The Commitment(88)

"You have to trust me, too."

"How can I when you didn't tell me right away? Were you hoping it would never come up?"

"Every time I tried to tell you, you'd do something to stop me. I wanted to find the right time, and well, you read the paper…"

"It upsets me that it was Dave who told me. It hurts that he had to phone me to ask if I'd seen the picture."

I sighed. "I was wrong not to tell you right away. I didn't think it was important. It meant nothing to me. If anything, it reinforced why Kurt and I broke up. You have no reason to be jealous."

"You have to understand," he said, touching my cheek. "Your father tried to fix you up with Kurt first, before me. He thought Kurt was just your type. He thought Kurt was perfect for you. I was around, listening to him talk about Kurt and how he wanted you to get together."

"What?"

He nodded. "You know, Kurt's a Marine like he was and like my father. A veteran. A pilot. Strong. Intelligent. A bit older than you, but still, closer to your age. He's really good looking, on top of everything. You have to understand back then, I was forced to listen to your father's campaign to get you together with Kurt. He told me all about how he thought Kurt was perfect for you and that you'd love him…"

I shook my head. "He's not. I don't – he's nothing to me. You're everything."

"I was like second best to your father," Drake said, a rueful smile on his face. "If Kurt didn't work out, there was always me."

"You're better. A million times better. And I can't believe my father talked to you about setting me up with Kurt. Why?"

"I asked about you. Frequently. He seemed to want to talk about you to someone. He was busy trying to get you together with Kurt when we started to become friends. I figured he didn't consider me because I'm so much older than you."

"I like that you're older than me. I've told you that."

"Still," he said, his voice hesitant. "You might not always like it."

I shook my head. "I can't imagine not being with you. Not loving you."

He sighed and played with a lock of my hair. "People stop loving you, Kate. I know."

"Not always."

He looked so sad, so hurt, I felt terrible and tears came once more to my eyes.

"Drake, I'm so sorry," I said, my voice breaking. "This is all my fault. I should have told you right away, as soon as you woke up."

He nodded and touched my cheek with his fingers. "You should have."

"Please forgive me."

He forced a smile. "I do." His gaze moved over my face, before finally coming to rest on my lip. "But I'm going to have to punish you."

"What?" I pulled back in shock.

He nodded. "You broke the rules about truth. You know you're supposed to always tell me the truth. You are not allowed to hide things from me. I have to punish you or what kind of Dom would I be?"

"I don't want you to spank me."

"Kate. You intentionally didn't tell me about Kurt. You intentionally deceived me. I asked you if you saw anyone I'd know at the function. You saw Kurt. A lie of omission is as bad as one of commission."

"I don't want you to punish me," I said again, shaking my head, trying to get away from him. "I don’t want you to spank me again."

"It's not about what you want," he said, holding me, preventing my escape. "This is about the rules, Katherine."

"That's not fair," I said, afraid of where this was going. "You let the rules fall by the wayside when it suits you, and enforce them when it suits you."

"I'm the Dominant. I'm the Master. It's my prerogative. You should re-read the agreement."

I pushed away from him and finally succeeded in extracting myself from his arms.

"I'll rip the fucking agreement up." I stormed away, tears starting fresh. This was going sour very fast. I was not going to let him spank me again. I stopped inside the door to the bedroom. "Look," I said, trying to get control of my emotions. "I was wrong to hide what happened with Kurt, but as far as I'm concerned, if you spank me, it will be overkill."

Drake came to me, his arms on either side of me, preventing me from moving. "In case you misunderstood, in our power exchange, I'm the one who decides about punishment. Your breaking the rules about lying was not accidental. It was intentional. You have to be punished. I choose the punishment."

He grabbed my arm, then he sat on the bed and pulled me over his lap, one of his legs thrown over mine, confining me completely. I could only wriggle, my arms flailing to try to stop him, but he finally succeeded in controlling me, one hand holding mine.