Everlasting

by S. E. Lund

  "Me either," I said, grinning, my heart rate increasing. "But you should enjoy the rest of the set. Don't let them stop you from doing what you love. They don't matter."

  "No one matters except us."

  We kissed again and then Drake smiled. "Now, I have to use the men's room and then have a glass of water before we start back again. Wait for me?"

  He stood, but kept my hand in his.

  "I'd wait for you forever."

  He walked to the back and went through the door to the staff area and I couldn't resist watching the women watch him.

  They glanced at me and I couldn't help but smile to myself.

  He was mine.

  When it came time for the last song of the set, Drake took the microphone and stood at the front of the stage.

  "This final song is for Kate, the love of my life, my soul mate and the mother of my beautiful daughter, Sophia. Kate, my life was changed the day you fell and scraped your knees and I looked after your wounds. I didn't realize it at the time but you, and now Sophie, healed me and made me whole. I love you. This song is for you."

  I covered my mouth as the song began – the first bars of And I Love Her – and tears filled my eyes. It was my favorite song and Drake sang it so well and with so much emotion. I felt the eyes of those women on me.

  I knew what they were thinking. They were thinking what I was thinking: Drake Morgan, MD, neurosurgeon, bass player and philanthropist, was one of the hottest and most desirable men on the planet.

  He was mine.

  After the set was over, and the applause died down, I did what I was supposed to do – I left the restaurant and went out the back to wait at the rear exist into the back alley. When I arrived, I saw a stretch limo idling, the driver standing beside the passenger door, waiting, smoking a cigarette. When he saw me, he dropped it and crushed it under his boot.

  I stood at the back door and waited, my heart beating just a little bit faster at the prospect of seeing Drake come out the door. When the door opened and I saw him, his dark black hair shining in the light from the overhead lamp, I got a surge of desire that went from my chest right to my core.

  We were going to play this out. I tried hard not to smile too widely when our eyes met. Instead, I put on a sultry expression, my eyes half-lidded. I leaned against the brick wall and put one hand on my hip, trying my best to look slutty. As he walked down the stairs to the alley, I flipped my hair and licked my lips.

  "Dr. Morgan," I said, trying to make my voice sound all breathy. "I've been waiting."

  "You have?" he said and stood in front of me, his eyes moving over my body from head to foot and back. "What were you waiting for?"

  "For you."

  "And who are you?"

  "My name is Katherine."

  "And what did you have in mind, Katherine?" he asked, his hand resting on the wall beside my head.

  I knew that the use of my name like that meant I was supposed to fall into submissive mode.

  "Whatever you want," I replied. "Sir. Anything."

  "Oh, yeah? Anything?"

  I licked my lips again. "Yes, sir. Anything."

  "Hmm," he said and took a lock of my hair in his fingers, sliding down the length until he reached my breast. He let his fingers fall onto the exposed skin, stroking lightly. "That gives me a lot of ideas. Kinky ideas."

  "Those are the best ideas, Sir," I said, fighting not to smile.

  "I see that smile," he said and I could see him fight his own smile. He frowned. "I might have to punish you for impertinence if you keep smiling like that."

  "Really?" I replied, biting my bottom lip. "What did you have in mind, Sir?"

  "That's for me to know and you to be quiet, Katherine, and let me lead. Now, be quiet because I'm going to take you home in that limo and I'm going to shut up that saucy mouth of yours with my cock."

  A surge of desire filled me at the tone of his voice and the leer in his eyes. Then, he leaned closer and kissed me, one hand slipping behind my head, his fingers tangling in my hair.

  When he pulled back, he grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the limo. The driver had the back door open and was waiting for us to get inside. He closed the door once we were and Drake didn't waste any time. As we drove off, Drake pressed me back, lying on top of me, his weight a comfort, one of his hands sliding up my body from my hip to one breast, which he squeezed.

  He kissed me deeply and ground himself against me so that I could feel his erection. He was aroused by our little role playing game. I was as well, my body swelling in response to his touch and to his tongue on mine as he kissed me deeply. When he pulled back, he tugged at my sweater.

  "Take that off. I want to see your breasts."

  I did as he commanded, slipping the sweater off my shoulders and pulling down my top to expose my breasts, my nipples hardening in the cool night air. He nuzzled me, sucking my nipples, squeezing my breasts like he couldn't get enough.

  The car drove through the streets of Manhattan while Drake and I played our little groupie-rock star game and it was only because there was a dark glass partition between us and the driver that I felt able to let myself go and enjoy what he was doing to me.

  "Get on your knees," he said in a hoarse voice. I complied, sliding over him so that I was on my knees between his thighs. I unfastened his belt and unzipped his leather pants, pulling him out of confinement, his cock thick and so hard. I paused for a moment, his shaft in my hand and glanced up to meet his eyes. I slowly licked my lips, wanting to tease him a bit before I took him in my mouth.

  "You're a saucy one," he said, gruffly. "If you don't take me into your mouth soon, I might have to punish you."

  So I did, licking the head of his cock slowly, running my tongue around the rim before sucking the head into my mouth.

  "Oh, that's good, Katherine," he said, his voice a little strained. "That's very good. Keep it up."

  I did, stroking his shaft while I sucked the head. He slipped one hand behind my head, urging me to take more of him into my mouth and I complied, swallowing as much of him as I could manage before gagging.

  "Now, I want you to sit on me," he said, pulling me off his cock. I licked my lips and nodded. I crawled up onto his lap, already so aroused from the build up to that moment that I knew I wouldn't need much to orgasm the first time. "I want you to fuck me until you come."

  "Yes, Sir," I said, breathless, my heart pounding.

  I got into position, my hands on his shoulders, and lowered myself down onto him while he held himself in place. I was already so wet that I slid onto his cock, the pressure from his girth making me shiver.

  His fingers found my clit and when I started to move up and down on his cock, he stroked me deftly, knowing exactly what I needed.

  "Fuck me, Katherine. Come on my cock."

  "Yes, Sir," I managed, my eyes closed as I moved on him. He kissed my throat, stroking me with one hand while squeezing my breast with the other.

  Soon, I felt the pleasure build in my core and I knew it wouldn't take long for me to orgasm.

  "I'm going to..." I said with a gasp as my pleasure crested.

  Drake said nothing but he sucked one nipple, squeezing my breast and that sent a jolt of pleasure right through my body to my clit and sent me over.

  "Oh, God," I cried, exhaling as my body tensed and my orgasm started.

  I stopped my motions while my body convulsed, unable to keep moving. When I was finished, I stopped moving completely, my face beside Drake's.

  Then Drake lifted me up and turned me over so that I laid on my back on the bench seat.

  "Wrap your legs around me," he said, his voice needful.

  I complied, barely able to think, and he began to thrust, hard and fast. I met him with each thrust, and soon, he was breathing hard and I knew he was close.

  "Oh, fuck," he groaned and rammed into me, his eyes rolling up in his head. He thrust slowly through his orgasm, and I enjoyed watching his face as he came, his neck strained, his teet
h gritted.

  He collapsed on top of me, his face beside mine. I smiled to myself as he caught his breath, my arms wrapped around him, his cock still hard and inside of me. I felt such incredible love for him at that moment, my eyes filled with tears. They were tears of happiness.

  Everything seemed right in my world again – for the first time in a long time.

  We'd be moving back to Manhattan. My father and Elaine would return as well, only leaving for short periods to head south in the coldest part of the winter. We'd be back in my beloved Manhattan, close to where Liam would be going to school.

  Most of all, Drake and I were madly in love, with each other and with our lives together.

  Drake pulled back and looked in my eyes. When he saw my tears, a dark expression passed over his face.

  "What are these for?" he asked, and wiped tears off my cheek.

  "Tears of happiness," I replied. "I'm just so happy."

  He kissed me, tenderly.

  "I love you, Kate," he said, his voice filled with emotion.

  "I love you, Drake. So much."

  We lay together like that for a few long moments, enjoying each other as our bodies remained joined.

  Finally, I felt him slip out of my body and we quickly sat up Drake cleaned me up with a tissue from his pocket.

  "You came prepared," I said because of course we didn't have to use a condom.

  "Always," he said with a grin. "I'm always prepared for you, Ms. Bennet."

  Once we were rearranged, our clothes back in place and we were sitting primly in our seats with our seatbelts on, Drake pressed the button and spoke to the driver.

  "Take us home, please," he said, humor in his voice.

  Drake took my hand and kissed my knuckles as we drove through the streets of Manhattan back to our home on 8th Avenue.

  It had been a memorable night – one I wouldn't forget for a long long time...

  Chapter 24

  DRAKE

  Our return to San Francisco was melancholy.

  Despite both of us keeping busy adjusting back into the familiar rhythm of life there, I think both Kate and I missed Manhattan more than we realized. I liked the California weather and Kate liked her studio in the downtown area but we both agreed that Liam was a priority. When he returned to Manhattan after the summer ended and he would go to live with Brenda in Manhattan, we would as well.

  For our remaining time in California, I spent my most of my days and nights with Sophie and Kate since I no longer worked at UCSF, although I made time to pop in and see how my mother was doing. She never recognized me. I suspected that she thought I was Liam, her former husband, if she thought anything at all. It upset me, but I had to accept that there was nothing to be done about it.

  I did see Kent and Amanda frequently at the nursing home and we invited both their families to our place for dinner, getting to meet their spouses and children and establish a relationship with them that I hoped would last for the rest of our lives. I would be sad to say goodbye to them when we left, but at the same time, I had to prioritize Liam. His needs for a stable home and to know his father were primary.

  On her part, Kate spent more time at her new studio, and for a while, we kept busy but no matter how nice the weather or our view of the ocean, the house on the coast wasn't home. For the next two months, we spent our time alternating between Ethan and Elaine's for dinner, or dinner with my new siblings at the family house.

  Our stay in California had been like an extended vacation – filled with excitement because everything was new and the weather was fantastic – but it wasn't home. Until we returned to Manhattan, I had pretty much free access to Liam and he spent a lot of time with us on the beach on the weekends. Brenda was only too happy to allow a sleepover or two and so Liam became used to being around us and was starting to feel more at home.

  Of course, we also spent time with Ethan and Elaine. Kate helped Ethan work with realtors back in Manhattan to find the perfect place for he and Elaine to buy. It took some convincing to get Ethan to agree to sell the penthouse, but neither Kate nor Heath wanted it, and so in the end, Ethan decided to list the apartment and find a smaller, more accessible townhouse in Brooklyn. He didn’t want to be apart from Kate or Heath and our two families for more than a month or two at a time. Ethan and Elaine would take the winters off and spend January and February away but they would return for the warmer weather starting in late March so we could all be together as a big happy family.

  Finally, the week came when Liam was finished with school. He and Brenda were flying to Malaysia for a week and then he'd fly back with Brenda to stay in Manhattan. Preparations were underway for our own move back to New York and we were busy boxing up our things so movers could come and take them away.

  We had one last big dinner at Ethan's and Elaine's place, the night before our flights back to Manhattan. We arranged things so that we took our flights out of San Francisco at the same time as Brenda and Liam and would meet up with them for a quick visit before their flight.

  I could feel that Kate was emotional all that day before we left, and several times, I had to take her in my arms and comfort her. Ethan and Elaine weren't returning for a few weeks due to the timing of their possession date for their new house in Brooklyn. Kate had been hoping that we would all leave at the same time but that hadn’t worked out so it would be a temporary goodbye to her father.

  Kate hated goodbyes.

  We stood in the middle of the living room, boxes of our possessions stacked around us, packing paper crumpled up, a tape dispenser at the ready.

  "What are you so afraid of?" I asked, stroking her hair. "Ethan and Elaine will be following us in two weeks. They'll be fine until then. Elaine has everything in hand."

  Kate nodded and tucked her face into my shoulder, her arms tightening around me.

  "I know. It's just that you never know when it will be the last time you see someone."

  "Ethan's fine," I said and rocked her in my arms. "He's healthy enough, all things considered. He's not weak so you don't have to worry."

  "I'm trying," she said. "I always expect the worst."

  "I understand," I replied and kissed her tenderly. "It's the PTSD. It'll get better with time."

  She sighed and we stood like that for a few moments, enjoying the moment. Outside the window, I could see San Francisco bay. I'd miss the view but we could always come out for a visit.

  We ended the embrace when sounds of Sophie grousing in her crib came over the baby monitor.

  "She's awake," Kate said and slipped out of my arms. "I better get her."

  I let go and watched as Kate went to Sophie's bedroom. Then, I returned to packing, slipping a few of our dishes into a box and stuffing paper around them. The movers were coming in the afternoon and the cleaners were coming the next morning to clean the place before our rental agent took back possession. We'd be staying at Ethan and Elaine's for the night and then would go directly to the airport to take our plane to Manhattan once we turned our keys over to our rental agent.

  Kate returned with Sophie and we spent the rest of the morning finishing up our packing. Sophie played in the living room, where we'd boxed her off in the center of the room so she couldn't hurt herself. The movers came an hour late, and packed up the truck with our boxes and the few items we'd purchased for the house that we wanted to take with us. By the time five thirty came around, the packing was done and so we did one last check of the house and drove to Ethan and Elaine's for the night, our suitcases in the trunk.

  After a last walk on the beach, during which time Kate took pictures of the surf and of Sophie and me walking along in the water, we went up to the house for dinner, which was a somber affair for Kate. I enjoyed Ethan as I usually did, appreciating his dry wit, but Kate was upset at having to say goodbye for even two weeks. At least she knew they'd be following us and arriving not long after. We'd be a big happy family once more when they returned to Manhattan and Liam arrived back from his visit with Chris a
nd his mother in Malaysia.

  When we put Sophie down for the night, we spent an hour going over plans with Ethan and Elaine, and then all of us went to bed, because we had a busy day.

  Kate finally crawled in beside me after brushing her teeth, cuddling up against me, her arm across my chest.

  "I'm so sad," she said and gave me a pout. "I thought I'd be so happy to be leaving, but now I wish we had more time. I barely got to know your new family. Now, we'll only see them on holidays."

  "We can always fly out for a weekend, if you want. Any time."

  "I know. I just wish we could all be together in one place."

  I kissed her forehead and thought about my new family and how I enjoyed talking with my brother and sister and visiting my mother, even if she had no idea who I was. I felt like there was this special hole in my life where they were supposed to be all this time, but I'd been filling that hole with other stuff – work and music and the foundation and the corporation. Now, that hole was starting to feel like I'd found what fit perfectly inside. My mother hadn’t abandoned me. She saved her own life by moving away and finding a new one. She always loved me but couldn’t look after me because of her depression. When she finally got over it, she had a new life that didn’t include me out of shame and guilt.

  But she did love me. Before she lost her mind, she told her second family of her regret and how she wanted them to meet me one day.

  I squeezed Kate and tried to shut off my brain but it was hard. After more than half an hour of lying awake, my eyes open, Kate rolled over and slipped her arm around my neck.

  "You still awake?"

  I nodded. "Yes. Can't seem to fall asleep."

  She moved closer, and draped one leg over mine. "I know what will help."

  Then she kissed me, rolling me over onto my back and lying on top of me. The kiss deepened and I ran my hands down her back to her buttocks.

  "And what is that exactly, Mrs. Morgan?" I asked in mock innocence.