Please be aware that there's a LEMON and ADULT THEMES. Please do not read if you're underage or uncomfortable.
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He remembered seeing the gun, almost glimmering in the soft light of the chandeliers in the ballroom.
No.
Every thought, every rational consideration left his mind. Anything and everything he had to do was to protect her. As adrenaline pumped through his body, the bullet hurtling towards her almost sounded like it was humming. The thought of a life without Riley flashed through his mind, and his body swerved easily in front of hers.
Then there was sharp pain. So sharp it sucked his breath away. Shock. And then darkness.
The darkness was punctuated by a few blurred memories: a stifled sob, distant sounding sirens, and the feeling of a warm hand in his. Then darkness again.
A blurry light filled his view. “Drake?” he heard her, her voice barely a whisper. He willed his eyes to open, to see her, to know she was okay.
As his vision adjusted, there she was. Her hazel eyes bright and open, looking at him in a way that made his knees weak: expectant and excited.
Riley.
He could fill a lifetime with looks like that.
For that moment, his entire existence was there, looking into those eyes. He felt nothing and could focus on nothing else. Was this heaven? If it was, he’d take it.
Quickly disproving the heaven theory, a dull ache filled his chest. He coughed dryly, suddenly aware of the beeps, bandages, and machines tangled up around him.
He reached his hand out weakly, expecting air, pleasantly surprised when a soft hand grabbed it immediately, holding it against her chest. She stared, locking eyes with him for several moments.
He interrupted the silence, surprising even himself by how dry and rough his voice sounded, “Jeez. I know I’m beautiful, Brooks, but your staring is starting to make me blush.”
She didn’t take the bait. She didn’t throw back sarcasm, joke, or roll her eyes. Her face broke out into a wide smile, her eyes starting to glisten. “You’re okay!”
His body jerked upwards instinctively, longing to use his thumb to brush away her tears. The wire attached to his chest protested, holding him down. He winced at the pain. She patted his arm. “Stay still. I’m here. I’m here as long as you need me to be.”
He was about to protest, but a soft kiss on his palm calmed him. He closed his eyes again. For the first time in his life, he was sure: she’s not leaving.
****
The hours turned into days. True to her word, Riley only left to shower, change, and check on Liam, Hana and Maxwell. According to Riley, Hana and Maxwell had been briefly missing after assassins swarmed the palace, taken as hostages to bribe the King. Luckily, they had been found by the police and released, recuperating safely at the Beaumont estate.
Riley chastised Drake often for putting himself in harms’ way, but he knew he’d take a hundred bullets again if it meant she’d stay safe.
Savannah, Bartie, and Liam came in and out throughout the day, making sure Drake was okay. His sister fussed over him incessantly and Liam tried to distract him with other things: the whiskey he had bought to share with Drake in the future, hijinks at court, and reassurances that everything in the palace was fine.
But if he was honest with himself, the only thing Drake looked forward to was when they left at 7, and he was left alone with Riley.
A week into his recovery, Drake was healing well and hooked up to considerably less machines. Savannah fussed over the state of his long hair, kissed him on the forehead, and left. Drake caught the meaningful look she gave Riley as she stepped out of the hospital room, a small nod of appreciation. He could’ve sworn Savannah’s eyes looked a little moist.
Riley closed the door behind her, sitting on one of the wooden chairs in his hospital room and stifling a yawn. He knew she didn’t sleep well on those chairs, and had told her several times he understood if she needed to leave for the night.
But she never left.
And though he’d never admit it, Drake didn’t know if he could manage without her. If he had a guess at the reason he was healing so well, it was the short, bouncy, bright woman in front of him, telling him a story about her first crush.
“So then, I knew his name was Justin, but I thought it’d be cool to pretend I didn’t know who he was,” she paused to laugh, “So I kept calling him ‘Joe,’ assuming it would somehow make him like me more. Unsurprisingly, he assumed I didn’t like him and didn’t talk to me again. I don’t know, I guess I was a little silly,” she shrugged.
“Was? Past tense? ” he cocked his eyebrow up dramatically. She hit him (very gently) with a hospital pillow.
He frowned. Drake could tell she was always holding herself back with him, afraid that she’d hurt him. He missed the rough, stolen kisses, the uninhibited touching, and the last time they spent considerable time alone together. He gulped audibly. Thinking back to that gold dress slipping down her back….
Drake sighed. They had barely hugged a few times since he woke up in the hospital. He tried not to take it personally. After all, he had just taken a bullet to the chest and undergone surgery. But the fear that he just wasn’t good enough for her would creep in every now and then and make it feel personal.
He shook his head. Focus, you idiot. She’s here for you, isn’t she? He looked at the woman in front of him, keeping him company. He could scarcely believe it, but she didn’t even seem to mind being there.
She fussed over his food, asked the doctors hundreds of questions, and when she thought he was asleep, he would sometimes catch her looking at him. She occasionally brushed the hair out of his eyes or wiped beads of sweat off of his face.
His doctor had finally unhooked him from almost everything, and his left side was completely unrestrained. “Hey, uh, Brooks?”
“Hmm?” she looked up from her phone. Her hair was pulled back into a braid, a few stray tendrils framing her oval-shaped face. His breath hitched. She was doing that thinking pout she did sometimes, accentuating the shape and fullness of her lips. Drake wanted more than anything to kiss her.
“So my entire, uh, left side is free of any sort of wires. Do you want to join me up here tonight? Plenty of room,” he patted the side of the bed.
She hesitated; he could see her holding her breath as her mind went through some heavy considerations. A lump started forming at the base of his throat. Sure they had slept together recently, but maybe her feelings had changed. Since then, they had just hugged. Just hugged. Was this her way of saying that she felt for him…. as a friend? A friend who had risked his life for her, sure, but was he crossing a line asking her to sleep by him?
He suddenly felt queasy. “You know, Brooks, what I did for you….. I did it with no strings attached. I appreciate you being here for me, but you don’t owe me anything. If your feelings have changed, I’d understand.”
His voice was a bit gruffer than he had intended. He wished it wasn’t dripping with pain, but he didn’t have the energy to pretend anymore.
She stared at him in stunned silence, her eyes wide. Her lip started to quiver, “how could you even say that?”
“What?”
“You heard me, Drake Walker. How could you even SAY that?”
He sighed. How was it that even when he was trying to be understanding, he messed up?
“I’d understand if you need some space…”
With that she stood up and glared at him, putting her hand up. “Stop trying to push me away. I’m not going anywhere. What’s the matter with you? What do I need to do to show you how much I care about you?”
He could see the hurt in her eyes and wanted more than anything for it to stop, for here to smile again. “It’s just…. Since I’ve been in here, we’ve talked and laughed…and done, you know, friend stuff….”
She put her finger to her mouth to shush him, threw off her shoes, and climbed into the hospital bed with Drake. After a small huff and a glare, she held his face with both of her hands and pulled him into a hard kiss. It started chaste enough, but within a few seconds her mouth became more pliable, her tongue slipping into his mouth. He groaned, his hand around her waist, pulling her closer in.
She pulled away abruptly. “Is that what you needed? Do I need to do this every single day so you don’t forget how I feel about you?”
He nodded breathlessly.
“I was just worried about, oh I don’t know, your collapsed lung, you insufferable dolt.”
He smiled. Despite the insult, there was no bitterness in her voice. “Are you saying you take my breath away, Brooks?” She swatted his arm, not so gently this time, “Because it’s true. You do take my breath away.”
He kissed her again, softly this time. Feeling a painful twinge in his body, he pulled back quickly and leaned the other way, coughing.
She rolled her eyes, her face half annoyance and half concern. “See? This is why we still need to take it easy.”
Drake coughed again in response and nodded, breathing hard. He smiled as she settled in beside him, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm draped across his chest. Within seconds, her breathing slowed, and she was asleep.
The days of sleeping on a chair had obviously worn her out. Kissing her forehead, he drifted off into the most peaceful slumber he could remember.
****
“Ah-hem.”
Riley woke with a start, looking up to the doctor’s bemused face, her foot tapping impatiently. She could feel Drake stirring, too. He opened his eyes and rubbed them gingerly.
“I see you guys got some rest,” she flipped through the clipboard she was holding, “Well, Mr. Walker, way earlier than expected, it looks like you can get out of here today.”
Riley broke out into a wide smile. Home. They could finally go home! Drake’s expression was unreadable, but he nodded, “Thanks, Doc.”
She continued to flip through her clipboard, “We’ll get that paperwork done ASAP, and you should be free to go! You’ll have to continue some antibiotics and rest as much as possible, but…. everything looks good,” She paused for effect, “Call me if anything, and I mean anything, happens that doesn’t feel right.”
“Thank you so much for fixing him up, Doctor,” Riley smiled. This wasn’t a dream. He was okay. Really okay!
The doctor nodded. “Mr. Walker, Mrs. Walker,” and closed the door with a curt click.
Riley couldn’t help herself from grinning when Drake’s eyes widened, first from shock and then embarrassment. “Brooks, I didn’t say….I didn’t tell them…”
“Oh stop,” she stifled a giggle, “They called me that earlier and I just didn’t correct them, that’s all. I guess they just assumed when they saw me sticking around.” She tried to shrug nonchalantly, but stared at Drake’s face for any sort of reaction. Again, his eyes were unreadable but she could’ve sworn she saw the edges of his mouth twitch up into a brief smile.
She left the room to call Liam, and he coordinated for Drake’s truck to be parked in the hospital’s garage so they could drive home.
When Riley walked back into the room, Drake was in the middle of pulling on his tight, maroon henley t-shirt, the one they had bought together in New York. She inhaled sharply. A week of being in a hospital gown had almost made her forget how good his arms looked in tight clothing, how she could see every muscle move as he gathered things.
“You gonna help, or just gawk at me, Brooks?” he winked at her wolfishly, “But by all means, enjoy the view.”
She tried to play it off with a dry laugh, “yeah, yeah. Here, let me help you carry that,” she lurched towards her overnight bag, he dodged easily.
“Nuh-uh, Brooks. I may be a little worse for wear, but I can still handle this,” his voice softened, “You’ve done so much. Let me do this for you.”
She considered reminding him that he had recently saved her life, but thought better of it. She could sense there’d be a lot of disagreements in the coming weeks…years, and decided to choose her battles.
****
True to his word, Liam’s driver had parked Drake’s red truck on the first floor of the garage. As Drake opened the back door to place Riley’s backpack on the seat, she noticed him wince. “Hey,” she put a hand on his shoulder, “let me drive. You’ve been through enough. That way you can recline and relax.”
He smirked like he was about to give her a sarcastic response, but flinched with pain once again, his hand going to his chest. He sighed, “That might be for the best.”
They settled into the car, Riley adjusting the seat on the driver’s side from the furthest to the closest setting, “damn, you’re tall,” she muttered.
“And you’re short,” he chuckled, before leaning the passenger seat back so he could close his eyes and relax. She smiled at him.
She could get used to this. Not Drake being hurt, but just the…ease of this. She could get used to the comfortable silences, the easy conversation and knowing that they could be together.
As she put the key in the ignition she stopped. “Wait…where are we going?”
Drakes eyes popped open. She could tell he hadn’t considered it, either.
“Well,” he started slowly, “we could always head to the palace. Or we could, you know,” he looked at her with such intensity that she blushed, “head home.”
Home. What did that even mean? Was it New York? Her tiny apartment, though warm, seemed so distant now. The palace definitely wasn’t home, nor the hospital. Her eyes drifted to Drake’s, he held his gaze steady in her direction. Could a person be home?
“Sounds good. Tell me which way to go.”
****
We’re going to Drake’s house. Riley felt a flutter of excitement inside of her.
Since he hadn’t stayed there since the start of the social season, they stopped to pick up some groceries and grab lunch at a diner. Stuffing his face with a hamburger, Drake had been relieved to get something that wasn’t hospital food. Riley delighted in two cappuccinos, similarly happy to distance herself from the weak coffee available at the hospital café.
Riley continued to relish being around him. Just a week ago, there had been a point where she thought she’d never be able to speak to him again, and she wasn’t going to take their time together for granted. At every red light, every stop, she looked at him.
Since he had been in the hospital, his dark hair was a bit longer, and the scruff on his face was more pronounced. She shuddered, thinking about how that scruff would fee on her skin, but snapped herself out of it.
Focus, Riley. You’ve got to drive.
Drake had rolled down his window in the truck, taking in the cool air and distant smell of apples. He turned to look at her, his eyes so soft she couldn’t bear to look into them. She didn’t have to ask. She knew he wasn’t going to take their life for granted, either.
It was nearly evening by the time they made it to the house. It was Drake’s parent’s old home, so deep into the woods that the final road they took was unpaved, lined by thick layers of trees on either side. Finally, they came to a clearing, and there it was. Riley tried to ignore the fact that Drake’s eyes kept drifting to her, expectantly, as she took the house in.
It was a cacophony of styles, some brick parts, some wood, but it all looked sturdy and inviting. It was obvious that rooms were added years after the original brick construction was finished. An odd turret jutted out on the left side. The turret was so small, Riley wondered if Drake’s parents had built it for the kids to play in.
Deep in thought, she became increasingly aware that Drake wasn’t breaking his gaze, still looking at her, expectant as ever.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed, meaning it truly, to her core. It was a testament to everything Drake stood for. The house had no rules, no strict confinements – but it worked. It was a far cry from the straight lines and columns of the houses of nobles, rigid in their order.
Drake sighed with relief. “Take a look around, I’ll take the food inside and tidy up a tiny bit before you come in.”
She nodded, getting out of the truck and letting her feet land on the dried leaves with a crunch. She leaned back and inhaled deeply, the smell of dirt and pine overloading her senses. She walked around the cottage, the back of it only 20 feet away from the start of a small pond and a backdrop of tall trees.
The air was cool, wind rustling the leaves in the trees and the leaves on the ground. The sky was darkening, a heavy blanket of grey clouds stretched out as far as she could see. She saw a hint of the sky lighting up in her peripheral vision, followed by the low, rumbling sound of thunder in the distance.
Deep in thought, she wasn’t sure how long she had been staring when a pair of strong arms went around her waist and a warm mouth grazed her ear. She took a moment to respond, reveling in the warmth of his arms, coupled by the increasing chill in the air and the smell of earth filling her nose. She felt the warning of a fat water droplet on her shoulder.
“Hey,” she breathed.
“Enjoying the view?” he paused as she leaned into his embrace, nodding, “we don’t have to head inside just yet, if you don’t want.”
“No way, Walker,” she teased, “It’s time for me to see where you live when you aren’t gallivanting around with princes.”
She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back to the front of the house. He opened the door for her, bowing a little, “M’lady.”
Whatever Riley had been expecting on the inside of his house, it wasn’t this. The house was all warm woods, brown leathers, with hints of copper in the form of big planters at the corners of the small living room. They walked through all of the rooms, the bathrooms, Drake’s bedroom, and the small but functional kitchen. Paintings of horses, abstract and traditional, covered the walls.
“My mom was a painter, and she…she loved horses,” his voice was tinged with sadness.
Riley smiled, putting a hand against Drake’s scruffy cheek, “just like you.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed it, his brown eyes full of longing.
“Oh!” she almost yelped, seeing a picture on a side table. It had a swarthy, handsome man, bearded and beaming, holding a delicate blonde woman. In front of them were two children, a boy and a girl. The girl smiled broadly, while the boy looked like he’d rather be elsewhere. Riley’s eyes widened, “is this you?”
Drake cleared his throat, “um…yes.”
She couldn’t tear her eyes away. Tiny Drake, even as a child, was somewhat broody. Her finger tips ran along the length of the photo. “You must’ve been a terror,” she laughed.
He looked a little hurt for a second, but broke out into a slow smile, “I suppose I was. Maybe sometimes I still am,” he shrugged.
She mock frowned in agreement, shrugging exaggeratedly, “Maybe, maybe,” and yelped when he pulled her hard towards him, crushing her in a wanton kiss, his mouth desperate and bruising. She melted into him, having wanted nothing more than this since she knew he was doing okay in the hospital. It took her a few seconds before she came to.
Hospital….
“Mmmm!” she exclaimed pulling away from him. “Drake,” her voice was breathy and low, “You know I want this,” she ran her hand down his chest, “but you’re still healing Drake, I just don’t know if this is the right time.”
She could see the mixture of hurt and understanding in his eyes. She bit her lip, wondering if she was doing the right thing.
He released her, looking down, not meeting her gaze, “I understand. I’m going to take a quick shower.” His voice was soft.
With that, he stepped away from her, and out of sight.
****
Finding the living room a little awkward, Riley had moved to Drakes bedroom, sitting on the edge of his queen sized bed. She sighed. She knew Drake understood her dismissal, but didn’t know if he truly understood how hard it was for her to turn him away.
All she wanted to do was to be touched by his calloused hands, grab that thick mop of hair, and feel the friction of his stubble all over her body. She gulped. She had to say something to Drake. Riley wasn’t sure what she was going to say when he got out of the shower, but she’d have to say something.
The curtains in his bedroom were closed, and the room was getting progressively darker. She could hear thunder outside, still a distant rumble. Riley shivered.
She heard the water stop, and held her breath as Drake made his way to the bedroom.
“Brooks,” he smiled, opening the door, “I thought I’d find you in here.”
He had a towel wrapped around his bottom half, his hair was damp, and the smell of clean shampoo emanated from him. The wound on his chest was freshly dressed. A few droplets of water clung to his defined abs, some venturing down into the “V” that pointed downwards. He walked towards her, leaning down to kiss her delicately. “You were right. I’m sorry, let’s take this slow. I know you want what’s best for me, and God knows we’ve had to be patient before.”
A small smile broke out on her face. He really was a marshmallow of a man. He was gruff but understanding, even rational when necessary. He stood there, by the bed, his hands holding her shoulders. His clean, soapy scent overwhelmed her senses. She put a hand tentatively on his shoulders, pulling herself up off of the bed.
She pushed him, hard, towards the wall, catching his lips with hers, in a bruising, crushing kiss. His lips were open for a second in surprise, but found their way as his fingers splay against her back, bringing her closer to him. “What…?”
Pulling back slightly, she spoke into his lips in breaks between kissing, “I’ve changed my mind.”
Drake groaned, pausing for just a moment, leaving a small trail of kisses up her neck, “I’ve literally never been happier to hear that. We’ll take it slow though, okay? Will that make you feel better?”
“No,” the assertiveness in her voice surprised even Riley, “I’m so tired of being gentle. I want this badly, and I …don’t want you to be gentle, Drake,” she pushed her hips roughly into his, feeling him growing against her.
There was silence for a beat, as he pulled away slightly and regarded her, his eyes searching hers.
“Are you…. are you sure?” his voice was low, rougher than it had been before.
She swallowed. Her mouth was unbelievably dry. “I’m sure.”
He moved suddenly, barely giving her time to react. He pushed her onto the bed, his body on top of hers. His mouth was hot, leaving trails of kisses from her jaw down to her collar bone. His hand slid into her jeans, dangerously low, his imploring thumb only an inch away from her.
His voice was strained, even raspier this time, “Sure?”
She sucked in a breath, words failing her, trying to keep from writhing around as his thumb inched painfully closer. She nodded, “Yes,” barely a whisper. He looked at her briefly, his eyes darkening.
Everything happened at once. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, relishing the lingering taste of coffee on her lips and tongue. His thumb pushed lower, stroking her in hard circles, causing Riley to arch her back and gasp into his mouth. He used his free hand to brace her against the bed, and moved on to kissing her chin, jaw, and neck.
He moved down to her breasts, licking and biting rougher than Riley was expecting, an appreciative moan escaping from her parted lips. His kisses and licks left hot patches on her skin, the scruff on his face rubbing roughly against her. His mouth moved down to her belly button, sliding lower as he breathed against her skin. He stood abruptly and pulled her jeans and panties down with a rough heave. Without warning, he leaned back down, spread her legs and buried his tongue deep within her. Riley nearly bucked off of the bed.
The last time they had been intimate, despite the unmistakable passion, Drake had been loving and slow. Now, with her permission, he was a man possessed. His hands, his mouth, and his body were hers. No part of him held back. It was a heady feeling to know that right now, his entire world revolved around her.
His tongue was so erratic it was dizzying. She could make no rhyme or reason to his movements: from thrusting in and out of her, running light circles around her most sensitive parts, to sucking at various intensities. She could sense his frenetic excitement to feel and taste every part of her. She moaned and gasped appropriately, her body growing warmer by the second.
He lifted his head slowly, pushing away from the bed. “Just a second,” he whispered, responding to her angry, exasperated gasps with a small kiss to her mouth. She groaned, trying to deepen the kiss and drag him back, but he pulled away with a smirk, “I promise it won’t be long.”
He walked quickly to the window. She heard the shuddering screech of metal rings on rods as Drake yanked aside the curtain from his window. Rain pattered hard against the window. A dull light entered the room, making Riley aware of Drake’s face looking straight at her. Despite what they had just been doing, it was the intensity of his look that made her blush.
“I needed to see you.”
Riley felt hyper-aware of him for the first time, seeing him through the haze of lust. Covered with goosebumps, she noticed the size of him: his broad shoulders, bulging arms, and the length of his entire body taking up most of the space from floor to ceiling. In the light, the hunger in his eyes was unmistakable as her walked back towards her.
“On your knees,” the words came out of him like a pained exhale, commanding and hoarse. The idea that she could make him sound like that made her heart beast faster.
Riley nodded as she shakily pushed herself onto her knees at the edge of the bed, facing Drake.
His eyes widened in surprise for a second before he started a low, husky chuckle. Taking her face in his hands, Drake pulled Riley into a kiss. Despite starting tenderly, the kiss progressed to hard, making Riley whimper with its intensity as Drake bit and sucked on her bottom lip.
“You’re mine,” he promised her, releasing her mouth and flipping her around. She felt a little embarrassed as realization dawned that he had been asking her to get on her knees facing away from him. Riley yelped as he pushed her forward, pulling her legs back. He held her still with one hand, using the other to position himself behind her.
He pulled her hips, advancing steadily but gradually. He pushed forward, exhaling sharply while holding Riley firmly in place. He moaned as the entirety of his length was finally inside of her, her body stretching around him. He stayed still for a moment, eyes closed. After momentary shock at his size, Riley moved her hips in frustration, egging him on to move forward. Within a second, he was gripping her hips so hard his knuckles were white. He pushed in and out, deep and hard, unrelenting. She gasped, feeling both powerless and revered, her body cycling through rushes of pleasure and exquisite pain.
He reached around her body, pinching the tips of her breasts and then moving to between her legs, stroking her rhythmically with his large hands. She squirmed and gasped as his strong fingers simultaneously gave her waves of pleasure and bruised her skin.
She heard it before she realized it was coming from her: hoarse and pleading, she whispered “Harder. Harder.” It was her new mantra. She was a woman possessed, in a level of frenzy she hadn’t known before.
“As the lady wishes,” he groaned, pushing deeper into her, hitting the right places with dizzying precision. Her hands braced against the bed, holding her ground against the pounding.
She wanted it. She needed desperate release. The strength of what was building inside her was staggering, terrifyingly large, and she feared she’d die if it wasn’t liberated soon.
Finally she could feel it: the rise inside of her caused by his pounding, coupled with the delicious caresses from his fingers between her legs.
She expected a scream or an explosion, but instead she shuddered hard, coming with a long gasp. She could feel it going through her body like boiling hot waves. She clenched around Drake repeatedly, causing him to lose control. He moaned, moving crazily against her until he, too, found his release. He cried out her name.
Her body continued to shake, the waves continuing to reverberate around her body, as she gasped again. This was lasting longer than anything she was used to. He rested his hand solidly between her legs as she shook, and then leaned down to kiss her neck, salty with sweat. After the final, most intense wave rushed through her body, she whispered his name and stopped shaking at last.
Her heart was still beating fast, thundering through her ears when Drake pulled her around and met her lips in a soft kiss. Leaning back onto the bed, he extended his arm and Riley moved up to lie in the crook of his neck. Both of them were breathing hard and spent.
He turned to the side, looking into her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “was that too much?” His voice was quivering, Riley’s heart swelled with the amount of concern she could feel from him.
“It was wonderful,” she breathed, kissing him along his jaw. That was definitely an understatement. Her mind was still reeling, moving too fast for her to express truly how she felt.
He exhaled, visibly relaxed, and nodded. “I can’t disagree. It’s definitely never felt like this before,” he shuddered, running his fingers absentmindedly along her arm. “Thank you. For trusting me. For letting me do that. For giving me you, Brooks. It’s the best gift I’ve ever received.”
The thunder cracked and hissed, no longer the distant rumble of before. To Riley’s surprise, the rain outside was pounding on the windows now. “I guess it’s really coming down, huh?”
Drake smiled at her, “I think we were both a little too busy to notice.”
She grinned.
Drake breathed heavily, his inhales sharp and noticeable.
“Are you ok?” Riley’s mood shifted quickly, her eyes filling with concern.
Drake nodded, his hand reflexively touching the bandage over his wound. “I’m just a little more worn out than usual. Do you mind if we take a nap?”
Riley nuzzled into him in response, sighing contentedly as Drake pulled his comforter up and around them. He fell asleep almost instantly, his mouth open with soft snores.
As she watched the beautiful man sleep beside her, she thought of the last months of her life. She had come to Cordonia for Liam. She fell in love with Drake instead. She was finally able to have Drake, honestly have him, and almost lost him the same night.
She shivered.
A week ago, she had almost lost everything. Her life had almost come to a halt when he had risked his life for her. She had already mourned for him, a man with so much love and promise, wiped out in his prime. Selfishly, she had mourned for herself. She knew she’d never find another like him. She never would have guessed that she’d be here in Drakes home, sleeping next to him as a thunderstorm rolled in.
She leaned up to kiss his cheek lightly. He sighed, deep in sleep, pulling her closer to him.
Whatever she had done to deserve this, whatever had led her to this man – she was thankful. And for the first time in a long time, tomorrow was full of promise.
With that thought, Riley fell asleep with a smile on her face.
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WOW, that was long. Hope you guys enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it :). I can't wait to write the next chapter! YAY
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