.

“This week needs to show off what we’ve got to offer here.”

As if he didn’t already know that. But he was a professional, so he schooled his expression and nodded. “It will.”

Besides the amazing weather and prime living location, having Daniel as his boss was one of the reasons Dominic had jumped at the opportunity to work at Allure Resort, despite his parents’ concerns about him essentially outing himself as kinky. Talk about an uncomfortable conversation. But Daniel not only had vision, he was also good people, and Dominic liked working for someone he respected and counted as his friend. If he hadn’t already prided himself on having excellent work-ethics, those reasons would have been enough to make him want to blow this soft-launch out of the park.

Plus, working here, he got to be all-out kinky. It was the best of both worlds. Business savvy and spanking skills were needed. He could deliver on both of those.

Eventually his parents would see that the resort was a success and he hadn’t wasted his potential even though he was kinky and didn’t hide it.

Hopefully.

But that was an issue for another day. Today their first guests would arrive and he was ready for it. Time to head out.

He mock-saluted in Daniel’s direction. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Daniel nodded with a smile, and Dominic had every intention of proving his friend’s confidence in him right.

After heading to the pier, he jumped into the 40-foot canopied passenger boat Daniel had bought to transport guests to and from the island. It was big enough that they could take groups of guests for tours too, which would be fun. On those occasions they’d have a driver so he could mingle, but not today.

One of the first things Dominic had done after securing this job, was getting his boating license, so he could pilot the boat himself. Turning on the battery switches first, he flicked the main power on, making sure the gear levers were in neutral. He hadn’t quite reached the level of experience where he did everything by rote, but he would call himself competent. Maybe he’d even purchase his own small boat soon.

It was a twenty-minute ride over to the mainland, which meant he was running on time.

During the ride over, he just enjoyed the sound of the water and wind. At this point, everything was organized, so it was finally time to have fun. Things tended to line up perfectly when you planned them right, which was demonstrated when, as he walked through the reception building after securing the boat to the mainland pier, John was just pulling up in front with the shuttle bus.

Perfect timing.

“How you doin’?” John greeted as Dominic hopped onto the passenger seat.

“Doin’ great!”

And the day was bound to get even better once he had everyone on the island. He always preferred the doing over the planning part, though he hadn’t cut any corners, ensuring that everything would go off without a hitch. Like a good scene, everything needed to be negotiated beforehand, otherwise, you couldn’t go all out. And this week was all about going all out.

Daniel and Luca, who worked as the resort’s chef and also lived on the island, were great to have around, but it wouldn’t hurt to have more people on the island. Especially the kind of people who wanted to spend a week at a kink resort.

“The first flight’s on time.” John announced, and they fell into small-talk for the rest of the drive.

Half-way through the drive, Dominic’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out he read his brother’s text.

Good luck today, you perv.

He hit reply and sent off a quick, Thanks, dumbass.

When they made it to the airport, John pulled the bus into a parking spot, while Dominic made his way to the arrivals waiting area, discreet sign in tow. He’d also included his picture in the most recent email to the arriving guests, just in case, but he figured the sign would be easier for them to spot in the crowded airport.

When the sliding doors opened and a young family emerged, followed by an elderly couple, and then a woman in a cozy purple track suit carrying what looked like a textbook and pulling an over-sized designer suitcase, his eyes moved right past them to the couple that stepped last through the doors. They looked like they might fit the profile, and he waggled his sign a bit, making sure their eyes would catch it. The woman turned her head and read the sign, before her eyes flicked over to him. She gave him an appreciative once-over, but instead of pulling her companion in his direction, she turned away and walked off.

Guess he’d been off. No matter. He had nine people arriving on this plane, and he was bound to guess correctly with at least one or two.

While he was busy scanning the next arrivals, someone walked right up to him. Turning, he saw the woman wearing the purple tracksuit.

He gave her a broad smile. “What can I do for you?”

“I take it you’re from Allure?” She gestured to his sign, while he quickly glanced down at the book she was holding. It was indeed a textbook. A Guide to Ethics for Physicians (7th Edition).

“My name is Emma Cartwright.”

Right. That name rang a bell. She was the one who’d emailed him a few times about all sorts of details for the week. Go figure she’d be reading a textbook on her flight.

Studying her face, Dominic did his best not to gawk at Emma. She was much younger than he’d have guessed based on his fleeting look before. Pretty, too, with gorgeous chin-length brown waves of hair that matched her eyes, though her tracksuit didn’t accentuate her figure. More like hid it, which was oddly annoying.

It wasn’t like he was in the habit of ogling every woman he came across, but this was the very first guest of the resort he got to welcome, and she most definitely was not what he’d expected. In fact, he’d pretty much fumbled through their entire interaction so far.

Didn’t matter. He could already feel his cheek muscles stretch as he gave her his best charming smile. He was here to win over this first group of guests so they’d go home to their respective clubs, recommending Allure Resort to lots and lots of like-minded people. With Emma here, the show was officially on.

Giving the sign he was holding a little nudge, he winked at her. “That’s right. I’m Allure Resort’s Guest Experience Manager, or as I like to say, Allure’s Hospitality Dom, here to whisk you away to the island of sin.”

“Moan Island.” The way she stated it, matter of fact, without so much as a smirk almost made his smile slip. There was no way she didn’t appreciate the irony of a BDSM resort that was located on an island actually called Moan Island. It had been a major selling point when Daniel had looked for an island to purchase.

While he was doing his best to read her expression, which was perfectly expressionless, she was studying him, her brows drawing together sightly. It was almost as if she was judging him, and he couldn’t figure out for the life of him what kind of expectation she might have set that he hadn’t lived up to.

“Yeah, right. That’s the name of the island.”

He almost wanted to cringe, his answer sounded so bland, but heck, this wasn’t going at all like he’d planned. Fortunately, just then, a couple emerged that immediately waved at him.

“Excuse me, please,” he said, sounding as stiff as Mrs. Bonner, the disapproving neighbor that had lived next to his family growing up. As he turned to the couple, his face transforming back into its usual comfortable smile, he noticed the brief frown that flashed across her face for just a second.

Not good to linger on that. The show must go on, and all that, so he took a step in the direction of the couple and greeted them. They introduced themselves as Evaline and Dan. Both of them had expressions that spoke of barely contained excitement and curiosity as they greeted him. It helped restore his usually unwavering confidence. Now, these two were exactly who he’d expected to meet today.

“I can’t wait to get to the island!” Evaline said, beaming up at her partner, who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and nodded in agreement.

“Same,” Dan agreed. “I’m rather in the mood to check out the club building tonight.”

“Actually, I believe the schedule doesn’t have us touring the club until tomorrow.” A voice announced from behind him, causing Evaline and Dan to turn to Emma, who’d apparently decided to join them.

A lot depended on the people this week not just enjoying the resort and its amenities, but on the guests feeling comfortable with each other. In fact, he was hoping they’d be able to re-create the community feel a lot of BDSM clubs had within a very short amount of time, so that everyone could indulge in scenes feeling absolutely comfortable and at home. Which is why it should be great that Emma had decided to join them.

Except, did she have to burst Evaline and Dan’s excitement like that?

It wasn’t like the schedule he’d worked out was hammered in stone. He’d created it to give him a guideline, ensuring they had a good mix of guided activities and downtime. And even if he wanted to stick strictly to his schedule, which, granted, Daniel would likely prefer since his boss had a thing for lists and schedules, then he could have hyped the couple’s excitement by creating some mystique and anticipation rather than downright saying they wouldn’t get what they were hoping for at Allure.

He couldn’t help the tiny frown as he looked at Emma, but he quickly schooled his expression. Time for damage control. He winked at Evaline and Dan. “Emma is right. Tonight, we’ve got something pretty exciting planned instead. As amazing as the club is, and man am I excited to get you guys in there, you’re about to arrive on a tropical island. What kind of hospitality Dom would I be if we didn’t spend the first evening at the beach? And I can tell you one thing, the fire isn’t the only hot thing that’s on the schedule.”

Evaline’s eyes sparked with excitement, and Dan grinned again. Nice.

A side-glance at Emma showed him that she was nodding but looked somewhat unimpressed.

Right, she’d memorized the schedule. Not that he didn’t think the others had read over the schedule. He knew very few doms who wouldn’t at least have a look, but most of them probably assumed there was some flexibility. Like being allowed to have a quick peek in the club before the official tour. Life was too short to hold yourself to unnecessary restrictions. He would know.

He’d lived the corporate lifestyle, and while he’d been good at it, it had been easy to jump ship and take the job at Allure. Here, he had a lot more control over his own schedule. It made life so much better. And while people were at the resort, he intended to ensure that the visitors would get that and more. Max level relaxation. The only rules that would confine them were those imposed for safety and fun.

And then it finally clicked. His eyes focused on Emma again, who was now chatting with Evaline and Dan, and he couldn’t believe he’d been so slow. She was a submissive. While he’d wanted to create a vacation climate for the arriving guests, she had arrived in an unfamiliar location, and if she was one of those subbies who wanted rules to be able to relax, then clinging to the schedule made perfect sense. Dominic just managed not to face-palm himself it was so obvious.

Well, now that he knew, he could make sure to provide what she needed. After all, he was Allure’s Hospitality Dom, and she was a single, unaccompanied submissive, so technically she was a subbie who fell firmly under his responsibility.

The realization made it easy to grin at her when she lifted her eyes and their gazes met. He winked.

In response, she frowned slightly.

Okay, then.

He’d make sure Emma not only felt safe, but he’d also make it his mission to have her loosen up a bit. As her temporary dom, it was his responsibility after all.