by S. E. Lund
On her part, Kate smiled, and slipped into her nursing nightgown, designed to make breastfeeding easier. Then, she went to Sophie’s room, picked her up out of the crib and sat on the chair to feed her.
I followed her and helped her get situated, with a knitted blanket over Kate’s shoulder to keep her warm.
“Do you want some tea?” I asked from the doorway. “I feel like a cup before we go to bed.”
Kate yawned. “Not for me, thanks. I’m way too tired.”
“Decaf,” I added. “You need to keep your fluids up.”
“Okay, Doctor,” she said with a smile. I went to the kitchen and put on the kettle, arranging a couple of cups and saucers and fixing the tea pot. When I was finished, I peeked into Sophie’s room again and saw that Kate had her up on her shoulder for a burp.
“Here,” I said and reached for Sophie. “Let me do that. You go and get your cup of tea.”
I took a receiving blanket over my shoulder and placed Sophie onto it, patting her back to bring up a burp so she could go to sleep.
Finally, she rewarded me and let out a serious belch, her eyes still closed.
“Like clockwork,” I said and stood by the window, rocking her for a while before I put her down.
Kate went to get her tea and returned with a cup in hand, leaning on the doorjamb while I continued to rock Sophie on my shoulder. Finally, I laid her down in her crib and tucked a blanked behind her. Then, I went to Kate and together, we stood in the doorway and watched her.
“She’s a keeper,” I said and pulled Kate closer to me.
“She is.”
We went downstairs to the living room and I put on some music while Kate sat on the sofa and drank her tea.
“I had hopes of making love to you earlier, Ms. Bennet,” I said and sat back beside her. “Are you too tired?”
“I’m never too tired for you,” she said and smiled up at me.
“I don’t believe a word you say,” I replied, knowing she was just being agreeable. “I saw you hide your yawn.”
She smiled guiltily. “I’m sorry, but I’m just exhausted tonight for some reason. Maybe the cold air. It often makes me really sleepy at night when we go out for an evening walk.”
I kissed her cheek. “I’ll have to remember that. No more evening walks when I want to make love to you.”
“I’m sorry,” she said and made a pouty face. “It’s just I feel like I need to sleep when Sophie does so I can wake up and feed her. I can lie quietly while you take your pleasure.”.
“Don’t worry about it, and don’t apologize,” I said and leaned in to kiss her. “I understand completely and you should sleep when she does. Besides, taking my pleasure always means giving it to you. Here,” I said and took her empty cup. Then, I pulled her up and into my arms. “You go and get into bed. I’ll join you in a few minutes. I need to send an email and turn out the lights.”
I went back to the office and opened my email while Kate went to our bedroom and got into bed. I wanted to give her the chance to fall asleep if she wanted, without worrying about me.
About fifteen minutes later, I returned to the bedroom and sat on the side of the bed to take off my socks. Of course, she woke and rubbed her eyes.
“Sorry I woke you,” I said softly.
“It’s okay. I wanted to talk to you before we go to sleep. Something happened tonight while you were in Macy’s.”
“What?” I asked, removing my watch and placing it on the nightstand. When I was naked, I slipped into bed beside her.
“Maureen and Liam are in town. I saw them in the crowd while you were shopping.”
“What?” I said, a shock going through me. I leaned up on my elbow and looked into Kate’s eyes.
“Yes,” she said softly. “I went over and said hello. Chris and Maureen broke up when Chris got a job in Borneo. Maureen probably didn’t want to go because of Liam’s health.”
That surprised me, for I thought that Maureen would never want to separate Liam from Chris. “Is he sick?”
Kate shook her head. “He looks great. He’s grown taller and his hair has grown in. He looks so much like you.”
“I wish,” I said, but stopped myself. I was going to say that I wished I could get to know Liam – that I could be a real father to him.
“What?” Kate asked, moving closer.
I sighed and rolled onto my back. “I wish Maureen would let me see him. If Chris and Maureen have broken up, he has no father.” I turned back to look in Kate’s eyes. “I’m his father. I should have visitation rights.”
She nodded. “You know you’d have the best lawyers in the country working to get you access, if you want to push for it.”
I sighed heavily. “I don’t want there to be hard feelings between Maureen and me. I wish she could understand that I’m not some dirty old man who would corrupt him. I want to get to know him, and be his father. The way I should be.”
“You should be,” Kate said. “Maybe you should call her, talk to her. She’s staying at her mother’s place for Christmas.”
“Maybe I will,” I said and took in a deep breath. “The worst she can do is say no again. Given it’s Christmas, maybe her cold hard heart will be filled with comfort and joy and she’ll let me see him.”
“Maybe.” Kate stroked her hand over my bare shoulder. That aroused me, her touching me combined with the news, and my sense of sadness that I wasn’t in Liam’s life made me feel very needy. I turned over and pulled her against my body. She didn’t resist in the least, perhaps knowing I needed her now more than ever. We kissed deeply, and soon, she warmed up underneath me, her body responding to my touch, to my mouth, and my fingers. To my surprise, she rolled over on top of me and rode me with no words being said and soon, very soon, she orgasmed, her body clenching around me.
When she was finished and collapsed against me, breathing heavily, a smile on her face, I rolled her onto her back and began to thrust, needing the release to ease the sadness I felt at the news about Liam. I watched my cock slide in and out of her body, her breasts moving each time I thrust, and soon, I was there, my orgasm cresting.
“Oh, God,” I groaned, pleasure coursing through me, washing away some of my sadness. Finally, I lay on top of her and recovered. “That was…”
“So good,” she said, finishing my sentence, smiling. “Poor deprived daddy. Not getting enough sex because he’s up too late feeding his baby every night while his wife sleeps, and nothing kinky for months…”
I smiled at her and kissed her deeply. “Not deprived. Just in need. And very thankful, kink or not.”
As we lay in bed with the moonlight from the window falling across the blanket, I thought about Liam and wished that someday, Maureen would soften and allow me to become a real father for him.
Chapter 14 : Kate
My father told me to be happy.
I was determined to do that – be happy. I had every reason. A beautiful baby and a handsome – gorgeous – husband. Although I had taken a leave of absence from finishing my Master’s, I could go back and complete it any time I wanted. I was creating art again – when Sophie slept and when I felt an urge. My father was slowly recovering from his latest bout with a stroke.
The only downside to our lives was the case. The police should have cleared Drake of any involvement in Lisa’s plans to kill me, but they hadn’t – not officially, although they hadn’t interviewed Drake again nor had they spoken to me for a few weeks. Christmas was fast approaching and I wanted everything to be perfect for Sophie’s first Christmas.
As Christmas approached, I felt certain that they’d let us know that Drake was no longer a suspect, but they were silent on that. The only other sore point in my life was how Maureen was still unwilling to let Drake into his son’s life. One afternoon later that week, when Drake went out to get us coffee and Karen had the day off, I called up my father and talked to him about the issue.
“He’ll have to go through a series to tests and interviews, to
confirm his suitability for visits with Liam.”
I sighed. “Drake’s going to be a pediatric brain surgeon. If anyone can be trusted with his own child, it’s Drake.”
“Sorry, sweetie, but that’s not good enough. Of course, Drake can be trusted. You know that and I know that, but we have to prove it to a judge.”
“I know,” I said with a heavy sigh.
“Drake will have to prove paternity,” he said firmly. “Once he does, he can request a judge grant him access. The first thing is to talk to Maureen and see if she understands how important it will be for Liam to know his real father, especially now that Chris is out of the picture.”
“I know, but will she? She hates Drake…”
“The law doesn’t care if she hates him,” he said. “The law only cares that he’s the boy’s father and is a member of the community in good standing.”
“He’s a pediatric neurosurgeon, for God’s sake,” I said, shaking my head.
“What’s wrong with the woman?” my father asked.
“I know.” I rubbed my forehead. “You’d think she’d want some help now that she and Chris have split, but no. I feel so bad for Drake.”
“Let me know what I can do. I have a few connections.” Then he asked about the case, but I had nothing new to tell him.
“Tell me about this Lisa woman.”
I didn’t go into specifics. “Drake had a few encounters with her when he was single and never went any further than sex. She took advantage of that prior relationship to emotionally blackmail Drake, demanding to be treated as a special friend, and using the threat of exposing Drake’s past to force him to comply.”
I could hear my father sigh on the other end of the line.
“We’ll deal with this, but the case won’t help Drake get access. It might complicate things.”
“I was afraid of that,” I said and felt gloom descend over me. Drake might never get access because of the case. I could imagine some case worker in a dingy office reading the headlines about Drake, the BDSM Doctor, and stamping REJECTED on his case file…
“Don’t you worry,” he said as if he read my mind. “I have many connections and am friends with powerful people. We’ll make this work.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” I said and hung up.
Thank God we had lawyers like my father and Lara in our private circle so we had good legal advice at least.
I sat for a moment in silence, watching the snow fall outside my window. At least we’d have a white Christmas, but it would be a sad one for Drake if he couldn’t even see Liam…
I made a decision and went to our storage room, to find some of the boxes that Drake brought from his apartment. I remembered seeing a file on his divorce when we were packing up his place so I spent the next hour looking for it. I wanted Maureen’s maiden name so I could look up her mother.
Maybe she’d listen to reason…
An hour later, I sat on the floor in the living room with the file in one hand and my cell in the other. Part of me hesitated to call, but the other part of me – the part that felt Drake was being treated badly – decided to take a chance and call. I found Maureen’s maiden name -- Becker – and her mother’s name on a wedding invitation.
Mr. John Becker and Mrs. Brenda Becker
request the honor of your attendance
at the wedding of their beloved daughter
Maureen Becker
to
Dr. Drake Morgan
on…
I searched for her mother’s phone number and dialed, not knowing what to expect. Would she hang up in my ear or would she listen to reason?
A woman answered, her voice warm.
“Hello?”
I took in a deep breath and started my spiel.
“Hello, is this Mrs. Brenda Becker?”
“Yes,” she said. “This is she.”
“We’ve never met, and I know this call may seem out of the blue, but I’m married to Dr. Drake Morgan. I’m calling in the hopes of talking to you about letting Liam and Drake meet and get to know each other, as father and son. I know Maureen is in town for Christmas and that Chris and Maureen have separated. It would be great—.”
“Let me stop you right there,” Mrs. Becker said, her voice firm.
“Okay,” I said, biting my bottom lip, waiting for her to give me a hard time.
“I’m completely sympathetic to Drake seeing Liam. Unfortunately, Maureen’s very stubborn and nothing I’ve said has seemed to work. I’m trying, honestly, but she’s still so adamant that Drake is a bad influence, although I’ve never understood… I always liked Drake.”
“Did Maureen tell you why she thinks he’s a bad influence?”
There was a brief pause on the other line.
“Well…” Brenda said, her voice trailing off. “She said he was into some kinky stuff and felt he was an inappropriate parent. I tried to tell her that it was more important what kind of father he was, not what he did in the bedroom, but she’s like her father. Very stubborn. I tried… We’d love for Drake to get to know Liam, especially now that Chris and she…”
Her voice trailed off and she exhaled as if she’d given up.
“Anything you could do to convince her would be great,” I said. “Drake saved Liam’s life and I think it would be wonderful for them to get to know each other. Even if Liam doesn’t learn about Drake being his father this year, at least try to persuade Maureen to let Drake see him. Invite Drake over for a visit if she’s concerned about him, and let Drake see how he’s doing. I saw Liam with his mother the other day and he’s grown so much.”
“He’s doing well,” Brenda said, a smile in her voice. “We’re so thankful that Drake did the transplant. You can’t imagine how shocked we were that Drake was the father, although I always thought how much he reminded me of Drake.”
“Liam does look a lot like Drake,” I said and smiled to myself. “I was able to get a photo of Liam for Drake and he cherishes that picture. It sits on his desk and I often catch him staring at it. I feel so helpless, like I know what the right thing to do is, but I can’t do it.”
“Let me see what I can do,” she said and I could hear determination in her voice. “I’ll try to arrange something. We’re having a Christmas Eve get together with family and I’d love if Drake could come over before. Maybe five o’clock? I know that Maureen is going to be out with some of her old girlfriends from the hospital in the afternoon so if Drake came by while she was out…”
I frowned. “Do you think that’s wise? Won’t it make Maureen mad if she finds out?”
Brenda sighed. “Yes, but if she won’t listen to reason, I’m willing to take that risk. Let me see how things go and I’ll call you back.”
I gave her my cell number and my email and we said goodbye. I moved from the floor to the sofa and sat there, looking out the window, wondering if I was going to regret contacting Maureen’s mother but something had to give. While I tidied up, putting the box away, I thought that Drake should be spending time with Liam now, while he was in Manhattan. Maureen had to grow up and do what was best for her son, not what was best for her.
Drake arrived home a little later and bent down to kiss me when he came into the living room.
“What have you been up to?” he asked, plopping down on the sofa beside me. “You have this look in your eyes.”
“What look?” I said, trying to look all innocent.
“That look,” he said with a laugh. “Is it the gift you got me for Christmas?”
I smiled and slipped my arms around his neck when he pulled me onto his lap.
“Something like that. It’s a gift I want to give you, but things might not work out. Best laid plans and all that…”
“You don’t have to give me a gift,” he said and kissed me. “You being my wife and the mother of my child is all I need for Christmas.”
He laid me down on the couch and kissed me once more, his kiss warm and loving. He pulled away and brushed hair off my f
orehead, smiling as his gaze travelled down over my face and down to my cleavage.
“How close to a feed are you?” he asked, and I knew why he was asking. If I was too close to a feed, my breasts would be filled with milk, which would leak out while we were having sex.
“I fed her before you went out, so it’s been over an hour.”
“Good,” he said and pulled down my sweater to bare one well-supported breast in a nursing bra. “I can nuzzle you without getting sprayed in the eye.”
“Oh, Drake,” I said and made a face, my cheeks hot. “That’s so… not sexy.”
“Don’t kid yourself,” he said and laughed. “There are grown men who would pay lots of money to be sprayed with milk during sex.”
We laughed together and I got over my reticence when he started to nuzzle my neck, one of his hands slipping down between my legs to stroke me over my yoga pants.
“Can I persuade you to let me fuck you before she wakes up?”
“Have you been a very good man this year?” I asked playfully.
“Very, very good,” he said and narrowed his eyes.
I closed my eyes and let him take me where he wanted me to go, and over the next hour, he proved that he was right.
He was a very, very good man.
The next day passed with no word from either Brenda or Maureen and I was beginning to give up hope that Brenda had any success with her very unreasonable and stubborn daughter.
Finally, Brenda sent me an email and I opened it with trepidation.
I covered my mouth and my eyes filled with tears. This would be the best Christmas present Drake could get this year and I couldn’t wait to tell him. Then I had an idea – I printed a copy of the letter off and decided I’d slip it into a big empty box filled with tissue paper and put it under the tree. Drake would open it up on Christmas morning at my Dad’s place and it would make his day. Hell. It would make all our days.
I smiled to myself as I searched through the pantry for an empty box, so pleased to be able to give Drake this gift on Christmas Day.