Watching me as I sheathed myself, Lacey did that lip thing again, pulling the plump lip into her mouth with a burn behind her deep amber eyes.
I almost begged her to take matters into her own hands and get the protection the rest of the way on, but the look in her eyes kept me moving my hand against myself long after it was secure. I found myself forgetting about what I wanted. It was all about her. What she wanted. And right now that was to see me touching myself.
I happily obliged.
With husky breaths, she let me get in a few more strokes before she wrapped her hand around me. I choked back a groan and watched as she guided me inside her.
Grabbing her hips, I helped her the whole way.
The best way I could describe how Lacey felt was home. There was no other word. She was home for me. Wonderfully tight, she held me to her, and I had no desire to be let go anytime soon.
I rocked my hips up to bury myself deeper, but she didn’t respond.
Closing her eyes, she said, “Wait. I just need a sec. I was so close before. Just a sec.”
Smiling, I massaged her hip with my hand. “Take all the time you need.”
When she was ready, she didn’t tell me. She just went, hard. She took it like she wanted it. Like she owned it. Perhaps, at this point, she did. I’d been hers for a while now and hoped she was mine, as well.
Throwing her head back, she took me. She was wild and free; just like what I assumed about her when we met. There was a reason I was so intrigued by her. She was exactly what I needed. Not just something different than what I was used to. She was something of value. She was someone to be valued who had my complete respect.
Chapter Thirty
Lacey
I came hard with Drake inside me. I wasn’t really thinking when I made the decision to be intimate with him. I just went for it, running on the urges of my body’s need for his, and my heart’s need for him. And with the way Drake made love to me the same thought process was confirmed on his end. He needed this, too. He needed me, too. We both had something only the other could give, and I grew sick of fighting what I felt for him. Being together was right, and resisting it was stupid.
I’d no longer fight. I just couldn’t. Not anymore.
Completely spent, I collapsed on the firm, lean ripples of his chest.
He grunted, tensing when I hit. “That one actually did hurt, Lace.”
“Oh, sorry.” Pulling him out of me, I quickly slid off him. Holding his cheeks, I studied his face to read for pain. “Are you okay?”
“Not okay that you’re no longer up there riding me, but okay that there is no longer a sharp pain in my chest.” Chuckling, he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me against him.
I went, but was cautious about it. While he held me he managed to dispose of the condom with his other hand. I fought myself from helping when he cringed from the movement, but couldn’t help aiding him to get the blankets around us.
Once we were settled, Drake ran his hand gently up and down my arm, his chest moving in steady rhythms as he breathed.
I watched his sculpted chest for a while, wanting to close my eyes and relax, but I couldn’t. The reality of what I just allowed myself to do hit me hard. I was no longer lost in my emotions, and now it was time to face the repercussions of the choice I made. “Drake, what are we going to do?”
Dipping his chin, he looked down at me. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I can’t stay away from you anymore. Even if I wanted to I don’t think I could.”
Slowly, he brought his other arm around my body. I made the process easier by snuggling into him when he tugged me closer. As I brushed my nose against his chest, breathing in a scent so wonderful I could taste it on my tongue, he kissed my hair. “I’m not going to stay away from you anymore, and I know I couldn’t.”
“But there’s no way this can happen, Drake. You can’t be over here. It’s not safe.”
He drew in a deep breath. “And you work for my family.”
“It’s not just that, Drake.” Leaning up, I studied his mahogany eyes as I braved myself to admit the biggest fear I had after what we did tonight.
“What?”
“I signed something.”
“Something like what?”
“An agreement your mom made me sign.”
“Okay. What did it say?”
Sighing, I ran my finger along his chest. “She had me sign a bunch of paperwork the day she hired me. Mostly tax stuff, but there was one that was different. It had stuff about confidentially. Basically, I had to agree to keep anything I learned about your family secret. For the most part, the agreement was standard, but it also said I had to respect the Drake house and the Drake family.” Stopping my finger, I gazed up at him. “Drake, what we’re doing is technically unethical according to the language of it.”
He actually smirked when I said that. “Because I slept with my nanny.”
I scoffed. “This is serious, Drake. Your mom now has grounds to sue me. What if she finds out? I won’t just be fired. She’ll bury me. Mama won’t get her treatment. If your mom finds out about us it could—”
“She won’t find out. You’ll keep your job, and we’ll make this work. What we did was consensual. My nanny, who is younger than me I might add, didn’t take advantage of me. We’ll just have to be careful and sweat it out until I move to Northwestern.”
“Which is when?”
“Move-in day is at the end of next month. Not far away at all.”
“What will we do until then? Being around you will be so hard now. Way harder than it was before.”
He lifted me up, his expression sly as a fox. “It was hard before?”
I’d smack his chest for being a smart aleck if it weren’t so bruised. “Don’t act like it wasn’t hard for you, too.”
He ran his finger along the length of my arm. “It was, especially seeing you with Cooper. That felt horrible.”
I kissed his tan cheek. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just trying to act natural. Go with the flow. I think he has suspicions about us. The whole table where you sat at the country club saw the kiss you gave me. I wanted to deter him I guess.”
“Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. I’m the one who overacted.”
“Yeah, you did. But I didn’t help the situation.”
“None of that matters now. Know why?”
Smiling, I leaned up to see him again. “Why?”
He pressed into my back with his fingers. “Because I don’t have to share you with anyone now.” With a final push, I was on his lips again. I started on top, but he quickly had me underneath him.
I let him do what he wanted to me. Assaulting my mouth. Nipping at my ears and neck with his teeth. Tweaking my nipples with his fingers. With every action, he took complete control, making me forget our problems. But when I slid my hand along his torso, against his sensitive ribs, I could no longer forget. He went tense in response, and actually stopped kissing me for a moment to collect himself.
Sighing, I gently lay him down so he was comfortable.
“We don’t have to stop,” he said, grabbing for my waist to move against him.
I stopped his hand. “Yeah. We do. For so many reasons. You’re hurt. Your mom has no idea where you are—”
“Lacey, believe me when I say I’ll fight through the pain, and as far as my mom goes, I’ll make up an excuse. I was hanging out with a friend or something.”
“Drake—”
“No, I’m serious,” he said, grunting as he leaned up. Clenching his teeth, he grabbed his jeans beside us.
I rose up as well, watching him as he took out his phone from his pants pocket. “What are you doing?”
He clicked through his phone. “Where’s that card Cooper gave you?”
Not knowing what else to do, I hopped out of bed and retrieved the card from my satchel on my dresser. As I was coming back, Drake’s eyes completely left his phone, and he was now devouring my naked body wi
th a hungry gaze.
Without thinking, I tossed the card at him for his overly blatant analysis of my body.
Instinctively, he reacted and caught it, but instantly froze in position with a tortured look on his face.
I gasped, clasping my hand over my mouth. “Sorry. You were being a guy, and I wanted to teach you a lesson.”
Pushing air through his nose, he lowered his hand. “You’re trying to kill me, woman.”
I cringed. “I’m sorry.”
Laughing gently, he gestured for me to come over.
Feeling really guilty, I curled up on him and watched him send a text to Cooper.
Hey, Cooper, this is Drake. Hate to bother you, man, but I need a favor. I’m out with a hot little thing, and it will take me a few hours before I’m good and done here.
I shook my head at him. Smirking, he kept texting.
My mom is keeping me on a pretty short leash these days, and being out with this girl isn’t on Mom’s approved list of social activities. I was wondering if I could tell her I was hanging out with you? Like I said, I hate to ask, but I’m new here and haven’t made too many friends yet.
He hit send, and we both watched.
Cooper’s reply took less than a minute. LOL. Sure thing, man. I know how that is.
I fought myself from scoffing. Men.
Cooper pinged in another text. Have your fun. If your mom tries to verify the info I got you covered. No worries.
Nodding his head in satisfaction, Drake dropped his phone on his pants like he was a pimp.
I retook his phone, put it in his pocket, and handed the pair to him.
Frowning at them, he didn’t take them. “What? You saw that. I have an excuse to be here now.”
Dropping his pants, I grabbed his shirt, and handed it to him, too. “Now, you have an excuse for the time you spent here, but you still have to go.”
“Why?”
I shook the shirt at him, and he finally took it. “It’s not safe for you to be here.”
“I’m already here, Lace. And those guys left.”
“Just because they did, doesn’t mean they won’t come back. If you stay and they’re watching the area, you could get jumped when you leave. It’s safer for you to go now. I doubt they’ve come back so soon.”
Gazing down, he studied the shirt in his hands. “If I leave, who knows when we’ll be able to find a moment to just relax and not worry about everyone else.”
“You said school starts soon. We know for sure then, but for now you should go.” It hurt my heart to be the rational one in this situation. I wanted to keep him all to myself. I wanted to let him take me long into the night underneath him and not have to worry about the world that surrounded us. But the fact of the matter was our problems would still be here when we stopped. We couldn’t stay in our little bubble forever. We had to be responsible and deal with life. It wouldn’t stop and wait for us to get ready.
Slipping his hand to my cheek, he took his lips to mine, increasing the pressure with every passing second of the sweet contact.
With the way he kissed me, my strength was leaving me. I was always so weak when it came to Truman Drake. The hold he had on me was so severe rational thoughts could never be made. When his lips left mine and went to my ear, I finally got them back.
“Let me have you just one last time,” he breathed, brushing his lips against my ear.
Grabbing his hand, I pulled back from him, shaking my head. “We’ll find time.”
Refusing to argue with him anymore about it, I left the bed and got dressed myself.
When we both left my house caution was thick in the air. The neighborhood was actually silent tonight. No arguing, no screaming. That was almost worse. Now, we were forced to hear every step we made, forced to hear every breath between us, and forced to take in the sounds of the blood rushing behind our ears.
Drake held up his hand to me after the few steps I made behind him. “Lace, I don’t want you walking me to my car.”
Not listening to him, I walked down the street. He was forced to follow. I attempted slow strides, but Drake’s legs didn’t seem to be affected like his upper half as much. We stayed near each other, both watching the area for the other.
When we got to Drake’s car, I didn’t see his reaction. I was only aware of mine. His beautiful car was completely trashed. The front window smashed in, the rest of the vehicle matched. There were dents and dings everywhere, but the worst of the damage was on the hood. There was writing there that I would never repeat in my head let alone verbally. There weren’t many derogatory words that held the same severity as the harsh ones geared toward my race, but Ty and his boys managed to find one to aim at Drake.
Sighing, Drake ran his hand along the red hood.
“Can I see your phone?” I asked him.
Dropping his hand, he got it out for me without words.
I dialed Derrick’s number and put the phone to my ear. As I listened to the ring, I watched Drake. He didn’t look upset, but his silence told he had nothing left to give to the situation. I hated that he received yet another blow for just trying to be with me. “Derrick can fix this,” I said, trying to help him.
His black lashes flickered my way. “How?”
“He works at a body shop part-time. We’ll call you a cab to go home in, and have him tow your car to the shop tonight.”
Nodding, he put his hand back on his car. I watched as he slid his fingers from the top of the vehicle to the hood again. Stopping on the disgusting word, his thumb circled the paint.
“It could be worse.”
He glanced my way. “Really?”
“Yeah. They could have taken it.” I gave a small smile.
Stepping away from the car, he gave me a smile, too.
Chapter Thirty-One
Drake
When I got out of the shower, the pain pills I took when I woke up finally started to kick in. Between the meds and the heat of the water, the soreness of my body was bearable, and I got dressed without wincing too much. I still had to go slow, but it was doable. Whatever I had to bear through I would, so I could see Lacey this morning. I had no idea what her schedule was for the day, but I knew what time she’d be in since I checked the Drake family schedule last night. I couldn’t pass up the guaranteed time she’d be here, so I forced myself to get up and utilize it.
I left my room and went through the house with stealth in my step. If Mom saw the current condition of my face, she’d have a heart attack. I may have left her a note when I snuck in last night that I hung out with Cooper, but that didn’t require the injuries I had. I could hide the effects of the internal damage to my body, but there was no concealing the outside.
I didn’t have to worry about interception because when I got downstairs the house was empty. Confused, I looked at the Drake family schedule on the refrigerator. My hope of seeing Lacey left me the minute I read Adele’s schedule.
Adele: 8:00 a.m. – Pottery Class
I checked my Fossil watch. That was the time Lacey was supposed to be in, which meant she came in early, and since it was past eight she’d already left with my sister.
I slammed my hand against the fridge in frustration, forcing myself to ignore the twinge of pain that shot through my arm. When the fridge moved, a piece of paper escaped from the front and fell to the floor with the yellow magnet holding it. There was a Post-It note on top of the paper, and seeing my name on it, I picked it up.
Drake, this came in for you. You should probably take care of it today. – Mom
Gazing above the note, I saw the Northwestern letterhead embossed on the top. Reading past the blah, blah, blah of the letter, I got to the part about registration. In many words, the letter stated that classes could now be registered for.
I’d worry about that soon enough. I was a star procrastinator, and my goals for the day involved getting some alone time with Lacey, so registering for classes would have to be put on the back burner.
Ignorin
g the letter, I studied Adele’s schedule. If I wasn’t in a weakened state the whole fridge would have hit the floor in reaction to the frustrations I felt as I read. My sister literally had every hour booked in the day until dinnertime. By then, seeing Lacey would be too late. She’d be off work and back on her side of town. Once she was there, there was no way I was going to get to see her.
Running my hand through my hair, I looked at the paper still in my other hand.
I needed something to take my mind off her. If I just waited around for that moment when she finally returned with my sister, I’d go stir crazy.
Not giving it another thought, I logged Northwestern registration under my name on the Drake family schedule. I’d be back in plenty of time to see Lacey in the few minutes she’d be here before she went back home. We wouldn’t have much time together, but I’d take it.
*
Pushing my way through the pack of students, I managed to maneuver out of the registration building without getting elbowed in my sore ribs. It seemed like everyone’s mom had also reminded their kids to register today. This didn’t surprise me. If the other student’s parents were anything like mine, they’d have the same nagging memo that I got this morning. The envelope with the Northwestern seal probably barely left the postman’s hand before my mom was opening it. Frankly, I thought she was more excited about college than I was. In fact, I knew she was. I’d never let her know that, though. I supposed that would change now that I needed the outlet to spend time with Lacey. Something told me needing a spot to be with my girlfriend wasn’t the right reason I should be looking forward to college.
Pushing the detail out of my mind, I pocketed my class schedule. I looked up and groaned when Cooper’s familiar face appeared ahead of me. The guy was already reflecting his school spirit in the purple and white colors. His first stop must have been the gift shop. The dork.
“Drake.” He waved like we were friends.
I guessed we technically were since I called him for a favor. I didn’t think I had to get into the friendly act so soon, though.
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