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Pride swelled in his chest, the feeling so enormous he wasn’t sure his body could contain it. Reaching up, he removed the leather collar, dropping it onto the bed between them. Then he picked up the new collar, letting the delicate gold chains flow over her hand like water as he lifted them.
His own hands shook slightly as he wrapped the collar around her neck and clasped it in place.
The precious metal glinted in the light from the nightlight when she swallowed.
So beautiful.
So fucking perfect.
Mason brushed his lips across the golden ring at the center of her throat.
His.
Epilogue
Addison
“Guys, if you don’t come out right now, we’re doing this without you,” Addison said, giving the Doms around the dining room table a scolding look.
Rafe arched his eyebrows at Mason. “You going to let her talk to you like that?” he said in his low, gruff voice. When she first met him, those words would’ve half-terrified her. Rafe seemed right on the verge of turning her over his knee at the best of times. After nearly five months at the Manor, though, she knew she didn’t need to worry. He was amused, not angry.
Besides, they all knew what the gold chains encircling her neck meant. Mason would fucking kill anyone who touched what was his—a fact he never let anyone at the Manor forget.
Mason only shrugged in response, a smile lurking in his lapis lazuli eyes.
“If you would be kind enough to wait five more minutes,” Jonathan drawled from his place at the head of the table. “We’re almost finished with our meeting.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she turned away. The door swung closed behind her as she hurried back across the kitchen, heading straight out onto the patio. The spring flowers were in full bloom, blanketing the garden in so much color it almost hurt to look at it. She couldn’t think of a more perfect place for this to happen.
Addison headed straight for the small crowd gathered at the edge of the patio nearest to the trees. Phoebe from the wildlife rehabilitation center stood in the middle of the group with a plastic animal crate at her feet.
Zach, Olivia, and Nell all gave her expectant looks as soon as she moved within earshot. Even Gabriel and Kendra, who had come in on their day off for the occasion, watched her with interest.
“Well?” Olivia asked.
“Jonathan told me to wait five more minutes.” Her tone made it abundantly clear how she felt about that.
“Screw Jonathan,” Zach said, rolling his eyes. “Did you tell him Alexander’s freedom is way more important than his stupid Saturday meeting?”
She shrugged. “I made it clear we’re not waiting.” Even if she was willing to keep Alexander cooped up any longer than necessary—spoiler alert: she wasn’t—she and Mason had a flight to catch. They’d already delayed their trip by twenty-four hours after Phoebe called, and she had no intention of pushing it back again. Time was a luxury she didn’t have today. “If they want to miss it, that’s their problem.”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the kitchen door crashed open behind her. All five of the Manor’s Doms filed out into the garden, Mason in the lead.
Addison grinned so wide, her face hurt. She knew he wouldn’t let her down.
A hell of a lot of things had changed in the past two and a half months. Addison’s plans to move back to New York long forgotten, she’d accepted a permanent position at the Manor. She loved her kitchen, her coworkers, and the guests.
She especially loved reading what people wrote about her food on the Manor’s subreddit. Her cranberry-ginger cinnamon rolls were almost as famous as Camden’s dimple at this point.
Mason took a page out of Aiden’s book, cutting back his hours and doing everything he could to go home with Addison each night. Things didn’t always work out the way they wanted, of course. Even when they did spend the night together, they often spent hours side-by-side on their laptops, researching and answering emails. The charity foundation they were in the process of starting—its sole mission to support foster kids around the country—took more work than she ever could’ve guessed.
As long as they kept facing each bump in the road together, the whole thing seemed possible. Especially since Olivia and Nell were always there to help when things got confusing or hard. If anyone understood what she was going through right now, it was those two.
With the slew of changes overtaking Addison and Mason’s lives, only one thing remained constant: their love grew every single day. As long as that stayed true, the rest would work itself out in time.
As soon as the Doms joined the group, Mason moved up behind Addison, wrapping his arms around her. “Sorry we’re late, little one,” he murmured in her ear.
She craned her neck, giving him a mischievous smile. “I think you owe me an extra hour of driving lessons for this.”
