The Agreement by S. E. Lund Page A

turning it away as
if it was a weapon. Then, he took my hand and opened it, stroking my palm.
"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much and that you do, in fact, want
to have something to do with me."
    I pulled my hand out of his and just stared at
his chin so I could avoid his eyes, heat rising to my cheeks – yet again .
How he made me blush! I was embarrassed by what he thought of me, knowing he
was my father's friend.
    "I don't like being around you," I
said, my voice low.
    "I think you do ," he said, his
voice firm, confident. "You like me. You don’t likethe fact
that you like me. You don't want to like me but you can't help it."
    "I don’t believe you," I said,
my jaw actually dropping that he had the audacity to say that.
"You're," I said, fighting to control my emotions. "You're
awfully certain of yourself."
    I tried to sidle by him, but of course he took
my arm once more.
    "Yes," he said, his face just a few
inches from mine, his expression intense. "I know what I want."
    "Well, so do I. And it's not you ."
    What a liar…
    I pulled my arm out of his hand and turned to
the door, and just then, my father entered. He saw me and smiled.
    "There you two are." He rubbed his
hands together. "Has she shown you her photographs of Africa yet?"
    Drake cleared his throat. "No, she
hasn't."
    "Come on, Kate. Show Drake your photos. I
know he's interested. He's been there many times with Doctors Without Borders.
You two have a lot in common." He took my hand and then he laid a
hand on Drake's shoulder, pulling us both towards my wall of fame.
    Ohhh . It's then I got it.
    Crap .
    My dad was matchmaking …
     
    He pushed the two of us over in front of a wall
filled with my pictures from Africa.
    Then Peter entered the room. "Judge?
There's a call for you."
    My father raised his eyebrows. "Duty calls.
I have to take that, but you two stay here. Kate, show him your photographs.
I'll be back when my call is finished."
    He left us alone. Drake turned to face me but I
refused to look at him. I stood and gazed at the wall, my hands clasped around
my glass in front of me.
    "You're not really going to make me tell
you about my trip to Africa are you?"
    "I most certainly am," Drake said, his
voice soft. "I'm truly interested. I've been to Africa many times.
Besides, I want to see into you, Kate. Right inside. Please, tell me." He
waved at the wall and watched me expectantly.
    "Nothing's going to happen between
us," I said. "The meeting was a mistake so you might as well forget
it. There's no reason for you to see 'right inside' me. We're opposites. You
vote Republican. I'm a Democrat."
    "None of that matters, Kate, when we fuck.
All that matters is that we both need what each other has to offer."
    I inhaled sharply, shocked at how blunt he was
being. "We're not going to… fuck ," I said, forcing the words
out.
    "Whatever you say," he said, smiling.
"I still want you to tell me about these photos. Your father is really
proud."
    I turned away and frowned. He had huge nerve. Of course, he was a Dominant. He was used to getting his
way.  I didn't want to talk about the photographs.
    "There are a lot of painful memories in
them."
    "Just the happy ones, then."
    I took in a deep breath and pointed to a large
picture of Nigel and me in the center. Drake leaned closer.
    "That's us, the day we arrived in Niger.
Our driver took it. Nigel had been there before but I had no idea what to
expect and I was so excited."
    Drake peered at the picture. Nigel was dressed
in khakis, wearing an outback hat with tiny corks dangling from strings on the
brim. He grinned at the camera. I stood beside him, my face beaming. I had a
huge hat on with a floppy brim and dark sunglasses. We stood on a dirt road and
the sun blazed in a heartless sky.
    I told him about several others –
bright-faced children smiling up at the camera. Aid workers in UN uniforms,
stacking sacks of food, others pouring milk into cups or handing out packets of
food and bottles of water.