Epilogue

Hurry!” I laughed.

“Ian!” Genevieve exclaimed breathlessly. I glanced over my shoulder to see her hiking up her dress. Thank fuck for Raven. My third surprise for Genevieve had been a gorgeous fucking pair of snow boots. The goddamn things sparkled, but they also kept my wife’s feet warm. Considering we were running hand-in-hand across the lawn at Waverly’s Farm in a layer of snow and slush, they were a damn good gift. “What if he’s home?”

“I have it on good authority that Mr. Waverly leaves Cedar Harbor right after he closes the farm for the season. He doesn’t come back until March.”

“Declan?”

“Yeah. Don’t stop!” My hand tightened on hers as I tugged her around the side of Mr. Waverly’s house. The bright moon overhead and the white snow fucking helped, but it was still dark. I slowed so she wouldn’t fall. I had to get this next part just right. “Okay… stand… right here.”

I ran my hands over the sleeves of my leather jacket. The fucking thing swallowed her petite frame, but that dress and my leather jacket were a sight my dick fucking appreciated.

“Now, I know you asked me to do this whole thing at the club, but I’m fucking hoping you’ll give me a little leeway,” I said. I reached inside her coat and took out a jewelry box. Those pretty eyes found mine, and her teeth sank into her bottom lip. So goddamn sexy. “I hated working for Mr. Waverly, and I hated that Declan wouldn’t let me buy only donuts with my paycheck. Though, I stole a fuck ton of donuts. We won’t tell him that part.”

She laughed, a small shudder rolling through her body from the cold. Had to speed this up.

“But whenever anyone asks me about the best job I’ve ever worked, I always say it was here because I got to walk you home that day,” I told her. “This place has always been our place, and I can’t think of a better fucking way to start the new year than here.”

“It’s my favorite place too.”

“I know, which is why I had this made for you.” I opened the box to show her the collar. That happy little gasp she let out told me I’d gotten it right. Silver to match her rings and her piercings was the only input I let her have in the process. The o-ring collar sat snug along the hollow of her throat as I put it on, but it was the tiny dangling pumpkin charm that completed it.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, eyes glassy. She toyed with the small charm. Nothing in the world spoke truer to my wife’s personality than her love for pumpkins. But as she stared at it, I got down on my fucking knees in the wet snow. The new collar was only half of the surprise.

“Reach inside my coat, baby girl,” I said.

“What are you doing?” She frowned when she saw me. “You’re going to get all wet.”

“You’re worth it,” I replied. “Check the inside pocket, Genevieve. Please.”

Listening, she did just that and found the second jewelry box I’d stashed in there. The confusion on her face was understandable as she opened it. I knew the simple rope chain discreet collar was the last thing she expected to find.

“You and me, we never found ourselves in traditional marriage, Genevieve,” I told her when that golden gaze sought out mine in confusion. “We didn’t find ourselves until we found this lifestyle. I don’t give a fuck about the rings on our fingers. The symbol that’s always meant more to us is that collar around your neck. But, baby girl, for as much as you belong to me, I belong to you. And I want to do this for you.”

The hesitance on her face worried me. Had I taken it too far?

“Am I still your submissive?” she asked, making me laugh.

“You, my darling queen, will always be my submissive,” I assured her. “This is just a symbol for you and me. Every time you look at it, you’ll know it’s my way of telling you that in mind, body, and soul, I’ll always belong to you in the same way you belong to me. I can’t promise you a damn thing about what our future looks like, but I can promise you that. You will always have me.”

“Oh.” She chewed her lower lip as she blinked back tears. Her hands trembled as she took out the chain and locked it around my neck. It didn’t sit nearly as snug as hers did, but it’d take some getting used to. Before I could stand, her hands held my face and her mouth found mine. The softness of her lips and the sweet taste of her tongue was all-consuming. “I love you.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist and picked her up clean off the ground with a squeal as I stood up.

“I love you,” I whispered the words on repeat as I covered every inch of her face in gentle kisses. Those three words would never be enough to express how I felt about her.

Genevieve was my heart and soul. She was my past, my present, and my future. She was the calm to my storm and the sunshine to my darkness. She was everything good and wonderful in the world.

And she was mine.

Read on for a sneak peek into Finns story…