The Drake Unwound Complete Collection (The Drake Series Book 9)(47)

"That's horrible,” Kate said, her voice mortified, “especially since it wasn’t you who made contact in the first place."

"I guess I shouldn't have expected anything more from her." I sat and stared out the window. "When they left for supper, I went back to Liam's room. I know the nurses and they looked the other way because they know I'm his biological father. I spoke with Liam. Told him I was a doctor and wanted to check in on him. He talked to me for a while about the whole procedure. He's such a strong little boy." I said nothing for a moment, overcome with emotion. "I was leaving when Chris came back for something and saw me. He confronted me, followed me out of the hospital and we had a scuffle outside in the parking lot."

"Oh Drake, I'm so sorry…"

I shook my head. "I was good enough when I might be a potential tissue match for Liam, but once I agreed to donate, I'm back to being the evil ex-husband with perverted proclivities."

"Hardly perverted. You're mild compared to the Doms whose profiles I read on FetLife."

I rubbed my forehead. "You know that and I know that, but to Maureen, I'm the Devil's spawn. I was a jerk, Kate, not really knowing what I was doing, clumsy, demanding, but I wasn't nearly as kinked out as many Doms are. And I would never say anything to Liam about who and what I am to him. I just wanted to speak to him, hear his voice…"

Kate reached out and took my hand, squeezing it.

"I never thought she'd be so nasty to me, despite the divorce,” I said, still hurting. “I was generous with her. I didn’t fight her demands when we split. I was too devastated. She made me feel like a perverted monster. How she must hate me…"


"Your split with Maureen sounds like my split with Kurt, except it must have hurt much more since you two were actually married. Kurt and I were only together for a few months."

"It was hard." I turned back to her. "To be married for five years, to get that close, to become so used to having someone there all the time, and to have it go sour and fall apart." I shook my head. "I was so blind back then. So focused on my career, on my place in the world, I failed to work on my marriage. She had every right to fall out of love with me. Even hate me. It's a mistake I'll never make again."

"What mistake?" she asked softly. "Not pay attention to your relationship?"

I nodded. "I won't neglect you, Kate. If you ever feel the least neglected, let me know, for it won't be intentional. I want you to feel completely loved and cared for, the focus of my attention when I'm with you."

She smiled and leaned over to kiss me and I was overwhelmed with feelings of warmth for her.

"I want you to feel the same," she said. "I've never lived with a man before, so I don't really know what to expect, but if I ever fail to please you, if I ever neglect you, I want to know."

"Living with a man?” I said and grinned. “Let me give you some advice. Expect a lot of sex. Expect him to fall dead asleep soon afterwards. Expect him to watch you greedily all the time, like you're dessert and he can't wait to get to eat you. Or, at least, that's the way I feel when you're with me."

She smiled back, a gleam in her eye. "You can eat dessert whenever you want." She crawled onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Mmm, Ms. Bennet," I murmured against the skin on her neck. "I think you might seduce me with that coy look of yours, but I'm not in any shape for anything this morning."

"Of course not," she said. "Let's take it really easy today. I have to go back to the studio and apply the next coat of gesso, but otherwise, we should just stay home and recover."

I shook my head. "I have some work to do and will be busy all day."

"I can't talk you into taking the afternoon off? Even you deserve a vacation…"

"I don't think I can," I said. "Since I'm staying longer, I have finish up some work for our next shareholder meeting. Then I have to go in and get my first shot. The oncologist wants to do a peripheral blood stem cell harvest. I have to take growth factors that will increase the number of stem cells in my blood."

"The Filgrastim?" she said, her expression thoughtful.

I nodded. "I'll be taking it for four days before they do the harvest."

"I did some reading,” she said, her brow furrowed with concern. “You won't be feeling well for a while?"

"Just mild bone pain. Nothing I won't be able to handle. Nothing worse than how you feel the day after a really hard workout at the gym." I smiled softly. "We'll have a nice quiet night together.”

She hugged me more closely, and we remained in each other’s embrace for a nice, long time. It was just what I needed at that moment and it felt wonderful.





CHAPTER FIVE



I dropped Kate off at the studio and went to the Corporation to deal with some business matters involving temporary transfer of management to my replacement on the board.

My next stop was at NYP to see Liam’s oncologist and get my first shot of Filgrastim. After I was finished, I spent some time reviewing case files that I would consult on during my extended stay, and spoke on the phone with the physicians who were taking over my cases.