DONOVAN
My eyes opened on their own, and as much as I willed them to close and let me fall back asleep, it didn’t work that way. Once I was up, I was up. Registering the warmth of her body tucked into mine, I took in everything about her. Jesus, she really was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. What had transpired over the last day blew my mind. Audra Emory King was my siren. Would I have waited like I did for weeks for anyone else in the universe? No. But she called to parts of me that I didn’t know existed. Parts I couldn’t even imagine existed. Shit, I was already hard thinking about the night before and how my name sounded different when she was falling apart on my dick. Extracting myself without moving her, I went to make coffee, but I realized I didn’t have chai for her, so I ordered a coffee delivery. Thank you, urban oasis. Standing by my window, the same one she’d let me do filthy things to the night before, I looked out over the city. I loved New York for New York, I just hated the relations I had here. In the back of my head, I always had the whisper of a notion that I’d end up here one day. But since landing inSavannah Springs, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere but there.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and when I looked, I saw a message from my sister first.Well, well, well, looks like you’re more than friends after all. Shocker.With a wink and a link to a prolific gossip magazine. The headline read Multi-Millionaire Donovan Wright Returns to the Scene With HOT New Arm Candy. Then the byline continued,Who is this woman who brought The Recluse out of his shell? Have we ever seen Donovan Wright smile so big? He’s even hotter than we thought. Going from not being seen in years to being captured on an adorable day-long date. Who stole his heart? We’re sure to find out. Stay tuned. In the meantime, sorry ladies!
They had multiple photos from our day, from our time at the Ghostbusters house to when we were in Central Park, including one of us kissing. Someone must have just followed us around the entire time. I was vibrating with fury. Those were our fucking moments. She was here for a couple of reasons, but one of them was to get away from crazy. There was no reason she should be thrust into this type of thing.
Just one big fucking headache. I could feel my mood tanking as I stood at the window, going over scenarios in my head about how to navigate the situation I was in. I wanted another day like the day before. Carefree, fun, ridiculous, not looking over our shoulder. We’d have to be a little more strategic.It’d been so long since I’d had to deal with this nonsense. The fact my parents cared enough to tip off a photographer put me on edge. I started to spiral about what the implication of that meant, when two hands slid around my waist from behind and a head came to rest in the middle of my back. I rested my arm over hers.
“You okay?” a meek morning voice asked.
The sound was so uncharacteristic of her that I spun around to see. She was dressed in that tiny tank top/shorts combo that she spilled out of. That was enough to get my dick to twitch.
“I’m fine, enjoying a beautiful view. Not as beautiful as you, though,” I said as I kissed the top of her head. The one that fit right under my chin. “Are you okay?” I asked. Her eyes got a little misty, and I had an internal panic.
“I … God, this sounds so stupid. When I woke up, you weren’t in bed. I’m worried that being back may have jarred some memories for you about how much you love it here.”
I was grateful she was communicating with me, but she couldn’t be further from the truth. Her forehead was pressed against my chest, and her eyes were facing the floor.
“Audra. New York isn’t my place anymore; it hasn’t been in a long time. Besides, I’ve been chasing your ass for weeks. Do you think I’m just going to drop you after what could only be described as the most fantastic twenty-four hours of my life?” She looked up at me with an embarrassed smile and shrugged. “The answer is no. It’s a hard no. I’m hoping for at least a million more nights like last night and a million more days like yesterday.”
“I’m sorry, I just, I don’t know. I got in my head…”
“That’s shocking you’re able to be in yours, because you’ve taken up permanent residence in mine.”
She beamed at me. There was that smile that I loved.
“Now I’m going to kiss you again, and it better chase all those crazy thoughts away. I think it’s pretty clear that I’m into you, Audra. I hope it is, at least.”
Kissing her before she could respond, I took the next thirty minutes to make sure that any doubts she had about where I stood were fucked right out of her.
We were lying on the couch, still sweaty and basking in post-orgasm haze, when I brought up the photographer issue and followed it up with what I was most hesitant to bring up.
“So,” I started, “now that we’ve chased away all those crazy thoughts, we do need to talk about something.”
She bolted up ramrod straight, and nerves came across her face despite how hard she tried to school it.
“Dinner tonight. I have gone back and forth about it. How much to tell you and how to prepare you, but the reality is, my parents are wild cards. They’re not nice and they have done some extraordinarily shady shit. I haven’t seen them since I left, and have pretty much refused contact with them, so I can’t say with certainty what we are walking into. Knowing them, it might be nasty, so I just want to prepare you for anything.”
“Are they going to like … fight me?” she looked at me quizzically.
“No, they won’t assault you. That would be too much of a scene, and the Wright family does not cause scenes. But I don’t count out any underhanded backstabbing gesture by them.”
I was trying to prepare her that Evelyn was going to be there without telling her that they were bringing another woman. I didn’t know why I couldn’t just come out with it, but I couldn’t.
“But until then,” I continued, “where do you want to head? We’ll have to be a little more discreet about leaving if we don’t want to be photographed. I can’t promise they won’t find us anyway, but we probably shouldn’t just go out the front door.”
“So I’m hearing we are super-secret spies for the next twenty-four hours,” Audra laughed and pretended to sneak. “And I understand about the thing with your parents. How did you turn out so normal?”
At that, I bellowed with laughter. “Audra, I am so far from normal it’s not even funny.”
“Not true at all! What makes you such a weirdo?”
“Let’s get dressed and out the door for our morning and afternoon adventure. I’m sure Miles will be happy to weigh in on that one after he gives me shit for pulling you onto my lap last night.”
We saw everything on our list minus Broadway, ate delicious food, took selfies, and had a grand old time on day two of our adventure. Audra and I were perfect travel partners. Or maybe she was just perfect for me, period.
Before we knew it, we were back at my apartment getting ready for dinner. To be precise, we were getting ready to meet McKenna for cocktails. I was able to get ready quickly and had on my favorite black chinos, a black button-up, and a gray blazer. It was the outfit I wore when I brokered some of my biggest deals, and I wore it like a suit of armor. I was certainly going to need it.
