by Cee, DW
“Donovan, Gram looks tired. Are you or Grandfather able to leave?”
“I need to stay till the end, but you take your grandmother home. It is quite late.”
“I’ll see you soon?” was my only good-bye to him.
“ Princess.” He pulled me into his body and forced me to look him in the eye. “I don’t know how soon you will see me, but I do know you haven’t been yourself most of the evening. I don’t know what could have gone wrong in the bathroom, or what I could’ve done to piss you off, but you’re brooding with a smile.”
This man was more in tune with my body than I believed. “We’ll talk tonight.”
“Are you upset with me? Did I do something wrong?”
“I don’t think so...I don’t know. You know I’m not one to hold back my feelings. When we have some privacy, you’ll hear all about what’s bothering me.”
“Should I be scared?” He kidded. “Maybe I should stay at the apartment tonight?”
“You should be as scared as your conscience tells you to be. And if you choose to stay at the apartment tonight, you’ll miss out on picture number two.” My sense of humor partly returned.
Without missing a beat, he placed his mouth over mine and kissed me long and hard – tongue and all. This kiss soothed my unsettled heart.
“I love you.” He said, catching his breath. “And Princess,” I brought his lips next to my ear, “sleep in our bed tonight, but lose the nightie. I want to see you naked when I come home.”
I walked away, unable to keep the smile at bay.
My eyes popped open at a body that curled into mine from behind. “Donovan?” I whispered.
“Were you expecting someone else?” He readjusted us slightly and without warning, entered me in one push.
“Ah.” I squealed because it hurt and felt good at the same time. “What are you doing?”
“Making love to the woman who’s teased me all day and night with this sexy body.”
“But, I’m not ready.” I complained weakly.
“You will be soon, and you need to keep your voice down. I know this is a big house but at four in the morning, everyone can hear you.”
He placed his hands at my hipbone and rocked in and out of me slowly till I woke up and started participating like this was my very last night on earth. We’d never been in this spooning position before, and I loved how his body completely outlined my own. I also loved the feel of his hands gripping me as he lost control in me, feverishly pumping in and out.
I tried my damnedest but couldn’t keep from moaning. I turned my head into the pillow, but the whole idea of trying to keep quiet so others couldn’t hear, turned-me on even more. Amazingly, Donovan sensed when I was about to climax and placed his hand over my mouth in perfect timing. What would have been a cry, calling out my boyfriend’s name, turned out to be a mumble-jumble of muffled sounds. Donovan came right behind me and we both attempted to regain our senses after the orgasm died down.
“I’m thinking we should move into the apartment.”
“I hate the thought of leaving my family, but I think you’re right. Maybe we’ll go back and forth and only have sex when we’re at the apartment.”
“I plan on fucking you every night so that’s not going to work. We’ll figure something out.”
“Just don’t attack me in the middle of the night when the house is in dead silence.”
“Got it.” He laughed.
“You got home late. You must be exhausted.”
“I am but I’m willing to listen to what you have to say before I crash for a couple of hours.”
“Why just a couple of hours?”
“I have an 8:00am meeting.”
“Geez, you work hard.”
“And so will you when you when you become a surgeon.”
“Hmmm. At this hour, that doesn’t sound too appealing.”
“You’ll love it, Princess, and you’ll save hundreds of lives.”
“Go to sleep, Donovan. I know you’re tired.”
“Speak, Princess, or I’ll attack you one more time.”
“Is that why you haven’t pulled out yet?”
“You complaining?”
“No. I like this feeling of us being joined.”
“I do too.” He kissed me by the ear and asked again, “What was wrong, tonight?”
“When I went to the restroom, I heard, I mean I...” Earlier, I had thought over how I was going to ask him this question at least fifty times, but it still wasn’t coming out correctly. “All right. How about if I ask you this. What do you get if you marry me?”
There was some pause and but eventually he answered, “I get a beautiful, sexy, passionate, and caring woman when we get married.”
Obviously, I didn’t ask the question correctly. So I tried it another way. “What do you get financially if we get married?”
Once again, another pause. “I get a quarter of a million dollars in medical school bills, plus whatever credit card bills you may carry?”
“No.” I was now frustrated. “That’s not what I meant. And plus, I don’t have any credit card bills; I don’t spend money I don’t have.”
“Hallelujah!” he interrupted.
“And Daddy is looking into getting me into med school this year so you won’t have to pay for it because I’m still a Reid.”
“Wait, what? When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me you were headed back to school?”
Now we were totally off tangent. Because I needed to see his eyes, I pulled away and turned myself to face him. “I heard Kate and some woman talking in the restroom earlier tonight, and they were saying that you were only dating me because you’ll inherit a part of the law firm if you marry me. While I don’t believe everything these bitches said, I am disgruntled that no one told me about this million dollar dowry of mine. Why haven’t you mentioned any of this?”
“Because I was just told this information the day before I landed in London. Supposedly, Roland set up his will to divide the company amongst your uncles, Jake, Jane, and me, by marriage through you. And if by some hell-freezes-over chance we don’t get married, I can buy into this stake.”
“And...?”
“And that’s it. Jane and I will get bigger shares because we are the working partners and your uncles are technically silent partners.”
“There’s nothing more to this?”
“Babe. What I told you is all I know. I’ve no idea how much of the company we will receive. Roland never offered that information, and I’m not about to wonder. You and I will be fine with my income alone, even if you chose not to work. Plus I don’t care to work to death so I can have more money than I can spend. I’ve told you before, I want to raise a family with you. I want to travel with you. We don’t need hoards of money to do this,” Donovan chuckled, “especially since your grandparents have laid the groundwork for us to live in their homes.”
“So with my new-found wealth, perhaps I’ll go to law school instead and put myself in the will instead of you.”
Donovan fell back and laughed. “Babe. I believe it’s you who’s in the will. I’m just your worker bee. But if you want to work and support me, I’m all for that. So is this explanation to your satisfaction?”
“I guess so. It wasn’t that I was mad at you. It was just weird hearing private family matters from two strangers. I swear, if we weren’t at yours and grandfather’s company function, I would have dropkicked both those bitches. Do you know what that middle-aged ex of yours said?”
“What?” Donovan couldn’t keep from howling.
“She said you’d come back to her after we broke up because you always came back to her. Bitch!”
“Remind me never to cross you.”
“It doesn’t piss you off that Kate’s going around saying those things about you and me?” I whined.
“Not really. What’s there to be mad about? I love you. We’re getting married, and t
hat’s that. Now you tell me what’s going on with med school. What’s this talk about your dad getting you into school this year?”
“I was thinking that maybe wasting a year isn’t a good idea now with you in the picture. When I contemplate going to school for four years, then doing my residency for another four years, I wondered when I would have kids and how this was all going to work out.”
“Explain.”
“If we were to get married, you’re at a stage in your life where you want kids, a family, the Jake and Emily life. I am only starting my life now, a year late at that, so I won’t be able to give you any of that for eight years at the earliest. If that is the case, then it seems not very prudent to push off the inevitable by messing around in Europe. So I asked Dad to see if I could possibly enroll in med school in a couple of weeks. I was going to tell you, but we just never had the time to sit and talk about this.”
“Delaney, I appreciate what you were doing, but I don’t want you to do this for me. In fact, I want you to keep this year open so we can travel while I’m based here in Europe. Once you start school, once we create a family, we will never be able to do this as freely, again. This year is a gift most people don’t ever receive. Let’s make the most of our situation and enjoy life.”
“Are you sure? You’re going to be kind of old when you have your first child.”
“Is this an admission that we are getting married?”
“Donovan, I’d marry you today if only you understood…” I sighed deeply.
“What am I doing wrong? Is it the lack of a ring? I know I haven’t picked out your ring yet. I thought you might want to do it together.”
“It’s not a ring. I don’t need one.”
He looked at me in total frustration. “Have you changed your mind? You don’t want to marry me anymore?”
“I’ve wanted this since I was ten. My heart’s the same. Nothing’s changed.” Seeing this man so bewildered and frustrated, I decided to give up my wish for a proposal and agreed in my heart to marry him. “Never mind. I don’t need you to do anything. You’re all that I need. I’ll tell Mom later today to start the prepar...”
“Wait.” Donovan put a finger on my lips and shut me up. “Don’t say anymore.” He was thinking through something and didn’t say a word to me. When he was done, he flashed a blinding smile. “I was talking to Jane today...” he cryptically stopped again.
“And...? What did Jane say?”
“Um, she and I talked about...” He kept searching for the right words. “We talked about the firm and how originally I was to stay out here for a year, try and win you over, then she would work here while Max did his residency in London.”
“Is there a but to that?”
“With Roland deciding to sell the European side of the firm, neither of us will ever have to live away from our families. As principle owners, we wouldn’t have a choice in the matter. Now, the furthest we have to travel to is New York. We could both be based in LA.”
“That’s fantastic.”
“It is. Roland told me he never had much luck with large families. His parents had two boys, but lived only long enough to see them married. Then his wife, Lauren passed on from cancer in her early thirties, and they never had kids due to her illness. He and his brother were close but he died a few years back from natural causes leaving behind a wife and a daughter.”
“Where are his niece and sister-in-law?”
“I’m unsure. I think they are somewhere in Europe. Roland set them up nicely for the rest of their lives and purchased his brother’s share of the firm. He did the same for his other partner, William Pemberley when he died. So in essence, your grandfather probably owns ninety to ninety-five percent of this massive firm.”
“That sounds impressive but it doesn’t mean anything to me. Is that a lot of money?”
“It’s an insane amount of money.”
“And the largest share is coming to me and Jane?” I asked in a high-pitched voice, pretending to be interested in the money.
“Um...no. I get first dibs on buying those shares if we don’t get married, so it all boils down to you needing to marry me, not the other way around.”
We both laughed. “I’m glad Grandfather Roland married Gram. He’s finally found his family.”
“That’s exactly what he said to me when we talked back in LA. He loves all of you like his own children and grandchildren, and he will gladly divide his wealth to everyone when the time comes.”
“So Jane must be happy she doesn’t have to move.”
“She is, and we talked about sharing responsibilities so neither of us has to be away from our families for too long, or too often. I’m thankful she and I have stayed good friends, despite our stupidity and selfishness. We work well together.”
“And I’m glad you and Jane have each other. It’s always easier to share the burden.” I wondered if I should be the one helping Donovan, and not Jane. This wasn’t because I was jealous of Donovan and Jane’s camaraderie. I just wondered if this was what wives did for their husbands. “You think I should go to law school, instead? Then I can help you, too. You think I’ll get in?” Perhaps my mind didn’t work in the analytical, argumentative kind of way.
“From what I can tell, your heart is set on becoming a doctor. I thank you the beautiful offer, but I am here to help you achieve your dream. You are brilliant enough to do whatever you want to do in life. But don’t do it for someone else—not even for me.”
“Thank you, Donovan. And I love you.” I yawned while expressing my love for him.
I cringed at the mess I created on my bedding, but I was too tired to get up and do anything about it. Laundry would be high priority, later in the morning.
“Princess.” I heard Donovan whispering in my ear. “I’m leaving for the day and I probably won’t be home till very late again.” I felt like I had just closed my eyes. He kissed my cheek and took his weight off the bed.
“Wait.” I croaked. Quickly, I ran to the bathroom, got myself presentable and put on a robe. “Didn’t we just get to bed?”
“We did.” He smiled and kissed my lips. “You don’t have to get up with me. I just didn’t want to leave without saying good-bye to you. Go back to sleep.”
“I’ll walk you out. Have you had anything to eat?”
He chuckled. “Will you be the type of wife to get up and make me coffee and breakfast every morning?”
“Probably not.” I chuckled with him. “Most likely, you’ll have to take care of me in the mornings.”
“It would be my dream to take care of you anytime of the day.”
“Don’t be so sweet and sappy first thing in the morning. As it is, I don’t want you to go. I don’t like being apart from you.” Those words got mumbled and jumbled, similar to my moaning climax this morning. I felt embarrassed confessing such weakness to him.
“I don’t like being apart from you either, but if we are to have three free days up in Scotland, I need to get some work done.” We walked hand in hand down the stairs. “By the way, I found a castle we could stay at up in Scotland. I thought I’d rent a room just for us. What do you think?”
“That sounds glorious, but I don’t think we should be away from the family. It looks like my dad and your dad are coming back to London on Thursday. It’ll be another family extravaganza.”
“Why are they both coming back and how do you know?”
“Mom says that Dad claims he needs to be here to help Jake settle into his first week at the new school and hospital. But she thinks he’s lonely without us.”
“I was lonely, too, when you had left me for London.”
“Good one.” I squeezed his hand and giggled. “And Ma says your dad doesn’t want to go to Chicago with her to hang out with a whining Becky, so he’s coming here from Italy. That decision was of course made once my dad told him we were golfing at St. Andrews.”
“So another boisterous family affair?”
“Yep.”
“Shit. Maybe I should rent that room in the castle for us. We’re not going to have any privacy.”
“Don’t do that. Grandfather already booked us all rooms at the resort on the golf course. Let’s not deviate from family plans.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Nope.” I squeezed his hand once more in affection. “You have time for a cup of coffee with me? I can make you one.”
“I thought there was no coffee maker here.”
“Oh...but there is...” A sly grin came upon my face. “I bought one of those coffee machines I liked so much at the villa.”
“Where is all this money coming from?” Donovan gave me a semi-disapproving look.
“I got two big fat paychecks the other day from editing senior theses. It was big enough to buy our bedding, a few bathroom paraphernalia, the lingerie I’ve yet to model for you, and the coffee machine.”
“That must have been some check.”
“Times, two!”
Donovan laughed at me. “All right. Let’s go try out this new machine you bought.”
“UNCA!” We both jumped back at the screaming welcome Donovan got when we walked into the breakfast room. “UNCA!” she yelled, again.
“You better say hello to my daughter before she blows the house down.”
“Hello, beautiful girl.” Even in his nice suit, he picked up his goddaughter and gave her a loving hug and kiss. After he put her back in her high chair, he went over to James and gave him equal attention. “Hi James.”
“Ne Ne.” James pointed to me, and I walked over and kissed him on both cheeks, times two, or maybe even three, while he was still in Donovan’s arms.
“Good morning, Ellie,” I went over to try and kiss her.
Ellie once again pointed at me and said, “No! No kiss.”
“Ellie,” Emily gave a stern warning. “Do not point your finger at anyone. You’re not being very nice. What do you have to say to Auntie Laney?”
“Thowry.” Ellie’s head went down with the reprimand, but she fooled no one with her pretend “thowry.” She quickly bounced back from being penitent to prattling on about who knew what. She babbled to herself, to her brother, and to anyone who might be looking at her.