“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 f
rom 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.
Risking Her Heart: A Contemporary Romance Novel Page 18
