Chapter 15
Alaska had literally never been as happy as she was right now.
It was strange that it took such a horrific event to make it possible for her lifelong dream to come true.
If it hadn’t been for her getting kidnapped thousands of miles away, she’d still be toiling at some administrative job in Europe, and dreaming longingly of the boy who would never be hers.
But now here she was, with said boy…now man…and loving every minute of her new reality.
Ever since they’d first made love that morning a week ago, during the day she took care of their guests, and at night, she and Drake made love in every position possible.
They’d done away with the condoms after Alaska told him she had an IUD, and the first time he’d come inside her, they’d both moaned from the heavy emotion of the moment—then grinned like complete idiots.
She loved that she could be herself with Drake.
He didn’t think her desires were weird; in fact, he encouraged her to tell him all the things she wanted to do with him.
They’d done them all—and then some. If Alaska thought she got wet with a normal orgasm, it was nothing compared to how much she’d squirted when Drake had experimented with giving her a G-spot orgasm.
The first time, she’d been horrified and thought she’d peed on him, but he’d reassured her that she hadn’t—then proceeded to fuck the worry right out of her.
Poor Mutt had started sleeping out on the couch in the other room. Alaska felt bad, but Drake quickly made her forget about the dog by giving her an orgasm simply by sucking on her nipples.
Yes, it was safe to say she and Drake were fully compatible when it came to the bedroom.
But it was more than that. Even when they weren’t in bed, they seemed to be able to read each other remarkably well.
One afternoon recently, he’d been moody and short with everyone, and Alaska had encouraged him to take Mutt and go on a long hike, by himself.
When he’d returned, he seemed more settled. And that night, he’d admitted that he’d gotten an email from Mad Dog’s former wife, mentioning she was pregnant with her new husband again. He’d thanked her for being understanding, and she’d held Drake a little tighter as they fell asleep.
Over the last three days, the guys had been getting ready for the visit from the investor from China…
and were all acting strange. At least, Alaska assumed that was why they weren’t acting like their normal selves.
Drake was constantly pulling one or more of them aside and having private conversations.
It wasn’t that she felt left out—she didn’t need to know every little thing Drake talked about with his friends and co-owners of The Refuge—but it still felt odd nonetheless.
It was three o’clock in the afternoon, and she’d just finished checking in the new guests and returning all the phone messages for the day when Drake appeared at her side.
“Hey, hon. Everything go okay?” he asked.
“Of course. The new guests have been briefed on all the things, they’re aware of dinner tonight, I made twenty new reservations today, and we’ve gotten three thousand dollars in donations since yesterday. Everything’s great.”
“Good.” Drake leaned down and kissed her, but it seemed he was distracted. “Can you come to the therapy room with me for a sec?” he asked.
Alaska frowned. She had no idea what was wrong, but if he wanted to talk to her in there, it had to be something big. She nodded and stood up, her legs shaking slightly.
Was this it? Was he thinking they were done? Had he and his friends hired someone new as an admin? It had only been a week since she and Drake had been together-together. Was he already tired of her? Had she done something wrong?
All sorts of worst-case scenarios were flying through her head. She hated that she was so unsure, but she’d never been as happy as she’d been in the past week…and she didn’t want anything to ruin that.
She was still lost in her head, trying to figure out where she might go and what she was going to do if he asked her to leave, when Drake reached the door to the room they used for meetings and therapy sessions. He held it open as she walked in first.
Alaska stopped dead in her tracks at the sight in front of her.
Everyone was there. All the guys—including Tonka—Robert, Henley, a few of the women who cleaned the cabins.
There were even several guests inside, as well.
The table had been pushed against one wall, and there were maroon and white balloons all over the room.
Someone had even taped strands of streamers from one side of the room to the other.
“What in the world?” she muttered, right before Tiny counted down from three and, on one, everyone yelled, “Happy Graduation, Alaska!”
Alaska gasped in realization—maroon and white were the colors of the community college she’d attended after high school.
“You didn’t get a graduation party back then, so I thought I’d throw you one now,” Drake said into her ear from behind.
She felt his hands at her waist, but all Alaska could do was stare at the table by the wall.
There was a punch bowl, and a huge cake in the shape of a diploma.
She walked toward it in a daze. When she got close enough, she could see her name written in icing on the top in perfect cursive letters.
Robert had outdone himself, because the cake looked exactly like the diploma she’d received once upon a time… and had lost in one of her moves.
Drake brushed past her and grabbed something from the table. He brought it to her and opened the padded folder, showing her what was inside.
“Is that…oh my God, Drake. That’s my diploma!” Alaska said.
“Yup. After you told me you’d lost yours, I called my mom, and she went to the registrar’s office and ordered a replacement for you.”
Alaska wasn’t a crier—but she burst into tears.
Drake immediately pulled her into his arms. She could hear everyone’s murmured whispers, wondering if she was okay, but she couldn’t seem to pull herself together enough to reassure them.
“I just…no one’s…this is…”
Drake chuckled against her. “It’s okay. I understand.”
Alaska took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I don’t think you do. I haven’t had anyone who’s cared about me like this in a very long time…maybe ever.”
“You do now,” Drake said simply. “Now how about you dry your tears and smile before my friends beat the shit out of me because they think I’ve truly upset you.”
She knew he was teasing, but she immediately wiped her face and took a deep breath. She leaned up and kissed Drake firmly. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”
He smiled. “I love making you happy,” he said, then turned her to face their friends. “She’s good,” he informed them.
“Awesome. Can we eat now?” Pipe asked. “That cake’s been calling my name for hours!”
Alaska laughed. “Go for it.”
“We got you presents too,” Spike informed her, gesturing to the pile of gifts under the table that she’d somehow missed.
“You guys,” she protested. “That wasn’t necessary.”
“Just as you stepping in to help us when we needed you the most wasn’t necessary,” Tonka told her with a slight shrug.
“Exactly!” Stone agreed.
An hour later, Alaska’s face actually hurt from smiling so much.
Everyone had gone above and beyond with her gifts.
Some were silly, some were useful, but the one that meant the most was from Henley.
She’d snapped a picture of her and Drake from behind.
They were standing outside, and Alaska had an arm around Drake’s lower back as she snuggled against his side.
He was leaning down and kissing her forehead as she stared at him lovingly.
With the trees in the background, and no buildings in the shot, it looked as if they were the only people on earth.
It was perfection. Alaska couldn’t remember what they were talking about when the picture was taken, but it didn’t matter. She’d treasure the photo forever.
By the time everyone had indulged in cake and punch and had wandered out of the room to do their own thing, Alaska was practically overwhelmed with emotion.
“I think that went well,” Drake said with satisfaction.
“Well?” Alaska asked. “It was awesome!”
Drake snatched her closer, and she let out a small oof as she hit his chest. “You’re amazing,” he said, before lowering his head.
Alaska eagerly met his lips and did her best to show him without words just how much she appreciated all he’d done for her.
“Damn, woman,” he said after a moment. “As much as I wish I could continue this…I’ve got some last-minute shit to take care of for Mr. Choo’s arrival tomorrow.”
Alaska smiled. “And I need to clean this stuff up.”
“I’ll help,” Drake told her.
“Nope, you’ve done more than enough.”
“But it’s going to take you several trips to get everything back to our cabin.”
Hearing him say “our” cabin made shivers go through Alaska’s body. “It’s a beautiful day,” she said with a shrug. “And I think I can handle walking back and forth a few times.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. I’m not helpless, Drake. I didn’t even have a car back in Europe. Whenever I went shopping, I had to lug everything home by myself.”
He stared down at her for a long minute.
“What?” she asked.
“This place isn’t very exciting compared to what you’re probably used to.
We’re out here in the middle of nowhere.
Our idea of excitement is to stare up at the full moon.
Hell, because The Refuge doesn’t have a liquor license or allow alcohol on the property, we can’t even celebrate with a glass of champagne at a time like this. ” He frowned.