Forever After (Unrestrained 5)

“You are my man,” I said and smiled back, narrowing my eyes. “Every delicious hard inch of you.”

He laughed at that, his eyes twinkling. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

“I hope to see something,” I replied, trying to keep up with the playful banter. “I hope to feel something, too. And taste something.”

“Mrs. Morgan, I believe you will give me terrible blue balls unless you follow through with your seductive promises.”

“I will follow through,” I said and pressed my hips against his again. “I need you. I need this. After this hell we’ve both been through, we need each other.”

“More than ever,” Drake said, his voice filled with emotion. He bent down and kissed me again, then pulled me deep into his embrace, his lips at my neck. Then I heard him chuckle softly. “Even if you smell a bit like baby puke…”

I laughed and pulled away. “I’ll have a shower first, I promise. This afternoon, when she goes down for a nap.”

“It’s a date.”

It was pretty thrilling to hear the details of the arrest and arraignment of Jones, Lisa’s submissive partner in crime. Cases like theirs didn’t happen often and so I felt quite like a voyeur as I listened to the reporters talk about Jones and the details police were releasing. Someone had found images of Jones online and posted them, and they were quite explicit. The pictures showed him naked from the waist up, his chest bare, except for some large tribal tattoos, and a very well-developed six pack. He was good looking in a rugged sort of way, and I wondered if he realized what he was getting into when he first sighed up to be Lisa’s submissive.

At that, my cell phone rang and I pulled out of Drake’s arms with reluctance. “I’ll have to get that. It’s probably my father or Elaine.”

I went to my phone and sure enough, it was my dad’s number.

“Hi, Daddy,” I said and smiled when I heard his voice.

“Hi, Sweetheart, your old man calling to say I heard the news that they finally arrested someone in the Richardson murder case. What do you know?”

I sat on the sofa beside Drake. “Apparently, Lisa and her boyfriend kidnapped Derek with the idea of extorting money from him and Jones killed him when he tried to escape. Jones confessed everything to the police, according to Drake’s lawyer. It was enough to clear Drake of any involvement so they won’t be pursuing him as a suspect in my attack any longer.”

“That’s good. I knew they’d clear him eventually, but I was surprised it took so damn long.”

“Yeah,” I said and turned to Drake, brushing hair off his cheek. “I knew they would, too, but it was still annoying and pretty much ruined Drake’s year.”

“It's such a shame they kicked him off the board,” my father replied, his voice sounding tired. “Hey, look Sweetheart, there’s another reason I’m calling. Elaine and I have been talking about finding another place in a warmer climate. Since the stroke, it's hard for me to get out and during the winter, I'll have an even harder time getting fresh air. We thought we might find a place Somewhere in California. What do you think?"

"What do I think?" I said, a shock of adrenaline going through me. "I don’t want you to leave Manhattan!"

"We'd keep the place here but spend most of the year there. We were thinking Monterey. Somewhere with good weather, and somewhere more wheelchair accessible.

“Monterey?” A wave of sadness went through me at the prospect of not having my father around all the time. “That’s so far away…”

“It’s only a few hours by plane. Of course, you and Drake and Sophie would be welcome to come and stay with us any time you want. We’ll get a place big enough to have you and Heath come to visit. We’ll get a place with a pool, and have a nice yard. Think of it – barbecues every night under the stars. The ocean, the beach. It’ll be great.”

“Aww,” I said and actual tears sprung to my eyes and my throat was all choky with emotion. “I’m going to feel so lonely if you go…”

Drake looked at me, his brow furrowed. “What?” he asked softly.

I covered my phone with my hand. “Dad and Elaine are thinking of moving to Monterey, California.”

Drake nodded and rubbed my shoulder affectionately. “That would be good for him.”

“I don’t want you to move away, Daddy,” I said and I realized I was whining, but I truly felt sadness at the prospect of not having him there for me whenever I wanted to pop by and see him.

“We can Skype anytime you want," he said, his voice soothing. "I’m tech savvy for a half-

paralyzed old coot. Plus, you can text me or email me and we’ll be connected on Facebook…”

“I’m so sad,” I said again, and blinked back tears. “But I understand it would be good for you. Of course I’ll come and visit. Drake and I have the year off so why not? It would be nice to visit the ocean and see the sights.”

I looked in Drake’s eyes. “Tell Ethan I’ll miss him,” he said. “He’s the only father I have now.”