“You sure?” Emma asked.
“Of course.” Still, I didn’t miss the slight hesitation in my voice. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help, but there was still a kernel of fear that loomed over me whenever I thought about it. A year ago, I would have tried to hide the flicker of fear. But I wasn’t going to anymore. “Does it scare me a bit? Sure. But that’s not going to stop me from helping out.”
“Are you sure?” Rachel asked. “You don’t have to if you’re not—”
“No,” I emphasized. “No, I’ve got some choice words for that demon. He says he returns things a hundredfold. I figure that’s a great template for how I approach our next encounter, don’t you?”
Emma and Rachel laughed, Rachel pulling me into a hug.
“I’m just glad you’re all right and that everything’s worked out,” she said.
“Me too.”
She looked as though she might have something else to say, but she closed her mouth when Drake appeared by my side.
“I was hoping I could steal her away for a dance,” he said, his hand on my shoulder, burning through the fabric of my dress.
“I suppose we can spare her,” Rachel said with a melodramatic sigh. She raised an eyebrow as she stared him down. “You be good to her, Drake. Or you’re going to have a lot of people to contend with. Jessie, Amelia, Emma, and me to start.”
“I think that’s more than enough to ward most people off,” Drake said. “But don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson.”
As if he couldn’t wait another moment, he guided me away toward the dance floor. He pulled me toward him, pressingmy body against his as a slow song began to play. He twisted us around, fingers wrapping around mine as he guided us across the floor.
“I didn’t know you could dance this well,” I said. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
His lip twitched upward. He had a fantastic smile. It lit up the room. He was showing it more now, too. I loved it. I loved him.
“I guess there are still some ways to surprise you, then,” he murmured as he kept spinning us around.
The music filled the air between us, neither of us speaking, savoring the moment, the peace, the fact that we were truly together. I leaned against him, inhaling his scent.
“You look amazing, Liv,” he muttered. “Really just…incredible.”
“You said that earlier,” I teased.
“And I’m going to keep saying it the rest of the night,” he said. He pulled me closer, bending to whisper in my ear. “I’m looking forward to all the things I plan to do to you once we get back home.”
Electricity rippled through me at the words, a heat beginning to build inside me. He pulled away, a knowing smirk dancing across his lips as he watched my face, taking in the reaction his words had elicited.
“Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep,” I teased.
***
The reception finally wound down as the night grew deeper, and it was after midnight when we finally stumbledhome. Still high on the excitement and revelry of the evening, I knew there was no way I was going to get to bed anytime soon. Which turned out to be a good thing, because it became quite obvious the second Drake closed the door behind us that he had no intention of letting me fall asleep anytime soon.
He growled as he pulled me toward him, his hands roaming along my side as he eyed me hungrily, that look enough to heat my entire body. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip as his touch sent shivers rippling through me.
“I’m not going to lie. You look amazing in that dress,” he murmured. Then he pulled me tighter against him, and his mouth moved to my ears and whispered, “But I’ve been dying to get you out of it the moment I saw you in it.”
That hungry, husky whisper reverberated through my entire body. “Is that so?” I said.
“Mhm.” Without another word, he turned me around and tugged at the zipper. The dress pooled at my feet, leaving me in nothing more than a lacey thong. Drake growled as he grabbed my ass, squeezing tight as he yanked them down to join, leaving me bare and exposed to him.
He stayed behind me, his arms slipping around me, holding me gently against him as his hands roamed, fingers hovering teasingly over my clit before sliding upward, cupping each breast, making my body arch with need before they went to rest at my arms.
Still behind me, his lips caressed my neck, trailing down in gentle kisses. I leaned against him, letting out a soft, contented sigh.
His fingers tightened on my arms, holding them possessively, and that satisfaction mutated into need and excitement in an instant. My body stiffened as that intense needbegan to grow. I moaned, rubbed myself against him, feeling his cock harden beneath his pants. With a snarl, he spun me around and pressed his lips to mine, claiming my mouth with a hungry passion that matched my own. I melted against him, letting him control my body. I was his entirely, and I needed him, needed all of him.
