Chapter 80

***~Riley~***

“You’ve been holding out on us.” Fran’s brilliant smile dazzled me the moment I entered the classroom. There was an ulterior undertone and I steeled my spine. Over the past couple of days, I’ve religiously ignored the group chat we had created for us three. Often choosing to reply with vague, one-word answers.

“And ignoring us.” Eli interjected in that calm, cool manner that was so uniquely him.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been busy over the past couple of days.” It wasn’t an exact lie. I had been. Redecorating was a feat I had not truly understood until Draven and I jumped into it.

“With your boyfriend?” Fran wiggled her brows suggestively and I coloured. The word boyfriend sounded so mediocre to describe the relationship we were trying to build. I’ve had a boyfriend and this was nothing like that.

“I knew it!” she grinned, turning to Eli with her excitement but it immediately turned into a frown the longer her eyes were on his.

“I don’t want anyone to know.” I immediately hushed her as she was making her way towards me.

“With the way he looks at you, I doubt anyone will be convinced you’re just acquaintances.” Eli commented but there was a warmth in his eyes that made my heart swell. Fran had always been accommodating and I had thought Eli spoke to me as a reason to be in Fran’s space but there was more there. He seemed happy for me, almost as much as Fran.

Fran squealed, grabbing me up into a hug. I take it back. No one was as excited as Fran.

“I just love love,” she exhaled dreamily and I laughed.

“If it were anyone else we might have cautioned you instead,” Eli interjected, “but Draven Thorn is known for keeping his professionalism and what I saw last time was anything but the unbothered assassin we’ve all come to know. An intriguing sight.”

My cheeks flush. “This was not the reaction I was expecting.” I confess and both of them rolled their eyes at me.

“We are happy if you are happy.” Fran’s arms tighten around me.

“That’s what friends do, Riley. We support each other.” Eli added and I smiled. My mind instantly conjured images of Vera and Aiden. I missed them and I wished I could share the developments that occurred in my life since I left them. I wish I could have been as open with them as I can be with Fran and Eli, but Vera and Aiden belonged to an entirely different world. One I have never belonged to.

If I was somehow able to merge both eras of my life, and both my friend groups, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Ironic that I found another pair with underlying sexual attraction towards each other. I wasn’t complaining though. It made for an entertaining dynamic.

“I am happy.” I admit, holding out hope that one day I could share this with Vera and Aiden. I made a mental note to talk to Draven. I didn’t want to hide him from them either but I knew how awkward it would be since they both met him the way I did—as Elias.

***

Draven listened to me in silence, giving me the floor to express my thoughts. I might have been terrified to relay my desire to have Vera and Aiden as part of our lives if it weren’t for him rubbing circles into my inner thigh. The action was distracting enough that I had to fight to remember the point of this conversation, there was no room for fear or uncertainty. Not when I was soaking wet already, his rock-hard cock pressed up against my throbbing pussy.

“There’s always a risk involved when sharing our lives with people on the outside. It can open them up to harm or us if they are not tight-lipped enough.” His voice was controlled, despite the minute shift he made beneath me, my hands forced down further on his chest to minimise the effect of his cock pressed up against me.

“I understand how important they are to you.” His voice softer, “I’ll never deny you access to your friends but I’m asking for a little time.” His lust-filled eyes appealed to me and my chest constricted, I didn’t want to be denied and my first instinct was to immediately beg him to reconsider despite no true conclusion.

“Time?” I focused on what he said. Reasoning with myself that it was not an outright rejection.

Draven paused, his eyes searching mine and I realised there was something he didn’t quite know how to reveal, “I’ve been going after your father.” The words barely registered in my brain as my heart sped up with a shock of terror. Years of evading him and erasing the damage he’d done to me never quite dispelled my fear. And I was fucking terrified. I didn't want Draven mixed up with him, I couldn't bare the thought of anything happening to him because of me.

“No, I don't want you putting yourself in danger like that.” Panic set in and my breathing shallowed.

“Hey,” Draven shifted, smoothly toppling me onto my back until he was hovering over me. “Look at me.” He cupped my face, and the daze that had fallen over me cleared as I focused on those void-like orbs of his.

“I’m going to end this, Riley. I’ve backed him into a corner and I’ve been toying with him. He’s on the run like the fucking coward he is. He won’t ever cause you pain again. I promise. Have faith in me. I've dealt with men far worse than him.” He leaned down, covering his lips with mine and I drank from him until the trepidation in my heart dulled, morphing into desire for the man holding me in his arms.

He pulled back, “Once I’ve disposed of him, I’ll ensure you have some semblance of normalcy. We can’t afford the risk right now, he’s erratic and could still have allies who might attempt to use people you’re close with to bargain.”

A chill ran through me, “Do you think Vera and Aiden is in any danger?”

Draven shakes his head, “I don’t anticipate him getting his hands of any of them but I would rather not risk it until everything is over. Don’t worry about your friends, I have surveillance on them as a precaution.”

“Thank you,” I exhale, kissing his cheek. “After it’s all done then.” I concede. I wanted to put my faith in him, to trust that he was capable of everything he promised but I couldn't ignore that terror settling in my chest.

“Now,” his hands began roaming over my body, halting at my hips. I immediately cover his hands with my own to thwart any further exploration.

“Not tonight.” I cringed as I said the words, my body instantly hating that I said it. Sex with him might have been the perfect distraction but I promised myself not to be impulsive.

“Is everything okay?” the lust in his eyes dissipated almost immediately, worry and concern its replacement. “Have I triggered some painful memories for you?” he almost seemed pained and I shook my head.

“I’m ovulating,” I answer uncertainly, a dark expression flickered over his face that had me squeezing my legs together. We’ve been unable to commit to condoms since he’s been in me raw and I had zero complaints. It was wildly intimate having Draven come inside of me, but that didn’t equate to my consent to getting pregnant. I wasn’t ready.

“Princess,” he grinned devilishly, burying his face in my neck. I prayed to the Gods that I didn’t cave and let this man inside of me. I wanted to and if he so much as asked I might throw caution to the wind. “I’ve never wanted to come inside of you more.” He groaned, peppering open-mouthed kisses across my neck.

My fingers dug into his hair, my back arching against him while my legs wrapped around his waist. I was caving. Hard!

“But I won’t.” his admission surprised me. Draven shifted until he was staring directly into my eyes.

“I don’t need to use my cock to make you come.” His intention was clear but I shook my head.

“If you touch me, I’ll end up begging for your cock and you won’t be able to deny me.”

“I haven’t the heart to deny you anything.” He groaned against my lips.

“I’m thinking of going on birth control,” I interject, my cheeks flushed red. As much as I don’t want an unplanned pregnancy, I still wanted him to fill me up every time. I craved it.

Draven sighed, a heart-breaking tenderness in those eyes I’ve often got lost in. “Or how about we keep track of your cycle and commit ourselves to condoms on your fertile days?”

“What?” he’d rendered me speechless.

“It’ll be hell not to feel you raw, princess, but I’ll prefer that. It’ll only be for a few days a month as opposed to forcing you to pump your body full of hormones. The potential side effects might not be worth it. I won’t ask you to do that.” Intensity wafting from every pore or was it a drug? Whatever the fuck it was had me dazed and speechless.

All I was able to focus on was the drumming of my heart. I’ve been on birth control before and I absolutely hated it. Mood swings, weight gain, spotting and that tenderness...ugh.

I had the worse reactions, I barely felt like myself but I was willing to endure it for him—for us.

And he refused. God, why was it so easy to fall deeper and deeper in love with this man?

“Let’s get some sleep.” He rolled to the bed, dragging my body towards him. “Will you educate me on your cycle in the morning?” he nestled me in his arms, reaching over to turn the lamp off.

“Yes,” I say the only words I could speak coherently, breathing through the river of tears that wanted to burst out of my eyes. I couldn't help but wonder if this newfound fullness was a mistake. Would I wake up one day and realise it was all an illusion? Or was I just on borrowed time? There was no way I could be this lucky, right?

I've never wanted anything more than to be wrong.