“It’s always been you.” Chapter Twenty-Five

Drake walked down the grand staircase and nodded at the few mingling guards in the foyer before slipping out the back entrance of the palace. He put his ear buds in and set off through the courtyard towards the hedge maze garden. He ran the walkway set around it as he normally did when he found the time to be able to run outdoors. The seasons were starting to change and it was getting to the point where as the night deepened there was a slight crispness to the air; a welcomed relief from the sweat forming on his brow. He was on his 6th lap and at the northeast corner of the maze when he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He turned to grab the figure, pulling their arm behind them before sweeping their feet out from under them and pinning them to the ground with his knee in their back.

“Good to see you haven’t lost your touch,” they groaned. Drake pulled his headphones from his ears.

“Liam?” Drake quickly stood and extended a hand. He looked towards the palace and saw Bastien chuckling in the distance.

“That’s considered treasonous, you know.” Liam rolled over and with a half smile grabbed Drake’s hand and his friend pulled him up.

“Well maybe Your Majesty shouldn’t go sneaking up on people,” Drake rested his hands on his hips and sucked in deep breaths, “what the hell are you doin out here anyways?”

“I saw you out running from my quarters and wanted to… apologize… for my behavior earlier.”

“No need,” Drake panted, “I get it.”

“No, Drake, it was rude and inappropriate. My own issues should never reflect on my friendship with you.”

“Hah, you’re saying this like it’s a new problem.”

“What do you mean?”

Drake sat down on the walkway and brought his knees up, resting his elbows on them and lacing his fingers together. Liam joined him.

“Dude, you’ve always done this. Whenever things got particularly stressful in the palace you’d take your frustrations out on me half the time. I know you didn’t mean to. I know I was really the only person you could and not catch heat for it.”

“I never intended-“

“I know, Liam. I get it. I’m not mad at you. I just feel… guilty. Like I deserve to be hated by you.”

“Why would I hate you?”

“Because… you know…” Drake looked around the gardens, avoiding Liam’s fixated stare.

“Duchess Riley?”

“Yeah.”

“Number one, I could never, ever hate you. Number two, any unresolved feelings I have for Riley are mine to deal with and mine alone. I’m still working through them, but tonight was just-,“ Liam paused, “the delegate I was speaking to, he knew my mother. He was actually quite close with her. He was telling me stories about her and my father and, I don’t know, they just sounded so in love when they married. I always knew after Leo abdicated that when I married it would be for the crown. I never imagined I would love the woman I married. When I met Riley I thought I could have the best of both worlds. A beautiful, intelligent, charismatic wife who could rule alongside me. Someone who would love me and her country. Then when I ended things with Madeline and Duchess Riley rejected my proposal, I had honestly never felt so lost. I had no fiancé, my father was livid, and my advisors were going on about the instability of Cordonia with no queen and no heir. Finally I had to make a choice and Olivia was the only other woman close enough to me that I felt comfortable with. I’ve known her nearly my entire life. It was a hasty decision and one I hope I don’t come to regret.”

“If this whole thing never would have happened, if you’d never met Riley, who would you have picked?”

“Truthfully? Probably Lady Hana. She’s well versed in Cordonian politics, she knows how to charm a crowd, and she’s had years of training that would have made her a good fit. As the circumstances stand, she’s Riley’s best friend and is currently being courted by Lord Maxwell so that hardly seemed like a good idea. As you can see, my options were quite limited.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“I’ll let you get back to running. As I said, I just wanted to apologize. Have a good evening, Drake.”

Liam pushed himself up and went back into the palace. Drake still sat on the ground, studying the night sky and all the stars in it. He took a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts, which were going a hundred miles an hour in different directions. Liam. Eleanor. Riley. Jackson. He still couldn’t believe he had made it this far or that he was going to be a noble. He always imagined one day when he was older and Liam had children of his own that he’d get away from the palace. Maybe find a wife and settle down and be free from the responsibility of the court and he’d be able to relieve himself of his position in the kings guard. At least before he had the option. Being married to Riley meant he was obligated to stay, or rather stuck. He had always told Riley that being a duke was a small price to pay to be married to her, but maybe he hadn’t thought it through well enough. He was becoming everything that he hated; everything that ended up leaving his dad dead. He wasn’t bred for nobility. Riley wasn’t either, but she somehow managed to take it all in stride as though she was fulfilling her fairytale destiny. The problem was he knew too much, probably even more than Liam. He fell down a rabbit hole of worries and regret’s and what if’s and began to panic.

He shot up and sprinted to the palace with his heart racing, He busted through the back doors and bolted up the stairs, his long legs skipping steps as he went. He threw open his bedroom door and saw a startled Riley sitting up in bed reading a copy of Trend.

“Drake, what’s wrong?” Riley quickly laid the magazine next to her.

Suddenly his brain went quiet and all he heard was her. He heartbeat slowed and a sense of calm washed over him. His shoulders relaxed and so did his white-knuckle grip on the door knob.

“Nothing,” he shook his head, “Everything is fine.”

She threw off the covers of his bed and walked with gentle footsteps over to him.

“Are you sure?”

He closed the door behind him and took her in his arms.

“Everything is perfect. You are perfect.”

“I’m not sure where this sudden urge to praise me came from but feel free to continue,” she smile against his chest.

“I mean it,” he took her cheeks in his hands, “you are. Every part of you inside and out is perfect. Like here,” he gave her a slow and gentle kiss. “And here,” he kissed her cheek. “And especially here,” he kissed the curve of her neck and she brought her arms up around him.

“Anywhere else?”

He brought his lips to her ear and whispered heatedly, “everywhere.”

He nipped down her shoulder and ran his mouth across her collarbone. Her breathing became ragged as his hands roamed her body. He pulled up the bottom of her silk night gown and dropped to his knees, ducking beneath the fabric and pulling down her panties. She rested her hands on his shoulders and dug her fingers into his skin as he buried his face into the sensitive spot between her legs. He worked in meticulous, precise circles around her and her knees started to give as red hot pleasure moved through her. Drake’s strong hand moved up the backs of her thighs and pressed on her ass, pushing her even closer to him. He felt her tremble and slowly came to a stop. Riley let out an exasperated huff.

“Why did you stop?”

Drake poked his head out with a mischievous smile and threw his arm around her leg, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder while she squealed with laughter. He stripped her underwear from her ankles and tossed them to the floor.

“What has gotten into you?!”

“It’s not about what’s gotten into me, it’s about what’s about to get into you.” Drake dropped her onto the bed with a soft thud and quickly took off his shirt before climbing on top of her.

“Very funny,” she grabbed his face and pulled him to her for a kiss they both smiled into, “but seriously. Are you okay?”

Drake pulled back, resting his weight on his hands and stared down at her. His smile softened.

“While I was outside I started thinking, and I couldn’t stop. I started to feel trapped. Like I had no control over where my life was going. Honestly I had come up here to pack my things and run. But when I saw you, I knew that was something I could never do. I don’t care about any of the things that come with marrying you. You’ve always been enough. Those are just extras. Opening that door and seeing you in bed, in my bed, it was like seeing you again for the first time. And I felt things I’ve never felt in my whole life, and I fell in love with you all over again.”

“Drake…” tears pricked her eyes and she stared at him with such adoration that she thought her chest would collapse under the weight of it.

“I mean it, Riley. I don’t care about any of it. I care about the people under me-“

“Obviously,” she cut him off and he laughed.

“No- well, yes, but also the people in Valtoria. I care about their well-being, but the balls and the press and the court, I don’t care about those at all. All I care about is creating a life with you that we can both be proud of and making sure that anyone under our care does well. I don’t want to be a noble, but even more than that I don’t want to be those nobles. It’s time I take my future into my own hands, and that includes my life with you. I just want to make you proud, and if my dad were still here I’d want to make him proud to.”

“You already do.”

“Thanks, Walker. I always want to be someone you’re proud of.”

“Well you can start by getting back down here and giving me one of those incredible Drake Walker kisses I’ve become so fond of.”

“Your wish is my command, Your Grace.”

Drake dipped back down and kissed her. A tingle rippled through her body and she arched against him. He shifted his weight on to one hand while his other explored her. The curves of her hips and the valley’s of her chest. He sat up and took of the rest of his clothes, dropping them at the end of his bed. Riley started to do the same when he interrupted her by putting his weight on her. He laid a long line of kisses across her chest and used his teeth to pull down the fabric that covered her breasts. He took them in his mouth and teased her, putting her nipples between his teeth with just enough pressure to make her gasp. His hands grazed her stomach, then her hips, finally moving up the inside her thigh before gently grazing her gleaming skin. He gently rubbed back and forth, never giving enough to send her over the edge, but enough to let her know his intentions. She writhed against his hand, silently pleading for him to give her what she needed. She grabbed his wrist.

“Please.”

“What do you want, Your Grace?” Drake dropped his voice to a husky whisper in her ear.

“For you to stop being a tease.”

“You mean like,” he slid a finger into her, “this?”

Riley let out a low moan.

“Better.”

“The duchess is insatiable, isn’t she?” He grabbed her leg behind her knee and pushed it towards the ceiling before moving down her body. He slowly kissed from her inner thigh upwards, placing her leg over his shoulder, and she let out another pleading growl.

“Perhaps the duke is just being difficult.”

“Is he?” Drake slid another finger into her and she failed to suppress a loud whimper. His fingers moved with purpose inside of her. He knew how to work her body; how to make her come undone with the angle of his wrist. Every time he brought her close to ecstasy he would slow and watch her become increasingly frustrated. Her cheeks burned bright red, her body glistened, and her hands were permanently gripping the sheets on either side of her. Silk clung to her body when she suddenly grabbed Drake by the shoulders and pulled him on top of her, her legs wrapping around his back and pushing him against her. She ran her hands into his hair and pulled him into a bruising kiss. He hooked an arm behind her and easily picked her up, carrying her from the bed to the wall next to it. He pressed her back against the cool wall, his lips never leaving hers. He allowed her to slide down him just enough that he could position his hips to match hers.

“Am I still being too difficult for you?” Drake’s cheek rose against Riley’s as he whispered in her ear.

“Let’s just say if you don’t finish what you started, I’ll pass a royal decree banishing you from Valtoria’s royal quarters,” she panted.

“Can’t have that now, can we?”

In an instant Drake was inside of her, mercilessly rocking against her. Her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, her face buried in his chest as she dug her teeth into his warm skin to stifle loud moans threatening to escape her. He looked down at her mid-thrust and grinned, shifting his hips and making her scream in pleasure. She tossed her head back lightly against the wall and he kissed up the length of the newly exposed skin of her neck.

“You’re an asshole,” she smirked. He did it again and Riley dug her nails into his shoulders, every whine more pleading than the last as he kept at a steady pace. Finally, after near hours of torture, Riley let out a sob of relief as she exploded around him, shortly followed by Drake doing the same. He clung to her as he fell to his knees on the floor and leaned back against his bed. He held her still shaking body against his and buried his face in the crook of her neck while a drop of sweat rolled down his nose. They sat silently as they both caught their breath.

“I hope you don’t think you can ever leave me after that,” Riley chuckled and ran a hand up the back of his neck into his damp hair.

“Never,” he held her tighter and let out at content sigh. He looked at the clock on his bedside table and his eyes narrowed. “Shit.”

“What?” Riley leaned back and looked at him with concern.

“It’s four in the morning. We have to be up and in the dining room at 10 for brunch.”

“Alright.” She reluctantly stood up and climbed under the covers of Drake’s bed and he crawled in next to her. She laid her head on his chest and they quickly drifted off to sleep.