by Harper Sloan
“You never need to be embarrassed with me. What happens in bed between us is hot as shit, but it’s also fucking beautiful. That was a little taste of how it’s going to be with us. When you’re ready for more, we’re gonna burn up the sheets. Just want you to get comfortable with me for now. I hadn’t even planned on it going this far tonight, but fuck if I could stop myself. Not sure how I’m gonna do it, but I promise you I’ll have more self-control next time.”
I peered deep into his eyes, seeing his determination to give me what he thought I needed. I reached up and cupped his cheek. “Drake, that isn’t what I meant. Yeah, I’m a little uncomfortable now, but it’s mostly because I don’t have a lot of experience with guys. I’ve only had one serious boyfriend, and things ended badly between us. It’s been a while, so this is all new to me.”
His eyes flared at the mention of a previous boyfriend. “Don’t really want to think about the other guys you’ve been with. I know we both have pasts, but you’re mine now, baby.”
I giggled a little at his possessive words. “I know it’s not really what I am supposed to do, lying here in bed with you, but you have to know something. There’s only ever been the one other guy. No worries there.”
He squeezed me even tighter. “Wish I could have been your first, but I’ll work my hardest to make sure I’m your last. Can’t say that there haven’t been a fuck of a lot more women in my bed than guys you’ve been with. I’ve never had something like this. And I don’t want to lose it.”
“Those are pretty strong words this fast, don’t you think?”
“I know special when I see it, Alexa. Not many women out there are hot, sweet, smart, and funny. And the fucking chemistry between us. I’d be an idiot not to know that I found something you don’t find every day. Hell, that some people will never find.”
I blushed at his praise as my eyes started drifting shut. I was starting to crash after the surge of adrenaline, and the warmth of Drake’s body added to his hand stroking my back was making it hard to keep my eyes open. “Mmmmmm,” I mumbled.
“Your body needed that climax, baby. Look at you all flushed and satisfied. Go ahead, close your eyes and go to sleep.”
Drake’s voice murmuring to me was the last thing I remembered before I slipped into a deep slumber. I’d never spent the whole night in bed with a guy before, but I slept better than I had in ages. His body stayed curled around mine, one arm thrown over me and a leg tucked between my thighs.
I usually awoke with the sun each morning, and the next day was no exception. I was disoriented at first, not recognizing the room and the feel of Drake next to me. My eyes blinked open as I took a deep breath and found his scent surrounding me. Yesterday’s events came rushing back to me. I looked over at Drake only to find him staring down at me.
“Were you watching me sleep? That’s a little bit creepy, isn’t it?” I teased.
Drake’s husky chuckle sent shivers up my spine. “Just woke up. Happy to find you next to me. Fucking great way to start the morning.”
“It is nice to wake up with you. Thought you weren’t a morning person?”
“Never have been before. You were a little restless before you woke up. I felt you moving next to me.”
“I’m so sorry! Go back to sleep. I’ll hop in the shower while you rest some more.”
His eyes heated as he glanced down to the opening at the top of the robe. It had parted, the tops of my breasts visible. “Not a chance in this world that I’d be able to go back to sleep with you naked in a shower this close to me.”
“Well don’t expect me to invite you into my shower time, bucko. I take my showers very seriously.”
His finger trailed over the top of my breasts. “You sure about that? I could wash your back for you.”
“I’m pretty sure washing my back would be the last thing on either of our minds if you got in the shower with me.”
He leaned in for a kiss, and I wrapped my hand over my mouth since I hadn’t brushed my teeth yet. Undeterred, he dropped light kisses on my neck instead and moved towards the opening of the robe. I gently nudged his head away as I scooted off the bed. He lay there, the sheet draped over him, with his robe nowhere in sight. He looked like a sex god with his hair tousled and a sexy gleam in his eyes.
“Promise I’ll be good,” he said as he crossed his fingers and put them behind his back in an exaggerated movement.
“Good at being bad? That doesn’t count,” I tossed over my shoulder as I walked into the bathroom and shut the door. If I looked at him, even for a second more, I was going to cave and beg him to join me. He was just too damn tempting. I heard his deep laugh through the door and locked it for good measure.
The robe dropped to the floor, and I saw a trail of light red marks he’d left on my body with his nips and nibbles. They were barely visible, but the sight of them thrilled me in an unexpected way. Sex with Brad had been good, but that didn’t even compare to last night with Drake. If he could make me feel this way with just oral, then what was I in for when we went all the way?
I hurried through my shower. I wouldn’t be surprised if Drake found a way into the bathroom if I wasn’t quick about it. He was definitely going to be a bad influence while keeping me on my toes. As I finished up, I heard footsteps by the door, followed by a loud thunk.
“Drake? Everything okay out there?”
“No, help. I’m dying out here,” he groaned in response.
I threw the robe on and pulled the door open, only to find him standing there staring at me. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“I couldn’t handle it any longer. The sound of running water, knowing it was hitting your naked body. Thank fuck, you put me out of my misery. It won’t even matter if you used all the hot water ‘cause I’m going to need the longest cold shower ever.”
I busted up laughing. “Ohmigosh, Drake! You had me thinking you were at death’s door. Don’t scare me like that again.”
“I make no promises. You might as well tie me down if you’re ever going to subject me to the torture of listening to you shower again without letting me join you.”
“Watch it, buster. If you aren’t careful, I’ll tie you to a chair and put you in the bathroom with me so you can look and hear without touching.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time, baby. The view would be worth some pain.”
“Pain? I’ll give you pain.” I swatted him on his butt. “You better hurry up and get ready. I’m starving. Feed me!”
“Let me guess. Pancakes?”
“Pretty please with sugar on top.”
“How about you give me some sugar instead?” Drake said, tapping his lips with his fingertips.
I reached up to give him a quick kiss and then danced out of his reach. “Ah, ah, ah. Shower time.”
As Drake took his shower, I rummaged through my purse to see what toiletries I had on hand for this morning. I’m not sure how she managed it, but Aubrey had squeezed a matching set of bra and panties, a small cosmetics bag, and an extra top in there along with the condoms she’d thrown inside last night. What a relief! No walk-of-shame look for me today.
By the time Drake strolled out of the bathroom—with nothing on but a towel wrapped around his lean hips—I was dressed and ready to go. He had showered fast and looked disappointed when he realized I was done getting ready. I watched, unable to look away, as a bead of water rolled down his naked chest. His hand reached for the knot in the towel, and I jerked my eyes up to his face. He was smirking at me, delighted to have caught me ogling him.
“Go ahead. Do it. Drop the towel. I dare you!” I teased, playing along.
Drake’s eyes flared as he cocked his head at me. He took several steps in my direction before pulling the knot loose and letting the towel fall. I fought hard to keep my eyes locked with his instead of looking down. If I did, I knew I’d be a goner and we wouldn’t make it out the door for breakfast. I truly was starving, and I could use a little bit of distance this morning
. Things were moving so quickly, and the feelings he evoked in me were too powerful.
“You afraid to look, baby?” he taunted me.
I slapped my hands over my face, covering my eyes to help resist the temptation he presented. “Nope. Not gonna work, Drake.”
“Nerves of steel, huh? Fine, I’ll throw my clothes on and we’ll head out to breakfast. Party pooper!”
I threw my stuff back into my purse, barely getting it to all fit. By the time Drake was dressed, I’d checked the room to make sure we weren’t leaving anything behind. As we left the room, I turned to look back. I had a feeling Drake had just made the Hyatt Place my favorite hotel with the memory of our first sexual encounter etched in my mind. He’d left me wanting more, too, damn him!
Drake took me to a local hole-in-the-wall diner that served amazing breakfasts. As we walked in, I recognized several people at tables enjoying their Saturday morning. They were all friends of my dad, so I was sure that I’d be hearing from him later today when word got back that I’d been spotted here with Drake this early. And this is why looking presentable had been so important this morning. If I had combined my outfit from yesterday with bed head and no mascara, I’d have a hard time explaining to my dad what was going on. Now I could just say we’d met for breakfast without worrying that Dad would know I’d been doing the walk of shame. Yet another thing for which Aubrey deserved my thanks.
“How is it that you seem to know someone everywhere we go?” Drake asked as the waitress placed the food on the table.
“When you grow up in a college town this size, you get to know just about everybody. Plus, Aubrey’s family owns the local bank so they literally know everyone. We’ve been best friends forever, so I pretty much know anyone she does, too. A lot of people know me through her.”
“I like how you and Aubrey are so tight. You seem so different from each other, but you fit together as friends.”
“She’s awesome! I really lucked out in the best friend department. How about you? It had to have been hard transferring here as a junior and leaving your friends behind.”
Drake shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, but I can hang out with the guys on the team or from the frat. Most of them seem cool enough. I’ve hung out with the team captain, Zach, a few times after practice. He wanted to make sure I was fitting in okay, I guess.”
“And Jackson? How are things between you guys at the house? You’ve been getting along when I’m around you both.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand that was playing around with my silverware. “Alexa, don’t worry about Jackson and me. We’re getting along fine. He gets where I’m going with you, and I know where he stands with you.”
“I just need you guys to be okay, that’s all. He’s the closest thing I have to a brother, and you’re becoming important to me.”
“Baby, the last thing I want to do is mess up your friendship with Jackson. I know what he means to you. Won’t say that it isn’t a little hard for me to swallow knowing how close you are to him, but I get it. I’ll try to tone down my caveman tendencies when it comes to him, but not with any other guy.”
I giggled in response. “You don’t have to worry. There is no other guy, and Jackson really isn’t a guy. He’s just Jackson.”
“You keep thinking about him like that, and I won’t have any problems with Jackson. Okay?”
“Deal! I can totally agree to that,” I smiled across at him. “So, how’s your breakfast? Mine is yummy!” I gestured to his plate, wanting to change the subject and break some of the tension.
“Great omelet. Don’t know how you can get by without any protein in the morning.” He shook his head as he looked at my plate of pancakes.
“Hey, there are eggs in here, too!”
“Barely. Want some of mine?” he asked as he scooped up a forkful of omelet.
“Um, no thanks. See how hidden the egg is in my pancakes? So that you don’t really know they’re in there? That’s how I like my eggs. Yuck!”
He took a big bite and moaned in appreciation. “No eggs for you then. I guess that means I’ll have to learn how to make pancakes.”
I clapped my hands together in excitement. “Now that’s more like it! I can even teach you how to make them, too.”
“Works for me. We’ll do that sometime. I like the thought of you in the kitchen showing me how to make something you love to eat.”
I practically melted into a puddle at his sweet words and the hot look he sent my way. “Me too.”
“Anything you need to do today?”
“Nope, I’m all yours for the day.”
“Baby, you’re not just mine for the day. You’re mine period. I’ve had a taste of you now. Not letting you get away.”
Shivers went up my spine at his possessive tone. I looked down at my plate and sighed. I didn’t want to encourage his pushiness, but I knew he could tell it got to me. I never thought I’d be the type of girl to get all mushy inside when a guy turned all alpha on me, but I guess I was wrong. Drake was quickly working his way past all my defenses. In an odd sort of way, I felt safe with him because he was so upfront with his bossiness and he let me know that he felt jealous when other guys were around. How could I not be affected when he made me feel so wanted?
Drake must have been serious when he’d said our night together made me his because he certainly acted like it after. He wasn’t shy of PDA, kissing me all the time and touching me whenever and wherever he pleased. I knew I should probably be offended by his behavior, but I found myself turned on even more. After Brad had cheated on me in such a public way, I’d felt like it had to have been my fault. He’d been my first and only lover, so I figured that I just wasn’t desirable enough to keep his attention. Drake blew that negativity out of my head by showing me daily that he wanted me. Heck, he made it pretty damn clear to everyone that he wanted me. Everyone but that girl from the frat party, at least.
She didn’t live in my dorm, but you’d think she did with how often we saw her in the mornings when Drake stopped by to pick me up for our walk across campus. I never saw him treat her any differently than any of the other girls who still tried to gain his attention, but she seemed to think she was special. I would usually find her standing closer to him than anyone else, talking with her hands, and using that as an excuse to touch him. It drove me crazy, not knowing what had happened between them. I understood that he had a past, but I would have preferred it to be dead and buried instead of in my face every day.
A couple months into our relationship, I finally discovered what their relationship had been before I met Drake. As I walked up to them leaving the dorm, I glanced at her hand patting his arm as she tried to keep his attention. Drake wasn’t even watching her. His eyes were on me, devouring me as I neared. “Morning, baby,” he greeted me with a small smile on his face that pissed me off even more.
I didn’t find anything funny about this situation, and his smug grin was about to buy him a load of trouble he wasn’t expecting this morning. I’d taken about as much as I was going to from this girl, regardless of their past relationship. If our roles were reversed, he wouldn’t put up with this shit. He’d just beat the crap out of the guy and pull me away.
I pointedly looked at her hand and then back to his face as I stood next to them with my arms crossed, not saying a word. Drake swatted her hand away and looked back at me with an amused expression on his face, shrugging his shoulders as if to ask what he could do about it. Arrogant bastard.
The blond girl barely registered the fact that he’d rebuffed her as she gazed up at him adoringly. “Ugh! I think I just threw up in my mouth a little,” I muttered under my breath. At Drake’s chuckle, I realized I hadn’t said that as quietly as I’d thought. His laughter earned him a death stare from me.
“Sasha, you’ve met my girlfriend before,” he said as he pulled me closer. “Alexa, I think you know Sasha. Our families are close since our moms are best friends.”
“Really? How nice for you both,” I
said sarcastically as he began to unravel the mystery of how they knew each other.
Sasha looked down at our entwined fingers and then back up at Drake’s face with an irritated expression. Her eyes trailed over his chest hungrily on the way up. Yay, what a good morning for me. I got to watch as a close family friend ogled my boyfriend. Yippee. She finally acknowledged my presence by looking at me like I was a bug she’d like to squash under her foot.
“Yes, it’s great to have so much in common with such a great guy. I can’t wait to see your family over the holidays, Drake,” she said as she sent a triumphant smile my way.
Drake ran his hand up and down my back in a comforting gesture and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Mom’s excited about her annual open house. I may not be around much. Depends on what plans Alexa has. Wouldn’t want to spend our first holiday apart.”
Sasha’s jaw dropped at his words. Our expressions of shock probably mirrored each other since Drake and I hadn’t talked about plans for the holiday breaks yet. Thanksgiving was just around the corner, and it was my favorite day of the year. We usually had dinner with Aubrey’s family, and I spent the night before at her house so I could help her mom start cooking early in the morning. Turkey with all the trimmings, the Macy’s parade on TV, and football filled my memories of Thanksgiving each year.
Jumping on the chance to drive Sasha crazy, I leaned up to kiss Drake and whispered to him, “Childhood friends? You are so going to pay for this later.” I turned my head and raised my voice so she could hear me. “I’d hate to be apart too, sweetie,” I cooed.
“But, Drake, your mom would be crushed if you didn’t come home for the holidays,” Sasha protested.
Drake moved behind me and wrapped both arms around me, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Didn’t say I wasn’t going to be there. Just that my plans depend on what Alexa wants to do.”
I chuckled in response and pulled his arms even tighter around my body. “That shouldn’t be such a surprise, Sasha. Isn’t that what good boyfriends do? And Drake really is the best.”