Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

as a child.
    She introduced him to laughter. She made him a better person, and she'd replaced despair with hope.
    Ilya bent his head again and brushed a kiss along her cheekbone. 'Life with you will never be dull.' She also brought out the worst side of his nature, the need to dominate and control, his own protective instincts honed into fighting skills and determination. Ilya always won, no matter the cost, and he would win Joley. He had marked her because he couldn't stop himself from doing so, and that had scared the hell out of him. It was rare for him to lose control, and he knew putting his mark on her was not something he could take back. They were irrevocably bound together.
    He shifted a little to slide down beside her, resting the back of his head on the pillow. She stirred, eyelashes fluttering before lifting. Her eyes, large and dark and glorious, smiled up at him. She nearly stopped his heart.
    'Go to sleep, Ilya. I'll make sure nothing happens to you.' She wrapped her arm around his waist and slid closer to lay her head on his chest.
    His heart ached. An actual pain to rival the one in his groin. Even asleep, she'd felt his need, maybe it had registered in his voice. He was used to being alone. He didn't know any other way, had never considered anything else - he didn't know how to trust enough. But she made him want to learn - want to take a chance. She was the first person in his life who had offered to take care of him - ever. She had to be asleep and unaware.
    'You talk in your sleep.' He nuzzled the top of her head with his chin.
    She smiled without opening her eyes. 'I don't sleep.'
    'You're sleeping now - with me. For me.'
    Her smile widened and her arm tightened around him, before she relaxed completely into him again . 'Because you're such a dick - tator.'
    He found himself smiling all over again.
    Chapter Six
    Ilya was gone. Joley kept her eyes squeezed shut tight, trying not to feel alone and panic-stricken. She hated waking up to the sound of silence. Growing up in a large family, she loved being home and hearing the comforting sounds of the household stirring to life. As strange as the night had been, she had fallen asleep and actually rested.
    She sighed, opened her eyes, rolled over and stared up at the ceiling of her bus. She knew they had to be in the Red Rocks parking lot or the bus would still be in motion and Ilya would still be inside with her. Holding her arm up, she opened her fingers and stared at her palm. There was no visible mark, but she felt the faint itch that was often present, reminding her that Ilya had zapped her with something she couldn't get rid of. She hadn't realized how powerful it was, or just how the mark had tied them together. She ran the pad of her finger lightly over her palm. Nothing happened.
    Nothing at all.
    With a little frown, Joley sat up and shoved back her hair. She needed to make her list of pros and cons. And the pros needed to outweigh the cons when she discussed it with her sisters, because she was already lost. She paced across the room to the small kitchen to put on the kettle while she got ready for the sound check. They only had a few hours to get things pulled together for tonight's concert. It was difficult to do two shows in a row, but Red Rocks was worth it to her. She already wanted to go outside and just breathe in the air. She was definitely going to go running and do a little exploring, as Red Rocks had to be one of the coolest places on earth.
    She could still feel Ilya's presence in her bus while she showered. Had Steve seen him when he left? She doubted it.

    Ilya wasn't the kind of man to be seen when he didn't want to be, and somehow she was fairly certain Ilya would try to protect her reputation. And that was going on the pro side of her list. She was definitely making a list of pros and cons to determine if she should sleep with Ilya Prakenskii, because listing them was the only sane thing to do.
    She sat down with a cup of tea, her pen between her fingers, drumming on the tabletop and trying to remember all the cons she'd thought of the day before. There had been a lot of them, but that thing he'd done with her palm had tipped the scales right back in the pro direction. In fact, the cons seemed to be permanently wiped from her mind.
    Sarah. Before making up her mind one way or the other about Ilya, Joley should discuss the situation with Sarah.
    After all, she was the oldest and she really gave good advice - even when no one