A Gentleman's Affair (23 page)

“Okay, you’re just being mean now.” She
rolls her eyes, giggling.

“I know.” I grin.

Captain Ruggeri anchors the yacht at the
first available mooring that he can find. As we leave the yacht,
I’m now glad that we got up at the crack of dawn and came so early.
Moorings are on a first-come, first-serve basis, and they are close
to full already. I can be pretty smart…at times.

“Catalina? I've always wanted to come here.”
She beams with enthusiasm. More thank-you kisses for me. “Oh my
god, babe! This is perfect, thank you!” I've earned a few boyfriend
points with this one and, I'm thrilled to be responsible for her
excitement.

We take a five-minute taxi ride into town.
Scarlett is looking through the pamphlet the driver gave us,
announcing all of the things that she wants us to do today.

“What? The ghost tour?” Her eyes quickly
light up.

“I’m not telling you.”

“Fine. Will I like it?” she asks, grinning
wide.

“I think you will. I guess we’ll see, won’t
we?” I tease.

The cab driver drops us off in town, close
to the first activity on our day’s agenda. I take her hand and lead
her to the entrance, where we get into a short line.

“Zip lining? We’re doing this?” she asks, as
she wraps her arms around my neck with a grin from ear to ear.

“We’re doing this, yes,” I laugh, sliding my
hands around her waist, giving her a nice long kiss before we get
into the short line.

We meet our guide for this adventure, Paul.
A surfer “dude” hippie-type. Long sun-bleached hair, mostly covered
by a green and yellow tie-dyed bandanna.

He leads us to a path, and as we begin our
hike into the canyon, he gives us a quick run down of “DOs and
DON’Ts,” safety rules, etcetera.

Paul goes on to explain that there are many
“Eco” stations along the way where he will give brief presentations
on Catalina—the wildlife, history, etcetera—and that the entire
tour will last approximately two hours.

“Two hours?” Scarlett mouths to me, brow
raised.

I nod, then take her hand and give it a
reassuring squeeze as I lean in to whisper in her ear. “Will you be
alright for two hours, baby girl?”

“Yep,” she nods. “I’m really excited,” she
whispers back. “Why are we whispering, babe?” she says with a
giggle.

“I have no idea,” I whisper, laughing.

Now harnessed and ready to go, we begin the
trek up a small hill that leads to the jump-off point at Hog’s Back
gate, descending through Descanso Canyon, and eventually ending at
Descanso beach.

Now at the top of the jump-off point, I can
see that Scarlett has become nervous. I offer to go first, but she
won’t have it. She moves to the edge of the wooden platform, takes
a deep breath, and hurls herself off, screaming all the way. I
follow shortly after, no screaming.

We get a chance to talk for just a minute at
each stop but give most of our attention to the guide. Paul is
doing an amazing job as a tour guide, and both Scarlett and I are
having a great time.

After the ride of our lives, we make our way
back out to the small island town. We have lunch, visit the many
shops—guess who suggested that? Then we hit a bar, drink way too
much and play a round of miniature golf, where Scarlett’s
competitive side takes her over, and she becomes psychotic about
beating me.

So…I let her. Ever the gentleman.

We are now on our way back to the marina,
and we have a lot of yacht to christen. My personal chef is
preparing us a feast for dinner in the galley, so Scarlett and I
take a walk around the deck before making our way down below.

“Well, the galley’s out,” Scarlett teases.
“I don’t really like having an audience,” she laughs, glancing at
the chef as we pass by on our way to the salon.

“I…uh…” No comment. “Why don’t we get a
drink? I could use a drink. You?” Blathering idiot.

This isn’t the time to go into any sort of
detail about my somewhat sordid past. She will learn soon enough, I
suppose, about the goings on behind the velvet rope at The
Underground. But not tonight.

“I could drink.” She winks.

I place my hand on the small of her back and
lead her to the salon. I don’t like keeping secrets from her, but
we are still new so I decide to let it go, putting it on the back
burner for the time being.

“What do you feel like drinking, baby girl?”
I ask her, making my way behind the bar.

“Hmm…wine?”

“Is Moscato alright?”

“Perfect.” She smiles, settling back on the
sectional, kicking off her shoes.

I pour two glasses, then cross the room to
join her. She looks so beautiful sitting there rubbing her feet
with her head resting back and eyes closed. She has no idea just
how sexy she is and that, in and of itself, makes her that much
more stunning to me.

“Here you go, beautiful.” I sit down on the
sofa and hand her a glass. “A toast?” She joins me in raising my
glass, smiling and listening intently. “To a perfect day with the
most perfect girl. Salute, baby.”

We clink our glasses and seal my lame
attempt at a romantic toast with a kiss.

Chapter
Twenty-three

~il mio per sempre~

Holy shit, am I dreaming right now?

The feeling of her soft warm mouth sliding
along my morning hard-on happily shakes me from a peaceful night’s
sleep. And if this is a dream, please, no one wake me up.

I lift my head from the pillow and take a
quick glance down, a huge grin across my face…and there she is. My
baby girl, lip-slurping sexy.

It was a rare occurrence that I allowed any
woman to ever sleep over. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mind having
a hot girl in my bed, but usually it was for only one reason. And
sleep was never the reason.

An instinctive thrust of my groin alerts her
that I am now awake. Scarlett looks up to meet my more-than-happy,
surprised gaze. Her eyes are filled with a naughtier-than-usual
stare…

“Mmm… keep going” is all I can manage to
mutter before resting my head back on the pillow and closing my
eyes, letting her continue on with the morning devouring of her
favorite toy.

This girl is no novice when it comes to
giving a blowjob. She takes in every inch of my throbbing length
deep into the back of her throat…a feat that not many girls can
pull off, unfortunately.

I move my hands down to her head, fistfuls
of her long hair are now tight in my grip. I thrust deeper into her
hungry mouth, and she takes it all in with ease. Swirling her
tongue around my shaft, sucking hard, using her hands…blowing my
mind.

“Should I stop?” she whispers in that
teasing, sexy voice that I’ve come to adore. “I’d hate to make you
late for work.”

“Are you kidding me? Fuck work.” I smirk,
bending slightly at the waist, reaching down, placing my hands
under her arms, pulling her body on top of mine. “Never stop…” I
whisper, before giving her a kiss so filled with passion that—if
she wasn’t already naked—would have surely soaked her g-string.

Without missing a beat, she slides her hand
down in-between our bodies, taking every inch of my impressive
erection into her grip, guiding it deep inside her.

This is how every morning should start
off…Scarlett in my bed.

After a quick shower and an even quicker
breakfast, Scarlett is off to pick up a new piece of furniture for
the penthouse that I apparently can’t live without, and I am off to
get a haircut before I have to get down to business.

My mind is exploding with good stuff this
morning. Maybe it’s due to Scarlett and her expert oral techniques,
or maybe…just maybe, it’s because I have finally found the girl of
my dreams. 

So much has happened with Scarlett over the
last few weeks… some good, some bad. But the bad was only due to
the cheating whore and her insane shit.

I wake up, and it’s Scarlett. I try to work,
and it’s Scarlett. My mind has been invaded by this girl, and I
like it.

All of the bad dates—Louisa, Gina, Zoie,
even Rebekah… sweet Rebekah—have all led me right here, to her. My
search is complete.

After months of working together, Scarlett
and I have become so close. Why did I fight these feelings that
have been developing from the moment that I laid eyes on her?

All because we were working together? All
because of my stupid fucking rule? All because of Danielle?

In a blink of an eye, it all becomes crystal
clear. I love her. I am out-of-my-mind crazy in love. How fucking
scary is that?

I have to tell her…I have to let her know
how I feel. When you finally realize that you’ve found the girl
that you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want to tell
her right away. You want “the rest of your life” to begin…now.

Now back at the hotel, I decide that the
time has come to let Scarlett in on my not-so-new, yet newly
realized feelings for her.

Pulling my cell phone from my jacket pocket,
I quickly punch in her number and wait for her to pick up. A huge
grin tugs at the corners of my mouth, and my heart begins to race.
Here we go…

“Scarlett, meet me at the coffee shop in ten
minutes.”

She quickly agrees: “You got it babe. Is
everything okay?”

“More than okay, baby girl.” I hang up,
leave my office, and let Patrice know I’ll be out for the rest of
the afternoon.

My heart is beating out of my chest as I
leave the hotel and head towards Joe’s. I prepare a short script in
my head to put together the right words. I can’t fuck this up.

Do I just blurt out, “Scarlett, I love you”?
Ugh. I’m not quite sure how to handle this, since it’s the first
time telling a woman that I’m in love with her and actually meaning
it.

I see Scarlett standing in front of the
coffee shop waiting for me, a huge smile lighting up her beautiful
face as she spots me standing on the sidewalk just across the
street from her.

This is it. I am now ready to admit what I
knew all along. I am completely in love with this woman.

My eyes are fixed on hers as I begin to
cross the street. This beautiful creature, my dream girl.
Everything is so clear for the first time in my life…I want to
marry this girl.

She is
il mio per sempre
. My
forever.

“DONOVAN, LOOK OUT…!!!” I hear Scarlett
scream from the other side of the street. “SOMEBODY CALL 911,
PLEASE!” I hear her shout to the crowd that has quickly
gathered.

Everything goes dark for a moment and eerily
quiet.

My sight is blurred, but I can see that
Scarlett is now kneeling at my side…a mere silhouette, but still a
vision of beautiful perfection.

She takes my hand and I can see tears
filling her eyes as she looks up and down my body which now lies on
the pavement in the middle of the street.

“Babe, the ambulance is on its way. Can you
hear me?” She speaks slowly, softly, choking back her tears.

I try to give her a nod. I try to form the
words to tell her that I’m alright but can’t.

Suddenly the sound of sirens fills the air
and red flashing lights blind my eyes. I want so badly to calm her
down. To tell her that whatever it is that’s happening will be
taken care of now. Don’t worry baby, I’m not going anywhere.

“Sir…sir can you hear me?”

I try to answer, but I still can’t speak. I
hear voices all around me, but Scarlett’s sobs are my only
focus.

“We’re going to get you to a hospital. Don’t
try to move,” the voice continues.

I feel something being wrapped around my
neck. It’s wide and itchy. Two men lift me up, transferring my limp
body to what I assume is a stretcher. I feel them hoisting me up,
followed by the sound of a click beneath me.

Sirens again, only louder this time. The
vehicle begins to speed down the boulevard. What the fuck is
happening?

One of the men places something over my nose
and lips, forcing a light whisper of air into my mouth. Scarlett is
at my side again, holding my hand, leaning over me, still trying to
choke back her tears.

“Donovan, I’m right here…stay with me,
please babe,” her voice is shaky, and I can hear the fear through
her words as she tightens her grip in my lifeless hand.

I want to tell her that everything will be
alright, but I still can’t speak.

Suddenly everything goes black, and I lose
sight of my beautiful baby girl. 

Il mio per sempre.

Epilogue

~Scarlett’s Journal~

It’s been two weeks, and he still hasn’t
woken up. My beautiful man—lying there helpless in that hospital
bed—is a sight that I never wanted to witness.

A room overflowing with flowers, balloons,
and get well cards. But the balloons have lost their helium and now
float closer to the floor.

Machines, tubes and IVs keep him alive. I
know that deep down he is fighting to come back to me. He is a
fighter.

Donovan's dad, Patrice and all of his
employees have been here every day to see him. They try to convince
me to take a break. Get out for some fresh air…

But I won’t leave his side. I know that if
it were me lying here, Donovan wouldn’t leave me for a minute.

So, right here is where I’ll stay. Right
here is where I belong.

Until he wakes up, and he will wake up.

He has to.

A note from the author

Thank you so much for reading
A
Gentleman’s Affair
. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much
as I enjoyed writing it.

Donovan wasn’t quite finished with his story,
so keep your eyes peeled for the soon to be released sequel,
A
Gentleman’s Secret
.

I can’t imagine a day without Donovan and
Scarlett talking non-stop in my head. They will forever be a part
of my life in some way I suppose and, if they have more story to
tell, perhaps I will have to write a three-quel:
A Gentleman’s
Exhausted?
{winks}