Chapter Eight
Lana
The water felt like heavy rain falling down on me, washing away the chlorine from my skin where we’d goofed off in the pool earlier. Today was turning into an unexpected adventure with Drake. He surprised me at every turn. While I’d been nervous when he’d asked for this do-over, I had to admit that I was enjoying every second of it. As we’d walked down memory lane a little I realized that maybe I needed it just as much as he did.
Not because I still held on to regrets and doubts. I had none of those. I simply needed it because remembering why I’d first fallen in love with Drake Stevenson was making me fall for him all over again.
I took my time in the shower, then got dressed in the black dress he’d packed for me. I hadn’t washed my hair, so I simply ran a brush through it after putting on a little makeup. The only thing missing was shoes, and I didn’t realize that there was a lack of them until after I’d gotten dressed.
Frowning, I walked out of the bathroom. The bedroom was empty so I went into the living room. Empty. The door to the balcony was open, letting a slight breeze blow into the room. Outside, lights twinkled and danced in the growing darkness. Faintly I heard laughter coming from the pool in the courtyard.
“Drake?”
“In here.”
Following the sound of his voice, I headed for the dining room, and stopped when I saw the table set for dinner. Candles were already lit, beautiful china in golden rose was set out, and even a bottle of what looked like sparkling cider was in a bucket of ice on the table. None of this had been there when I’d gone in for my shower. But it was the man standing in the center of the room who had my breath catching in my throat.
Dressed in a black suit, with his jacket hanging open to reveal his shirt untucked and unbuttoned, Drake looked delicious. He’d taken the man bun down before we’d left the house earlier that day, but it was back now. Like me, he was completely barefoot. “I take it we aren’t going out for dinner, then?”
A lopsided grin played at his lips. Fuck, that grin did dangerous things to my heart. For a second I couldn’t catch my breath as he walked toward me. “Well, I have this wife who doesn’t like ostentatious places that would be considered romantic. So I figured I’d treat her to dinner in tonight.”
“G-good idea,” I whispered as he held out his hand. My palm rubbed against his before he clasped his big fingers around it and then pulled me in close. As if by magic, soft jazz music began to play, and I barely noticed when Drake tossed the remote to the stereo that was hidden somewhere in the penthouse.
His free hand went to my waist, and he lifted our joined hands up until they rested over his heart. My heart beat erratically as we started to sway to the music. In all the years we’d been together, the times we had gone dancing were few and far between. It was one of my few pleasures that I didn’t indulge often. Getting to do so now, with my delicious husband’s arms around me as we danced around the room with nothing but candles and moonlight streaming through the windows, was something I would treasure for the rest of my life.
I felt his lips brush over my temple as he hummed along with the song, making his chest vibrate and affecting me in the most primal of ways as my panties became soaked with need for him. The music shifted from one song to another, and everything inside of me melted when I heard our song.
In my opinion, Drake sang “Heaven” a million times better than Bryan Adams, but I was biased like that. He’d sung this song to me in front of thousands of people, live, while millions of people had watched from their living rooms as he had dropped to his knees and asked me to be his wife.
Lifting my head, I stepped up onto tiptoes and kissed him. It was a long, slow kiss, something he’d been avoiding all day, but I needed it. There was only so much romance I could take before I needed him to devour me.
He didn’t hesitate to kiss me back, and I felt his heart trying to jump out of his chest as a growl that seemed to be dragged from his throat filled the room. His tongue thrust forcefully into my mouth, trying to conquer me when he already owned me, body and soul.
The kiss could have gone on all night and I would have been content. But all too soon there was a knock at the door and Drake reluctantly lifted his head. Breathing raggedly, he glanced at the door, then back down at me. “Dinner’s here.”
I licked my lips and tasted him on them. “I’d rather have dessert first, but I guess we shouldn’t let good food go to waste.”
He nodded, pressed a kiss to my forehead, then seemed to force himself to step away and cross to the door. Some guy in a waiter uniform wheeled in a cart loaded with our food. Drake was quick to get rid of him with a generous tip, refusing to let the man set the table for us.
Once the door swung shut behind the man, Drake came back to me. The music was still playing softly in the background, but our earlier spell was broken. Taking my hand, he pulled me over to the table and held the seat out for me. I sat there, watching him with amusement, as he served us. Once he’d set a plate in front of me, I waited until he had taken his seat before taking the metal covering off.
The scent of perfectly cooked steak, roasted potatoes and sautéed green beans filled my nose and for a moment I forgot about the ache between my legs for the ache that was now gnawing at my stomach. Drake lifted his own covering, revealing the exact same thing, only with a monstrous steak instead of my considerably smaller one. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to eat everything on my plate, but I knew Drake would eat all of his plus what I didn’t eat.
“I’ve really enjoyed today,” I told him as I pushed away my plate when I was full.
“I’m glad, Angel.” I bit into my bottom lip and his face darkened. “What’s wrong?”
I took a sip of my water, then shrugged as I replaced the glass. “I really, really enjoyed today. I was hoping we could do this again next year…and every year after that. Maybe this can be the start of a new anniversary for us.”
His silverware hit his plate with a loud clank and he scooted his chair back quickly. Getting to his feet, he came around the table and pulled me into his arms. “Yes,” he whispered fiercely as his head started to lower. “Yes, I’d love that.”
Those were the last words he said for a long time as he slowly devoured my mouth.
I let him have complete control over how fast we went tonight. Knew that this was what he needed because he hadn’t had any control over our first time all those years ago. It surprised me how gentle he was when I could feel how tense his body was. He was holding himself back, treating me with kid gloves as he slowly undressed me in the dying candlelight, while the moon glowed over my skin.
Goosebumps lifted across my entire body, making me shiver deliciously as he skimmed his fingers down my bare arms. I was only in my panties and bra now, but the matching set that he’d packed me offered little modesty. I pressed my thighs together, trying to relieve the ache that was making my clit pulse in time to my racing heartbeat.
Drake’s lips trailed down my throat, his fingers holding my hips in place when I unconsciously moved closer to him. I was going up in flames, but the burn was a good one. “It was this day all those years ago that I finally admitted to myself that I loved you,” he murmured against my shoulder. “It scared the living hell out of me.” I felt his tongue swirling on my collarbone and couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped. “That’s why I got so drunk that night.”
A thrill went through me at his confession. “Are you still scared?” I teased in a voice shaky with the need he was still building deep inside me.
“Terrified, Angel,” he said with a half grin. He lifted his head, those blue-gray eyes shining with love and so much more. “It’s a good feeling to have, though. I never want to stop feeling it.”
Before I could respond to that, he bent and lifted me effortlessly into his arms. I didn’t cling to him, knowing he would never drop me, but I kept my eyes locked on his face as he carried me through the penthouse and into the bedroom. Sitting me on the edge of the bed, he stepped back and began to undress.
My brain short-circuited a little as I watched him reveal inch by inch of himself. My mouth went dry at the sight of the cut angles that made that yummy V as he unsnapped his pants and pushed them over his hips, leaving him in nothing more than a pair of black boxer briefs. My panties were soaking wet and I shifted uncomfortably, wanting them gone.
Without realizing I was doing it, I reached for him, wanting to take his boxers off, but he caught my hands, holding both in one of his. “You do that and I won’t last, and I need it to last.”
Half pouting, I nodded and sat back farther on the bed, spreading my legs ever so slightly for him so he could see the dampness on my thighs. He inhaled sharply through his nose and dropped to his knees in front of me. I felt the tremor in his fingers as he pushed my thighs farther apart. He clenched his jaw, trying to rein in his quickly slipping control. Part of me wanted him to just let go and make wild, crazy love to me—a week was too damn long to go without an orgasm from this man—but I knew he would regret it as soon as he came up for air later. So I sat there, continuing to let him have full power.