It was too tempting to resist, and I wasn’t strong enough to even try. My lips brushed across her neck, just under her ear, and I felt her shiver. My cock was rock hard, and I was already thinking of some viable excuse to get us out of there and back to my apartment…
In the next instance she was pulling away. I saw the indecision in her whiskey colored eyes and realized that I had a lot of work to do before she was truly back in my arms again. I was up for the challenge. She was worth it.
She introduced me to one of her roommates, the girl that Axton had been so into earlier. Dallas was gorgeous, with that dimple in her right cheek that peeked at you when she smiled. Her body was long and slender, and on closer inspection, inked up! Her tee shirt hid most of the ink, but some of it flashed me from time to time.
Shane came over and draped his arm around Lana’s shoulders. “Dallas just got out of the modeling business,” he informed me. “She thinks that just because she’s all badassed up with her ink that no one would be interested in her for jobs.”
I tried not to let my brother touching my girl bother me as I turned my attention on the blonde. “I’m sure Emmie could find her something if she were really interested in it.”
Dallas wrinkled her nose. “No thanks. I’d rather slit my wrists than get back into modeling. It would only make my mother happy, and I try not to give her that satisfaction.”
Lana grinned. “But just think, Dallas. What if you were in some hardcore rock video? Your mother would freak out!” Her eyes sparkled. “Oh! Oh! I know! I’ll call Emmie and see if she knows anyone that needs a girl for their video! You can be in some rocker’s bed in nothing but a smile! Your mom is going to have a stroke!”
“Don’t call Emmie!” Axton called from his seat where he was still on his phone. “I’ll hire her for OtherWorld’s new video.”
Dallas had seemed interested up until Axton had offered her the job. “Um, no.” She rolled her eyes then glanced at her watch. “Lana, I have to go. Are you coming?” She glanced from Lana to me then back to Lana. “Or..?”
Lana sighed. “Yeah, I’m coming. I have practice at three.”
My heart turned to lead. I didn’t want her to go. Not yet. Not ever, dammit! She was already hugging Shane goodbye. I knew that I had to get back to work. We were holding up the tryouts, but I didn’t give a fuck. I wanted more time with my angel.
Stepping back from Shane, she gave me a small smile. “It was really good seeing you, Drake,” she murmured.
I pulled her into my arms, holding on tight for a moment before reluctantly releasing her. “Can we have dinner?”
She bit her lip and seemed to think about it before nodding. “When?”
“Tonight?” Lana nodded again and I felt some of the weight on my chest ease up. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
She hesitated. “Um…I’ll meet you there. Text me the place.” She didn’t give me time to protest as she grabbed Dallas by the elbow and pulled her toward the door.
I watched her go, frowning at her hasty exit. “I don’t have your number…” She had changed it not long after she had gotten to New York. I knew because I had tried it on more than one occasion.
She paused at the door and glanced back. With a frown she pulled her phone from her hip pocket and messed with a few buttons. Seconds later my phone buzzed. “Now you have it!” she called back.
Lana
I was ten minutes late getting to the gym. I thought for sure Linc was going to blow a gasket. Instead, he just glared at me and rushed me through my stretches. My mind was only half on what I was doing. Thoughts of Drake kept haunting me.
I was anxious about dinner, worried about how I was going to deal with him while we shared a meal. Could I possibly fall back into the old routine that we had once had? I didn’t know if I could. My feelings were too raw, my heart too fragile. Today had only shown me that I was still crazy in love with him, that it wouldn’t take much before I was begging him to love me too…
Before I was begging him to make love to me!
“What is wrong with you?”
I blinked up at Linc, startled by his vehemence. “What? What did I do?” I hadn’t been paying attention. We had been dancing for a while now and I had been on autopilot.
“Get your head out of the clouds, Lana,” he scolded. “We have five weeks before the competition and you are dancing like some marionette with a broken leg!”
I grimaced. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry.” I sighed. “I’m focused now. Let’s go again.”
When I had first gotten to New York I had turned to dance to keep my mind occupied. I had started taking some jazz dance classes and found that I was kind of good at it. Then two months ago my teacher had asked if I wanted to compete since one of the couples in her team had backed out after breaking up. At first I hadn’t wanted to, but after talking about it with my roommates, Linc had talked me into it, promising to be my partner.
For a big, hulky man he could dance like a freaking dream!
He took competing seriously though and made me practice three to four times a week. There were days when I wanted to throw him out the window of the private classroom that he reserved for us at the gym where he worked at.
“From the beginning.” He hit a button on the remote to start the trio of songs that we planned on dancing to and pulled me into his arms.
Michael Bublé’s Sway filled the room, and I let him lead me through the moves. I pushed all thoughts of Drake from my mind for the moment and let the music fill my soul as Linc spun and dipped me. When the song ended, Save The Last Dance For Me began, and I was smiling as the tempo became more upbeat.
By the end of the next hour, I was sweating and breathing hard, having just danced my ass off. I grabbed my stuff, blew Linc a kiss, and hurried home. He still had a few hours to go before his shift was over. He was a personal trainer and made a good bit of his money catering to the spoiled rich older women who came in just to ogle him for half an hour at a time.
If I was going to have dinner with Drake, I needed to plan what I was going to wear…and at least attempt to get a good hold on my emotions before I saw him again!
It was just after six when I finished putting on my makeup and looked down to find Drake’s name flash across my screen followed by his text. I still had his number, had tortured myself by putting it in my new phone when I had gotten it. A few times over the last few months, I had come so close to texting him, but then Vegas would come back to haunt me.
I had forgiven Drake for that night almost immediately, but it wasn’t something that I would ever be able to forget…
Picking up my phone and my clutch, I hurried out of the bathroom I shared with Harper. She was sitting in the living room with her computer on her lap going over the pictures she had taken earlier that day. She waved at me as I headed for the front door. “Be safe. Got your mace?”
I held up my clutch. “Got it!” I blew her a kiss as I ran out the door.
Forty-five minutes later, my taxi pulled up outside of the restaurant that Drake had texted me to meet him at. I was running late and hadn’t even had time to mentally coach myself on how to deal with tonight. As I stepped out of the taxi, I frowned at the ritzy establishment. What was it with the members of Demon’s Wings and wanting to take me to these places?
I clenched my jaw. Jesse had taken me to a place much like this when he had been in New York. I had understood his reasons. He had been thinking more about Layla than me at the time, wanting her to have the experience of a high-end dinner in one of New York’s exclusive restaurants.
With Drake… He knew that I didn’t like places like this. The food was always too rich, the cost always too extreme. He knew that I would rather have a pizza or a cheeseburger at a fast food place. It was crazy, but I was hurt that he wanted to have dinner with me here.
Had he completely forgotten what I was like?
When I entered the restaurant I found that I was underdressed compared to some of the patrons. My dress
was simple, silver in color, an ended about mid-thigh. It wasn’t cheap, but it in no way compared to the dresses on some of the other women, who were also decked out in thousands of dollars of diamonds.
The hostess offered me a forced smile, as if she knew I didn’t belong there. “May I help you?”
I raised my chin, refusing to let this woman with her fake smile and even faker tan, make me feel unworthy. “Yes. I’m meeting Drake Stevenson.”
Her eyes widened and she stepped forward. “He’s already seated. This way please, Miss Daniels.”
I blinked, having not expected her to know my name. I followed her through the dining room. A few heads turned my way, but I ignored them all as I kept my eyes on the back of the hostess’ head. I didn’t want to be here!
Drake was seated at a table in the back, hidden from most of the other diners. He stood as I drew closer and I took in his suit. Good God, that man was devastating in a suit! The way it encased all those wonderful muscles… I remembered to close my mouth so I didn’t embarrass myself by drooling.
The hostess excused herself a few feet from Drake’s table, and I stopped. As if sensing my hesitation, he stepped forward and pulled me against him.
“Are you okay?” he murmured against my hair.
I closed my eyes, fighting irrational tears. A hot rock star wanted to have dinner with me at one of Manhattan’s most talked about restaurants and I wasn’t happy about it. Maybe I needed to be medicated…but that still didn’t stop my heart from hurting. Swallowing hard, I took a moment to get my emotions under control before stepping back.
“I’m fine,” I told him with a smile that didn’t reach my eyes.
“No you’re not. I know you, Lana. Something’s wrong.”
“Apparently, you don’t know me as well as you think,” I muttered half under my breath as I took another step back and pulled out a chair at the table.
Drake dropped back down into his chair. “Are you mad at me?” he asked.
I sighed. “Yeah. I guess I am.” There was no use lying about it. I was mad and hurt and an emotional crazy woman. “But it’s not your fault. I’m just being my normal bitchy self.”
Dark brows rose over blue-gray eyes. “Maybe if you told me why you’re mad I can do something about it. I don’t want to start our night off by fighting, Angel.”
My entire body felt a jolt. I sucked in a deep breath. I hadn’t realized how much I missed being called Angel until right this instant. It felt good, so fucking good! “I don’t want to fight either,” I assured him when I could finally speak without crying. “Let’s forget all about it and start over.”
“That sounds good to me… After you tell me what’s wrong.” He reached for my hand and grasped it. Turning it over, he traced his fingers over my palm.
Oh. Fuck. ME! He needed to stop that or I wasn’t going to have any resolve left tonight.
“I…”
“You..?” He smiled as if he knew what his touch was doing to me. Ah, hell! Drake’s smile lit him up from the inside out.
“I hate that you asked me here!” I burst out while I still had the brain cells to do so. “You know that I loathe places like this. How many times have we sat and laughed at the ostentatious people who come to these places? I was looking forward to a night catching up with you, just being with you! Instead, we’re here and it’s like a stab in the heart.” I bit my lip, looking away. “I’m crazy, I know. And a huge bitch. I should be thrilled that you wanted to bring me here. But I’m not. I’m fucking miserable!”
Drake was quiet. His fingers had stopped their pattern tracing on my palm. Slowly, I raised my head. The look in his eyes made my breath catch. He was eating me up with his gaze, and I didn’t know what to do! He has never looked at me like that…Okay, once. He looked at me like that once, but that didn’t count…
“I wanted to make tonight special. Show you how special you are to me. I thought that bringing you here would help do that. It’s supposed to be one of the most romantic restaurants in the city.” He released my hand and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. Tossing a few big bills on the table he stood, and grasping my hand once more, pulled me toward the door.
I was speechless as he pushed open the door and pulled me out onto the street. Minutes later, we were in a taxi heading toward his apartment. I didn’t say anything, and he was busy on his cell ordering Chinese. Then he was talking to Shane. “I don’t care where you go. Just don’t fucking be there when we get home.”
A happy grin teased at my lips and I sat back. I wasn’t spoiled. Nope, not even a little!
“What’s that smile for?” Drake murmured as he put his phone back in his pocket.
I shrugged. “Sorry. I was just thinking I am a spoiled bitch.”
He grinned. “Yeah, you really are.”
Chapter 15
Drake
What was I thinking?
I had wanted to show Lana that I had changed. That this time, things were going to be different. I didn’t want to be just friends. I wanted it all! A romantic restaurant had been my big idea to show her that. I should have known that Lana wouldn’t like it.
I was surprised that she didn’t laugh in my face. I knew that she hated those kinds of places. All I had ended up doing was hurting her. I was such an idiot.
Now, as we sat on the floor in the living room, the television on some mindless movie that I was sure I had watched with her before, I felt at peace. How had I lived without her for so long? How could I live without her now?
She was laughing at something that was happening on the movie, eating beef broccoli with her chopsticks. Her hair fell over her shoulders and her dress was riding up her thighs, showing me her slightly golden legs. She was relaxed, enjoying our time together. It was almost like old times…
But this time I wasn’t going to let her slip through my fingers. She loved me once…Did she still? I was too much of a coward to ask. Dropping my chopsticks into my carton of noodles and chicken, I set them aside and turned to face her. “Lana…”
“Hmm?” she murmured without looking at me.
“I’ve missed you,” I confessed.
She pushed her food away and turned so she faced me. “I have missed you too, Drake.”
I cupped her face in my hands. “I…Rehab was bad. I nearly gave up a few times.” More than a few times, but there was only one thing that kept me going…“All I could think about was you. When I wanted to give up I would reach for my sketch pad and start drawing. Only when you were staring back at me did the need to give up ease.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m glad you kept going. When Shane told me you checked yourself in, I was so proud of you. That you’re still going strong…”
“It gets hard.” Fuck, did it get hard! I had nights when I literally shook with the need for a drink. Those nights felt like they lasted for days instead of hours. I had learned that those were the nights I needed a meeting. I needed to talk through my urge. Shane had helped me, going to the meetings, showing support when I didn’t feel like I deserved it.
“You’ve come a long way, babe.” She smiled. “I’m happy for you.”
“Can you forgive me, Angel?” I needed to know. If she couldn’t then there was no hope for our future, but if by some miracle she could... “Can you forgive me for what I did?”
Lana leaned forward, her hands covering mine. “I forgave you a long time ago, Drake. Maybe even as soon as it happened.” Her smile was sad. “I loved you. I would have forgiven you for anything.”
Loved? I hated the past tense of that word. I was determined to make her love me again. Fuck, it hadn’t been hard to make her fall in love with me the first time. If I actually worked at it this time…
My fingers shook as I pulled her closer. She came willingly and I took hope from that. Lana climbed onto my lap, and I just buried my face in her neck. Holding her like this was pure heaven, but the scent of her was driving me crazy. My lips developed a will of their own, and I kissed a trail from j
ust under her ear to her collar bone.
A small whimper escaped her and her fingers clutched at my hair. “Drake…What are you doing?” She breathed.
I smiled against the pulse throbbing at the base of her throat. “Showing you how much I have missed you, Angel… Should I stop?”
“No…Yes… NO!” She tugged on my hair until my head was tilted back far enough for our eyes to meet. “Don’t stop, Drake,” she whispered before her lips covered my own.
The first taste of Lana on my tongue was mind blowing. I don’t think I have ever tasted anything so sweet. I thrust my tongue into her mouth, exploring her further. She sighed with delight and sucked my tongue deeper.
I was unable to keep my hands still. My left wrapped itself in her hair, holding her head at the angle I wanted. The other skimmed down her bare arm, across her hip, and between her silken thighs. Her skin was so soft, so perfect. Without actually realizing that I was doing it, my fingers traced the edge of her panties.
She pulled back, breaking the kiss. “Wait.” Her breathing was labored. “I… Just wait.” She pushed her hair away from her face. “I need to think.”
My fingers were still playing with her panties. “I’ve waited a lifetime,” I told her as her heat scalded my fingertips. “But if you want to go slower I will.” I wasn’t going to rush this. If she needed more time before I made love to her, then I would give it to her.
Lana
His kiss was drugging.
I probably shouldn’t have let him kiss me in the first place, but once those sinful lips touched mine, I was gone. Who was I kidding anyway? I knew what I had wanted the instant he had pulled me out of that stupid restaurant. All through dinner I kept feeling his eyes on me and knew—even if it was mostly unconsciously—that he wanted me just as much as I wanted him.