50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

Chapter Thirty-Two

    Destiny drew an arm across her mouth as tears flooded her eyes.

    Aubrey looked up from the woman who was draped across his lap, rear end up. His hand was raised in the air.

    He was spanking her, Destiny realized. She turned and blindly stumbled down the hallway. She left the hotel suite and ran down the hall, headed towards the elevators.

    "Destiny!" he shouted from the hotel room door.

    She knew that he was following her, running after her. That didn't stop her. She made it to the elevators and pounded on the elevator button with her fist. She folded her arms across her chest and waited.

    Aubrey rounded the corner. "Destiny. Wait. Stop."

    She ignored him and pressed the elevator button again.

    "You said you had to work through the entire weekend," he said.

    The elevator doors opened. She went to step into the elevator, but he reached out and grabbed her upper arm. She glared at him over her shoulder. "Get your fucking hands off me!" she screamed at him.

    "Destiny," he said, sounding helpless.

    The elevator doors started to close, but she stopped them. "If you don't let me go, I'm going to scream," she warned him.

    "I didn't know you were coming here," he explained.

    "Aubrey," she said, shaking her head. She really started crying then. "Please let me go."

    He released her and stepped back.

    She stepped onto the elevator and kept her back to him.

    He stepped on the elevator with her.

    "What are you doing?" she demanded.

    "I want to talk to you."

    "I don't have anything to say to you," she said flatly.

    "We said that this was a no-strings-attached arrangement," he said slowly. "That I would be allowed to date other women. And the contract hasn't been signed, so even now - if you wanted - you could still date other men."

    She closed her eyes. "I came over to tell you that I was going to sign the contract," she said, finally daring to look him in the eyes. "I was going to sign the contract and I was going to become your property. I was going to be something you owned. A thing. While you would be allowed to.. gallivanting off and have sex with whoever you wanted, I was going to sign a piece of paper that said that you would be the only man I'd be with. How could I be so stupid? So stupid, and desperate, and self-degrading?"

    "You weren't being any of those things," he said softly. "You weren't supposed to see what you just saw."

    "But it still would have happened," she said sadly. "And I can pretend all I want, but I don't want to share you. I don't want you going out with other women."

    He lowered his gaze and stared at the floor.

    "I want...I want you to be with me," she said, her voice pleading. "I want us to be real."

    The elevator doors opened once they reached the Garage level. Aubrey kept his gaze lowered. "You know I can't do that," he said in a soft voice.

    "Why not?" she demanded. "What makes it so hard? To stop seeing other women? What is it they're giving you exactly?"

    He shook his head, pursing his lips shut.

    She sighed and wiped at her cheeks. "I know I'm young," she said. "I'm young and I haven't achieved much in this life yet, but I could give you everything you could possibly ever want in a woman. I would support you, and be there for you, and love you."

    "Destiny..." He settled his hands on her shoulders. "I'm just not that type of guy."

    "Liar," she breathed out.

    "Destiny." His voice turned firm.

    "You're a liar!" she shouted at him. "You believe in love. You're just scared. And I don't know why. I don't understand you."

    "You're right!" he shouted back. "You're absolutely right! You don't understand me. So how could you love me?"

    She cowered against the elevator wall as the elevator doors closed again.

    "If you don't understand me, how could you possibly know that you could give me everything I wanted?" he went on. "You want me to believe in love, and then you say shit that makes no sense!"

    With her tears frozen in her eyes, she punched the Garage level button on the elevator control panel. The doors slid open and she walked out.

    He growled. "Destiny!" he shouted, following after her.

    When she reached her car, she whirled around to face him. "I don't want you to call me. I don't want you to text me. I don't want you to send things to where I work." She laughed dryly. "And oh yeah. Roses? You sent me roses, knowing that you had a hot, steamy date with Mrs. Spanks in there? That's sick, Aubrey. You hear me? It's sick."

~~~~~~

    Aubrey stared at Destiny with a pained expression on his face. Long after she'd driven away, he remained standing, staring through a cloud of clearing vehicle exhaust. Functioning completely on autopilot, he returned to his hotel suite. Instead of returning to the bedroom, where he knew the woman waited, he poured himself a stiff drink and sat on the living room couch. He stared into space as he drank. He tried to tell himself that maybe Destiny's departure was for the best. In so many ways, she was innocent and naive. Being involved with him would definitely tarnish some of that innocence, and it was one of the qualities he liked about her.

    The woman tiptoed out of the bedroom and padded into the living room barefoot. "Are you coming back to bed?"

    He swirled the strong liquor around in his glass and ignored her.

    "Aubrey?"

    "Don't call me Aubrey," he barked.

    "I'm sorry...Sir," she said, lowering her head.

    "And who told you that you could leave the bedroom?"

    "I was worried."

    "Worried what?" he prompted.

    "I was worried, Sir," she said.

    He downed the liquor in the glass and set the glass on the table. "You're released for the night. Please leave."

    Her eyes widened. "Did I do something wrong, Sir?"

    "Please leave," he repeated.

    She returned to the bedroom, gathered up her belongings, and left.

    He continued to sit in the dark, staring into space. He tried to tell himself that he would be able to find someone else, someone who intrigued him as much as Destiny did. But he knew better.