Drake watched Bethany zip her jacket.

Right now, he was a lost boy with a hard on. The fact that Bethany teased him to the point that he’d be willing to do anything just to kiss her was a problem. A very big problem. Her teasing kiss, so fucking chaste as not to be considered a kiss at all destroyed him for other women.

Now that he’d had a whisper of a taste, he could no longer see himself looking for another woman to sit on his face, to ride on his dick cowgirl style until she won all the circuits of the rodeo season, or to give him a blow job that was better than being high on crack. He wanted Bethany doing all of that now. Had always wanted her. The others were just distractions, warm bodies that pampered his cock while he thought of Bethany.

Her breath was better than a blunt, her lips and the taste of her mouth were better than the most expensive wine, and her body? Venus rising from the Sea…move over. His balls and cock wanted to see some action from his own Aphrodite hell bent on turning him down.

Bethany was testing his patience. It didn’t matter. The reward would be sweeter. His cock would just have to wait. His jaw clenched. He was going to regret even thinking that.

He followed Bethany out of the house going ahead to his car while she locked up. Light rain pelted him. He didn’t care. He waited by her door, rewarded with a brief smile before she got in. Rounding to the driver’s side, he watched her every move trying to read the secrets covering her like a second layer of skin.

The silence between them was deader than dead before the radio station just had to play Kygo’s Kids in Love. Outside the rain began falling in fat drops.

Drake let out a slow exhale shaking his head. Talk about their separation in the lyrics of a song. Bethany kept her eyes glued to her window, not bothering to look at him. Her stiff body said it all.

They drove in silence until Drake could no longer stand it. This wall between them was as wide as an elephant with crocodile teeth and was fucking getting on his nerves. Just ask his knuckles, wanting out of his skin over the steering wheel. He needed to calm the fuck down. He was the one who left, right?

“What have you been doing all this time?” Drake smoothly took the turn off Ridgeway Road that would take them to the motorway. The purr of the engine was not enough to drown the tension of unspoken words between them nor the swish and soft thud of the wipers.

“This and that.” Her shoulder lifted. Bethany kept her face averted. She tucked her hair behind the curve of her hearing aid. “You?”

Drake concentrated on the road. “A lot of things.”

“Such as?” She turned to him, her sleek hair whipping softly around her shoulders.

“Such as looking for you,” he said quietly, his grip tightening on the wheel. “I searched everywhere for you, Be-Bethany.”

Her eyes narrowed. He smirked.

“Hey, it takes getting used to you know, not calling you what I want to.”

He would never stop calling her Bee. He just needed to reintroduce it back into her vocabulary the way it had a home in his.

She sighed leaning back on the leather seat, staring blankly ahead.

Drake would forever regret that he didn’t return right away and the moment he was able to, he nearly went quietly out of his mind not knowing where Bethany and her parents had gone. Miles didn’t know either other than Bethany left a year later.

The former coach remained unfazed when Drake threatened to leave. He called his former pupil a stupid punk and to get his arse out of the gym. Drake stopped because where would he go? He returned to Miles with his tail between his legs. His coach didn’t pick a bone with him but trained him hard nearly driving him to the ground. By the end of the day, Drake was so exhausted, his body aching that all he wanted to do was fall into his smelly cot, close his eyes and dream of Bethany.

It had been the only way he could be with her.

Drake bided his time. Miles allowed him to wallow in self-pity before Drake finally pulled his shit together planning for the day he’d see Bethany and never leave her again.

“So this dancing at the burlesque club…” He cleared his throat.

“What about it?” Bethany let out a long breath.

“Why?” he stole a glance at her before turning his attention back to the road. They were nearing the intersection of Princess Parkway and Nell Lane. Heavy traffic flowed. Parents took their precious children to the nearby schools, office workers living outside of the town centre were coming in droves into the city before it clocked nine.

They rolled into a crawl when the traffic light turned red.

The thought of seeing her in that sexy, cock-teasing get up fired both his jealousy and hunger to take her to his bed. Drake didn’t want her to be on some stage for men to have wet dreams of her. He was the only one who deserved to have a wet dream with Bethany in the starring role.

Drake grunted and shifted in his seat.

“Why do it?”

“Why not?” Bethany arched a perfect brow challenging him. “It’s my body.”

He jammed his jaw shut so hard he thought he’d break it.

“It shouldn’t be on display.”

“Drake, it’s just a dance,” she scoffed, chuckling. “If men went up the stage they’d be thrown out of the club.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He needed to drive his point home. If he had to fight with her, he would fucking fight with her about this.

“Yeah right, and the rest of the girls dancing with me?”

Drake growled. “I don’t give a fuck about them. I give a fuck about you. I give a fuck that every cock, dick, and penis gets to see you flash your—”

“What!” Disbelieving laughter came out of her. Her eyes darkened flashing with indignation. Her breath came out in short and fast. “Say that again.”

Drake kept his mouth shut. Shit, he shouldn’t have said that.

“Oh my God,” she muttered. Her body trembled.

“Bethany.”

“Shut up!”

He wanted to take her, grip the back of her neck and ravage her mouth with one long drawn out kiss that would have his Bee moaning underneath him and holding on to his shirt before they went to the back of the car to continue where they left off. That was one of his favourite fantasies.

Until he saw Bethany’s eyes glimmer with unshed tears.

Ah fuck…

“You don’t own me, Drake,” she said through clenched teeth. “No one owns me.”

“Bee—”

“Pull over. I’m getting out.”

“What? No. I’m taking you to the hospital.” He checked the rearview mirror before sliding to the right lane.”

“Fuck you, Drake! Pull this goddamn car over!”

“No.” He accelerated at the sight of the green light. With the traffic they were still as fast as Aesop’s turtle.

“If you don’t stop this car, I’ll jump.” she threatened.

Drake barked out a laugh. “Really? Go on, I dare you.”

Bethany threw her head back and laughed herself just as the tears she held fell down her cheeks. Drake’s eyes rounded and he stepped on the brake. The car and several other cars behind and beside them screeched to a tumultuous stop. Horns blaring joined incredulous faces and flipping fingers in a cacophony of tempered road rage.

Bethany had just opened the door and let go.

“Fuck!”

A roar filled the car. The tyres screeched, the smell of burning rubber filtering through the vents. Horns blared behind at their abrupt stop. Drake didn’t care. Cars parted like the Red Sea except that he wasn’t running away from danger. Danger was running away from him. The traffic moved faster. Drake didn’t know how he was able to bring the car into a stop without hitting anyone at the same time his arm shot across Bethany to shut the door, like a frog’s tongue catching its food.

Only then did Drake realize that the roar was from him.

They both sat in silence while the lively voice of the radio host belted out the latest traffic report. Short breaths filled the car. Drake’s heart seemed to have lost its way. It was unable to find the cavity to where it was supposed to reside inside his body after jumping out of his throat. Sweat coated his armpits and forehead. Not even the fucking temperature control could remove the terror that robbed him of thought.

He could have hurt Bethany or killed her. He could have permanently snuffed out the only beautiful light in his God forsaken life. She was the only reason he still lived and didn’t end up throwing his life away even after Miles took him in.

The sounds beside him dragged his attention from the windshield. The misty rain coated the surface and looked like it had shattered in a gazillion pieces just like the invisible impact of what Bethany did on his soul.

Bethany was in hysterics enough for tears to mix with her mascara in black rain about to run down the sides of her face before stopping them with finger swipes.

Drake watched her double up in mirth at the shock he knew was plastered on his face. He heaved a huge sigh. He allowed her this moment of perverted hilarity since words couldn’t come out of his clogged throat. He couldn’t believe she made that stupid move.

Bethany soon sobered. The lift of her shoulders was the only remnant of her amusement. She shook her head and didn’t bother to look at Drake. The cars passing them in a blur haloed her profile.

Then she opened the door once more even before Drake’s brain could compute what she did. The screeching tyres of a car swerving to avoid nicking Drake’s car filled his ears. The driver stopped several metres away from them. Dumbstruck, Drake watched Bethany calmly walk away without a backward glance. They were already near the private hospital where Joe Brooke was recovering at his expense. Money wasn’t the problem. It was Bethany’s transformation into one crazy chick. Drake had vowed he’d take care of her when he made it big. Now that he had, he didn’t know how to deal with the woman pushing her way through the line to talk to Saint Peter.

He wished he could go back and be the boy in the centre of Bethany’s universe even if there wasn’t any money to speak of. At least he could have the warm and loving girl of his youth and not this cold fucking sexy woman who made his dick shrivel in panic at the thought of losing her for good.

The driver stormed towards Bethany. The rain didn’t impair Drake’s view of seeing Bethany stiffen before retreating to Drake’s car. Drake’s gaze narrowed when the driver kept entering Bethany’s personal space.

Motherfucker.

A growl left Drake’s throat and he saw red. He got out of the car just as Bethany sidestepped the man but squealed when he grabbed her arm and shoved her with enough force to make her stumble.

Drake didn’t waste time with words. He rammed his shoulder against the driver’s gut. He didn’t hear Bethany scream. He only heard the satisfying slip and thud of the man’s arse hitting the pavement. The man had a dazed look like he had been roofied. Drake’s temper knew no bounds, the lava flowing thick and slick through his system. He was glad for his stint inside the octagon. He had fought until his knuckles were skinned raw but that gave perspective not to break the jaw of every jerkface who crossed his path.

Drake stood up, his body braced for retaliation but none came when the driver recognized him.

“What the fuck man?” the driver shouted. “I don’t give a shit who you are. I’m not having you bust my arse.”

Drake straightened as he glared at him. “You didn’t have to grab her.”

“Fine, I shouldn’t have,” he snapped. “But your woman should be sectioned.”

“Watch it!”

The man glowered at Bethany as he stood pointing to her. “You better watch her. She might just land you a stint in a cell. Who knows what else she’ll do.”

The last thing Drake wanted to do was to create a scene from one of the soaps people obsessed with or for the police to come to the gym because of what they saw on CCTV. He hoped to God the driver didn’t report the incident. If he did, there was no way in hell Drake was going to let it go.

He grabbed Bethany first glaring at her. She looked mortified.

Good.

Then she wiped off all emotion on her face, pulled her arm away from his hold, and began walking as though Drake didn’t exist.

The muscle on Drake’s jaw ticked like a timer counting down the moments he had left with her. He watched her go, his heart aching and incredulous the farther she walked away from him. He’d never seen Bethany this way and didn’t know how to appease her.

He got back into his car, accelerating with the traffic and drove off, not even slowing down for her. He couldn’t face her. He humiliated her, treated her like some slut. Shame was like a pricked pus inside of him. His jealousy caused him to say those hurtful things. She didn’t deserve that.

He didn’t deserve her.

Drake was back to square one. The odds of winning her back were skyscraper high. He wished for a fault somewhere so it came crashing down to give him a fighting chance to scale the rubble and win her back.

He snorted as he shifted gears.

Not even a magnitude 8 earthquake could do that.

After what he did, he was positive that Bethany had already locked him out of her heart.