Page 167 of Season of Gifts

Jay gasped, and she swayed toward him, hands aching to pet and stroke and soothe.

Gripping the supple leather at either end, Henry snapped it taut.“No fulfillment of tasks or collecting of points can obtain what I grant.No other may emulate your path in hopes of supplanting you, for it is not what you do but who you are that makes you mine.This collar cannot be taken from you.It will never be used as a weapon to compel your submission, nor its removal threatened for failure to complete some task.Do you understand?”

A full-throated sigh relaxed Jay’s shoulders.He bowed his head in a bobbing nod.“Yes, Master Henry.Thank you for making me yours.”

“You are—” Henry tipped his chin; his eyes ever so briefly closed.“I am reminded that I wish to be more transparent with my loves.”He included her in his gaze, his face softening, his body fit but not muscular, a naked, vulnerable man at the edge of forty wearing nothing but the ring on his finger that proclaimed him theirs.“I have withheld this gift out of fear.Not yours but mine—that marking you as my possession would be wholly for the satisfaction of my ego, to silence a long-ago fear of being left alone.”

Could she hug Henry right this second, in the middle of Jay’s moment?Could they both bull rush him and pin him to the rug and cover him in kisses and promise he would never, ever be alone?Adrenaline surged through her.How Jay could stay so still, waiting, gazing up at Henry in abject worship, was pure mystery.

“But you belong to me whether you wear my brand or not, Jay.You are mine.”Henry bent on one knee in front of Jay, the collar held wide, closer and closer as Jay leaned forward.Dark hair parted, leaving the back of Jay’s neck bare.“And I should like to see you know it, and feel the weight of it, and welcome the envious stares of those who covet what you have.”Resting two fingers inside the collar, Henry coaxed the tongue through the buckle and closed it at the third notch.“I would have you know confidence and security, pride and protection.The man you are is the man I love.The man I would possess for eternity.”

Broad hands slid around Jay’s neck, under his jaw, cupping his face above the thick leather collar.Henry clasped Jay tight and kissed him hard, rocking him back with a rough growl.“There now.That’s been a long time coming.”

The breath shuddered out of Jay, and he buried his face against Henry’s neck.Henry crooned quietly to him, stroking his hair and his shoulders, praising his courage and commitment.Alice’s heartbeat pulsed static in her ears until she took a breath of her own.The whole room hung heavy with Jay’s—relief?Gratitude?The riot overwhelming him, whatever it was.The collar, Henry’s mark of possession, held profound meaning for him.This moment was every bit as sacred as the vows they’d spoken in front of witnesses.Her gift wouldn’t be nearly so emotional.

Swaying, Jay bumped his cheek against Henry’s.“You just love making me wait.”

“Sassy today.”Henry chucked Jay beneath the chin with his knuckle.“Good.”He kissed him quick, there and gone.“That’s the sound of confidence.”

“I learned it from Alice.”

That chipper voice and winning smile had been in her head since Jay, shirtless and flirty, had toted her boxes up the stairwell to her studio apartment.“Pretty sure that’s all you, stud.You’ve been sassy since the day I met you.”

“Back then it was a front.”Jay stared at his wrists as Henry fastened the cuffs—a good two inches wide, with a thick metal ring opposite the buckle, and Henry’s initials seared into the leather.“People who are laughing aren’t shouting, mostly.Now, it’s—” He dipped his head back, hunting, and she stepped closer, daring to brush his hair from his face.Tears dotted his cheeks, but he wore an enormous grin.“I dunno what it is.Sassy just feels good.”

“Testing boundaries,” Henry murmured.He too wore a smile, his lips soft and utterly kissable.“A willingness to explore and tease is a sign of comfort and safety, a certainty that such play will not draw harsh consequences.I am greatly pleased by your faith in me, brave boy.”

Jay wriggled head to toe on the pillow, raising one hand toward his neck.“Can I—can I touch it?”

“As often as you wish.How is the fit?Not too snug?”

Shaking his head, Jay traced the monogram with his fingers.“Just right.”He jerked his head twice to his left, a most unsubtle hint in her direction.Even Henry firmed up his mouth to stop a laugh that hovered at the corners.“Sooo…”

“Yes, I suppose it’s time for Alice to receive her gift as well, if you are finished with the spotlight, dear one.”

Her turn.A twinge fired down her chest, a plucked string vibrating.As long as she didn’t open the gift, she could imagine it a hundred ways, a thousand, each one a perfect reflection of Henry’s love for her.Hers wouldn’t be like Jay’s—she wasn’t the same submissive who’d given herself to Henry for playtime last year.She was a switch now, half dominant, half submissive.“It’s still in the drawer.”She spun and headed for it.“I can grab—”

“Halt.”Henry’s voice rang with command, a heavy thudding at her back like the buffalo flogger he’d wielded for her birthday.“Crawl for me, Alice.Bring me your gift.”

Her body clenched; the shudder rolled out in a strong wave from low in her belly, bringing heat and warring desire.If she’d been a different person, less combative, more sunny and eager, she might still be so deeply owned as Jay.But then she wouldn’t be the strong, comforting dominant Jay needed—and as uncertain as she’d been at the start, that role fit her more and more every day.Felt good and necessary and right, a powerful cloak that transformed her into a goddess for him.Goddess for Jay or plaything for Henry: Which was she?

She sank to her knees and spread her palms on the rug.She crept two paces forward, then a third, caught in a maelstrom.Humiliating, to be brought low.Ridiculous, to be crawling across the floor when she could’ve walked over and opened the drawer in a matter of seconds.Arousing, knowing Henry and Jay would be watching her bare ass and the glimpses between her legs as she moved.Humiliating again, to want their stares and their possession.

“Release the thoughts, Alice.”Henry somehow wrapped a stern command in as much warmth as the fluffy towel he’d swept over her after the shower.“Feel the pleasure of your body in motion.You are a creature of infinite grace and sensuality.Accept your desires without questioning or judgment.”

The fourth step smoothed out.By the fifth, she’d added a sway to her hips and a lazy-summer lift of her arms.She lengthened her stride, stretching with her ass high above her rolling shoulders.A whimper from Jay sent power coursing through her; Henry’s approving hum chased it with the deep satisfaction of pleasing him.

The wide drawer had two handles; she couldn’t stay on all fours and open it with her teeth, though the urge tingled beneath her skin.She pulled with both hands, her knees spread, her ass rocking above her feet, all of her open and wanting, needing.The gift lay in a flannel drawstring bag of Christmas plaid.

“Leave the bag behind.”Ten feet away, Henry might’ve been whispering straight into her ear.“You won’t have need of it.”

At her steady pull, the cloth slid loose and collapsed into a soft heap in the drawer.She should be so lucky—an exhausted puddle by midnight.The box matched Jay’s, a long black velvet case with some heft to it.A flogger could fit, if Henry had looped it in a U-shape.She couldn’t carry the case and crawl on her hands.Henry offered no other audible guidance.

Turning to ask, she sat hard on her ass.

Henry lounged in his chair as a king on his throne, Jay in an indolent lean against his spread leg.Idly playing with Jay’s hair, he crooked his finger at her and pointed to the empty pillow at his feet.“Come to me, sweet girl.Slowly.”Leaning forward, he pierced her with his stare, the green dark and deep as a forbidden fairy-tale forest.“On your knees.”

She swallowed hard; her body throbbed.When she got to the pillow, they would open the box, and she would see what Henry considered a proper gift for a switch, an in-betweener.

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