The Commitment (The Unrestrained #2) (39 page)

"Never." He brushed hair off my cheek. "You know I enjoy a challenge. You do forget to use the proper form of address now and then, and there are times that I know you want to ask me what my plans are, but overall, I couldn't be happier."

"I'm trying to be a better sub."

"I'm trying as well," he said. "Trying to earn your trust."

I sighed. "I want to trust you completely," I said, thinking of how I regretted watching the video of him with Sunita, and not telling him about Kurt. "You've never hurt me on purpose. You proved to me that I can enjoy things I never thought I could. You pushed me when I was reluctant, when I was uncertain."

"When you're uncertain about something, it usually indicates ambivalence. You're attracted and repelled at the same time. When you're uncertain, if I can push you a bit, you may discover you can enjoy things you wrote off."

I nodded. Then I grinned. "So, if I
want
you to do something, I should pretend I'm uncertain of it? Would that encourage you to push, so that I'd submit in spite of my reluctance?"

He smiled, but then put on a mock-frown. "That would be very bad,
Katherine
. Topping from the bottom is generally frowned on. Honesty is the best policy."

"I was kidding."

"I'm serious," he said and turned my face to his. "If you want me to do something, if it brings you pleasure, I'll do it gladly."

I sighed and laid my head on his shoulder.

"There will be a few bumps along the way, Kate. It's inevitable, but as long as we're honest with each other, we'll be happy."

We spent the next hour listening to music and talking about our trip, our itinerary, the unpacking, and where we'd stay for the first few weeks until we found a place to live. He had a real estate agent lined up to show us short-term rentals and so we would spend our first weekend traveling around Nairobi, seeing various properties in the most prestigious areas where expats lived. Once we had a place, we’d move in.

That was it – there was not much for me to do but sit back and enjoy the ride.

It was a ride I never expected to take that day I went to the café in Manhattan to meet the Dom Lara had arranged to teach me about BDSM, about D/s and submission. There had been so much doubt about whether we could be together right from the start. But we'd made it through it all and now, were just starting our new life as a couple. Drake pulled me into his arms and kissed me, pushing me down onto the couch, his body lying between my thighs.

As usual, his intensity almost overwhelmed me, making my pulse race. I closed my eyes, sighing with pleasure. I had no idea what the future held for us, but was willing to
finally
just give in and let life take me where it would.

This – here with Drake on our way to Kenya – was exactly where I wanted to be.

The music ended and a pleasant silence passed between us. I wondered when we'd have sex. Drake had promised earlier that he had something special planned for dessert and I was excited, thinking he meant we'd eat each other. While he went to the bathroom, I stood on the balcony and watched the ocean below.

Then, Drake came to me and wrapped his arms around me from behind, his hands slipping around my waist. He kissed the top of my head. I leaned against him, my eyes closing.

"What are you doing, Ms. Bennet?"

"Watching the stars. They're amazing here, in such a tiny village."

He pulled me even closer into his embrace and we stood outside, the warm night air soft on my skin. The sky was completely dark and because it was a moonless night, the stars were really visible, the Milky Way a broad expanse of stars like diamond dust.

"We never did have dessert," he said, his voice husky, his breath warm on my shoulder.

"Mmm, no we didn't," I said, glancing up at the sky. "What do you fancy, Dr. Delish?"

"Dr.
Delish
?" he said and laughed.

"That's what the nurses call you."

"I thought it was
Dr. D
."

"That too. And Dr. Dangerous."

"Dr.
Delish
," he said, one hand roving up and down my body, his mouth on my neck. "I think I like Dr. Dangerous. Gives me a better ambience, for a Dom."

"Dr. Delish suits you better. You
are
delicious," I said, smiling. "At least you were the last time I tasted you."

"Mmm, Ms. Bennet, you are
definitely
giving me ideas…"

"You're never short of ideas."

"No, I'm not." He pulled down the shoulder strap of my dress so he could bite my muscle playfully. "Yes, very tasty," he said, licking my skin where he bit. "Very tasty indeed. I'm going to sample more of your wares."

As Drake nibbled my shoulder, I closed my eyes and laid my hands over his, which were around my waist. In his hand was something hard and square and at first I didn't understand what it was. Was it a tiny boxed-chocolate the hotel management left as a welcoming gift?

"What's this?" I said and withdrew a white box with a lid, around it a thin silver ribbon tied in a bow. I turned around and looked in Drake's face. "
Drake
…"

"Open it."

I held the box in my hand, in shock. It was a ring box – of that I was certain. I couldn't move and stared at it, my mouth open. Finally, he took it from me.

"Let's do this properly," he said and took off the ribbon, then removed the lid. Inside was a tiny royal blue velvet ring box. He opened it and knelt down in front of me. "See? You've brought me to my knees, Katherine," he said, grinning. Then, he cleared his throat. "I said once that people might think I was your sub, if they saw the way I was with you. But while I'm kneeling down to you now, it's probably the last time I will, so I hope you appreciate it."

I said nothing, covering my mouth, emotion welling up inside of my body, my eyes filling. Inside the ring box was a single solitaire diamond, several karats in weight. It was oval and set in a plain white gold band, but circling the diamond were smooth curves arcing around the diamond in an embrace.

"
Katherine
," Drake said, his voice deep and soft. "I know we agreed that you were collared and that it was as good as an engagement, but I've been thinking since then. Finding out I had a son, meeting him, doing what I could to help him made me realize I don't want to go through life without a family. I don't know what the future will hold for us. I only know that I can't imagine not spending it with you."

I still didn’t say anything, so surprised that after all the turmoil of the past month and a half while we waited to come to Africa, through the news of Liam's existence, his illness, the donation and all the misunderstandings between us, he'd want to become engaged to me.

"Drake," I said, searching his face. "Are you sure of this? I thought you didn't want to get married again."

"Kate," he said, his voice full of emotion. "I love you so
much
. I didn’t realize how much until that night I thought I'd lost you. I said I never wanted us to be parted again, and I meant it."

My eyes filled with tears, my hands shaking a bit. He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on the ring finger of my left hand.

He cleared his throat, his voice thick. "I believe the proper words are
'I love you, Katherine. Will you marry me?
'" He smiled up at me, his eyes twinkling in that way.

I couldn't speak, my eyes blurry.

"I believe the desired response is
'Yes, Drake, I love you and will marry you.'
"

"Yes," I managed finally. "Yes, Drake, I love you and will marry you."

He finally stood up and wrapped his arms around me, and the only sound besides my happy tears was of the waves crashing on the coast below.

The flight from Naples to Nairobi was relatively short. As we approached the city, I looked out the cabin window. We were high up over the continent, and below us, tiny clouds dotted the view, casting shadows on the land below, the plains golden in the sunlight and broken up by swathes of green forest. As we descended, we passed through clouds, the land below appearing and disappearing between them. A long sinuous river marked the landscape, silvery in the sunlight.

"We're almost there," Drake said, taking my hand in his, threading his fingers through mine. "If you look out now, you'll see the city."

I craned my neck and sure enough, there was the city, spread out below us with a modern city center and tall buildings, and the sprawl around it. If I didn't know the destination, I might think it was any city in the US, surrounded by green fields. Finally, after a smooth landing, our plane passed outbuildings and hangars on the way to the main terminal.

"Well, Ms. Bennet. Here we are," Drake said, smiling. He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles.  I smiled at him and turned back to the window to watch as we taxied to the terminal.

In the distance I could see the Ngong Hills, dark against a perfectly clear blue sky.

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S. E. LUND lives with her family of animals and humans in a century-old house on a quiet tree-lined street in a small city in Western Canada. By day, she toils as a policy analyst and the rest of the time, she indulges in her love of the written word, runs a climate blog, and plots her early retirement to a warmer climate somewhere she can hear the ocean and where the word 'snow' is just a concept.