The Drake Unwound Complete Collection Book 9 (18 page)

“Totally immune.”

“Obviously she wasn’t immune to yours. Tell me, what’s your secret? Is it the money? The MD after your name? The guitar?”

I studied him, unable to tell him the truth—that she was attracted to the Dominant in me and that is why she would choose me over him. He had no real idea about my involvement in the lifestyle and I wanted to keep it that way.

When an hour had passed, and we had discussed Africa and what the Foundation would do in my absence, he shuffled his papers around and seemed a bit uncomfortable.

“As much as I’d like to shoot the shit with you all morning, Drake, I do have a conference call in half an hour and need to go over my notes.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said and stood up abruptly. “Of course. I’ll pop into my office and see what’s on my desk.”

We said our goodbyes and I left him in his office, flipping through files. I felt at a loss for I wasn’t used to not having business to attend to. I went into my own office down the hall and sat behind the desk. Then, I stared out the window and wondered how long Kate would be, trying my best not to get jealous.

When she still hadn’t texted me after two hours had passed, I decided to drive over and pop in. She may have lost track of time. Part of me felt a bit guilty doing so, for I should have waited until she contacted me but I was so damn curious to see what they did while I wasn’t there.

I parked close to the building and walked down the street to the entrance, annoyed once more by the fact that it was open to the public and anyone could just walk inside. I took the old creaky elevator to the top floor and could hear the music blasting even before I arrived. I went to the studio, opened the door and stood inside.

Some kind of industrial music played on the sound system, grinding, like metal. I glanced around and saw Kate standing between two men dressed in jeans and hoodies, the air blue over their heads, the stench of weed strong.

The two men passed a joint between them. On her part, Kate stood with her back facing me, washing items in the sink.

I caught Nathaniel’s eye. He turned to Kate and gestured to me with his head, saying something that I couldn’t hear over the music.

Kate turned and saw me, our eyes meeting. I raised my eyebrows suggestively, not all that pleased to see her standing so close with the two men.

She glanced around and said something else to Nathaniel and then turned back to the door.

"
Drake
," she shouted, drying her hands off on her apron. She went to the sound system and stopped the music. Then she came over to where I stood and put her arms around my neck. "I didn't hear you come in."

"How could you hear anything?" I said, smiling at her, trying to put on a good front despite finding her sandwiched between two artists who were much younger than me. I slipped my arms around her waist, pulling her against my body.

"What time is it?"

I smiled. "It's 1:30."

She inhaled sharply. "I forgot to check. Have you been waiting long?"

I shook my head. "I decided to come by and see what was going on. I figured you were otherwise occupied and just forgot about the time."

"I did. I was so busy putting on the gesso I lost track of time. Forgive me?"

I kissed her quickly. "Nothing to forgive. Let's go. Unless you want to stay…"

She shook her head. "No, let's go. I can't do anything until the coat dries. I have to finish cleaning up first."

I released her and she went back to the sink to finish drying off the brushes. I moved a bit closer and glanced at Nathaniel and then the other man, trying not to laugh out loud at the two of them.

The other man with long hair to his waist held the roach out to me. "Have a toke, man," he said.

I shook my head and held my hand up, palm out. "Thanks, but no."

He shrugged and sauntered back to his studio.

Kate said goodbye to Nathaniel, thanking him for helping her with the canvases and we left. She asked me how my morning went and I described trying to find something to do while she was busy. When we arrived at the car, I opened the door for her and then went around to the driver's side.

"Did you smoke pot with them?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

She glanced at me. "No," she said. "I'm not really much of a pot smoker. Never did like it. Besides, with the hanging judge for a father? No
way
…"

I smiled in relief. I didn’t like the thought she was getting stoned with anyone else but me, my jealousy rearing its ugly head once more.

"You looked right in your element at the studio with that paint on your apron and cheek," I said and reached over to touch her skin. "You looked really happy."

"I was. I am," she said and took my hand. "I haven't even started on the work but it feels so good to be doing art again."

I squeezed her hand, knowing I had to swallow my petty jealousies over Kate being alone with men who were more her age. This made her happy and a happy Kate was my goal in life, even if it meant I had to let her outside my immediate control. It was hard, but I fought my Dom tendencies as much as possible outside the bedroom.

After we returned to the apartment, we sat on the couch and watched the news, cups of tea in our hands.

Later in the afternoon, Maureen called, asking me to come by to talk about Liam’s case.

"She wants me to come by to talk about Liam," I said to Kate. She was in the kitchen trying to decide what to cook for our supper.

"Do you have the memento you wanted to give to him?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'll bring it along. I hope she lets him have it. I don't know what cover story she can give him, but it should be his."

"What is it, if you don't mind me asking?" she said, trying to sound casual but I knew she was curious.

"A picture of Liam outside a field hospital in Vietnam receiving the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of two soldiers who were in a burning helicopter that crashed.” I thought about the picture I had always treasured. “I hope that, one day, Maureen will show it to him and let him know who his real father and family were."

Kate said nothing but I could see doubt in her eyes. "Speaking of later tonight, I was thinking about supper," she said, as if trying to change the subject. "The fridge is pretty empty. Should we have supper with my father and Elaine? Or would you rather stay here?"

I shrugged. "Up to you. I am entirely at your command."

Kate hesitated. "Let's go to my father's for dinner. Once we go, I won't see them for six months, so it would be nice to see them as much as possible."

"Fine with me."

Kate left the kitchen and called her father to make arrangements. Then, she and I spent the afternoon listening to news of an earthquake in China, lounging around, reading the paper and talking about the trip. Doing ordinary things that couples did.

I hadn’t done them with a woman for years, and it felt perfect.

CHAPTER FOUR

The afternoon passed quickly and soon it was time for us to get ready for dinner at Ethan’s. While I dressed in the bedroom, Kate was doing her makeup in the bathroom. I watched her from where I stood by my chest of drawers and was amazed that she was mine. She had no real idea how delicious she was with her curves and milky skin and breathless desire for submission. Although I felt an incredible need for her body, it was her mind that captivated me. She wanted to be taken places sexually she was too afraid to go on her own. She needed a dominant man for that.

I was perfect for her and she for me.

I went into the bathroom while she was bending over, pulling up her stockings, and the sight of her bare ass was far too tempting to merely watch. I wanted to feel her body against mine and run my hands over her skin so I grabbed hold of her hips and pulled her against my body.

"Ms. Bennet, when you stand like that, with just your garter belt and your bra, I'm unable to resist you." She tried to stand up, but I stopped her, wanting her to remain in that position while I enjoyed the view. "No, stay like this for a moment. I like this position. I'm getting
ideas
…"

Kate glanced up into the mirror and our eyes met. She smiled as I ran my hands over her back to her buttocks, pulling her against my groin and my growing erection. I wasn’t planning on fucking her at that moment, but I wanted to enjoy her luscious body and most of all, my complete freedom to touch it and arouse it and play with it whenever I chose.

I released her and she stood facing the mirror with me behind her. Our eyes met once more in the mirror and she watched as I stroked her belly with one hand and cupped a full breast with the other. She was mine – all mine. I exhaled and bent down to kiss her shoulder then slid my hands down her arms to clasped her hands in mine, our fingers entwining. We stood like that for a few moments, my cheek resting on her shoulder. I wanted her every moment of the day, but what I first took as sexual need was now transforming into a need just for her presence. To touch her and have her close.

"Well, as much as I'd love to fuck you right now, I guess we better get going," I said and released her hands. "Don't want to keep your father waiting."

Kate nodded without a word, although I was pretty sure I had aroused her with my touch. Still, she didn’t protest or push for sex. Instead, she resumed dressing, my good little sexual submissive.

Exactly what I needed.

Exactly what I most wanted.

I felt a tiny bit selfish, but I knew that for Kate, I was what she needed and wanted as well.

When we arrived at Ethan’s, he and Elaine were sitting in the living room, drinking cocktails and listening to some music on the sound system.

"Come in you two," Ethan said in his gravelly voice. "What can I get for you?"

I held up my hand. "Let me bartend," I said and went behind the bar. I opened the small bar fridge and removed Yelena Kuznetsova's shot glasses and poured two shots of Anisovaya, then brought them over to the couches by the fireplace. I handed one to Kate and then held up my glass.

"To us," I said.

"To us," Ethan replied. We toasted each other and then Kate and I shot back the vodka.

Kate sat on the couch beside Elaine and I sat beside Kate, my arm possessively around her back.

"We've been so looking forward to dinner tonight," Elaine said. "We thought you two would be gone in a few days. We're glad we'll have you here for a few more weeks, even though the circumstances aren’t happy."

"I'm happy to stay for as long as Drake wants," Kate replied. "Everything's packed and repacked and repacked again. We have our passports and Drake has his papers and offers of employment so as soon as Drake's ready, we can go."

"So Drake," Ethan said, turning his attention to me. "You're still going to be able to teach?"

"Luckily yes," I said. "The third semester starts in March. I'm going to teach two courses in the Masters of Medicine Neurosurgery program. One is intro to neurosurgery and the other is for 6
^th
year students and was the final neurosurgery course in the program. It's called
HMS 1001:Principles and Practices of Neurosurgery
and focuses on the kind of surgery I do at Columbia. Stereotactic surgery for epilepsy and deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's and other movement disorders."

"Are they lectures or is there actual surgery involved?"

"Both," I replied, eager to teach the classes. "Lectures, demonstrations, and surgical rotations with me. It's really hands-on at this point. The final course is taught in the last year of their neurosurgery program so they're almost finished."

"You must be pleased."

"Very. I've wanted to go and teach there for a while. Ever since I did some volunteer work a couple of years ago."

"Sad that you have to cancel the surgery you’ve got lined up."

I shrugged, although I felt bad for Michael. He had such need for support, especially when it was mainly wealthy doctors like me who could afford to put a practice on hold and volunteer our services. "It'll be hard for them to find someone qualified to take over on such short notice, but it's my son."

"Do you like to teach?" Elaine said, as if trying to change the subject.

"
Love
it," I said, as I took Kate’s hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. "I love teaching
almost
as much as doing. I love to watch students develop their skills, discover new knowledge, improve. And Kenya has a severe shortage of neurosurgeons, so this is important work getting more students to graduate. I'll get privileges and will be on call in the ER and scheduled surgeries. I'll be really busy, but hopefully not too busy or Kate will get really bored." I turned to her. "But she's started painting again, so maybe we'll get her some studio space and she can work on a collection while we're there."

Kate smiled back at me. "Thank you," she said and kissed me on the cheek.

Ethan turned to her, smiling broadly. "Well, that's just great," he said. "I'd love to see some new work from you, sweetie. What are you working on?"