Page 63 of Healing Conviction
He nodded and served them in silence, his mind working. As soon as she cracked open the MRE, Nora was all chatter again, talking to him about anything and everything under the sun. He loved every word, and he watched her face animate in the firelight.
She always seemed different when they were alone, but they’d hardly spent any relaxing time together. They’d either been on the move, or around people, even on this trip. But now, it was just the two of them.
When they’d finished, she picked up his trash and bagged it in the designated trash bag to make sure they left no trace behind them.
The faded-black color in her hair had mixed with the glossy shine of the moon, making it look like she had silver-purple tendrils brushing her shoulders. She was breathtaking. It reminded him of the first time he’d seen her, over the video screen while she helped BlackStone Securities, Jules, and Jaybird find his sister.
And then it dawned on him.
“You take care of everyone else. That’s why it surprised you.”
“What?”
“The women who seek help at the clinic,” he began to list. “Jules, her daughter, her business, Naomi, Thea, the women we’re searching for, my team.Me.” He took her chin in between his fingers and steered her to meet his gaze. “But who takes care of you?”
She watched him for a second before sputtering a laugh and waving him off. “Please, I’m a needy bi-atch, you don’t even know how big a handful I can be to take care of—”
“No.” He grabbed her hand and held it before pulling her down on the log beside him. “Don’t do that.”
“D-do… do what?”
“Downplay how much you do for people, how much you mean to people, howyoudeserve to be treated the same way and so much more.”
Her forehead wrinkled, and she tried to tug her hand away. “Drake, come on. None of this is a big deal. Don’t be such a silly goose—”
“If you think I’m so off base, then answer the question.”
She stilled, and he stroked along her jawline and down her throat to rest his grip around her neck. He followed the motion with his eyes before meeting hers, waiting—hoping—she would reply. But she didn’t.
“Fuck, you can’t answer me, can you?” he murmured the question.
A tear trailed down one of her ivory cheeks, and he bent to kiss it away. She moved at the last second and got down on her knees in front of him, already going for his zipper.
“No, Pix.” There was only one way he was going to allow her to escape this conversation.
Without giving her a second to object, he picked her up and carried her to the tent. Once inside, he kneeled down and laid her gently on the sleeping bag.
“Drake, what’re you—”
He stroked down her sides, outlining her figure over her clothing until he met the waistband of her jeans. “I’mgonna take care ofyou.”
She sucked in a breath and her eyes widened. The moonlight shining through the open vent at the top of the tent made it look like she had flecks of molten silver in the green. The heat there made his dick twitch in anticipation.
He unbuttoned her jeans and stroked his fingers over the silky thong covering her mound as he drew the zipper down. The motion over the soft fabric made his cock harden, and the swelling nearly drove him off course, but he had a different plan for the night.
He continued to trail his hands down her clothed legs until he reached the hem of her jeans and began to take off her sneakers. She immediately winced and started pulling away, trying to sit up on the sleeping bag, but he scowled and tugged backward, catching her off balance so she’d land on her elbows.
“You don’t have to do this. My feet stink, I’m sure. I’m sorry.”
“You’re not allowed to say anything else bad about yourself, Nora.” He continued past her objections and pulled her socks and shoes off. “Especially not while I’m on my knees for you.”
“But—”
He interrupted her by tugging off her pants and thong, making her yelp as she held on to the sleeping bag for dear life, only to be dragged with it on the slippery bottom of the tent.
“Careful. We’re potentially in enemy territory, little pixie, and sound carries in the forest. Don’t make them come looking for us,” he teased with a deadpan face as he laid down on his stomach. In the next move, he hooked her legs over his shoulders so that her bare pussy took up most of his view. “But the next time I ask you who takes care of you, I want to hear my fucking name. And when we get back home. I want to hear youscreamit.”
When he met her eyes again, her brow was furrowed in concern. “Drake, wait. Do you really think someone might actually hear me?”