Chapter 1 : Drake
The days grew shorter in October and the hot humid Manhattan summer was replaced by cooler, drier air of autumn. I couldn’t help but feel invigorated. With the equinox passed, I could feel the days shorten, the sun setting earlier and earlier, the long shadows cast by the buildings surrounding our apartment on 8th Avenue.
I loved autumn, especially the colors of the trees in Central Park. It reminded me of our wedding almost a year earlier, the one-year anniversary of which was fast approaching. I wanted to do something special for Kate, and show her how happy I was that I bumped into her in that bar so many months ago.
It seemed like yesterday that I was a going through my days at a frenetic pace, keeping busy at work doing surgery, playing with my band on weekends, and spending a few nights a week with my current submissive – whoever she was at the time.
Back then, I thought my life was full, but I was fooling myself.
I was lonely as hell.
Now, my life was truly full, filled with meaning, instead of meaningless things intended to keep me so busy I didn’t know how lonely I was.
I had Kate, the love of my life. My soulmate.
I had Sophia, our child. A beautiful cherub of a baby, with pink cheeks and a bald head. She was quickly gaining weight and if you didn’t know she was a preemie, you’d never guess. Kate was lucky that her breastmilk was rich and Sophia grew very quickly, putting on the weight she should have put on in the womb, before she was so unceremoniously removed from Kate’s body.
I had my Fellowship on hold, so I could spend the year with Kate and Sophia, helping them both recover and hopefully thrive.
I had my practice at New York Presbyterian and although I was on a year’s Leave of Absence, I could return once I felt that things were right with Kate and Sophia.
I even had Mersey, my Brit Invasion cover band. We took a brief hiatus so I could spend my nights with Kate and Sophia, but we were planning on reuniting again. We’d be starting a new season of performances at the local pubs in Manhattan and surrounding boroughs once Kate and Sophie were stable and I felt okay leaving them a few nights a week. Kate insisted that I at least keep up my music, considering I’d given up my Fellowship and practice for a year, and I finally agreed after much coaxing.
So it was that I stood at the window of the 8th Avenue apartment as the sun set and watched the sunlight glint on the windows of the buildings towering around us. In the bedroom, Kate and Sophia slept on our bed, Kate on her side facing Sophia and Sophia on her side facing Kate, having fallen off Kate’s ample breast after a feed.
The two lay on the coverlet and slept and at that moment, I felt such love and contentment. I went over to the bed and crawled in behind Kate, spooning my body against hers, one arm slipping around her waist to touch Sophia. Lying there like that, I had to swallow hard and blink away moisture in my eyes.
Of course, at that moment, my cell buzzed on the nightstand. I didn’t want to answer it, and let it vibrate away, but the sound woke Kate, who turned slightly so she could look at my face.
“Aren’t you going to answer?” she asked, her voice sleepy, her eyes heavy.
“It can wait. I wanted to lie here with the two of you for a while.”
She smiled and moved closer, kissing me softly on the lips. “We’re glad you did.”
I pulled her closer to me and kissed her more deeply, careful to keep Sophia in the corner of my eye. “I love you, Mrs. Morgan.”
She kissed me back. “I love you, Dr. Morgan. What do you want for supper?”
I grinned and narrowed my eyes then squeezed her ample breast, tweaking the nipple between my finger and thumb. The feel of her heavy breast in my hand made my dick stiffen. I pressed it against her and kissed her neck. Then, I rolled on my back and carefully pulled Kate on top of me.
“Dr. Morgan,” she said in mock affront. “In front of our child?”
I laughed and tickled her and she fought not to laugh out loud.
“Luckily, she’s asleep,” I said. “I love you so much I could eat you for supper but we could order in from Quance, if you insist on actual food. You love their ribs.”
She poked me in the ribs. “You’re always hungry.”
“For you? Always.”
We kissed again and I wondered when she’d be ready for sex. It felt to me like she responded, but not with the same interest she once did. I wouldn’t push her. I’d let her signal her readiness. When she kissed me again, I thought maybe she was ready now, but then Sophia stirred on the bed beside us, no doubt woken by the sound of our voices.
Kate struggled out of my arms and sat up, lifting Sophia to her shoulder, deftly tucking a receiving blanket beneath her in case Sophie spit up.
“I have to burp her,” Kate said, and patted Sophia’s back while she rocked back and forth slowly.
I sat beside Kate and stroked her back while she burped Sophie. Little Sophie was still half-asleep, her eyes closed, her cheek resting on Kate’s shoulder. Kate was wearing a sundress that had an easy to remove shoulder strap so she could feed Sophie whenever she needed it.
The domesticity of the moment was so quaint, I decided to take my phone and videotape it so I could show it to Lara when I saw her for lunch the next day. Although Lara wasn’t a maternal person, she was interested in my relationship with Kate, and was always asking for pictures.
I picked up my cell and entered my passcode, only to see a notice of a new email from someone I didn’t know, but the name was familiar. It was sent to my professional email address, so I frowned and opened it up.
Dr. Morgan,
I wanted to offer you the chance to respond to the article that’s going into the weekend paper. One of my reporters has been researching your wife’s assault and she’s tracked down a few inter
esting leads. You may want to see what my reporter has written and prepare yourself. I don’t usually give people much of a chance to respond but due to your delicate circumstances, I thought I’d be nice… I could do this over the phone but given that nothing is secure anymore, you can come down and we can talk in private. Take it or leave it.
Please call me at …
It was signed Janice Peterson, Senior Cultural Editor, New York Herald Magazine.
That last line about preparing myself set me on edge, and I had a sense of gloom envelope me. That could only mean one possible thing: she’d dredged up some information about my past in the BDSM community. It shouldn’t be much of a story, given I was considered a gentle Dom, not a sadist, and only interested in games of D/s with a little bondage thrown in, rather than S/M, but I didn't know what the average reader might think.
I had no idea who this Janice Peterson was, so I quickly googled her name and came up with a website for the paper. It was filled with gossipy pieces about local celebrities and Manhattan’s elite. The paper’s owners seemed to have a thing about bringing down wealthy businessmen and had written a few scandalous pieces about men caught in flagrante delicto with mistresses and their subsequent divorces.
I could only imagine what the editor would want to write about me. Either she thought I was a suspect or she thought I would soon be a newly divorced husband – both of which would be of interest to her gossipy readers.
“I don’t like the looks of this,” I said, my voice low.
Kate craned her neck around to see what I meant. “What is it?” she asked, her eyes wide.
I held out my cell, showing her the email. “The cultural editor at the New York Herald Magazine wants to meet me to discuss an article in a gossip column. She must be interested in doing a story on my scandalous past.”
Kate frowned and rocked Sophia gently. “Oh, God, Drake,” she said and shook her head. “As if you need that.”
“I’m pretty much okay, I think. I’ve let Fred Parker know at NYU that I had a bit of a kinky past, and he was fine about it. Shrugged it off. Said he didn’t care what went on in people’s bedrooms, so long as it was legal.”
Kate sighed. “Still, it’s not going to be pleasant.”
I nodded and took in a deep breath. “I’m glad I’m on a leave of absence for a year. If anything is revealed that is somewhat scandalous, it’ll all blow over by the time I return to finish my Fellowship.”
She nodded, but still looked worried. “I hope so.”