The Loner (Daughters of Destiny Book 1)

by K. R. Grace

  “I know you can’t make a promise for the future, but I can. No matter what happens, I will not live without you in my life, Star. I’ll be faithful to you, always. When you die, I die. It’s that simple.”

  My heart ached out of its dormancy, and I felt warmth where I’d been cold for way too long. He lowered his head to mine, and I knew I wanted his kiss more than I wanted my next breath. I closed my eyes, waiting for the connection. His large hand cupped my cheek as his nose caressed mine. He placed small, fluttering kisses on each eyelid, on my cheekbones, along my jaw line. Then, he drew closer, kissing the edges of my mouth but not kissing me where I wanted him most. Just when I was at my breaking point, clutching onto his shirt to keep my knees from buckling, he pulled me against him and took my top lip between his.

  I hummed as he slowly proceeded to explore my mouth, leaving nothing untouched. But, as soon as I tried to kick it up a notch, but he pulled back. He pressed his forehead against mine as our mutual panting mingled together.

  “God, you’re intoxicating.” He chuckled as he gulped for air.

  “Back at you, wolf boy.”

  “I need to get you inside before I do something we’ll both regret.” He linked our hands and led us back to the house.

  Once we were inside, he took me to the one place I’d never been: his room. I’d never really pictured Drake sleeping for some reason, but the large king-sized bed with the rumpled sheets told the truth. Everything else was clean and tidy. In fact, the room was sparse. Just a bed, a flat-screen mounted on the wall, a nightstand with a worn copy of Hard Times by Charles Dickens and a remote sitting on it, and a black dresser. Nothing else.

  Hmm, love the décor. Note to self, give him tons of pictures of us for every special occasion.

  Drake smirked but made no apologies or defenses. Instead, he moved quickly to make the bed while I walked over to the large picture window overlooking the property.

  “How many acres do you have here?” I asked.

  “Two hundred and eleven.”

  “Huh,” I muttered.

  “What? Did you think there was more?” He asked as he joined me.

  “No. It’s just, that’s a prime number. I hate prime numbers.”

  His eyebrows quirked as he gave me a queer look. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. I’d have to sell or buy one acre to make it composite. Probably buy since I like the balance of two-one-two.”

  He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around me. “You’re weird.”

  I elbowed him in the ribs as I pushed away from him. “Look who’s talking, wolf boy.”

  Drake held his hands up in defeat. “Touché. Are you hungry? I’m sure Meliena left you something edible.”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay. You stay here. I’ll go see what I can find. Make yourself comfortable.” Before I could protest, he was gone.

  Since there was nothing other than the TV and the book to occupy my time, I wandered into the bathroom to see what I’d find in there. The sink was clean, unlike mine, and void of any stray hairs or toothpaste scum. The shower was small, taking up only a corner of the room opposite the toilet. I opened the glass door, grabbing the bottle of body soap sitting on the lone ledge. The second I popped the top open, citrus and pine assailed my senses. I was tempted to take it so I’d always have a part of Drake with me, but decided against it. Didn’t want him to think I was some creepy stalker more than he already did.

  Even though the tile in the shower was still wet, it was clean. Again, no hair clippings or soap residue. I was even more impressed to see the toilet sparkling white inside and out, AND the toilet seat was down. Small miracles.

  My favorite part of the bathroom was the Jacuzzi tub. It was big enough to fit two people comfortably and begged me to use it. I resisted…barely, making my way out into the bedroom just as Drake walked in with a trey of sandwiches.

  “It’s not much, but the bread and cheese are homemade,” Drake said as he handed me a plate and a cup of grape juice.

  “Trust me, I’m easy to please.”

  For someone who didn’t eat normal-people food, he made one mean sandwich. I ate every last bit of it before taking my first sip of juice. I plopped back onto a pillow on the bed and sighed.

  “Did you like it?” He asked as he stretched out beside me. How we both ended up there was anybody’s guess, but I wasn’t about to move.

  “Yes, very much. Thank you.” I got brave and gave him a quick peck on the lips. As I began my retreat, however, he anchored me to him with one arm and went in for a longer, deeper kiss. In one swift move, I was on my back as he straddled my thighs. Little grunts rumbled from his chest as I traced my fingers along the waistline of his jeans.

  He broke the kiss, burying his face in my neck. His teeth sank into the side of my throat, causing me to cry out as my eyes flew open. God, that was hot! Quickly, his tongue darted out, soothing away the sting, and I begged for him to do it again. And he did. Over and over again.

  My hands clawed at his shirt until he got the hint and shed it quickly. For a moment, he paused above me, his eyes wild and dark with desire.

  “God, you’re so beautiful,” he groaned.

  He lowered his head, trailing soft kisses from my sternum all the way to the waist of my pants. My back arched. His large hands clamped down onto my hips, holding me in place.

  “Drake, please!” I whimpered.

  I didn’t know what I was asking for. All I knew was I needed him to do something to alleviate the raging fire in my core.

  He moved back up my body, reuniting our lips. As our tongues mated, a vision of two toddler girls, one with blonde hair and Drake’s silver eyes and the other with red hair and my green eyes, flashed into my mind. They ran with their chubby arms extended out to me, bright smiles on their little angelic faces. I laughed as I engulfed them in a giant group hug. When I looked up, I found Drake leaning against the doorframe, a big smile consuming his entire face.

  My girls. I heard him say even though his lips never moved. I could see us through his eyes, mother and her daughters sharing a special moment. My heart swelled as he moved to join us, wrapping us all up in his protective embrace.

  I gasped as I was brought back to reality when Drake bit down on my bottom lip. Did I have a vision or was that my overactive imagination playing tricks on me? Either way, I didn’t have time to process it because Drake’s wayward hands began to drift south across my stomach, oblivious to whatever happened in my head.

  I felt his hardness against my leg, but I wasn’t ready for that. As wonderful as his mouth was on me, as much as I wanted to sink my teeth into him, I wasn’t ready to cross that line yet.

  Just before I called a halt to the hot make-out session, Drake stopped, resting his cheek on my stomach.

  “You make me lose my mind, Star,” he rasped as he ran his hand up to my rib cage and back down to the waistline of my pants.

  I weaved my fingers through his hair, enjoying its silkiness, willing my body to cool down.

  “Back at you,” I grinned up at the ceiling.

  “I want to go further. Damn, do I want to go further. But I can’t. Once I have a taste of you, I won’t be able to stop myself,” he groaned as he rolled off me, pulling me onto my side so he could spoon against my back.

  “I know. Neither would I,” I sighed as I brought his hand to my lips.

  He righted me as best as possible before he stood.

  “Let’s go down to the library. Maybe there I’ll be able to control myself.”

  I took the hand he extended, letting him tug me up onto my feet and out the door. We curled up on the couch, my head resting in his lap as he read Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days to me.

  I was his. Something deep down told me it didn’t matter what happened with the others. He was who my heart had chosen.

  I spotted his wallet on the coffee table and got a little nosey. Billfolds and wallets were like little windows into a person’s soul. Without hesitating, I picked it
up and opened it to look at his driver’s license.

  “Drake Knight, six foot three, blue eyes…twenty-one. Really, Drake? Twenty-one?” I rolled onto my back and raised an eyebrow up at him.

  “Hey, just because I have to impersonate a high schooler, doesn’t mean I have to avoid the alcohol like one,” he chuckled and yanked the wallet away from me before I could look at anything else. But, not before I caught sight of a little black foil package sticking out where he kept his money. The mental image of him putting that bit of latex protection to good use with me knocked the air out of my lungs.

  “Makes sense,” I cleared my throat, deciding we needed a distraction before I threw myself at him. His scent was fogging my brain, and all I wanted to do was lick every mound and crevice on his body.

  It suddenly felt like I was lying on a big stick. I frowned before my eyes grew huge with awareness. My cheeks flushed hot as I glanced up at him only to see his sheepish grin.

  “You think like that and it’s going to cause a reaction.” He shrugged.

  “Have you ever been, you know, active with anyone else?” I heard myself asking.

  He squinted down at me, as if he was trying to choose his words wisely. “Depends on what you consider active.”

  “Have you had sex?”

  “No.”

  “Seriously?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “How is that possible? You’ve been on this earth forever.”

  Drake sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face. “This is not a conversation I want to have with you.”

  “Well, you need to since we almost made it to second base in your bedroom.”

  He studied me for a second before his shoulders slumped. “Fine. I can’t have sex until I’m married. It’s a Guardian law.”

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” I snorted. The goodie goodie shifters would be the ones to make a law prohibiting sex before marriage.

  “It’s not because we’re goodie goodies.” He tweaked my nose. “It’s a law meant to prevent us from creating armies of shifters for evil.”

  “I thought you could only turn your mates.”

  “Having sex is mating, Star.” He eyed me like I had a screw loose.

  “I mean your spouse, soul mate, whatever.”

  “We’ll change our partners regardless of a marriage license.”

  “Why would the Creator do that?”

  “Because sex isn’t supposed to be taken lightly. Whenever someone sleeps with someone, a soul connection is made, even if just for a moment. The connection is usually deeper for shifters because we mate for life.”

  “But why have a rule, then? If you mate for life, wouldn’t you only be attracted to your mate?”

  “Because we’re also human, and a fine ass is a fine ass.” He smirked.

  I shoved him, rolling my eyes. “Okay. So, what happens if you break the rules?”

  “You’re kicked out of The Guardians. Most end up joining Shadowmen if they haven’t already. We’ve only had one case where someone was sentenced to Shadowmen because he created a militant group of shifters.”

  “An army of female shifters. Interesting,” I snorted.

  “They weren’t all female.” He eyed me.

  “Gottcha.”

  “Are we done with this awkward conversation?”

  “Why?”

  A wicked grin spread on his face right before his fingers ran along my stomach, sending me into a wreathing, squealing, giggling heap.

  When my hand grazed his abs by mistake, he grunted, “Hey, none of that.”

  “You’re ticklish, too!” I cried with delight. “Oh, it’s on!”

  And so the great tickle war began.

  Meliena chose to enter the living room the exact moment when I was straddling Drake’s hips, my fingers under his shirt as he held my foot hostage. I wasn’t sure how we twisted ourselves into that position, but judging by the stern look on Meliena’s face, she wasn’t amused.

  “Hey, I picked up some salad,” she said as she walked further into the room.

  I tried to roll off Drake but he held me in place.

  “Good. How did class go?” He asked, as if I wasn’t using him as a chair

  “We talked about irrigation,” her nose turned up in obvious distaste.

  She stood there in silence, and I realized they were communicating with their minds.

  “Hey, so not fair,” I huffed.

  “Meliena was warning me not to get too attached,” Drake said, not pulling his gaze from his sister’s.

  “And Drake was just reminding me things can change. Look, honestly, Star.” Meliena broke her stare war with Drake and turned to lay the full force of her large brown eyes on me. They were much too big to be normal. “I think you’re great, but you won’t pick Drake.”

  “You chose a Wolf,” I pointed out.

  “I didn’t have a choice,” she huffed and left the room.

  I bit my lip, certain I’d just ruined things between her and me.

  “She’ll get over it. She hasn’t completely let go of John. He was trying to protect me and one of the Falcons got him. There was nothing any of us could do.”

  “Is that why she stays around you?”

  He nodded sadly.

  “I think she can’t fully accept that he’d fulfilled his purpose on earth. They’d only been married for a year when he died.”

  “His purpose was to die protecting you.”

  He winced as he released my foot. The lighthearted mood we’d finally settled into was gone.

  “Maybe, but what neither of us can figure out is while she didn’t die shortly after. Once one mate dies, the other will follow shortly after. It’s the natural progression of things.”

  “Is it possible to have two mates?”

  “It’s never been done before.”

  “Then, I guess God’s not finished with her yet.”

  He smiled at me before leaning up to cup my face, taking my mouth hostage. I forgot all about what we’d been talking about, focusing everything on him.

  All too soon, he put a halt to the heavy kissing.

  “I need to call your parents and let them know you’re staying for dinner,” Drake said as he grabbed his phone and dialed my home number. I didn’t even want to know how he got that since I’d never given it to him.

  Surprisingly enough, Mom seemed okay with us being at his house.

  The gang minus Rake showed up and we ate salad. Well, Stella, Drake, Meliena, Sly, and I ate salads while Bugsey ate a bowl of mixed nuts. Eventually, Meliena warmed up enough to talk about her day.

  After dinner, we played a game of Nertz, which was really just the games of solitary and speed on crack. At one point, I was afraid we were all going to die when Stella slipped her three of hearts down onto a two of clubs just as Sly was doing the same, beating him to the punch. His face turned red and his slender frame began to shake violently.

  “It’s okay, Sly,” Drake intervened, patting his friend on the shoulder. I watched the skunk shifter take in a few deep breaths before nodding, his face returning to normal.

  Shew, crisis diverted.

  I didn’t want Drake to drive me home, but it was a school night. Plus, I knew Mom’s leniency with Drake would only stretch so far. As much as fun as I’d had with Drake and his family, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the happiness I had was nothing but a mirage. Something dark was on the horizon.

  “Thanks for going along with today,” he said and placed a kiss on my forehead, making me feel cherished. “I hope you get all your answers one day. It would make your thoughts calm down.”

  He chuckled, but it lacked any merriment. I smiled sadly as I waited for him to get out and come over to help me down from the Jeep. We walked up to my front door and stood there awkwardly for a few minutes.

  “I’ll probably go to hell for this,” he growled and cupped my face in his big hands and pressed my back against the wall. His lips descended over mine and his tongue forced its way into my mouth
. Every intense emotion he felt poured into his kiss, and I was powerless to do anything else but respond with equal passion. I rose up on my toes and delved my fingers into his hair, wishing it was still long so I could grab it. He moaned into my mouth as his hands dropped to my waist so he could mesh our lower halves together. Way too many layers were between us, and I wanted them gone.

  The porch light flicked on, causing him to jump back and dry-wash his fingers through his hair. “I love you, Star,” he whispered before he leapt off the porch and jumped into his Jeep.

  I numbly turned and walked inside. Glancing out the window, I caught him sitting behind the wheel with his head resting on his hands. His shoulders heaved before he straightened, stared at my house for what felt like forever, started the engine, and drove off.

  I brought my trembling fingers to where I could still feel him on my lips. That kiss had been nothing like any of the others today. I couldn’t shake the feeling tonight’s kiss on the front porch felt like a goodbye.

  Chapter Twenty

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Star

  Onyx decided a sleepover at her house was the perfect way to spend our Friday night. I dreaded it. All they’d do was talk about boys while doing each other’s nails. But, Drake seemed pleased with the arrangement. Every time I complained to him about it, he’d just smile, kiss my temple, and tell me I might be surprised at how much fun I had. As if.

  A huge smile spread on his face when he spotted my backpack stuffed with pajamas, a change of clothes, and the essential toiletries Friday morning.

  “Are you ready to ace your Spanish test?” he asked.

  “Nope.” I emphasized the “p” sound and saw a little spittle fly out my mouth. That was classy.

  He kissed my hand before driving us to school. The moment I saw my two jail wardens in the hallway, I contemplated making a run for it.

  “Be good,” Drake whispered in my ear as he wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me hostage.

  I glowered up at him. All he did was chuckle and kiss my nose before releasing me.

  “See you in band.” He waved before disappearing into the crowd of people shuffling off to their respective classes.