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She giggled, then felt like a dork for giggling. “What does that even mean?”
“I’m in love with you, Kate.”
Her body froze, too afraid to move for fear she’d wake up and find this was all a dream. When he just stared at her, she finally croaked, “Why?”
He barked out a laugh. “Why? What kind of question is that? You can’t just go around asking people why they love you.”
“Sure I can. I just did.”
His adoring gaze when he rolled her onto her back surprised her. Sexy, demanding, dominating, silly, and now loving—this man kept her guessing, but she was enjoying learning the different facets of his personality.
He kissed her gently, trailing tickling fingers over her ribs and down to her waist. Kate shuddered, feeling an answering warmth gather between her legs.
“Mr. Jennings, are you trying to seduce me so you don’t have to answer my question?”
It was far too easy for him to pull her arms over her head, and then hold her wrists in one hand. He kissed her again, and she pressed against him, trying not to sigh like a lovesick schoolgirl.
“No, I was merely distracted by your beauty.”
She grinned, feeling giddy. When she looked at Banner, his expression was the same. She had never thought a Dom could be hot and lovesick at the same time.
He grimaced, then smiled. “I know you don’t want to do the twenty-four-seven slave thing, but we’ll find a way to be together. I can compromise. I don’t need perfection. The important thing is that I have you. We can work out the rest as we go.”
“I’ll be your slave,” she blurted.
He drew back. “What?”
“I decided it doesn’t really matter what you call us. Words . . .” She shook her head. “They only mean what you make them mean.”
“No, you don’t want that. I won’t force you into something you don’t want.”
“I do want it. I mean . . . I want what we’ve been doing. If that’s what you would call a Master/slave dynamic, then I guess . . . I guess that means I’m already your slave. I have been for months.” As a second thought, she met his eyes and added, “Your slave. Not just anyone’s. Only yours.”
A confused grin flashed for a second before it disappeared. “Are you sure? This isn’t something you pretend to be into to make someone happy.”
With a sigh, she switched to a kneeling position. “I’m absolutely sure. Don’t you want me, Master? I missed you so much this last month. I missed our conversations, your humor. I missed you calling me Trouble. I even missed your discipline.” No. It was more than that. “I craved your discipline. Most of all, I missed your collar. I missed feeling like I belonged to you.”
The damn tears started again. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed something that at first had seemed so degrading. Just one strip of leather. So simple and seemingly insignificant. But the last month had felt empty without it. And Ambrose’s . . . It just wasn’t the same.
It couldn’t have been the same, because she’d been Banner’s all along.
She watched the emotions flitting across his face. The feelings she had for him made her want to jump up and fling herself into his arms. Her body and heart had known him as her Master for ages, even when her mind had been too proud to admit it. It had been too scary to acknowledge that they had wanted the same things. She’d spent so long convinced they were on different pages, that seeing where their needs and desires intersected had been almost impossible. But as much as she’d hoped to make things work with Ambrose, it had proven again and again that her submission already belonged to his best friend.
Banner stared at her for long enough to give her a mini-panic-attack. Had she not proven it enough? Did he not believe her?
Finally, he shifted, then stood up. “Let me fix that.”
He opened the bedside table and drew out her collar. Had he kept it there the whole time? A moment later, he was over her, buckling the black leather into place around her neck. With it, came an overwhelming rush of love and devotion.
“You are mine, little slave.”
His.
He kissed her with all the love and longing she’d felt while they were apart. Months ago, he’d told her a submissive was a Dominant’s greatest treasure.
She’d never fully understood what he’d meant until now. Banner commanded her, protected her, treasured her.
In return, being his filled a well of longing inside her. She knew she could be strong and independent, but this connection—this deep and true bond—was what she chose. With his collar around her throat, and Banner kissing her tenderly, she knew she wasn’t losing herself at all. Instead, she was gaining him.
