by Pamela Ann
Drake comes over and picks up his doggy, holding Skull against his chest before the dog gives him a few wet licks on the lips. “Show her that you’re made of hard stuff, Baby,” he coos.
I smirk. Drake really does love this dog of his.
He puts him back down on the floor before he wraps his arms around me, smelling my neck. “Now, what would you like for lunch?”
We spend the rest of our Saturday in his house. Kissing, talking and catching up. By the end of the day, I’ve bonded with Skull and I think he favors me more than Drake.
It’s most likely because I sneak him a treat or two when Drake isn’t watching.
A painful scream comes out of me when I feel someone jerk my hair and arm, dragging me off the bed and onto the floor.
“You, stupid whore. Didn’t I warn you to stay away from him? I did, didn’t I? But you didn’t fucking listen! He’s mine!” Shannon shrieks at me.
Since I’m on the floor, the closest thing I can reach is her leg. I pull it hard enough for her to lose her balance and she flops onto the floor next to me with a loud thud.
Shannon is scrambling to get on top of me when Drake yanks her off, throwing her off where she lands on the bed.
She is hysterically crying. “How dare you bring her here! On our bed! This was our bed. How fucking dare you, Drake! You’re mine. You’re mine . . .”
“You and I are done, Shannon. I’ve made that clear already. I have your key. How the fuck did you get in here?” Drake is glaring at her, eyes dark, furious.
My heart is sky-rocketing, beating so hard against my chest; it’s the only thing I feel. That is, until I start to feel the pain on my head. The spot where Shannon pulled my hair is beginning to throb and ache.
“Stupid man, do you think I would hand it over without having it copied? It’s not like you changed your security code, anyway. It was easy. You’re saying that we’re over when she’s around, but I know you still want me. You always have. We’re about to get married, Drake. You can’t keep hurting me like this.” Shannon starts crying again. She tries to reach out to Drake, but he smacks her hand away.
Drake helps me up and carefully places me on one of the cushioned chairs that are on the other side of the room. “Are you okay? Fuck, I’m sorry. Are you hurting?”
“I’m fine. Go take care of that, first.” My eyes send daggers to his deranged ex who is still in the process of crying and pleading.
Hell, what the heck did I get myself into?
Drake grabs his cell phone and dials the cops. He reports a home invasion and illegal trespassing. As he rapidly speaks on the phone, it’s hard to follow.
I feel numb.
My body is still tense and I’m afraid to move for some reason—possibly because the senseless bitch is still on the bed, sending me crazy eyes when Drake isn’t watching her.
When the cops come, Drake takes the reluctant Shannon downstairs. I hear him ask them to take her to the hospital first to get checked over. Just in case she’s high on something.
I feel something wet on my leg and when I look down, I find Skull rubbing his nose on me. I bend down and scratch the back of his ears. He then curls up next to my foot and falls asleep. The adorable fur ball is giving me comfort.
After what seems to be an hour of answering all the questions the police have for Drake, he finally comes back upstairs with some Advil and an icepack.
He finds me, sitting, still in the same position I was in when he left with Shannon. “Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
I nod and swallow the pills with some water. Drake carefully takes me in his arms and carries me into one of the guest rooms. We lie on the bed with Skull leaning on my back, snoring. I’m wrapped around Drake’s body while he holds the icepack to my head.
Drake breaks the silence first. “I didn’t think she was crazy. Okay, I mean toward the end, she started to become off, but I didn’t think for a second she was capable of pulling something like that. I’m just thankful that she didn’t have a knife . . . or a gun. God knows what would’ve happened if she did.”
I would probably be dead by now, or I would’ve killed that daft bitch first. Hell, her crazy eyes are still haunting me. I remember the hate and scorn in those eyes and I shiver.
When the painkillers work their way into my system, Drake takes the icepack off my head.
He’s stroking my arm, softly, as I finally drift off to sleep.
18
“I have to go home and get ready for your mom’s lunch party.”
We just finished eating breakfast where I nibbled on a toast and had some coffee. Honestly, the last thing I want to do is eat or go to a lunch party after last night, but I promised my mom. Today is important to her and I can’t let her down.
“How about you let me shower quickly, then we can drive back to your house and go to my parents’ house together?” Drake asks before taking a swig of his coffee.
“About that . . . I don’t want them to get any ideas, yet. I want to keep this between you and me for a while, if you don’t mind?”
“I do mind. Why would you want to keep me as your dirty, little secret?” Drake nods, the answer just dawning on him. “Right, in case this doesn’t work out between us,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Don’t get angry. I just don’t want all the fuss. We barely just started. I want to keep it that way for now. I did tell you that we’ll be taking it one step at a time.”
Drake merely shrugs and then looks away, hurt.
Drake’s car is already parked in his parents’ driveway when I get there. As I’m pulling into an open space in the drive, my ringing phone distracts me from thoughts of Drake.
“Hey, Masie! What’s up?”
“You’re still coming for the barbeque this afternoon, right? Just checkin’, that’s all.” Masie’s chirpy demeanor helps ease my tensed body.
“Yep, I did say I was coming. Gotta go, Hon, I’m going to meet Mom’s boyfriend for the first time.” Hopefully, everything will be okay.
“Okay, see you in a few.”
After ending the call with Masie, I sit in the car, killing time. I took a couple of painkillers before I left my house, but it seems that it’s taking forever to kick-in. My head throbs and my arm hurts like it’s strained.
I lean back against the seat, closing my eyes, rubbing the area on my arm that is aching. Maybe, I have to get something stronger to dull the pain away, I think.
“Lily?” I hear Drake knock on my window. Without opening my eyes, I unlock my door and open it.
“Give me a minute. I should be out soon,” I mumble in response.
“Are you hurting, Babe?” Drake looks worried as he squats down to my level and checks my arm.
I flinch when he touches the sore spot. “Just a little, but I already took some pain meds before I left the house. I’m still waiting for it to kick in.”
Drake takes off my seatbelt and gathers me in his arms. “I’m taking you in. You need to rest.”
“I can walk. Put me down,” I protest. “Drake, I will rest, okay? But you have to let me walk. I can’t imagine what they will think if you burst inside the house with me hanging in your arms.”
Drake sighs. “I was only thinking about your welfare, Lil.”
I give him a quick kiss, which helps his mood. “I know.” I smile at him.
We slowly walk toward the entrance. Drake drops his arm off my shoulder once we enter the foyer. The Tatum’s Spanish-style residence is majestic. It has twelve bedrooms, a crazy amount of bathrooms, two kitchens, two pools and a huge tennis court.
“Lily, I’m so happy you could make it.” Patricia kisses my cheek and gives me a warm hug before she lets go and kisses my forehead.
“Drake’s not being a pain is he, Hon? If he is, you go straight to me.” Patricia eyes us with a huge smile.
“Mom, Lily doesn’t feel too well. I’m about to take her upstairs and let her rest for a bit.” Drake stands a little closer to me.
&
nbsp; “Of course, go say hi to your mom first, so she doesn’t worry. Do you need any medicine?” She doesn’t even let me respond to that before she orders Drake to tell someone in the kitchen to prepare some food for me and he can take it upstairs with him.
“I already plan on it, Mom,” Drake murmurs before walking away.
“Your mother is in the dining room with Colin and Hugh.” Patricia pauses. “You’re okay with her dating again, right? Your mom is happy. I can vouch for that.” You can see she is worried that I won’t approve of Mom’s new love life; it’s written all over her face.
“I am, Pat. I’m glad she did. She needs someone to be there for her, too. I’m actually pleased that it’s with Colin. At least we know the man already.”
Patricia looks radiant. “That is true. It’s just been too long for her. She deserves it.” Pat clears her throat and eyes me. “I don’t mean to pry… but I can’t help it. Drake can’t take his eyes off you. Please tell me that he’s trying to win you? You know there’s nothing in this world that would please me more… Drake and you together. It’s my only wish.” She looks expectant as she waits for me to speak.
Yes, Patricia. We all know it. I want to say that Drake and I are actually together, but I don’t want to get her hopes up. “All I can tell you is . . . I guess he’s trying.”
She is overjoyed. “That man . . . I keep telling him that there will be no other woman who will make him as happy as you, Lil. Every time I tell him that, he tells me to drop the subject, but I guess it did get through to him. The way my son looks at you, he won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”
“I know,” I whisper. I remember how relentless he can be and I clearly remember how he has been since I’ve succumbed to him. He’s insatiable and I love every second of it. The man knows his way around a woman’s body. I blush as I recall his antics.
Patricia and I go into the dining room and join the rest of the group. I greet Mom, Hugh and Colin. Colin is still pleasant and still looks the same since I last saw him. Which was ages ago. Patricia explains that I’m not feeling too well, but before I leave the dining room, I see her wickedly wink at me.
I meander back toward the hall and find Drake waiting for me at the stairs, leaning against the staircase. My body prickles when I get close to him. “Hi.”
“Ready?” Drake asks.
I frown. “For what?”
Drake picks me up and takes me upstairs to his old bedroom. How he manages to get there without tripping, I will never know. Once we are next to his bed, he slowly puts me down and undresses me until I only have my bra and underwear on. He then puts me in his bed and covers me with the sheets.
“You might not be hungry, but I’m going to feed you anyway,” Drake says as he takes a tray of food and places it on the side table. The smell of fresh sautéed shrimps, grilled steak and vegetables makes my mouth water. “Open your pretty little mouth, Lil.”
I glare at him. “I can feed myself.”
He shakes his head. “Nope, where’s the fun in that? Let me take care of you, Babe.”
Damn the man for being so sweet. I can’t help but say ‘yes’ every single time this side of him comes out.
So he feeds me until I’m full. Drake wants me to finish the entire raspberry topped crème brûlée, but I’m way past my limit. “I can’t . . . no more. You’ve already proved to be such a good nurse. I’m good.” I grin at him.
Drake stands up and puts the tray aside after he carefully cleans my lips of any food residue. “What now?” I look at him, expectantly.
“What do you want to do? Do you want to rest? I can get you more pain meds if you need them.” Drake sits on the bed and starts to stroke his fingers against mine.
Emboldened, I tell him, “I want your kisses. Can you make that happen?”
Drake jumps right on the bed and gets on top of me. “Thought you’d never ask,” he murmurs before he kisses me with such affection, I hopelessly burn against him.
I run my fingers through his hair, playfully pulling it. Drake groans against my lips. “Relax and sit tight while my mouth devours you.”
I yelp when Drake situates his head in between my core and bites into the flesh of my inner thigh. “You’re too playful,” I complain. I hear his light chuckle and feel his hot breath against my mound as he removes my panties.
“You have no idea . . . how playful I can be.” My fingers clutch the sheets when his tongue pierces into my wet entrance. Those were the last words he spoke to me for an hour and half.
19
“Masie, this is Drake. He wanted to tag along. I hope you don’t mind me bringing him without giving you a heads up.” I look at my smiling, curious friend.
She might be smiling, but I know what she might be truly thinking behind the façade. She’s probably freaking out and jumping for joy that I brought Drake here.
“Ah, I’ve heard a lot about you, Drake. Nice to finally meet you. When Lily said you were good-looking, I didn’t realize she was lying. ‘Cause you’re more than good looking.” Masie greets him and Drake blushes from Masie’s boldness.
“You asked for it. You did invite yourself to come along,” I mutter next to him.
“Nice to meet you, Masie.” Drake hands her a bottle of red wine before Masie leads us inside.
Masie doesn’t hold back when she checks Drake’s backside as he moves past her, then gives me a thumbs-up. I simply glare at her. “It’s just us and a few of our close friends,” Masie informs Drake.
I stop when I see Jared outside, laughing and drinking a beer.
Hell, am I being punished? Why are bad things happening to me? When it rains, it pours, they say. Now I know what that phrase truly means.
When Drake sees my expression, he follows to where my gaze has landed. He immediately tenses behind me. “Try to behave will you, Lil?” Drake asks me in a low tone, just loud enough for me to hear.
“Scared that I’ll ditch you for another man?” I’m beyond amused. Drake is really possessive. He cusses and I just give him a bright smile.
“Don’t worry, you can’t be easily replaced.”
Drake starts to thaw, just a tad. “You mean that, Lil?”
Always, Drake. “Yes, I do mean it.”
When we go out to the backyard and join the rest of the party. Jared smiles when he sees me, but that smile turns into a frown once he spies Drake, who follows behind me.
Masie introduces Drake to the rest of her friends. Nick eyes Drake before he shakes hands with him. I’m guessing Nick instantly knows who he is, based on his reaction. “Welcome, Drake.” Nick motions for Drake to take a seat and join them at the table. There are a dozen or so of their friends sitting around the table.
As the party goes on, Nick, David and Drake are engrossed in their talk about movies and special effects. I decide to go inside and help Masie out in the kitchen instead of trying to follow the guys’ conversation. I hardly notice when Jared follows me in.
“Lily, can we talk?”
I clear my throat before I agree. Jared leads us to the living room for some privacy. Jared chooses to stand toward the very end of the room, away from where I am.
“The weeks you promised, I guess that’s not valid any longer?” he asks accusingly.
“The other night, we sorted things out somehow. I want to give Drake another chance. I have to. I feel that I owe it to myself to know if it could really work or not. I meant to tell you,” I plead to Jared. He looks like he can’t believe what I’m telling him.
“I really like you, Lily. You must know that. I’m hurt, yeah. Although, I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t see this one coming after leaving you the other night with him being so angry.” Jared sits on the beige couch and huffs out a sigh. “Tell the guys that I’m going home. I need to clear my head for the day. I just got hit by a big blow. I need time to process this, if you don’t mind.” He suddenly stands up and walks toward where I stand, rooted on the spot.
I feel like the most wretc
hed person for making this sweet guy miserable. There is no other way to go about it. I want Drake and I want to see where this can go. I’m done denying what my heart’s been telling me since the day that he came back into my life.
Jared kisses my cheek. “I knew that this man owned your heart when I saw how you reacted to him. Follow where your heart leads you . . . and be happy. Take care, Lil.”
“Thank you, Jared,” I say with gratitude for his understanding.
He gives me a sad, shaky smile before leaving the living room and out of the house.
After a few minutes, Masie comes in and gathers me in her arms. “Don’t feel too bad, Missy. I think we all know that your heart lies with Drake after all these years. Jared knew the score. Nick tried to warn him off, but he didn’t listen.”
Masie and I join the rest of party. When one of the guys asks where Jared went, she just shrugs, tells them that he had to sort something out and needed to leave immediately.
“Everything okay, Babe?” Drake whispers against my ear when I sit next to him. He sounds worried. I’m grateful that he didn’t freak out when Jared followed me inside. Knowing how Drake is, he most likely saw it, but trusted me to take care of it and I did; I took care of it.
I brightly smile at him before I give him a quick kiss. “It is now.”
His pauses and looks me over. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, Drake.”
His pleased, beautiful smile does me in. “Thank you. That makes me so happy. I’ll show you how happy I am tonight.” Drake’s eyes burn me up. I feel my cheeks grow hot and my vaginal muscles tighten.
Damn the man. He’s getting me aroused right in front of my friends.
His shrewd eyes figure out what is going on with my body as he sees the changes in me. His eyes dilate as he stares at me. I’m surprised when he suddenly stands up and excuses us both. “I have to speak to Lily for a bit. Please excuse us.”
