Free The Rocker That Savors Me (The Rocker...) by Terri Anne Browning

shared a dark look but went back to our food. I hated that my friend was so dependent on a bottle to get through the night. I hated even more his reasons for needing it...
    Pushing those dark thoughts away , I helped Nik clear the table. We filled the dishwasher but didn’t turn it on because really neither of us knew what was what on the stupid thing. I shut the door and turned to find Nik pulling a beer out of the fridge. “Want one?” he asked.
    “Nah, man. I’m good.” I wasn’t in the mood for more beer. Instead, I pulled a can of coke from the fridge and popped the top. The sugary soda woke me up, at least for the moment, and I followed Nik out onto the patio where Emmie was already curled up on one of the loungers looking up at the star filled sky.
    It was cooler out and Nik spread a thin throw over the both of them as he sat beside of her and pulled her close. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, enjoying the sound of surf crashing on the beach. Shane came out mumbling something about a run but no one bothered to say anything as he headed down the beach.
    It was so peaceful that I started to drift off. Then the sound of laughter from the yard caught my attention and my eyes snapped open. It was a rare sound, one that I hadn’t heard to its full extent in what felt like forever, but I knew who it was.
    Drake was laughing —a sound so happy that it had to come from his very soul.
    When the laugh was followed by a very feminine giggle , my hackles rose and I glanced over at Emmie who had sat up straight in the lounger. Our eyes met. Mine were filled with a mixture of emotions. I knew who was giggling, and it wasn’t Layla whose laugh went straight to my dick. I knew that Lana was safe with Drake. We all did. But was Drake safe with Lana?
    Emmie’s face was full of wonder and I saw tears glaze her eyes. Her hand covered her mouth. “Oh my Gods!” she whispered. “He’s laughing!”
    I stood, needing to see what the two were up to. I had to know what they were doing that was making Drake so happy. At the edge of the patio , I peeked my head around to look into the small yard that separated the house from the guest house. There were two dozen little candles spread over the sheet that they had spread on the ground. In the dim lighting, Drake was sketching something in one of his many sketchbooks while Lana sat across from him just smiling at him.
    I stepped back before they could see me, my heart in my throat. Oh fuck! I didn’t know what to feel right then , but this overwhelming sense of wonder was coursing through me. Drake never—and I mean NEVER—shared his artistic skills with anyone. He only ever used them to paint and draw out his nightmares. The fact he was drawing Lana, that obscenely beautiful girl with the bell-like giggles, was nothing short of a miracle.
    I dropped down onto the chair I had been in earlier and rubbed my hands over my head. What did I do? How could I step in when he seemed so happy and was doing things that were so un-Drake like? How could I break that up when I had never seen my friend so… My head snapped around as a realization hit me…
    “He isn’t drinking!” I whispered and glanced over at Emmie and Nik. “He’s back there drawing with her and he doesn’t have a bottle with him.”
    They both sat up at that news. The two shared a long look then slowly grinned. As I looked at them a grin spread across my own face. Maybe Lana was just the thing that Drake needed. I wasn’t going to step in. Not right now. Until Drake gave me a reason to doubt him, I wasn’t going anywhere near those two.

Chapter 8
    Layla
    I spent all day Sunday unpacking and getting the guesthouse cleaned up. There was plenty to do, and I was thankful for the distraction from my crazy thoughts of Jesse. Of course I wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t come over to talk. I was relieved even…
    Okay, so I was heart sick that he didn’t seek me out. I craved being near him, even for just