I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep that night, despite the fact that Draven was sound asleep right next to me. We talked a bit more but after I told him that I wasn’t interested in giving him a chance to make things right, he started giving me the silent treatment. After that, we both just decided to go to sleep, well mostly I decided to. But I couldn’t sleep no matter how hard I tried and let’s be honest, could you blame me? Draven was acting totally different now and it’s been making me go crazy. The worst part is that I can’t tell whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. After all, he is being extra sweet and is actually trying to be nice to me, for once. Why though? Did he really have feelings for me? Because back in the days, the Draven I knew wouldn’t have given two shits even if I was upset or not. He would have done whatever he pleased and gotten away with it. But it’s different now. He’s actually trying to apologize and begging me to give him a chance, which by the way is still very new to me and I can’t seem to process that in my head no matter how hard I try.
I finally tossed the sheets over and got up from the bed, silently tiptoeing my way towards the door but froze when I heard Draven call out my name, his sexy, sleepy voice almost making my knees weak.
“Where’re you going?”
“I just want to explore the mansion. I never had the chance to before so I thought-”
“Explore the what-” he asked in disbelief, rubbing his temple in annoyance and sitting up straight. “It’s the middle of the fucking night, Adriana, can we please just go to sleep?” he groaned, running a hand through his hair and face as I folded my hands across my chest stubbornly.
“But I want to right now. I can’t sleep.”
“I can fix that so just come here.” He said, waving an arm at me and motioning me to come closer but I didn’t budge.
“Enlighten me.” I raised a brow and I heard him let out another groan before slumping back on the bed.
“They’re insects and all kinds of weird shit living here so good luck.” He mumbled and I visibly flinched before frowning at him.
“You’re lying.”
“And why would I do that?” his sickly sweet tone pricked my nerves and I marched up to him before letting out a sigh.
“Can you come with me then?”
“Must you really play Sherlock holmes tonight?” his words dripped in sarcasm and I nodded, reaching out to switch on the lights. Draven let out a soft growl and stuffed his face with a pillow but I snatched it away immediately.
“Come on, Draven! You’re the one who scared me with the whole insect shit, so why can’t you just come with me? I’ve been living here for more than 3 months now and you still haven’t showed me all the rooms and I don’t know, secret magic doors and stuff.” I ran out of words and Draven gave me a blank look.
“You’re not very good at convincing people.” He stated bluntly and I threw the pillow back at his face before muttering a quick “Fine, then stay.” I opened the door and started heading out, slightly glancing back to see if Draven was following but to my disappointment, he wasn’t. A scoff escaped through my lips before I marched through the hallway, trying my best to adjust to the darkness. I was lucky that the boys didn’t want to feed on anyone tonight, mostly because after the event, they were probably too tired to do anything besides sleep.
“Oh, Emily, honey.” I groaned, poking my head further down the staircase to notice her sound asleep on the sofa, one of her arms lazily wrapped around a cushion.
I started walking back and instead of taking a left turn, I took a right turn and marched through the hallway, passing by a few rooms, which I assumed was the Ardelean brothers bedrooms.
“My lady.” I gasped and turned to face a butler, who immediately bowed and apologized for frightening me but I told him it was fine. “Why are you wondering in the middle of the night? It’s not safe.” He spoke softly, giving me a small smile and I shook my head.
“It’s fine, I’m just exploring the place for a bit. Just until I’m tired.”
“Are you sure? Be careful then. Don’t go wandering too far and if you need anything, please let me know.” He said politely before leaving and I let out a sigh in relief. I turned to notice a door and decided to explore this room first, slightly curious to know whose room it was. I knocked a few times and when no one answered, I slowly opened the door only to be greeted by darkness.
“Where is the lights?” I mumbled out before cautiously walking inside, squinting my eyes to make out any figures. I noticed only the chairs and a table but that was about it, the rest was just darkness. Just as I took a few steps forward, someone slammed the door shut behind me and I let out a gasp before turning around, my heart almost ripping out of my chest. Darkness still surrounded my vision and at this point, I couldn’t even find the strength to scream.
“Who’s there?” I choked out, taking a step forward and gasped when I heard something clatter from behind me. “Who-who’s there?! Edward if this is you, I swear I won’t forgive you. This is not funny.” I started panicking and out of the blue, a picture of Dexter’s face popped into my head, causing a shiver down my spine. Wha-what if it’s him? What if he was here to take me back again?
Tears started glistening in my eyes at the thought and I took a step back, my movement suddenly coming to a halt the moment my back bumped against someone.
“Boo.” With another gasp, I spun around to face the figure and even the dark, I could recognize Draven’s blue eyes flickering in amusement, causing my whole body to tremble.
“Are you kidding me, Draven?!” I snapped angrily but by now, Draven was chuckling at his own little “joke” and I couldn’t help but drop down on the floor, my knees finally giving away.
“It’s not funny, you scared me.” I said softly, trying to get Dexter’s face out of my head.
“Well no shit.” He laughed a short laugh but stopped when I went silent. “Hey, I was just joking, you alright?” he bent down to wrap an arm around my shoulders and I shook my head with a weak smile.
“I’m fine, I just thought that you were Dexter or someone else.” I said finally, standing up straight and he went silent.
“You’re safe as long as I am around so don’t worry about him.”
“Yeah.” I said shortly before letting out a sigh. I heard Draven retreating back before turning on the lights, almost making my eyes bleed. I adjusted after a few seconds and narrowed my eyes around the room. It was a simple room, clean and tidy without a bed or wardrobe.
“This is kind of like a study room.” Draven mumbled as I took in every detail of the room, taking my time to explore this mysterious little place.
“Adriana, there is fucking nothing in here, can we please go back?” Draven almost complained and I waved a hand at him ignorantly before opening the small window a little, a gush of cold wind greeting me as I did. Halfway, the window got stuck and much to my annoyance, I couldn’t open it further.
“Here, let me.” I heard Draven’s voice from behind before two arms reached out towards the window, his muscles flexing as he gave them a small push. Out of instinct, I turned around and sure enough, his body was too close to mine now. We both stopped to look at each other and Draven seemed to notice how nervous I was but rather than taking a step back, he inched even closer, his bare chest almost touching my nose before I looked up at him.
“Wh-what?” of all the moments to stutter, now was the time I had to.
“I didn’t say anything.” He placed both his hands on either side of my waist on the windowsill and leaned closer as I pressed myself harder against the wall.
“The-then-”
“Then what?” his voice turned all soft and hoarse, closing his face to mine and at this point, I just wanted to disappear inside the walls.
“Co-could you-”
“Could I what?” he was clearly making fun of my constant stammering but the asshole somehow managed to keep his tone low and soft, making it so much harder for me to focus on what I wanted to say.
‘You’re just making fun of me.” I managed to say a whole sentence without stuttering, bless me for that and Draven only raised a brow at my accusation.
“Am I?”
“Fuck you.”
“Gladly.” He grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth and by now, my whole face was blushing but I couldn’t help it.
‘Let’s go see the pool or something.” I quickly changed the subject, pushing past him and hurrying out of the room only to hear Draven chuckling behind me. After we made to the terrace, Draven let out a groan but I only inhaled deeply, my mind finally coming to ease. The rain had stopped pouring but it was still cold and windy, just the way I liked it.
“I am too tired, doll face. How much longer?” Draven started groaning again, walking up to me near the pool and I let out a sigh in annoyance before shooting him a frown but now Draven was just staring down at the pool, probably lost in his own little world. A very bad but satisfying idea came into my head and without any seconds thoughts, I found myself sneaking behind Draven before doing the most horrible thing ever. I kicked him right in the ass, sending him flying right into the pool and it didn’t even take seconds for Draven to swim back up.
“What the fuck, Adriana?!” he started cursing but I was laughing too hard now. The look on his face was priceless. “Oh you think this is funny?” he asked, a sadistic smirk suddenly appearing on his face, causing a million shivers down my spine. Okay, maybe that was a bad idea.
“I-I was just joking because-” I stopped when I noticed him getting out of the water, his eyes not ripping away from mine but I could see the smirk tugging on his lips by now.
“Draven, come on, it was just a-” without warning, I turned and started running back but two large hands grabbed my waist halfway, lifting them up from the ground effortlessly. The next thing I knew, Draven was holding me in his arms, looking down right at me as we stood near the pool. My eyes widened and I grabbed his shoulders, his cold skin making me shiver but I was desperate to convince him to not do what I think was going to do.
“Draven, I’m serious, if you dare to-” I squealed when he dropped me, my body immediately coming in contact with the cold water, causing me to panic but it didn’t take seconds for someone to pull me back up.
“You’re such an asshole!” I growled, hitting Draven on the chest as he let out a chuckle.
“Oh, baby girl, you were begging for it when you pushed me in.” My heart fluttered at his words but I quickly brushed them away.
“Jerk.” I muttered and pressed my back further against the walls.
“You still don’t know how to swim?”
“Yes, and I don’t plan to learn right now so good luck next time.” I said sharply and Draven raised a brow before shrugging it off.
“Guess we’re both not sleeping tonight then.”
“And whose fault is that?” Draven’s words dripped in sarcasm but I was too busy to counter them with an insult. Instead, I just stared up at the starless sky and smiled a little.
“If I ever leave this mansion, I think this is the only place I will miss.” I said softly and I could feel Draven’s intense staring as he kept silent at my words.
“How cute.” He muttered under his breath and I chuckled a bit.
“Maybe I’ll miss the boys too. I can whole heartedly say that I don’t hate their existence now.” I looked at Draven and I noticed how serious he was by now.
“And me?” my heart raced at his words as he inched closer and I just laughed a short laugh, trying to brush it off but Draven felt otherwise.
“Tell me.” He said softly, suddenly stepping right in front of me and I held my breath as I looked up at him, his icy blue eyes making me feel weak to my knees.
“You? Oh, would I miss the guy who constantly teases and bullies me every chance he gets? Always making fun of me and getting on my nerves 25/8?” I asked with a fake gasp but he kept a straight face, a hint of hope in his eyes clearly evident and I pressed my lips together into a thin line before fixating my gaze inside his. “Yes, I would.” I finally breathed, ripping my eyes away from his and biting my bottom lip hesitantly, wondering if I should keep going or stop. “Despite everything you did, I would still miss you, I guess. But that doesn’t change the fact that you are still an ass so don’t flatter yourself okay, and never speak of this again because-” I stopped rambling when I found his lips on mine, my cheeks already cupped inside his hands as he pulled himself closer, pressing his whole body against mine. I lost balance halfway and found myself wrapping my legs around his torso under the water, my arms already wrapping around his as I kissed him back hungrily. It felt like a million butterflies had erupted in my stomach and for the next few seconds, time seemed to stop as we took our time, savoring every moment. His tongue flickered on my bottom lip and I gladly let him in, knowing that I was going to regret this later but fuck that, he was such a good kisser, it was almost impossible to resist. The kiss started to get more intense as Draven took over, slipping a hand under my shirt from the back before parting his lips and placing wet and sloppy kisses down my neck, causing me to moan in pleasure.
“I can’t do this,” I breathed, pulling away and his breath came out in a short gasp as our lips parted. “I shouldn’t be kissing you, no.” I turned away before he could even open his mouth to speak and quickly got out of the pool, ignoring Draven, who was now calling my name.
“Adriana, wait.” He grabbed my wrist, turning me around and I was about to say something but froze when my eyes landed on my wet clothes. The thin fabric was now stuck to my skin, barely concealing anything. I could legit see my undergarments now and I tried so hard to stop myself from blushing but it was too late. To make it worse, Draven had now shifted his gaze from my eyes to my body and I could feel my eyes widening before I shot him a deadly glare, covering my whole chest.
“Stop being such a pervert!”
“What, no! I was just worried because you kept staring at yourself and I thought you were hurt or something like damn, doll face, I’m not that low.” he muttered under his breath, turning away and I narrowed my eyes at him before letting out a groan.
“Can you get me a jacket or something?”
“W-I-I-F-D?” he asked and I shot him another deadly glare but he wasn’t even looking at me now. “What’s in it for Draven?” I scoffed in disbelief and marched right up to him, making sure that I was standing close enough for him to only meet my eyes.
“Not in the mood for teasing Draven.”
“W-I-I-F-D.” he repeated ignorantly, wrapping an arm around my waist and yanking me closer. I gasped and looked up at him, my whole brain coming to a freeze when I noticed him grinning down at me.
“Nothing. I’ll do it myself then.” I huffed and Draven raised a brow before releasing his grip and disappearing. After a few seconds, he appeared back in front of me, wrapping a huge jacket around my shoulders and now it was my turn to raise a brow at him.
“Guess you finally gave in.”
“No, I just don’t want anyone else to see you like that.”
“Daw, how come?” I decided to play the teasing game for once and Draven stopped to look at me, his head slightly tilting to a side.
“Because my brothers would want to fuck you and that’s my job, doll face.” I blinked at his words and for the next few seconds, I just waited for him to say something less embarrassing but he just stood there with a stupid grin on his face, as if he was enjoying all this.
“You’re such a-”
“There is it,” he grabbed my waist, pulling me closer and I gasped before meeting his intense gaze. “That’s the expression that turns me on every fucking time.” He mumbled, his blue eyes flickering in both lust and excitement, making my heart racer ten times than it was before.
“Fuck you…” I went back to insult number one but nothing could cover up the embarrassment anymore.
“If you keep saying that, I really will consider ripping those clothes off and fucking the living hell out of you, doll face, you should understand that your outfit is not in your favor tonight.” I blushed harder and opened my mouth to say something but shut it right back, knowing very well that he would use my own words against me. So instead, I just walked right past him, ignoring his annoying smirk.
“Oh come on, I’m just kidding, Adriana,” I heard him say in an amused tone as he followed behind me.
“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes and stopped when he appeared in front of me, taking my hand inside his as a small smile crept up on his face.
“What now?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to hold your hands. Figured they’d be cold by now.” He said softly, giving them a small squeeze before turning to walk along with me. Our hands were interlocked together and I couldn’t help but smile a little. His hands felt so perfect in mine, warm and comforting. It just felt right.
“Draven?” I stopped walking.
“Hmm?”
“Thank you,” I said finally and I watched him raise a brow. “For playing the whole Sherlock holmes with me tonight.” He chuckled a little, that same contagious laugh, causing my heart go wild and the butterflies in my stomach to go on a rampage.
“Anything for you, doll face.” He slumped an arm around my shoulders and I looked up to say something else but froze when I found his lips connected to mine again. It took me a few seconds to kiss him back and it felt like everything was finally perfect again. It was just us, me and him, and I didn’t have to doubt anything anymore. Hell, I couldn’t even think straight right now. All I want is for this kiss to last a lifetime.
“What the fuck, Draven?!” a familiar voice broke our kiss as we pulled away and I looked ahead to notice Lianna standing in front of us, her whole face burning with both hatred and anger, causing my heart to drop.

Oh boy, here we go.

xxx