Enthralled: A Box Set

by Pamela Ann

  “Did you need something?” I go back to my old pose, trying to block out his handsome face.

  He comes closer. Drake stands behind me, brushing my butt softly against his thigh. “You can’t ask me that question and expect me to not get hard. I always need you, it seems.” His lips caress the tip of my ear.

  I simply shudder and try to ignore the tell-tale signs of my own arousal. “Stop being a twit and start thinking with your head, Drake. And I mean the head up there and not down south, nestled in between your legs.” I bring the point home by poking my finger at his topmost head.

  Drake roars with amused laughter. “That sharp wit of yours, Babe, it will get you in trouble. I get turned on more when you whiplash me with your words. I can’t help it. You’re sexy as hell . . . and that dress is giving me all sorts of ideas . . .” Drake uses the back of his fingers to trace my naked back and doesn’t stop until it reaches the top of my ass. “I do so want to rip this off your body. You naked with your heels on and nothing else . . . bent over and ready to be mounted.”

  Mother of God! What in the world?! “Damn it, Drake. We’re at a fucking event. Stop being such a horny kid and focus,” I chide him, but to no avail.

  “You can’t dress like this, dangle this sinful body of yours, and not expect me to react.” Drake moves closer, his state of arousal hard against my butt cheek. I try to compose myself before I pass out from the feel of it. “Behave yourself tonight. I don’t want you talking to other men.”

  I straighten up, tense. “You wish.”

  “Don’t push it, Lily. You’ve been running away from me for too long. That’s coming to a close. I will possess every inch of you, soon… very soon.” Drake’s deadly warning pins me on the spot, but I will not be threatened.

  “Not yours, Drake. Now, go find your seat and be a good boy. I will find mine. I’ll see you around.”

  When Mindy made the reservations, she had assumed that Shannon was going to be with Drake tonight, so our seating arrangements are different. I am grateful for it since the tension is too much with him. I can only take it in small doses.

  Of course, Drake sits with The VIP’s while I sit next to the minions, but I don’t mind it. In fact, I have a blast. Chris, a guy who works at one of the most sought after PR firms in Hollywood, is quite entertaining. His stories about celebrities are hilarious. It actually drowns out whoever is talking and making a speech about so and so. Yeah, I don’t pay much attention on those since Chris’s storytelling is much livelier and not as much of a snooze fest by some stuck-up CEO.

  I’m already on my fourth champagne flute by the time dessert rolls in when Chris asks me to dance, and I delightfully say yes. He chooses a spot where it is dark and secluded. I don’t mind since he is quite attractive with his brown hair, mini-faux hawk and chocolate brown eyes. Chris holds me close against him as we dance to the slow jazz beat.

  We’re not dancing for long before a gruff voice comes out from behind me. “Excuse me, but I need my assistant. Right now,” Drake barks while Chris apologizes as he recognizes who Drake is.

  When Chris leaves, Drake orders me to follow him outside. His chilly demeanor makes me nervous. Drake leads me to the garden, away from the fountains and the noise, behind some tall bushes. Once we are out of earshot, all hell breaks loose.

  “How dare you defy my order! Did you enjoy flaunting him to me?” It’s dark, and yet, I can still see the anger profoundly etched across his face.

  “I wasn’t thinking… honestly, I forgot about you for a bit.”

  That stops him. “Did you just tell me that . . . you forgot about me?”

  I lick my lips nervously as I look away. “Well, newsflash, Buddy. You’re not the only attractive man living on the planet.”

  Drake cusses me out before he moves in and before I know it, he is biting my lips hard and devouring them. I don’t even hesitate to respond when he growls as one of his hands seeks the slit of my dress and roughly pushes my underwear aside. I mindlessly writhe against him as he drives his middle finger inside me while his thumb crushes my clit. In a minute, I’m coming apart from his fingers.

  “What you said is true . . . but there is only one man that is meant for you . . . and you are staring at him, moaning his name as you come beautifully on his fingers. Stop fighting it, because I have. I’m yours.”

  What the hell just happened? “Will you please take your fingers off me?” I’m red with shame and totally beyond humiliated.

  Drake takes his fingers off, but fixes my underwear back beforehand. He leans over and kisses the tip of my nose. “I guess you’re still rejecting the idea of us?”

  “Damn right, I am. I want to go home now, Drake. I am done playing your games.”

  Drake is silent while he stands there watching me. “You’re tired and clearly drunk. You need to rest before we leave for Greece on Sunday.”

  “Greece?” I croak. He never mentioned anything about Greece. Well, his agenda has been curiously absent of a few things. Drake seems to love throwing events at me quite unexpectedly.

  “One of the biggest investments we have made this year. The movie is called Blasphemous with Bass Cole. I have to see how everything is going and check if they need more for the budget or what not.”

  “How long will we be there?” My heart hammers against my chest. I know what this is. Drake is going in for the kill. He is going to drive me crazy until I give it up to him. I haven’t forgotten his ever reliable tactic for women; he’s used it ever since we were kids.

  “More or less, three days.”

  That’s hell of a long time. A day is enough to drive me mental with him. Three days is surely going to put me on suicide watch. “Work . . . I will work . . . but the underlying agenda you have, Drake, won’t happen.”

  “We shall soon find out, Little One.”

  Precise. Cold. And fucking determined.

  9

  Drake, as promised, picks me up at three in the afternoon in a hired limo. Not saying much to each other, he takes my luggage and hands it the driver. I mumble my thanks to the cheery looking chauffer.

  Why is Drake in a bad mood, anyway? Am I not the one he humiliated at the event? Aren’t I the one who got the tongue attack from his crazy ex-fiancée? I know he’s finished with her, but I’m still a little baffled as to why a man like Drake would want to date a woman like Shannon Mallory in the first place. Sure, she’s pretty to look at, but surely there’s more to a relationship than just wild sex? Well, if the man in question is Drake, I’m sure IQ isn’t necessary. He just loves his women to be good to look at from what I’ve noticed and heard.

  I suppose that says a lot about him, doesn’t it? How disappointing.

  Since we’re travelling, I have donned a pair of comfortable black leggings and a black shirt with my Tory Burch flats. I loaded up my E-reader earlier to make sure that I’ll have all the books that I need to catch up on ready and waiting, but I’m not too sure if I will have enough time to read once we get there, since we’re going to check out the Blasphemous film-shooting. I am super excited to see and meet the men of the movie. I am a mega fan when it comes to Bass Cole. Though I don’t mention this to Drake, he might think that I’m unprofessional if he finds out that I am a diehard fan of one of the actors in the film that they’re backing.

  We are in the first-class cabin and somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean when he finally starts a conversation with me. “What happened with that first boyfriend of yours, Aaron, was it?”

  I gasp. What the fuck!?

  Drake sees my shocked expression and offers an explanation. “Your mom . . . She told me after I kept nagging her for a while.”

  I put down my e-reader and eye him cautiously. “Why are you so interested about my past?”

  Drake nonchalantly shakes his head before he responds, “I wanted to know if you had moved on. I was curious, I guess.”

  Right, of course, since I blurted it out that I loved him that night in Mexico; he had probably wanted to ma
ke sure that I wasn’t in love with him anymore.

  “Aaron was great. You know first love and what not. We were together for two years and decided it wasn’t working out anymore. So, we amicably parted ways. I still talk to him from time to time.” I pick up my e-reader again and continue to read my book. After a few minutes, he speaks up again.

  “Funny, I thought I was your first love.” Drake toys with his whiskey before he takes a sip.

  “Huh? That is funny.” Fuck, don’t embarrass me, Drake! Drop the fucking subject already. Let it slide, please.

  “Why did you tell me I was, then?” Drake picks up his whiskey, drains it and places the cup back on the tray, his eyes stay glued on the glass before him.

  “I don’t want to go back there, Drake.” I mean it, too. That night is best forgotten. I can’t bring it up with him. Especially, since I have no means to escape the conversation in the damn airplane . . . then it occurs to me that maybe this was his plan after all . . .

  Clear gray eyes clash with mine. Somehow, there is sadness in them. “What if I want to go back there and dig it up? We have to talk about it, Lil.”

  I know, but not right now, we aren’t. “Later, when I am ready to do so, let’s leave it at that for now.”

  “As you wish, Little One.”

  “Lil?” Drake asks next to me.

  The entire cabin is quiet and everyone is fast asleep. I was about to join in their peaceful slumber, but the annoying man next to me keeps me up.

  “Yes, Drake?” I ask, exasperated.

  “When you think of being married to someone, who comes to your mind?”

  Is he fishing for some information? That will never happen. As if I will dish out to him.

  “No one, really. Marriage is not something I dwell on.” Well, not anymore, I don’t.

  “My parents think I shouldn’t marry anyone that isn’t you. Do you think they’re right?” Drake keeps pressing the stupid subject.

  Kill me now, please. “Your parents always wanted that, but they’re wrong. We both know that.”

  “I thought they were. Now, it looks like they were right all along.”

  That makes me look at him. “Can you shut the hell up already? This is getting icky, Drake. We were through before we even began. There’s no going around it, no matter how we rehash things. You left me. You asked me to move on. And I did. I did as you asked me to. Now, you want to press rewind? I’m afraid I can’t do that. Not even for you.”

  “If you want me to give up, it won’t happen. Even if you wish it hard enough to happen, Lil, because I haven’t been this sure of anything in my life—and I want you in it. In you, with you, day in and day out. That’s all I know and if you ask me to see reason, I am seeing it. You are my reason. It took me eight years to see it, but now that I have. I am taking action.” He halts and makes sure I stare at him, understanding him with full certainty, before he speaks again. “Run if you must, Lily. I will catch you, either way. Do not doubt that.”

  I will resist you. I won’t give in until I have no strength left in me.

  10

  The island of Aspasia is a jewel. It’s even more beautiful than I could ever imagine.

  “Wow.” I admire the view on the patio that gives access to the beach.

  “Yeah, it is gorgeous out here. Listen, Bass and Emma are still shooting. This is their cottage and there are two more spare rooms. You can go and take your pick.”

  Something dislodges in my throat. I’m sharing a roof with Bass Cole? Mother of God! I think I have gone straight to Heaven! “Bass Cole . . . in the same house . . . I think I need to sit down for that.” I start to fan myself with my right hand while my excitement runs riot in my head.

  “Isn’t he a little too young for you?” Drake leans against the stone railing while he watched me getting all hyped up.

  “Who cares about age when a guy looks like Bass? He’s like… the most beautiful man . . .” I murmur as I picture the actor in that vampire movie of his and what a movie that was. Sex God, your name is Bass Cole!

  Drake walks toward where I am sitting and yanks me off the chair. “Hey! What the hell is your problem?” I yelp and slap his hand that is clutching my arm, but to no avail.

  He drags me all the way inside and pushes me against a wall. My breathing is frantic when I see the stormy eyes that meet me. “You better not fuck anyone here, Lil. There will be hell to pay if you do. I don’t want you talking to any man for that matter.”

  My hand instantly slaps him. He has gall to manhandle me and issue orders. “If you think for a second that I will let you run around and dictate me, well tough, I am not that woman. I have my own mind, my own wants and my own needs. How I come about in achieving them is my business. Best you get that in that semi-insipid brain of yours because you missed the memo, Drake. I am not yours. Never was.” I press my hands on his torso and try to push him off me, but he’s way too heavy and way too pumped up to be moved.

  Our noses are touching, our lips only a hairsbreadth away from brushing. I dare not snake my tongue out to lick my lips because this infuriating man might just take that as his cue to claim me for a kiss.

  “I did get the memo, Lil. My fate was sealed the moment you were born into this world. You were mine since day one. You were definitely mine when I took your virginity. Do you honestly think that I would let you give your virginity away to any man? No, over my dead body, and you know it, too. You were mine then, and you are mine now.”

  “This body hasn’t been yours for the last eight years, Drake.”

  I close my eyes when he presses his body against mine. The stone wall is cold against my back and I shiver when I feel his breath on my neck. The tip of his nose brushes against my jaw, smelling me like I’m his meal, his woman, his property; but I am no longer his. Best he realizes that.

  “How many?” Drake whispers against my ear. I flinch when the wet, hot tip of his tongue tastes my earlobe.

  “How many, what?”

  “Men . . . I want numbers, Lily.” Drake suddenly sounds menacing.

  But . . . why? Sure, he maybe lusting for me now, but it sure was not the case eight years ago. Again, why now?

  “I am not going to answer that. Let me go, Drake. Jared and I… I’m ready to be with him.” I have been thinking about it. A lot. Jared is a decent and sweet guy. To top that off, he is funny and easy to be around. Jared told me two nights ago that he wants things to be serious between us. I have yet to give him a proper answer, but it will be a definite yes.

  “No, you’re not. How can you be ready, Lil? You can barely hide the fact that you want me. I still affect you . . . I know this because you still look like you’re in love with me.”

  I feel like he just slapped me. My hand lifts again, ready to slap some sense into him, but he catches it this time. The steel band of his hand on my wrist is unyielding. “I love this temper of yours. It’s going to be fun unleashing this temperamental side of you while I dominate you in bed.” His hips push against me and his hard arousal makes me shudder. “Now that we’re back in each other’s lives, there will be no other man for you, except me. I don’t want anyone but you. It’s time we submit to it… to what is meant for us. I am ready for you now, Lil.”

  Huh? He’s ready? How laughable because I sure as hell am not.

  “I don’t feel the same. I don’t want you like that… Physically, yes, you’re very attractive, but emotionally, you’re not for me. Never were, so let’s drop it. This woman is not interested in your sexual prowess. Get off me before I knee your blessed balls.”

  His nose flares while his eyes rage. “You will come to me. I am sure of it. Once you do, don’t expect me to let you go again because I won’t and don’t ever plan to. I’m counting down the hours until you come to me.” Drake speaks in a clipped tone before he finally releases my tense body.

  After another hard stare, he spins around and goes to his room, striding ever so confidently. While I stand here, taken aback… troubled and dum
bfounded more than ever.

  What gets to me most are his parting words. The way he said them, it was like he knows. Does he think that since he’s ready for me that I’ll just happily oblige and let him back in?

  He can think again.

  Both Bass Cole and Emma Anderson come back to the villa a couple of hours later, just before six in the evening. I’m really unprepared when I come face-to-face with the very masculine, blond, blue-eyed star.

  “This is my assistant and childhood best friend, Lily.”

  Drake introduces us all. Emma is sweet and strikingly pretty. To me, she looks like a goddess, but what catches my attention is Bass himself.

  “How are you finding the island so far? It’s gorgeous around here, isn’t it?” Bass smiles at me. Like a stupid puppy, I’m just in awe of him.

  Drake nudges me. “I’m sorry. I’m just a big fan. I love your movies!” I gush at the smiling Bass.

  “Thank you, Lily. Do you mind telling this woman how great I am? She’s being a brat.” Bass takes hold of Emma and kisses her forehead.

  It’s obvious how crazy he is about her. Watching them laugh before they excuse themselves to get ready before dinner is nice to see.

  “You totally looked stupid just then, Lil.” Drake is being a dick again.

  “Whatever, you just wish you looked like that. Damn, those two look great together.” I smile before I go out to the patio and stroll toward the beach.

  I’m just in time to watch the sunset. It’s glorious. The slight breeze is crisp, just enough to cool the skin. I take off my sandals and stand barefoot on the shore. The tide brushing against my feet is relaxing.

  The day after tomorrow, I will be back in LA. Back to my home and away from Drake. I don’t mind working for him, but being around him all day and night is definitely driving me nuts. He’s insufferable, stubborn and he makes me want to gouge his eyes out. There are times, though . . . I just want to kiss him senseless.