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Was he jealous of my time away from him? It didn't seem like the Drake I knew and loved. He wanted me to be independent outside of our D/s relationship in the bedroom.
He exhaled, and turned to me, his face a bit guarded. "I thought having a studio in our home would allow you to paint as much as you want. That's all."
"It will, but we'll be here for six months. You'll be away all day every day and on call every three weekends. I need to make a life here for myself apart from you. If I take a class," I said, trying to make it sound harmless, rational. "I might meet a few students I can have coffee with now and then, when you're busy and at the hospital or teaching. With Dawn and me on the outs, I have no one else but you."
"Sure," he said and put his paper down, reaching out to take my hand. He squeezed it, his face earnest. "I will be very busy, especially at first. But I want us to be together when I'm not working. I don't want to compete with anyone for your time and attention. When you agreed to come with me to Africa, I had visions of you waiting for me in our house, pining away for me, dressed in something revealing, nice and wet for when I returned home at night… You know, typical male fantasies…"
I laughed at that. "Don't worry," I said, a little thrill in me that he wanted me all to himself. "When we've been apart, I'm always ready for you."
He kissed my knuckles.
"When you're free, I want to be with you." I squeezed his hand back. "At your beck and call.
" I wagged my eyebrows suggestively.
"At my beck and call, hmm?" he said and grinned wickedly. "I like that. Reminds me of your slave-girl persona. I'll hold you to that, Ms. Bennet."
I was going to make a crack about him holding me to it any time he wanted, but instead, I smiled.
We dressed and ordered a taxi service suggested through the hotel. Our butler gave us the name of the service the hotel used for its foreign guests, and soon, we were in a late model SUV maneuvering through traffic on our way to our first destination.
Claire had provided us with the names of several furniture stores that catered to the expat crowd, and we spent the rest of the day picking out a sofa and love seat, an overstuffed chair and ottoman, coffee tables and end tables and lamps for our new home. By the end of the afternoon, the taxi was filled with packages and we were both exhausted and in need of a drink.
"Let's have a swim, and then a drink before dinner," Drake said as we drove back to the hotel. "I'd love it if a certain slave-girl gave me a nice full body massage tonight. All that shopping used muscles I haven't used for a long time."
"Your wish is my command," I said, smiling and bowing in mock servitude. "The hotel has a spa shop with lots of essential oils and lotions. I'll stop in and get a nice massage oil on our way to the room."
"Sounds amazing," he said as our taxi arrived at the entrance to the hotel.
A doorman helped us with our packages and as Drake and our butler took them back to the room, I stopped in the spa shop and sampled some massage oil and lotions. The woman in a brightly colored spa uniform helped me, suggesting I take a few tools with me to enhance the experience. I picked an oil with a coconut scent and a wooden massage ball.
I arrived back to the hotel room only to find Drake on the phone, his cell to his ear, one hand on his forehead. I put my package down and went to his side. He looked in my eyes, and shrugged.
"Sure," he said, his voice weary. "When should I be there?"
He listened some more and I had a bad feeling about our nice evening.
"OK, fine. See you then." He ended the call and exhaled heavily. "Sorry about this, but we have a patient…"
"Let me guess," I said, a knot of disappointment in the pit of my stomach. "A pediatric trauma case."
"You got it. I'm meeting Michael at the hospital. The child's being air lifted in from a car accident and we're meeting the helicopter. I'm sorry," he said and pulled me into his arms. "Sorrier than you can imagine. I'm exhausted already. Can you manage until I get back?"
"Isn't someone else on call this weekend?"
"Cardoso's sick. Michael's taking his call."
I sighed. "How long will you be?"
He shook his head. "I have no idea, but depending on what we find, surgery could be a few hours. We'll probably stay at the hospital until the child stabilizes. You should go ahead and order dinner in. I'll grab something at the hospital with Michael."
I nodded and squeezed him. And then, the green in my eyes intensified. "Will his resident be operating with you?"
"Sam?" he said, his voice light. "Yes, of course. She scrubs in on all his cases."
I turned away, hiding my frown.
"Kate…" He turned me back to face him. "We already talked about this. How can you still be jealous after last night?"
