Page 101 of The Masquerade: Room 2

“Except you.” He picks at a piece of lint on the table linen. “I blindsided you with so much. Too much.” There’s a pain in his eyes that crushes me.

“You’ve given me a love I never knew was possible. Acceptance of anything I ask to explore. A life I want. We’ll get through this.”

“What if I never operate again?”

“That won’t happen,” I reassure him.

“But if it does?”

“Then you’ll find another way to fulfill your life and use your talent. We’ll talk about it over dinners in our home.”

“This isn’t what you signed up for.”

“Pierce. Daddy. I love you. I’m in love with you. It’s not contingent on how many surgeries you perform or your accolades.”

“I’m supposed to be your mentor. I can’t bear the thought of taking that away from you.”

“What I can’t bear is the thought of losing you. The man, not the surgeon. My Daddy. My Dom. My lover and friend. And one day… my husband.”

His eyes shoot up to meet mine. “What?”

“You heard me. I want to be your wife. I want you to be my husband. There’s no one else I want to explore and experience this life with.”

“You’re saying yes?”

“I’m saying yes.” Within seconds, he has me out of the chair and in his arms, twirling me around under a twinkling fairy tale in the heart of Manhattan.

“I love you so much, Freya. You’re making me the happiest man in the world.”

“I love you too. No matter what comes our way, we’ll face it together.”

Pierce kisses me with a passion so fierce it overwhelms me. I never thought I was capable of a love like this. I always felt out of my element. That I didn’t fit in with the ‘norm’ when it came to dating. Now, at this moment, I know I was holding out for something that’s so much more than ‘normal.’ I found the other half of my soul. He sees me and accepts me—my flaws, my kinks—everything that I’ve been holding in for so long, fearful I’d be judged and never believing I’d be loved.

“If I’d have known this was where tonight was going, I’d have brought your ring with me,” he says between kisses.

“What? You have a ring? But when you asked me, it was so spur of the moment.”

“I’ve had the ring since the day after we met.” My heart takes flight, a swarm of butterflies filling my chest as his lips crash down on mine.

I was so worried that he proposed in a knee-jerk reaction to everything that’s going on. The thought he knew long before I did that we were meant to be—it’s more than I could ever hope for. “Really? You didn’t even know my name or if I’d ever come back to the club.”

He sets me on my feet, cupping my face in his strong hands with a smile that could melt a glacier. “The second I laid eyes on you across the room, your soul called to mine, little one. I knew I had to know you, love you, and make you mine. You’ve always been the one, Freya, even before I saw your face. I fell in love with your vulnerability and willingness to take the leap and let me worship your body. I’m hook, line, and sinker in love with you, Dr. Freya Perrington.”

“That’ll be Dr. Freya Harrison to you.”

“Are you kidding me?” His eyes become glassy, his demeanor so serious I worry he doesn’t want me to change my name.

“No. You’re my home, Pierce. We’re family now.”

“I don’t remember what it’s like to have a family. Are you sure you want to take my name?”

“Yes. I’m proud to be yours, and I always will be. It’s you and me from here on out, okay?”

“Okay? I’m… I don’t deserve…” His lips press so tight against mine it hurts, pouring every ounce of overwhelming emotion into this one kiss.

Sealing our forever, no matter what comes our way. I am his, and he is mine.

Chapter 21

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