Chapter 34
“How long is this trip going to take?” I asked Aurora.
It was quite difficult to hear in the helicopter, but it was also quite uncomfortable to have been seated with her for so long, and yet we hadn’t spoken. She was solely focused on scrolling through her phone while the men spoke, and I didn”t know how to feel about this. I hadn’t missed her look of surprise, or was it displeasure, when she had seen my hand in Drake’s.
However, she had quickly covered it up and continued on. It was clear now, however, that she was somewhat withdrawing from me. It wasn’t surprising; it just felt a bit disheartening.
To my surprise, however, she turned right then and smiled at me.
“We have about twenty-five minutes left.” she said and turned to look at her brother. I tried to avoid his eyes, but I couldn’t any longer. He nodded, and then he looked at me. My eyes went down his nose, biceps, and the slabs of muscle straining against his skin, and I couldn”t help but shift restlessly. The act between my thighs, coupled with his inhumane sex appeal and the tension in the air, made me want to combust from the inside out. I was so antsy and turned on that it was hard to breathe.
“Aren”t you cold?” Aurora asked suddenly, and at first, I thought she was talking to me, but it was soon clear that she was referring to him.
“I”m fine,” he replied, however, I was already taking off his jacket. I froze then in mid-movement, wondering if I had made another mistake. However, he reached out for it, and I handed it over.
“Is that his jacket?” she asked, and I nodded, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. Instead, I stared out at the panoramic view of the city from this vantage point, even though it was now impossible for me to appreciate or even take it in.
“Yeah,” I heard him reply.
“So cute,” she commented, surprising me. “It”s like you two are a couple.”
No one responded. However, she kept pushing.
“Are you two a couple?” she asked, truly and as I turned to her, I was shocked by how direct she was. I mean, I had thought she would have wanted to bring it up when we were alone, but she had asked right there without any reservations.
I immediately replied as defensively as I could possibly be.
“We’re not,” I replied. “Not at all. He just thought that I would be cold and offered it to me briefly. I”m sorry for forgetting to return it.”
She smiled at me almost sympathetically, and then she turned to him. He had his eyes on her at first, and then he turned his attention to me.
“Sure you don”t still need it?” he asked, and I shook my head.
A long silence followed afterward, but then Aurora, God bless her little evil heart, struck again.
“Are you two sleeping together then?” she asked, and this time around both my eyes widened in shock, as well as her fiancé’s.
“Sorry!” he called out; however, she was completely amused.
“You all are acting so stiff, as though I’m going to blow up.”
“That”s rude,” he said, but she shook her head.
“No, it”s not. What it is is obvious. Evelyn, is this what Victoria was babbling about in my room earlier and trying to say?”
At her words, I immediately turned to Drake”s face and saw it darken. I automatically wanted to come to Victoria’s defense, but when I realized that she got whatever would be coming to her as a result, I stopped myself.
“Kind of,” I replied. “I wanted to bring it up but privately.”
“Ah,” she said, still smiling. However, I couldn’t quite tell how she truly felt about it.
“What was so obvious about it?” Drake asked, and I grew even more nervous. I mean, sure, it was good he was trying to find out so that he would tone down whatever had given us away for the sake of the rest of the ceremony. But it was also extremely uncomfortable.
Plus, I felt truly like I couldn’t read anybody, and it made me feel quite vulnerable. Like absolutely nothing was in my control, including Drake’s reaction.
“Well, for starters, you gave her your jacket,” she said.
“I”ve seen the way you are with other women, and I”ve never seen you be that considerate before. Plus, of course, now that as soon as I became suspicious, then all the looks you kept sneaking at her at dinner suddenly made sense. I was so nervous because I thought you didn”t like her, that you didn”t think she was needed at all. Who would have thought it was because you were interested in her?”
I turned away then, my entire body flushing because now Aurora was just saying too much. Her words were nice, but she was going too far. We were just involved, yet she was insinuating more than I wanted at such close proximity to him where I could barely hide anything. We both went quiet then, and I turned to look out of the window.
Her reaction truly was surprising to me, but perhaps she didn”t want to sulk about it or be unpleasant, given that we were all in such close proximity to each other.
Soon, though, and thankfully, we landed on a field close to the tracks, and I was so incredibly relieved.
I tried my very best to look away from Drake, but truly, it was difficult to. Especially since he decided that there was no need whatsoever for him to put on his jacket. He was all muscle as he ushered us over to the places where the motorcycles were kept greeting the staff there.
They welcomed him happily, and I watched him, from then onwards, completely forgetting that another person was in existence.
He spoke to them about the motorcycles as well as Aurora”s fiancé, while I brought out my camera and started taking pictures. Eventually, I joined Aurora on the bleachers, and she seemed to be more relaxed than ever before. She stared at me then with a smile, and I truly hoped that since we were now alone, she wouldn’t try to tell me how she truly felt about it.
To my surprise, she didn”t bring it up again and it just made me feel even more comfortable. Eventually, though, she spoke, and relief filled me.
”This thing between you two, it”s more of a casual thing, isn”t it?” she asked. I looked at her, and then I nodded.
”It is, and it isn”t, as though it started from the beginning. It”s just been once. Twice maybe,” my voice breaking. She kept silent then, and I waited for what she would say. When she, however, didn”t speak, I grew even more nervous.
“I, uh, I consider you a friend. So, I was incredibly nervous about this. I don”t have any motives; it”s just... he”s very persuasive and attractive. I promise it won’t affect my work here with you, and the second your wedding is concluded, I will be completely out of the picture.”
“Can you guarantee that?” she asked.
I turned, then, shocked at her words. However, as I stared into her eyes, I nodded.
“Yeah,” I replied.
She remained silent for a while, and then she smiled.
“There are so many similarities between you and Drake,” she said. “You two have quite strong personalities, so in a way, I”m not surprised that he was drawn to you.”
“I don’t have the right to interfere,” she said. “He told me that he was going to take this week as a vacation himself, as a way to rest, and I really don”t mind. He works so hard constantly, and even though I”m not exactly his biggest fan, I still care about him, so I won”t get in the way. Just... be careful,” she told me. “I consider you a friend as well, and I don”t want you to get hurt. Men like him sometimes are quite hardened and can be just as persuasive as they are ruthless.”
I nodded in complete understanding, and she smiled.
“So... Victoria, huh?” she said, and I sighed.
“She wanted to use it to blackmail you or something?”
“Who knows,” I replied. “She sure thought that I ought to be afraid that you would find out.”
“How did she find out?” she asked.
“Today at the spa,” she said. “Drake sort of intruded into my room.”
“Ah,” she said and kept smiling.
I wondered why, and then when she looked at me again, I noticed that her cheeks were completely red.
“What is it?” I asked, genuinely curious, and she replied.
“Let”s just say Drake was not the only male that had the same idea.”
It took me a second to understand, but when I did, I blinked, looking towards where her fiancé was now coming from.
“Oh,” I said, and she bit down on her lower lip.
I took my camera then and took a shot. However, her hand shot out to cover the lens, but I pulled away and was able to get the most gorgeous picture of her. The sky was turning golden behind her, her hair blowing in the wind, her cheeks flushed.
“Look, look,” she said just then, and I turned and watched as Drake got onto one of the motorcycles. He put the helmet on but nothing else, and I was instantly worried for him. He, however, looked so divine, and since I no longer had anything to hide, from Aurora at least, I got up and took as many pictures as I wanted.
“Take some of David too,” she screamed, and I smiled and did as she asked.
We headed over to both men as Drake waved us over, and I couldn”t believe how shy I was to be in his vicinity. Aurora headed over excitedly to her fiancé and kissed him while I remained a distance away from Drake.
I took a picture of him as he glanced back to look at me, and the way his eyes ran down my body made me melt.
Aurora, with her smiling face while I could only mutter a few words.
“Be careful,” I said, and he sent me an even more gorgeous smile.
He revved up the engine now, and I watched him go along with two other drivers. It seemed as though they would be doing a race of some sort, so with my heart in my throat, I stood and watched.
Drake started with a bang, and in just a few seconds, he had left everyone in the dust except one of the other riders I didn”t know. I watched as he moved seemingly with the wind, and I couldn’t breathe. Majestic and fucking dangerous were words I no longer even thought were befitting enough to suit him.
I watched him especially bend his entire body as he took the curves on the track, and my heart went to my stomach.
“Evelyn, pictures!” Aurora called, and only then did I remember myself. Barely breathing, I kept taking as many as I could and ran ahead to catch them at the right angles, even climbing a bit higher up the bleachers and got the shots I needed.
The race didn’t last long. They raced a couple of laps, and then the others began to drop in slowly; however, Drake kept going. It was a joy to watch him, but the potent mix of being horny and so fucking afraid at the same time was draining.
Eventually, he got off and stopped close to me. Aurora, however, was too busy discussing something with her fiancé. He took his helmet off, and I captured every moment of it, right until he stared straight at me and shook his hair out of his eyes.
My knees nearly gave out.
“Come here,” he said, and I was like a puppy because I didn’t even recall how to refuse.
His arm went around me as soon as I reached him, and then he kissed me senseless. I completely lost my ability to speak when he released me. I also lost the ability to stand, and as I stumbled, his arm was the only thing holding me up.
“You okay?” he asked, amused, and I nodded.
“What do you say?” he whispered, looking deep into my eyes.
“Still willing to fuck?”
“I”d like to take you somewhere on the motorcycle.”
“How would that work?” I wondered, genuinely curious and knowing now that I had genuinely lost my mind.
“There are several ways,” he said. “We could try.”
“No,” I said as I looked behind, but found that Aurora and her fiancé were nowhere to be found.
I shook my head then and sighed, much to his amusement.
“Kids,” he said, and I smiled.
“Anywhere else,” I replied. “Anywhere else but on this motorcycle.”
He looked out onto the horizon. “Helicopter?” he asked, and I laughed out loud.
“Why don’t we just wait until we get back,” I suggested, and he nodded.
“I can work with that.”
“How about a ride, though?” he asked, and I instantly stepped back. He was, however, too fast, much faster than I could have imagined because before I could go out of reach, he caught my hand and pulled me to him.
“I’ll be careful,” he told me. “Since I have you with me, you’ll have a blast, I promise.”
I already knew that I was going to say yes, so I didn’t struggle much as he put the helmet on me. It was a bit big, but it was soft, of course, no excuse for me to refuse. So, I had no choice then but to set down my camera.
He guided me as I got on the motorcycle in front of him, and he glued his entire body to mine. I could feel every part of him, and coupled with the thrill of the whole situation, it felt like my heart was about to pound out of my chest. My blood was roaring in my ears as he revved the engine once again; however, I was too concerned for him.
“You need to wear an extra helmet,” I told him, but he shook his head and leaned forward to kiss me again.
“I”ll go much more slowly,” he said.
He hit the gas then, and my face was completely shielded. I held onto the handles like he did, and pretty soon, we were zooming away. I truly wanted to scream, especially when he began to turn. He had said we would go slowly, but I understood now that he lied to me. Or perhaps because the experience was new, it just felt as though we were flying. Regardless, I prayed for my life and promised myself I would never trust him until a few minutes later when we were slowing down and returning.
Soon we came to a complete stop, and Aurora and her fiancé appeared once again. They looked fine, which made me imagine that perhaps they hadn’t gone to be naughty like me and Drake. Regardless, she headed over when she saw me and was incredibly excited to see that we had gone on the ride. She supported me in getting down while Drake talked Aurora”s fiancé into an additional ride.
I needed to calm down, so I went with Aurora to get some snacks, more than content to tone down the excitement and to simply watch the men for the rest of the evening.