When Livvie woke up, she was alone. At first, a rush of panic came over her, but then she felt relieved. She needed time to think and process everything that was going on in her life. She stretched and yawned loudly for no other reason than she could. The feeling of exhaustion consumed her, but it felt more emotional than physical. Through barely open eyes she glanced at her clock. And then she glanced again. It was eleven o’clock! The last time she had slept that late was when she was a kid at her parents’ house.

She also saw a glass of water on the night table, along with two more ibuprofens. Livvie laughed. Drake had thought she would wake up with a huge hangover, but she hadn’t been that drunk last night. And what she was feeling was more of an emotional hangover. They were similar and yet so different.

Drake had also left her a note against the glass. Why hadn’t she heard him leaving? The feeling of panic set in again. But her bathroom door was open, and she could see his stuff on her vanity. She exhaled with relief. He hadn’t left her yet. So she sat up in bed, grabbed the note, and kissed it. And then she began reading.

Olivia,

I have to meet Mr. Birkshire early, and then we are going to Seth’s. Need to do a lot more damage control than I thought. I don’t want you to worry about it though. I want you to write. All day, Olivia. Stay out of your head, and stop thinking so much.

Love,

Drake

P.S. I would have much rather woken up to you and your gorgeous, naked body.

Her heart practically melted. Livvie sighed. She missed him terribly. And she had no idea when he would be leaving for good. They had to be missing him at his winery, as well.

But there was no point in feeling sorry for herself. Drake was right; she would feel much better if she wrote. He knew her so well and yet refused to give her what she ultimately wanted. Him.

Hours later, she sat at her kitchen table, writing ferociously. At first, she had struggled to write. Zach’s words had really hurt her. He loved her, but he was never in love with her. A part of her understood that how he felt had nothing to do with her. He was a man who was never faithful to one woman, and when he lost interest in one, he would go to the next. But a part of her wanted to know what she had done wrong. Maybe that was just her ego talking. Besides, she loved Zach, but she wasn’t in love with him, either. The only reason she had dated him to begin with was because she was attracted to him, and he had a good sense of humor. He made her laugh. And after what happened with Liam, she had really needed to laugh. And he was right that she’d been okay with him walking all over her.

Livvie heard her door opening, and she jumped up.

“Who is it?” she yelled, gripping the edge of her kitchen table. No one had a key to her house except her, unless…

Drake walked into the kitchen, holding a large bag of food.

“Hey, beautiful. You okay? You look as white as a ghost.” He placed the bag on her counter and started to unload the food.

“How did you get a key?” She hated that he had one. Playing house with a man who didn’t want to commit felt as if she was she was living in an illusion. She wasn’t living in an illusion. She understood the situation very well.

“Ah, that’s why you’re so uptight.”

“I’m not uptight.” Although she was still gripping the kitchen table.

“In my experience, most people keep spare keys in a kitchen drawer, so this morning before I left, I found one.” Drake smiled in that charming way.

How could she be mad at him when he smiled at her like that?

“You never told me how you got in last night when I was at the club. Or for that matter, how did you even know where I lived?”

“When I heard Zach at your house the first night, I made it my business to know where you live. As far as how I got in? I picked your lock. A trick I learned from my roommate in college. It’s an excellent skill to have. If you behave yourself, maybe I’ll teach you.” He winked and then turned back to the food.

Livvie inhaled. “No, thanks, I’m good.” She sat down and opened her journal again. She read and reread the last paragraph she had written. Haley and Blake were arguing.

Drake opened her kitchen drawers and took out forks, knives, and plates. He seemed to know her kitchen very well.

“What are you doing?” She put down her journal and gave him her full attention.

“I figured you had barely eaten today, except maybe a scone. And whenever I’m forced to come down to LA, I always get Thai food from my favorite restaurant.”

Drake was right; all she had eaten all day was one scone, and a glance at her watch told her it was already five o’clock. The day had flown by. “Thank you. Do you need any help?”

“Nope. I hope you like Thai food.”

Livvie smiled. “I love Thai food.” She got up and started clearing her kitchen table. Then she grabbed the plates out of Drake’s hand. “I’ll take them.”

He turned, and when she looked back at him, his expression had changed.

“What it is? What’s wrong?”

“Where’s the journal I bought you?”

Livvie’s heart sank.

“When I got home from your vineyard and started to write, it made me sad, knowing you’d given me the journal, and I’d never see you again. And I needed to get over you. I needed to heal.”

Drake stared at her. “What made you think we’d never see each other again?”

Unable to look him in the eye, Livvie put the plates on the table and grabbed some napkins. “Because you made it clear that we were through once the week was over.”

“But I didn’t say we couldn’t remain friends.”

“Right. Friends.” Livvie looked at the table. She couldn’t talk about this now. “So what happened with Seth today? Was his PR firm able to help?”

Drake placed two wineglasses on the table and uncorked a bottle of his red wine. Livvie laughed.

“What?” Drake asked.

“You brought your own wine?”

Drake winked at her. “I never leave home without it.”

She continued to laugh as he poured them both wine. She picked up her glass. Should she pretend she was a wine connoisseur and swirl the wine in her glass and then sniff? She decided not to put on any airs, and instead, she took a sip. It was delicious.

“Good?”

Livvie nodded, smiling. Drake, on the other hand, did the whole swirling, sniffing, and tasting thing. And he looked ever so hot doing it. No one had ever looked as sexy tasting wine, but then again, Drake looked sexy doing everything. When he sat down, he smirked at her, and she blushed.

“I gave you a little bit of everything. Eat while it’s hot.”

Livvie was famished, so she dived right in, and Drake joined her.

“Back to your question. The meeting with Seth went great, but you and I were all over the Internet.”

Livvie paused, fork raised to her mouth. “What about your reputation?” Drake was a successful businessman. This could ruin him and all because of her temper.

“What about it?” Drake asked, mid-chew.

“I don’t want you to have a bad reputation over me kissing that guy.”

The fun look in Drake’s eyes vanished instantly, and the cold, distant look replaced it. Fuck, she never should have mentioned what had happened at the club last night, but she’d had no choice.

“Olivia, if you hadn’t noticed, I already have a bad reputation. The media has convinced the entire world that I’m some billionaire playboy who dates famous women and breaks their hearts.”

“And that’s not true?” She was pushing his buttons, but she didn’t care.

Drake dropped his fork loudly onto his plate and clenched his jaw. “It’s not true at all. Most of the women I’ve dated are through with me around the same time I’m through with them, usually when they realize I have no interest in taking them to expensive restaurants and going to the latest party. I like to stay home, in my castle, have my chef make me dinner, and afterward, fuck hard. But the actresses and models want to be seen, and I want the opposite. So, no, I don’t care about my reputation.”

“But I thought you leave them before it turns into more.”

“I do. You know that. But these women are also extremely high maintenance. We have fun, and then when they expect more, I give them less. At that point, a few of them throw temper tantrums, and that’s what you read about. What you don’t read about is that those same women are no longer interested in me, either. They would rather be the one to blow me off first. Do you understand?”

“I do.” She understood she would be the next to be blown off.

“Good.” Drake picked up his fork and resumed eating. And then he paused. “But I’m very touched that you’re more concerned about my reputation than your own.”

Livvie thought about that for a second, but she didn’t care about her reputation. She was a writer. The only way this could be bad is if her family found out. Her sister wouldn’t care. She’d just want to know in detail how she knew Drake. Her mom would be devastated, though. And if Liam found out…would she even care?

“Why are you so deep in thought?”

Livvie was always amazed by how well Drake seemed to know her.

“I was just worried that my mom will find out.”

“She won’t, unless she was online last night a little before midnight until three in the morning.”

“No. They’re in New York, which is three hours ahead. I’m sure my parents were fast asleep at six in the morning their time.”

Drake nodded. “Good, then you have nothing to worry about. And luckily, no one knew your name. Drink.”

Livvie had another sip of Drake’s fabulous wine, and he followed suit.

“Seth was able to remove the videos and pictures from the Internet.”

“How?” she asked, mid-sip.

“He has his ways.”

The odds that Liam had seen the video and pictures were slim. A part of her would have liked him to see them. To see she had not only moved on but that a man such as Drake Morganthal was interested in her. Did that make her a bad person? She considered the question briefly but decided she was only human.

Throughout the rest of dinner, they made small talk. Drake talked about his concern over his vineyard and that he had a few customers stalking him, hoping to be the first to own one of his rare bottles. His stories made her laugh a few times. Drake kept pouring her wine. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, but it helped her to relax. And she needed to do just that.

When the bottle of red wine was empty and the meal over, they both cleared the dishes and placed them in her dishwasher. Then they sat down on the sofa in the living room, and Drake opened up one of his bottles of dessert wines. Livvie had never tasted anything so delicious.

“I have this theory,” Livvie said, sipping the dessert wine.

“Yes?” Drake took a sip, too.

“I think Carly and Mitch fucked last night.”

Drake choked on his wine. “Why do you think that?”

“Well, Carly told me she thought he was hot, and I saw Mitch checking her out. And then under your orders, he threw her over his shoulder. And unlike me, she wasn’t all that upset about him acting like a caveman. I even saw her grabbing his cock. I tried calling her earlier to make sure she was okay, and her phone went right to voicemail.” Livvie had a feeling the wine might be getting to her head, but she felt so good.

“When Carly calls you back, let me know. If you’re right, which I have no doubt you are, then I’ll never use Mitch again,” Drake said as he picked up his wineglass and took another sip.

“Why?” Even though she was annoyed at Mitch for watching over her, she felt guilty for the way she had treated him.

“Because I hired him to watch over you, not to fuck your best friend.”

“But he was off duty.”

“That doesn’t matter to me. If he did fuck Carly, I’ll never hire him again. End of discussion.”

“But you don’t know Carly. If she wants to fuck someone, she will. No matter who they are. End of discussion.” Livvie smiled to herself.

“I don’t hire weak men, Olivia. And no matter how seductive your friend can be, if one of my employees succumbs to that, then they’re weak.”

Livvie rolled her eyes and took another sip of the wine. It felt so strange and yet so natural to be sitting here with him like this. And yet she’d left his vineyard days ago and never thought she would lay eyes on him again. Life was strange.

“So if Zach doesn’t come to my house again for a few days, are you going to leave?”

Drake finished his wine in one gulp and poured more into his glass. Livvie held out her glass for him to pour more into hers, also. Last night, she had drunk Stoli Vanil and ginger ale, and tonight she was drinking Drake’s wine. She’d drunk more in the last ten days than she had in her entire life—not a good habit to get into.

“What kind of men did you date before Zach?” Drake asked out of nowhere, ignoring her last question.

She wished he had answered. If he was going to leave soon, she needed to prepare herself again.

“I don’t know; all types of men, I guess. Why?” Livvie hadn’t decided if she wanted to tell him about Liam. She felt humiliated enough, knowing Drake had heard Zach’s harsh words.

“Because you wouldn’t have dated a loser like Zach if a man hadn’t hurt you before him,” he said. “Please, Olivia.”

Livvie sighed. How could she refuse him when he asked so nicely? She took one more sip of wine before she delved into the tale about her love life or lack of it.

“I dated Jared briefly when I first moved to Los Angeles, before Zach. I liked him. He wanted to be an actor, but he was struggling—financially as well as emotionally. And I couldn’t handle that, so I ended it.”

“Before him,” Drake demanded.

“Before him…” Livvie paused. Here she goes, she thought. “I dated Liam.” She paused again and looked down at her wineglass instead of into Drake’s eyes. “I met him in college during my freshman year. We dated for about four years. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes.” Livvie exhaled and sipped more wine, still unable to look at Drake.

But Drake touched the bottom of her chin and slightly raised her face.

“I’m not Liam. I’m not Zach, and I’m not Jared. You can look me in the eyes,” he said softly.

As Drake released her, she swallowed and nodded.

“I loved him,” she continued.

Drake had a blank expression. He wasn’t judging, so she felt safe to continue.

“I really did. When we got engaged, our families were so happy.” Livvie smiled as she remembered her mom jumping up and down when she heard the news. “His parents were both successful lawyers, and they liked my family. We shared the same friends, and they all bought us gifts.” Livvie took another sip of wine. This was harder than she thought, but it felt important that Drake knew her history, even if they didn’t have a future. “Going to an Ivy League school, I felt very hopeful about everything. Liam majored in prelaw for undergrad, and then he went to law school at the university. After law school, he planned to work at his dad’s firm, which was one of the top in New York City.”

“What was he like?” Drake asked.

When Livvie looked into his eyes, she felt as if she was back in college with Liam, reliving all of it, and in a way, she was.

“He was brilliant. I could ask him any question, and he’d have the answer. He was also a talented athlete. He played lacrosse, and I’d go to his games and cheer him on.” Livvie had loved going to those games. She’d been so proud to be his girlfriend.

“How did you two meet?”

“When I was a freshman, my roommate sucked me into joining a sorority. I didn’t want to, but she was scared to do it by herself, so I joined with her. I met Liam at a fraternity party. He was an attractive junior. And he wanted me. As a freshman, I thought that was a pretty big deal. He said that the moment he saw me, he knew I would be his wife one day.”

She looked down. Drake’s hands were clenched into fists.

“Go on,” he said.

“He was the only man I dated in college. And I lost my virginity to him.”

“You did? You didn’t have sex in high school?”

“No, I was pretty sheltered until I left for college. My parents sent me to a strict private school. No one would have dared had sex…or even drank, for that matter. I dated someone, but we were more like friends. That’s how it was in my high school. We all pretty much stayed innocent.”

“You had a lucky upbringing.” Drake unclasped his hands and continued drinking his wine.

“I did.” Livvie smiled, but then her smile disappeared. “Liam proposed to me right before my graduation. He was in law school, so he told me to plan the wedding over the summer and we’d be married on Christmas break when he had a few weeks off. I had time to plan everything because Liam wanted me to postpone getting my Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing until he was working for his dad, and then I could go to a school in New York City. And then we’d get pregnant.” Livvie took a much-needed breath. “It all made sense to me. So I moved in with him after graduation, which wasn’t a big deal since I stayed over almost every night anyway. And I planned our wedding. Invitations were made, and I was ready to send them out.” Livvie paused and put down her glass of wine, staring at her empty hands.

“It’s okay, Olivia.” Drake grabbed her hands and squeezed.

She inhaled and continued. “Then I came home from yoga one day, and I caught Liam in bed with my old roommate. The one who wanted me to join the sorority with her? Strangely, he knew the exact time I’d be home, so I think he wanted me to know.”

Drake looked compassionate, so she continued. “When I saw them, they weren’t fucking. I think I would have been able to get over it if they were doing that. You know?”

Drake nodded.

“They were sleeping, cuddling naked. I didn’t even care that they were naked. It was the cuddling that devastated me. Liam wasn’t the cuddling type. He told me how much he hated cuddling, yet he seemed more than fine cuddling her.”

“Did you confront the bastard?” Drake’s tone sounded harsh.

“I didn’t have to. I was so shocked; I dropped my yoga mat. They both heard and woke up. My old roommate, my ex friend, panicked and said over and over again that she was sorry. That they had fallen asleep and she had never wanted me to know about them or see what I’d seen. I didn’t say a word to her. I wasn’t mad at her. She had betrayed our friendship, which hurt, but what he had done was worse. Then she got up, grabbed her clothes, and left. And then Liam apologized and said he still wanted to marry me.

“And in that horrific moment, where I saw my life destroyed, everything made sense. Liam grew up in a family where career and image was number one. I didn’t know that men like Liam had a resume for the perfect woman—the perfect wife. I fit his resume. But love wasn’t listed anywhere on his resume. I think he loved me, but as with Zach, Liam wasn’t in love with me. I think he was actually in love with my roommate. But she didn’t fit his resume at all, so there was no way he could take her as a wife. She was a middleclass girl from Texas, and he was looking for an East Coast girl from an affluent family.”

“So what happened?” Drake asked.

“He wanted the wedding to go on, as planned, and I remained silent. I couldn’t speak. So I left. There are some women who would have told him off or thrown things at him, but how could I have done that to a man who was in love with a woman his career and family wouldn’t have allowed? That was punishment enough. And I thought my actions spoke volumes. I cancelled the invitations, the other wedding details, and mailed back every gift we had received from my registry. It was too late for me to apply to graduate school, so instead, I came here.”

“And then you dated that actor?”

“I wasn’t into him at all, but I was told that if you sleep with another man after a break up, it’s easier to forget about your ex. So that’s what I did, except Jared was struggling financially, so he was depressed and stressed all the time. I was trying to get over Liam, and I was also struggling in my own way. I didn’t want any more drama in my life.”

“And then you met Zach.”

“Yes, and then I met Zach. I mustn’t have learned my lesson from Liam because Zach cheated on me, too. But I guess you can’t call it cheating if he tells you on the third date that he doesn’t believe in monogamous relationships.” Livvie sighed. “I liked Zach a lot. He made me feel good about myself, and after what had happened with Liam, I didn’t.”

Livvie leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes. The next thing she knew, Drake was scooping her up in his arms. She expected him to at least give her his opinion on her past, but she didn’t expect this. And she was too tired to ask if he had any more questions.

He held her tightly in his arms as he carried her to her bedroom. Then he laid her on the bed and took off each shoe. He unzipped her jeans, and she instinctively clenched her vagina.

“I’m undressing you, so you can sleep.”

Livvie blushed, and at the same time, she panicked. Had her story turned him off? He slid her jeans down her legs, and Livvie helped him to remove them. Then he grabbed her tank top and lifted it above her head as Livvie raised her arms. As he unclasped her bra, her breasts were on full display for him, and her nipples hardened. Did he notice?

He went into the bathroom and returned seconds later with liquid soap on a cotton ball.

“Close your eyes.”

Livvie did as instructed and felt the cotton brush her eyelids, her cheeks, and her forehead. He was so gentle she even drifted to sleep for a quick second. Then she opened her eyes.

“Do you need to use the bathroom before I put you under the covers? I should have asked you before.”

She nodded, ran into the bathroom, and came out a minute later. Drake had pulled down the blanket enough for her to crawl into bed.

She pulled off her panties, causing Drake’s eyes to darken. And then she crawled into bed fully naked.

“Are you coming?” Livvie needed to feel his arms around her.

“Would you like me to come in?” he whispered in her ear.

Livvie nodded, feeling more vulnerable than ever.

Drake took off his shoes and then walked into the bathroom. She heard the sink water go on and then stop a minute later. When Drake came out, he wasn’t wearing a shirt or pants, only his boxers. He looked hot, as usual. He placed his clothes in her closet and then walked to the other side of the bed. As his body hit the mattress, it sank down slightly. Not including last night, the last time she had experienced a man being in her bed had been over four months ago with Zach.

“Come here.” Drake motioned for her to scoot over.

He grabbed her so she was lying on her side, and he pressed his body against hers so they were spooning. He held her tight around her waist. It was still early, around nine o’clock, but she felt exhausted. Drake would probably rather be working. But she was grateful he wasn’t.

He kissed her hair gently. “Go to sleep, baby.”

Livvie shook her head. “No.”

As exhausted as she felt, not being intimate wasn’t an option. Spilling her past wasn’t supposed to turn Drake off. She would die if that were the case. Livvie turned toward him and silently pleaded with her eyes, telling him what she needed from him.

She watched Drake swallow hard. From the look in his eyes, she could tell he was debating what to do, but if he weren’t intimate, she would regret everything she’d said.

Drake leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Then he gently caressed her hair. “I think both men were fools. Zach and Liam, I mean; you can’t count Jared, since you never gave him your heart.”

Livvie gasped, as the meaning behind his words seeped into her soul. She wasn’t the type of woman who made the first move, but she couldn’t help herself. She raised her head off the pillow and pressed her lips firmly against his. But Drake instantly pulled back.

“You need your sleep.”

“No. I need you,” she demanded. “I want you.”

The look in his eyes was breaking her heart. He was indecisive.

Holding his face, she licked her tongue along his bottom lip.

Drake pulled back again. “Olivia,” he pleaded.

He didn’t want to be with her tonight. Livvie understood. That was how she’d felt the first night he was here, before Zach showed up. Drake had no intention of committing to her. Having sex was prolonging the inevitable, and he didn’t want to hurt her like the others had. She respected him for that. At the same time, having confessed about Liam brought back feelings she had stuffed down. She wanted Drake to make her feel good again. For one more night, she wanted to feel him inside her. It wasn’t the healthiest decision, but she’d deal with the ramifications later. So Livvie placed her hand on his cock, over his boxer shorts, and waited.

Finally, Drake groaned loudly and pulled her hair back. He brutally smashed his lips against her before releasing her.

“You sure you want to fuck?”

Livvie nodded.

Drake looked at her for a brief second before clenching his jaw. Then he released his cock from his boxers, but instead of thrusting inside her, he rubbed the head of his dick against the outside of her soaking wet vagina.

“Do you think you’ll forget how those men treated you if I fuck you hard enough?” Drake said through clenched teeth.

He pulled her hair tighter as he continued torturing her with his dick. She needed him inside her now.

“Yes,” she said softly.

Drake pulled her hair even tighter. It hurt, but at least she could feel something other than frustration.

“Please,” she whispered.

Drake kept rubbing against the lips of her vagina, but every so often, he brushed his cock against her clit. It was so swollen that the lightest touch brought her closer and closer to climax. Then he pushed her on her back and resumed the torture.

“I want you,” she practically cried. “Since the moment I stepped foot into your winery.” She panted hard. If he didn’t fuck her soon, she’d be forced to touch herself. She needed to come, and she needed to come now.

“Look at me, Olivia,” Drake demanded.

Livvie swallowed and then obeyed. But she reined in her emotions. She had to. Drake looked serious, not the type of look that made a woman have an orgasm. But rather the type of look that made a woman want to run.

His cock glided against her clit and then down to her hole. Without warning, he thrust inside her, hard and deep, the way she wanted him to. The way she needed him to. Livvie moaned as he sped up the tempo. He bent her right knee, which made him go in so deep it felt as if his cock was touching her soul.

“Is this what you wanted?” Drake said through clenched teeth.

“Yes.” In this position, she couldn’t thrust with him. Instead, she rubbed the sweat pouring off his forehead with her fingers and then placed her fingertips into her mouth.

Drake’s eyes became huge.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Drake grabbed her nipple and pinched hard. Livvie screamed. The pain made her feel wild, and she welcomed the feeling. She moved her head from side to side and gripped his hair. He pushed her other leg up and then spread her knees wide. Livvie felt open and exposed in this position. Raw even. She screamed again, and then pushed her pelvis up, even though she couldn’t go that far. She kept doing it until Drake pinched her clit as hard as he had her nipple.

An orgasm, the likes of which she’d never felt in her entire life, ripped through her body. She moaned and shook as a wave of intense chills overtook her body. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t swallow.

Livvie hated to admit it, but she wanted to fuck him because she was terrified of losing him. Yet, she didn’t have him. The irrational part of her was hoping he’d want to stay because of their incredible sex. But she was wrong. That wasn’t how you kept a guy. And she should’ve known better by now. Apparently, it was a lesson she needed to relearn.

She didn’t know how to apologize, so instead, as her orgasm was waning, she clenched her vagina as hard as she could. Drake groaned and then thrust hard a few more times, and then she felt his seed bathe her womb. She’d wanted to make him feel good because inside she felt awful.

As guilt consumed her, she kept her eyes closed. Drake pulled out of her. Then he kissed her on the forehead gently, surprising her.

“Thank you,” he whispered in her ear.

She heard him put his boxers back on.

To her relief, Drake didn’t leave her bed. He moved onto his side and then pulled her with him, causing her to also lie on her side. He kept his arm tight around her waist. Once again, he was spooning her.

“Goodnight, Olivia,” he said softly.

Still, Livvie couldn’t speak. Instead, she forced her breathing to become even. Hopefully, he’d think she’d fallen fast asleep, and he’d fall asleep with her. Tomorrow, she’d have to deal with the fact she’d begged a man to have sex with her—a man who didn’t want to commit. Way to go, Livvie. But at least she had tonight.