Chapter Fifteen
We”ve been walking for what feels like hours, although it”s hard to tell time when you”re scared shitless for your life. We”ve been traveling down the same dirty alleyway with no end in sight. Every few steps, I feel something sharp jabbing into my side, prodding me forward.
”Where are you taking me?” I ask again, but once again I”m ignored.
”Let go of me,” I yell, trying to wriggle away, but the man holding my arm just tightens his grip until his fingers dig into my flesh. ”Ouch, you”re hurting me.”
”Shut up,” he snaps, ”or we”ll shut you up permanently.”
I bite my lip to hold back my retort. He doesn”t scare me—much—but I”m not willing to risk it. Maybe I can reason with them, convince them to let me go. ”You don”t have to do this,” I plead with him as we walk along. ”I promise I won”t tell anyone. Drake has money. A shit-ton of money. If you let me go, we can pay you.”
The vampire smirks at me, his yellowed fangs peeking out from between his lips. ”Drake”s money isn”t as good as your blood,” he sneers at me.
A white van pulls into the alleyway, cutting off our advance, and the sliding door opens with a loud thud.
”Get in,” the vampire growls at me, shoving me toward the vehicle. ”No more games.”
As we step closer, I realize I know this guy. He was on the plane! I knew I wasn”t just being paranoid. He was watching me this whole time! Panic races through my veins and I dig in my heels, refusing to go any farther.
”Let go of me,” I shout, struggling against his grasp.
”Stop fighting and get in the fucking car,” the vampire hisses at me. ”Or we”ll put you in there ourselves.”
I swallow hard as fear ripples through me. I want to fight back, but I”m at a disadvantage. They have weapons and super strength. If they decide to drag me into that van by force, I won”t stand a chance.
Suddenly, tires squeal as a car comes speeding down the alleyway, fishtailing as it skids to a halt right in front of us. The door flies open and Drake jumps out of the driver”s seat. He looks murderous as his eyes dart between me and the vampires.
”Get your hands off of her,” he snarls, stepping toward us.
”Stay out of this, Drake,” one of the vampires warns him. ”She”s not yours anymore.”
”She”s mine until I say otherwise,” he retorts, his eyes flashing with fury. ”And right now, I”m saying otherwise.”
Drake doesn”t wait for them to respond. His movements are so fast they”re almost a blur. He grabs one of the vampires by the throat and slams his head into the wall of the building next to us. The second vampire rushes toward him, but Drake”s fist collides with his face, knocking him out cold. The third lunges at Drake, and they grapple with each other for a moment before Drake throws him to the ground, his eyes burning with rage.
”Stay down,” he snarls at him, and the flight attendant inside the van slams the door shut.
Drake stalks over to the van and yanks open the door. He reaches in and grabs the flight attendant by the collar, hauling him out onto the pavement. He slams the man against the wall of the building, and there”s a sickening smacking sound from the impact. Cracks web out along the brick wall, and a small cloud of dust falls from above them.
”You can tell Adrian that the girl is off-limits,” Drake hisses in the flight attendant”s ear. ”If he comes near her again, I will kill him.”
He releases the man with a rough shove, and he falls to the ground in a heap. Drake turns and walks back to the car, opening the passenger door for me. I clamor inside, eager to get away from this nightmare. He climbs in after me and floors the accelerator, leaving the alley in a whirlwind of squealing tires and burning rubber.
I”m still reeling from the whole ordeal as he drives through the city streets. My hands are shaking, and my heart is racing so fast I think it might burst out of my chest. ”How... how did you find me?” I ask finally, breaking the tense silence between us.
”Simon,” he answers simply. ”I had him hack into the security cameras around the hotel.”
I”m not surprised by his answer; his ability to acquire information seems unlimited. However, his unwavering dedication to me does surprise me.
”Why would you do that?” I ask. ”Why go through all that trouble just to find me? I”m no one to you.”
”You”re not no one,” he retorts with a scowl. ”You”re the key to something I”ve been trying to accomplish for centuries, but beyond that, you”re pretty fucking important to me, if you haven”t noticed.”
I look away from him and out the window, avoiding his gaze. My body is trembling, and my throat is dry from fear. I don”t know what to think about any of this. His words sound genuine, but there”s a nagging voice in the back of my mind that tells me to be cautious.
When we get back to the hotel, we head straight for our room. The second the door closes behind us, Drake”s arms are around me, pulling me in close against his chest.
”I”m so sorry, Lola,” he breathes into my hair as he hugs me tightly. ”I should have been there to protect you. I shouldn”t have left you here alone. I”ll never let anything happen to you again, I swear it.”
His voice is filled with such sincerity that it brings tears to my eyes. I”ve never felt safer than I do right now, wrapped up in his embrace.
”I was so worried about you,” he continues softly. ”I was terrified that I would never see you again.”
My heart flutters in my chest at his words. ”You... you were?”
He pulls back and looks at me with a furrowed brow. ”Of course I was,” he says incredulously. ”Don”t you understand, Lola? I care about you. I care about you a lot.”
I gaze up at him in surprise as his words sink in. My heart is hammering in my chest as his eyes lock with mine, and before I can stop myself, I lean up and kiss him.
He groans against my lips as our mouths meet, his tongue darting out to taste mine. His hands slide up my back and tangle in my hair as he deepens the kiss. We kiss hungrily, desperately, like we can”t get enough of each other.
He lifts me up into his arms and carries me over to the bed, laying me down on the soft sheets. His eyes roam over my body as he starts undressing me, peeling off my clothes until I”m completely naked beneath him.
”You”re so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs as his hands caress my bare skin.
Before he can lower himself on top of me, I grab him by the shirt and pull him into another heated kiss. Our bodies press together as we kiss hungrily, and I can feel his cock growing hard between us. He lets out a low groan as I reach down and squeeze his erection through his pants, stroking him with my palm.
”Lola,” he gasps, breaking our kiss. ”Fuck, you”re driving me crazy.”
I grin up at him as I continue teasing him with my hand. ”Good,” I murmur. ”That”s exactly what I want to do to you.”
He laughs softly as he leans down and kisses me again, but I push him away and shift so that I”m on my hands and knees in front of him. I reach out and tug at the buttons on his pants, undoing them and pulling down his zipper. He shrugs out of his jacket, throwing it onto the floor before lifting his hips and shoving his pants down around his ankles.
His cock springs free and stands proudly in front of me, already rock-hard. I lick my lips as I take him into my hands and begin stroking him slowly, watching the way he reacts to my touch. He moans and arches his back, thrusting himself deeper into my grip.
”God damn,” he growls, reaching out to caress my face.
I smile up at him as I lean down and flick my tongue across the head of his cock, tasting the bead of pre-cum that”s glistening there. He lets out a low moan as I take him into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the tip before taking him as deep as I can. He grips my hair tightly as I bob my head up and down, sucking and licking him while he bucks his hips in rhythm with my movements.
When he gathers my hair into his fist, I feel a surge of excitement course through my body. He thrusts himself into my mouth, letting out a guttural moan before he shoves me back onto the bed.
He kneels between my legs and runs his hands up and down my thighs before spreading them apart and lowering himself on top of me. His mouth finds mine in a searing kiss as he guides himself into me, filling me up in one smooth stroke.
I cry out in pleasure as he begins pumping his hips, thrusting in and out of me with long, deep strokes. His fingers dig into my hips as he pounds into me, his cock hitting just the right spot every time. My nails rake down his back as I feel myself getting closer to orgasm, and I cling to him for dear life as he brings me to the brink of ecstasy.
”Fuck yes,” I groan as I come around him, my entire body quivering with pleasure.
When I hook my legs around his and flip us over, his eyes widen in surprise, but he doesn”t protest. Instead, he watches as I start riding him with wild abandon, grinding against him with every movement. He grabs my ass and pulls me tighter against him as his hips rise off the bed to meet me thrust for thrust.
He keeps going, thrusting faster and harder until I come again, screaming his name. He growls as he releases himself inside me, his cock throbbing with every spurt. We ride out our orgasms together, our bodies writhing in ecstasy, and when it”s over, we collapse into each other”s arms, breathing heavily.
After a few moments of catching our breath, Drake rolls off of me and pulls me close against his chest, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
”I don”t ever want to lose you,” he murmurs softly against my hair. ”Promise me that you won”t leave.”
I look up at him with wide eyes, not sure what to say. I can”t promise him that I”ll stay forever, but I”m not ready to leave him yet, either.
”I won”t,” I whisper finally, feeling a lump forming in my throat. ”At least not tonight.”
He pulls me closer and kisses me deeply, running his fingers through my hair. I lose myself in the kiss, losing all sense of time and place. It”s just the two of us in this moment, and nothing else matters.
Here, there”s no Adrian, no vampires trying to kidnap me, no mission to complete. It”s just me and Drake, and at this moment, that”s all I need to feel content and whole. We kiss until our lips are swollen and our bodies are spent, and then we drift off into a blissful sleep.