“Can I help you with anything?”
His gaze snapped to me, and a somber expression crossed his handsome face. “No. You need to focus on school. Don’t worry about my problems.”
“Are you intentionally being cryptic?”
“No.”
“Drake.” I sighed. “Tell me what’s wrong. You’ve ignored me since we kissed. And you spend most of your time down here.”
He grabbed his glass and plopped down on the couch, shoving a hand through his unkempt hair. He tilted the Scotch to his lips and drank the last drop.
I leaned against the wooden bar, surprised by his behavior. We didn’t know each other well. Drake was a mystery I wanted to unravel, a puzzle I would probably never solve.
From what I could tell, he didn’t have many close friends. A guy named Marcello Salvatore came over on the weekends with a hot blonde named Sonny Cormac. Sonny was funny and always offered me a ride on his yacht. Drake politely declined for me.
His cousin Cole Marshall stopped by when he was home from military school. Besides those three, we were mostly alone with the live-in staff and security guards. Oh, and Carmella. She didn’t live here but stopped by to give me rides to school and take me clothes shopping.
Drake set his glass on the coffee table and patted the cushion. I inched toward him, and he studied my bare thighs.
Once again, he licked his lips.
Was he trying to be obvious?
I put one knee on the couch, right beside Drake’s hand. His fingers touched my skin, and my body craved more. He peeked at me, those big blue eyes holding me in place.
Drake hooked his arm around my leg and yanked me onto the couch. I fell on top of him, my right thigh spread across his lap. And that was when Ifelthim. Hard and excited, staring at me like a snack.
Pressing my breasts to his muscled chest, I leaned closer, our lips inches apart. An electrical charge raced over my skin asour eyes met. I straddled his thighs and rubbed up against his growing length.
I had no experience with boys, let alone men. The few boyfriends I had were too shy to take things to the next level. One was a total loser. The low-level drug dealer was more interested in getting high than in sex. That relationship ended just as quickly as it had begun.
Drake cupped my cheek and breathed through his nose. “Liv, wecan’t. It’s not right. You’re my ward. Our situation is… complicated.”
“I’m only four years younger than you. The guardianship is a legal formality because Tate isn’t here. It means nothing.”
“Not to me.” He reached for a blanket, tossed it over my bare legs, and shoved me off his lap. “I made a promise to your brother. And I intend to keep it.”
“You’ve upheld your end of the bargain.”
Drake shook his head. “Doesn’t feel like it.”
I sank onto the cushion beside him, careful to maintain some distance. An awkward silence filled the air. I hated the tension, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Hey, how about we watch a movie? Maybe it will help us fall asleep.”
Drake considered my suggestion and grabbed one of the many remotes from the coffee table. He clicked a button, and a projection screen extended from the ceiling.
“Why am I not surprised? Do you have a concession stand hidden behind a wall?”
Drake smiled, a real one that reached his eyes. “My cousin has one at his house. Cole has a bowling alley, too. I’ll take you over there sometime.”
“Thank you, Drake.” I slipped my fingers between his and squeezed his hand. “What you’ve done for Tate and me… We won’t live long enough to repay you.”
He shrugged as if his help was nothing when it meant everything to my brother and me. “Knowing you and Tate were out there alone and hungry and probably in danger would keep me up at night. I sleep better with you under my roof.”
I cuddled up beside Drake, and our shoulders bumped. “If you ever need anything, I’m here. I might not understand all your computer lingo, but I’m a good listener. I can cook, clean, and do whatever you need me to do. Anything at all. You can count on me. I’ll be there. So will Tate. Just say the word.”
“Just your friendship. That’s all I need, Liv.”
