Unrestrained: Book 3 of the Unrestrained Series

by Lund, S. E.

  I smiled up at him. "You can? What could you possibly mean?"

  He grinned at me, his eyes twinkling. "I'll have to make a pit stop at the local hardware store for some rope and maybe a few hooks and padlocks. I can't wait to tie you up and keep you so sexually satisfied, you'll never want to leave the grounds."

  "I can't wait either. But I'll still have to go out now and then..."

  "Now and then." He squeezed me once more and then ended the embrace. We went back to the kitchen where Jan stood waiting for us.

  "Well? What did you think?" Jan turned to me as if I was the one to decide.

  "I can't imagine seeing anything more wonderful than this house."

  "It is the nicest. But there are a few others I've arranged, so if you're ready, we can go."

  We followed him out to the car, and I glanced back, wondering if we'd take this place or one of the other houses we were scheduled to see. I thought I could be happy here and really wasn’t sure if we needed to see other properties, but we'd at least look at them and decide once we had all the information.

  The next two houses were smaller than the last, and lacked character.

  "Properties are really scarce this time of year," Jan said as we drove away. "These three are all I have in this area. We can see others tomorrow, but this is by far the nicest community in the city."

  On our way back to the hotel, Jan drove us by the first house once more as if to entice us, but I needed little enticing. I could really see us there and couldn't wait to get into it. I'd see what else Jan had, but he said it was the nicest property he'd be showing us. Part of me thought we should take it and move in without seeing the others.

  Drake took my hand as we drove out of the gated community. He kissed my knuckles.

  "What did you think?" His blue eyes searched my face.

  "I loved the first house. I'd take it now, if it was up to me."

  "My thoughts exactly," he said and smiled. "Jan, I think our minds are made up. We like the first house."

  Jan laughed from the front seat. "I thought you'd like it. Consider it done. I'm the renting agent on that one and if you give me the deposit, it's yours. The current renters have moved out, but it has to be cleaned. You can have it in ten days once the paperwork goes through."

  Drake started at the hospital on the following Monday, doing rounds with Michael and meeting with his prospective patients. I was alone all morning and spent my time writing down a list of things we'd need to buy once we moved in. Mostly, things for our kitchen and bathrooms, cleaning supplies, toiletries, sheets and towels. Claire called and took me shopping in the afternoon since it was her day off. We went to a mall that she felt was safe.

  That night, Drake had to stay late to work with Michael, whom he was shadowing, helping out with Michael's young pediatric neurosurgery patients and any neurology patients who came in the Emergency Room, and overseeing the Residents. I waited for him, but finally was too tired to wait any longer and so I went to bed, turning off the light and lying in the huge bed alone. I missed him, despite my busy day.

  Drake arrived at the hotel near midnight. He was quiet as he walked through the suite, and I knew he must be exhausted. He came into the bedroom and stood in the darkness, undressing. He must have thought I was asleep, as he didn’t come over or say anything. He went to the bathroom and washed his face and brushed his teeth, then came to bed naked, slipping beneath the sheets, moving closer to me but not touching me, as if he didn't want to wake me.

  I lay in silence and pretended to be asleep. In truth, I would have liked it if he woke me up so I could talk to him, but he must have been too tired. Instead, I lay quietly and listened to his breathing, which was slow and deep. In a very short time, perhaps less than five minutes, I could tell he was asleep by how slowly and deeply he breathed.

  I hoped every day wasn’t like today. I'd grown so spoiled, having him with me every day and night for the past two months. I knew I had to let him go and be a surgeon, for it was his calling, but I would miss him.

  My art would have to fill up my time.

  CHAPTER THREE

  On Friday night, after a week of working twelve-hour days, coming home before midnight and crawling into bed beside me before falling fast asleep, Drake took the evening off. Michael made it a rule to take Fridays off unless there was an emergency and so he and Claire picked us up at the hotel to take us out for authentic Nairobi cuisine. We arrived in the city center without collision. Somehow, Michael managed to find a parking spot and we walked the rest of the way to the restaurant, whose hand-painted sign read 'Ranalo's' and featured a picture of a cauldron over a fire.

  "They serve really great home-cooked food, local cuisine. You should try the tilapia – it's great and very fresh."

  We entered the restaurant, with bamboo chairs and tables and whitewashed walls. The restaurant was busy, but we found a table with an umbrella on the patio, exposed to the night sky. Then, like at Katz's in Manhattan, we went to a cafeteria-style display and ordered our food. I chose the fresh grilled tilapia as did Drake, while Michael ordered the beef and Claire ordered a mixed grill plate. We paid for our food and then sat down to wait for the servers to bring us our meals.

  While we waited, I observed the other patrons – a mix of Africans and Europeans, sitting at their tables, talking and laughing, eating the colorful aromatic food and drinking beer. The food smelled delicious and my stomach growled.

  "So Miss Katherine," Michael said to me as he sipped a beer. "Tell us what your plans are while you're in Nairobi. As you can see from this first full week, I'm afraid I'm going to be keeping Drake very busy with surgery and teaching. I've been working on him for years to come and help out here at the college, and now that I have him, I'm not letting go easily."

  "I understand," I said, proud of Drake. "I'm going to spend time painting."

  "Kate's an artist and plans on doing some wildlife art while she's here," Drake said, smiling at me as if he was proud.

  "I've always wanted to focus on my art, but have been so busy with school I haven’t had the chance."

  Claire turned to me. "I can take you out on safari if you like. I know some great outfitters and tour guides. Once you get settled, let me know and I'll arrange things."

  "Thank you," I said, a bit overwhelmed with everything. "I'd like that."

  I turned to Drake and smiled at him. He squeezed my hand under the table.

  Then, two young women walked into the restaurant, their laughter loud. I peered at them and saw that one of them was Sam. One of her fellow residents was with her, and the two of them were all dressed up in pretty cocktail dresses, looking like they were out for a night on the town.

  Drake saw her and I noticed a flash of displeasure on his face. Michael turned when Sam came over.

  "Hello," she said. "Fancy meeting all of you here."

  Claire turned around, her face all surprised. Michael and Drake stood, pushing back their chairs.

  "What a coincidence," Michael said, extending his hand to Sam. Then he shook the other young woman's hand. "Camille."

  "Someone mentioned Ranalo's the other day and I remembered how good their fish is," Sam said. She barely looked at me. "We finished up with a case and decided some fresh fish was in order."

  Then, she turned to Drake. "Drake, you know Camille Johannsen, from my hometown in South Africa. You met her at the faculty mixer."

  Drake's face was a bit flushed, and his smile forced. "Of course," he said and shook Camille's hand. Drake fastened the button on his suit jacket. "You remember Kate, my fiancée."

  I smiled and nodded at Camille and Sam. A round of 'nice to see you again' ensued and then Sam smiled at Claire.

  "Nice to see you again, Claire."

  Claire smiled back but said nothing.

  Sam turned back to Michael and Drake. "Well, we won't keep you. There's a table over in the corner we better snag if we want to eat."

  Everyone smiled and nodded, and then both Drake and Micha
el sat back down.

  "Camille is an outstanding new doctor from South Africa," Michael said. "She did her MD there and is here to specialize."

  Drake nodded and took a sip of his drink. He seemed unsettled to see Sam again. Maybe she made him as uncomfortable as she made me. I took his hand under the table and squeezed. He turned to me quickly and his face relaxed a bit, the tension seeming to seep out of his brow. He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

  Sam was a bad memory, nothing more. Drake was probably only concerned with how he was going to deal with her, given their history. I relaxed a bit and tried to enjoy the night.

  Claire glanced at me and smiled, raising her glass.

  The food arrived and was delicious, the fish so fresh and tasty, grilled with some vegetables on the side. I drank a beer, which was refreshing, and Claire and I spent the time listening to Drake and Michael catch up on their respective careers as neurosurgeons, and reminisce about old times.

  "Tell me about your father," Michael said, his face losing it's perpetually smiling demeanor. "I know he died on a trip to Somalia. It must have been such a shock."

  Drake nodded, now somber as well. "Even knowing he was putting himself in danger, I didn't expect him to die in a plane crash. I thought he'd get shot in an attack."

  Drake was quiet for a minute, taking a long swig of his beer.

  "Tell me what happened," Michael said, his voice soft. "I read an article in a newsletter, but don't know the details."

  Drake sighed. "He was flying with a nurse and a local physician to work in a field hospital with the Red Cross. The engine of their small plane failed and they crashed about ten miles from the runway. It took a few days to find the crash site. Luckily, they were still in the cabin or there might have been nothing left of them due to scavengers."

  "He's buried in Ethiopia?"

  Drake nodded. "Before the accident, we talked about his final wishes, in case he was killed in the fighting. He said he wanted to be cremated and his ashes spread in Ethiopia, which was his favorite place. Told me to find a really big Baobab tree and spread his ashes beneath it so that his carbon would feed the tree. He was such a romantic at heart. I did that last year when I visited."

  "Where was I?" Michael said. "I would have liked to go with you."

  "You were at a conference in London."

  Michael nodded and took a long sip of his beer. We were silent while the waiter took away our plates.

  Then Claire spoke, breaking the silence.

  "You wouldn’t think to meet Liam that he had such a soft heart, but he did," she said, turning to me, her expression wistful, a slight smile on her face. "He was so calm in an emergency, as if chaos made him feel in control. Many people panic when there's an emergency, but not Liam. He always thrived under those conditions."

  "You knew him well?" I said, wanting to hear more about the legendary wild trauma surgeon.

  "I met him through Doctors Without Borders," she said. "We invited Liam to stay with us when he was in Nairobi."

  "Liam made sure Drake came to Africa with him one year. We hit it off right away," Michael said, turning to Drake. "I've been trying to get him to come to teach at the college for years. I sure miss Liam, though. He'd stop in whenever he was in Africa. Made a point of visiting even though we have no wars going on, other than on the streets."

  We all nodded, somber about the recent violence in Nairobi.

  "I tried to talk to Liam into working here in our trauma center, but he preferred the battlefield."

  "His first medical experiences were on the battlefield in Vietnam," Drake said. "The streets of Baltimore were too tame for him. That's why he volunteered to come to Somalia. He went the way he would have wanted," Drake replied, a sad smile on his face. "Flying over Africa on his way to the battlefield. He was more afraid of dying an old man."

  "Still, he had many good years left in him."

  Drake nodded and we sat in silent contemplation of Liam, the man that played so heavily in Drake's life despite his benign neglect. I wished I had had the chance to meet him and wondered if I'd love him as much as everyone else seemed to.

  Claire turned to me. "We see Drake as the son we never had," she said, looking at Drake with obvious affection on her face. "We had four girls, so Michael felt quite indulgent towards Drake."

  I smiled. She felt a certain ownership of Drake. He was lucky to have a foster family like them. He had my father and Michael – he was a man who seemed to bring out the fatherly instinct in older men for some reason, perhaps because he missed his own father so much.

  As we left the restaurant, past the line of patrons waiting to get inside, I felt really good about our trip to Africa. Other than the crazy traffic, the city felt like any other big metropolitan city I'd been in. There were many expatriate Americans in Nairobi and with Michael and Claire as friends, I relaxed a bit. Then, I glanced back once more and saw Sam and Camille leaning in close together as if sharing a secret, their eyes on Drake.

  The drive back to the hotel was a bit less eventful as people seemed to have returned to their homes and there was less general noise on the streets and intersections. Michael and Claire said their goodbyes and invited us to their home on the weekend for a nice meal and swim in their pool. We waved as they drove off.

  Now, we were alone, starting our new life in Nairobi. We stood in the entrance to the hotel and glanced up at the dark sky. The city lights blocked out some of the stars, but there were still quite a few blinking through the light pollution.

  "And now, Ms. Bennet, let's go to our room. I want a swim in the pool and then you."

  I smiled as he took my hand, leading me into the hotel and down the hallways to our suite in the far wing, which overlooked a wide expanse of green and a copse of trees in the distance. I went to stand on the balcony to see what stars were visible. I took out my iPhone and Googled the night sky in Nairobi so I could identify the brightest stars. I could make out Vega and Altair due to the light pollution. Out on safari, the sky would be amazing.

  Drake came up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist, his cheek pressed against mine. He kissed my neck, his breath warm on my skin.

  “I missed you all week.”

  I turned and faced him, my arms threading around his neck. “I missed you all week.”

  “I’ll be away a lot at first,” he said, pulling my hips against his. “I promise I’ll do my best to make it up to you when I’m home.”

  "I can't wait to go on safari and see the sky in real darkness.” I leaned my head against his chest, enjoying his warmth, the feel of his strong body against me.

  "Once we get settled, we'll go, but right now, I can’t wait to blindfold you and restrain you. I have all kinds of plans for you, Katherine.”

  I smiled to myself, my body responding to his words, heat rising in me because I knew what would come next.

  "You still want to swim first?" I said, when he kissed my neck again.

  "Yes," he said. "I can wait a few more minutes to ravish you."

  I laughed and we finally ended the embrace. We went to our suitcases and I stripped and put on my white bikini. It was the one I wore in the Bahamas and I wondered if Drake would remember.

  "Oh, I like it," he said, his eyes moving over my body. "I seem to recall trying to take it off one afternoon and being rudely interrupted by your father…"

  I laughed and tied the top, my arms behind my back. "No fear of that here."

  "When you stand like that, I lose all interest in swimming, Ms. Bennet…"

  "I can't help it," I said. "I have to tie up my top."

  "I may have to untie it if you keep it up."

  I turned away and smiled, enjoying his playfulness. We took towels and went to the outdoor pool, which was deserted at that time of night. Drake was eager and dove in without hesitation, while I sat on the side and dangled my legs in.

  "Come on in," he said as he treaded water before me. "It's heated."

  I slipped in and ducke
d under to get my hair wet. Drake swam over and took me into his arms, and we floated together for a moment, him holding me up. The water was warm, not quite like a bath, but close enough to be comforting, relaxing.

  "The view is nice," I said, slipping out of his arms and lying back, floating so I could watch the stars.

  "Yes, it is nice," Drake said, a hint of humor in his voice. He was a foot away, staring at me and I knew what he meant.

  "You get to see that view any time you want," I said in pretend protest. "Look at the sky for a change. The night's really clear."

  Drake relented and floated beside me, looking up as well. He sighed heavily and I wondered if he felt it too – all the stress of the past few months draining away – Liam, Maureen, the worry about Dawn revealing Drake's lifestyle.

  "This is like heaven," I said.

  "It is."

  We floated in silence for a few moments, and then I thought about meeting Sam and Drake's student at the restaurant.

  "Quite the coincidence meeting Sam there. Nairobi's a pretty big city."

  Drake said nothing for a moment. "I doubt it was a coincidence. Michael must have mentioned it and she decided to show up."

  I sighed, my suspicions being true. "Is she going to be a problem?"

  "I hope not." He came over to me and took me into his arms so that I sat on his lap in the water. "I don't need any complications right now. I'll be busy at work, teaching and trying to keep you happy."

  "Don't worry about keeping me happy," I said. "As long as you're happy and we have time together, I will be happy as well."

  We returned to our room and I fought the desire to ask Drake about his plans for me. Instead, I merely allowed him to undress me without question, stripping off my bikini top and then slipping the bottoms down my thighs.