Two days later, we’re back in London. The deal went through and everyone is happy. Well, everyone except me. Devon continued to be an arse, so I continued to ignore him, only acknowledging him when he needed something. I was especially pissed because when we went on that helicopter ride at the end, I had to deal with misery the whole time.
However, I must admit, it was hard saying goodbye to New York. Even though I had some bad memories there, I also had some good ones, Aaron being one. On my last day, he came to the airport and wished me well, telling me to contact him if I ever needed anything. He also mentioned about coming to visit at some point, which I’m looking forward to. I know Devon hated all of it, but screw him.
“Here,” Ritchie says, handing me a gin and tonic before sitting next to me on the sofa. “Wanna talk about it?”
I take a sip of my drink before placing it on the coffee table. “Not really.”
Ritchie nods. “Okay then.”
Grabbing a cushion, I hug it to me. “He didn’t have to be an arse, did he?”
He smirks. “I already told you that you should have handed in your notice a long time ago. He’s only dragging you down.”
I let out a frustrated breath. “We’ve known each other for years. You’d think he’d open up to me a little more. You’d think he would know he could trust me by now.”
Placing his hand on my shoulder, he squeezes it a little. “He’s a dickhead. Plain and simple. It’s not even worth your time to fret over him.”
Realising I’m being self-centred, I say, “I’m sorry. I’m so engrossed in what’s happening with me, I’ve failed to ask you what’s going on with Monique.”
He looks a little sad. “We’re doing okay.”
I place my hand on his. “It doesn’t sound like you’re doing okay. What is it?”
He sighs, looking down at our hands. “It’s just this new dancer she’s partnered with. They seem close. Closer than they should be. When I point it out to her so we can talk about it, she shuts me down, saying it’s all in my head and to stop being jealous.”
“What makes you think they’re closer than they should be?”
He looks up, shaking his head. “I don’t know. It’s little things that amount to bigger things. Take last week, for instance. I arrived at her dance studio a little earlier than planned. They were dancing, which was fine. What wasn’t fine was the way they smiled at each other every time he placed his hand on her waist or how he lifted her into the air. When he set her down, he whispered something into her ear, making her blush and giggle. When I asked what he said, she shut me down again. It got me suspicious. Things have been awkward between us ever since.”
I rub my hand over his. “I’m sorry, Ritchie. It does sound a little odd, but maybe there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.” I try to think of one, coming up empty.
“Can you think of one?”
I smirk. “No, not really.” When the doorbell rings, I get up. “Maybe there’s a lot of stress at work. Maybe what he whispered was perfectly innocent, but she snapped at you because she’s just overworked.”
I open the door, thinking it may be Charlie. I’m surprised when I see Monique standing there.
“Hi,” she says, looking a little nervous. “Is Ritchie around?”
Opening the door wider, I motion for her to come in. “Yeah, sure. Come on in.” I shut the door behind me. “Ritchie, it’s Monique!”
Once we walk through, Ritchie stays sitting as Monique stands there, clutching her bag. “Would you like a drink?” I offer.
Monique turns to me with a small smile. “No, thank you.” She turns back to Ritchie. “Can I talk with you for a second?”
I motion to my room. “I could go—”
Ritchie gets up. “No, that’s okay.” He looks at Monique. “Let’s go to my room.”
They both smile at me before disappearing into Ritchie’s bedroom, the door closing behind them. A part of me wonders if she’ll tell him she’s having an affair with this dancer, but another part of me hopes it was all a big mistake.
As I sip my drink, reading a magazine, I hear muffled talking, but can’t make anything out. The voices escalate a little, so I know they’re arguing. I start to wonder if I should leave and go for a walk, but then things go silent.
I shrug, hoping they’ve sorted out what they need to. I go back to flicking through my magazine, finishing off the rest of my drink.
“Ritchie! Oh god! Yes! Yes! Right there.”
Oh shit.
Screwing up my face, I try covering my ears, but nothing can prevent me from hearing the moaning and the shouts of pleasure emanating from Ritchie’s bedroom.
Getting up, I grab my keys and head for the door. I think I need that long walk after all. Once I open the door, I see Devon standing there, holding a gift box. He frowns. “Going somewhere?”
I point behind me. “Ritchie has Monique over, so I’m giving them some privacy.”
He nods, holding up the box. “I just wanted to drop this by.”
I get angry. “You think you can apologise to me by buying me gifts? I’m not that kind of woman, Devon.”
“I know you’re not.”
“Then why this?” I ask, pointing to the present.
He thrusts it toward me. “Please, just take it. You’ll want to see it. Believe me.” In the end, I take it from him, but only because I’m intrigued. “I know I keep fucking things up, but I hope that will offer you some form of apology. I hope you accept it. If not, I understand.” He turns, walking down the stairs and toward his car.
“You can’t keep doing this to me, Devon. And offering me gifts isn’t a way back into my heart. Words and actions are.”
He stops, nods, and gets into his car. As I watch him drive away, I’m left feeling completely bewildered. I look down at the gift, noticing it’s light as a feather.
Stepping back inside, I close the door behind me. I venture into the kitchen, which is the farthest point from Ritchie’s bedroom. I can’t hear them anymore, but I don’t want to chance it, either. I sit at our little dining table and start opening the gift. I shake my head as I do, exasperated that he thinks he can apologise by buying me—
Without realising it, I gasp and throw my hand over my mouth as tears quickly form in my eyes and fall. Slowly and delicately, I pick it up, as if picking it up any other way will somehow damage it. Wiping my tears, my hand shakes a little as I stare at the photograph. Unbelievably, I am looking at the last photograph I had of my mum.
“How did he …?” I whisper.
With a smile on my face, I reverently kiss the photo, place it inside my new purse, and call an Uber. Within five minutes, one comes and takes me to Devon’s apartment complex. I ring the bell. Shortly afterward, I see his face on the screen by the apartment entrance.
“Can I talk to you, please?”
He nods, pushing the button to unlock the door. I quickly walk to the lift, nodding to the night guard as I punch in the code for the penthouse.
Once I’m on Devon’s floor, I see him standing at his door.
“I’m sorry about every—”
I throw my arms around his neck for a kiss. Breaking away, I look into his eyes. “How did you do it?”
“Come in and I’ll tell you.” He places his hand on the small of my back. Once inside, I take a seat at his breakfast island as he fetches a glass and a bottle of wine, pouring me some.
“I put the word out about the photo. I described it in detail and offered a substantial reward for anyone who found it and gave it back.” He places the glass of wine in front of me.
“Who handed it in?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. It was done anonymously. All I know is that whoever had it said they found it in some bushes in Shepherd’s Bush.”
I bite my lip. “Could it have been the person who stole my purse?”
“Could be, but I’ll never know. I was more worried about getting your photograph back.”
I frown. “But why, Devon? Why did you go to all that trouble?”
Placing his hands on the counter, he leans forward slightly. “Because I knew how much it meant to you.”
I look down at my fingers playing with the stem of the wine glass. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything. I’m just glad you got it back.”
I smile up at him. “You don’t realise how much it means to me that you did this. First, New York with my dad and Charlie, and now this. I just can’t quite wrap my head around what I’m supposed to think and feel with you.”
I watch as he walks over and sits opposite me. He takes my hand. “Will you come sit outside with me for a bit?”
Looking toward his balcony, I nod. Devon gets up. Without letting go of my hand, he leads me to the sun loungers outside. The air is sticky, but there’s a cool breeze. The moon looks so big I could reach up and grab it. Tonight is clear, the stars shining bright, the lights of London illuminating the city, as well as the River Thames.
“I’ve always loved the view from up here,” Devon begins.
“It’s beautiful,” I reply, sitting down on the sun lounger. Setting my glass of wine beside me, I stretch my legs out in front of me and watch as Devon sits down. For a few seconds, we stare off in silence.
“I have night terrors.”
He says it so quietly, I’m not sure I hear right. “Sorry… What was that?”
He turns to me. “The pills you found in my bathroom. I was ashamed to admit to you that I have night terrors.”
I suck in a breath and turn my body so I’m facing him. “Why would you feel ashamed to tell me that? Everyone has something they’re afraid of. No one is immune to what life throws at them. Not even you.”
He smiles. “You know me better than anyone, Andi. I don’t like weakness, and I was ashamed you had found one of mine.”
“Can you tell me why you have night terrors?”
He looks away, sighing. “You know my mum died, right?”
I nod. “She drowned, didn’t she?”
“Yes, in the bath. She was high and fell asleep. I came home from college and found her dead in the bath.”
I gasp. I didn’t realise he had actually found her. “Oh, my god, Devon. I’m so sorry.” I shake my head, now realising why he was so pissed off that I had fallen asleep in the tub. “No wonder you panicked when you saw me sleeping in the bath.”
“It frightened me, but you weren’t to know. I never told you or Charlie the full details.”
“So she was a drug addict?”
He nods, gritting his teeth. “An abusive drug addict. She used to hit me, and I would take it. If I needed new clothes, she would hit me. If I needed new shoes, she would hit me. If I needed to buy food, she would hit me. Every single penny went into feeding her addiction. It got so bad, my brother and I used to beg on Oxford Street just so we could buy a burger from McDonald’s.”
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. “What happened to Pete? Why did he go the same way she did?”
“Pete adored our mother. In his eyes, she could never do any wrong. In an attempt to please her, he decided to join her one evening when she was high. He was only fifteen. She thought it was hilarious to get her fifteen-year-old son high. It was all just a game to her, but she got him hooked. One day turned into two, then three. Before I even realised it, he was just as hooked on the shit as she was.”
I look away. “I’m so sorry, Devon.”
“I didn’t want you to know. Yes, I was mad that you had found my drugs, and yes, I lashed out like I normally fucking do, but all that shit I said in the car… You’ve got to know I never meant any of it. I was just doing what I do best—pushing you away.”
“Do you still see your brother?”
He sighs. “Occasionally. Usually about once a month when he needs money.”
“You don’t give him any, do you?”
“Andi, he’s my brother. What else am I supposed to do? If he needs help, I can’t turn him away. It’s not his fault he had a shitty mother.”
“It wasn’t yours, either.” He looks over at me, offering a gentle smile. “What made you decide to join the RAF?”
“Mostly because I wanted to get away from all the shit, but I honestly wanted to join. Because I passed all my exams with flying colours, I started my thirty-week training straight away, then went on to specialist training. Within that time, I knew this was the right thing to do.” He starts laughing. “The first time I flew, I vomited.”
“No way!”
He nods. “Yep. All over myself and the training officer. Fucking embarrassing. It made me feel better that I wasn’t the first one. Still embarrassing, no matter how you dress it up.”
“But you were okay after that?”
He nods. “Oh yeah.” He looks sad for a moment. “I was about six years in when I was on exercise in Kenya. An unknown shot me down and I had to crash-land the plane.”
I gasp. “Were you okay?”
He smiles. “I was fine. Well, physically anyway. I started having night terrors after that. I don’t know if it was the stress that triggered it or what, but they got so bad, I had to see a doctor.”
“Did the RAF know about it?”
He shakes his head. “I went to a private doctor. I didn’t want them finding out because they may have struck me off.”
It then dawns on me. “You were taking tablets while flying?”
He shook his head. “Only at night. I would never harm a mission or exercise. But you’re right. Taking them became a massive issue in the end. I couldn’t live with myself if anyone died because of me. Plus, they took regular drug tests. I had managed to dodge a couple, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.”
“So you resigned.”
He nods. “Yep. Luckily for me, I got a break. My grandfather from my father’s side found me. My father died before I was born, so my grandfather didn’t know about me until after my mum died. He had been looking for me for a couple years before I met him. I told him about my career in the RAF, but that I was looking for something else. That’s when he told me of Worldwide Airways.”
Grabbing my drink, I take a sip. “He asked you to come on board.”
“Yes, but he left out the part he was dying and needed an heir to take over.”
I look away. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Were you pissed off when he told you?”
He shakes his head. “No. I can’t really be pissed off with a man who offered me a way out.” He motions with his hands. “Look at what I’ve achieved since. When I started, the company hadn’t gotten off the ground yet. Within two months, I had doubled our clientele. Because of it, we needed to build more aircraft and hire more engineers.”
I smile. “He must have been so proud of you.”
He shrugs. “I did what I had to do. I always find I’m eager for a challenge.”
“Is that so?” I ask, a little more seductively then I probably should have.
Devon smirks in my direction. I watch as he trails his eyes down the length of my body before meeting my eyes again. It makes my skin prickle. “Yes, Andi. In fact, I have one right now.”
Raising one eyebrow, I say, “Oh yes? And what might that be?”
“There’s this lady …”
“What is she like?”
He looks at my cleavage for a moment. “She’s the brightest, most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. She has the most amazing eyes and legs that go on forever. I could lick them all day long. And her tits are so—”
“Okay, juvenile. You were doing so well until you said the word tits.” We both laugh, but then he stops.
“I want her to forgive me, but I don’t know if she will. I keep fucking things up between us, and I don’t know how to fix it.”
Glancing at him, I see a man built like a lion. Tall, strong, and athletic, he has everything a girl could desire, yet I sense a vulnerability in him. I also sense something hidden deep beneath that shell of his. Something dark and untouched. Something I’m unsure whether I would want to delve more into. I know he’s suffered and is still suffering. The question is: Can I be the one to lay half of it on my shoulders?
Already knowing the answer, I put my glass down, get up, and walk toward his sun lounger. I lean forward, straddling him, placing one foot on one side and one on the other. Devon smiles, leisurely trailing his hands up my thighs as I come to rest in his lap.
Heat instantly fills me. I place my arms around his neck. “What you did to get that photo back for me… Thank you. That’s worth more than any gift in the world.”
While he searches my eyes, I watch as the lights dance in his. They’re hooded, telling me he’s just as turned on as I am. Instantly, I feel something hard press on my core, making me want him even more.
“I didn’t want to rest until I found it for you.”
Leaning forward, my breath ragged, I whisper, “And that’s why I forgive you. In fact, I think I need to show you just how much I’ve forgiven you.”
His eyebrow quirks, and his cock is pulsating beneath me. “How do you intend to do that?”
I lean my forehead on his, moving my hand down to his cock. “I’ll show you,” I answer, then press my lips to his. As I caress him through his jeans, I feel him moan. He makes a grab for me, but I stop him. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“You want to fuck me again, huh?”
I start unbuckling his belt and undoing his jeans. “Remember what I said? You give the orders in the boardroom. I give the orders in the bedroom.” Placing my hand inside, I start massaging him through his boxer shorts.
“Fuck, Andi. I need to feel you.”
He grabs for my head, and I let him. We’re a frenzy of warm, wet kisses and hands. I pull Devon’s jeans down. I don’t even bother taking my knickers off. With one hand, I push them aside before sliding onto Devon’s cock.
“Fuck!” he breathes out, capturing my lips again.
With my knees on either side of him, I start rocking back and forth on his cock as we carry on our breathless kisses. The feeling of him inside me is incredible.
“So fucking tight. So fucking warm and sweet. I can’t get enough of you, Andi. You’re right where you’re supposed to be.”
Feeling pleasure hit new heights, I cry out. I become frenzied in my movements, seemingly unable to control myself. It’s like I can’t get enough of him.
“Devon!” I scream, moving faster, feeling my clit rub against him. “Shit, I’m going to come!” I feel it rising higher and higher.
“Make it quick, baby, because I’m right there with you.”
A few seconds later, we explosively come together. Soon after, I collapse on him, exhausted. Devon places his arms around me and starts stroking my arms as I close my eyes.
I have no idea where we’re heading, but I know one thing is definitely certain.
I would kick myself if I didn’t at least try and find out.