All's Fair in Love and Mastery (Masters Unleashed 5)

What was she up to now? If there was a cock cage in that bag, he was going to sprain his hand on her ass before they went back downstairs.

“Up to a point,” he said cautiously.

Her face fell and she looked at the bag in her hands.

“I mean, I know this is pretty unorthodox, but I couldn’t think of a way to bring this up that wouldn’t seem really . . . forward.”

“You don’t usually have a problem being forward.”

“But this is topping from the bottom—I mean, really seriously topping from the bottom. Probably the worst case of it in history. We’d have to agree to keep this a secret between us. Well, not a secret, but—”

“Arabella.”

“Yeah?”

“I could watch you stumble all over yourself all day—you’re so fucking adorable when you’re uncertain about something. But you’re working yourself up for nothing. This is me. You can tell me anything. It doesn’t mean I’ll agree, but I’ll seriously consider it.”

She held the bag out to him and he took it, watching for a moment as she laced her fingers together in front of her and twisted them.

“Open it!”

He loosened the ties on the bag and peered inside, but the velvet ate up the low lighting in the room, giving him no clue as to what he was holding. Curious, he tipped the contents of the bag into his palm.

A thick steel chain coiled on itself in his hand, the links matte rather than bright.

“You—bought me a necklace?” He lifted his gaze to hers to find her wincing and grimacing.

“Well, no. It’s . . . well . . . a collar,” she finished, blowing out a long gusty breath.

“You want to collar me?”

She opened her mouth and her brows shot up. “What? No! It’s for . . .” She pointed at him, then at herself. “For you to give me—I mean, if you want.”

If he wanted? He thought about the collar that was still tucked away and stifled a laugh. Apparently they were on the same page, and that was fucking amazing.

“I don’t want to presume,” she stammered, “but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. I never thought I’d want this again, but I do. With you. Every time I think of you when we’re apart I wish I had something—some symbol of how we feel about each other that I can touch. I never thought I’d want a collar again, but with you it’s all different. I wasn’t sure how to tell you I was serious and not just trying to please you.” She smiled uncertainly, but her gaze on his was hopeful.

Some people in the lifestyle would definitely think this was topping from the bottom, but right then he didn’t really care. She’d felt so strongly that she wanted to wear his collar that she’d bought her own?

This was huge.

He went to his own bag and pulled out the necklace he’d bought, hoping she wouldn’t freak. The stainless chain twirled at the end of his fingers. The two pieces of jewelry were remarkably similar.

“Great minds think alike?”

She stared at the custom chain he’d commissioned, her eyes round with surprise. Her lips parted, too, but she didn’t look horrified, she looked delighted. He held both necklaces in one hand and went to her.

“I’d just decided to wait for a few more months before offering it to you. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d accept it, but I wanted to show you my feelings for you are serious.”

He dragged the necklaces over one of her bare shoulders, around the back of her neck, down the other shoulder, then brushed them back and forth across her nipples, the chains clicking against her nipple piercings.

She lowered her gaze from his and squirmed a little, then knelt at his feet and pressed her forehead to the floor. After a long moment, she sat up and smiled, unshed tears shining in her eyes.

“Master, I would be honored to wear your collar.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, hating to rock the boat but not wanting to have this moment of complete bliss only to have it yanked away minutes or hours from now.

“Yes, I’m sure. I wouldn’t accept one from any other man, but I will always trust you.”