The Drake Unwound Complete Collection Book 9 (26 page)

He handed me the channel changer.

"No problem, Ethan. I had a busy morning so I'm glad to take it easy for a moment."

I leaned back on the couch and put my feet up on the coffee table. Kate stood in the doorway as if unable to decide what to do. I caught her eye. "Were you going to help Elaine?"

She seemed startled but finally nodded. “Of course.” Then she left me alone.

While she and Elaine fixed lunch, I scanned the television channels for news headlines and then I searched for the paper. I found it and flipped through the pages, searching for sports highlights, eager for some lunch.

In about ten minutes, Kate returned and startled when she saw me.

"Is lunch ready?" I said, wondering about the expression on her face.

"Yes," she said. "Come to the table. I'll get my father."

I nodded and folded the paper, placed it on the coffee table and then made my way down the hall. Kate went to her father's study to let him know lunch was ready so I went to the dining room. Elaine was there, putting a bowl of salad on the table.

“How is Liam doing?” Elaine asked, an expression of sympathy and concern on her face.

“He’s doing as well as can be expected,” I said. “He’s had his bone marrow destroyed and my stem cells transfused. He’ll be a very sick boy for a few weeks.”

Kate returned and stood in the doorway, looking strangely anxious. I smiled, and she smiled back and then entered the dining room. I pulled out a chair for her and seated her, bending down when she was settled to kiss her neck in a moment of affection, hoping to calm her down about whatever it was that was making her anxious. Ethan arrived just as Elaine came in with a big plate of pasta.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. "Miniature crisis at the campaign office. Some mix up about my record as a judge, rulings on controversial issues. Had to clear it up. Don’t want false data circulating. Someone from the office gave out inaccurate information and we got a call from a reporter hoping to drum up a scandal."

"Was the information good or bad?" Elaine asked, as she passed the salad.

"Bad for me, unfortunately," Ethan replied. "Some people don't like my rulings on certain cases, but my record is my record. Don't want anyone to think I'm being deliberately misleading."

"Honesty is the best policy," I said. "In politics and life, it's better to clear up any misunderstandings as soon as possible, to avoid looking like you're being deceptive."

"Absolutely," Ethan replied, smiling at Elaine when she handed him a plate of pasta. "Get the facts out there so there's no misinterpretation."

I let go of Kate’s hand and then passed her the salad.

"You all right dear?" Ethan asked Kate. "Your cheeks are red."

"Just the heat from the stove, I guess," Kate said, forcing a smile. She turned to her father. "Did the person who released the wrong data do it deliberately to make your record look better than it is?"

"No," Ethan said, shaking his head. "He used data that was preliminary instead of the final data. It wasn't deceptive, just incorrect. Unfortunately, it makes my staffers look either like liars or bumbling incompetents, so either way it's not a good news day for me."

"That's too bad, Ethan," I said, hoping that the screw up didn’t hurt Ethan’s campaign. I knew he’d make an excellent Congressman if elected. I intended to do what I could to help him get there. "What will happen to the staffer?"

"He'll have to be reprimanded of course,” Ethan replied. “He shouldn't have released the data until he cleared it with Greg, but I'll have to have a little talk with him, make sure he wasn't doing it to hurt the campaign. You know, sabotage it. Can't ever know what's going on in someone else's heart, can you?"

I nodded, for it was true. You never knew what someone else was thinking or feeling. I glanced at Kate and thought how well I usually read her and right then, she looked extremely nervous about something.

Ethan didn’t seem too worried about the mix-up, and dug into his pasta with gusto.

"Darling,” he said and turned to Elaine. “I do believe this is the best you've ever made."

Elaine smiled and I turned back to my meal and wondered what was up with Kate. Was she coming down with the virus and not feeling well? I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her, but I knew something was bothering her.

"Drake, is it not to your liking?" Ethan asked.

"Hmm?" I glanced up to see Ethan eagerly eating his meal. "Oh, sorry," I said. "No, I was just thinking about what you said." I lifted a fork to my mouth and then smiled at Elaine. "The pasta is delicious. Worthy of a restaurant. Bravo."

Elaine looked pleased at the compliment and gave me a smile.

Beside me, Kate seemed preoccupied and barely ate her own food. Ethan, ever watchful, noted it.

"Sweetheart,” he said and pointed to Kate’s plate. “You're not eating your pasta."

Kate put her fork down. "I'm not feeling all that well," she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "A bit tired, I guess. It's been a stressful week."

Ethan seemed satisfied and then turned back to his food.

"Excuse me," Kate said suddenly. She stood, knocking her chair back and left the table.

"Are you all right, sweetie?" Ethan called out to her. Kate didn’t reply and so I got up and put my napkin on the table. I was on edge because of Kate’s behavior and wanted to be alone with her so I could find out what was wrong.

“I’ll go see what’s the matter,” I said and turned to Ethan and Elaine. “She may be coming down with this virus.”

Elaine forced a smile. “Thank you, Drake. You may be right.”

I went down the hall to Kate’s old bedroom and saw that she was in the en suite bathroom. I knocked at the door.

"Kate?"

"I'm okay," she said. "Just feeling a bit queasy."

"Let me in," I said softly.

"I'm
okay
, Drake," she said. "I'll be out in a minute."

I didn’t believe her for a moment. Something was wrong. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"If you say so, but I
am
a doctor."

"I know you are,” she said through the closed door. “I'm fine."

When she opened the door, I was waiting at the end of the bed. I was going to force her to tell me what was wrong.

"Why are you in here?" she said, her voice shaky. "You haven't finished lunch yet."

"I was concerned about you,” I replied. “You don't look well."

"I'm fine." She tried to leave the room without saying anything more, but I grabbed her hand and stopped her, maneuvering her between my legs. I wasn’t going to let her escape without an explanation. If I knew anything about BDSM relationships, it was that a Dom had to insist on openness and honesty from his sub. The submissive couldn’t keep anything from the dominant or else the relationship was doomed to fail. There could be no secrets between partners in the lifestyle. Secrets were like a slow poison that crept in between the couple and ruined the bond.

"What is it, Katie?" I said, keeping my voice soft and unthreatening. "Tell me what's wrong."

"
Nothing
," she said, forcing a smile. "I'm just tired and stressed out over everything."

"As long as you're okay," I said, but I knew she was being untruthful. I didn’t want to punish her for being deceptive. Instead, I wanted her to feel safe enough with me so that she’d open up. I brushed her hair back from her face, touched her cheek tenderly.

"Drake, we really need to talk," she said, but at that moment, I wanted to diffuse her anxiety completely.

"Shh," I said and kissed her, wanting her to feel safe, rather than assuring her with words. "We'll talk later. I love you, Kate."

"I love
you
," she said and slipped her arms around my neck, kissing me. I kissed her back passionately, my arms around her, pulling her into my embrace.

Then Ethan popped his head into the room.

"Hey, you two lovebirds. Your food's getting cold." Ethan smiled and then left us alone.

I looked up at Kate. "What do you say we go back and have lunch now that it's settled?"

"What's settled?" she asked, frowning.

"That we love each other," I said and smiled.

Kate nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

I took her hand and pulled her down the hall, following Ethan back to the dining room where Elaine sat alone, her face expectant. When she saw us return, she went to the kitchen and brought our plates back after heating the pasta up in the microwave.

"Feeling better?" she said to Kate when she sat back down.

Kate nodded and I took her hand under the table and squeezed. She turned to look at me, and I could see that there was something seriously wrong. Kate looked like she was afraid, and I felt a knot in my gut at the expression on her face.

What was wrong?

I couldn’t figure it out and she wasn’t going to say anything – not now. We’d have to wait until we were alone. I turned back to my meal, but made sure to keep her hand in mine under the table so that whatever was bothering her, at least she knew I cared.

The rest of the meal went well, and we talked about Liam, our trip, about Ethan’s campaign and the usual political developments in the nation.

I held Kate’s hand as we drove back to the Chelsea apartment, hoping she knew that whatever was bothering her, I was there. In the elevator, I pressed her against the wall. "How are you feeling, Ms. Bennet? I'm a bit sleepy after that heavy meal. What do you say to a bit of a nap? You said you were tired."

She nodded. "Sounds good to me, but we really should talk first." She unbuttoned my coat, pulling my scarf away from my neck.

"We'll talk after we fuck," I said, wanting to reassure her. Whatever she had to say would be better said once both of us were in that pleasant state after a good orgasm. "I have it all planned out."

"You do?” she said, smiling coyly in the way I loved. "I have nothing else to do and so I'm all yours."

"All mine?" I said, grinning, my mind already going to where I wanted to take her – naked, bound, blindfolded, crying out in pleasure.

"At your disposal," she said and she seemed more relaxed. "At your command. I seem to recall a promise about harem girls and massages…"

"Oh, that's
right
…" I smiled when I remembered my request. "I do remember something about you being my slave girl and giving me a really sensuous massage, but maybe we should wait until after the nap." I kissed her softly and she seemed to forget about whatever was bothering her.

CHAPTER TWO

We undressed and slipped under the covers, snuggling together the way we always did at night. Her body was soft and warm against mine and it was so nice and comfortable that I felt my eyelids close and I drifted in a semi-awake state.

Then my cell chimed, announcing that a text message had arrived.

"
Crap
," I said and grabbed it off the bedside table.

"Ignore it, Drake," Kate said, yawning.

"Can't," I said. "That's someone from the foundation calling."

I took my phone and read the text. It was from Dave.

Drake, are you alone? Call me. I have something to tell you… You better be sitting down when I do, buddy
.

That didn’t sound very promising. What was the problem? Something bad to do with the Foundation? I wracked my brain trying to think of what it might be. Did someone abscond with funds? Did some Foundation money go to arms deals instead of to hospital construction or tools? I couldn’t imagine why Dave would want me to be sitting down.

"I'll be right back," I said and left the bedroom, going to the living room where I sat on the couch and dialed Dave’s number.

“Hey,” I said when he answered. “What’s up? What’s the crisis?”

“Is Kate with you?” he said, his voice hesitant.

I frowned. “Yes. She’s in the bedroom. Why?”

There was a pause. “Have you seen the
New York Weekly
? The Society Page?”

I got up and went to the pile of mail and papers on the table by the door. There was the New York Weekly, under an envelope. I hadn’t even had a chance to read it, let alone the Society Page. Did someone write something about me? Had Kate’s meddling friend finally got me in trouble by going public with information about my participation in the BDSM lifestyle?

I opened the page and searched through the articles.

And then I saw it.

Ice filled my veins. Kate leaned against a wall with a blond-haired young man leaning over her very possessively, a hand on the wall beside her head. He was standing close as if he was whispering to her or preparing to kiss her. She didn’t look happy, but she was there – wearing the dress she wore to the DWB event the other night.

The caption of the photo read “
Kate McDermott and Escort attend Doctors Without Borders fundraiser.”

Escort?

“Do you see it?” Dave said, his voice hesitant.

“I see it,” I replied, my face hot with anger. Jealousy burned in my gut.

“She was with some old flame, from what I heard. I spoke with Nigel. He said Kate was hot and heavy with him a year ago. Some former pilot who volunteers for Doctors Without Borders.”