“We don’t even know that I will still be welcome after…” At this Vincent burst out laughing stopping me in my tracks. He was still chuckling as he pulled me off his bike and walked me back towards the building…
Back to Afterlife.
“I don’t think we need to worry about that.” He said nodding ahead of him and my eyes followed to find Draven stood there waiting and leaning against the stone wall next to a side door that Vincent used as our exit earlier. I would like to have said I was cool as a cucumber but with a faltered step that nearly made me trip over myself and my face no doubt sporting an attractive puffiness from crying, well… that cool wasn’t even in the building to start with, let alone given the chance to go flying out the window!
The closer we got the more my palms began to sweat praying I wasn’t about to walk back into a showdown. I noticed he had changed out of his suit and to say the sight of him didn’t affect me would have sent me straight to Hell as a sinner. He now had his strong long legs encased in faded denim that moulded to him in a way that you couldn’t help but notice the size of his powerful thighs. Christ but even the slight rips at his knees that showed that slither of skin made my girly parts tingle.
My eyes shamelessly did an all body scan and when I reached his chest my mouth went dry. Well, I was only human! But come on, the sight was just too unfair for words. He wore a tight, long sleeved t-shirt that was a dark grey with a design etched on the front that was the back end of some vintage car.
It was rare to see Draven wearing anything that allowed you a glimpse into his personality other than his power suits that screamed an authoritative, ‘don’t mess with me, or I will crush you’. So it brought a small smile to my lips just seeing that rough pencil drawing of a car I couldn’t place, sitting there across his chest. Oh, and the muscles I saw outlined under the material certainly helped that smile form!
What had he been doing all this time, bench pressing trees and running up mountains with log cabins on his back?! I mean the guy had what looked like a friggin eight pack beneath that shirt and I am pretty sure I only counted six the last time I saw it. And I didn’t even want to get started on those arms, not if I wanted to be able to form words that weren’t just a series of grunts and bumbling murmurs.
“Keira, you’re bac…”
“I’m sorry!” I blurted out before he could finish. He closed both his eyes for a few seconds longer than a blink and shook his head slightly, as if clearing his mind of an action he wanted to follow through on. He then flashed his brother a look, communicating something between them that only family blood would pick up on.
“Well, as always it’s been eventful, Beautiful but best I leave you two to it…remember what I said, Keira.” He whispered this last part by my ear as he gave me a half hug goodbye. I nodded and whispered a,
“Thank you” back before letting him go. He winked down at me in more affection than just being cheeky and I gave him a little shy smile before he turned back to his brother. As he walked past Draven he grabbed his arm and held him immobile for a second. And what he said next both shocked me and filled me with such peace it made my heart soar for a few blissful beats.
“Thank you for bringing her back to me, Brother.” Vincent lowered his head in a sign of deep respect and then clasped Draven on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“As I always will do, Brother.” And then he left us alone, making me jump when the heavy door slammed behind him. I giggled nervously, trying to ease the tension at how frazzled my nerves were.
“Uhh…so what now?” I asked after a minute of awkward silence that was most likely only fifteen seconds.
“Now…? Well, I think now we could both do with a drink, don’t you?” He said and I smiled, feeling the last of my tension leave me, being replaced with relief. He held out his hand to me and said,
“Shall we?” And like my body was made of metal, I went to the magnet that was Draven, instantly feeling the tingles wrack my body at his touch. If he noticed me shudder then he didn’t say anything and I was more than thankful for it.
We walked back through his fortress and when we turned a way I hadn’t been before I frowned looking back behind us.
“I hope you don’t mind but Sophia kind of had something planned for you.” He asked me softly whilst pulling me along with him. Didn’t he realise that when he spoke to me like that it felt like his fingertips were running tantalisingly along my spine and I would have done anything he asked?
“Okay,” I said feeling the heat in my cheeks at how breathy it sounded. He simply grinned down at me and then looked ahead, allowing me a chance to mouth the words ‘Oh my God’ to the floor. I had to wonder if there would ever be a time when Draven and I weren’t playing cat and mouse on a rollercoaster that was our lives. One minute we were screaming at each other and the next…well, the next was far more dangerous. The next was us holding hands and speaking in beautifully soft words combined with gentle forbidden touches. Like what his thumb was doing right now, rubbing delicious little slow circles over my index finger that was the equivalent of putting me under a spell. It was beautifully torturous.