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I was such a fool.
I went to him and did exactly what he demanded, sitting on him, my thighs straddling his hips, my arms around his neck. I kissed him finally, emotions overwhelming me from being away from him all weekend, the things Sefton had said and done, seeing Sam touching Drake. I kissed him like my very life dep
ended on it, my tongue finding his, and when it did, he groaned, slipping his arms around me, pulling me tightly against him, his sharp intake of breath making my insides melt. He sucked my tongue into his mouth hungrily and my entire body responded, shaking from the intensity of my love and desire for him.
He pulled back, breaking our kiss. "I'm so sorry she did that and you had to see it," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "She means nothing to me. Nothing. Only you. You're everything to me."
He pulled me back into his arms, kissing me hungrily once more, his hands sliding up my back, under my shirt, one hand slipping around to cup my breast through my bra.
"Oh, God, I missed you, Kate. I don't want you going away without me again. It was hell thinking of you alone with him where I should have been. I hated it."
"You seemed fine with me going despite him being there," I said.
"I didn’t want to deny you the chance to go on safari." He ran his fingers through my hair. "I wanted to be with you on safari. I wanted to look at the stars with you – at night in the middle of the savannah. Instead, it was him." He shook his head. "I was incredibly jealous, but I knew I couldn't keep you from going, even if he was there. You're an artist and you need to do art."
I ran my fingers over his shoulder. "I don’t know if I am an artist." Sefton's words came back to me. "I don't know if what I do is really art."
"How can you say that?" Drake said, frowning. "Your teacher invited you to take the master class. It means she sees you as an artist, even if you don't."
" It's OK," I said. "I'm trying to be an artist." I took in a deep cleansing breath. "Let's go home."
He nodded and kissed me once more.
"Oh, Ms. Bennet," he said when the kiss ended. He smiled, touching my cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I missed you so much. I didn't want to go home and have to sleep alone in our bed. I couldn't face it so I stayed here and slept on a bunk. Don’t leave me ever again."
I smiled at that and kissed him. "I won't."
"I mean it," he said, his voice somber. "Promise me we'll never spend another night apart."
"Promise." I leaned down, nestling my face in the crook of his neck. Finally, he stood, picking me up in the process. I slid down his body with reluctance and he went to his jacket and removed his cell. He examined it for a moment.
"Claire texted me and left a voice mail. Do you want me to read them?"
"If you want."
He held the phone in his hand, as if weighing his decision. Then he handed it to me.
"You read. You listen. Delete both afterwards if you want. I trust you."
I took the phone while he went to the staff washroom and I read Claire's text. There was no phone message except my own, which I left intact. I wanted him to hear how upset I was.
As for Claire, her text was what I expected.
Drake, I don't know how to break this to you, but I tell you as someone who has your best interests at heart. I found Kate with Sefton deVilliers, one of the art instructors she's taking a class with, and they were alone in our tent and in each other's arms. You can imagine how shocked I was for we thought that she was so sweet and would be so good for you. I'm sorry to be the one to bear bad news. You can count on Michael and me to help if you need it at all dealing with this.
I handed the phone to Drake when he returned.
"I didn't delete anything. I want you to know what she wrote and what I said."
He read it and rubbed his eyes after. Then, he listened to my voicemail.
When he was finished, he slipped the phone into his pocket.
"You said he had hold of your arms. Were you embracing?"
I shook my head. "No. He grabbed hold of my arm like this," I said and demonstrated. "It actually hurt. I thought he might force me to kiss him, or worse. He saw your bite mark when I took off my shirt during the mid-day heat, and he thought I was into rough play so there's no telling what he might have done if I hadn't threatened to scream."
He sighed. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'm sorry Claire misunderstood the situation and didn't try to help you. Michael's a very close friend of mine. I don't want there to be any hard feelings between us. I'm going to have to go in damage control mode with him."
