The Drake Unwound Complete Collection Book 9 (32 page)

"He looks really good," Kate said and squeezed my hand.

"He does," I said, forcing a smile. "He's happy. He has parents who love him."

I pulled Kate into an embrace, needing to feel her warmth. She slipped her arms around my neck and pulled me down. I nuzzled her neck, my lips pressing against her throat and beneath her ear.

Then, I pulled away and sighed.

"Let's go home."

We decided to stay at my apartment before we left for Africa so we could spend some time alone. Ethan and Elaine understood since we had a lot of planning to do, packing and repacking, and some decisions to make. I sent off boxes to the college for the class I would teach, including textbooks and lecture notes, as well as other paraphernalia I would need to teach robotic surgery. I also packed a few of my father's personal mementos, which I would ship before we left.

"I'm not sending any of this," I said as I sorted through my bondage gear. "Don't want it to be found by curious housekeepers or border security. We'll have to improvise when we get there. No cuffs, no spreader bars, and no butt plugs. Just me." I grinned at her and quirked an eyebrow.

"You're
more
than enough," she said and leaned down to kiss me, her arms threading around my neck.

 "I hope so. I'm a very jealous man. Don't want you getting too attached to B.O.B. or Big or anything…"

"With you, Drake," she said and grinned. "Who needs substitutes?"

"I want to ship your painting though," I said and considered one that was propped against a wall. "The one with the sheet covering my … manhood."

"
Manhood
," she said and smiled back.

"The risqué one can stay here. When we come back, I want it moved to our bedroom on 8
^th
Avenue."

"You really aren't going to ship any of your toys and implements?" Kate asked, seeming surprised.

"I can always buy some rope. Leather. I'm handy enough. I could probably even build you canvases for your studio."

"What studio?" she asked and leaned against the table.

"The one we'll make sure to have in whatever house we get." I went to where she stood and pulled her into my arms. "I want you to paint as much as you want while we're there. Do what you want. I'll be really busy at the college and hospital so you have to do what makes you happy."

She nodded. "I'd like my own studio. But you might have to watch out. I've been known to spend the entire day in my pajamas when I get into a painting. No cleaning, no cooking, no domesticity."

"No problem. We'll get a housekeeper and a cook. When I come home from the hospital, I want you ecstatic, ready for me after a long day working on your art."

"Sounds like heaven."

CHAPTER FIVE

A few days before our flight, I picked Kate up from where she was sitting on the couch and carried her into my office. All morning I had been thinking of what I needed to do before we left for Africa. Talking to Kate about our agreement was top on the list.

"We'll be going away in less than a week. I think it's time to do what we've already discussed and renegotiate the agreement. I want you to tell me if anything's changed."

Then, I let her slide down my body. "I'm going to print off a copy and I want us to sit down and go over it once more. Point by point. Anything you want changed, you should say it now. We'll discuss it. Negotiate."

I sat at my desk and opened my laptop, searching through my emails for the one Kate sent with the agreement. I opened the email and printed the document off. I stood up and took her hand, leading her into the living room, where I sat on the couch. I pulled her down onto my lap the way we sat that first night at her apartment, her arms around my neck.

"Now, Ms. Bennet, I want you to tell me exactly what you want and need from me. A lot has changed since we wrote this up,” I said and held up the document. “We'll be leaving Manhattan, living in Nairobi. I'll be working five days a week and will be on call one weekend a month. What do you see when you imagine us together there?"

Kate inhaled deeply and didn’t speak for a moment. "I see us as a committed couple," she said, looking into my eyes. "We spend our time together. We do things together. We cook together. We explore together. We sleep together. Of course, we have lots of sex."

I grinned. "Of course."

"But I've never lived with a man before," she said. "The most I've been with someone is a weekend."

"Kurt?"

Kate nodded. "He spent a lot of time at my place. But we only dated for a few months, so… You've been married."

"I have. But I was bad at it. I don’t think I knew how to be a proper husband."

She shrugged, her shoulder lifting. "I don't know how to be a proper submissive."

"You're learning," I said, for she was. During our scenes, she was far more responsive to my commands and eager to try things out. "You've got a strong will. I get the sense that as much as submission excites you, it also still scares you. You judge yourself too strongly for wanting it but being happy is more important than being politically correct."

She nodded. "What will you tell people that we meet when we're there?” she said softly. “Your colleagues? Your boss?"

"I'll introduce you as my partner,” I replied. I’d thought about it before she asked. We were a collared couple in BDSM terms, and we were definitely committed. “I think that's the going word for people who are committed to each other but who aren't married."

"
Partner
," she said, repeating it. "Sounds like a business relationship. Or sporting."

"It's not perfect, but lover is too blatant. Soul mate sounds too much like Keats."

 She laughed and shook her head. "Your colleagues would think you'd gone bonkers if you said I was your soul mate."

"That they would." I leaned in closer and kissed her, threading my fingers in her hair. I was glad she seemed interested in how to define our relationship. When I popped the question, which I had planned out in my mind exactly where and when, I hoped that she would be pleased.

With that in mind, her touch and scent all served to arouse me and I couldn’t help but kiss her more deeply, my lips parting hers, tongue finding hers.

I broke the kiss, my forehead pressed against hers. "So," I said. "What in this agreement do you want to change? Anything?"

"Nothing," she said without hesitation. "I want to be with you. I want you to teach me about submission. I want to go where you take me."

I kissed her again. "I want to take you where you need to go," I said. "But I think I want to clarify that we are a collared couple. You’re mine, and our bond is as important as an engagement. Some lifestylers see it like a marriage. It's as close as I've come to being in a committed relationship outside of marriage. That means we're completely and totally honest and open with each other. We're completely exclusive with each other. How does that sound?"

She nodded and slid her hand behind my head, stroking my skin. "That sounds perfect."

I nodded, amazed that everything I desired had come my way – Kate as my submissive, my trip to Africa, my position at the college. "I'll revise it and then I think we should sign it again. Make it official
.
We're Dominant and submissive in the bedroom. We're equals outside of it."

"Are we always going to be doing D/s when it comes to sex?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. “No vanilla?"

I kissed her. "Let's play it by ear. As long as you’re honest with me about how you feel, I should be in tune with your needs. Will you let me make the decisions about that? Do you trust me to know what you need?"

"Yes," she said.

"Kate, I don't want anyone but you."

She smiled and cupped my face with her hand. "I don't want anyone but you."

The day came for our flight and we spent the morning with Ethan and Elaine at their penthouse, eating a farewell breakfast of waffles, Eggs Benedict, fresh squeezed juice and coffee.

Kate was excited and didn’t sleep well the night before and so was both tired and nervous to leave. Once we were finished with breakfast, Kate went to freshen  up in her bathroom. I followed Ethan down the hall to his office, wanting to say a special goodbye to him in private.

We spoke in soft voices about the flight and our stay in Italy before we went to Kenya.

“I’ll be asking her to marry me there,” I said. “I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes.”

“So am I. She loves you, Drake. Make her happy.”

“That is exactly what I want. To make her happy.”

Ethan smiled at me from across his desk.

Ethan and Elaine used the limo service and drove with us to JFK to see us off. When the moment arrived for us to part, Kate was all choked up and tearful, embracing her father again and again, kissing Elaine on the cheek, and generally letting go of them with reluctance.

I stood and watched them after I kissed Elaine, amazed once again at what a great father Ethan was. He gave Kate one final embrace, his own eyes wet.

"I'll miss you, Katie," he said, in his gravelly voice. "But I'm so happy to see you going with Drake. I know it will be a great experience."

"Thanks, Daddy," she said. "I'll miss you. These past few months have been so… So
wonderful
. I feel like I know you better than ever before."

"You're all grown up, Katherine. I'm so proud of you. Take a lot of pictures. Skype me as often as you like."

"I will."

He kissed Kate on the cheek and turned away, and I could tell Ethan was too emotional to say anything else to me so I took Kate’s hand and pulled her away.

We took a direct flight to Naples, Italy were we would stay for a few days, and then rented a car and drove to a tiny resort village named Ravello. The location was famous for being the inspiration for Wagner's opera
Parsifal
.

The hotel in Ravello was in the neoclassical style with white stone walls and columns. Each room had a small balcony that looked out onto the Mediterranean, the rocky shore below and cliffs on either side of us.

That first night, without any of my usual rope or leather cuffs, I had to resort to using my tie to restrain her hands to the ornate headboard of the bed and another to blindfold her.

The bedframe was loose and the screws that held it into the frame rusted and when I began thrusting, it creaked like an old washing machine, completely ruining the mood I was shooting for. We ended up collapsing in laughter, the eroticism of the scene I was imagining lost completely in our mutual mirth.

In the end, each time I tried to resume my movements, Kate giggled, leading to me laughing out loud. Finally, I gave up and moved her to the floor in front of the window. We ended up going pretty vanilla, with Kate on her hands and knees, and me holding her hair and pulling her up for a kiss while I fucked her from behind.

We slept almost through the morning the first day we were there and then spent time walking the narrow streets, enjoying the village's ambience. After a quiet dinner in our room, we sat on the couch and watched the sunset through the open doors of the balcony. I was waiting for the perfect time to give Kate my ring, wanting to propose to her when the mood was right.

"How are you tonight?" I rubbed her back. "Still a bit tired?"

"A bit," she said. "Nothing I can't manage."

I pulled her closer, so that she sat on my lap. "You've made me very happy, Kate."

"I'm happy that you're happy." She kissed me softly and nestled her head on my shoulder.

"I thought for a terrible few hours that day that I'd lost you," I said, tilting her chin up so I could look in her eyes. "I know it was crazy, but in the back of my mind was this fear that I'd helped you overcome your fear of kink and then, you'd go back to Kurt, who was more your age."

"
You're
more my age," she said. "Besides, I can't imagine being with anyone but you."

"Neither can I."

"
I
was afraid you'd throw me over as being too much trouble," she said after a long pause.

"Never. 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," I said. "Trying to earn your trust."

"I want to trust you completely," she said. "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."

She nodded and then a wicked grin started on her lips. "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?"