Forever After: Book Five in the Unrestrained Series

by S. E. Lund

  “Of course,” she said. “But you have to understand that people will tend to believe this woman over you and over your friends and acquaintances. But you have a very stellar career as a neurosurgeon and your volunteer work for Doctors Without Borders. That may have some bearing on how people perceive the story. You know what they say – the bigger they are, the harder they fall…”

  I stood up, my fists clenched at my side as I tried to get a hold of my emotions.

  “If you have nothing else, I have work to do.”

  She nodded and leaned back. “I’m sorry to have to give you this news. Considering your wife is still recovering and your baby is home from the hospital, I’m sure this is pretty upsetting.”

  I turned to go, frustrated that I couldn’t do anything to stop her from running with the story.

  “Good luck,” she said when I got to the door. “You’ll need it.”

  I didn’t respond, slamming the door a bit too hard behind me.

  I strode down the hallway, past the receptionist and to the elevator. I stood with my back to the room and tried to get control over myself but it was hard. I could see the headlines now, and knew that there would be significant fallout. Not to mention making me seem unsympathetic to the police, in whose eyes I would be a suspect no matter whether it was true or not.

  I had to meet with Lara and go over things as soon as possible, so while I took the elevator down to the main floor lobby, I called her on my cell but there was no answer. I left a quick message and then took my car back to the 8th Avenue apartment, glad to be going home to Kate but more than a bit upset with what I knew would be appearing in the papers the next day.

  When I arrived home, Kate was sitting with Sophia on the couch. Kate looked freshly dressed and washed, wearing a different outfit from what she wore when I left. It made me feel good to see her there, with Sophie on her knee.

  “I’m so glad to be back,” I said and bent down to kiss Sophie and then Kate. “Home to my two favorite girls.”

  “We’re glad you’re back,” Kate said and forced a smile that even I could tell was fake.

  "What's the matter?" I asked, alarmed at the paleness to her skin. She looked as if she didn’t feel well. "You look a bit pale."

  “I'm fine. Just a bit tired. If you want to take Sophie, I’ll get our supper. Quance delivered. Ribs, salad and some Greek rice. How does that sound?”

  “Fantastic.” I bent down to take her out of Kate’s arms. “Just what the Doctor ordered.”

  I carried Sophie to the kitchen where plates were set out on the granite island. We had a formal dining table but Kate and I preferred to sit at the island and look out the windows at the skyline. I brought Sophie’s bouncer chair and placed it on the island across from me so we could watch her while we ate. Kate served our plates, doling out ribs, rice and salad, placing my plate in front of me. It looked delicious and I was hungry.

  When Kate sat next to me, she sighed heavily before she took her knife and fork in hand.

  I turned, surprised that she sounded so down despite the smile on her face.

  “Kate, tell me the truth. Are you okay?” I asked, waiting for her response. "You look pale and you sound upset."

  “I’m fine,” she said and smiled at me once more, but the smile never reached her eyes. “The police called after you left and wanted to come by and speak to me.”

  “What?” I said, anger filling me. “Why didn’t you call me right away?”

  “I’m sorry,” Kate said and shrugged. “You had enough on your plate going to see that editor about the article. I called Lara and she came over to be with me while they interviewed me.”

  I sighed in relief, although I was upset that Kate didn’t call me right away. “You should have called me immediately. I would have called the police and told them to wait until I arrived back home.”

  She shook her head. “I think they wanted to look at our apartment and talk to me by myself. Lara was here and everything was fine. How was your meeting? What are we going to have to deal with tomorrow?”

  I put down my knife and turned to Kate. I stroked her cheek and brushed a lock of hair off her shoulder.

  “I’m sorry you had to talk to the police by yourself. We’ll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow. Tell me what happened. You must have been upset.”

  “Lara was there,” she said. “I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about. You had to deal with that woman at the Herald. What can you do? You should call Lara.”

  “I will. Look, don’t worry about the article,” I said. “There’s nothing I can do to stop her and anyway, you already have enough on your plate. Besides, I’ve already been in contact with the hospital about the issue and Fred Parker was fine with it. I’ve already pulled back a bit from the Foundation. At least, my face and name won’t be on any promotional materials.”

  “That’s so unfair,” Kate said and frowned. “You’ve kept it going since your father died. You’re the one who gives it direction. It’s your vision. Why should you be pushed out?”

  I sighed. “Because big donors won’t give money if they think their names will be associated with someone scandalous. Until this all washes over and clears up, my name is off all the materials and website.”

  She shook her head and seemed upset about it. It made me feel good to know how much she cared, but I didn’t like to see her so upset. There was ample reason for it, so I merely noted it and tried to offer her as much comfort and support as I could.

  After we finished eating, with a major interruption of Sophie grousing for a feed when Kate had nicely lit into her ribs, we tidied up and then Kate and I gave Sophie a bath, put her in her jammies, and she went down for the night.

  By then, it was ten fifteen and Kate was yawning, hiding it behind a hand. She turned and smiled at me but it was clear that she was still not one-hundred percent happy. There was this look in her eyes...

  “Come here,” I said and sat down on the sofa, motioning to my lap. “Sit with me. I need some Katie time.”

  She complied and sat on my lap, her arms around my shoulders. Being that close reminded me of that night so very long ago when I went back to her tiny apartment in Harlem after dessert at The Russian Tea Room and seduced her. I hoped this position would remind her as well and maybe light a spark inside of her that would turn to passion, but I still wasn’t going to push.

  “Other than Detective Mutt and Jeff visiting, how was your evening?” I asked, stroking her cheek with the backs of my fingers. “Did you watch anything on television?”

  She shook her head. “No,” she said a bit hesitantly. “I pretty much spent time with Sophie.”

  I nodded. “Are you tired?”

  She exhaled. “It seems like I’m always tired. I can’t seem to catch up, even when I sleep during the day.”

  I nodded. “Until she sleeps through the night, you’ll have broken sleep.”

  “I’m not complaining,” she said quickly. “I’m always a bit exhausted. I don’t even want to watch TV or read. Too tired for anything but looking after Sophie and sleeping.”

  “I know,” I said and nuzzled my face into the crook of her neck, kissing her skin. Of course, she might have been too tired for anything but sleep, but my very healthy and normal male body couldn’t help but react to her softness in my arms, the scent of her hair in my nose, the feel of her skin beneath my lips. “You can go to bed if you want. I have a few things to do before I can go to sleep, so I’ll go to bed later. I’ll get up with Sophie for her first feed. You can sleep.”

  “Thank you,” she said and kissed me on the lips, chastely. “I’m sorry I’m not better company but I’m so—.”

  I put my fingers over her lips to stop her from saying it. “You don’t have to apologize. I understand completely. You had a terrible shock. You take as much time as you need. Soon enough, Sophie will be sleeping through the night and you can, too. Things will be a lot different then.”

  She nodded and rose from the couch, off my lap
. I pulled my cell out of my pocket and pointed to my messages.

  “I’ll answer a few messages and then I have to check over something for the Corporation. You go to bed.”

  She bent down and kissed me on the lips once more. “Drake, I’m sorry I’m not much of a wife for you. Until this happened, I thought we were happy. Weren't we?"

  "What?" I said, frowning at the very notion that she doubted it. "Why would you even say that? Of course we were happy. We are really happy." I looked her in the eye. "What's this about? Tell me what's wrong." I pulled her back onto my lap. She slipped her arms around my neck, but glanced away, not meeting my eyes.

  "Tell me," I said. "Is it something the detectives said? Something about the case?"

  She nodded and still avoided my eyes. "They said they had some emails you sent to Lisa before the accident."

  "What?" A shock of adrenaline went through me. "They said I was emailing Lisa? That's categorically untrue. I never emailed Lisa. Never."

  She nodded, but I could tell she wasn't sure.

  "You believe me, right?" I said, tilting her chin up and forcing her to look in my eyes."

  "Of course," she said and once more, she plastered a smile on her face. “They showed me three that came from an email with your name, but even Lisa said they were obviously fake.”

  “What they hell? What did they say?”

  She shrugged, not meeting my eyes. “One said you were sick of me fighting you all the time and that I wasn’t a real submissive. That you couldn’t do with me what you really wanted because you were afraid I’d report you to your supervisor and get you in trouble…”

  ”That’s ridiculous,” I said, a shock going through me that Lisa would stoop so low and that the emails might make Kate doubt me. " They’re fakes. I never emailed Lisa. Nothing professional and certainly never anything personal so I don’t know where they got that idea."

  "They had emails…"

  I took her face in my hands, needing her to understand. To know that they weren’t real.

  “Kate, you have to believe me. I would have told you if I ever emailed her for any reason. And you are a perfect sub for me. I loved you from the start. Everything about you.”

  I sat and frowned, trying to think of how Lisa would get email from me. Then it hit me. I had sent several emails to the group of new residents in neurosurgery about rounds, but Lisa would only be cc'd on the email. Like every other resident in the program. Nothing was addressed to her directly. Still… She could have taken the email and done something to it. I didn’t think it was possible to edit an email you received from someone else, but I wasn't all that technically savvy. For all I knew, she could have done something with them. Edited the emails to make it look like I sent them to her alone. Faked them.

  "There were a couple of group emails I sent to the program about lectures I'd be giving on robotic surgery in pediatric patients. But nothing was ever personal and nothing was addressed only to Lisa."

  Finally, Kate met my eyes on her own. "Do you think she was trying to set you up?"

  I shrugged. "I wouldn’t put anything past her. At this point, I think she's capable of anything. She thought she could force me into a relationship with her. When she couldn’t, she figured she could take you out of the picture…"

  Kate brushed her fingers through my hair. "She probably thought she'd console you on the loss of your wife and unborn baby and you’d fall into her arms…"

  "She's delusional if she thought that. More likely she was trying to hurt me because I rejected her."

  Kate sighed and laid her head against my shoulder. "I'm so sorry all this happened. I feel like I'm not being a good wife for you. No sex for months…"

  “Shh,” I said and shook my head. “Not another word about it. You go to bed if you're tired. I'll come to bed when I’m finished."

  "Are you sure?" she asked, meeting my eyes.

  "Yes," I said and kissed her softly on the lips. "You go. You're tired. I'll be up soon."

  Then she left the living room and took the stairs to the second floor where our bedroom and Sophie’s room were located. There was also a guest room, two bathrooms and my office, now that we had both floors renovated.

  On my part, I quickly tidied up the main floor, tucking the New York Times into its place by the fireplace, then folded the throw blanket on the sofa. While I tidied up, I thought about the news that Lisa had some fake emails from me and wondered what they said. She could have written anything.

  I turned off the lights and climbed the stairs to the second floor and went to my office, which was off Sophie’s room. I was careful to be quiet and sat down at my desk, clicking on my iMac so I could check over my email once before I headed to bed.

  I searched my email for anything from Derek Richardson, wondering if I should contact him and see what he knew about Lisa and what he thought she was capable of. I hadn’t spoken to him since before the attack.

  I found his cell number and called, but there was no answer and the phone went right to voicemail – a pre-recorded message by the automated system. Instead of leaving a message, I sent him an email.

  TO: Richardson, Derek (Richardson Securities Inc.)

  FROM: Morgan, Drake, MD.

  RE: Lisa

  Hey Derek. When you get this, please give me a call. I’m wondering what you think of everything that’s happened since the attack on my wife, Kate. The police asked me about my relationship with her and you, so be prepared to get a call or visit. Did you have any idea that Lisa was this unstable? Did she do anything during your time together, did you ever hear anything about her background that might make you concerned? Thanks for any help you can provide.

  Cheers,

  Drake.

  I sent off the email, and put it out of my mind. The police would eventually find out that Lisa was mentally unbalanced. Still, I felt uneasy about the case.

  Then, I remembered that Dave had promised to send me a report on performance of our new program to provide food and medical care for pregnant women in the Sudan so I could read it over and offer feedback.

  I found his email, downloaded the report and printed it off, glad that I spent the extra money to get a top-of-the-line printer that was quiet enough so it didn’t wake up Sophie. I sat at my desk and read the report over, trying to focus on the numbers, trying to analyze the data and think of a response, but my body still ached from the feel of Kate sitting on my lap, my dick still semi-erect and seemingly not going to cooperate and deflate so I could focus on more important matters.

  During the months since the accident, while Kate recovered, I’d consoled myself with solitary bouts of masturbation to get through the week. Being celibate had never been a real problem before because I used to resort to my book featuring photos of my former submissives when I needed something to help me get off. Now, I felt that would be cheating on Kate.

  I didn’t use that book anymore. Instead, I brought up a few photos I had taken of Kate while she was restrained on our bed, a blindfold on, her hands and feet tied to the bed posts, her body naked and on full display for my eyes only.

  I didn’t need kink anymore, but we had engaged in some bondage and dominance on occasion, when we both felt a need. Now, I’d be ecstatic if she would be willing to let me fuck her or even if she would watch while I masturbated. Even the feel of her eyes on my dick would be good, but I wanted to let her decide when our sexual relationship would start up once more.

  So it was that I took my iPad mini and went into the extra bathroom on the second floor and decided to beat off to pictures of Kate, bound and blindfolded. I slipped off my belt and let my slacks fall to my ankles, opened my shirt and stood at the sink, the iPad and picture of Kate tilted so I could see while I masturbated.

  That was how Kate found me, erection in hand, leaning against the wall for support while my hand flew over my cock.

  The door opened and I was so close to the edge that I didn’t notice until I heard Kate’s gasp. I caught sight of h
er face as she left and ran off. I stopped immediately and tried to pull up my slacks, but outside the bathroom door, I tripped in my haste to catch up to her, falling into the hallway.

  “Fuck,” I said a bit too loudly as I crumpled to the ground, sliding down the wall until I was semi-reclining, toppled over to the side.

  Kate stopped at the end of the hallway and then, Sophie cried out. Kate stood there for a few seconds, then she turned to me. I scrambled up, pulling up my slacks properly, and went to her.

  “Kate,” I said, breathless, my face hot. “I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

  Sophie cried out more loudly now. Kate seemed torn and turned to the door to Sophie’s bedroom, then back to me, her hand on the doorknob while I tried to fasten my belt. Her face was expressionless, and then, it changed.

  She laughed out loud.

  Hearing her, I did as well and the two of us laughed uncontrollably for a few moments, Sophie crying even more vigorously in her room. Then, Kate’s laughter changed, and now, instead of laughing, she started to cry.

  I went to her and pulled her into my arms. “Katie,” I said softly, rocking her in my arms. I knew that sometimes, when people laughed hard, they often began to cry. The line between tears and laughter was fine and it was easy to slip from one to the other.

  “I’m okay,” she said and wiped her eyes. “You looked so funny lying there on the ground with your slacks around your ankles.”

  “I know,” I said and smiled, when I saw her smile through her tears. “I’m a total idiot. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

  She shook her head. “Believe me, there was no way I could get the wrong idea about what you were doing.”

  I pulled away and looked in her eyes. “What idea did you get?”

  She sighed. “I saw a horny husband who has a wife he hasn’t had sex with for months trying to get some relief.”

  Then she began to cry again, and Sophie screamed out loud this time. Kate pulled out of my arms and I let her, following her into Sophie’s room. Kate went right over to the crib and lifted a crying Sophie into her arms. Then she began to rock back and forth, patting Sophie on the back, trying to calm her, all the while still crying herself.