"Tell me about Sunita."
He inhaled deeply. "I knew it," he said, shaking his head. Then he lay back on the bed and ran his fingers through his messy black hair. He hadn't had a haircut for weeks and it had grown a bit longer than normal.
"Tell me, Drake. Dawn said I should ask you what happened with her."
"What did Dawn tell you about her?"
I shook my head, a sense of disquiet settling over me. "She said I should ask you about her. That's all. Nothing else."
He closed his eyes. "Sunita was one of my first subs. You have to understand," he said, rising up on his elbow, his eyes intense. "Lara didn't believe I wasn't into pain. She thought I was being gallant, so she thought Sunita might help bring it out. Sunita was a bit of a painslut. Lara was trying to see if I was into pain."
I frowned.
"I tried, Kate," he said, his expression pleading. "It did nothing for me so I didn't do it with any conviction. Sunita had a bit of a crush on me. She was upset when things didn't work out between us and tried to stir up trouble."
"What did she do?"
"She tried to force me to do what she wanted. Lara finally hooked Sunita up with a new Dom, but she's always made me know how she feels. I've seen her a few times at dungeon parties and she's tried to get back with me. I've always refused her politely."
"Then you intentionally hurt her."
"Only as part of my training," he said, a note of protest in his voice. "Once I discovered my own hard limits, I never did S&M again. What is it with Dawn?" he said, leaning over to kiss my shoulder. "Why can't she understand?"
"She was traumatized as a young girl. It's her blind spot."
"You're very generous with her." He shook his head. "If she were my friend, I'd have ended it with her by now."
"She's only trying to help. She really believes I'm in danger from you."
He pulled me into his lap, so that my arms threaded around his neck. "I hope you know you're not. I'd never purposely hurt you, Kate. I love you."
"I know," I said, but a creeping sense of unease spread through me. Dawn had to go and ruin a very nice evening with Drake.
Part of me hated her.
Part of me wanted to block her from my life, block her emails, her phone calls. But she truly was acting from a place of concern.
"Look, if you doubt me, Lara can tell you."
"No, that's all right," I said, feeling bad now for even asking about Sunita. "I don't need to call her. You've never done anything to make me question you. I've never been afraid of you."
He nodded. "We have to trust each other for this relationship to work."
"I know. But maybe before we leave, I'll meet with Dawn and have it out. Try to reason with her."
"Why?" he said. "What do you owe her? She tried to break us up. She tried to harm me professionally."
"She did." I cupped his cheek with my hand. "But she's like family. I've been her friend forever. I owe her one last chance to make her understand. Or at least, accept."
He sighed and pulled me closer, his face in the crook of my neck. "You're too good."
"She's been there for me through so much of my own stuff. When my mother died. Flyboy. Problems with my father. Africa. I can't throw her over without one last try."
He nodded, pushing my hair away from my shoulder, which he bit softly then kissed.
"Sweet forgiving Kate." He pulled me down on top of him so that I lay with his arms around my waist, my head resting on his chest. "If you really want to see her, go ahead, but at some point, you'll have to decide if keeping her as a friend is worth the aggravation. You go to sleep. I have to zip to the hospital and check on a case."
I nodded and watched as he dressed and left me alone in the apartment.