50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

Chapter Forty-Six

    "I tried to get over you. I surrounded myself with other women. I invited them over. The usual. And it did nothing for me."

    Destiny trailed her fingertips along Aubrey's arm and circled them around his birthmark. The bedroom of the hotel suite was dark, but her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Her head rested on his bare chest. He had one arm propped behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

    "I've never encountered that before. Moving on was never a problem for me."

    "I wonder what that means," she said softly.

    "It means you're special," he told her without hesitation. "It means that I have to have you."

    She looked up at him. Searched his eyes with hers. Released a long, deep sigh. "I broke his heart, and I deserve for my heart to be broken," she'd said to herself earlier in the restaurant bathroom. The words she'd told herself because she'd dumped Chad and had watched his heart split in two right before her eyes. "I'll sign the contract," she whispered.

    He frowned down at her. "What did you say?"

    She cleared her throat. "I tried to get over you, too. And it didn't work. You can't give me everything I want, but maybe I don't deserve everything I want. I broke someone's heart in the process of trying to get over you. So this...arrangement. Maybe this arrangement is what I deserve."

    He sat up abruptly, forcing her to move aside. He planted his feet on the floor, turning his back to her. She could hear his knuckles cracking.

    She rose on her knees and stared at his back. "Did I say something wrong?"

    "You make being involved with me sound like a punishment," he said over his shoulder.

    "Wouldn't punishment be involved?" she asked, remembering the phrasing of the contract.

    "Punishment is warranted only if you misbehave. The entire setup isn't about punishment. It's not even about sex."

    She wanted to reach out and touch him, but suppressed the urge. "Then what is it about?" she demanded. "Tell me, because I don't understand."

    He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "It's about...a bond. Trust. A mutual understanding of each other. A mutual sense of adventure and exploration. Being honest and open with each other. Being able to tell each other anything. Carnal desires, yes, but ultimately it's about letting go. Completely letting go of all of your inhibitions and trusting that you won't be judged for it."

    "Oh."

    "And I want that with you," he said, "but I don't want you to feel like you're settling for me."

    She tucked strands of hair behind her ear. "I just want to be with you," she told him. "I don't care how."

    He turned, raising one knee on the bed and keeping the other on the floor. He stared at her long and hard. "I leave back out for Toronto next week," he informed her. "Will you come with me?"

    She nodded.

    "And you'll sign the contract?"

    She hesitated only briefly before nodding again.

    He crawled across the bed and rose on his knees. They met in the middle of the bed, both on their knees, and wrapped their arms around each other. He kissed the top of her head and held her against him.

    Mixing business and pleasure was never a smart move. It had the potential to result in messiness. For this reason, Aubrey had never involved himself with women that he worked with. As he glanced across the aisle of his jet plane at Destiny, excitedly peering out of the small window, he felt that the risk was worth it. She was worth it.