The North Star | COMPLETED ✔️

Chapter 68 ~ No More.

Enjoy! This counts as a double kinda lol. It's twice as long as I usually make them 🤗❤️

Chapter 68

The men quieted. They sat scattered about, staring into the night, looking lost in their own thoughts. Two went so far as to stretch out on the ground and fall asleep.

Drake kept his tight hold around my shoulders and lightly traced a path down my arm with his fingers. Years ago, I'd have basked in the attention. Once upon a time, I'd loved when he doted. Even after he changed, all he had to do was throw me an ounce of love, and I'd rationalize it all. But not now. Now, all I could do was stare into the flames and pretend I didn't feel it. It was the only thing keeping me from pulling away. If I pulled away, I'd make it worse.

But as the night drew on, the flames dulled and Drake's intimacy intensified.

He shifted closer, nuzzled my neck, and smelled my hair. "I missed you," he whispered.

I closed my eyes tight. Swallowed hard. Held my breath. I pictured Bard. I thought about him and how things would be when this was over.

"Jessie." He pulled my face over. "Open your eyes."

I did.

He gave me a soft look. His look. It wasn't soft like the ones Bard gave. It was smooth and sleek. An act. I'd seen the look a thousand times before. I'd seen it work, on me, on other girls. "Didn't you miss me? Even a little?" He caressed my arm, and I shuddered. It was all I could do to swallow back the bile in my throat.

"If I missed you, don't you think I would have just come back?"

The mask slipped, replaced by the devil beneath, but it only lasted for a moment before he put it back in place. "Not if you thought I'd be angry."

I snorted. I needed to play nice. I needed to pretend, but I just... couldn't. "You beat the fuck out of me, Drake. More than once. What makes you think I'd want that?"

He nodded slowly and touched the hair at the back of my neck. "I always thought you understood me. You always forgave. Every time." He leaned closer, dipped his face so I would have to meet his gaze. "I don't know why I like it so much. There's something about it, when you just take it, barely flinching, then when you don't." He bit his lip. "I know I'm fucked up, but that doesn't mean I don't love you."

"You can't love."

His eyes blazed. "I can. I do. You think I would have all these men looking for you if I didn't. I've been out of my fucking mind since you disappeared."

"That's not love, Drake. That's possession. You want to possess me."

"I do posses you." His jaw clenched, teeth bared. "You think I'd just let some asshole take you away from me?" He shifted back straight, stared at the embers still glowing in front of us.

I held my breath. The atmosphere had charged. I shouldn't have goaded him. I should have lied, pretended, but instead, I lit a fuse. At any moment, he'd detonate, and I had no choice but to sit right beside him.

He clasped his hands in front of him, rubbed his fingers together, then gripped them tight and pulled them to his chin. His left leg bounced. He unclasped his hands and ran one down his face.

I scooted away an inch, and that was all it took to set him off.

"Everybody leave." His voice was quiet, so quiet the men just had time to register and look over before he roared, "Everybody leave!"

They jumped up, woke the other two, and walked away without a backward glance.

I started to rise, but my limbs were frozen. They fought against my better sense. My body warred with my brain on what was best for survival. Stay and play the game, make him happy, or run like hell.