I didn’t fuck Ivy. I couldn’t. I couldn’t just have her once and then not have her again and again. But I realize now, as I lie in her bed and watch her sleep, just how much of a mistake that was. Anytime I turn down the woman I love is going to be a mistake. I should have her any chance I get.

I watch her sleep, wondering if she will let me have her when she wakes up. I gave her countless orgasms last night, just all with my tongue instead of my dick. I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought it would be easier than having her and not getting to have her again. But it just made it worse.

I thought it would give me the control back again. I thought that making her come would just make her want me more. Enough to give in to a whole night of sex instead of just one time. She didn’t give in though. Instead, she passed out. I gave her the control—or so she thought. I gave her control for one night, but this is exactly why I never give her control. She makes bad decisions when she has the control. I know what she really wanted, and neither of us got it.

Ivy’s alarm clock goes off, and she hits it automatically. She starts getting out of bed like I’m sure she does every morning. Ivy does everything with purpose. And, unlike most people, she actually loves her job and wants to get up early in the morning to go do it.

“Good morning,” I say as I watch a naked Ivy walk toward her bathroom.

She jumps. “What the hell?” She grabs at her chest when she sees it’s just me. “Jesus, Luca. You scared the crap out of me.”

I grin. “Sorry.”

She stares at me, not bothering to cover her naked body. I think she thinks she can use her body to control me. And she might be right. I’ve just had more practice at controlling others than she has. She’s not good at it.

“What are you still doing here? And where did you put that puppy of yours? I’m sure she’s destroyed half of my house by now,” she says like she cares. She has this house because of her dogs, not because she loves nice things. She doesn’t care if Sophie chewed anything up or not.

“I put her in the kennel I found in the spare bedroom.”

She nods.

“And I wanted to make sure you were okay before I left.”

She rolls her eyes. “You didn’t give me that good of an orgasm, you know. I’m fine.”

I lower the covers and watch as her eyes go straight to my naked cock that has been hard most of the night while I’ve thought about her. It was the hardest thing in the world, not to touch her. I walk over to her as she looks at me like she wants to devour me.

“That’s not what I was talking about.”

“Oh,” is all she says, still staring at my dick.

“You could have had it last night if you had promised more than one time. You can still have it now,” I say.

She quickly brings her eyes up and looks me in the eyes while crossing her arms across her chest. “What were you talking about?” she asks, ignoring what I said.

“I wanted to make sure that you were not still feeling like the world was going to end because you were being sued and that I was serious when I said that I would represent you if you wanted.”

She shakes her head. “I’m fine. I’ve been through worse.”

She means with me, I think.

“So, you will let me help you? You’ll let me fix this?”

“This isn’t something you can just fix. You have to actually be a lawyer. You have to know what you are doing. You have to be able to put your feelings aside and do what is right, not what is best for me.”

“I’ll always do what is best for you.”

She looks at me with sad eyes. “No. You do what is best for you.”

I sigh. “So, can I make you breakfast? Take you to work? Do anything for you today?”

“No. I’m not working today.”

She starts walks into her bathroom, and I watch in disappointment as she puts on a robe before reemerging.

“Great. Then, we can hang out, and I can help you with your case.”

She shakes her head. “I already have other plans.”

“With Skye? You can tell her you’re busy.”

“No. Not with Skye.”

“Then, with whom?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Some guy from Tinder.”

“What?”

She smiles and shrugs again. “I have a date.”

She starts walking out of the bedroom and is greeted by her dogs and cats licking her hands and wagging their tails—well, the dogs do anyway—all ready to be fed and let outside.

I’m stuck frozen, imagining her on a date with someone else. It’s not fucking happening. She can’t date someone else after I had my face buried in her pussy last night. She’s not the type of girl that is okay with that. She is a one-man kind of girl.

I quickly move out of the fog and run after her. She is standing at the back patio door and opens it to let the dogs out. I notice that Sophie is in her arms. She pets her head one last time and is rewarded with a lick before she places the pup down to go run after the others. She leaves the door open and then walks over to the coffeemaker.

“You aren’t serious, right? You’re just mad at me and trying to get back at me.”

“You want any coffee?” she asks, ignoring me.

I walk over to Ivy. I grab her shoulders and force her to stop moving around the kitchen. I need her to look at me. I need her to answer me.

“You aren’t going out on a date tonight with a complete stranger. Right?”

She huffs, and then her big brown eyes look up at me with a tiny twinkle because she knows exactly what she is doing to me. “Yes, I think that is exactly what I’m doing.”

My heart sinks. “You can’t…”

She raises an eyebrow. “I can’t? Are you serious right now? Who made you king over me?”

“Don’t…please.”

“It doesn’t matter if I go on a date tonight or not. You and I are never going on a date. Last night…” She pauses and looks out at the dogs that are starting to run back inside. She walks over to where she keeps the dog food in the kitchen and begins to scoop some out into the bowls that line the wall of her dining room.

I slowly walk over and wait until she has finished scooping all the food into the bowls, and the dogs begin to eat the food.

I softly touch her arm. “Last night what?”

She takes a deep breath. “Last night was a mistake. For both of us. Let’s just forget about it and move on with our lives. I’m tired of playing games with you. I think I finally got the closure I needed. That we both needed. I don’t think you should represent me. I think we should just move on.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Can you really do that? Can you really just move on and forget last night even happened? Can you forget that I lied to you? Can you forget that I’m a prince?”

“Yes.”

“Can you forget about our kisses?”

I lean down and softly, tenderly kiss her on the lips. And I know I’m stealing all the air from her body.

“Can you forget about how I touch you?”

I tuck a strand of her curly hair behind her ear.

“Can you forget about how I lick your pussy? Can you forget about how my dick feels inside you? Can you forget about how I love you?”

“Yes,” she says in barely a whisper.

I nod. “If that’s what you really want.”

I walk over to Sophie, who has finished the bowl of food that Ivy laid down for her. I scoop up the puppy. “Have a good time on your date. I hope he’s the one you’ve been looking for.”

I look at Ivy one last time just in case this is the last time I ever see her, but I don’t really believe that it could be the last time I ever see her. I can’t believe that, not yet. I can’t let her go this easily.

A plan starts forming in my head. She says she is tired of playing games, but that is exactly what we are doing. Playing games with each other for control until one of us breaks. She might have won this round, but the next round is mine.