Chapter Twenty-Two

Drake

I t was late by the time they returned to the apartment, and Drake opened the door. The place was dark and quiet, though he was surprised that neither Zeke nor Knox had met them at the door to make sure that Amara was still alive and that they hadn’t killed each other.

The return car ride had been a little less tense. They made the occasional small talk but spent the majority of it in silence as they ran over the conversation they had at dinner and attempted to process it.

“Thanks for the meal,” Amara whispered as they crossed the threshold.

“Anytime.”

As he shut the door, Amara stood just inside and crossed her arms loosely around her middle. “Everyone must be sleeping.”

“Yeah, it would seem so.”

The two of them stood there awkwardly for a few moments before she said, “Well, I should grab my things. Knox is obviously doing better, so I think you and Zeke can handle it from here.”

The thought of her leaving so soon, when she had just agreed to give him another chance, had his wolf whining and pacing anxiously. He realized then that he had gotten used to having her in the house, and he didn’t like the thought of her leaving. Especially with what she had to go back to.

“It’s late. Why don’t you stay another night?” he suggested.

She gave him a small smile that squeezed his heart. “I don’t have anything clean to sleep in, and I’ve been away from home for too long.”

“I have a shirt you can wear.” He shrugged. It really wasn’t a big deal. Besides, he liked the idea of her in his clothes. “We can do some of your laundry too while we sleep. That way, you’ll have something to wear for tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said after a moment, though she sounded unsure.

It was clear that things were either still a little awkward between them or she didn’t fully trust him yet. He didn’t blame her, and he knew he was going to have to prove that he meant it when he told her he wanted her.

After helping Amara put her clothes into the washing machine, she followed him to his room. He stopped by his dresser and pulled out a clean shirt for her to wear. She thanked him before turning her back to him. Unable to help himself, he watched her change as he stripped off his own shirt and jeans and pulled on a pair of sweats. Usually, he didn’t sleep in clothing, but he didn’t want to scare her off. She was already on edge enough as it was.

He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t nervous. This was the first time he was going to have a woman stay the night, and she wasn’t just some random hook-up. She was his mate, which somehow made it an even bigger deal.

When she was finished, she turned to face him, tugging on the hem of the shirt. Her gaze immediately traced his torso, making him smile. “See something you like?” he teased her, hoping to break the ice a bit.

Amara rolled her eyes, but a small smile played across her lips. “Don’t you start with that too,” she retorted, putting her hands on her hips. She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth as she looked around the room. “So, uh, I guess I’ll see you in the morning then?”

He frowned as she backed away toward the door. “Where are you going?”

“Uh, I figured I’d go stay with Zeke or Knox. Why?”

Drake shook his head. “Not tonight.”

“Okay,” she drew out the word as if she didn’t understand his meaning. “Am I being banished to the couch or something?”

With a sigh, Drake looked down at his feet for a moment before peering up at her from under his lashes. “Stay with me?”

“Are you sure?” she asked, fidgeting nervously. “You only just agreed to give this a try, and I don’t… I don’t want to push you or anything.”

Crossing the room in a couple of strides, he immediately picked her up and carried her to the bed. When he laid her down, he kissed her softly. “I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure.”

She nodded and brushed the hair out of her face. “Okay. I was just trying to be considerate and all that.”

Crawling onto the bed, he settled on top of her. Her legs parted to give him room, and he balanced his weight on his elbows so that he didn’t crush her. Even with her curves, she was a tiny thing compared to him. “Well, stop it.”

“Alright, geez,” she laughed. “Sorry for trying to be nice.”

Drake stared at her, taking her in. Her soft hair was splayed out across the pillow, and her eyes twinkled with contentment in the soft light filtering in from the window. The stress and worry that her face had held over the last few days was easing, and that knowledge made him smile.

“God, you are beautiful.”

Her cheeks flushed with color at his words, and she squirmed beneath him.

“Tell me something about you that I don’t already know,” he pressed.

Amara chewed on her cheek in thought. “Um, I have a weird obsession with pigs?” she offered.

Chuckling, he rested his forehead against her collarbone. “Of all the cute fluffy animals you could have chosen, you chose pigs?”

“Yes,” she said with a giggle as she ran her fingers through his hair. He shivered at the contact. “My mom gave me my first stuffed pig, and it just escalated from there. What about you? Tell me something?”

He lifted his head. “Like what?”

“I don’t know. Anything. I don’t know much about you, except for how big your dick is and how hard you like to fuck. Just give me something so that I can know you just a little bit better.”

He thought for a moment. There were a lot of things he could tell her, a lot of random tidbits that would appease her desire to get to know him. However, there was one thing that he should tell her because it would explain why he had been such an asshole to her. She deserved to know the truth, especially if they were going to make things work between them.

Reaching up, he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I was a part of a pack up until the time I was about eighteen,” he began.

She froze beneath him, the smile fading from her face as if she knew what he was about to divulge.

“My father was actually the alpha, and when he claimed my mother, he did so knowing that she wasn’t his fated mate,” he continued before he lost the nerve. “They were happy, for a time, had me, and life seemed to be going pretty well for us. Then, my mother met someone else, someone she claimed to love more than life itself. It eventually came out that the two of them were sleeping together behind my father’s back, and when he tried to put an end to it, the man killed him and took over as the alpha. The moment he did, he banished me to become a rogue because I wasn’t his heir. And my mother didn’t do shit to stop him.”

“Oh,” she breathed. “Is that what you’ve had trouble telling me?”

He nodded, refusing to meet her eyes. Instead, he focused on his finger as he brushed it down the side of her neck. “It’s not something I’m proud of. I didn’t do anything to protect my father, and my own mother disowned me. She’s the reason that I’ve been so closed off, so against this bond between us and everything it represents.”

“And now?” she asked, shivering beneath his touch.

The corner of his lips tilted up ever so slightly. “What’s life if not a series of risks? I can’t let my past dictate my future anymore; that’s no way to live. I can’t let it decide whether or not I get to be happy. The only one who can decide that is me, and you showed me that. And I want to be happy with you, Amara. Well, you and those two idiots down the hall. I figured my own happiness was worth the risk. That you are worth the risk.”

Amara cupped his face with her tiny hand, turning his gaze to hers. “I’m not your mother, Drake. I would never betray you the way she betrayed your father.”

Gripping her wrist, he pressed his lips against her palm. “I know that now. And I meant it when I said I was sorry about the way I’ve been treating you. I never meant to hurt you.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. I understand now, and I’m not blaming you for it.”

It was too much. She was forgiving him way too easily. She should be angry with him for the way he had treated her, just like he was angry with himself. He would never forgive himself for that, and he knew that he would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her.

“No, it’s not okay,” he corrected. “You deserved better. You still deserve better. But fate seems to believe that the four of us belong together, so who am I to argue with fate.”

With a smile, Amara tugged his head down so that she could kiss him. She gripped the nape of his neck and tilted her head, angling the kiss so that it could deepen. His cock, which was already half-erect, hardened instantly.

He brushed his tongue along the seam of her lips, and she opened for him, their tongues tangling and their breathing becoming faster and more uneven. He may not have ever brought a girl home to sleep overnight with him, but he had definitely never kissed one like this either. It felt right, having his mate below him while they explored each other’s mouths. But it still wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more, a deeper connection. He wanted all of her.

Putting all his weight on his elbow, he ran his hand up her thigh and growled when he realized that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. He continued his path under her shirt, up her ribs, and skimmed the side of her breast. Her nipples hardened beneath his touch and poked through the shirt, rubbing against his chest. When she didn’t stop him, he cupped her breast and tweaked the nipple between his fingers. She moaned into his mouth and, as a reward, he ground his cock against her clit.

Every instinct inside of him was telling him to fuck her, to claim her. It was such a primal need that he slipped his sweats down and shoved into her without a second thought. Her back arched from the sudden intrusion, but their lips remained locked on each other’s.

As he started moving inside of her, he realized how different this was from the last two times he had fucked her. There was more behind it than just the need to get off. This time, he had every intention of claiming what was rightfully his. What had always been his.

Her nails clawed at his sides as his mouth swallowed her delicious moans. Her pussy clenched and squeezed around him in such a way that it nearly had him seeing stars. It was as if she were made for him, and he guessed, in a way, she was. With that though, he grabbed her thigh and hiked it up over his hip, giving him the ability to go even deeper with every thrust.

Her hips moved in time with his, her moans increasing in frequency and volume, which spurred him to pick up the pace. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip, making her clench around him, and he groaned in response.

His gums pricked as his canines slipped out, his instinct to claim her kicking in. Her tits bounced in time with his thrust, his name tattooed over her heart, and he couldn’t stand it any longer. Just as he was about to ask her if this was what she truly wanted, if he was what she truly wanted, she lunged forward and sunk her teeth into the side of his neck before he could say anything at all. He moaned loudly, pumping into her harder and faster, and he could feel the tingle at the base of his spine that told him his orgasm was close.

After a few moments, Amara released him and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck to him. He didn’t waste any time in biting her, and when he did, she screamed at the same time her pussy milked his cock. He gripped the headboard, trying like hell to cum before her orgasm was over, and it snapped beneath his strength. With just a few more hard strokes, he came with a roar.

Drake collapsed on top of her, careful not to crush her. All of a sudden, they both heard loud, thunderous footsteps down the hall, and his bedroom door was knocked off the hinges. Both he and Amara looked toward the door to see Zeke and Knox standing in the doorway. Knox was completely naked while Zeke was wearing a pair of pajama pants. Both their sets of eyes were blazing, canines and claws out, as if preparing for battle.

“Uh, hi, guys,” Amara said, suppressing a giggle. “Where’s the fire?”

Both Zeke and Knox took in the scene before them. He watched as their eyes tracked their nakedness, the now-broken headboard, and the fresh bite marks before they both smirked.

“Jesus-fucking-Christ, we thought he was killing you,” Zeke chuckled.

Amara giggled again, her cheeks blushing. “Nope. Not dead. Very much alive.”

“Wait, why the fuck would you think I was killing her?” he growled once Zeke’s words had pierced the fogginess of his post-fucked brain.

“Oh, don’t mind him. As you were,” Knox stated, leading Zeke back into the hallway.

As they disappeared farther down the hall, Drake heard Knox shove Zeke before he said, “Pay up, bitch.”