It Started in Paradise

by Nicki Night

  Donovan laughed, grabbed her arm and pulled her down on top of him. “You may win at chess but let’s see who wins this contract. Business is my forte.” Their mouths were inches apart.

  Chloe smiled slickly. “Mine, too. I’ve never been scared of a little competition.”

  The temperature between them increased significantly. Donovan’s eyes went to her lips, admiring their plumpness. He licked his lips in anticipation of tasting hers. He stole a kiss. “Get your tricks ready because I have a few of my own.”

  “I play and win fairly every time,” Chloe whispered seductively.

  Donovan could feel her breath as she spoke. Heat spread throughout Donovan’s groin.

  “So do I, but I never show my opponent my hand.” Donovan winked. Chloe squinted at him. “Feel like kissing my wounds?” he teased.

  Chloe tittered, shaking her head. Donovan covered her mouth with his and kissed with all the passion he’d been holding back since she stood so close to him. Chloe sat up and pulled her shirt over her head. Donovan pushed her bra over her mounds and flicked his tongue across her nipples. She arched and moaned. Donovan took his shirt off and they helped one another out of their pants.

  “Come here.” Donovan’s voice was low and husky. He gently laid her on the couch and traced a finger along her skin from head to toe. Chloe squirmed underneath him. Her anticipation made him more eager.

  Parting her thighs, Donovan buried his face in her center and lapped until she breathlessly called his name. She tried to scamper from his reach. He held on tighter, suckling her bud until her body convulsed repeatedly and an erotic chant flitted from her trembling lips. Sitting up on the couch, he guided Chloe in front of him.

  “Wait!” she said, lowering herself to his erection. She took him into her mouth. He hissed. His body bucked involuntarily.

  Chloe cushioned his erection with the walls of her mouth, nearly sending him over a quick edge. Gently, he pushed her back. She looked up at him.

  “I want to feel you,” he whispered.

  Donovan guided her. Chloe straddled him. He eased inside of her. The intense pleasure caused both of their heads to fall back. They spoke joy in moans. Up and down she sprung. He steered her with his hands on her hips. They moved faster. Their tempo increased along with their need. Chloe bounced harder. Donovan met her thrust for thrust.

  Hungry for one another, their hands roamed every exposed part of each other’s body. Erotic resonances filled the room. Ahs, moans, skin against skin. They moved faster until the sensation became too delicious to bear.

  Donovan grunted long and loud. Chloe followed up with a shriek. Donovan felt his muscles tighten just before an explosion ripped through him. His eyes squeezed shut. His final groan was guttural. Chloe collapsed against his chest, her lower walls clenching and unclenching his fading erection. Donovan wrapped his arms around her. They clung to each other desperately—a sweaty, entangled, sated heap.

  Donovan had managed to end the night just the way he had planned—with Chloe in his arms.

  Chapter 17

  “What’s gotten into you?” El stood in the doorway to Chloe’s office with her arms folded and her lips pursed. “What’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?” Chloe feigned innocence.

  “I’m here going crazy over this package we’re preparing for Jacqueline and you’re prancing around here humming like you’re completely unfazed.”

  “Humming?” Chloe looked confused.

  “Yes, humming! Don’t you even hear yourself?”

  The smile Chloe had been trying to hold back escaped. “I didn’t even realize it.” Thoughts of the sensual things Donovan did to her that morning flashed in her mind. Just thinking of the past few days while she looked at her mother’s furrowed brows made her blush. If El could read minds, she’d lose hers.

  El huffed, dismissing Chloe’s strange behavior. “Just come to my office. Karen acquired the information from last year’s benefit that we were looking for.”

  “Oh. That’s great! Give me one minute to finish up this email and I’ll be right there.”

  El continued eyeing Chloe with a narrowed gaze for a moment longer before dropping her arms. “All right. Hurry up. I want to get through this as early as possible.”

  Chloe’s phone dinged. It was another text message from Donovan that generated a joyous laugh from her core. Chloe shook her head and tapped out a response. Even after several nights of multiple beatings at chess, Donovan still refused to admit defeat. He seemed to enjoy getting whipped by her. Chloe thought about letting him win at least one game of chess for the sake of his ego.

  Chloe truly enjoyed the time they spent together playing chess, going out and visiting jazzy lounges across Manhattan. She’d become quite the underground celebrity. “Her audience,” as she had come to think about them, came with requests each week. Their mutual adoration filled her heart and fed her ego.

  The previous Tuesday evening, she’d responded to a request by singing her own arrangement of a heartfelt song by India Arie. The beautiful song spoke of a father’s request to let his children know he was a good man.

  Chloe was so caught up in the performance that she didn’t remember singing anything after the first verse. It was as if she’d blacked out. When she released the last eloquent note, she looked over the crowd that was silent at first. Tears flowed from her eyes as well as several audience members. One by one they stood, blessing her with a standing ovation. She bowed humbly before walking off the stage right into the arms of Donovan. He had begun calling Chloe his butterfly that night, referring to the way singing spawned a metamorphosis.

  Chloe allowed herself to wonder about the surprise Donovan had planned for her this coming Friday evening before steering her thoughts back to the present.

  Chloe exhaled, grabbed her cell phone and the journal she kept for her notes and headed to her mother’s office. She was the last to arrive at the meeting. El, Karen their catering manager and Nayda the administrative assistant all sat waiting on her.

  “Let’s get started right away,” El instructed. “Karen, please share your findings.”

  “Sure.” She turned toward Chloe. “I did some research and found the venue that Jacqueline held her gala at last year. I called over and ‘made nice’ with the catering manager and asked a few questions. She filled me in on a few things that she said really mattered to Jacqueline and gave me some tips on how we could potentially impress her in our package.”

  “Good stuff, Karen.” El shifted in her seat and nodded approvingly. “What are some of those details?” she urged.

  “For one thing, Jacqueline absolutely loves lilies,” Karen announced. “We need to make sure those are part of what we offer for the tables and decor. As extravagant as she appears, Jacqueline really prefers simple elegance, nothing too overdone. Monochromatic decorative themes work well for her. She’s a vegetarian and delicious offerings for her guests are important. She’s big on nature and visual elements. We need to make sure we amplify the views of the pier and the fact that we can open up this side of the room facing the marina to allow the sights and sounds of the water in.” Karen directed her attention to El. “I have a few great new recipes that I’d like to run by you for some of those vegetarian options.”

  “Nice job with your investigation, Karen,” Chloe said genuinely. “Can you work with the chefs and whip up a few samples for us to take with us to taste before our meeting?”

  “Sure. We can start this afternoon when he gets in,” Karen said.

  “Great! Let’s get some swatches of fabric and a mock-up of a few decorative options for the meeting as well. We also really need to put a big focus on the view in this presentation. Let’s gather all the images that really show it off,” El said.

  “It sounds like we’ll only need to make a few enhancements to our c
urrent offerings to make this an impressive package,” Chloe added. She sat back feeling confident. She wondered how Donovan would respond to getting beat out of this contract. Chloe placed her hand to her chin to hide her smile, making it look like she was thinking.

  “I wish I knew what the others were presenting. The Rivers’ food isn’t as good as ours anyway.” El punctuated her statement with an arrogant flip of her hair. “The only thing they have going for them is the fact that their property is adjacent to the golf course. I have to admit, it does provide stunning views of rolling greens and lush landscaping. Our place has more personality and it seems that Jacqueline would value that. The pier is so picturesque with the water, yachts and all. I believe our place is simply a better fit. We just have to get Jacqueline to see that.” El snapped closed the journal she’d been using to write notes in and sat back as if her statement would make this a done deal.

  “What about the owners of The Crest?” Karen asked.

  “I’m not concerned about them. Their place is nice but it’s no more interesting than any other catering hall with overdone fountains and chandeliers. One could get that anywhere. But our pier...” El lifted her chin even higher. “Not many others can offer the beauty and essence of being near the water. Heck! At this point, I don’t even count them as competition.” El narrowed her eyes in a calculating manner. “But those Rivers...they’re another story. We have to beat them out!” she said pointedly.

  Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Karen, you work on the menu. I’ll work on the swatches, fabrics and putting together the visual package. Let’s meet again on Friday morning and see what we have to work with.”

  “Call up our florist and tell him we’ll need the most exotic lilies he can find for the event. Let’s bring a few to the meeting,” El said, directing her pen in Karen’s direction.

  “Great idea, Mom.”

  “Of course it is!” El declared.

  Chloe’s phone rang and Donovan’s name flashed across the screen. She nearly knocked her notes to the floor trying to grab her phone before anyone else could see the name. Chloe texted that she was in a meeting and would call him back momentarily and then placed her phone back on the table facedown.

  El looked at the overturned phone and looked up at Chloe. Her eyes were filled with scrutiny.

  “We’re off to a great start. I need to get back to work now. We still have this reception to prepare for and there’s still so much to be done.” Chloe stood to exit her mother’s office.

  “Chloe,” El called just before she reached the door.

  “Yes.” Chloe turned back to her mother and smiled.

  “I haven’t seen much of you outside of work lately. Your sisters don’t seem to know what’s going on with you, either.”

  Chloe felt as if her mother was looking right through her. “Actually,” she fumbled a little and cleared her throat. “I’ve been at home taking in some me time. That’s all. I’m really enjoying it.” She hated lying to her mother. In time she’d tell everything.

  “Oh. Well, you do work pretty hard. I thought maybe you met someone and was keeping him in hiding. I figured something had you humming. I guess a little recharging can do that for you.”

  “It sure can.” An image of her walking into Donovan’s arms flashed across her mind. Chloe turned to leave.

  “Well, your father and I haven’t seen much of you lately.” Chloe turned back as El continued speaking. “Come to the house for dinner Sunday? It will be nice. Just the family, you know?”

  “Sure. That sounds nice.” Chloe smiled. Donovan wanted to cook for her on Sunday. She was beginning to see how keeping him as her salacious little secret could soon become challenging.

  Chapter 18

  “Donovan, darling!” Joliet whizzed into his office.

  Her startling entrance snatched his attention, but before he could respond verbally, words began to tumble from her mouth.

  “Your father just called. He had an accident on the golf course earlier. Instead of going straight to the doctor, he went home.” Joliet paced quickly. “Now his ankle is, as he describes, as big as a basketball. I could tell he was in pain by the sound of his voice.” Worry deepened the lines in her beautiful almond-colored face. “I’m heading there now to get him and take him to the emergency room. I’m supposed to meet with Jacqueline Bosley tonight.” Her hand slapped her forehead. “She called this morning to set it up.”

  “Another meeting? Why?” he asked.

  Joliet stopped moving, tapered her eyes and looked sideways. “Did I forget to mention this to you?” She waved dismissively. Her verbal stampede continued without giving Donovan a chance to answer. “She’s leaning toward booking with us and wants to confirm if it’s the right fit. You know those Hollywood types. It’s all about the feel and the aura.” Joliet waved her hand. “It’s at Josephina’s at six. The quaint little Italian restaurant your brother loves. I doubt we’ll be out of the hospital by then but we can’t afford to cancel.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll do it, Mom.”

  Joliet continued as if Donovan hadn’t just spoken. “This could affect us getting the contract. I didn’t bother asking you to join us because I know you usually go into the city on Friday evenings. She’s just coming back into town and our presentations are due on Monday. I don’t want to blow this. Time is of the essence here and—”

  “Mom! I’ll take the meeting. Go see about Dad.”

  “Okay!” Joliet held her hands up. “Okay. I’ll call you when we get to the hospital.” Joliet raced out of Donovan’s office.

  Seeing his refined mother so frantic was unusual. Donovan looked at his watch and closed out the file he’d been working on. It was already four thirty. Resting his head against the back of his chair, he sighed. Donovan had a special evening planned for Chloe and now that duty called, he’d have to cancel.

  Reluctantly, he made all of the necessary calls to undo his plan of recreating the night they sailed in Puerto Rico. The last call he made was to Chloe to let her know that he had to cancel their plans for the night.

  While he explained that the reason was due to business and his father’s injury, he didn’t provide details and promised to make it up to her on Sunday. Chloe’s disappointment was clear, though she said she understood. Donovan assumed that, like him, Chloe had been interrogated about not being around much. Of course, it was because they spent so much time together.

  The hour that Donovan spent making calls and closing out for the day went by in a flash. His mother confirmed that they’d made it to the hospital. He had just enough time to get to the restaurant with a few minutes to spare, but Jacqueline showed up a full half hour late. As one who respected people’s time and preferred that his time be treated the same, he pushed aside his irritation and greeted Jacqueline with due professionalism.

  “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Donovan.” She purred. Her handshake was more like a caress. “Will Joliet be joining us?” She moved toward the seat Donovan had pulled out for her with a fluid saunter.

  Shaking his head politely, Donovan smiled. “The pleasure’s all mine,” he said, sitting across from her. “Unfortunately, my mother will not be able to join us. My father had a little accident and she’s with him.”

  Jacqueline gasped. Her hand flew to her heart. “Oh no! Is he going to be okay?”

  At first, Donovan was slightly taken aback by her dramatic response and wondered if she was genuinely concerned. “He injured his ankle on the golf course and it swelled pretty badly—nothing life-threatening.”

  “Oh! Good.” Jacqueline exhaled. “I hope he feels better. Send your mother my love.”

  “I will.”

  Their waiter arrived with water and warm fresh bread that filled the atmosphere with an enticing, homey scent.

  Jacqueline closed her eyes and breath
ed in. “Oh, that smells amazing.” When she opened her eyes, she stared directly into Donovan’s and smiled. “You’re quite handsome, Donovan.” Placing her elbows on the table, she bridged her hands and rested her chin on them. “I’ll bet you drive the women around here absolutely crazy.” She batted her eyes. “I imagine you must be such a playboy.”

  Flattered by her comment, Donovan smiled but sipped the wine the waiter had just placed in front of him instead of confirming or denying her assumption. He’d been doted on by beautiful women before. This wasn’t new to him.

  “My mother didn’t get a chance to tell me much about this meeting. However, I can assure you that we’ve been working diligently on developing an impressive package for your benefit. We’re sure you will be pleased,” Donovan said. “Do you have any questions that I could answer for you?”

  “Yes. Everything has to be perfect. I called this meeting to communicate a few important things before the final presentations. I’m specifically interested in the golf course next to your place. The views are magnificent and I’d love to do some kind of networking event over there. Perhaps the next day would be nice. It’s close by and convenient. It has to feel right, you know, so I thought it would be a good idea to sit down and chat so I could gain more insight. I’m pretty close to finalizing my decision. I just need to make sure it’s all a perfect fit.”

  Donovan successfully got the business part of the meeting on track. As they spoke, he wondered if she had additional meetings with any of the other competitors.

  He appreciated how Jacqueline’s demeanor took on a delightful expression when she spoke of her foundation. He could tell it meant a lot to her. Despite the significance of their conversation, she playfully touched his hands as they spoke, released freeing laughter into the air as if he’d tickled her and drew toward him as if she didn’t want to miss a word. To anyone watching, it would have looked like anything but a business meeting. He answered her questions while they ate, but after a few more glasses of wine, Jacqueline’s mannerism became more languid and her tongue, a bit more loose.