50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Chapter Sixty-Five

    Aubrey's eyes fluttered open. He could feel someone wiping a cloth on his brow, so he expected to find Destiny hovering over him. It was a rude awakening to find a dark-skinned man looming over him instead. Aubrey jerked back and turned his head. The dark basement. Of course. He'd allowed himself to get lost in the fantasy of a perfect family had forgotten the real situation at hand.

    "You're growing weaker," Royce said, dabbing a washcloth at his brow again, wiping sweat away. "You won't last longer. Not like this."

    "Then help me," Aubrey pleaded.

    Royce squared his jaw and rose to his full height. There was the slightest flash of gold on his belt buckle as he rose up. "I wish I could."

    "You can," Aubrey told him. "I didn't do anything wrong. I shouldn't be here. Palmer is sick. And he's killing people, all to hide some crazy secret in his past."

    "What secret is that?" the dark-skinned Jamican asked with an amused look shining in his eyes.

    Aubrey stared up at him. At least the man was entertaining a conversation with him. Maybe there was hope, hope of getting through to him. "He killed his wife. In a car accident. It was a long time ago, but...he's afraid of that secret getting out, and he's killing other people to prevent that from happening."

    Royce's brows furrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest. "How would you know something like that?"

    The door at the top of the stairs opened. "I said for you to check on him, not for you to read him a fucking bedtime story, for God's sake!" Palmer called down.

    Royce turned his head and stared up the stairs. Then he angled a glance back down at Aubrey.

    "Please," Aubrey whispered with images of Destiny, images of Sade and Aaliyah and Jaxon playing behind his eyes.

    Without a word, Royce turned and headed up the stairs. "He's all right, but he's weak."

    "Good," Palmer responded. "That's how I want him."

    The door slammed shut.

    Aubrey dropped his head back on the floor, his vision growing blurry with tears. I thought that I couldn't be a family man. I thought that I'd have to make a choice between my interests and a family. But...in that dream, I had both. I had a family, and I still had a playroom. Somehow, in that reality, we made both work. And we are happy in that life. Our kids were beautiful, and they were happy little versions of me and Destiny. So...could I have been wrong, all this time? Could I have been wrong in thinking that I couldn't have a wife, couldn't have children? His heart clenched as he remembered the feel of the baby in his arms, the baby with his downturned eyes. He ached to hold her again, ached for that dream to be a reality. He ached to be with Destiny again, wanted to see her play the mother role that she seemed to be a natural at. He closed his eyes. Now, I have all the more reason to find my way back to you. I have all the more reason to make it back to you, because there could be an entirely different future for us than what I pictured.

~~~~~~

    Hair was tickling his nose. Brian wrinkled his nose, then opened one eye. Destiny's head rested beneath his chin, and wayward strands of her hair were just about everywhere. The arm he had around her, it had been around her all night. Last night... He smiled and kissed the forehead of his sleeping beauty. Last night had been a dream. Even though she was still naked in his arms, he wanted to pinch himself just to see if it was all real.

    Just a month ago, she was a breathtaking goddess that was out of his league and out of his reach. Someone that he could longingly look at, but someone he'd never have the ability to touch. A walking fantasy that happened to be one of his employees. And now...now, she was here in his arms, sleeping peacefully after a night they'd spent hours making love to each other. He closed his and eyes and remembered what it felt like to have her on top of him, beneath him, in front of him. She liked it when he got a little rough, something else he hadn't expected, not from her. Not from Ms. Prim and Proper in the office. The first time they made love, he could tell that she was still doubting whether or not she was making a mistake. But the second and third times...she finally let go and allowed herself to enjoy the way he felt, the attention he gave her. And he gave her plenty. He used his hands, his tongue, his lips, his everything to please her. Her reactions were a turn-on in and of themselves, small little breathy moans, or louder cries and whimpers that made him want to lose himself in her. There was nothing sexier in this world than their eye contact while he was inside of her, rocking back and forth, nothing that felt better than the sensation of her sucking him deeper inside of her.

    He lovingly kissed her forehead again, then let his head fall back against the pillow. A life like this, where he got to wake up next to a woman that he loved, was all he'd wanted for the last several years. Deep down, it was all that he'd ever wanted. He was starting to believe that it wasn't possible for him, that it wasn't going to happen. And then these strange, life-threatening events brought her closer to me. Without Palmer and his antics, she wouldn't be here with me. She'd be off living happily with Aubrey. So maybe...maybe things really do happen for a reason.

    She moaned and cuddled closer to him.

    He held her tight against him and sighed. As happy he was and as much as he loved her, he couldn't help but feel that their romance would be short-lived. He didn't know why he felt that way; Aubrey was off only God knew where, and Destiny was here with him. She'd finally decided to give him a chance. But for some reason, he felt like these happy times were limited. Maybe it was because Aubrey was gone, but he was still out there somewhere - and as long as he was out there, he had the power to change his mind and come running back. Maybe it was because Brian didn't know what Destiny would decide to do if Aubrey did come back.

    The woman we saw him with...he could have chosen to take her with him as a precaution, as a way for him to distract himself from thinking about Destiny...but I know just how futile an attempt that would be. No matter which woman is around you, if you know Destiny and if you've ever loved Destiny, you wouldn't be able to stop thinking about her. And if that's the case, then it's possible that Aubrey will wise up and come back to her. And then what? What happens to me? What happens to what I share with her? The thought frightened him. He buried his face in her hair and hoped that he would never have to find out.