Everlasting (Unrestrained 6)

I texted him right back, smiling, a sense of relief filling me. He was right. Now, our lives could re-start and we both could move on.

KATE: I'm so glad. I hope you were okay with me not coming to court. I just couldn't face seeing Lisa or the press afterwards.

DRAKE: No, don't worry. We already talked about this and I meant what I said. I didn’t want you there. You're my wife and Sophie is my baby and none of it is anyone's business.

KATE: Okay. I'll see you when you get home.

He understood. I had to keep telling myself that but I just couldn’t face the prospect of having everyone watching us, watching me, and what they'd say and ask me. Drake didn't want to have to face those questions or cameras either but he had to do it. He had no choice. But at least now, it was all over.

We could both move on, whatever that meant.

I hoped it meant that Drake could finish his Fellowship and that he could eventually practice as a pediatric neurosurgeon. It might mean that I could finish my MA and write and paint. We could go back to living our lives, whether that was in San Francisco part of the year or in Manhattan part of the year.

Liam could come and stay with us in Manhattan if Drake got joint custody and the rest of the time, he could stay with us in California. Because he was in school, we'd have to choose where to live that would be best for him.

We'd work it out. I knew that Drake wanted it and so we would do whatever it took to make it our reality.

When Drake arrived home, he came right over to me and hugged me, pulling me into his arms and kissing me. The kiss was warm but needy, like he needed reassurance that everything else in his life was okay.

"I'm so glad that's over," he said and stroked my cheek, his eyes on mine.

I squeezed him. "Me, too. How did it go?"

He shrugged, sighing a bit. "As well as could be expected. Lisa's lawyer tried to make me sound like a rogue and rake, suggesting I coached her into killing you, but luckily, the judge shut her down."

"How long will the trial go on?"

Drake shook his head and brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. "I'm not sure. The rest of the week and then the jury will convene and deliberate. We should know next week what the verdict is and then there'll be sentencing. If you wanted, you could do a victim impact statement as part of what the judge hears when it comes to sentencing."

"No." I leaned against Drake, enjoying the way his body felt warm and solid against mine. "I don’t ever want to see Lisa again. I'd have to see her if I gave a witness impact statement. I don't want to go to the courthouse, I don't want to be followed by reporters or cameras." I looked up into his eyes. "I just want our old life back."

"Can't get that back, I'm afraid," Drake said, his voice soft. "But we can have our new life. It can be a better life. Us together with Sophie and maybe Liam part of the time. In Manhattan part time and in San Francisco the rest of the time."

"That sounds like a dream."

"We'll make it a reality." He kissed me again. "And now, Mrs. Morgan, I hope you don't mind that I made plans for us. Lara texted me after my testimony and invited us out for dinner with her. I called Karen Mills to see if she could sit for us for a few hours and she was happy to."

I raised my eyebrows. "I'd love to see Lara. That sounds great. When? Tonight?"

Drake rubbed my shoulder. "Tomorrow night. Tonight, I want to put Sophie to bed and then ravage you. I need you, Ms. Bennet."

"I'm yours," I said, my body responding to the sound of need in his voice and words. "To ravage as you see fit."

"Good, because I need you. You don't get pampered enough so expect to be pampered tonight."

I narrowed my eyes playfully. "I thought you said 'ravage' not 'pamper'..."

He smiled. "Ravage. Pamper. For me, they mean the same thing. You will have multiple orgasms. That's all you need to know."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're awfully confident in your ravaging skills?"

He grinned. "They have. For example, you." He kissed me again. "All this talk of ravaging and I'll be unable to wait." He pulled me more tightly against his body so that I could feel his hardness.

"Patience is a virtue," I quipped. Then Sophie let out a yelp and we turned to see that she'd crawled under the side table and banged her head when she sat up and now, couldn't get herself out.

Drake let go of me and went right over, picking her up and kissing her cheeks.

"That'll teach mommy and daddy to kiss and hug when Sophie's on the floor crawling around," he said and rubbed her head. "What were you doing? Getting trapped in the corner? You have to learn how to turn around. It's a great skill."