50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

Chapter Sixty-Five

    Aubrey remained standing with his back against the door to the bedroom another moment before turning, opening the door, and entering.

    "Oh, so you have time for me now?"

    Aubrey closed the door behind him. "I wanted to explain myself to you."

    Destiny was still sitting up in bed with the sheets bunched around her waist. Still wearing his robe. Strands of hair had escaped her topknot, but she still looked beautiful. Always did.

    He took a deep breath and approached the bed. He sat near her feet. "My timing...was bad."

    "You think?"

    "I can understand why you're angry with me," he said slowly. "But I'm going to have to ask you to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. I have a low tolerance for disrespect."

    She folded her arms across her chest.

    "You and I had a conversation about whether or not I would invite women here," he started.

    "And you said that you would invite women over if you felt I was starting to fall in love with you," she said. "I remember. Is that why you invited her? You feel like I'm falling for you?"

    He didn't respond.

    "Because I'm not falling for you," she said quickly. "We had a great time at my family's house. We bonded. We had a good time, but I'm not...falling in love with you or anything."

    He gave her a doubtful look, but remained quiet.

    She threw her hands up in the air. "Okay, fine. Maybe I did start falling a little bit. But it's not like I went overboard or declared my love for you, though. I kept it cool, didn't I?"

    "Destiny."

    "I just don't understand why you'd invite her before talking to me about it," she told him. "Have a conversation with me if you think I'm getting out of line with my emotions, or whatever."

    He lowered his gaze. "While your feelings for me were beginning to become a concern, I didn't invite Bernice over because I felt you were falling in love with me," he said, staring down at his hands.

    She frowned and scratched at her temple. "I...don't understand. Then...why?"

    He turned his head and stared at the wall. Because it was safe to look at the wall. The sight of the wall didn't make him feel weak, didn't turn his insides to jelly. "I didn't invite her over because of anything you did. I didn't invite her over because of you."

    Her eyebrows drew together.

    "I invited her over because of me," he said finally, turning and looking at her. "I invited her over because I'm falling for you."

    She stared at him in shock, her lips parted. That damned hope springing to her eyes. "Well... you act like that's a bad thing."

    "Because it is," he said, standing up.

    "Falling in love isn't a bad thing," she argued. "It's a beautiful thing, a wonderful thing."

    "I don't believe in love, I told you that," he told her with his back turned to her.

    She tucked her hair behind both ears. "But you do. I mean...if you're falling for me, you do."

    "But I can't."

    She stared down at her lap. "So...you don't want to fall in love with me."

    "You're making this about you, and it's not about you," he said emphatically.

    "But it is!" she disagreed.

    "No." He closed his eyes and tried to sort out his thoughts. "This isn't about you. It's...about me. How I feel for you is...becoming a problem. It's distracting. It's...changing who I am. How I operate. And I can't allow it to." He risked a glance at her and wished he hadn't.

    The hope in her eyes flickered and died, replaced by a look of sadness and rejection. "So even if I do what I'm supposed to do, and keep my feelings in check, you can punish me by bringing other women here?"

    "Destiny," he said, his voice sounding strained.

    She jumped out of bed. "No, Aubrey. I need you to answer this question for me."

    "Yes," he said, meeting her gaze head-on. "Yes. Okay? If either one of us starts feeling too strongly about the other, then yes. I will need to bring other women to try to...put things into perspective."

    Tears sprang to her eyes. "And having me answer the door?" she asked him quietly. "Was that you trying to put things into perspective?"

    He stared back at her, the muscle in his jaw working overtime.

    "You don't even understand how cruel that was, do you?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side. "Are you so far removed from human emotion that you don't understand how mean it is to have me, the girl who lives with you, the girl who cares for you, answer the door for the woman that you're going to sleep with? While I'm under the same roof? And...you wanted me to sleep in the guest bedroom? Where I would have heard everything. You thought that all of that was necessary? To what... to put things into perspective, as you call it?"

    "I went too far," he said, fighting to keep his voice level. "I realize that. And I apologize for that."

    "I almost left you," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I came so close. And I should have. I walked in on my ex cheating on me, and I was done with him. Completely done. My feelings for him were shut off. I walked away and I never looked back. And...you pretty much do the same thing to me, right under my nose, while I'm under the same roof, and I'm still here." She shook her head. "Why am I still here?"

    "Because we established, early on, that this was a possibility," he said.

    "It's not fair. It's not fair to me." She bit her bottom lip and stared up at him. "I don't think I can do this."

    He closed his eyes. He'd expected she would say as much. And now it's time to really make her hate you, he thought. "It doesn't matter what you think," he said softly. "You're under contract. I own you. You belong to me, as outlined by the contract."

    She narrowed her eyes at him.

    "And if you should attempt to breach your contract, I will not hesitate to take legal action against you," he continued.

    Anger and indignation flared up in her eyes. "You...you wouldn't."

    "Today I'll give you a pass for your behavior," he went on. "I can understand your frustration. But starting tomorrow, your words and your actions will be punishable."

    "You would take legal action against me if I decided to leave?" she whispered, tears frozen in her eyes.

    He maintained eye contact as he said, "Yes."

    She backed away from him. "I'm not good enough to fall in love with, but you want to keep me here?"

    "I want you here with me," he said, keeping his facial expression blank, emotionless. "I refuse to let you go."

    She covered her mouth with her hands and gave him a look that caused more cracks to embed themselves in his heart. Because she was looking at him like she truly believed he was a monster.