Inked on Paper (38 page)

Five

COMPLETELY DEPLETED, KORA MANAGED to get her legs beneath her once again, her breathing finally returning to normal as Donovan removed the condom, tossing it in a trash bin in the corner before fixing her clothes for her. Apparently her body was too weak to listen to commands from her brain or she would’ve done it herself.

“Was that really as good as I think it was?” she asked, not considering what she was saying before the words were out there, unable to be taken back.

She expected a cocky response, but when Donovan spoke, he sounded as stupefied as she felt.

“Definitely,” Donovan agreed.

Opening her eyes, Kora met his intense gaze.

This was awkward.

She’d never done the deed in a storage closet with a guy she didn’t know, a guy she’d likely never see again, so she wasn’t sure what the rules were. Did she thank him for the orgasm? Did she simply turn and walk away? Was she expected to make small talk? Offer her phone number?

God, it was all too confusing.

Unfortunately, she didn’t know how it worked, so she stood there, staring at him.

“We should get back to the party,” he finally said.

Well, there you have it. She was supposed to pretend it never happened, which she could do.

Hopefully.

Nodding, she said, “Yes, we should.”

“You ready?” he asked.

Her legs still felt like limp noodles, but she managed to shore up her resolve, garner her strength, and push off the wall, brushing her hands over her hair as she did. When Donovan opened the door, Kora peeked out, and when she noticed the coast was clear, she stepped into the hall.

“Thanks,” she said, looking back at him over her shoulder before she hurried into the ladies’ restroom, leaving him staring after her.

One look in the mirror told her she looked well and truly fucked. In a good way, but fucked nonetheless.

Her hair was a tangled mess, her mascara smeared, her lip gloss nonexistent. Knowing she couldn’t go back to the baby shower looking like this, Kora tried to reassemble herself as best she could. After a few minutes, she realized it wasn’t working.

There was no way she could walk back into that banquet room. It was bad enough her family and friends already thought she was a slut. This would only give them more reason to think that.

Was she? Did screwing some guy in a closet at her sister’s baby shower qualify her for slut-dom? He was, after all, her ex-boyfriend’s brother. Did that make it worse?

Not to mention, how was she supposed to face Donovan? Or Sam? That would make awkward seem like … well, something not nearly as bad as that.

What would she say to Sam? Or would she say anything at all?

“Damn it.”

As far as she was concerned, there was only one thing to do.

So, once again straightening her spine, Kora plastered on a smile and … made a beeline for her car.

DONOVAN KNEW KORA WAS gone. He’d known she would disappear as soon as they’d stepped out into the hallway. Her brief “thanks” had seemed inept, but he hadn’t known what to do or say. He got the distinct feeling that Kora had never done that before.

Had she been anyone else, that might have bothered him. Instead, Donovan felt the need to protect her, to shield her, to keep her close.

More importantly, he wanted to do that again. Only this time, he intended to be in her bed when he made her come apart at the seams. He planned to have her naked, his mouth on every inch of her before he ever drove his dick into the sweet, warm depths of her body.

But he hadn’t been able to tell her that, so he’d simply returned to the baby shower, hoping no one had been looking for either of them while they’d been otherwise occupied.

Luckily, the mother-to-be was busy opening gifts, oohing and ahhing over every little thing.
Really?
Since when did a package of diapers deserve an Oscar-worthy performance?

When it was obvious no one had realized he’d been gone, Donovan made his way to the bar, ordering a drink, then resuming his post against the wall. Since Kora had left, he knew it would look suspicious if he did, so he was doomed to spend a little more time there. At least until he could meet up with Sam, give him the customary congratulations speech.

Then
he’d be able to leave.

Reaching for his phone, he shot a text to his assistant, informing him that he needed an address for Kora Madison. She had disappeared, sure, but he wasn’t going to allow her to disappear forever. He fully intended to track her down. Tonight.

As he sipped his drink, he thought back to their rendezvous in the closet, to the way she’d felt, her pussy clamped on to his dick, her fingernails digging into him. They’d had on too many clothes, and he would’ve preferred to feel her nails raking down his bare skin. It was safe to say he wouldn’t forget what had happened between them.

“Hey.”

Donovan focused on the present, realizing Sam was standing directly in front of him, a curious expression on his face.

“Hey,” he greeted, tossing back what was left of his drink.

“I thought you left,” Sam told him, waving a waitress over.

Donovan shook his head.

“Where’d you go?”

Sam’s inquisitive look turned to one of skepticism, making Donovan realize his brother had probably noticed that he’d disappeared at the same time Kora had.

Not that he really gave a shit. Sam had screwed the pooch in that deal. His dumb ass hadn’t been able to keep it in his pants long enough to realize he’d had a damn good thing.

So, as far as Donovan was concerned, Sam’s loss was his gain.

He decided against telling Sam that, though. Instead, he lied. “Stepped outside to get some air.”

“Oh. You okay?”

“Perfect,” he lied again.

“I was hoping to introduce you to Kora,” Sam said, peering around the room. “But it looks like she left.”

Why would Sam want to introduce Donovan to Kora? After all this time? Not once in the two years that Sam and Kora had been dating had he ever wanted to make those introductions. Seemed strange, but Donovan decided to pretend not to notice.

“She was here?” he asked, praying like hell this wasn’t a trap. If it was, he’d just walked right into it.

“Yeah, but I don’t see her now. I’m sure she had something—or some
one
—better to do.”

A flash of anger sparked in Donovan’s gut. He didn’t like that Sam was making accusations. Especially since Sam was the one who’d cheated on Kora. Then again, Donovan figured Sam had been living the lie for long enough now, he probably didn’t realize who knew the truth and who didn’t.

Donovan knew the truth. And he honestly thought Sam was a dick.

“I am gonna have to go soon,” Donovan told him now.

“How long’re you in town?” Sam inquired.

“A week.” Donovan had managed to wrangle some time off, though he was only a phone call away if something arose that he needed to handle back in New York. He doubted that would happen. The people in his employ were quite capable of managing for a few days without him, so he had nothing but time on his hands while he hunkered down here in Texas. Time he fully intended to spend with Kora.

“Maybe we can get together one day this week. Have a couple of beers.”

“Sure.” He wanted to ask if Kora would be around, because there was no way Donovan could leave town without seeing her again, but he managed to keep that to himself. His assistant would come through for him. He had to. He had some resources of his own, and he’d give those a shot before he resorted to hitting Sam up for Kora’s address or phone number.

“Thanks for coming,” Sam said, slapping Donovan on the back. “I’m glad you could make it. It really means a lot.”

“Wouldn’t have missed it,” Donovan lied. Again.

At this rate, he feared walking out into the parking lot. It was quite possible—after all the lies he’d just told—lightning would strike him when he did.

Then again, it would be a suitable end to an already stormy day.

Six

KORA HADN’T BEEN HOME long when her cell phone rang, the tone blasting from somewhere deep inside her purse. She knew it was her mother before she even fished it out. She did not want to answer, but she knew if she didn’t, Janet Madison would simply get in her car and drive to her house.

And that was the absolute last thing Kora needed tonight.

With a resigned huff, she hit the button to take the call. “Hello,” she greeted, hoping she sounded sick.

“Kora? Are you okay?” Janet’s voice reflected her concern.

“Not feeling well,” Kora lied.

“Did you go home?”

“Yeah. Figured if I came down with something, y’all wouldn’t want Trina to get it.”

“No, definitely not,” her mother agreed. “Is it a stomach bug?”

“I think so.” It definitely wasn’t her stomach that hurt. This pain was coming from her chest and she had no idea why it was there. She should’ve been walking on a cloud, reveling in the glow of the orgasm that Donovan had invoked.

Donovan Brashwood. The man she’d met less than three hours ago. The man she’d fucked in a storage closet. The man she couldn’t stop thinking about no matter how much she tried.

That wasn’t the way this was supposed to work. She was inexperienced at the whole one-night-stand thing, sure, but she knew that much to be true.

“Do you want me to stop by and check on you when we’re done here?” her mother offered.

Hell no.
“No, I’m good, Mom. Thanks.”

There was silence on the other end, and Kora could imagine her mother sitting there, the questions filling her mouth, ready to spill forth and start another fight. It seemed that no matter what, they’d been arguing for months. Ever since Trina had announced that she was pregnant with Sam’s baby.

According to everyone, Kora should’ve been happy for the couple since she’d purposely sabotaged her relationship with Sam by going out with another guy.

If, by other guy, they meant Cody, a guy she worked with—a
gay
guy she worked with—who had wanted to talk because he’d recently broken up with his boyfriend and wanted Kora’s advice, then sure.

Except no one had seen her with Cody, and only one other person knew she’d had lunch with the guy and that was Sam. Which meant Sam had lied in order to take the heat off himself when Kora had found out he’d been screwing her sister.

“Kora, are—”

“Mom,” Kora kept her tone even, “If you’re going to bring up Sam, don’t. I don’t want to talk about him or Trina or the baby. I don’t want to talk about any of it. I went to the shower, as I promised. Now I just want to move on with my life.”

Kora could hear her mother breathing into the phone, and she wondered if she would question her anyway.

Thankfully, she didn’t.

“Okay, honey. I’ll call you later.”

“’Kay.” Kora hung up the phone before her mother got the nerve to ask her if Sam and Trina had been the reason she’d left.

Although she would’ve been able to honestly tell her no, she wouldn’t be able to tell her the real reason she’d fled the restaurant like her ass had been on fire.

“Shower,” she said aloud as she headed for her bathroom, stripping off her clothes along the way. The only thing she wanted to do was get beneath the hot spray and wash the scent of Donovan from her skin. Maybe then she’d be able to stop thinking about him.

While she scrubbed her body, she tried not to think about what it would feel like to have Donovan’s hands on her naked skin. She should’ve known she wasn’t the type who could have a one-night quickie with a guy and be able to not think about him. Especially with a man like Donovan Brashwood.

“You don’t even know him,” she reminded herself as she turned off the water and grabbed a towel, quickly drying, then wringing the water from her hair.

Her house was cold, but she didn’t even care. She was hot, and her skin felt too tight for her body, so she kept the towel wrapped around her naked body as she made her way to the kitchen in search of food. The buzz from the alcohol had long since faded—dissolving almost entirely when she’d paced the parking lot waiting for a cab because driving drunk hadn’t been on her agenda. And though she was tempted to drown herself in more booze just to forget what had happened, she didn’t think it would help, so why bother?

She opened the refrigerator, peered at the contents, then sighed.

Maybe she wasn’t hungry.

Not for food, anyway.

Kora grabbed the container of orange juice, then twisted off the cap, taking a swig right from the bottle. While she contemplated adding a little vodka, her cell phone rang. She glanced down at it sitting on the bar, narrowing her eyes when she saw who it was.

“No fucking way,” she mumbled to herself.

There was no way he had the fucking balls to call her on the same day as his baby shower.

No. Fucking. Way.

THE INSTANT HE HEARD her voice, Donovan smiled.

“What the fuck do you want, Sam?”

Yep, just as he’d thought, she didn’t want to talk to her back-stabbing ex. But since he wasn’t Sam, he hoped she wouldn’t be angry for too long.

“Not Sam.”

He was met with silence. It lingered for several seconds, and he didn’t say a word as he made his way out to the front porch. When the baby shower had wound down, Donovan had decided to go back to Sam’s for a little while. And under the guise that his cell phone battery had died, he’d asked Sam to borrow his. Just as he’d suspected, Kora’s phone number had still been in his contact list.

“What do you want?” Kora asked, her voice still firm but not quite as deadly as before.

“Your address,” he told her bluntly. No sense beating around the bush. He had every intention of talking to her, but he wasn’t planning to do it on the phone.

“
What?
Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Donovan didn’t want to play games with her; he wanted to get in his car and drive to her house, strip her naked, bury himself inside her, and make her scream his name. And when they were sweaty and sated, then they could talk. About anything. About everything. About why the sky was blue or how babies were made. He didn’t care, just as long as he could get his hands on her again.

Not once in his life had he found himself this consumed by a woman. Since she’d snuck out of the restaurant, he hadn’t stopped thinking about her. He didn’t think he would be able to until he saw her, touched her, tasted her.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Kora mumbled.

“I think it’s a fucking fantastic idea,” he told her, keeping his tone firm.

He didn’t know much about Kora Madison, but he suspected she was used to making the rules. And though Sam was the type to let someone railroad him, Donovan had never been that guy. Control was something he craved, something he refused to let go of. Even now.

Especially now.

“Donovan…”

“Yes?” he asked, glancing at his car. In a few minutes, he fully intended to be in that car, driving to her house.

“We can’t.”

“We can, Kora. And we will. I’m only asking one more time. What’s your address?”

More silence, and for a second, Donovan thought she wouldn’t give it to him. He hadn’t thought things through completely, because he wasn’t ready to give up, but luckily that didn’t matter.

Because, although she sounded reluctant, Kora rattled off her address and then hung up on him.

Donovan stared at the phone, grinning like a fool.