Roses & Thorns

Chapter Twenty Eight: Perfect Pawn

For the first time since I'd been in Donovan's possession, I woke up with him next to me.

The natural light illuminated his blonde hair and the sun kissed glow of his skin, which further confirmed his perfection. Perfect hair, perfect body, perfect fuck...

Wait, fuck. Donovan and I had had sex earlier this morning. Twice! And I could feel the tenderness between my legs from the impact of his size. It had been more than just amazing sex. Maybe it had been the passion I'd been missing for all of these years. But would he even remember? To him, I was probably another notch that meant nothing. So I wouldn't mention it. I couldn't mention it.

I slid out of the bed slowly, trying not to wake Donovan as I made my way to the bathroom. A hot shower would bring me to reality.

After getting dressed, I went downstairs, following the smell of cinnamon oatmeal and roasted coffee.

Hannah was at the breakfast bar, sipping from a mug while an unfamiliar man whistled with a pan and spatula in hand.

"Good morning." I said. Hannah and the man looked up.

"You look-radiant." She narrowed her eyes. I shrugged, grabbing a mug. "This is Dave, he's the new chef." I smiled at him while he set a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. "I decided to go the male route after Pharrah left. Now Donovan can stop giving women false hope." She only partly joked. It made complete sense especially for a man who claimed to not mix business with personal.

"What should I do today?" I asked because I didn't know how long I was supposed to stay here and mooch off of Donovan.

Hannah cocked her head in thought. "Well, Donovan has a meeting with Ashton in a couple hours so we have to work around that. But once that meeting is done we'll all have some answers." She checked the time on her phone then looked back at me.

"Where's your apartment with that lady Charlotte?"

"It's in the Village." I hadn't been there in so long. "Where's yours?"

"A few buildings down from this one." She looked past me and smiled. "There he is."

Donovan was fastening the cuff links of his dark blue suit as he approached. He paused when he saw the chef then gave Hannah a nod of approval.

"Your meeting is at 1:00 at The Ritz."

"Rosemary," he said. I cursed under my breath but looked up at him. "I know it's not ideal but you'll have to be in the car while the meeting takes place. Hannah and Lance will be with you."

I felt a bit anxious knowing that I might see Ashton again but I whole heartedly trusted Donovan now. So I nodded "yes".
• • • • • •
That afternoon, Phil drove Donovan to The Ritz in one car while Lance drove Hannah and I in another, parking across the street.

After about fifteen minutes, Nate appeared, sliding into the passengers seat and not bothering to great anyone else in the car before speaking to Lance.

"They found Grace. Ashton was keeping her at his place upstate."

"Well Donovan will be pleased to hear that."

"She wants nothing to do with us apparently." Nate shrugged.

"I don't blame her. She knew the rat, he probably threw her under the bus first." Lance laughed.

I drew my eyes away form the window and looked at Nate.

"Speaking of the rat." Nate patted his breast pocket. "We already have the warehouse set up for all three of-"