Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 63970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Like her body. Like her life.
She needed out. She ran, forgetting her plan. She simply ran, her lungs burning.
She wasn’t sure how, but she made it to the center of the maze and stopped. It was a mini dungeon, set up with a massage table that was fitted for bondage play. A St. Andrew’s Cross dominated one “wall” and there was a table displaying a plethora of toys.
This wasn’t a game.
“Jared, where are you?” She wasn’t sure she could find her way out without him.
“I never left you. Look up.”
She turned her head up and there was her man. He was clinging to the lights that normally illuminated the stage. How he’d gotten up there she had no idea, but from his perch, he could likely see the whole of the maze. She’d never had a chance, but then again, that was kind of the point. She wouldn’t have a chance to get away from him because he didn’t intend to leave her.
“Be sure. This is not going to be pretty.”
He eased himself off the sturdy base that held the lights. With nothing but his upper body strength, he curled off his perch and angled himself perfectly. He dropped down and landed on his feet with pure athletic power.
“I don’t need it to be pretty. I need it to be real.” He stood in front of her, his hands coming out to cup her face. “I need us to be real.”
“I could really die. No surgery is without its risks. And we’re not sure they won’t find cancer. It could already be there.”
“Then do not take a second of time away from us. Not a single second.” He leaned over and his lips brushed her forehead.
“How do I make you understand?”
He stared down at her. “You think I don’t understand? I took care of my mother when she was sick. I watched her die. Do you honestly think I want to go through that again? I don’t. It scares me so much I can’t even let the thought in or I won’t be able to breathe. But I didn’t shut her out and I won’t walk away from you. I’ll fight with you. I’ll take care of you. I won’t ever give up on you, and if the worst happens, then I’ll be grateful for every single moment I had with you, even the worst ones. That’s what a marriage is. Not some happy shit that only works when things are at their best. Not some union intended to facilitate procreation. A marriage. Two people who come together because they don’t make sense apart, because they each hold a piece of the other’s soul.”
Tears blurred her vision. “I don’t want you to ache for me.”
“I don’t ache for you,” he corrected. “I ache without you. There is only one thing you need to consider when it comes to this decision. Do you love me?”
An easy question to answer. “More than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life.”
“Then marry me. Marry me when we don’t know what comes next, only that we’ll face it together.”
“I’m scared.”
“Then marry me and we’ll be scared together.”
It would be his answer to everything—together. She’d thought she was being brave and selfless keeping him at arm’s length, but now she realized she’d been afraid of him, too. She’d seen him as a distant dream. If she loved him, really loved him, it wouldn’t always be good. It would be work. It would be trouble. It would mean days where he was less than perfect and he needed her to step up.
It would be a life, a real one with a real family because a family didn’t have to conform to some picture-perfect ideal. It was made up of the people who loved you, who were there for you, who didn’t let you shut them out.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“That was a yes,” Jared whispered, leaning over.
She nodded again.
His lips brushed over hers. “And you’ll wear my collar.”
Her forever Dom. She’d kind of given up on that. “Yes.”
His hands shifted to her hips and he dragged her close. “How do you want this to go? I know you’re emotional. I can take you back to your place and hold you. I can be so gentle with you.”
He would have to be after the surgery. He would have to be careful. Jared would be tender, shoving his beast down in favor of her comfort. But he didn’t have to do that tonight. She was beginning to understand him. Women came easily to him, and his relationships had been shallow for the most part. He’d shown himself to her because she’d taken the time to know him, had spent long hours simply talking to him. If they’d started out in bed, their relationship might have gone the same as his others, but their mistakes had worked to their advantage. Jared liked a challenge. He needed it.