Knight Takes Queen (30 page)

‘I’ll bet you did. Let’s stop.’

She laughed. ‘God damn, I’m going to have to whip you into shape.’ She gave a little wave of her hand. ‘And I see I have a lot of choices here.’ Then she made a wry face. ‘Seriously, you really used those whips?’

He shrugged. ‘A long time ago, baby. Everything’s been sitting here since I met you.’

‘It’s not all bad, I suppose.’

He smiled. ‘I could tell from your screams. I’ll show you a couple more things tomorrow. You’ll like them.’

She looked doubtful. ‘I don’t know …’

‘Trust me, baby. I do.’ He came to his feet. ‘I’m going to carry you to bed now. You really should rest. And I’m over my tantrum. We’ll just have a little fun tomorrow,’ he said, lifting her in his arms. ‘And if you want to stay for a few days, we’ll stay. Otherwise, we’ll head home. It’s up to you.’

As soon as Katherine was sleeping, Dominic called Yash and had him begin hiring doctors. Since he was going to be having sex with his wife more or less continuously for three weeks, and considering she’d conceived last time against impossible odds, there was little to no question he’d be needing a full team of OB doctors.

But during the course of the next three weeks, there were times when he thought better of his agreement, wanted to undo it. And he’d turn surly and perform his function as stud with a kind of wounded umbrage.

Fortunately, Katherine was fully capable of standing up to him.

All in all though, it was mostly a whole lot of fun and only a tiny percentage of strife. They both had tempers and in this instance, relatively divergent interests. Neither had expected complete harmony.

At base though, Dominic took pleasure in Kate’s audacity. It was what had first intrigued him in Palo Alto, then
charmed in Hong Kong and ultimately made her irresistible and the love of his life.

While Kate loved Dominic even more for obliging her.

Despite his reluctance.

So while they occasionally navigated a maze of conflicting emotions, their sexual compatibility was always conspicuous for its white-hot lust and passion. Dominic did what he did well – provoking, tantalizing, intoxicating his wife’s impatient desires, with mesmerizing subtlety, with matchless expertise, taking her time after time to a seething, frantic, tempestuous climax.

He’d occasionally smile and say, ‘Baby, slow down once and a while. You know … just for a change.’

‘That’s for the advice,’ she’d whisper, eyes shut, bliss strumming through her body like a fine orchestral version of paradise. ‘Next time.’

But she never did.

Not that he had grounds for complaint. After weeks of sexual temperance while Katherine healed, he had a permanent hard-on, his issue with the reckless gamble notwithstanding. Although, that persistent, chafing dissent spurred his agenda.

At some mindless, incoherent level he needed payback.

‘No,’ he’d say at times when she’d ask for something. ‘We’re doing this my way. Any questions?’

The look in his eyes always reminded her of that first night in Hong Kong when she’d told him she couldn’t wait and he’d said,
You have to
. But he’d given her so much since
then, had given so much of himself, was giving her now what she most wished in the world. She’d smile. ‘I won’t ask for anything, I promise.’

‘Except my dick inside you for three weeks,’ he’d growled.

‘Except that,’ she’d say sweetly into the thundercloud of his scowl.

So the game was played out his way, on his terms.

Dominic took her shopping and screwed her in whatever dressing room they were in, ignoring her protests and embarrassment. ‘Don’t worry about it. We bought out the store. They don’t care. And you want a baby, don’t you?’ He knew how to shut her up.

They went out for lunch, often. They were on a three-week hiatus. ‘So why not?’ he’d say. Which meant he screwed her in the bathrooms of a great many restaurants.

He excused them before dessert at Melanie’s one night, politely, with a perfectly reasonable excuse, and took Kate home and fucked her. That time for almost two days, practically non-stop. He couldn’t even blame his temper that time. His dick was on a roll.

Kate never had a second period. They both knew she wouldn’t.

And a few weeks later, when she joyfully said, ‘I’m way past what should have been my period. I’m going to check,’ Dominic just nodded, relatively complacent. ‘Go for it, baby.’

She did a small double take at Dominic’s easygoing reply. ‘You don’t seem very conflicted anymore.’

He smiled. ‘Maybe I’m getting used to the idea.’

Or maybe the fact that Yash had almost all the doctors under contract offered him a measure of comfort. With the exception of the paediatric surgeon, the medical team was settled in next door or down the street. Dominic had purchased three more houses on the block and with the staff in place, he was feeling as safe as he was going to be.

No surprise, the pregnancy test came back positive. They celebrated with dinner at Lucia’s and a night of lovemaking that could only be characterized as magical. And while Dominic couldn’t rejoice with equal jubilation, he saw that the woman who meant the world to him was blissfully satisfied.

The following morning, Dominic woke very early, threw on a pair of shorts and went downstairs to his office. Shutting the door, he glanced at the clock, quickly computed the time in New York, and dialled a number Yash had given him.

The call was answered with a crisp, ‘Frank Gregory here.’

‘My apologies for calling so early, but I wanted to catch you before you left for work. I’m Dominic Knight.’

An exasperated sigh. ‘I’ve already told your people no. All eight of them.’

‘I heard,’ Dominic said, mildly. ‘But I understand your girlfriend can’t get a divorce. I can help you with that.’

‘It’s not a situation that can be remedied.’ The doctor didn’t say,
How do you know?
because he had to have been vetted by Dominic Knight before he’d been offered the lucrative position.

‘If I
could
get your girlfriend a divorce,’ Dominic said with a measured calm, ‘would you agree to a ten-month
contract? I’ll see that you have a house for your girlfriend and son, therapy for your boy—’

‘You don’t understand.’ The doctor spoke brusquely, an underlying frustration to his tone. ‘Giselle won’t leave her daughter and her husband is opposed to joint custody. Accepting your offer would mean abandoning Giselle and my son. I won’t do that.’

‘I can make her husband change his mind.’

‘Money won’t change his mind. You have to know that.’

‘I do.’ Harold Parks was a billionaire. ‘Nevertheless, my offer stands. Are you interested? Ten months. Name your fee and your requirements. I can provide you with a full array of services: live-in help, a physical therapist onsite, a nutritionist, occupational therapy. I almost lost my wife with her last pregnancy. We did lose our child. Now Katherine’s pregnant again and I’m trying to avoid a similar outcome. You’re the best in the neonatal field. I need you. And to be perfectly blunt, you could use my clout and ruthlessness. I can make Harold change his mind about a divorce and custody. In fact, your girlfriend might get sole custody. What do you say?’

‘You must be the closer?’ Gregory’s voice was sardonic.

‘No, I’m a desperate man like you. We can help each other.’

There was a few seconds of silence. ‘I would have to be assured that a divorce and custody were possible.’

‘You have my word.’ A reply issued with the absolutism of immense resources, power and a take-no-prisoners mentality.
‘I’ll have the papers served tomorrow. I’ll have a private message hand delivered to Harold this afternoon in New York. You should have the signed divorce papers within two days. I’ll see that Harold understands the time line. Do you need to get confirmation from your girlfriend?’

‘No.’

Dominic’s sigh was unmistakably one of relief. ‘Perfect. Send your requirements to my ADC, Max Roche. I’ll give you his email address or his phone number if you prefer. Whatever you can say to me, you can say to him. I’ll also give you my cell and home number. Any questions, concerns, call me. And I can’t thank you enough.’ Dominic softly inhaled, then spoke with an almost painful earnestness. ‘My wife is precious to me. I’m sure you understand the feeling.’

After the call ended, Dominic leaned back in his chair and let the tension drain from his body.
Done
. The last holdout talked in. Katherine was safe or semi-safe or within the perimeters of modern medicine, safe.

He had the best doctors on the planet.

He’d done everything he could.

Stretching the last kinks out of his shoulders, he leaned forward, picked up the phone and called Max.

‘I can hear it in your voice. You got him.’

‘Yep. Provided we deliver. So I need Danny in New York this afternoon to hand over the video to Harold Parks. I also need our New York attorneys to arrange the divorce papers and serve them tomorrow. I already gave them the particulars. It’s not complicated when the wife doesn’t
want anything but her daughter. Shit, Harold should be grateful.’

‘Except he loses the fight.’

‘Better him than me,’ Dominic said, bluntly.

‘I guess it never pays to fuck little girls in a hotel room,’ Max said, drily.

‘Or anywhere, but certainly not there. How much did the video cost? It took a while to find.’ Leo had been combing the Bangkok underworld for a month. Dominic knew the rumours about Harold; the vice-ridden world of major money was small.

‘It’s a big city. But it wasn’t expensive. Prices are low in Bangkok.’

‘Unfortunately even for little girls.’

‘No shit. But Leo bought the place like you said, shut it down, sent all the’, Max sighed, ‘wee children home with substantial pensions.’ Another sigh. ‘Not that they won’t be exploited again. But their families have enough to live large. Their level of greed is the only unknown.’

‘Yeah – lots of luck with that,’ Dominic muttered.

‘You tried anyway. The rest is up to them. And if nothing else, Parks might think twice before he molests young girls again. Certainly, it should take care of any custody issues with his eight-year-old daughter.’

‘So one would hope. But make sure Danny leans on Harold hard – I mean till he’s squealing. I need this divorce.’

‘Don’t worry. Danny’ll make sure he understands.’

‘Good. I told Gregory to contact you with his requests.
Then if you’d give him a list of those services we talked about for his boy. The kid’s improving I hear, relearning how to walk and talk after his accident. So get Gregory whatever he needs. He
will
need a house. If our neighbourhood won’t do, give him what he wants so long as it’s within a five-minute drive. That’s it, I think.’ Dominic blew out a breath. ‘I’m so fucking stoked. He’s the best neonatal paediatrician in the world. He can save babies as small as a pound. And this pregnancy is going to be terrifying the entire nine months.’

‘Is Katherine terrified too?’

‘God no. She’s fucking all la-dee-da and smiling up a storm.’

‘Then maybe you should relax.’

‘I’ll relax in nine months. Until then, I’ll be living my worst fucking nightmare.’

‘If we can do anything to help, just ask. Liv and Conall will be here tomorrow.’

‘Thanks, Max. And thanks for pulling up stakes until this is over. I just don’t know how much I can be engaged in day-to-day business. I’ll work at night when Katherine’s sleeping, but otherwise I’m going to be looking after her.’

‘We’ll manage. It’s not as though you’re incommunicado. We have a question you’re around. By the way, have you met Roscoe’s new girlfriend?’

‘Once. At Lucia’s. We had dinner with them.’

‘I think he’s serious.’

‘
She
certainly is,’ Dominic said, drily.

‘What – too young, too poor?’

‘Add too needy. Although Roscoe likes to take care of women.’

‘Until he gets tired of taking care of them.’

‘True. Although I’m the last person in the world to give advice about women. I didn’t have a clue I even wanted a woman until I met Katherine. And then I didn’t have a choice. A list of pros and cons, similar likes or backgrounds – none of that mattered. I had to have her.’ He laughed. ‘You plan and you plan – right?’

‘I’m guessing you don’t plan love.’

‘So it seems. I hear Katherine upstairs. She’s up early. I’ll talk to you later.’

A few moments later, he stood in the bathroom doorway watching Kate run a brush through her curls. ‘Up at the crack of dawn for you. What’s on the agenda today?’

She gave him a sideways glance. ‘Aren’t you going to work anymore?’

‘I work. Just from home, that’s all.’

She smiled, put the brush down and picked up a lipstick. ‘You don’t have to hover over me, you know.’

His brows rose. ‘Actually I don’t know that. As I recall, you said and I quote,
I’ll do everything you ask. I won’t argue or complain
. Would you like me to go on? Because I distinctly remember every fucking word.’

‘Oh, very well,’ she muttered, running some pink lipstick over her bottom lip, then, snapping the tube shut, she turned to Dominic. ‘I remember.’

‘Good. Then we don’t have to argue about it.’ His voice softened. ‘Want me to find you some clothes?’

Untying her robe, she shrugged out of it, tossed it on the counter and moved towards Dominic. ‘Why don’t you find me some
afterwards
.’

He smiled. ‘You need help with something else?’

‘Maybe something to help me wake up,’ she purred, sliding her arms around his waist, rising on tiptoe and kissing his chin, then his mouth as he dipped his head.

‘As long as you follow instructions.’ He pushed a curl off her forehead. ‘I’ll make them easy.’

‘What if I don’t want easy?’

‘It’s not your choice anymore, baby. But the happy ending’s still the same.’ He grinned. ‘Look at the bright side.’

‘God damn, Dominic, when I come through this pregnancy with flying colours, you’re going to pay big time for making me suffer. For depriving me.’

‘If you come through this pregnancy with flying colours, baby, you can have the whole fucking world wrapped in a bow. OK?’

‘Oh OK,’ she said, softly sighing. ‘But when this is over, I’m going to want your dick wrapped in a bow too. I’m going to want him ready to rock.’ Dominic had refused to engage in anything even approaching headbanger sex.

‘You won’t have to ask him twice, believe me,’ Dominic said drily.

‘So then,’ Kate said, cheerfully, ‘are we both marking off the days or only me?’

Dominic laughed. ‘Jesus, how about one thing at a time. It’s baby production now. There’s plenty of time to fuck our brains out later.’

‘Could I get that in writing?’

‘No problem, baby. I’ll carve it in stone and set it on your desk. You’re not the only one feeling deprived.’ He quickly put his finger over her mouth. ‘A general statement, not serious. Don’t blow up. I want this baby, but I want you healthy and alive a million times more. So we’re going to be adults about this. Think you can do that?’