We stayed like this for several long seconds before we separated. I took a deep breath and watched her as she smiled, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded at me."I will go get us a room", I said before I jumped out and ran inside. The lobby was elegant and much more luxurious than I pictured when we pulled up out front. White marble floors were brightly lit by the floor to ceiling windows in the front letting in the last of the day's sunlight, yet the large crystal chandelier above my head was still lit.There was surprisingly a small line to wait in to reach the receptionist and all I wanted to do was get us a room and get lynn upstairs so I could pamper her."Hi welcome to the Marriott. Will you be needing a room for the night?", The receptionist asked with a huge grin as I finally approached the counter.I hated when they asked stupid questions like that. I always wanted to reply with a smartass comment like, 'No I just came to ride the elevators'"Yes, I need a room

LYNN'S POV. Drake was being a champ as I ran his battered hand beneath the sink water to wash away his bloodied knuckles. He didn't wince one time and my heart pounded for him. Not only was he letting me baby him right now , but he punched Jason and made that bastard bleed. "Even though I love what you did back there, I don't want you getting in trouble because of him", I said. He chuckled. "Babe, I would punch the entire royal family and the president in their faces if they said a single bad thing about you", I blushed and held back a giggle. Hr really knew how to say all the right things , didn't he? "Well, let's try to keep you out of jail, shall we?!", I dried off his hand and went to stand up but Drake grabbed me and pulled me onto his lap until I straddled on him. He stared into my eyes for a long moment before he said. "I'm sorry, we ran into that asshole. I could see how much it affected you", I swallowed down the knot in my throat and kept my eyes glued to his. "It w

When we arrived at my parents, there were already a ton of people here. Did I miss what time it started? Shit. I think I did. That, or people were just excited and showed up early. Whatever the case was, I was glad that we weren't alone with them."Lynn!" Mom greeted excitedly as she ran over and hugged me. Then she surprised me by turning to Drake and touched his face. "I'm so glad you two came back. There's beer in the cooler and Dad has already fired up the grill. Make yourselves at home and mingle with family. They're all excited to see you, lynn! l." Then she was off to be the bubbly host everyone loved.I wasn't expecting Mom to be so normal, but who was I kidding? She was always sweet. It was my dad I was worried about.My eyes scanned the area and I found him over by the grill talking to Uncle George. I knew this would be a good time to go speak with him as I knew Uncle George would help break the ice.I grabbed Drake's hand and tugged him along with me."Hi, Uncle George," I

"No! Please!" I heard Lynn cry out."You're going to pay for this!" Melissa screamed next.Handcuffs were secured tightly around my wrists before they roughly sat me up. I saw Lynn try to get to me but an officer held her back."You're under arrest for assault," the officer told me."Micky!" I turned my head and saw Lynn's dad walking toward us before he slapped the officer on the back. "There was no assault done by this man," he stated as he pointed at me.Relief filled me but my confusion was stronger. This guy seemed to fucking hate me and now he was stopping me from getting arrested."Gene, I have to arrest him," the officer stated.Lynn's dad sighed. "The only one who should be arrested here is him," he pointed down at Jason as I moved my eyes over to him. Jason was unconscious and covered in blood. "He punched Lynn."The officer cursed beneath his breath before he walked over to Lynn and grabbed her chin as he turned her face this way and that. I didn't like his hands on her and

"I may or may not have read some of that..." I ran a hand over my face as I blew out a breath. "Jesus, lynn... Did that shit really happen to you?!"She wrapped her arms around herself and looked I didn't like that. Jason was out of her life and I would never let him near her again. As long as there's a breath in my lungs, he will never harm her again... even if we aren't together anymore."I can't follow that," I stated."What?" Her brow furrowed.I laughed and shook my head as I grabbed her journal. "I would give anything to time travel back to these dates and ring that fuckers neck. But I'm not the guy for you, lynn."She rushed up to me and grabbed my shirt."What the hell are you talking about, Drake?"Tears burned my eyes again as I tore my gaze from hers."Isn't it obvious? I'm all kinds of fucked up and don't know the first thing about having a serious relationship with a woman. You should run fast and far from me, lynn. You've been through hell and back and need a stable guy