Page 165 of For the Sub

“There’s a lot to—”

“While you’re considering that…” He reached into his pocket again and pulled out a small, unmistakable jeweler’s box.

He flipped it open, and she seemed mesmerized by the stunning ring he’d selected for her. A single diamond was surrounded by numerous others. “One for each of us, the dogs, cat, and lizards.”

Laughing, tears spilled down her cheeks. “You’ll need two more.”

“Good God, not—”

“Guinea pigs. The rescue—”

“Had no one else to take them?”

“That’s what they said.”

“It’s a custom piece. Easy to add two more diamonds for…”

“Jekyll and Hide. With an I, not a Y. Because he hides all day, and I never see him.”

He laughed. “Can’t wait to meet them.”

“There’s still a million things before I can agree.”

“Let’s talk about them before my knee goes completely numb.”

Though she laughed, she didn’t sound apologetic in the least. “Where would we live? What about my menagerie?” she asked. “And I will need to take in more dogs on a foster basis from time to time.”

“We’ll work it out. If it’s important to you to remain here, we can add on. Or we can find a place with more land so you can have as many pests—I mean pets—as your heart desires. Or we can sell my condo and get a place in the suburbs.”

“You’d really move up here?”

“In a heartbeat, if it means being with you. Nothing matters more.”

“This… It’s almost too much to take in.”

“Say yes, beautiful Brandy. Say you’ll be mine. Forever.”

“I love you, Master Niles.” She met his gaze. Her eyes, blue as a cloudless winter sky, radiated the heat of her inner beauty. “Yes. Yes, yes, Sir.”

He slid the ring into place, and it snuggled in perfectly.

After lifting her hand to his lips, he stood to pull her against him, and he kissed her with all the emotion he’d kept buried until now.

As it went on and on, with them lost in each other, the dogs danced around, barking excitedly.

“About your work at the Den,” he said after the kiss ended. “I’m a selfish, possessive bastard, but I won’t get in the way of what you want to do.”

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

“I figured you had heard. I don’t work there as a submissive anymore. They realized my heart wasn’t in it and, well, kind of embarrassingly, they let me go.”

“You were fired?”

“I’m not sorry,” she hastened to reassure him. “At the time, it stung, I’ll admit it. But I’m doing some remote work for them on the website and online booking system. Interesting work, challenging, too, which I appreciate.”

He dug his hand in her hair and used it as leverage to tip back her head. “I’m not sorry that I don’t have to share you,” he admitted.

---