Desired: Loving An Alpha Male

by S. K. Lessly

  I leaned back against the chair and started biting my nails. I hadn’t had that nasty little nervous habit since I was fourteen.

  “I don’t know, Drake. The room was in shambles. It was like a hurricane ran through the room. A Tasmanian devil would be more like it. Do you know that cartoon character?”

  He nodded with a half-smile. “Yes, I remember... Did they take anything of value? Watch, money, jewelry? Anything like that?”

  “No, nothing like that. But they made sure I couldn’t use any of the clothes I had right down to my underwear and bras. It’s like twenty thousand worth of damage… I can’t pay for that.”

  He frowned. “You won’t have to pay for it. Don’t worry about that.”

  “How can you say that? I’ve already heard from their lawyer. They’re suing me.”

  “Baby, I promise you, you won’t have to pay them a dime. Now I need you to think hard… Do you remember having a feeling of someone following you or watching you?”

  I didn’t hesitate. “No, nothing like that. I know what you’re getting at, but I didn’t see anyone suspicious around me. And I was staying at my father’s house for most of the time I was in town. I only got a hotel room when Dara and I would hang out in the city.”

  “Dara was the one with you at my club?”

  I nodded and brought my hand back up to my mouth; thinking about that night, seeing him with that woman.

  Drake took my hand from my mouth. “Listen, I’m getting close to getting this solved, okay? Don’t worry about anything. You can stay here until this whole thing blows over. We’ll get you some clothes, so you aren’t living from that small ass bag you’re carrying. Is that car a rental?” I told him it was, and he added, “Okay, well we’ll take that car back. You can drive my car; I’ll drive the truck.”

  A complete feeling of warmth came over me like the feeling of a warm blanket when it’s below freezing outside. I felt myself tearing so I turned my head. Those hormones were driving me crazy. I’d never cried that much in my life. I was completely embarrassed to tell him. I actually cried myself to sleep that night because of how much he was taking care of me.

  “Georgia,” he said softly.

  I shook my head. “I’m fine… it’s just…” I met his eyes. “Thank you so much for helping me… I don’t know what I would have done if you turned me away.”

  Something washed over his usually hard features that I couldn’t begin to explain to you. It was something that I’ve never seen before, and it made him look less scary, less mean, less bad. The moment that it appeared, it was gone.

  He said to me, “The moment you came to me, I knew I wasn’t going to turn you away. This bartender and I have unfinished business, and I hate having loose ends. They always find a way of coming back.”

  I didn’t want to take that personal, but with all of those hormones I kind of did.

  Drake closed his laptop and stood. “Make yourself at home. There is food from last night in the fridge if you want to heat up anything. There’s also eggs in there but the milk, I wouldn’t risk it. I’m going upstairs to lie down for a little while. When I get up, we’re out of here. First stop; take your car back. Then get you some decent clothes. Okay?”

  Tears again! I just said softly, “Okay.”

  Drake stared at me for a long moment before he left. He was probably wishing he’d said no to me in Cabo.

  But he had no idea how much I was glad he didn’t.

  I took a shower in one of the other rooms. Then I found the laundry room and washed my clothes. I was tired of the short sleeve shirts. It was downright cold out there.

  Lately, I’d been able to keep some things down, so I attempted to eat the shrimp fried rice, which I have to say was really good, and I drank plenty of water. I took a prenatal pill after I ate, learning the hard way I needed something on my stomach before I took them and watched television until Drake woke up.

  While he drove my rental, he had me drive his “monster,” which happened to be a tricked out Dodge Charger, big and loud and oh so beautiful. We took my rental back to the airport, and he ended up paying cash for it, which I tried to get him not to, but he gave me one of those murderous looks, so I got quiet.

  He then took over driving and we drove downtown to a place called The Galleria, which was right in the middle of downtown Philly.

  Before we got out of the car, he looked at me. “I don’t want you to use any of your credit cards. From now on, you use cash only.”

  But I don’t have any cash, I thought. I started to say that, but I saw him come out of his pocket with a wad of money. He counted, and I just stared at all the one hundred dollar bills he had. He then handed a small stack over to me.

  “That’s two thousand dollars. That should be enough to get at least the bare necessities, some clothes, underwear, shit like that. Shoes and coats can get costly, so I’ll take care of those. I know women like to shop, but we are on a time clock here. Do you think you can be done in three hours?”

  I… was… speechless.

  Timeout.

  Did this man just give me two thousand dollars in one hundred dollar bills and then say he would charge anything else to his card? And did he just say if three hours of shopping would be enough time?

  I don’t know about you, but I’m waiting for Ashton Kutcher to come out and tell me that I’m being “punked.”

  Drake smirked. “Yeah, I know, but I’m trying to be sympathetic to your needs since you’ve been through a lot. Don’t think this is going to happen all the time.”

  He got out of the car, and I sat there feeling like I was gut-punched twice.

  Did he say “don’t think this is going to happen all the time,” as if I’ll be around ‘all the time’?

  Drake opened my door and helped me out. “Are you okay?”

  All I could do is nod and grab his hand, walking quickly into Macy’s.

  So I shopped for only two hours, actually he shopped for me for two hours and ate for thirty minutes before we left. I don’t want to admit it out loud for fear he’d take this the wrong way, but I had the best time of my life. He nixed almost everything I picked out, reminding me I was in Philly, not Miami. Then he started reminding me how old I was and to get out of the old lady section.

  He didn’t realize that most hip clothes wouldn’t fit on this body.

  This rare specimen took a look at me, and then started shopping for me. He started handing me clothes to go try on, and I have to say he had some really great taste. When I looked shocked when something looked phenomenal on me, he would just shrug and say, “It’s a gift.”

  I couldn’t wait to get out of the clothes I had on and into the clothes he bought for me. I did attempt to tell him I would pay him back every cent of what he spent, and he gave me that murderous look again. I figured that look was used often, but as quick as he brings it, it’s gone.

  When we got back to his place, he was only there for thirty minutes before he told me he had to run out.

  “Listen, I’m going to take you out to dinner tonight. Nothing too fancy since we didn’t shop for that kind of stuff yet… but nice. I’ll text you the address of the restaurant and the time to meet me.” He dropped the keys to the “monster” on the kitchen counter. “I’ll see you later, and please burn that jacket you have, baby. Wear one of the ones we bought, okay?”

  With that bit of instruction, he left the apartment.

  I took another long, hot bath and crawled into his bed again, feeling drained from the outing and all the emotions that I’d been feeling. Drake sent me a text about two hours later, giving me an address that I knew I would have to map on my phone. He asked me to meet him there at seven-thirty, and it was five o’clock at the time, so I had some time.

  Unfortunately, this dang pregnancy had me crazy because I woke again to the buzz of my phone and saw it was six forty-five. Drake had text messaged me and just said, “Get up.”

  “Shit.” I stood quickly, actually too quickly, got diz
zy and fell flat on my ass.

  Did I say this dang pregnancy had me crazy?

  Anyway, I got dressed as fast as I could, putting on a sweater style dress and leggings with a pair of four-inch platform boots. I left the condo a little after seven and, seeing that the restaurant he was sending me too was about fifteen to twenty minutes from his place, I was confident that I would make it in time… However, yeah, that wasn’t the case. I ended up having to use the restroom as soon as I got to the car, so I had to go back upstairs. I ended up finding the restaurant closer to eight.

  There were no parking spaces in the front of the restaurant, so I went to find a parking garage somewhere close. It was that moment when my phone went off. I found a parking lot to park in, and I raided Drake’s change to pay for the meter. I saw that Drake texted me asking where I was, and I told him I was parking.

  I had to park around the corner, so I moved as fast as I could, knowing I was so late.

  When I turned the corner, Drake was standing outside in a pair of brown slacks and a black sweater. He wore a fedora on his head, something that he’d done for most of the trip in Cabo, and his trademark cigar was parked between his lips. He looked so fine and sexy so much so that I almost fell, tripping over the sidewalk because I was paying so much attention to him. When his eyes came to mine, I smiled. However, my smile wasn’t greeted very well. He took the cigar out of his mouth and moved quickly to me.

  “Where are you coming from?” he asked me, looking behind me, and then back in my eyes.

  A little thrown off by his tone, I pointed behind me. “I parked the car. There were no parking spaces in the front of the restaurant, so it took me a minute, but I found one a few blocks away.”

  “A few blocks? You have got to be kidding me. Give me the keys.”

  Now I was getting pissed, so I slammed his keys in his hand. He gave me a sharp look but turned and signaled one of the valets to come over to him. He tossed him his keys. “Go and get my car, and park it in the front of the restaurant.”

  “Yes sir,” the valet responded.

  Drake looked at me. “What’s the name of the parking garage?”

  “It’s not a garage; it’s a lot. I’m not sure of the name. It’s around that corner though, about two or three streets down.” As the guy ran off, Drake gave me another funny look, and I’d just about had it. “I don’t know what the big deal is, Lincoln. I don’t know why you’re pissed at me.”

  Drake squared his shoulders in front of me. Brows furrowed, he said, “I’m not pissed at you. I’m pissed at your fucking past. I’m pissed that no one in your life has taught you how you’re supposed to be treated. What you’re supposed to expect from a man. Understand something; if I ask you to meet me somewhere, my club or a restaurant, and there’s a valet, you valet. Don’t worry about paying for it; consider it paid because I’ll be out there waiting for you to arrive anyway, and I’ll have already taken care of it. It’s not cool that you parked blocks from the restaurant in the cold at night. I don’t want you walking around at night alone. It’s not safe, number one, and number two, I just don’t get down like that. When you’re with me, you’re with me. If we are both going someplace and I have to park far from the entrance of wherever we’re going, I’ll let you off at the front door and go park the car. And I’ll go and get the car while you wait inside for me when it’s time to leave. That’s how I roll, understand?”

  I didn’t reply.

  How could I?

  I’d never in my life been treated like he’s describing, number one. Gavin always made me walk, no matter what time of the day or how hot or cold it was outside. If he parked far from the restaurant, we both walked. If I was meeting him somewhere, he was waiting inside for me. He never opened the car door for me either… like ever… So, no, I didn’t know what to expect.

  Drake didn’t say another word, he just took my hand in his and walked toward the restaurant.

  I finally found my voice and said, which later I regretted, “The things you just said didn’t sound like they would come from a bad boy who is part of a notorious crime family. That sounded like it came from a good guy.”

  Drake stopped walking and said to me, “No, baby, that is just how you’re supposed to be treated. It’s what I learned from my father and what’s been drilled and upheld in me by my uncle. Maybe that’s the only thing good in me that I possess.”

  The sadness in his eyes made me want to kick myself. He was being a perfect gentlemen and I threw his way of life in his face.

  Once we made it into the restaurant, I looked around the place and found it empty, but I could hear loud voices and kids talking and screaming coming from somewhere. I looked at Drake as he led me through the empty dining area and into the back of the restaurant where I got the shock of my life.

  The back private area was packed with two very long tables filled with one rather large family. All eyes fell on us as we entered the room and as the chants of his name, “Hey, Cuz,” or “Uncle Drake” rang through the room, I realized that he has brought me to a family dinner.

  I squeezed his hand tight, and he looked at me. I know my eyes were wide as saucers, and all he did was grin at me. He kissed my hand and said, “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I told you when you’re with me, you’re with me.”

  Drake spoke to everyone he passed and brought me up to a plump old woman with a little plump baby in her lap. She smiled at Drake, then at me, and I swear her smile grew like tenfold. She gave someone next to her the baby, and she stood.

  To me, this woman looked like a traditional Italian grandmother, and when Drake leaned in my ear and said, “This is my grandmother, Bella,” all I could do was smile at her.

  She didn’t just take my smile though. She cupped my face in her hands and while still smiling kissed both of my cheeks. She then hugged me tight and touched Drake’s face as well.

  I didn’t understand that greeting, but I went with it. Next he took me to some of his aunts and uncles and a few of his cousins. Then he brought me to one of the most attractive Italian men I had ever seen. I mean, he looked as if he had just come out of GQ Magazine. He wore a pair of jeans and a jacket with a button down white shirt. His hair was thick and dark and laid lazily over his eye, which he had to move back from when he stood to greet me.

  “Georgia, this is my cousin, Angel.”

  Oh my.

  “Angel, this is…”

  “Your Georgia…” Angel finished and reached for my hand. I watched as he brought it to his lips and said softly, “Ciao Bella.” He showed me his perfect teeth and perfect smile.

  Oh my indeed.

  Drake moved my hand from his cousin’s. “Enough with trying to seduce my date.” He went on to introduce me to others. “Georgia, this is Eddie, Angel’s brother, and this is my Uncle Bruno. Uncle Bruno this is Georgia Sayers, Gregory Sayer’s daughter.”

  Okay, can I say that if Angel was classic Italian hottie than his father was the start of the mold because wow. He was tall like Angel and Drake, dark and built like a brick building. He exuded power in his eyes, his character and just his presence. I felt weak in my knees just standing in front of him as if I should be kneeling or something and kissing his ring.

  He smiled at me as he too took my hand and kissed it. Again, if I could blush, I think I’d be as red as the tablecloth.

  Drake’s uncle said to me, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bella. Please have a seat. I hope you’re hungry. We have a lot of food.”

  I smiled and stumbled out, “Yes, sir, I am. Thank you.’

  Drake moved to the seat across from Angel and next to his Uncle and sat me next to him. I didn’t see the significance to the seat arrangements until I saw Eddie give Drake an ugly look as he sat down. I almost wondered if we were sitting in his seat or something.

  Now to Eddie. Okay, can I be honest? Eddie looked adopted almost. I mean, I could see his father in him, and he had a great head of black wavy hair. It’s just the bulk of muscle and stature wa
sn’t there. It was there in the three men at the head of this table but not in Eddie. I also found it rather odd that Drake introduced all of his family as “cousin” or his “uncle” but when he introduced Eddie it was “Angel’s brother.” Maybe there was some bad blood between cousins and the seat that Drake was in Eddie felt belonged to him.

  Wow, the movies do have it right. There is drama within a crime family.

  Chapter 15

  Drake

  I have to say dinner was uneventful. I was waiting for the wisecracking cousin of mine to embarrass me but suffice it to say he was quiet. He was actually trying to limit the amount of wine his date was putting back. Eddie was cutting his eyes at me and Georgia, but he remained on his side of the table and relatively quiet. The night was actually surprisingly good. Being with my family like this was the only time I was able to relax around my uncle. Even when I was staying at his home, I was on alert. And, to be honest, nothing was stopping someone from taking out our entire family as we ate dinner, but they would have to be assured the entire family was there. Otherwise, retaliation would be swift, painful and destructive.

  I watched Georgia with my family, and I couldn’t help but smile. It shocked me how my grandmother greeted her, and I had to find out what that was all about. But I was pleased nonetheless. My aunts were very nice to her, but of course I couldn’t say that for some of my cousins, but that’s only because they were always trying to fix me up with their friends.

  I leaned back in my seat just as Georgia took my little cousin, Nya, in her arms. Nya was precious and another person I would undoubtedly kill for without hesitation. There’s not that many people I would do that for and the very people were sitting on either side of me and directly in front of me. Don’t get me wrong, I will protect everyone in this room with my life, but there are only a few that I would leave bodies for. As I looked at Georgia kiss on my cousin, I realized there was one person in this room that had the kind of power over me to drive me completely insane.