The Drake Unwound Complete Collection (The Drake Series Book 9)(62)

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 f*ck," 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."