After we all ate, and I was working on drinking my second glass of water, Mr. Kellam pulled a small packet of papers from his briefcase and handed them over to James. James set them between us. “I have some emails I need to respond to while you two go over that,” Mr. Kellam told James.
James nodded once at him. I looked over the contract with James. We were silent, and James explained different things to me that I didn’t completely understand.
What I really appreciated was the fact that though I would be collared twenty-four-seven except while showering and doing other self-care acts that would require me to remove it, I was still my own person. I was only his submissive during sex and our sessions.
Otherwise, I was his girlfriend – his equal.
That term felt weird on my lips, but I couldn’t deny that I liked the sound of it.
James looked over at me once we were both finished reading through the contract. “Do you have any questions?”
I shook my head at him. “You answered all of them as we were reading through,” I told him.
He gently squeezed my thigh. “Anything you want to add, little one? Anything you want to be taken out?”
He was so sweet, attentive, and caring. I never wanted it to change.
I shook my head at him. “No. It’s perfect,” I assured him.
He brushed his thumb over my jeans. “If we do something that you find you don’t like or are uncomfortable with, let me know. I’ll make sure it’s put as a stipulation in our contract that it’s not allowed,” he assured me.
I smiled at him, my chest swelling with so many emotions for this man that it was hard to keep them all inside. “You’re really sweet to me,” I said quietly, tears suddenly clogging my throat.
He grunted. “Only to you,” he quietly told me. “So, when you see me have to do some shit that might frighten you, keep in mind the kind of man I am for you, Emmaline.”
I swallowed thickly at his words. He gripped the back of my neck and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll never hurt you,” he said quietly after he pulled back from me, letting his eyes meet mine. “Remember that, too. I’ll do my best to protect you from that side of me, but sometimes, I won’t be able to. Shit happens that I can’t control.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
He brushed his nose with mine again. “You’re so fucking sweet,” he whispered.
~*~*~
I stared at myself in the mirror, my hand coming up to touch the collar around my neck.
I remembered seeing the women collared at the club, how their dominants took care of them after their sessions. I never knew it was something that was supposed to happen. But they also didn’t treat their submissives like shit – not like I saw many of the doms do to those of us who were always at the club.
And now, I was collared.
After three years, I was finally collared.
Tears rushed down my cheeks. Long ago, I’d come to terms with the fact that I would forever be forced to be a submissive to men and women that didn’t give a fuck about me. I had come to terms with the fact that I would forever be stuck in pain and heartache until I finally got too old for them to do anything else with me.
I knew I wouldn’t just be released after that. I would still be forced to wait on those men and women hand and foot like the others did.
But now?
All of that was changing.
I belonged to a man – the American mafia don – James.
What in the hell had I done to deserve a man like him?
“Little one, why the fuck are you crying?” James asked as he stepped up behind me where I was staring at myself in the mirror at the massage parlor.
“I’m sorry,” I sniffled, trying to get myself to stop crying, but it wasn’t working. “I’m emotional and overwhelmed. I never thought I would see the day that someone would give a fuck about me enough to collar me,” I choked out.
“Oh, little one,” James breathed as he turned me around to face him. He drew me into his arms, one arm wrapped around my waist, his other hand holding my head to his chest. “I’m never letting you go, little one. You’ll be wearing a collar for the rest of your life,” he promised.
I slowly wrapped my arms around him, and when he didn’t shove me away like I’d been expecting, I relaxed, enjoying the feeling of actually being taken care of.
Life was changing for me – drastically fast – and I couldn’t deny that I was extremely excited to see where life with James was going to take me. I knew it wasn’t always going to be sunshine and rainbows with him, but as long as he didn’t abandon me, I could deal with whatever was thrown my way.
Because I was his.
I belonged to him.
And right then, that felt like the best fucking thing in the world.