Livvie arrived at Le Club, relieved when she saw Carly waiting.

“What’s going on, Liv?”

“Drake hired a fucking bodyguard to watch me after what Zach did. He gave me two choices; either I agreed to the bodyguard or I returned to his winery.” Livvie had called Carly first thing in the morning to tell her what happened with Zach.

“Drake wanted you to go back to his house?” Carly asked.

“Yes, until Zach left me alone. But then Drake would want me to leave again. No, thank you. I’m through with men who refuse to commit,” Livvie said. “We need to lose the bodyguard.”

“Where is he?”

Livvie half nodded toward the left, and Carly smiled. Livvie had pulled out of her garage and had driven fast down the street before Mitch even knew what she was doing. After their little talk, he had spent the rest of the day in his car. He was super good at following her. She would give him that.

Livvie and Carly nodded at the bouncer. Livvie knew she looked good in her skintight, off-the-shoulder black mini-dress and high heels. Carly looked beautiful as usual in a white miniskirt and matching white silk shirt. They both wore their hair straight and down. The bouncer instantly let them in, but Mitch had to wait in the long line.

“He’s hot,” Carly yelled over the music as they were walking to the bar.

“You think so?”

Carly winked and then resumed walking. “I know so,” she yelled back.

When they reached the bar, Carly took out her credit card and handed it to the bartender.

“Drinks are on me, Livvie. Should I ask to see if they have any Morganthal wines?”

Livvie’s heart felt as if it stopped beating. Just hearing Morganthal made her edgy. “I’ll have a Stoli Vanil and ginger ale,” she shouted to the bartender.

“You’ve had the same drink since college. Aren’t you in the mood for something new?”

Livvie was in the mood for a lot of new things, but drinking one of Drake’s wines was not on that list. At least, not tonight. As she grabbed her glass, she looked around the club. It was crazy tonight. Music pounding, lights flashing on the dance floor, and tons of people dressed to kill. Livvie loved it here. There was something about this place that ignited her soul. She loved the black walls and the white marble floor. The glass chandelier circled above the dance floor, shining lights down on it. And she was dying to dance. It made her feel free, wild, fearless.

Once Carly had her vodka tonic, Livvie grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. And that’s when she noticed a very pissed off Mitch walking toward them.

Carly saw him, too. “Hey, Mitchy, drinks are on me.” She nodded toward the bar, winked at him, and resumed walking toward the dance floor.

She and Livvie both laughed.

The music sounded amazing. Livvie raised her arms in the air with her drink and her purse in her hands and moved to the music. Carly grabbed Livvie by the waist and swayed with her. But she felt a pair of very pissed-off brown eyes staring at her. He was also looking Carly up and down, and suddenly, he didn’t seem nearly as angry. Livvie wasn’t surprised, as Carly was beautiful.

Livvie bent down and whispered in Carly’s ear, “I think Mitchy wants you.”

Carly smiled. “Of course, he wants me. Don’t worry, Liv, I’ll use it to our advantage.”

Livvie had no doubt. Feeling much better, she closed her eyes and danced to the music. It felt so good to dance and be free. When was the last time she had felt free? Probably at Drake’s house when she’d finally given in to her attraction to him. And she still craved him like crazy.

As Livvie was dancing, a random man placed his hands around her waist. Normally, she would hate that, but as she was starting her life over, she let him. He grinded his hips into her behind, and Livvie pushed back. With her eyes still closed, she heard Carly laugh. When Livvie opened them, she saw Carly had some guy doing the same thing to her. It felt good to dance like this…at least until Livvie felt the guy’s dick become hard against her ass. She stopped dancing and then realized how silly she was being. It wasn’t as if anything could happen in the middle of the dance floor. She closed her eyes again and began dancing, but at some point, she realized the man behind her had disappeared. She frowned, wondering why he’d left, and turned around to see a very angry Mitch standing next to her.

“Ladies, we’re leaving now,” Mitch demanded.

Carly went up to him and began caressing his arm. “Come on, handsome, let’s dance.”

She smiled up at him so sweetly; Livvie had to hold back her laughter. Mitch stood completely still in the middle of the dance floor while Carly danced around him and caressed a part of his body every so often. Livvie thought Carly even touched his penis. A waitress approached them and handed her and Carly two more drinks.

“They’re from the men up there,” the waitress shouted.

Livvie looked up to see two very good-looking guys smiling at them, and she smiled back.

“We could get any guy we want tonight,” Carly said in Livvie’s ear.

She thought about that for a second. She could choose a guy, fuck him, and then never have to talk to him again. All on her terms. But the idea of a man inside her freaked her out. Because he wouldn’t be Drake. She was here on a mission. That mission didn’t include fucking. When Livvie felt another man behind her, Mitch snapped his fingers, and the man left. Mitch was a complete buzz kill. She hated him, and she had a feeling she’d have to do something drastic if she wanted to get rid of him.

Livvie eyed Carly and nodded. A few years ago, Carly had taught Livvie little ways to silently communicate when they went out to bars and parties. Carly nodded back and laughed. Apparently, she remembered.

“When?” Carly shouted over the music.

“Thirty minutes. Let’s make him wait.”

They both laughed and continued to dance wildly with Mitch staring at them from the side of the dance floor. Livvie turned around and found the guy who Mitch had intimidated moments earlier. She could tell he was debating approaching her again. And that’s when she formed her plan. She slowly and seductively danced up to him and grabbed his shirt.

“Do you want to dance again?”

Livvie had to admit, out of all the guys in the club, he wasn’t the best looking, but she had to make her point to both Drake and Mitch.

The man could barely look her in the eyes. He had probably just turned twenty-one. Funny how he hadn’t seemed this shy when he had grabbed her waist and pushed his pelvis against her.

“Hey, I don’t wanna make trouble, ya know? I don’t want your boyfriend to slit my throat or nothing.”

Livvie turned around and saw Carly trying to stop Mitch from coming over, but it didn’t work. Mitch was walking fast and literally pushing aside anyone in his way.

Well, it’s now or never, thought Livvie. She took her cellphone out of her clutch purse and turned it so she could take a selfie. Then she grabbed the boy from behind his neck and smacked her lips into his while simultaneously taking their picture. She pretended she was really into it when she felt Mitch coming closer. The boy seemed surprised and a little too eager to kiss her back. He tried to stick his tongue in her mouth, but that grossed her out. She finally allowed it only because she knew it would piss off Mitch.

Then all of a sudden, the music stopped, and the crowd fell silent. She heard Carly say, “Fuck.” And then she heard footsteps. Loud footsteps. She stopped kissing the poor boy, and chills ran up and down her spine. Her heartbeat picked up, and her body went into fight or flight mode. If she turned around, she would know exactly what was causing this, or rather who, so she chose not to look.

But then everyone cleared the dance floor, including the boy.

“Don’t let him leave.”

She recognized that voice well, and she knew she had to turn around. She had no other option. What was she thinking, pissing off a man who had enough power and money to control anyone and everyone?

“Turn around, Olivia. Playtime is over.”

Livvie swallowed and then slowly turned. The sight that awaited her almost made her turn around again. But she knew that would be a bad move. Instead, she tried to look Drake in the eye. But that was another bad move. To say he appeared angry would have been putting it mildly. Irate was more like it, but he looked even angrier than that. He was standing with his feet hip-width apart, and his arms were crossed over his chest. He wore black slacks that he looked incredibly hot in and an olive-green, button-down shirt. But it was the look in his eyes that made her want to run. She chose not to, because at the same time, she felt euphoric to see him standing in front of her. And if she hadn’t been drinking, she would be obsessing over why, especially since she hadn’t thought she would ever see him again. She had been devastated about that prospect for the last two days, and that awful feeling alone made her want to rip those angry eyes out.

“Did you come here to dance?” Livvie asked.

Drake stared at her, breathing loudly. Livvie could have sworn she saw fumes coming out of his ears. “You’re drunk, Olivia. That’s not an attractive sight.”

“That’s ironic, coming from a man who owns a vineyard. And since our expiration date is up, it shouldn’t matter how attractive I am.”

Livvie paused, trying to get a hold of herself. She looked around the club and noticed that everyone was off the dance floor and watching the two of them. She looked at Carly for help, but she was just standing there, mouth wide open as if she were in shock.

“Olivia, come here,” Drake said through clenched teeth, emphasizing each word.

“And what are you going to do if I don’t want to?” she asked.

He nodded at Mitch, and then Drake strode toward Livvie. Without any warning, Drake picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She noticed that Mitch did the same to Carly.

Livvie and Carly both hit the backs of the man carrying them, all the while screaming to be put down. Livvie also pinched Drake on his backside. He walked up to the poor boy Livvie had been making out with.

“Would you like me to beat the hell out of him, Mr. Morganthal?” Mitch asked.

Livvie panicked. She was the one who had put the kid in the middle of this.

“No,” Livvie yelled from her upside down position.

Drake slid one of his hands over her ass and moved it in circles. She felt her cheeks flush beet red.

“Do you want to fuck him?” he asked, turning his head to look at her.

She wished he would put her down.

“No,” she responded.

God, she had never been so mortified in her entire life. And what made matters worse was that she saw people taking pictures and videos of them. They probably loved seeing the famous Drake Morganthal carrying some random woman upside down.

“Are you sure, Olivia? I have no problem watching.”

Livvie looked at the boy, who was probably redder than she was.

“No. I’m good.” She really wanted to get out of here.

Drake stepped closer to the kid—God, she didn’t even know his name… She couldn’t really see his expression from her position, but she noticed his knees trembling.

“How old are you?” Drake asked in a stern voice.

The boy cleared his throat. “Twenty-three. I look underage, but I’m not. I swear.”

Drake nodded. “Then heed my warning. If I ever see you near Olivia again, I’ll do more than watch the two of you fuck.” Drake immediately turned and walked toward the front of the club.

She mouthed the word “sorry” at the boy, but he wasn’t looking her way.

Although she was tempted to hit Drake in the behind again, it was no use. Instead, she looked at Carly, who seemed to be massaging in between Mitch’s legs. Only she would think to touch a guy’s penis at a time like this. Livvie laughed and rolled her eyes.

When they finally reached the front door, Livvie saw the bouncer who’d let her in. Drake handed him a wad of cash and his business card.

“Thanks, man. And next time you see Olivia at this club, please notify me immediately.”

“Asshole,” she said under her breath.

“I heard that,” Drake said back.

A limo seemed to be waiting for them. Drake opened the back door and literally threw her into the back seat. Then he got inside, closed the door, and slammed the partition shut between them and the driver. Livvie moved to the far end of the seat, away from him.

“Where’s Carly?”

“Mitch is taking her home.”

“Why?” They both had their own cars. Drake had no right to do what he was doing.

“Because I said so.”

Livvie groaned. “We both came in our own cars.”

“And I took care of that.”

She knew it wasn’t smart to keep pestering him. He had looked angry in the club, but now his anger seemed to be radiating off of him.

“What the fuck, Drake? Why are you even here?”

Drake’s gaze remained forward facing, and he was clenching his jaw.

“Why aren’t you looking at me?”

“I’m not looking at you when you reek of other men touching you, and your lips are full and red from kissing that boy. And I won’t be looking at you when you’ve had more to drink than you had during an entire week at my winery.” Drake paused. “You misbehaved, Olivia.”

“Misbehaved?” She looked at him in shock.

Finally, he looked back.

“Yes.”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her over, so she lay facedown over his lap. He pulled up her short black dress and pulled down her black silk thong. He rubbed her ass in circles, making her horny and wet.

“Did you like all those men touching you and pushing their hard cocks into you on the dance floor?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Louder,” he demanded.

“Yes,” she said louder.

“Really?” Drake stopped caressing her backside and moved his hands in between her legs. His fingers touched her clit and then moved back up her vagina toward her hole.

Livvie instinctively pushed her pelvis against his lap and moaned.

“Are you horny already, Olivia? Is that why?”

Drake thrust two fingers inside her, causing her to moan again.

“You’re sopping wet, Olivia. Were those men making you wet? Did the twenty-three-year-old boy turn you on?” He kept thrusting his fingers. “You haven’t fucked in two days, Olivia. Did you come here to find a man to fuck? Do you need it that badly?”

Livvie hoped he wasn’t waiting for her to answer. He was making her so crazy that she couldn’t speak. Instead, she spread her legs a little wider, desperately needing to come.

“No, Olivia. Only good girls get to come. This is what bad girls get.”

Drake took his fingers out of her and spanked her right cheek hard.

“Ouch,” Livvie shouted.

Drake didn’t seem to care. He spanked her left cheek and then her right, alternating back and forth. She was really grateful for the partition between them and the driver. If he saw, she’d be mortified. Drake continued spanking her but not as hard. If anything, it turned her on even more.

“I can smell your arousal, Olivia. Maybe my belt would take care of that.”

Livvie panicked, thinking he was really going to hit her with his belt, when he stopped spanking her and thrust his fingers back inside her. She moaned even louder, so close to coming.

Drake removed his fingers, pulled up her thong, and pushed down her dress.

“We’re here.”

Livvie groaned and slowly got up. If he touched her for one more second, she would have come. But they were at her house. “Are you coming in?”

Drake grabbed the handle and then looked at her. “Of course. Zach is stalking you, and you refused a bodyguard. Do you just expect me to go to a hotel?”

She did, but by the time she opened her mouth to say anything, Drake was already out of the car and walking toward the door. The limo driver gave her purse to Drake. That was weird. Where had she put her purse, and how had the limo driver gotten it? She must have had way too much to drink.

Drake paused and turned toward Livvie, obviously exasperated.

“Come on, Olivia.”

She got out of the car and slammed the door. Then she remembered her neighbors and cringed before she addressed Drake. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“You’re wrong. I woke up at my vineyard in my comfortable bed, thinking about how much I was going to accomplish today. And then I got a call from the bodyguard, who I hired specifically for you, who said you refused to allow him into your house. Mitch had to remain in his car all day and had to order food.”

“I didn’t realize I needed to feed him. Besides, when I first saw him, he was hiding. What kind of bodyguard hides from the person they’re supposed to protect?”

He sighed loudly. “He wasn’t hiding, Olivia. I told him not to get in your way. And I expected you to be courteous and helpful, considering he was protecting you,” he said in a raised voice.

“Shhhhhhhh, you’ll wake my neighbors,” she whispered loudly.

Drake rolled his eyes, opened her purse, and rummaged through it until he found her key.

“Hey.” Livvie grabbed her purse out of his hand.

Drake opened her door as if he owned the place. Livvie slid around him, wanting to make a point.

“Ladies, first,” she said.

“I don’t see any ladies.”

Livvie turned around and slapped him with her purse. “Drake.”

He followed her inside. “When you start behaving like a lady, I’ll treat you like a lady.”

She would have had another snide remark, but she found Mr. Birkshire sleeping on her couch with a huge black suitcase next to him. “Mr. Birkshire?”

He literally jumped up off the couch. “Yes, yes, I’m sorry.”

Drake shut the door behind him and locked it.

“Are you okay?” she asked Mr. Birkshire. This night was getting weirder and weirder.

“Yes, Ms. Collins. Mr. Morganthal, where would you like your luggage?”

“In the master bedroom, please.”

Mr. Birkshire nodded and rolled the suitcase into her bedroom.

Livvie stood in place, absolutely stunned. “How does he know where my bedroom is?”

Drake walked into her kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water from her fridge. He then walked back to Livvie, unscrewed the cap, and handed her the bottle.

“Drink, and I’ll answer.”

Livvie obeyed, but only because she was extremely parched.

“Good girl. By the time I was able to fly down here, you’d just left for the club with Mitch chasing you. So Mr. Birkshire and I opened your door and started to make ourselves at home until Mitch called me and said that every guy at the club was practically waiting in line to touch you.”

“That’s so not true,” Livvie yelled.

“Be careful, Olivia, or you’ll wake up your neighbors.” Drake took a large sip of water.

Livvie rolled her eyes. “So how did you get a key to my house?”

“Tsk tsk tsk. So many questions.” Drake took another sip of water. “You doubt my abilities. Just because I have no interest in being in a committed relationship doesn’t mean I don’t always get what I want.”

Livvie’s heart sank. “Then what is it that you want?” she whispered.

“I want you in the shower. Now.”

She badly wished he had said something else. Anything to give her hope. But all he’d done was reiterate that he didn’t want a relationship.

“I can’t. Mr. Birkshire is in my bedroom.”

“Right. Mr. Birkshire?” Drake shouted.

Mr. Birkshire immediately came out into the living room. “Yes, sir?”

“Have you finished unpacking?”

Livvie looked right at Drake. Unpacking?

“Yes, sir. I placed all your clothes in the walk-in closet and everything else in the bathroom vanity.”

Livvie’s mouth hung wide open.

“Thank you, as usual. Please check yourself in to any hotel you’d like.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. Will you need me tomorrow?”

Drake shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll keep you posted.”

Livvie was having a hard time speaking, as she couldn’t believe what was happening. But she was glad to see Mr. Birkshire. She truly hadn’t thought she’d see him again after she left the vineyard. In a way, this felt like a dream come true, and in a way, it was her worst nightmare. She needed to work on healing from her encounter with Drake. And she had no idea what he intended, but she knew it wouldn’t help her in the long run. But she couldn’t deal with how she felt about him leaving right now, especially because her buzz from drinking was starting to fade.

Mr. Birkshire left her house and closed the door behind him. Livvie wanted to sob, but she didn’t, especially because Drake was standing a few feet away from her. Right now, she didn’t feel safe with him. Just the other day, she’d been thinking that the only other place in the entire world where she felt safe was at Drake’s. She felt safe with him physically, but emotionally, she didn’t.

“Are you planning on standing there looking all pitiful, or do you plan to get in the shower?”

Livvie swallowed and turned toward Drake. “Actually, I don’t need a shower. Thank you very much. I’m going to change, get into bed, and you can sleep in the guest bedroom.”

Livvie started to turn around, but Drake grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder again. Livvie wished she had longer legs.

“Drake. Put. Me. Down. Now.”

Drake spanked her on the ass as he walked her to the bathroom.

“No. No. No.”

She remained over his shoulder as he opened her glass shower door, turned on the water, and waited until it was hot enough. “I won’t be sharing a bed with a woman who has the smell of every man in the club on her.”

“That isn’t true.”

Once the water was warm enough, Drake placed her in the shower fully clothed.

“Drake, you asshole. My clothes are soaking wet.”

He stood outside the shower with his sleeves rolled up. “Put your hands over your head.”

Livvie did not want Drake to see her naked. He hadn’t earned it. “I’m more than capable of undressing myself, thank you. You can leave now.”

Drake grabbed her foot, removed her sandal, and threw it onto the bathroom floor. He did the same with her other sandal. Then he grabbed the bottom of her dress, forcing her to lift her arms above her head.

“I’ve seen you naked before. There’s no need to be shy.”

Standing in nothing but her strapless, black silk bra and black silk thong panties, she felt completely exposed. She moved her hair away from her eyes and allowed the water cascading down her body to soothe her.

“I’m not being shy. It’s just that you saw me naked before our expiration date. And now it feels…wrong.”

“Olivia, I’m only helping you shower.” He unclasped her bra, exposing her C-cup breasts. Her nipples hardened from the water and from Drake’s lustful gaze. He grabbed the sides of her panties and slowly pulled them down.

She stepped out of them, leaving herself completely naked and trembling.

“Is the water cold?” he asked.

“No.”

Drake threw her panties on the bathroom floor and looked her up and down. “You’re trembling.”

“Yes.” She wanted him badly, but not like this.

“I can help you with that.”

He could help her if he agreed to compromise. She wasn’t asking for marriage, only to date and to see where that led. Instead, he grabbed her vanilla and cinnamon body wash and squirted a substantial amount in the palm of his hand.

“Turn around.”

“Drake, you don’t have to do this.”

“I know.”

Livvie turned. She heard him rub the palms of his hands briskly together, and then he gently touched her shoulders. Fearing she would fall over from the sensations that seemed to ignite her body, she braced herself on the tiled wall.

“You don’t need to lean against the wall. I’ve got you,” he whispered in her ear while continuing to massage her shoulders.

Livvie removed her hands from the wall and tried to relax. She closed her eyes and allowed his hands to work their magic on her body.

Once she calmed, Drake massaged the middle of her back and then her lower spine. He moved his hands in circles, kneading and pressing. He then moved his hands lower to her backside, and she felt her body tighten.

“Relax.”

She took a deep breath and focused on his hands instead of the negative thoughts in her mind. He massaged her backside. It didn’t feel erotic, but when he brushed his fingers down her crack, it did. He grabbed more body wash, rubbed the palms of his hands together, and moved to her upper thigh. As turned-on as she was, when he neared her vagina, she thought of anything but his hands. She wanted this man, but she wanted all of him. He slid his hands farther down her legs and then massaged the outside of her feet.

“Hold on to the wall.”

She did as she was told, and then he lifted her foot and massaged underneath in all the places she needed. He did the same to her other foot.

“Let go of the wall now, and turn around.”

Livvie’s heartbeat sped up, and her clit was pulsing like crazy, even though she was fighting it. When she turned, Drake inhaled. He poured more body wash in his hands and washed her right arm and then her left. She was dying for him to touch her nipples. But the rules had changed.

Drake grabbed her left breast and washed her gently. He was so close to her hard nipple.

“Do you know what it was like, watching you kiss that boy?”

Livvie opened her eyes but didn’t say anything. She wanted to tell him she watched Kayla Brenson touch his cock under the table, but now wasn’t the time to bring that up.

He went to work, cleaning her other breast.

“It was torture,” he said through clenched teeth. “And do you know how I felt when Mitch called and told me how random men were dancing behind you and grinding their hard dicks into your ass? My ass?”

“You were the one who gave us an expiration date.”

He got more body wash and then washed her stomach. “It had only been two days, Olivia. Two days.”

It was nice to know he probably hadn’t been with another woman yet. That was something.

“Were you doing it to punish me?” he asked.

Drake moved his hand above her pubic bone, and Livvie’s vagina muscles clenched.

“Were you?” he demanded.

Livvie had an answer; she just didn’t know if he’d like it or not. “Yes and no.”

“So let me get this straight. You liked the men paying attention to you, and you liked that you knew I’d find out.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Louder.”

“Yes,” she screamed.

Drake brushed her clit and then stopped and moved down to wash her knees.

“Are you a slut, Olivia?”

He was washing her calf, so she couldn’t see the expression in his eyes, but she did notice his clenched jaw.

“No, Drake, I’m not.”

“You acted like one.”

“You called me a slut when we were in your kitchen.”

Drake put down the body wash and grabbed her favorite shampoo.

“You were my slut, Olivia.”

Livvie didn’t respond to that. But she definitely needed to stop him from washing her hair.

“Drake, you don’t need to wash my hair.”

He resumed pouring the shampoo into his hands, and then he grabbed all of her hair and placed it on top of her head before massaging her scalp, doing a better job than the people at her hair salon.

“Did a man touch your hair tonight?”

She had to think about it for a second. “Yes.”

“Then it needs to be washed.”

Drake rinsed her hair and then applied conditioner. She was almost surprised he didn’t shave her legs with her razor. She waxed her pussy bare, so there was no need to shave there at least, although she found the thought pretty erotic.

By the time he rinsed out the conditioner, she wanted to scream. Her entire body felt on high alert. She looked at Drake to see if he was also affected, but he didn’t seem to be, and that upset her. But his shirt was sopping wet, which made her feel a little better. She tried to look down at his pants to see if he was at least hard, but he wasn’t. If she was suffering, he should be, too. He stopped her staring by grabbing her arm.

Then he turned off the water. “Get out.”

Livvie stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a fluffy white towel from the vanity. Wait, that wasn’t her towel.

“Drake, did you take towels from your house?”

“Yes, I had no idea what kind of towels you had.”

Livvie rolled her eyes as he placed the towel around her and rubbed to get rid of the water clinging to her body. He then secured it in place and grabbed a smaller white towel to wring out her hair.

“Were you worried my towels would be too rough for your body?”

Drake chuckled. “Yes.” He finished getting the water out of her hair. “Do you need to blow dry it?”

“No, I’ll let it dry naturally.”

“Then get into bed.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Olivia you’ve been drinking all night, and you look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet.”

He was right. She just didn’t want to admit it.

“Okay, well let me throw on my pajamas.” She turned to leave.

“Naked, Olivia.” Drake’s tone was totally dominant.

She loved that tone, but not right now.

“No, Drake, this is my house. I don’t want to go to bed naked, and I don’t want you in my bed.”

Drake grinded his teeth. “I won’t be sleeping in another bed while Zach is stalking you. I also don’t want you wearing anything that you may have had on with another man.”

“Like, any man, ever?”

“Yes, ever.”

Where was all his jealousy coming from? She was about to ask him, but when she looked in his eyes she no longer saw anger. She saw hurt. And she had caused it, even though she technically hadn’t done anything wrong. They were no longer together. Still, if she saw him with another woman two days after she had left, she would be devastated, so she took a deep breath and walked into her bedroom. Mr. Birkshire must have pulled down her blanket. She dropped the towels from around her, leaving them in a pile on the floor. The moment she lay down, she sighed. The silk sheets felt delicious against her naked body.

Drake closed the door and took care of his business in the bathroom. When he came back out, his chest was bare but he was still wearing his boxer shorts. Too bad she wouldn’t be running her hands down his chest.

He went into the living room and returned with their bottles of water.

“Take these.”

He gave her the water bottle and two ibuprofens, and she gratefully took them. A headache was already starting.

“Move over,” he demanded.

“Why?”

“I want to be closest to the window.”

Livvie scooted over. “Drake, what do you think is going to happen?” He was making Zach out to be some kind of psycho ax murderer.

Drake pulled off his boxers and left them on the floor. Livvie stared at his dick that had started to get hard.

Drake noticed her staring and raised his eyebrow. “I wasn’t hard when you were in the shower because other men had been touching you. But now since I personally know how clean you are, I want you again.”

Livvie glanced at his beautiful body once more before he got into her bed and put the blanket around him. He lay on his back with his hands behind his head, so Livvie turned on her side.

“It’s nice to know you’re suffering as much as I am,” she said.

Drake ignored her. He seemed to be deep in thought. “Zach isn’t giving up on you without a fight,” he said, almost to himself.

“Oh, no. Zach doesn’t fight.”

“I disagree. Think like a man. He may not be physically fighting for you, but when he suspected you were with someone else, he called you incessantly, and he stopped by your house late at night, drunk.”

“Is that how men fight for a woman?”

Drake turned his head toward her. “When he’s emotionally unstable, it is.”

Livvie paused. “But I’m not with another man. I was, but we had our expiration date.”

“And yet we’re both lying here, due to unforeseen circumstances, wanting to fuck.”

“I’m glad to see you, Drake, but it’s not happening,” she said, even though she wanted him with every fiber of her being. “I think I’m going to bed. If you see Zach, send him my love.” She rolled onto her side, away from Drake, and closed her eyes.

The energy in the room seemed to shift. She felt Drake stiffen, and the tension between them thickened.

“Do you still want him, Olivia?” he asked softly.

“No. He’s my ex for a reason.”

“Are you sure? Because he may be able to give you exactly what you need.”

“I’m sure,” she whispered as a tear slid down her cheek. She wanted Drake so badly. But he was offering her nothing, which was pretty much the same story with Zach.