2. Drake

CHAPTER 2

Drake

T he gorgeous brunette with soft curves and legs for days leaves me standing there with my tongue hanging out without even saying good-bye.

But she can't get away from me. Sure, the boat's not small but it's a boat. I'm intrigued and I'm damn sure gonna get another look at her.

I follow along behind her and reach the deck just in time to watch her parading along the railing, her steps a little unsteady as she stops to breathe in fresh air.

I know how she feels. I hate this trapped feeling. If it wasn't for my disastrous love life I wouldn't be on this floating death trap.

Ironic that I'm scared of a boat when I race around a track every day with what feels like the bare minimum in safety measures wrapped around me in the car's frame.

Indy racing isn't for the faint of heart.

But neither is love and boy did I learn that lesson the hard way! My girlfriend made my life a living hell and then dragged me through the papers and talk show circuit trying to eke out a tidy little profit for her time wasted on such as me.

I shake my head as the woman in front of me staggers a little bit and falls into the railing. I can't stand this anymore. It's like she's begging to be the first person to fall overboard on this trip!

I stride forward quickly. I'm almost to her when she staggers again and this time she falls into the rail hard. I wince when I hear her soft gasp, knowing that must have stung like a mother.

"Cara mia. You shouldn't be out here alone in those heels. You're gonna hurt yourself." I grab hold of her and my body turns to steel. She fits against me just right. Soft and plush. Perfect.

She turns to glare up at me, pushing at my arms that are banded around her like I'm never going to let her go.

Because I'm not. She's mine. All five foot nothing of her. She's got curves that beg for my hand. Gray eyes that flash with icy fire. Frizzy brown hair that falls in waves around her shoulders. She's beautiful. But she's older than me.

I don't give a damn. I knew as soon as I saw her she's meant to be mine. We're meant to grow old together. I'm meant to take care of her every one of our days and she's meant to be the mother of our children.

She's wearing a wedding band in plain platinum though and my teeth ground as I watched her stagger.

She shouldn't be doing any of the stuff she's doing by herself. She's too precious. If she were hurt, I swear to heaven, I would break a fucker.

"Let me go, dammit! Get your hands off me, asshole!" I frown and drop my hands off of her.

"What is wrong, sweetheart?"

"Who the hell are you and why have you been following me?"

I raise a dark brow at her, enjoying the fire in her cool gaze. The way her cheeks blush soft pink. I want to know how her skin looks when I give her all the orgasms she could possibly want.

"Why would you think I'm following you?" I bluff, my heart pounding when she lifts her slender hand up to push her frizzy curls behind an ear that's so damn perfect it makes me want to lick and nibble at it. An ear for fuck's sake! If I get a good look at her body I might spontaneously combust with pleasure!

"Because you followed me from the cabin and I could see you behind me, trying to keep from being spotted." She puts that slim hand on her wide hips and my eyes follow the movement like a fucking star being pulled into the gravity of a black hole.

She's mesmerizing in the moonlight. Her pale skin glows like the first rays of dawn creeping over a windowsill. Like the lustrous gleam of the most perfect pearl.

Like my perfect gem.

She snaps her slim fingers in front of my face and I gotta tell you. I'm here for it! She's sexy and sassy and I love it all.

"Hey! Wake the hell up, dude! Who are you and why are you following me?"

She's backed away from me now and I miss the feel of her soft, cushiony curves against me. She looks frail and a little sickly. She looks so delicately beautiful and fragile that it scares me a little bit.

"Have you been sick, cara Mia?"

Her eyes roll and she glares at me. "You are freaking weird. I've warned my girls over and over again to watch out for guys like you. Wish they were here to see exactly what a nut looks like," she mutters under her breath.

An unholy grin washes over my lips. "You're perfect, beautiful. What's your name?"

She huffs and her big breasts rise and fall in a way that distracts me so much that I reach a hand out to touch her shoulder. But luckily I come to my senses before my hand touches her.

I think she might break my hand. Or bite me. She's got a feral look to her that should be a damn warning but instead it just turns me the fuck on.

Her long hair flies around her head as the breeze picks up. The salty sea air is turning chilly and I see her shiver in the damp air.

"You should have a jacket or sweater, my love."

Her head jerks up and I shrug out of my jacket. "Here, my love. You need it more than me."

"I'm not taking your coat. I can go back to my cabin if I need something." Her gleaming eyes skewer me. "You haven't given me a name. Just a few smart-ass comments." She reaches over and pokes her fingers into my chest.

I grasp her fingers and her eyes widen, her pink lips tilting up, her mouth falling open in an "o" of surprise.

"My name is Drake Roberts."

Her brow lifts as she tugs and pulls at her hand. "The race car driver? What the hell are you doing on this ship? And why won't you let go of my damn hand?"

I shake my head. "I can't do that. You're meant for me, baby girl."

She shakes her head. "You have lost your mind. How many times have you been knocked out with a concussion and you ignored it."

I shrug again. "Enough times. But that's not what this is. I want to spend some time with my girl."

"Has your keeper lost track of you? I think that maybe you shouldn't run from them. It's obvious you need someone to make sure you don't do something stupid."

"Humph! Love is never stupid, cara Mia."

"This is not love!" She growls and my dick jumps in my pants. He's fucking flattened against my zipper so hard that it has to be tattooed on my erection right now.

I pat her cheek and she just groans under her breath. "It is. And before this trip is over, I will win you over and we will be married."

"We're gonna talk about this. Just not right now. And I have no intention of getting married ever again."

She turns on her slender heel and stalks off and it seems like all the light that filled me when I sparred with her is finally warming and thawing my dented heart.

It's fast, it's frenzied. Like instalove on steroids.

But if there's one thing I know. I'm not going anywhere. This is us together forever. It's fate.

If I hadn't met that…woman, I would never have come on this godforsaken cruise. Fate needed me here.

To find the woman whose heart belongs to me. The woman I will marry and fill with my babies.

If she ever lets me even hold her hand.