Michaels, Skye - Mikaela's Debut [The Black Dahlia Hotel 1] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (13 page)

“Let’s celebrate.”

* * * *

Mikaela planned to dress to the nines for the New Year’s Eve party in the main lounge. There was more to celebrate tonight than just the turning of the calendar. She was eagerly anticipating the lobster and seafood buffet. She had not had an appetite in days, and she was also looking forward to the dancing on deck. Dillon was going to love the slender, long-sleeved, sequined column gown in emerald green with high, strappy heels that subtly accentuated her body.

She turned to Dillon. “Will you clasp my necklace please, baby?” She had already donned the stud earrings and tennis bracelet he had given her for Christmas.

He walked up behind her, and she held her breath as he lifted her hair, latched the necklace, and then kissed the back of her neck. “You look spectacular, Mikki. I’m so proud of you. Not just the way you look tonight, but the way you’ve handled this situation. I love you, baby.”

She turned in his arms. “I’d do anything for you, Dillon, even pay the five million if I thought that would solve the problem.” She admired the way he looked in a tuxedo. The formalwear highlighted his dark good looks and fabulous body.

“Honey, it wouldn’t solve anything. She would burn through the money and then be back for more. That’s how blackmailers work. They are never satisfied.”

“You’re right. She would definitely be back for more. I just don’t understand this or how she got to be so rotten. She was never really nice to me when we were kids, but I thought it was just because she was older.” Mikaela was sad.

“I guess her jealousy has been festering for years, and now she finally thought she had a way to get even and make a pile of money while she was at it. Too bad we can’t report her to the police. But that would just bring the problem to the attention of the press.”

“That’s true. We don’t want the publicity that would be inevitable if we went to the authorities.”

At midnight, the crew shot off a stunning array of fireworks as they watched the last seconds of 2015 tick away. When the clock ticked over to 12:01, champagne corks were popped and crystal flutes were passed around. Mikaela plastered herself against Dillon for the first kiss of 2016. All the other couples aboard did the same.

The party continued until the wee hours of the morning and was a glittering success as the
Golden Dolphin
made way toward the Port of Key West where they would spend the morning and Kaylin’s maid of honor and her boyfriend would join the cruise.

Mikaela awoke wrapped in Dillon’s arms. “Morning, baby. Happy New Year. How are you feeling?”

“Like a new person. I feel like a rock has been lifted off my back, Dillon. Just knowing Maggie doesn’t have a backup video is the best present I could ever get.”

Dillon rolled over, pulled her into his arms, and nuzzled her neck with his rough morning beard. She laughed. The devil knew she was ticklish there. Well, she was ticklish everywhere. The doors to the balcony were open, and the sea breeze was blowing into the room.

Dillon pulled her into his arms. He quickly dispensed with the sleep shirt she had donned against the morning chill. He stripped it over her head and tossed it away. He smiled into her eager eyes, and then he got busy. He kissed her hard on the mouth and then proceeded to work his way down over her smooth, sensuous stomach. He nipped and sucked at her pebbled nipples until they were hard and raspberry red. Then he continued down to her navel, where he licked and sucked until he had her moaning in anticipation. He changed direction just to confuse her and revisited her plump round breasts. This time he neglected her nipples and circled the areolas instead.

Finally, he rolled over between her spread thighs, and with a low growl, he lifted her pussy to his eager mouth. His tongue laved her moist center, making lazy circles through her swollen pussy lips and around her clit, licking and sucking. He brought her nearly to the edge and then moved up her body until he could reach her mouth. He kissed her deeply as he plunged his morning-hard cock into her eager center and brought them both quickly to completion. As morning quickies went, it was excellent.

They were cuddled under the luxurious silk sheets and blankets. Mikaela had absolutely no desire to move until hunger prompted them to call the galley for a late breakfast on their deck.

When they got up, the ship was at anchor out in deep water off Key West, and there wasn’t much to see. The sun was bright and the breeze was more than a little crisp. Mikaela pulled the heavy white terry robe with the
Golden Dolphin
logo tight around her waist. They were waiting for their breakfast to be delivered, and then they planned to take one of the tenders to the dock and see some of Key West. Mikaela was startled when her cell phone buzzed with the text message signal. “I guess I’m still a little jumpy.”

“Shall I get it?”

“No. I’m okay.” She hit the message icon. “Shit, Dill. It’s her again. I wasn’t expecting to hear from her again so soon.”

Time’s running out. Have you made arrangements to send 5mil to my acct?

“What do you want to do, Mikki? If you respond and let her know the jig is up maybe we can enjoy the rest of this cruise. It’s up to you. We know you’re not going to pay her off, and we now know she doesn’t have any backups of either video.”

“I’m scared, Dillon. You know I really hate confrontations.” She never had liked conflict. That was why Maggie had been able to get away with pushing her around when they were kids. Maybe she needed to grow a set, as they said, and handle this. Maggie couldn’t be allowed to think she still had power over her.

“Do you want me to do it?”

“No. She’s my shitty relative. I’ll do it. You know the saying about how you can pick your friends but not your relatives.” She thought for a moment and then began to respond.
Good morning, Maggie. Happy New Year. Hope you are having as good a day as you deserve. Am not sending any $. You don’t have video. The jig is up
. Send.

After a short delay they heard the text signal again.
You bitch. Send the $ or you will be sorry. Very sorry
.

Mikaela looked at Dillon with fear in her eyes. “What the hell…”

“She’s just posturing, Mikki. We know she doesn’t have the video. She’s just hoping to scare you into sending the money.”

“It might be working.”

“Babe. Buck up. We can’t let her win.”

“Okay.”
Forget it. The game is over. If I hear from you again I will call police
. Send.

Nothing is over, cousin. You have until 1-5 to fund acct. or else
.

Mikaela shut the phone off. “I don’t think I can keep doing this. It’s better to just turn off my cell and shut her down.”

“I agree. Here’s the steward. I’ll let him in. We can eat and then get off the ship and check out Key West for a couple of hours.”

* * * *

Maggie paced back and forth across the living room of her small apartment. She was furious.
How does the bitch know it’s me and that I don’t have the video?
How could she possibly know anything?

She shouted, “You’ll be sorry, you bitch. I don’t know what I’m going to do—but I’m going to do something.” She had to think. What were her options, and could she still wring that money out of Mikaela?

* * * *

Mikaela flinched when her cell phone rang. “John McGregor–Court Inds” came up on the screen. “Dillon, this is John from Court Industries. Would you talk to him please? I can’t take any more right now.”

“Sure, babe. Give me the phone.” He held his hand out. He put the phone on speaker. “John? What’s up?”

“Our bug is still active. Maggie is on a tear threatening to ‘do something’—she doesn’t know what. I just wanted to let you know to be careful. Who knows what’s going on in her mind now that she knows her scheme has failed.”

“We’ll be careful. The ship will be at sea for the next couple of days while we travel to Cozumel, so we’ll be out of reach.”

“Have a good trip, and just keep your eyes open.”

“Will do.”

Dillon called the bridge and requested the tender to take them to the dock while Mikaela got dressed. She put on a pair of walking shorts with a white T-shirt and sneakers and pulled her hair up into a jaunty pony tail. She knew she looked more relaxed than she felt.

After hopping one of the trolley cars on the wharf for a ride into Key West, they enjoyed a tour of the historical Hemingway House and grounds, admired the six-toed cats that lived there, and then proceeded to Sloppy Joe’s Bar, Hemingway’s favorite Key West watering hole, for a lunch of conch fritters, spicy conch chowder, and huge hunks of Bahamian bread washed down with ice-cold beer.

After lunch they continued their sightseeing. Dillon held her hand while they browsed the shops on Duval Street, and Mikaela bought Key West T-shirts for the girls in her office before heading back to the wharf and the tender to the ship. The girls had a tradition of bringing back T-shirts for everyone whenever they traveled, and she knew the “Conch Republic” T-shirts would be popular. Dillon and Mikaela didn’t have time to see too much more on this trip.

* * * *

The
Golden Dolphin
was scheduled to depart at three o’clock, and Dillon didn’t want them to be the cause of a delay. They had both made an effort not to think about or talk about Maggie Sexton and had been fairly successful. Dillon made a mental note to talk to Jack and Jamie about Maggie’s latest text. Once back aboard Dillon was relieved. He’d had a prickly feeling running down his back all day, but that might just be a reaction to the continued tension. Surely, Maggie Sexton did not have that long of a reach. Still, he was glad to be able to rely on the
Golden Dolphin
’s security team.

That evening, when the passengers had gathered on deck for cocktails and sunset watching, Dillon and Mikaela were joined at their table by Jamie and Anne Devereau and Gabriella Dellaveccia and Miguel Gatto.

“So, Jamie, how do you guys like being based in Ocala instead of New Orleans? That has to be a lot quieter.” Dillon had wondered how a player like Jamie would adjust to a small, mostly agricultural town in Central Florida.

“Actually, we love it. We built ourselves a new home on Justin’s farm, Devereau Plantation South, and so have Max Warwick and Anamaria Sanchez. I opened a second office for Devereau Investments, and we have been busy with the horseracing thing.”

“What horseracing thing?” Gabby’s eyes got bright. “I love horses.”

“The Foundation purchased several shares of the Rockstar syndication after he won the Kentucky Derby. After he won the Triple Crown, he was retired to stud. We bred one of Justin’s mares and got a little filly out of him. Now we are considering entering Rockette in the Oaks this year. As of January first, she’s three years old. We’ll see how she does in the qualifying races.”

“I didn’t know you had a piece of Rockstar. That is really exciting.” Dillon knew that Jamie Devereau had his fingers in innumerable pies.

“Rockstar is a once-in-a-lifetime horse. I’ve never seen more heart and determination to win. There’s just something about him. I think I see the same thing in Rockette’s eyes. I think she may have that determination, too.”

Anne said, “Watching him win the Triple Crown was a thrill I’ll never forget. I still get goose bumps when I think about it. He and Belinda were a match made in Heaven, and he trusted her enough to blast through all the barriers with one blind eye and a load of determination. I hope he passed those traits on to Rockette.”

“Well, we’ll mark our calendars, and hopefully we can get down to Churchill Downs to watch.” Dillon noticed that despite trying to look relaxed and engaged, Mikaela’s eyes kept straying to the cell phone she had clutched in her hand. He leaned over and whispered, “Baby, why don’t you leave the cursed cell phone in the suite and try to enjoy the cruise. Fuck Maggie Sexton. She can’t hurt us.”

“I wish that was true, Dillon. She was always good at torturing me. I just wonder what she has up her sleeve next.”

The couples, joined by Kaylin and Jack and Nicollette Sommers and Dan McGrath, went into the dining room. Dillon was glad to see Mikaela had put the cell phone in her pocket. He just hoped it wasn’t on vibrate, but given Mikaela’s current obsessive-compulsive state of mind, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was. The food aboard the
Golden Dolphin
was five star with endless bottles of wine. He thought he might need a little liquid courage for what he had in mind for the evening’s highpoint. After everyone had ordered, the conversation turned back to the wedding, Jack and Kaylin’s honeymoon cruise to Bermuda, and what they all hoped to do in Cozumel.

After the dancing had started on deck, Dillon took Mikaela’s hand and led her away from the group. He made his way forward to the bow, which was deserted. He pulled Mikki into his arms and kissed her. When they came up for air, he said, “Do you know how much you mean to me? You are everything, baby. Everything.”

“Oh, Dilly. You have to know I feel the same way. I would do anything for you.”

“Is that true?”

“Of course it is, you goofball. I think I’ve proven that at this point.”