His Forever 2-His girlfriend

4

Drey

After months of stalking her, craving her, trying, and failing to get her out of my system Alisa was right here, in front of me. It was like a f*****g dream come true. This was a dream, one I never wished to end. And although the death glare she was shooting me said otherwise, I knew Alisa felt the same way. I had seen it in how peacefully she had slept after realizing I had brought her home, and even though the drugged juice had played a major part in that, the way she had responded to that kiss earlier, the fire in her eyes when I teased her, the frustration mirroring mine. I had gotten whatever answer I needed to know from that single moment.

The realization had fueled my confidence as I walked out of the room, knowing she was going nowhere now. And just as I had expected, she did come at my call.

I f*****g loved this woman.

We were not fighting per se—apart from the fact that she looked like she wanted to murder me for drugging her to sleep and maybe for kissing her—but we had not spoken a word to each other since she joined me for dinner on the balcony.

"The dress looks good on you," I said, needing to break the stretched-out silence between us.

A faint blush crept up her cheeks as she offered her first smile in a while, but she quickly hid it with her teeth on her bottom lip which did enough to drive me just as crazy. "Thank you, do I want to know why there was a dress waiting for me in the closet?"

The blue dress did not only fit perfectly but also looked good on her and once again I had to thank my assistant for her excellent choice. Knowing Alisa well enough, I was not surprised when she asked with apprehension why I had bought her this dress, but I was not yet ready to break the news to her. Not with all of this tension between us.

"Not yet," I said simply, biting through my meal.

"Let me guess, it has something to do with why you kidnapped me to this..." she looked around, eyeing the scenery before her, approval well hidden under her feigned uninterest, "...place."

"Is it to your liking?" I questioned. I could already tell the answer though. I had chosen this place specifically for Alisa's preferences. Quiet, far away from the noisy and bustling New York—closer to nature—and secluded.

"I'm not answering that until I know why you brought me here, or what exactly this place is," she said firmly as she pushed her fork around her plate.

"I cannot tell you anything until I feed you, but as a hint, it's just you and I for the next four to five miles," I said, willing myself to hold back a smirk as she shivered at my words.

Another round of silence weighed on us for the next few minutes, with me, torn between shoving my food down my mouth and watching Alisa push hers around systematically without eating any.

"Not hungry?" I asked, needing to hear her speak.

"Not in the mood," she said in a whisper, "it's hard to eat when I've been kidnapped by..." she paused as her face scrunched up like she was recalling a bitter memory. Her throat throbbed in a swallow as she looked away before adding, "it's hard to eat when you won't tell me why you're here. Why I'm here. Why you're back in my life again."

She could have driven a knife through my chest and it would not have hurt this much. "I cannot stay away from you Alisa, believe me, I've tried."

"Well you don't seem so when you have your hands wrapped around every beautiful woman in Manhattan," she said with a hint of accusation. I could tell she had been waiting to say that all evening. I had been expecting her to bring that up.

"That is only to protect you, Alisa," I said in a calmer tone, hoping I would not have to explain my logic.

"Of course, you're screwing a new woman every weekend to protect me," she gave hysteric laugh as her lips quivered, "that makes so much sense."

"You think I'm f*****g them?" I inched closer, thankful for the limited space between us on the oak table. Despite her accusation, I loved how her body responded to me in goosebumps and shivers.

"Well the tabloids does say so...," with a suggestive shrug, she shoved a spoonful of food in her mouth. It was a defense mechanism to hold back from crying, and if I did not know Alisa too well it would have worked.

"You of all people should know better than to believe the tabloids, Alisa. Whatever pictures you saw were just pictures nothing more," Those bastards would sell anything to stay in business. And even though I was thankful to them this time, I wished she knew that the only woman I ever saw was her and the others were just a means to an end—for her. I sighed, realizing I would have to explain myself after all, "I thought you hated being barricaded by the press at every turn."

"I do," she said sharply.

"What do you think happens if they think you mean nothing to me?" I questioned, hoping she would take the hint.

Her eyes widened in realization and her lips parted in an O, but almost immediately she asked the question that seemed to knock me right in the chest. "Do I?"

"What?"

"Do I mean nothing to you?" she asked, her face torn in a fine line between hope and horror.

You mean the entire f*****g world to me. "We would not be here if you meant nothing to me, Alisa. Hell, I would not be this crazy about you even after these last two months if you meant nothing to me."

A faint smile crawled on her cheeks as she breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. It fractured my, heart, to think that she thought of herself as anything less than the one good light in my f****d up life.

"You still did not tell me what this place is, or what you wanted to talk about," she said, finally taking a sip of her wine. The relief on her face this time was unmistakable, and I realized I had not been doing enough to reassure Alisa. But then again, this was our longest conversation in months.

"You won't drop it, would you?" I chuckled, setting my fork down and leaning back in my chair.

Shaking her head, she took a few more bites of her meal. "Well this is a property I've been looking to invest in," the lie sounded bitter on my tongue, but I had bigger news for Alisa tonight and I had to give it to her without her being upset at me over this. For now, this would have to do, "I've been spending my weekends here to decide if it's worth my time or money."

"Okay," she said nodding, "it is beautiful out here. I like the trees."

I bit back a smile, "You think I should go for it?"

"I'd kill to have a home like this out here."

Your wish is my command beautiful.

"Talking?" she reminded me and I snapped out of my thoughts, realizing I was busy staring at her again.

"Of course," I cleared my throat, "let's start with the last night."

"Last night was a one-time thing," she said quickly, "and before you give Drew and the others s**t about me, you should know it was my choice to drink that much."

"I know that."

She tilted her head to give me a curious look, before voicing her question, "We haven't seen each other in months, how would you know that. Now that I think of it, how did you find us at the club?"

I considered giving an excuse, they were only about a million, like it was a club I frequented with my friends occasionally, like my brother and assistant had been part of the group and could have easily told me their whereabouts, but if I was trying to win her trust again, Alisa deserved to know the truth.

"I assigned someone to keep an eye on you for the last few weeks," I said carefully, but no matter how I put it, I still sounded like a crazy stalking ex-boyfriend.

"Drew?"

"No, my brother is sadly more loyal to your friendship and practically asked me to suck my balls every time I asked about you."

An amused smile crept up her face, but she bit it back, assuming the seriousness there before. "Why would you do that Drey? I'm not a child."

"I never assumed you to be, I just had to know you were safe even while I gave you space."

"Well, I don't need to be followed to be safe. I think I am capable of taking care of myself."

"I'm sure," I said giving her a knowing smile.

"Do not I'm sure me. I was handling myself pretty well enough last night." she shot back defensively.

"I just needed to know you were safe Alisa."

"I'm safe," she said, her voice carrying an undertone of both annoyance and gratitude, "Is there something else you want to talk about or should I keep brooding over the overprotective men in my life?"

"There's plenty we still need to talk about. But I think it's time I cut the bullshit. I need you back, Alisa."

Alisa froze, and a few seconds passed in silence with only the sound of her breathing filling the air. "Drey you can't...we can't"

"Don't you dare say we cannot get back together?" I said, trying to keep my voice anything but threatening. As much as I was a mess without her, the last thing I wanted was to coerce Alisa into doing anything. "You have had long enough and I think you have had enough space from me."

"I never wanted space from you," she whispered, her eyes focused on her plate as she resumed pushing her food around in circles. "I would take a big step back and bring things back to what they were two months ago if I could, but I cannot. And it's like I told you before, this is no longer about you and me alone. I can take any jabs at me, I can take anyone trying to hurt me, it is hard but I'm sure I've lived through every insult thrown at me from the media, but I will not stand for anyone dragging my family into it," she sucked in an audible sigh and continued after a pause, "especially when its the only family I have left."

"I know Stella threatened your dad."

"Threaten is one word for it," she scoffed, a humorless laugh that only revealed how much she had gone through, "she was going to kill my father if I didn't leave you. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you then, but I had no other choice," the way her eyes glistened with tears as she looked at me made me see red and it took a physical effort to restrain myself from reaching for her and comforting her.

But I could at least take her hand, smooth my thumb over her knuckles and wordlessly assure her that I was here now. "You don't have to be sorry and you should know that I don't blame you for your choice, baby." I did not bother to tell her that it only took me a few hours to figure that out, "But I think it's time for us to face the reality that we're connected, Alisa. And it's not just s*x, it's the way I feel when I'm around you, the way I know you feel with me, the way your body responds to mine. It might have taken two months away from you to realize it Alisa, but I can't walk away from you." Not again.

"Please don't do this," she whispered, swallowing hard at our joined hands, "don't make this harder, we've been doing perfectly fine in the last two months,"

"We both know that's a lie," I cut her short. The way her mouth hung open told me I was right. "Your activities in the last few months confirm it, even if you won't admit it. You need me back just as much as I need you."

"Why am I not surprised to hear that you have an account of my activities in the last few months?" she rolled her eyes, looking away.

"About Stella," I continued, swallowing the bitter taste rising in my throat just from thinking of her, "I have her handled?"

"Dead?" she asked drily.

I wish, "No, but too far and occupied to hurt you or your family again." Two months ago, I had made sure to have Stella in exile. I should have taken steps to take her far away from Alisa long before, I just had never imagined she would be taking things so far. Now though, with the evidence I had in hand going against both her and Alfred—who if everything went as I had been planning for two months would soon be licking his wounds in jail—I could make sure she was not coming back to New York anytime soon. I was not giving her any chance to be even in the same city as Alisa this time.

"If Stella is still alive and well and as far as I'm concerned still filled with more hate for me every day, why are we having this conversation?"

"Because I've spent the last few months wishing I had you back in my arms where you belong and I will not spend another f*****g day without knowing you'll be mine again."

She tilted her head, giving a long thoughtful look as she probably weighed her options. I knew what her answer would be, but they still hurt when she spoke them, "I can't," a streak of tears rolled down her cheeks and she brushed them away quickly before she continued, "I want to, with every fiber of my being, but I cannot. Dad means too much to me and I cannot lose him. I will not lose him too."

She still had trust issues, and she had every right to. It was up to me to make her realize that I was not going to let Stella hurt her again.

"I should go," she said, rushing to her feet. It tore me apart to see her so upset and hurt.

I got to my feet, reaching her before she could take two steps. "Alisa wait,"

"Please don't come closer, this is hard enough already," she said, holding a hand up.

I took a few steps closer to her anyways, invading her space until we were mere breaths away from each other. I was pleased with how her body disobeyed her own words, inching closer to me even without her consent. It took some restraint to hold back from kissing her as I cupped her cheeks and made her look at me, "I know you're scared Alisa, I get it and after everything you have been through, you have every right to be. But believe me when I say I won't let Stella hurt you again."

"This is not about you protecting me Drey. It's not about me getting hurt or not. after watching—" her breath hitched on a sob making her next words thick with emotion, "Dad is finally recovering and he just might be leaving the hospital soon. After what happened with mom and Heather, I—it's a chance I cannot take."

So that was what this was about, "You still blame yourself for it, Alisa."

"What happened with mom and Heather was my fault, and I still have those nightmares to date. I will never forgive myself if I allowed anything to happen to him too."

"What if it was never your fault?" maybe it was time to let her know the truth. I had intended to keep it to myself until I had all the details, but I could not keep allowing her to blame herself for something that was bound to happen.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what if you were never responsible for that accident?"