Michaels, Skye - Mikaela's Debut [The Black Dahlia Hotel 1] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (14 page)

“Well.” He got down on one knee. “Will you marry me Mikaela Camille Sexton? I’ve been holding off asking because I wanted to give you time to settle down after the plane crash, and then this Maggie stuff came up.” His nerves were vibrating. He didn’t know what he would do if she said no. A few moments went by. “Baby?”

Mikaela looked stunned. She obviously hadn’t been expecting that question right now with all that had been going on. “Dillon, you know I love you, but I think we should wait until the Maggie situation is completely resolved. I don’t want to cost you the election.”

“Mikki, I don’t give a flying fuck about the election. That’s my dad’s dream, not mine. I want us to get engaged and married and start our lives. The rest can take care of itself.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, light-blue box. He opened it. Resting against the satin lining was a two-carat canary diamond ring with a halo setting of bright white diamonds. He slipped it on her finger. “You’re not going to give this back to me, are you?”

“No. I’m not going to give it back. Just try and get this ring back.” She laughed delightedly as she examined the sparkling ring on the third finger of her left hand. “I love you, Dillon, and I want to be your wife more than anything.”

“Well, then that’s what we’re going to do. The rest of the world can just pound sand.” He hugged her tight and sealed their bargain with another soul-shattering kiss. “Let go tell everyone. I’ll have to call my parents. I think I’ll let that go until tomorrow.”

When they got back to the main deck where everyone was still drinking and dancing, Dillon picked up the glass he had left on the table and hit the side with a spoon. “Attention, everyone! I’m pleased to announce that Ms. Mikaela Camille Sexton has consented to be my wife.” The announcement was greeted with whoops, hollers, and loud whistles. The guys stood up to pound on his back in congratulations.

Dillon kept his arm around Mikaela. He had her and he wasn’t letting her go. She laughed and held her hand out to be admired to the gasps, oohs, and aahs of the assembled ladies, who all wanted a closer look. The canary diamond sparkled in the candlelight. Dillon took his seat again and pulled Mikki down into his lap. He knew he was poking her with his hard-on, and he couldn’t wait to get her back to the suite to seal their deal. The feeling of relief was palpable as the tension drained from his chest. Mikaela was going to be his. Permanently. Forever. He wouldn’t let anyone or anything come between them—now or ever.

* * * *

They returned to the suite. Mikaela was anxious to have Dillon to herself. After all, they had just gotten engaged. It was a red-letter day. Dillon picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. He put her down in the center of the bed and came down beside her. He quickly pulled her dress up around her hips and slid her thong down to her ankles and off. “I don’t think I can wait to take all our clothes off.” She watched in fascination as he unzipped his trousers and freed his cock. “I want to be buried inside you, baby. Right now. I could hardly contain myself on deck.” He licked the shell of her ear and smiled when she gasped.

He cuffed her hands above her head with his own as he slowly and relentlessly drove into her wanting and needy pussy. It seemed that he was not going to have the patience for a long session of foreplay tonight. That was fine with her. She was getting desperate to have his hard cock deep in her pussy.

“I need you, Dilly. Don’t ever stop loving me, baby. Nothing is as important to me as you are.”

“I’m here, and I always will be,” he said in a strained, husky voice as he began to stroke her tight channel. He waited a moment for her pussy to accommodate itself to his thick cock before escalating his pace. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and her hips rose to meet his every stroke as he pounded into her, fast and hard. She strained higher and higher as he built the fire in her body and her soul. This was her man, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. No relatives, no day-to-day problems big or small, no little tiffs could be allowed to come between them. Finally, he pushed them both over the erotic edge, and they exploded in an orgasm that rocked through their bodies as they settled into a sated bliss.

* * * *

Saturday morning Mikaela woke up wrapped tightly in Dillon’s arms. She didn’t think she could roll over if she had to. Her first thought was about Dillon’s proposal the night before. It had been so romantic on the moonlit bow of the ship with the wind blowing through her hair. She glanced down at the sparkling yellow diamond on her finger. How had he known that was her absolute dream engagement ring? He really was amazing. She knew she hadn’t told him. No girl was going to leak that info—that she was hoping for a canary diamond engagement ring any time now. She had to giggle. Despite all the turmoil of the last year, she had been ready to be Mrs. Dillon Cavanaugh for quite a while. She wondered how his parents were going to react. Mary Cavanaugh would be delighted, but Joe Cavanaugh wanted Dillon to concentrate on his run for Congress, not on a wedding and new wife. Well, that was a problem for later. Right now she wanted to bask in the glow of being the new fiancée of Dillon Cavanaugh, handsomest, most wonderful man in the world.
Okay. That is a little over the top, but he really is a terrific guy
. Like any human he had his faults, but she knew she could depend on him to be her anchor for the rest of her life.
Isn’t that a wonderful thing?

Dillon’s cell phone began to vibrate and do a happy dance on the bedside table. Mikaela didn’t want to answer in case it was Joe or Mary. Yikes.
Let me roll over and hand the phone to Dillon, Mrs. C
. That wouldn’t do. She tried to turn over and shake his shoulder. “Dilly, your phone is ringing. You’d better get it.”

He groaned. “Wicked woman. You wore me out last night. I need my beauty sleep.”

“Get your beauty sleep after you answer the phone. It might be your parents.”

* * * *

Dillon rolled over and reached for the phone. “Okay. Okay.” His face tightened a bit when he focused on the screen. “Hey, Morgan. What’s up? It’s a little early to call to chat.”

“I know, man, and I’m sorry to wake you guys up, but you need to know about this ASAP. We had you and Mikaela plugged into our global Internet search program, and some unpleasant stuff came up overnight.” He paused. Obviously he didn’t know how to tell him whatever was on his mind, and that was not a good sign.

“Just spit it out, Morgan. It already sounds like it can’t be good news.”

“It’s not. Apparently Maggie Sexton has identified the faceless person in the YouTube sex tape as Mikaela Sexton, girlfriend of the current favorite to be elected to the open congressional seat from Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District. Unfortunately, the story has been picked up by a number of Internet news sites, as well as the
New York Post
,
Greenwich Time
,
Greenwich Post
,
New Haven Advocate
and
New Haven Register
, and all the tabloids. She’s also posted on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Stills from the video are currently up on all the sites.”

“Son of a bitch. We were worried about what she would do next, but that really hadn’t occurred to either of us. What the fuck are we going to do now? I can see the newspapers sitting rolled up next to my father’s breakfast plate as we speak.”

“I would suggest you and Mikaela have a sit-down with Jamie, Miguel, and Jack and discuss your options. Between you I think you’ll come up with a countermove. If I can help in any way, let me know. I hate to suggest this, but you might want to strike back quickly with a press release of your own. That’s what I would do if it were me.”

“Thanks, Morgan. We’ll get right on it.” He disconnected the call and put the phone down on the table.

“Baby? What did Morgan Court have to say? You look green.”

Dillon relayed the entirety of Morgan’s disclosures, and watched as her face fell. She looked as sick as he felt.

“That bitch. How could she do this to me, to us? All for greed and jealousy.”

“Call down for room service, Mikki. I’ll get with the guys to set up a meeting.”

“Dillon, I don’t think I can eat right now.”

“Just have some coffee then.” Dillon dialed the master suite and Jamie Devereau first. Jamie and Jack were sharks, and Miguel had the sharpest legal mind he knew. Between them, they should be able to come up with something. They set up a meeting for ten o’clock in the business center on the fourth deck.

Dillon took Mikaela into his arms and nestled her up against his chest. He needed the comfort as much as she did. “Baby, it will be okay. No matter what happens, we will be okay. That’s why we have each other.”

She started to sob, and he just held her tighter. By the time the steward delivered their breakfast and coffee, she had started to calm down. “That bitch is going to be sorry she messed with me. I’m the one in sole control of the Sexton Foundation, and she’ll never see a penny now. After all my parents did for her…”

* * * *

The business center on board the
Golden Dolphin
, at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, Saturday morning, January 2, 2016

Dillon and Mikaela met with Jamie, Jack, Miguel, and J.J. in the fourth deck business center cabin. Gregory Dempsey, security officer of the
Golden Dolphin
, had also been asked to sit in. The space was considerably smaller than the suites but contained all the necessary business equipment and supplies that a passenger might need to conduct business while at sea. It also sported a comfortable work area, sitting area, and bathroom facilities. Jamie had called for a coffee tray and pastries in case anyone had not yet had breakfast. Dillon had to smile. That guy thought of everything. He hoped that phenomenon would continue and they could address this problem before it got even worse.

“I took a couple of minutes to pull up the Internet sites for some of the papers Morgan mentioned, and he was correct. The shot of Mikaela riding that guy with a clear view of her tattoo was posted every-fucking-where on the Internet.” Dillon was trying to hold it together for Mikki’s sake, but he was close to the edge.

Jamie spoke up. “I checked it out as well. Stories are on all the legit newspaper sites. The trash Internet gossip and celebrity news sites have posted the picture as well. I’m amazed that none of them bothered to confirm the story before posting. I guess it was just too juicy to wait.”

“Yeah. Juicy. That’s my fiancée’s ass out there on the Internet. Sorry, Mikki. I’m just so pissed right now I could spit nails.”

“I know, baby. It’s actually
my ass
that’s out there.” Mikaela looked more than a little shell shocked.

“Morgan suggested to me that we might want to put out a press release immediately as a countermeasure. What do you guys think?”

Jack said, “If it was me, that’s what I would do. You’ve said you don’t care about the election. Why not go on record saying that?”

“A skillfully worded video press release with you and Mikaela showing a unified front might be very beneficial as damage control.” Jamie looked thoughtful. “Greg, do we have the equipment aboard to make a rebuttal video and post it?”

“Absolutely, boss. Natasha and I can get right on that if that’s what you all decide to do.”

Dillon thought for a moment and then turned to Mikaela. “What do you think, baby. Are you up for your second film debut?”

“Yes. Absolutely. I can’t let Maggie get away with this. It’s bad enough she humiliated me with the YouTube video, but now she’s hurt you and your campaign. We can’t let this slide.”

Greg said, “Why don’t you both go up to your suite, shower, rest, and change while Natasha and I set up to film the rebuttal. I’ll contact Morgan Court’s security people for help in posting to all the sites they picked up on, and we’ll hit them first. After that I’m sure our video will take on a life of its own. Court’s security people can get our video out more efficiently than we can from the ship.”

Miguel Gatto, the Broward County State’s Attorney and fiancé of one of the bridesmaids, Gabriella Dellaveccia, took Dillon aside. “How would you and Mikaela feel about prosecuting this woman? I know she is a relative.”

“Miguel, we don’t have admissible evidence. The bugs planted by Morgan Court’s people are illegal surveillance. We were more concerned with gathering intel than evidence that could be introduced in court.”

“I have contacts up there. Do you want me to call in a favor from the Brooklyn DA? They can mount an investigation that would produce admissible evidence.”

“Let me talk to Mikaela. That would be her decision. It’s her cousin after all.”

* * * *

Once Dillon and Mikaela were back in their suite, he said, “I think I should let my dad know there’s a problem before he reads it in the paper or sees it on the computer.”

Mikaela looked troubled. “He’s not going to like it.”

“No. He never does.” He picked up his phone and dialed Connecticut. The phone range twice and Joe Cavanaugh picked up. “Hey, Dad. Did you see the papers this morning?”

“Yes, I did. What the hell is going on, Dillon?” The confrontational tone of voice grated on his nerves. His father was the one person guaranteed to always get to him.