Page 22 of One Weekend in Rio de Janeiro

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When it came to Kate, Donovan was insatiable. He spent all night between her legs, exploring her body and whispering dirty words in her ear as he made her come. Over and over. It felt like this was their only chance, their special weekend, and once it was over, the spell would break and everything would go back to normal.

Donovan would return to his life in New York and Kate would go back to hers in Tennessee. The thought depressed him and he pushed it out of his mind, focusing instead on Kate and their mind-blowing night together.

Inevitably, morning came, and after making leisurely love to her, he took her again in the shower against the cool tiles. He couldn’t linger long afterwards or he’d risk being late for his meeting. In the past, he never would’ve stayed up all night before such a significant, possibly life-altering meeting. But Donovan didn’t regret one moment spent with Kate. In fact, he was reluctant to leave her.

“You have to go or you’ll be late,” she chastised, trying to push him away as he nuzzled her neck, nibbling lightly.

As crazy as it sounded, Donovan was tempted to reschedule the meeting again and drag Kate back into bed. But, he couldn’t. He was lucky Kent Warren had agreed to see him today and Donovan wasn’t the kind of person to fuck around with someone else’s precious time. Especially a billionaire like Warren who was gracious enough to see him.

“I’m going.” He kissed her hard on the lips and pulled back.

“Good luck. I know you’ll do amazing.”

“Thanks. We can celebrate when I get back.”

“Sounds like a plan. Knock ‘em dead.”

Donovan gave her another quick kiss then forced himself to walk away, gritting his teeth and ignoring the heaviness in his pants. He walked over to where Kate’s beach bag was still laying on the floor where she’d dropped it last night. Reaching in, he pawed around for his wallet, pulled it out and opened it up. His heart sank. The flash drive was gone.

“Fuck!”

“What’s wrong?” Kate moved up beside him.

“Someone stole the flash drive.”

Her mouth dropped. “What?”

“It must’ve happened at some point yesterday when we were out.”

With a defeated sigh, Donovan dropped his head back. Everything he needed for his presentation was on that flash drive—his notes, presentation, specs, endless ideas that he’d spent the last year designing. And now some asshole had stolen it all and could be heading anywhere to pitch his brilliant idea to someone else. Anger poured through him.

“You don’t need it,” Kate said softly. “I know you know that presentation like the back of your hand. Now go and blow that billionaire’s mind with your genius.”

Donovan frowned. Was she right? Could he do this without it?

“Don’t doubt yourself, Donovan. You’ve got this.”

He knew Kate was right. He could do it, with or without his notes, because he’d been preparing for this moment for a long time. Even if someone had his flash drive, Donovan was Spectre’s creator and no one understood his invention and its potential like he did.

Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you, Kate. For believing in me.”

“Always,” she murmured.

He ran a hand through her hair, tucked a loose strand behind her ear then walked out. Giving himself a pep talk as he took the elevator down to the lobby, he mentally began to go over his presentation. After exiting the hotel, he made his way down to the street and grabbed a ride to Warren’s office.

The city was already alive and partying again. It’s like no one even went to sleep. Rio exuded an energy that was both infectious and enchanting.

Damn, Donovan was really starting to love this city.

Kent Warren had an office in Rio de Janeiro’s Centro, the normally bustling financial district, where towering skyscrapers blended with the region’s stunning natural landscapes. With Carnival in full swing, though, no one was working. Offices and buildings were empty and, as Donovan stepped out of the cab, something made the back of his neck prickle. Pushing it aside, he attributed it to the stolen flash drive. Donovan hated feeling unprepared and, even more, that he’d been duped. Looking back, there had been plenty of opportunity for someone to swoop in and grab his wallet from the beach bag. While he and Kate had been swimming, dancing, eating or walking through the endless crowds, completely focused on each other, the thief could’ve palmed it. Hell, the bag hadn’t even zipped. It was just a cheap plastic straw bag meant for beach accessories.

But, the truth was he’d memorized his presentation months ago, and he knew he had the full confidence and knowledge to deliver it. He was going to go in there and wow Kent Warren. Nothing short of a natural disaster could stop him right now, and that investment money was as good as in his bank account.

Donovan stepped into the building and the sheer emptiness was a little eerie. Especially after all the excitement and endless crowds he just left behind. Ignoring it, he walked over to the elevator and hit the twenty-fifth floor. The only thing he needed to be thinking about right now was securing that funding.

It only took a few moments to zoom upward. Donovan stepped off the elevator, walked through a pair of glass doors and was greeted by an assistant. The elegant woman left her desk only to return a moment later. “Please, follow me,” she said in flawless English.

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