Page 1 of Drake Eternal

CHAPTER 1

Drake slid in beside me, the pressure from his body on the bed waking me.

The bedside lamp was off, but a thin sliver of moonlight filtered in under the curtains, illuminating the bedroom. The clock on the table read ten forty. I had intended to wait up for him to come home and join me in bed, but I’d fallen asleep, tired as I was from my long day of working on my article and looking after Liam and Sophia after they both came home from school.

“You asleep?” Drake whispered softly as he moved closer to me, one arm slipping around my waist. “Have a hard day? I can shut up if so. It’s just that I haven’t had a chance to talk to you at all today except through texts…”

I rolled over and turned to face him, smiling. “I’m never too tired to… talk.”

The corner of his mouth turned up at that. “Oh, you want to talk, do you?”

We kissed briefly, both of us smiling. I knew that Drake was probably too tired to do anything but sleep after his twelve-hour day at the hospital doing complex brain surgery. He was taking the summer off and had only two days left before his vacation began.

“How did your second-last day of work go? Nothing too complicated, I hope.”

“Got the most difficult ones out of the way earlier in the week. Now, it’s routine. Simple stuff. Less likely to have complications. I want to be done tomorrow so we can take off and go to the beach house for the weekend. Once you’re done your article, we can go for the summer if you want.”

“Music to my ears.”

It would just be me, Drake and Sophie, since Liam was going to live with his mother and stepfather for the summer as per his custody arrangement. We would miss his bright face around the house, but he needed to spend time with his mother and with Chris.

“How’s your shoulder?” Drake asked, his lips moving to my left shoulder, which I’d hurt in a fall while riding my bike earlier in the week. Nothing seriously damaged but a few tendons still sore enough that I was being careful with it.

“Not too bad,” I said and moved it around a bit for his benefit. “Still sore but getting better.”

He kissed it again. “Do you want a massage? I can give you a quick one. It might help relax you so you can sleep better.”

I hesitated, smiling to myself. Did he mean a massage-massage, or a massage? I figured I’d find out either way.

“Sure,” I said and rolled onto my stomach, my cheek resting on my good arm, my bad arm flat at my side. I felt the bed move and Drake sat up beside me, his warm hands slipping up my back to my shoulder, pressing gently on my ribs. Then, he started slowly and carefully massaging my shoulder.

It felt so good…

“Oh, that’s nice,” I murmured, sighing.

“Still sore?”

“Just a bit. Tylenol helps.”

He kept massaging my shoulder, upper back and arm, the rhythmic pressure of his hands on my skin making me sleepier. I yawned.

“Putting you to sleep, am I?” he said, his voice soft with a touch of humor.

I didn’t say anything, smiling as I realized he was hoping for the opposite. It wasn’t that I didn’t want sex with him. It’s that I was seriously exhausted after a long day of work and looking after two kids and the apartment.

“That’s okay, because I’m sleepy, too.” He lay down beside me and slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me against his body. I snuggled against him, smiling as he kissed my cheek. “Goodnight my love.”

“Goodnight,” I said back. “I’ll be glad when we’re both off work for the summer and can spend more quality time together.”

He kissed my shoulder. “Until then, go to sleep.”

I closed my eyes, and very soon, was drifting off. We had a very busy day the next day, getting Liam all packed up for his trip. It would be an emotional day for Drake and for Sophie and me.

I wanted to be bright and ready for it.

The next morning when I woke, Drake was already up and had showered. He, Sophie and Liam were in the kitchen making breakfast. After I had my own shower, I joined the three of them and ate a quick breakfast. We had to finish packing up Liam’s clothes for his holiday with Maureen and Chris in Indonesia.

Just thinking about it made me sad.

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