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You have to agree to let ME book a private room for our Friday night at the Vault. He’d vetoed it in the past.

Done.

I smiled. He might find himself regretting that.

A courier will deliver the collar at some point today. You home?

Today? The bloke didn’t waste time, did he?Yes.

Good. Let me know when it arrives.

It was a few hours later that I found myself signing for a package at the entrance of my building. That done, I headed back to my apartment. Really, Cole could have sent me a plastic bowl and I’d be excited to receive it purely because it was a gift from him. But the piece of jewelry I now carried waswaybetter, and I was eager to get it out of its box.

I was a few feet away from my front door when Briar’s opened and she stepped out.

A smile curled her lips. “Hey. What you got there?”

Without thought, I held the box tighter and angled my body so she couldn’t touch it. “Nothing.”

Briar’s face scrunched up. “Why are you acting all weirdly possessive and protective of a parcel?” Her eyes went bright. “Ooh, what’s in it?”

Pulling my keys out of my pocket, I vaguely replied, “A gift from Cole.”

Intrigue lit up her face. “What kind of gift?”

Sighing, I unlocked my door and gestured for her to follow me inside. I went straight to the kitchen, aware of her closing the front door behind us.

“Well, what is it?” she prodded as I rested the package on the counter.

“Come see for yourself,” I invited, grabbing scissors from a drawer. I carefully sliced through the packaging tape, opened the parcel, and took out a red velvet jewelry box.

Briar moved closer. “My, my, my. It would appear he’s sent you some bling.”

I opened the box and felt my mouth soften. The collar was so much prettier in real life than on the picture. All shiny and twinkly and exquisite.

Briar gave me a guarded look. “You know what this is, right? You know it’s not just a choker?”

I nodded. “It’s a collar, yeah, I’m aware. He texted me earlier to ask if I’d wear one, even though we’re not in a typical D/s relationship.”

Her brows flew up. “He texted you during a week day? Hmm, another baby step. This collar, however—not so teeny a step. I take it he wants you to wear it at the club?”

“And outside of it. He said he wants to be on my mind like I’m on his, so wearing something he bought me would serve as a reminder. Also, it seems like he hopes I’ll view it as a personal talisman of sorts; something I can touch that will center me when I need it.”

Briar’s face went all warm, and then a smug smirk shaped her mouth. “Well, I think we can safely say that he’s knowingly crossing the casual line.”

“I’d like to think so. But I have to bear in mind that people in arrangements buy each other gifts.”

“Not all do, though. I’ve been in an arrangement with Grover for a while. We never exchanged gifts.”

“Plenty of subs receive collars from their sort-of-partners at the Vault.”

“But although you hand over control to Delaney, you’re not a sub in the BDSM sense of the word. Being officially collared or wearing any mark of ownership doesn’t carry the same meaning for you that it does to those who are firmly in the lifestyle, does it?”

“Well, no—”

“Just the same, Delaney’s not an actual Top. His need to openly state his claim like this doesn’t come from the same mental place that it would for a Dom.”

“You know, you could just call him by his first name.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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