"Fuck, that was good," he said, his voice next to my ear.
"It was."
"I planned to tie you up and fuck you slowly, but I needed to fuck you fast and hard."
I smiled to myself. I had thought he'd do a full scene, since we would be alone for the entire evening and had the time and ability to focus, but fast and hard had been just as good.
I knew that it would be the first of many.
A week after our glorious night at the Ritz-Carleton, life was back to normal.
I awakened just as the sun was rising and the first rays of sunlight beamed through the crack between the curtains. Dawn was my favorite time of the morning. The house was quiet and Drake and Sophie were sleeping. This morning, she lay between us on her back, her little arms spread wide, her pacifier in her mouth. Although she fell asleep in her crib hours earlier, she started babbling and the sound from the monitor woke me, so I went into her room and brought her into our bed where she quickly settled down. Now, I lay beside her and just watched her sleep. Her hair was starting to grow in and was soft light brown wisps, curling over her ears and down the back of her neck. She was such a beautiful happy baby that I felt I couldn't deny her the comfort of sleeping with us. We'd moved our bed into the corner so that she couldn't fall out if she woke up and crawled around. A safety bedrail had been attached to the foot of the bed so she couldn’t crawl out without waking Drake up.
Beside us, Drake slept on his stomach, naked except for his boxer briefs, a pillow over his head. He worked late last night, kept busy by the surfers and motorcyclists, skateboarders and highway speeders whose antics ended up in trips to the ER and a call to Drake to consult when a brain injury was suspected.
When we arrived, we thought Drake's workload would be lighter than in Manhattan since he wouldn't be taking on any patients outside of those who came in through the ER, but that hadn’t turned out to be the case. The brain injuries were constant, and Drake had been busy.
That was good – he needed to be busy to take his mind off what has been going on back in Manhattan.
The trial made news almost daily with salacious bits of gossip about Lisa Monroe's sex life, Derek Richardson's sex life and Drake's sex life before I met him. Drake had been portrayed as Manhattan's Mr. Grey, even though nothing could be further from the truth. He hadn't faced the daily onslaught he did while he was still in Manhattan, so that had been a relief.
I slipped out of bed, crawling around my two sleeping beauties, and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. When I was dried off and dressed in my sundress, I tiptoed to the great room to make my cup of coffee and start the day. While Drake and Sophie slept, I squeezed some oranges for fresh orange juice. After making toast and peanut butter, I sat on the patio and watched the ocean. Even from our house, I could hear the surf roar in the distance. A few seagulls flew up and down the coastline, looking for their next meal.
I loved it here.
I pulled out my bullet journal and wrote for a few moments, listing all the things I was grateful for in my life – first, Drake. The love of my life. My soulmate and the man who made me realize how loved I was. Second was Sophia and her sunny disposition. Every day I thanked the universe for sending me a baby who was so easy, despite her difficult beginning. Finally, I was thankful that I had been raised by parents who loved me and now I truly appreciated that I was part of an affluent family where I never lacked for anything. I realized that everything was still open for me. I could go back to college and finish my MA when I felt ready. I could paint. I could become a freelance journalist and write about whatever I wanted. I could devote myself to charity, given Drake's money inherited from his father and from the business.
I closed my bullet journal after writing down some goals for the day: enjoy Sophia, show my love to Drake, and check out the studio space in downtown San Francisco.
Life was good.
I heard Sophie making noise on the monitor and went back to the bedroom to retrieve her so Drake could continue to sleep. When she saw me she smiled, her pacifier falling out of her mouth.
"There you are," I whispered as I picked her up where she sat up in bed, playing with her pacifier. "Time to get up."
I carried her to her bedroom and quickly changed her diaper before taking her to the kitchen island for her breakfast. She sat happily in her high chair and played with the toys I placed before her while I fixed her cereal. I dropped a few Cheerios on the high chair tabletop and Sophie was happy to pick each one up and pop it in her mouth.
I heard sounds from the back of the house and realized that Drake was up. I checked my watch – it was still far too early for him to get up, but he was a light sleeper and liked to spend the mornings with us when he could. Later, I'd take Sophie out for a walk and he'd go back to sleep, but for now, we'd have our breakfasts together.
Drake emerged down the hallway, wearing a pair of khaki shorts and nothing else, his hair still mussed from sleep. Seeing him half naked still did it for me. He was such a gorgeous man, tan and fit, his dark hair and blue eyes still making my knees weak.
"Good morning, Mrs. Morgan," he said when he came to my side at the stove. He kissed me and I could taste toothpaste on his tongue. He stroked my hair, smiling down at me. His eyes were still a bit bleary, but he looked somewhat refreshed after his sleep.
"Good morning, Dr. Morgan," I replied and kissed him again, a quick peck on the mouth because my bacon needed flipping. "Would you like bacon and eggs?"
"Sounds fabulous," he said and went over to Sophie, leaning down to kiss her and stroke her head. "My two girls."
Then he sat beside Sophie at the island and fed her a spoonful of cereal. He turned to me after he finished the second spoonful.
"What's on your agenda for today? Are you going to check out that studio space?"
I nodded, eager to look at the space in an old warehouse near the waterfront in San Francisco.
"Elaine's coming over this afternoon to watch Sophie for me so I can go and see it. I saw pictures online, but it's always nice to see the space in person."
"It's exciting," Drake said with a smile. "You'll get to meet a few other artists and make friends."
"I'll be happy just to have a space for myself," I said, feeling a little guilty still that I'd be leaving the house, but Elaine insisted that it would be good for me to create my own life outside of family. "Time to focus on my collection."