Groaning, I pulled myself off the bed and slipped into my new sundress. The blue matched mine and Donovan’s eyes and looked great with my slightly tanned skin. I made a note to go lay in the tanning bed more often when I got home. Kiera and I were heading to Florida in a month and I wanted to have a base tan before we went on vacation.
Four weeks would put Donovan a few days before he left to go on tour. The next leg of the tour kicked off in Atlanta and I’d be in Pensacola on the beach with my best friend. The thought of not having Donovan there made me a little sad, but I would have Kiera. I definitely wouldn’t be lacking any entertainment, that was for sure. After I combed out my hair and put on the white pullover to hide my bruises, I went in search of Donovan so that we could go and meet the fourth member of the band.
Pearce Davenport, the guitarist for Ares Revenge, was absolutely beautiful and so was his wife, Rebecca. He looked the part of superstar rocker with his playboy bunny arm candy. But once I got to know them, they were no different than I was, and I found myself enjoying their company.
“Did you see the headline?” Rebecca asked. Her green eyes sparkled with amusement as she elbowed her husband, who just rolled his eyes.
“No,” Donovan said, reluctantly. “What headline?”
“Oh, the one on the gossip rags that took your pictures today,” she laughed. “Nice posed photo, by the way.”
“That was quick,” Donovan laughed. I looked at both of them in shock. I’m on the freaking internet!
“Why are you laughing?” I scowled, looking toward Pearce for help, but from the quirk on the side of his full lips, I realized I was alone in this shocked news.
“It’s a gossip rag, honey,” Rebecca said, shaking her head. “No one believes that stuff anyway.”
“What stuff?” I asked. “What did it say?”
“Nothing too crazy,” Pearce shrugged, finally speaking up. I was quickly learning he wasn’t a man of many words. “The headline said, “Who’s Donovan’s Girl?” and under it was the picture of the two of you outside the Bellagio. The report said that you were seen together holding hands and strolling the Vegas Strip.”
“Hey,” Donovan smiled. “At least they didn’t say we were getting married.”
“No, it didn’t,” Rebecca said, assuring both of us that she read the article, twice. “You aren’t, are you?”
“No!” we both gasped at the same time, causing people to turn in their seats and stare. Rebecca and Pearce laughed loudly as Donovan and I scowled at them.
Our dinner was served and we ended up staying for dessert. Rebecca and I shared a brownie a la mode while the guys talked about the next leg of their tour. I still hadn’t told him about the trip to Florida and I had to figure out a good time to tell him that I would be leaving four days before he went to Atlanta.
Since the photos hit the internet so quickly, I wasn’t surprised when Kiera called as we were finishing dinner. I had to assure her that we were not getting hitched and that I wasn’t pregnant with his child. She’d made me promise to be careful and call her once I was home and settled. It was left unsaid, but I knew she wanted me alone so she could grill me over the events of our weekend getaway.
Rebecca gathered her purse and pulled out a compact mirror to check her makeup and refresh her blood red lipstick. I blushed when I caught Pearce checking out her ass before walking up to her and moving her hair to the side so that he could kiss the side of her neck. Her hair wasn’t quite as long as mine. Her deep, brown curls stopped at the middle of her back, where mine hung to my waist.
Mine had been light blonde from the day I’d come into this world. I was too scared to change it. Although, one rebellious summer in high school, I’d cut it off into a short bob and regretted it for the next few years while it grew back out again.
Pearce and Donovan walked side by side out of the restaurant while Rebecca and I were ahead of them. We chatted as we walked toward the bank of elevators. The couple had said during dinner that they were staying in a suite only a floor above ours and would be staying in Las Vegas for the week.
“When I get back in town,” Rebecca said. “We should do lunch or maybe dinner.”
“That would be nice,” I smiled. “I’ll be out of school for summer vacation in another week, if you want to do it then.”
“Here’s my number,” she said, reaching into her purse and removing a business card. I scratched around in my bag and found an old business card in the bottom. Using a pen, I scribbled down my cell number on the back and handed it over to her with a smile.
“Perfect,” she said.
As we entered the elevator, Donovan leaned against the back wall and pulled me into his arms. Rebecca gave me a knowing smile as Pearce mimicked the pose and kissed her on the cheek.
“It was great meeting you,” Pearce said. “Sorry about the paparazzi.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “They weren’t all that bad, but Donovan warned me that they can get wild.”
“Yes they can,” Pearce said, tightening his arms around his wife. “When we got married, they tried to crash our wedding. It was a nightmare.”
“Let’s not even talk about that,” Rebecca growled. “It still pisses me off when I think about it, even after three years.”
“Okay, kitten,” he said, kissing her softly on the lips. Her anger was forgotten at his softness and I had to look away from the love and affection, because I wanted that with a man who loved me. Those two were soul mates and I could see it after a few hours together. It was inspiring.
We said our goodbyes when the elevator reached our floor and it was late when we arrived at the suite. My foot was barely over the threshold before Donovan spun me around and captured my mouth with his in a punishing kiss that made my legs give out beneath me, but he was there to hold me in place against his chest.
My fingers rubbed against his beard. The little hairs felt soft against my palm. His hand cupped my ass and I felt his other hand bunching up the material of my dress. Smiling into the kiss, I opened my eyes to watch his face. When he touched the bare skin of my ass, realizing I was commando underneath, his eyes opened wide and then darkened quickly when he saw the look of amusement on my face.
“You were like this all night?” he growled. “I could’ve had my fingers buried deep in that pussy at dinner, but you didn’t tell me.”
“Oh,” I gasped at his words. Instantly, I felt my pussy clench and wetness pool between my legs. His words always made my insides burn with need. I didn’t know if it was the words he spoke or the combination of the dirty talk and the darkening of his eyes that turned me on so much.
“Oh, is right, my little rose,” he whispered, pulling the dress over my head, leaving me completely naked, except for the two inch heels the personal shopper had brought to be paired with the sundress.
He swept me up into his arms and took me to the bedroom, laying me down carefully. I watched as he pulled off my shoes, kissing the top of each foot and dropping it to the mattress. He shed his clothing and climbed up, kneeling between my legs, his eyes roaming my body.
“You are precious to me,” he said. “You know that?”
“I’m starting to see that,” I said. This weekend had been nothing but perfect. The way he took care of me as we walked around town was so sweet. He would make sure we were having fun and that my feet didn’t hurt. Donovan even at one point asked if I was allergic to any foods, so that when he fed me I wouldn’t get sick.
He didn’t say anything else as he secured his hair with a tie that had been around his wrist. I smiled at the sexy man bun he’d made on top of his head. My hair stayed down and when he leaned forward, his fingers tangled in the hair behind my ears. He made a fist with both hands and held my face captive as he pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was passionate, and I opened my mouth to explore his when he stroked his tongue on my lips.
My heart lurched at the man making love to me. Yes, he was making love to me. This wasn’t the desperate, wall banging s
ex that we’d mostly had since meeting. No, this was tender and sweet and everything a girl hoped for when she found the one man to own her heart.
Was it too soon to be falling in love with him? I didn’t know if there was an unwritten law about what the right amount of time to fall in love was, but if I had to write it in the book of rules, I would say that when you truly fell in love, you would know immediately who would be your forever.
As Donovan pushed inside me and kissed me tenderly, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I loved him. Donovan Milano could very well be my forever.
“Yes,” I hissed, tilting my head back so that he could trail kisses from my neck, to my jaw, over my cheek, and finally landing on my lips. As he thrust, he kissed my face, my eyes. My breasts pressed tightly against his chest. The bullring piercing in his nose felt hot against my face. His beard left a delicious burn across my skin and I didn’t care that I would be red all over my face and neck on our flight back to New Orleans the next morning. No, I didn’t care, because he was here and he was mine.
“Come for me, little rose,” he whispered, rotating his hips and hitting the spot that he knew drove me over the edge. Reaching between us, he pushed firmly on my clit as he rubbed it in circles. When I begged for more, he knew what I needed. That pinch of pain caused my orgasm to teeter on the edge. I was so close. So. Very. Close.
My whimpers turned into pleading chants, “Please, Donovan. Oh…oh, God. Please.”
“That’s my girl,” he panted, sweat starting to slick our bodies. My nipples tightened when he used his free hand to pinch one of them tightly between two fingers. His eyes burned fire as he growled, “Come for me, babe. Now.”
His command was all I needed to fall over the edge into oblivion. My body floated as he pounded into my needy flesh. The walls of my sex rippled and pulsed with my climax. My eyes were closed and my body was sated. With him over me, I could’ve been on another planet for all I knew. My body floated like a feather set free in a soft wind. My eyes remained closed as I felt his heated lips press to my lips, my jaw…my neck.
“Heather,” he whispered, bringing me out of my euphoric state. I hadn’t even realized he’d moved to my side and now had me in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” I blushed. “That was…”
“Amazing,” he said, kissing the tip of my nose. “I’m going to start a bath in the tub. If you fall asleep, I will take care of you. So rest, love.”
And that is exactly what I did.
We arrived home around four Sunday afternoon. Donovan walked me inside and reluctantly left after a heated kiss at the door, so I could prepare for the last week of school. The kids would get out on Friday, but I still had to go in for the first three days of the following week to input grades for the year and clean up my classroom.
I started a load of laundry and put on a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top while I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom. My hair was up in a messy ponytail and I had my iPod on shuffle. I smiled when an Ares Revenge song from a few years ago played. I found myself dancing around like a fool until the song ended. With a smile plastered on my face, I folded clothes and put them away.
I jumped in the shower and grabbed a fresh pair of cotton shorts and a tank top to sleep in once I was dry. I killed the lights and grabbed a book that I’d been meaning to read for the past few weeks, but didn’t have time with the end of the school year approaching.
My eyes were closing on their own, so I placed the book on my night stand, before I dropped it without marking my page. I’d fallen asleep reading many times and it always made me angry at myself when I’d wake up the next morning and I’d lost my page.
My phone lit up and started ringing just as I was about to fall asleep. I groaned and rolled to my side, grabbing the phone.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Heather,” Kiera said. She sounded worried, scared even.
“What?” I answered, sitting straight up in the bed. “What is it?”
“I…I need you to get on your computer,” she began. She didn’t sound like herself and that scared me senseless. Kiera was always in control. “I’m emailing you a picture that you need to see.”
“What are you talking about, Kiera?” I sighed. “It’s late and I need to be in bed. I was almost asleep.”
“Please, Heather,” she begged, and I gave up on sleep and quickly climbed out of bed. I walked into my living room and picked up my laptop, sitting it on my lap as I flopped down on the couch. “I’ve been looking up Donovan.”
“Why would you do that?” I gasped, anger was obvious in my voice.
“Just open the email,” she growled. “Do you see it?”
“Hang on,” I barked. “It’s loading.” The email program opened and I found the message from Kiera. I clicked on the attachment and waited for the picture to load. As the image appeared and filled the screen, I saw the top of his head and my heart began to beat faster in my chest. What I saw had me frozen…my heart thundered in my chest.
Looking back at me from my computer screen was Donovan Milano standing next to the most beautiful blonde woman I’d ever seen.
And she looked just like me.
Chapter 12
“Say something,” Kiera snapped.
“What…Who is she?” I whispered, tears spilling over my eyes. The picture was taken a few years ago at an awards show. The woman had my features, and if you put us side by side, we could pass for identical twins.
“Lila Murphy,” Kiera said. “They were engaged for about a year. She was killed in a car accident three weeks before their wedding.”
My stomach lurched and I ran toward the bathroom, kneeling on the floor. I was going to be sick. The dinner I’d had threatened to come up and I swallowed quickly, trying to keep calm. It wasn’t working.
I cursed when pain blossomed behind my eye. I dropped the phone and emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet. Tears continued to stream down my face and I couldn’t get the woman’s picture out of my aching head no matter how hard I tried.
That was the name he mumbled in his sleep. Lila…Lila. His fucking fiancé! Oh God! Was he trying to replace her? With me?
I rested my forehead on my arms after a second round of expelling my dinner. Tremors started in my stomach and worked their way outward. By the time I realized I’d left Kiera on the phone, my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t even pick it up off the floor.
“K…Kiera,” I cried, but the line was dead. She’d tried calling me back twice. Before I could return the call, the phone rang for the third time.
“I’m on my way over,” she said. “Heather, I’ve called Rio and he’s meeting me there. I’ll use my key.”
“O…Okay,” I mumbled. The pain in my head was worse, to the point it was almost unbearable. Thankfully, the bathroom was dark when I laid my head against the cold tile and closed my eyes.
Only to have strong arms lift me seconds later. Or was it minutes? I cracked my eyes and saw that Rio carried me out of my apartment and down the steps to his truck that was idling by the curb.
“No,” I protested, but he didn’t listen. Kiera was crying somewhere off in the distance and I couldn’t open my eyes without pain spearing my brain like a million tiny needles were waging war against each other in there.
“I’ve got your phone and purse,” Kiera whispered. Rio had laid me across the backseat of his truck and Kiera was there holding my feet on her lap.
Each bump and turn caused my head to pound worse. Sweat beaded up on my skin and I scrambled up, saying, “Pull over!” Rio jerked the truck hard to the right and screeched to a halt on the shoulder of the highway. I was out and in the grass before the next heartbeat, retching up nothing. I’d completely emptied my stomach back at my apartment.
“Oh, God,” I moaned. Rio quietly picked me up and returned me to the truck. This time, I rested my head in Kiera’s lap. She didn’t touch me, and let me cry into her stomach. I didn’t know what I would’ve done without my bes
t friend there to watch over me. I was a freaking mess and she kept somewhat calm after her tears dried up back at my place. She was back to being the strong one in our little family.
Rio pulled up to the entrance of the emergency room and Kiera jumped out to go inside. I kept my hands over my eyes to block out any light that could penetrate my lids. At that point, the pain was just unbearable.
The door was opened and I moaned when Rio put his hands under me to pick me up. “Putting you in a wheelchair,” he whispered. I was able to find the chair without falling on my face. Kiera covered me up with a warm blanket and I shivered from the feel of it against my skin.
Thankfully, we were taken back immediately and for a second, I wondered what she’d done, or who she’d threatened to make sure that we were seen immediately.
A nurse came in with a bag of fluids and introduced herself as Pauline. “How long have you been having these headaches?”
“About a month and a half, and they’ve been getting worse,” I replied. I was now on a gurney and the lights had been dimmed in the room, but I still didn’t remove my hand from my eyes. “I blacked out last week.” I didn’t look at the nurse, but I could tell by her voice that she was much older and could probably pass for my mother.
“What?” Kiera gasped.
“I didn’t tell you,” I flinched. A sharp pain pierced the back of my head and it hurt like hell. I just wanted to dig my brain out through my eyes. Anything would be better than this. “I was with Donovan.”
“How long were you out for, Ms. Rose?” the nurse asked.
“A few seconds,” I replied.
“Nausea, vomiting, other dizzy spells?” she continued.
“All,” I answered, gritting my teeth.
“Okay,” she said, placing a reassuring hand on my arm. “Dr. Roche will be in shortly to check on you and see what tests he wants to run.”
“How long am I going to be here?” I asked. “I have to go to work tomorrow.”
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