She blinked. “What?”
He grinned and squeezed her hand. “I said yes. I’ll move in with you.”
“Are you sure?”
Drew chuckled. “Wasn’t that my line?”
Her eyes twinkled with amusement. “Are you contradicting your mistress?”
Picking up her hand, he kissed the inside of her wrist. “Only when needed.”
They both laughed before turning serious again. “So you’re really going to move in?”
He nodded. “Only if you want me to.”
“I do.”
“Then I guess I’m moving in.” He released her hand and they both went back to eating their dinner.
The rest of their meal was much of the same. She told him about her day at the café. Her new employee, Grace, was turning out to be a godsend. Beth was actually considering taking a day off during the week.
Once they were both finished, Beth told him to go upstairs and shower while she cleaned up. He was to meet her in her room in fifteen minutes wearing only a pair of jeans. The jeans threw him, but he did as she requested.
When he stepped into the room, the first thing he noticed was that the blanket chest that was normally at the end of her bed had been pushed against the wall. The next thing that caught his attention was that Beth was standing beside her nightstand. That might not seem all that unusual, but typically when they were about to play, she was at her dresser where she would have laid out the implements and toys she planned to use. He debated asking if something was wrong, but he held his tongue and waited. They were in her bedroom and it was during their agreed upon playtime. She called the shots. He’d have to be patient.
She turned around and pointed to a kneeling pad on the floor. He’d seen them at the club plenty of times, but he’d never used one. Whenever he’d knelt before Beth, he’d always done so with his knees directly on the floor. It made him wonder if he’d be kneeling for an extended period of time tonight.
He lowered himself onto the floor and placed his knees on the pad. His jeans strained a little as anticipation of what was to come began to build. That was one of the nice things about being naked—you never had to worry if there would be enough room to comfortably contain your erection.
Once he was kneeling, Beth walked behind him. He could hear her moving around, but couldn’t tell what she was doing. Several minutes later, she touched his back with one hand and dragged it across his shoulders and chest as she made her way back around to his front. When she removed her hand, he had to bite back a whimper. He wanted more, but knew it was not his place to ask.
Beth lifted his chin with her index finger until he was looking up at her. It was only then that he realized what she’d been doing when he’d heard her moving around. She had stripped down to a red corset and a short black leather skirt.
“Are you happy with our arrangement?” she asked.
“Yes, Mistress.”
“You wish it to continue?”
“Yes, Mistress. Very much.” He had no idea where she was going with this, but he was excited to find out.
Turning on her heel, she walked back over to the nightstand and retrieved something from a black box. When she returned to stand in front of him, he could see it was a silver watch. “I found out from Nicole that you’re only allowed to wear a wedding ring and a watch while you’re working. That limited me as to what type of collar I could get you since I wanted you to be able to wear—to have a piece of me with you—at all times. Even while you’re working.”
His heart started pounding in his chest as what was happening hit him. Beth might not be quite ready for marriage, but she was making a commitment to him nonetheless. While there was an urge to blurt out yes as swiftly as possible, he didn’t want to ruin the moment. Drew knew how important this was for both of them.
She turned the watch over and showed him the engraving. It was a fireman’s axe with a rose wrapped around the handle. The rose had thorns, of course, and they were embedding themselves into the axe handle. It was such a perfect symbol for them.
“I had no idea what to make of you that first night when you came over to sit beside me at Serpent’s Kiss. The last thing I wanted was another man in my life. Another submissive.” Beth brushed the back of her fingers along the side of his face. It was a loving gesture and he leaned into it, enjoying both her touch and the love she was expressing. “You changed my mind. You changed everything.”
There was so much emotion behind her words. His chest ached knowing how much of her soul she was revealing to him.
“I love you, Drew Parker. I want you to be my submissive as well as my partner in life. Will you give me your submission? Will you accept my collar and wear it as a symbol of our relationship and all that comes with it?”
Drew held up his right arm and presented her with his wrist. “Yes. I will proudly wear your collar, Mistress.”
The cool metal touched his skin as she put the watch on his wrist. He normally wore a watch—most of the guys he worked with did. The only reason he didn’t have his on now was because he knew they were going to play and Beth often had him in cuffs or sometimes even rope. Watches tended to get in the way.
With the watch secured, Beth took a step back. “Stand up.”