Page 62 of Taming Raptor

I’d had no clue it was his room when I was taken there to shower the road grime off earlier. I’d simply been told it was the only room with a decent bathroom at the moment. When I’d seen some of the items I recognized as Raptor’s on the bathroom counter, it had clicked. Sloane’s offer to hang out had been perfect timing. I couldn’t wait to get out of there before I did something I might regret.

Blade led the way inside. There was no sign of Raptor anywhere as I passed through the common area. Two of the brothers were sitting on the couches watching a movie. Blade went over to them to talk while I made my way to the back.

“Please don’t let him be with that little bitch from earlier,” I muttered to myself. “I look terrible in orange.”

Except I needn’t have worried—he was passed out on the bed, face down and reeking of whiskey. Despite the muddy water under our bridge, I was unable to be that close and not touch him. It was probably the fact that Adrien Krow was the flame to my moth—I was drawn to him, and the fact that he had the power to destroy me, didn’t faze me.

The bed creaked when I sat next to his sprawled form. Trying to stop myself was a futile endeavor, because without thinking, I reached for him. Not to wake him—I was still pissed—but so I could run my fingers through his thick, dark hair.

“Hope you’re prepared to grovel,” I whispered in his ear. Then I feathered a light kiss over his cheek and got back to my feet. No way was I tempting myself by sleeping in the same bed. That was a recipe for disaster because the second he touched me, I’d likely combust.

I silently gathered my belongings and left the room.

Then I shot off a quick text to Sloane. She immediately responded with “HURRY!”.

“Blade, do you mind taking me to Sloane’s house?”

“Of course not. Are you okay?” He searched my gaze as I hugged my bag to my chest.

Blade was understanding and accepting of my melancholy mood. He helped me put my bag back in his bike and then we were on the road.

The entire way, I was lost in my thoughts about Raptor.

Deep inside, where foolish dreams and hopeful desires danced, I prayed he believed I was worth humbling himself. Because no matter how much he meant to me, he had deeply hurt me. There was no denying I loved him. Yet, no matter how deep my love was for him I needed to be loved back—I deserved to be loved back.

It had taken me years, but even if I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment or event that made me realize it, I carried more worth than I had given myself credit for.

Whether I ever went back to Iowa or not, Cookie was gone. She had come into existence in a time when I needed a strength that I never had at any point in my life before. Yet, I wasn’t that woman anymore.

For one, I was going to be a mother. Not for me, but for my baby, I decided to be a better version of myself. To maintain the same backbone and tenacity, yet living for something other than finding pleasure in whoever I wanted in my bed for the night. My priorities had shifted.

Was I ashamed of Cookie? Hell, no. I still loved sex, don’t get me wrong. It was simply a matter of that chapter of my life being over—because I had no interest in being with anyone but one man. A man that had made me so fucking mad I wasn’t sure how long it would take him to make up for his bullshit. Yet a man that I hadn’t been able to lock my heart against.

“So instead of talking to you, he went and got drunk?” Niara asked while tapping her fingers on the side of her glass.

“We could always mix up a little something for him,” Sloane offered with a wicked smile.

I practically spit my water out at that.

“That won’t be necessary,” I choked out. “If he doesn’t care enough to fight for me, then he’ll step up and be a father if it kills me.” I would harden my heart that, at the moment, seemed fragile and a breath away from shattering completely.

“There better at least be some diamonds involved in that groveling,” Niara offered her opinion as she sipped her wine. Her long gauzy skirt pooled around her legs and drifted to the floor as she sat on the couch with her legs tucked beneath her. Though I had only met her that day, she seemed a kindred spirit and I’d already decided I liked her.

“And maybe a cherry-red Ferrari,” Sloane added as she held her glass of flavored water up for me to tap mine against. The ringing of the crystal as it met echoed in the room.

“A Ferrari?” Phoenix drawled as he peeked his head around the refrigerator door and shot us a “you guys are nuts” look.

“Keep out of this, you. We’re plotting,” Sloane told him, though the love shining in her pale eyes made my chest ache.

Niara craned her neck to look over the back of the couch to glare into the kitchen. “Just because you finally pulled your head out of your ass, doesn’t mean your friend will.”

“Brother,” Phoenix corrected then returned to digging around in the fridge.

“Tomato, tomahto,” Niara huffed as she waved her hand dismissively in his direction. Bottoming up her glass, she leaned over to the coffee table for the bottle she alone was able to drink.

“It’s not fair that you’re the only non-pregnant one here,” I grumbled. Both women went wide-eyed and stilled. “What?”

“Don’t say things like that!” Niara told me with her big green eyes wide. That was when I caught the mesmerizing ring of gold around her pupil.

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