Blakeshire (Insight #9)(16)
Aden raised his hands, calling a time-out; he knew he was standing in the middle of private conversation, and he wanted out.
“Where she goes, I go. Keep that in mind,” Aden said just as he vanished.
Now the only thing between Drake and me was his royal suit and my damp towel.
Drake
Even though I was furious, terrified, and nearly out of my mind, the sight of her brought me much needed peace. It took everything I had not to let my eyes leave hers to take in the fact that she was damp and only wearing a towel that barely made it past her thighs.
A boat. Why would she of all people want to know if I had a boat? She’s afraid of water. I knew that just as well as I knew my own name. I’d had countless dreams that I could call on that showed that very real fear. I took in a somewhat relaxed breath. Without even knowing it, she had given me a new tool to hash out my dreams. To separate her from Willow. Willow had no fear of water; she nearly craved it.
Moments like this, and my time in The Realm, led me to believe that I never once lived a life of peace with Willow. With us, it was raw passion. Passion that is only found in the gallows, a passion that claimed one last sensation.
With Madison Marie, every moment was seduction. It was more powerful than any last kiss. My dreams and my recent private moments with Madison Marie told me that the touch of her lips put the very word passion to shame.
Madison Marie wanted a boat. I would give her a hundred.
I saw a spark in her eyes when I came in this room. I saw her breathe in as if she had been holding her breath since the last time I saw her. Her green eyes were invaded with darkness as her pupils expanded. She was seeing me. And I let her. I let her see my new discovery. Let her revel in the fact that though I had kissed Willow in this life, it felt as it always had in the past. I had used Willow as a lifeline, one that led me to Madison. I would forevermore be in Willow’s debt, but I couldn’t worry about that right now. I had to seek redemption, and the only way I could do that was by being honest.
I did love Willow Haywood, but I dare say I was not in love with her. I couldn’t give her something I never possessed any more than she could have. Our hearts had been robbed long before our paths had been crossed by a dark fate.
I was staring at the thief that took mine this very second.
Madison
Slowly, Drake moved closer to me as his eyes glided across my body. Everywhere he looked, I felt a scorching sensation intensify. It always left a deep, humming sensation in its wake; I had yet to figure out how he managed to do that to me. It was even odder that he was still able to do that to my soul after what I went through. It was like everything about my abilities had been altered with the exception of how I saw and felt him. Strange.
“I didn’t leave you to fight at her side. I left you to defend my kingdom,” he said carefully to me, as if he were expecting me either to erupt with rage or collapse with jealousy.
Drake was with me when I saved Monroe in The Realm. He tried to stop me from hurting myself, and in truth if he weren’t there to help get me out of that fire there is no telling what shape I would be in.
“Who said I had issue with that?” I muttered as I gripped my towel and braced my legs, ensuring that my knees wouldn’t buckle.
His emotions were so strong that I literally felt my soul being wrapped in them.
“This wall is up again,” he murmured, now standing just inches from me.
I must look calm, reserved on the outside. If he knew what was going on inside my head, he never would have said that.
My eyes were steadfastly pointed at the ground. That was my defense. “It never had a chance to fall. We lost tonight. Once again…we lost.”
His long fingertips reached for my chin and beckoned me to look up, giving my eyes no choice but to meet those dark, spellbinding eyes of his.
His thumb traced my bottom lip, and there I felt passion so intense that I had to sigh. “Then you shouldn’t be afraid to stare into my eyes,” he said softly.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “I wasn’t afraid before; I was mad. Now I’m neither.” My voice trembled, taking away any strength that I wanted to convey.
“You’re lying.”
“Are you trying to fight with me?” I accused.
He leaned a little closer to me. “You always breathe in audibly just before you speak a lie. You still feel emotions; you just think they are gone because they’re not out of control anymore.”
“If that gives you peace of mind, so be it. I lost several key emotions, and right now I’m numb.”
“Are you, now?” he said as his hand reached for my waist.
“Don’t,” I said as I let my eyes fall.
“Don’t what?” His lips breathed against my temple.
“The first time you kissed me, it was for proof. Like I was applying to be your girlfriend and you wanted to know my qualifications. The second time was to tick off Britain. Now you are going to kiss me just to see if you are my prince, if you can wake me from my emotional sleep.” I stepped back. “Relationships aren’t built like that.”
Long before I felt his emotion shift to agony, I felt horrible for saying that—after I felt that, I just wanted to find a hole to hide in. Because it was a lie. Each time he’d kissed me before, I could swear the Earth moved beneath my feet. His mind right now had reflected images that led me to believe he felt the same way. He let me see every memory he had of when our lips touched, in both the present and the past.