“I think so too.” He smiled. “But at least you didn’t blow your nose on me.”
Myka laughed, feeling the urge to shoulder nudge him back, but a few drops of rain fell from the sky, and they both looked up.
“We’d better get back to the shack before we get soaked.” He reached out to her, and Myka’s eyes dropped to his hand. The moment felt big, like taking Drake’s hand meant she was okay to follow him into the great unknown. His eyes promised her a place to belong, and that’s exactly what she needed. She placed her hand in his, letting him pull her in. Drake smiled back at her as the rain began to fall; right now, she was okay with risking everything to be with him.
It had been raining all day, forcing everyone inside. Drake had left the shack to cover the firewood and the food. When he came back a half-hour later, Myka sat at the table with a paper and pencil in her hand.
“I brought some snacks,” he said, dropping a small bag of nuts and seeds onto the table. “And I also brought entertainment.” He wiggled a box out in front of her. Monopoly. Myka recognized it from the bomb shelter earlier that morning.
“But we don’t know how to play it.”
“There are instructions inside. How hard can it be?” Drake set the game down next to the snacks and pulled his wet shirt up over his head, accentuating every single muscle on his chest and arms. That was one good-looking chest, and it looked even better now that it belonged to a person whom she didn’t hate. It took a lot of effort, but she pulled her eyes away. Would there ever be a day she could see this man shirtless and not get flustered?
He put on a dry shirt as he walked over to the table. “What are you working on?” he asked, leaning over the drawing.
He stood behind her, his left arm stretched out over her shoulder, and the palm of his hand pressed against the table in front of her.
She cleared her throat. “It’s a map of Tolsten House. I thought maybe we could sneak you in or plan something that might help. I don’t know. You’re the commander. Maybe this won’t even help you.”
“This could help,” he said as his right arm reached out in front of her, picking up the pencil, and suddenly Myka was trapped between two large biceps. If she was going to be trapped between something, biceps were always a good choice. The butterflies deep inside of her stirred to life. She didn’t get it. For one week, they had spent the majority of every day and every night together. Myka should be used to Drake. She should be over all the butterflies. But the buzzing in her stomach said they’d only just begun.
“What’s this door?” Drake asked, using the pencil to point at something on the paper.
She wanted to give the map and their conversation her undivided attention, but the bulging muscles to her right and left were distracting. “It’s the door the kitchen staff uses to load supplies into the pantry.”
Drake leaned over her, circling that door. “That might be a good option.”
Myka waved her hands out in front of her. “Do you think you could sit down?”
He turned his face toward hers, and she eyed him from the side. She didn’t dare to fully face him, because if she did, their lips would be lined up—not touching, just lined up—but that wasn’t something that they did. You don’t go from enemies to some sort of friendly partnership, to lips lined up. That’s not how kidnappings go.
She’d spent days hating Drake Vestry, but hate wasn’t the feeling burning inside her chest anymore. Every look and every touch felt significant. Exciting. And so confusing.
He raised a cocky eyebrow. “Am I bothering you?”
She rolled her lips together and nodded.
His mouth turned upward. “We can’t have that.”
Myka shook her head as Drake kicked out the leg of the other chair and sat down, scooting close to her.
Drake was everywhere.
Myka was going to have to get over it. She sucked in a deep breath, pointing at the outer wall door Arco had led her through when she had escaped Tolsten House. “If we get word to Arco, I’m sure we can gain access through that door during the night. Then we can use the woods as our cover until we get to the main house and that side kitchen door.” She pointed to two different locations on the drawing. “There are guards stationed up here and here. The usual shift rotations happen at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The night guards are lazy. And can easily be distracted.”
Drake nodded. “That’s what Arco told us in his letters. He used alcohol to bribe them in the past.”
Myka furrowed her brows. “He used alcohol?”
“Yeah,” Drake confirmed.
“The alcohol I paid him with?”
“Yes.”
Myka’s mouth dropped open. “This whole time, I thought Arco was an alcoholic.”
“No. He used it as a way to bribe the guards so he could move around Tolsten House more freely and gain information.”
Myka sat back in her chair, letting his words sink in.
Drake turned the paper in his direction. “This is great stuff. We just need to get word to Arco and let him know our plan.”
“Why is Arco helping you?” Myka asked.
Drake shrugged. “Because he loved your mother.”
Myka’s eyes went wide, and he quickly corrected himself.
“Not loved... he was fond of her and hated how your father treated her.”
“What did my father do to my mother?” she whispered. She had memories of them fighting. A lot of memories of that, actually, but she didn’t know if she could handle another bomb dropped on her right now.
“I don’t know. I think he wasn’t kind to her.”
“Oh.” She let her breath out, feeling relieved that she didn’t have to wade through something more.
“Where do you think your father has the weapons hidden?” he asked.
Myka stared at the map, shrugging. “I have no idea.”
“You have to have some kind of idea. I mean, you grew up at Tolsten House. Surely you heard something or maybe he told you the location without you knowing.”
She shook her head. Up until a few days ago, she hadn’t even known her father was a bad man. Why would she know where the weapons were?
Drake looked at her like he was waiting for her to say something more. She stared back at him, wishing she knew what was behind his brown eyes.
He nodded, dropping his eyes back down to the map. “Okay.”
For some reason, Myka felt like she had disappointed him, but she didn’t know why.
“What about Commander Stoddard?” Drake asked. “Where are his rooms and office?”
She leaned in, pointing to a spot on the map. Her eyes glanced up. Drake was so close, and suddenly she lost her breath. A piece of his brown hair dropped across his face like it always did, and Myka had to fight the urge to push it back from his brow.
“I know you’re risking a lot, joining forces with me,” he said in his low, husky way.
She shrugged, not sure what else to say.
He reached his hand up and tucked a loose strand of her brown hair behind her ear. The action set her skin on fire. Apparently, he wasn’t fighting the urge to touch the other person’s hair. She swallowed, getting lost in his deep brown eyes. There was something about Drake. Confidence, yes. But, it was more than that. Drake was passion, drive, and intelligence all wrapped up into one incredibly handsome package. She didn’t entirely understand it, but Myka wanted to be the best version of herself just to impress him, to prove to him that she was a formidable partner. She had never felt that way before, and this new feeling made her finally feel alive.
“How many hours do you think we’ve been playing Monopoly?” Drake asked, yawning.
Myka shook the dice and threw them out in front of her. “The game would be over by now if you would give me Boardwalk. Then I could put houses and hotels on the two blue ones.” She flashed him a flat smile.
“It’s not going to happen. Eventually, you’ll go bankrupt.”
“That’s so rude. Let me own both blue p
roperties. You pretty much own everything else.”
“It’s not my fault you decided to become a railroad tycoon.”
She slapped the table in front of her, knocking over Drake’s man on a horse. “Why are you holding onto Boardwalk? Let it go!”
Drake folded his arms, raising his eyebrows. “Maybe you need to let it go.”
“This game will never end if you don’t give it up.”
“Sure, it will.” Drake leaned forward, spreading out what was left of her money. “If you land on Pennsylvania Avenue one more time, you’ll be bankrupt.”
She pursed her lips together. “Give me Boardwalk.”
“No.”
Myka reached out for the square card, but Drake was faster. He snatched it up, swinging his arm behind him and shoving it in his back pocket.
“You’ll never get it now,” he said. “Unless you go after it.”
“I’m not the one nicknamed Mr. Grabby Hands, so I probably won’t go after it.”
Drake smiled.
This was fun.
Myka hated losing the game, but spending time with Drake was amazing. She never knew that she could feel like this. She was turning into some kind of Drake Vestry fanatic. Every little thing he did was attractive. Even the way he beat her at Monopoly.
Drake yawned again, and somehow even that was attractive.
“Maybe we should go to bed. It’s late, and you’re tired.” Myka stood, sighing. “Good game. Too bad we couldn’t finish it to find out who won.” She started gathering the pieces and fit them back into the box.
The corner of his mouth lifted up. “I think we know who won.”
She shook her head. “It’s still up in the air.”
“Okay, Myka.” His brown eyes gleamed back at her.
Ugh! Did he have to be so cute?
Once the game was cleaned up, she turned around and climbed into bed. The heavy rain outside had slowed to a trickle, making a light noise against the roof above. She pressed her back into her cot as Drake dimmed the lantern and lay down beside her.
The cots had seemed small every night that Myka had been at camp, but tonight they felt especially small. She didn’t hug the wall like she usually did. Tonight, she scooted to the edge closest to Drake’s cot. She lay stiff, with her arms to her sides, keenly aware of his shoulder resting against hers and the way his bare arm grazed the side of hers. She couldn’t see his hand, but somehow she knew his fingers were next to hers, begging to be touched.
It would feel so nice.
Myka closed her eyes momentarily, trying to focus her thoughts away from touching Drake. Because right now, all she could think about was how much she wanted to lace her fingers through his, loop her hand through his arm, rest her knee on his legs, and curl her body into his.
“Is there...I mean, do you have some sort of arranged marriage agreement with someone?” Drake said, tripping over his words. “Like, did your father set something up for you?”
She opened her eyes. “Don’t you think that’s a question you should’ve asked a few days ago when you made me sleep next to you?”
“Well, we already know you have a lover,” he said, and everything about his playful voice said that he didn’t really believe she had one.
“When did you know I was lying?”
“The moment you said it.” There was a smile in his voice.
She smiled too. “Oh.”
And, like magnets pulling together, their pinkies brushed up against each other. Myka swallowed, hoping it would happen again.
“So there isn’t a prince in some kingdom waiting to marry you?”
“I never wanted to marry a prince, and my father said I didn’t have to. He said I could become queen and marry whomever I wanted.”
She bit her lip, waiting for his next pinky move.
“What about you?” she asked. “How many girls do you have in love with you back in Albion?”
“None in Albion, but there is a girl in New Hope.”
Oh, no. He has a girlfriend. I started to think that maybe he liked me when really he has a girlfriend. I’m such an idiot. I can’t believe—
“We kind of agreed that there wasn’t a future there,” he finally answered, cutting into her thoughts.
Myka’s heart clenched for reasons she couldn't explain.
“Her name is Lizanne. She was one of Princess Seran’s friends.”
Okay, he likes fancy girls who are friends with fancy princesses. Don’t read too much into it, Myka. Keep it together. It’s your turn to talk...
“She sounds lovely. Why don’t you get over your hesitations and marry her?”
He laughed. “Well, for starters I don’t love her.” He turned his head so his face was looking at her. “And besides that, there’s someone else who’s recently stolen my attention.”
She turned her head toward his, and in unison, their pinkies touched again, but this time neither of them pulled away. Butterflies took over her entire body.
Who knew pinkies could be so exciting?
Myka didn’t.
They laid in silence, the only sound the trickling rain outside and the only movement, the slow caresses of their fingers. Myka didn’t dare move. She didn’t want to break the spell of his soft touch. Even if her body went numb and it became the most uncomfortable position ever, she would stay put. She would lie like that all night. It was worth it to her.
24
Drake
The morning sun filtered through the cracks in the exterior walls, beaming into Drake’s closed eyes. He shifted his weight, feeling Myka’s soft skin under his hand. He peeked open his eyelids, glancing down at her thick brows and light freckles. His arm was wrapped around her shoulder, and her head rested on his chest as she snuggled in close to him.
This was new.
Drake had touched Myka before, held her in his arms, but never like this. He didn’t know at what point during the night they’d gone from touching hands to cuddling. Was he to blame for this? Had his sleeping self initiated it? Or had she?
Either way, he liked it.
Myka was unlike every other girl Drake had ever known. On any given day, he felt wholly outmatched by her. He liked her confidence, how she didn’t let fear or embarrassment get in the way of who she really was. She kept his mind and his heart racing, and all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms like this forever. Things felt different with Myka than they had with Lizanne or any other girl he’d spent time with. What he felt for Myka ran deeper into his soul than anything he’d ever experienced. And it wasn’t because she was part of a bet. It wasn’t for pine nuts or to find out where the weapons were. None of that mattered anymore. He was here with her because he wanted to be, but maybe she didn’t feel the same way.
Could she get over the fact that he had kidnapped her? Was her hatred for him more powerful than anything else she might be feeling?
Myka took one deep breath then cracked open her eyes. She lifted her chin, meeting his gaze. Her eyes widened, like she was surprised to wake up in his embrace. She bit back a shy smile. “Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi.” He took a lock of her brown hair and pushed it away from her face.
“This escalated quickly,” she said.
Drake smiled. “I have no complaints.”
She pushed her body up, letting her brown hair fall over her shoulder. Her pink lips pressed into a smile, and Drake’s breath went ragged.
He wanted to know everything about this girl...just because.
“Myka, when we get out of here, will you go on a date with me?”
She raised an eyebrow. “A date?”
“Yeah, the pre-Desolation thing you told me about.”
She smiled, and an adorable blush crept up her face. “A date is so that you can get to know someone better.”
“Yeah,” He nodded, not even trying to hold back his smile.
She shrugged. “Well, you already know me.”
Drake scrunched his nose. “Are you going to go
on a date with me or not?”
“I’ll have to check my schedule.” She smiled wide, and her blue eyes glimmered.
Drake was hopeless now.
Myka
Myka shook her knee up and down, glancing across the fire to where Drake sat. His eyes met hers, and he didn’t even bother looking away. His gaze was full of passion and some kind of electric energy that made her entire body turn inside out. Heat rose inside her chest, and that was just from a look.
A look!
She was in trouble, because if Drake’s gaze made her feel this way, his touch was going to break her.
Maybe he wouldn’t touch her. He hadn’t touched her that entire day. She’d woken up that morning in his arms—a mistake she hoped to repeat every day from here on out—but then the day had moved on like normal. Not normal. It wasn’t normal to feel this nervous and this excited over stolen glances. But Drake’s heated stares all day had ignited a feeling inside of her so intense, it drove her to knee bouncing and hand fidgeting. It was like she couldn’t stop. The buzzing charged her to life, channeling into her limbs.
“Are you cold?” Drake gave her a big smile like he knew he was responsible for her nervous shaking, not the cool night air.
Myka stomped her foot, stopping her bouncing knee. “No.” She raised her chin. “Are you?”
“Uh-uh.” He shook his head, throwing a peanut into his mouth. If someone had asked Myka a week ago if eating a peanut could be attractive, she would’ve laughed in that person’s face. Now, she had a completely different answer.
“I’m cold,” Grady chimed in, pulling his jacket closed around him.
Oh, yeah. The other five men were there, too. Perhaps, that’s why Drake hadn’t touched her all day. Portlend, Grady, Winslow, Kase and Dawsick would not go away. They were everywhere. And trying to find a moment alone with Drake had turned into the most difficult thing anyone had ever tried to do. So difficult, in fact, that Myka had failed…miserably. She didn’t understand it. Every other day the men had ignored her, and suddenly today, everybody wanted to do everything together.
The Stolen Princess: A YA Dystopian Romance (Desolation Book 3) Page 23