Standing up and pulling back on his jeans and boxers, Jamie said, "I'm going to call Dulcie and wish her goodnight. Why don't you call your mum and Celina to let them know what's going on?"

"Ok," Dakota replied. She went back into the kitchen and made the calls. After letting her mom know that they would be down the next day to pick up her car and thanking Celina for taking care of Zeppelin. Dakota walked back towards the living room. She found Jamie finishing up his conversation with Dulcie so she took a seat beside him while she waited patiently.

"It's getting late," he remarked after ending the call. "Other than snacks on the plane, we haven't eaten all day. What do you want to do for dinner?"

"I think I just had it," she smirked.

"Dakota, you need more than my semen to eat," Jamie admonished. "Now where would you like to go?"

"I'm really not all that hungry," she replied in all seriousness.

"Well you need to eat," he said. "I guess I'll choose the place. Come on, I'll call a cab to pick us up."

Twenty minutes later, they were pulling up outside of an Italian restaurant. Jamie hopped out of the cab first and ran to grab Dakota's door. Dakota took the hand he offered to her and stepped out of the cab. She looked up and saw the sign of the restaurant that they were at: Purple Cafe and Wine Bar. "I figured you would like a glass of wine after all that's happened today and this place has the one of the best wine selections in the city," he said as they walked through the rotating doors.

"You're right," she agreed. "This day has been exhausting."

The maitre'd instantly recognized them as they walked in. They were seated at a table in a private room almost instantaneously. Jamie walked around Dakota and pulled her chair out for her, motioning her to sit. She accepted and he pushed her up to the table before taking his own seat. The waiter handed them both a menu and put a menu with the list of wines on the table. "Good evening, sir," he replied looking at Jamie, "...madam," he nodded to Dakota. "I'll give you two a moment."

"Thank you," Dakota replied.

"We'll have a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon," Jamie announced.

The waiter nodded and went on his way, but not before checking out Dakota.

"So how on earth did you manage to get your hands on this gem?" he asked, referring to the house.

"That will make for good conversation on the plane ride back to New York," she replied. "Right now, we need to talk about what we're doing tomorrow."

"Ok, here's what I had in mind. We'll leave early in the morning and get a cab to the rental car place. We can eat breakfast on the road and we'll stop for lunch when we reach California. We're going to meet your mum halfway to cut the driving down. Once we meet your mum, we'll pick up your car and leave the rental with her to return. We can grab dinner with her before heading back up. When we get tired, we'll find a hotel to crash in and finish our journey back here to drop the car off tomorrow before heading back to NY. "

"It's exhausting just listening to all of it!" Dakota exclaimed.

"It could be worse," he remarked. "We could have had to drive all the way down there, I don't think spending almost seventeen hours on the road both ways is a good idea before flying back to New York though. Eight and a half is bad enough."

Dakota loved the idea of spending so much time with Jamie, but she wasn't thrilled about riding in a car for so long. She was even less thrilled of having her mom and brother doing so to bring her car up, though.

"What are you thinking?" Jamie asked, disturbing her thoughts.

"About how much I'm enjoying all of this time with you. I really don't want to go back to New York," she replied.

"I know, but it's just a brief visit and we'll be coming back to live her permanently," he replied, giving her a small smile.

The waiter arrived back with the wine and glasses and asked to take their orders. He looked at Dakota with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh, I haven't even looked at the menu..." Dakota said looking up at him.

"I'll have the Porcini-Rubbed St. Helens Filet Mignon and she'll have the Braised Anderson Ranch Lamb Tagine," Jamie said. Dakota glowered at him.

"Actually, I'll have a half of the Cranberry Chicken Salad," she said looking up at the waiter and batting her eyelids.

Jamie squared his jaw and gritted his teeth. "No, she'll have the lamb," Jamie argued, giving a serious look to the waiter at told him not to pay attention to Dakota.

The waiter looked at Dakota with apologetic eyes as she nodded. "Would you like me to pour your wine?" he asked, clearly checking her out in the process. She smiled up at him and started to hand her glass to him, "I would love..."

"I've got it!" Jamie snapped, interrupting her mid-sentence. He reached across the table and picked up the bottle of wine, giving the waiter warning eyes. The waiter averted his eyes from Jamie's penetrative stare and backed away. Jamie could tell that he found Dakota attractive. He had picked up on their row and was using it to his advantage.

"Thank you....sir," Dakota turned around and smiled at the waiter before he turned to leave. She bit her lip to try and stifle a giggle.

Jamie walked around to Dakota's side to fill her glass. He reached to pick the wine glass up and, in a menacing voice, he whispered in her ear, "Do not tempt me." She frowned and a shiver ran up her back.

"Well that's what you get for..." she started.

"Save it!" he snapped, interrupting her. "You need to eat a decent meal and half a salad isn't going to cut it."

"I'm a grown woman. I will eat what I want," she argued.

"You may eat what you want but you're going to eat something filling when you skip meals. Do not argue with me on this," he stated firmly.

Dakota shrunk back in her chair. She wondered what had become of Jamie to make him act like this. It was a little out of character. Yes, he had always cared about her health, but they never had an argument over it. "What is your problem tonight?" she finally asked him.

At that moment, the waiter arrived back with the food. Dakota was steaming at Jamie now and determined to push his buttons a little more. She was enjoying this game. "Why thank you kind sir," she said as he laid her plate in front of her. She watched him carefully. "Has anyone told you that you have the most beautiful hands," she complimented the waiter.

The waiter quickly backed up, clearly terrified of the look Jamie was giving him. He put Jamie's plate in front of him and scurried off.

"Dakota, so help me..." Jamie began. "If it wasn't for the fact that you haven't eaten today and I'm extremely concerned about the nourishment your body is getting, we'd be heading back to the house this instant."

Dakota took a sip of her wine and just stared at him.

"Oh for the love of all things holy, eat!" he yelled at her. She could see he was getting frustrated. She smiled in delight that she was getting on his last nerve. Now he knew how she felt.

"I told you I'm not that hungry," she stated calmly, staring down at her food.

"So help me, if you do not start eating right this instant I will force feed it to you," he threatened.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," he warned. "If I did what I want to do to you now, I'd cause more damage than I intend. You're mine and I don't want to do anything to you that I will regret. Right now, I can't be sure that I wouldn't so we will hold this conversation until we get home."

By the look in Jamie's eyes, Dakota realized he meant business. She was slightly fearful of what exactly he wanted to do to her. She wondered what he meant. She picked up her fork and started slowly poking at her food. He watched her carefully, not letting up until she finally brought a bit of food to her lips.

"What do you think?" he asked her, relaxing his shoulders a little.

"It's delicious," she replied. "Why have you suddenly gone all Christian on me though?" she asked.

"I haven't...you're pushing my buttons tonight," he answered, looking at his hands.

"No, I started pushing your buttons after you refused to let me order on my own," she stated a angrily.

"You shouldn't push my buttons. You'll regret that later," he said, ignoring her statement.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you suddenly so concerned about what I'm eating?"

"Dakota, I don't want to get into this right now. Drop this," he ordered. "Now." The tone of his voice told her there was no reasoning with him. She couldn't figure out what changed within him. He had never ordered her around before.