Forever After: Book Five in the Unrestrained Series Read online

  Forever After

  Book Five in the Unrestrained Series

  S. E. Lund

  Acadian Publishing Limited

  Contents

  S. E. Lund Newsletter

  1. Chapter 1 : Drake

  2. Chapter 2 : Kate

  3. Chapter 3 : Drake

  4. Chapter 4 : Kate

  5. Chapter 5 : Drake

  6. Chapter 6 : Kate

  7. Chapter 7 : Drake

  8. Chapter 8 : Kate

  9. Chapter 9 : Drake

  10. Chapter 10 : Kate

  11. Chapter 11 : Drake

  12. Chapter 12 : Kate

  13. Chapter 13 : Drake

  14. Chapter 14 : Kate

  15. Chapter 15 : Drake

  16. Chapter 16 : Kate

  17. Chapter 17 : Drake

  18. Chapter 18 : Kate

  19. Chapter 19 : Drake

  20. Chapter 20 - Kate

  21. Chapter 21 - Drake

  22. Chapter 22 : Kate

  23. Chapter 23 : Drake

  24. Chapter 24 : Kate

  25. Chapter 25 : Drake

  Epilogue : Kate

  About the Author

  S. E. Lund Newsletter

  Copyright © 2017 by S. E. Lund

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ISBN: 978-1-988265-06-3

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  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.”

  I re-read the email. “She wants me to come and meet her tonight before the story goes to print. I guess I better go.”

  Kate frowned. “It’s a bit late, isn’t it?”

  “It’s for the online magazine and the news cycle is now 24 hours, so…” I checked my watch. It was close to 6:45. If I left then, I’d make it to the news room in thirty minutes. Her message said she worked until ten, so we had time to go over the draft so I at least knew what she was going to write and could respond.

  “It was nice of her to give me a head’s up at least,” I said and slipped off the bed.

  Kate frowned. “It would be even nicer if she minded her own business.”

  I grabbed my suit jacket from the chair beside the chest of drawers and slipped it on. “There’s no privacy any longer. For any of us.”

  “I guess not,” Kate replied and finished burping Sophie. She lay Sophie back down, tucked a rolled-up blanket behind her back so she didn’t roll onto her back, and slid off the bed. She came to me and wrapped her hands around my neck.

  “You’re going to miss dinner if you have to go to the office. Why can’t she send you a copy of what she’s going to write and you can respond over the phone or something?”

  I checked the email. “She says she usually doesn’t give people much of a chance to respond but given my delicate circumstances, if I want to come down and speak to her, she’s happy to oblige.”

  “That’s big of her,” Kate said with a harrumph. “She probably wants to seduce you because you’re such a hunk.”

  I laughed out loud at that and squeezed her. “She said I should come down because nothing is secure anymore and so we could talk in private.”

  “Huh,” Kate said and shook her head. “Riiight. She probably wants to blackmail you and force you to be her Dom or something.”

  “You are so suspicious,” I said and kissed her. “I promise you I won’t give in, no matter how she threatens me. I’m no one’s Dom but yours.”

  I squeezed her and then tickled her, enjoying when she squealed with delight. Then, I kissed her more deeply, wishing I could stay home and have a nice soapy bath with her while we waited for Quance to deliver. So, while I had hoped tonight would be the night, unfortunately, Fate intervened and I’d have to leave my beautiful wife and sleeping child and brave the wilds of Manhattan at night.

  “Go ahead and order from Quance. Get whatever you feel like eating,” I said as I adjusted my tie. “When I come back, I’ll have supper.”

  She nodded. “I wish you didn’t have to go. I feel so indulgent getting you all to myself all day and all night.”

  “I wish I could stay, too.”

  I smiled and rubbed her back, kissing the top of her head. Then, I went to the hallway to get my keys. She followed me to the door and kissed me again before I left.

  “Hurry back. And don’t let the bitch give you any trouble.”

  “Don’t worry,” I said and smiled. “I can handle Ms. Peterson.”

  I closed the door behind me and made my way down the street to the parking garage where I kept my car. Manhattan traffic at that time of night was still busy and so I took as many alternate routes as I could to try to make it to Peterson’s office quickly. I didn’t want to waste my night with Kate completely. Finally, in about twenty-five minutes, I arrived at the building and found a parking garage about a block away. I handed the attendant my keys and walked briskly down the still-crowded street to the office of the Herald where Ms. Peterson was located.

  I hoped that my sense of security wasn’t false and that I could, in fact, handle Ms. Peterson.

  Chapter 2 : Kate

  When Drake left, I dropped the fake smile I pasted on my face.

  It was replaced by a face that, when I glanced in the mirror, looked like a zombie instead of what should have been a happy new mother in love with her beautiful baby and wonderful, loving and very handsome husband.

  Instead, I felt this low-level sense of doom hanging over my head – as if something bad was going to happen at any minute and there would be nothing I could do about it.

  I hated myself for feeling that way, but it was the truth.

  I was so damn tired all the time, I felt like it was all I could do to feed and change Sophie when Drake was busy. The rest of the time, I wanted to lie down on the bed, cover my head with a pillow and sleep.

  I hid it from Drake because I felt so unappreciative of how lucky I was. I loved Sophia beyond all thought but often found myself crying at times for no reason. Anything could set me off – a television ad, a song on the stereo, a crazy video on Facebook…

  I was angry that I couldn’t be more thankful. Even though I loved Drake with a passion, I felt so tired all the time, that I didn’t feel like doing anything but sleep and look after Sophia.

  On top of it all, I was also worried about my father, who fell the previous week and seemed to be having small strokes.

  Concerned, I picked up my cell and called his number. After a half dozen rings, Elaine answered, her voice quiet.

  “Hi, Katie, how are you, dear?”

  “I’m fine,” I said softly, although it was a lie. “How’s my dad? Can I speak to him?”

  “He’s sleeping in his chair,” Elaine replied. “He had a trip to the hospital today for a CT scan to see how things are and he’s tired. It’s always such an ordeal getting him there and back, now that he needs a wheelchair to get around.”

  “He needs a wheelchair?” I said
with alarm, my body tensing. “When did this happen? He never said anything…”

  “He didn’t want to upset you,” Elaine replied. “He doesn’t have enough strength in his left side anymore and was starting to lean too much to one side. His doctor said that your father should use a chair or stop going out. If he fell again, he could harm himself because he isn’t strong enough to protect himself from the fall.”

  “Oh, God,” I said and rubbed my forehead. “I wish I’d known. I would have wanted to go with him to the hospital.”

  “You can’t worry about him, Katie. You have enough on your plate with your own recovery and with Sophia. Not to mention the investigation.”

  I closed my eyes, brought back once more to the ongoing investigation into the accident – or should I say, attempted murder. Both Drake and I had been interviewed at the hospital but not since Sophie came home. I told the detectives that Lisa was the culprit, but they said they had to investigate all angles. The husband is always a prime suspect when a wife is attacked. They had to rule Drake out.

  That was the reality of things.

  “Drake is going to meet with this editor at the Herald Magazine tonight to talk about a story they’re going to run in the weekend edition.”

  “Oh, dear,” Elaine said. “They’re notorious about getting everything wrong.”

  I sighed heavily. “I know. I remember a few of their stories on cheating husbands and huge divorce settlements of the rich and famous.”

  “I'm sorry about all this. You have enough to think about, Kate. Don’t worry about your father. He’s fine. We knew he might have to start using a wheelchair to get around. He’s excited about getting the latest model with all the bells and whistles. I’ve had to clear out a path from the kitchen to his office and to our bedroom so he can zoom around with no obstacles. He’s fine, Kate. Really.”

  “If you say so,” I said, unconvinced. “Maybe I’ll come by tomorrow for a visit.”