If you didn’t know Drake was a prodigy coder and ran a multi-billion-dollar company, you would think he was a model. He could have easily posed for GQ. I would have paid a lot of money for those photos.
Drake halted at the sight of me.
“Hey,” I whispered, unsure what to say. “You okay?”
He nodded, but his expression said another thing.
I approached with caution.
He stayed planted in the same spot, not blinking. When I got too close, he pushed out his hand. “No. Just let me look at you for a minute.”
What the hell?
I thought he was insane.
Drake often lost himself in his work, consumed by his obsessive need to solve problems. After months of living together, I was used to him putting everything and everyone above his health, but he was acting strangely.
His eyes wandered over my breasts spilling out of the low-cut pajama top. He continued his careful inspection of my stomach and traced the apex of my thighs. And he paid extra attention to the shortness of my spandex shorts.
Scrubbing a hand across his jaw, he groaned. “Liv, when did you get so…”
He pressed his lips together, and I wished he had finished that thought. I wanted him to say what was on the tip of his tongue. Most of all, I wanted a repeat of that day at school. Since then, he hadn’t touched me.
In my dreams, Drake closed the distance, threw me over his shoulder, and dragged me to his bedroom. We both felt the connection, the instant spark that scorched my skin whenever he walked into a room.
“Drake,” I muttered.
His chest rose and fell faster.
“Is everything okay?”
He shook his head.
I strolled toward him, and he didn’t stop me this time. “Talk to me. Please.”
He grabbed my hand and yanked me onto the elevator. It was my first time getting invited into the basement, which he called the Battle Cave. He didn’t speak to me, only stared at the wall until the doors opened.
Screens hung on every wall, some extending from the ceiling. An oversized sectional couch filled out the room’s center. Desks piled with computers and monitors rounded out the rest of the space.
“So, this is where you spend all your time.” My eyes widened in awe at the vast space. “Impressive.”
He winked. “This is my sanctuary. Make yourself at home.”
Drake guided me to a bar on the right side of the room. He poured a glass of amber liquid from a decanter and gulped it down in one swig.
To anyone else, Drake seemed put together and much older than twenty-one. He ran a multi-billion-dollar tech company and had everything handed to him on a silver platter. But to me, he was just Drake.
My friend.
My savior.
It was so easy to fall for Drake. But first, he’d have to let me into his carefully constructed world.
After our kiss, he resurrected walls so high that it was impossible to know the real Drake Battle. Yet, I was determined to break them down.
“It’s past three o’clock. Why are you still up and drinking so much?”
He sipped from the snifter and shrugged. “I rarely sleep more than a few hours. My brain never turns off.”
