“What was that?”
“Hope.”
Emotion slammed into Miles’s chest. He wasn’t quite sure what to say to Micah after Porter told him who’d sent the email. At first, he’d been furious. Now, things had changed. “Thank you, Micah. For the push.”
A smile filled Micah’s voice. “Take care of her.”
The phone line went dead. Determined now to set the plan in motion that had finally all come together early this morning, Miles entered through the private door of Club Sin, knowing tonight would be his last time coming here for a while. This time, he kept his head down, quickly finding his group to say goodbye. “I’ve made a decision,” he said, when he reached them.
All heads turned to his direction.
“Oh?” Dmitri said, with a topless Presley sitting on his lap.
“Kyler was right. I need to fight. I can’t sit here and wait. My truck is packed. I’m hitting the road tonight for San Francisco. Liv might hate me for it, but damn if I won’t fight like hell to keep her.”
“Well, we all know I do give the best advice,” Kyler said with a sly grin. “But I think you might want to rethink your plans to drive tonight.” His grin widened as he gestured at something over Miles’s shoulder.
Miles glanced back, and the world stopped turning. He grunted at the sheer force of emotion that hit him like a brick wall.
Low laughter came from behind him as Miles moved without even thinking, pulled forward in way he had never been before. He kept thinking his eyes were betraying him, but they weren’t.
Liv stood on the stage, where nightly shows were done for the members by the Masters of Club Sin, Miles being one of them. His cock swiftly hardened at the strappy black lingerie set and black high heels she wore, and he groaned against the need flooding him. Her hair was up, leaving her neck exposed. Two leather cuffs were on her wrists. Miles’s narrowed his eyes as he got closer. His cuffs. A black silk blindfold covered her eyes. His blindfold. Warmth hit him hard in the chest. His friends had arranged this, displaying Liv in all of Miles’s favorite things.
He caught the way her head was tilted. She was listening. For him. And he spotted the way her mouth curved when he got close. He’d never had that before. A connection that went beyond a physical one, and he knew it was because he’d never met her. “You’re here,” he said, stepping up next to her.
“You’re here,” she whispered back.
Desperate to understand all this, he slid her blindfold off. “Yes, I am here. Why are you?”
She blinked once, adjusting to the light again. Those pretty eyes captured his. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” he told her, brushing his knuckles across her cheek.
Her eyes watered, lip quivered. “I’m sorry I left. What I feel for you…it’s scary.”
He arched an eyebrow, tightening his fingers, fighting against his desire to stroke her creamy flesh. “You’re not scared anymore?”
“Deathly scared,” she admitted. “But I’m tired of running, of being scared of what might happen. I want you, Miles. I want to see if we can make this work. Nothing was the same without you. I want this. I want us.”
Elation burst through him, but that conversation of how they’d make this work would have to wait. He was about to show her his Dominant side. “Hmm,” he murmured, feeling the energy in the room shift to him…to them. He stepped in closer, sliding his hand along her belly. “You should not have come here,”—her breath hitched, and he added before her mind could run away—“and offered yourself like this to me. You’ve stepped into my house, and this has changed the game.”
She shivered and gestured to the right. “You can have me, Miles, in every way.”
He caught sight of a piece of paper sitting on the spanking bench. One he’d seen many times before. He grabbed Club Sin’s contract, along with a list of Liv’s hard and soft limits and read it over carefully. All of her limits came as absolutely no surprise to him. They were the limits of a woman who wanted to be daring but feared anything extreme. All of which were perfectly fine with him. He’d done extreme. He wanted soft, sweet. He wanted her.
He set the paper down and moved back to Liv, catching her heavy breaths, full of nervous anticipation and excitement. “How did you arrange all this?” he asked, trying to understand how she got here.
“Micah contacted Dmitri,” she said.
“He talked to Dmitri?”
She nodded.
Miles caught her chin. He lowered his voice. “Here. In this space. You’ll respond with: Yes, Sir.”
Her cheeks turned pink, glossy eyes held his. “Yes, Sir.”
“Better,” he said. He drew in a deep breath and took a step back to study her. Sure, this was his fucking dream come true, but he hesitated. The widened eyes, the rise and fall of her chest had him asking, “Help me understand your motives here. You’re very nervous about being on display this openly, and yet, you’re still doing it. Why?”
Her firm gaze held his, chin lifted, displaying the strength he loved in her. “I decided that I needed to level the playing field. If you’re still all in, and willing to move to San Francisco for me, then I can do this for you when we’re in Vegas. I want to be what you need. I trust you, Miles. I want to meet him.”
“Who?”
“Master Miles.”
Her sexy smile hit him like a heatwave. “If that’s the case,” he murmured, sliding the blindfold back into place, for no other reason than this would tease her. She liked having eyes on her. He wanted to play on that. “Let’s have a little fun, shall we?”
She gasped when he took hold of the cuffs and led her forward. She followed in a way he wasn’t expecting. Total trust. She wasn’t worried where her feet would land, she trusted he wouldn’t let her fall. Damn, she was stunning. For years he’d seen his friends put their wives on display proudly, and now he understood. This connection, this show, it was special. Between just them in a way he’d never had before. Because this show wasn’t for the crowd, this was all for them. His gift to Liv, and his salvation.
At the wooden board above her head, he clinked the cuffs into place. “Did you learn the club’s safe word?”
“Dragon,” she rasped.
He stroked along her back. “That’s right, sweetheart. Use that word if things become too much.” He stepped back, noticing a flogger waiting for him on the tray and a condom. And the moment he did, instrumental music filled the space. The soft, jazzy sounds that were his preference for playtime. At that, he glanced over his shoulder to his friends. All of whom were smiling at him. They’d gone to great lengths to ensure this moment with Liv was perfect.
Determined to take Liv to a place she’d never gone before, he grabbed the leather flogger from the tray and spun it in his hand, a heavy weight, the perfect extension of himself. This particular flogger gave more of a thudding hit than a painful bite, and the intention was to tease and excite, not drive a scene into mind-blowing intensity. No skilled Dominant would push a newbie, and Miles would not push Liv.
When he returned to her, he slid his hand down her back, loving the way she moved with his touch. He didn’t waste time or pause to create nervous energy that would surely come. In the future, he’d love playing with those emotions. Building her up and up until she truly understood how intense pleasure freed a person. Now, he felt lost in the fact that she offered herself this way. The responsibility in that. The pride in it. He tucked the flogger under his arm to take hold of her panties and remove them. He unhooked her bra and nudged her legs open until she was spread wide, just how he liked her. Curious how she was reacting to this, he slid a hand across her belly then down to stroke her folds, finding her drenched in desire. “So fucking wet,” he groaned. “So full of surprises.”
“Yes, Sir,” she gasped, rolling her hips with the strokes of his fingers.
He nipped her shoulder. “Good girl.” Then he stepped back and began gently flicking the leather tails against her back, her bottom, until
she was squirming under his touch. Her skin began turning red, her legs trembling slightly.
There was a time to push. Like, on the cruise, fighting for what he wanted. And there was a time to take what he needed.
Miles needed her.
When she began circling her hips with every hit on her bottom, showing him she’d been teased enough, he backed away. He opened his fly, took out his swollen cock and sheathed himself in the condom left for him on the tray. The crowd had gathered behind them, he could sense them there, watching. He quickly returned to her, flipped her around, spotting the color staining her cheeks. The redness of her lips telling him she’d been biting them. He kept the blindfold in place, nudged her thighs open again, and entered her, swiftly, right to the hilt.
She rose on her tip toes. “Holy shit.”
He cupped her face, holding firmly, showing her just where she belonged. His other hand went to her hip. “I was going to come for you tonight,” he told her. Even he heard the rough growl of his voice. “My truck was packed. I planned to fight for you.”
She moaned.
He froze, pushed the blindfold off her face, met her glossy, lustfilled eyes. “I’ll always fight for you, Liv.”
“I’ll always fight for you too.”
His chest swelled with warmth as he grabbed her ass then gave it a firm swat. “Then there is really only one thing left to say isn’t there? ‘Master Miles, I am yours.’ Let me hear that.”
“Master Miles, I am yours,” she breathed.
“Yeah, sweetheart, you are.” He smiled, then he took them where they both needed to go. The freedom, the release, the connection, as he left his one life behind and joined her in this new one.
CHAPTER 14
A couple weeks had gone by since Liv left Miles in Vegas to come home, and those days felt long. Brutal. Life hadn’t gone back to normal. If anything, Liv had never felt so alone.
“You look miserable,” Allie said from the driver’s seat of her Porsche sedan.
Liv glanced over and smiled. “Not miserable. Just hating the distance between me and the hottest sex of my life.” Since her night at Club Sin, she and Miles had little time together. He needed to wrap things up in Vegas before moving to San Francisco, and the days had felt like forever. But she could wait. For him.
Allie laughed. “Yeah, that’s got to be painful.” She gave Liv a quick, understanding smile then glanced back on the road. “We won’t be long, promise. Just want your opinion on this place.”
Liv rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, please take me back to the office because seeing all these dream houses is so terrible.”
“Okay, yeah, I guess it’s not a bad way to spend the day,” Allie agreed.
“I’m happy to be here with you,” Liv said, then she studied the rows of houses with the manicured gardens. They were in the pricey waterfront central bay area in Foster City, only twenty-two miles from downtown San Francisco. Even if Liv saved everything she made for the next five years, she couldn’t afford this neighborhood.
Allie slowed her car. “This town is a hidden secret,” she said, pulling into the third driveway on the left and into a mid-century two-story red brick house. The gardens were well manicured, with mature trees scattering the property.
In quick time, they were walking up the stone pathway and made it inside. Liv gave a low whistle, taking it all in. “Wow, this place is incredible.” Large windows brought in southern light, and a wood burning fireplace set in a stone was the highlight of the living room.
“Gorgeous right?” said Allie, shutting the door behind her. “It’s got three bedrooms upstairs and two bathrooms.”
“Not too big. Nice and cozy,” Liv said, glancing up. “These high ceilings are amazing.”
“Yeah, the entire floor plan is bright and open,” Allie said.
And it was. Liv stepped into the middle of the living room with white oak engineered flooring, and she spotted quartz counters in the kitchen to the left. “I’m sold. When are you moving in?”
Allie laughed. “If you’re in love already, wait until you see the backyard.” She opened the patio door.
“Whoa,” Liv purred, stepping out into a sunroom, which led to green grass that edged the water. She strode outside onto the grass and shielded her eyes from the sun as a pelican flew by. “Please, please, can you guys buy the place, so I can spend my weekends here?”
“It is really gorgeous,” Allie said with a whimsical sigh.
A slow boat drove down the waterway, and Liv’s cell phone beeped. She grabbed it from her purse, taking a quick look at the screen. “It’s Micah,” Liv reported. “He’s got a property he wants me to take over. It’s actually not far from here.”
Allie gave a quick nod. “I’ll drop you off. You can Uber back to the office later and expense it to Micah.”
Liv laughed, turning away. “I’m sure he’ll love that.”
“Wait,” Allie gasped. “So, what’s the verdict on this place? Yes or no?”
Liv glanced around, green with envy. “A giant yes!”
“Good.” Allie beamed. “Sold.”
Liv was still a little jealous during the quick drive over to the address Micah sent her. But that ended when Allie pulled the car into the driveaway. Liv frowned. “Oh, no, they don’t.” The building had a few shops, but at the very end was San Francisco’s animal shelter. Liv had been there, many times, to bring food whenever she had a little extra cash. “We are so not selling this property. Micah should know better than to give me this deal.”
Allie shrugged. “You take it up with him. I’m staying out of it.”
“Don’t you worry, I plan to.” Liv got out of the car and smiled at Allie. “Thanks for the break. I’ll call you later.”
Allie smiled in return. “Yup, I’ve got no doubt you will. See you.”
Liv slammed the car door shut and then moved toward the building, hoping to hell they had a plan in place for a better location, maybe a bigger one.
The second she walked in, she stopped dead, wondering if she was having another figment of her imagination moment. She hadn’t been having those lately, but maybe something in her psyche had gone wonky. She strode forward and poked a very hard chest. “Shit.” She gasped. “You’re real.”
Miles barked a laugh. “Still doing that, huh?”
Liv blinked. Twice. “I don’t understand what’s happening. Why are you here?”
“Yeah, well, that winded, confused feeling is how I felt the day I met you,” he said, taking her hand and bring her up against the strong lines of his body. “Makes us even now.” Goosebumps prickled across her arms as he tucked her hair behind her ear, his soft gaze roaming over her face. “There was life before you, Liv. And life after you. I refuse to ever go back. We belong together. Now and forever.” He dropped to one knee and opened a little black box. “Liv, will you marry me?”
Her breath caught at the gorgeous, brilliant-cut princess ring. “What’s happening?” she managed.
“Well, I’ve just proposed marriage,” he said, looking up at her with a sly grin. “And I’m waiting for you to say yes.”
She blinked. “But you don’t live here.”
“I do now,” he said. “My offer was just accepted on the house that Allie took you to see, which, if you’re still in agreement, will be ours.”
“Wait,” Liv said, trying to catch up, the world spinning around her so fast. “Allie tricked me?”
“A little.” He winked. “But all for a very good reason. And I know this is important to you, so you should also know I’ve accepted an architect position within a division at Holt.”
“But you gave up construction?”
“No,” he corrected. “I sold my specialized industrial construction company to have a personal life since I worked more than I slept. Architecture is what I went to school for. I’m excited to get back to my roots and get back to design.” He paused to take a deep breath. “Now, I know you feel bad about having me move to San Francisco, so here�
��s the thing, Liv. I’m moving here for me, so you can stop feeling guilty about that.” He gestured to the ring. “But I really want there to be an us. What do you say? Forever sound about good to you?”
A half laugh, half sob bubbled up and she lunged herself at him, feeling like the world suddenly made total sense. Fate had been right all along. All she had to do was believe in it…in herself…and in Miles. And she did. “Yes, I’ll marry you. A thousand times yes.”
His smile healed any remaining painful spots on her soul. Then he slid the ring on her finger and kissed her. Perfectly. Warmly. Everything she needed in this moment and so much more. “Now, since hitting the ground running is our thing, I vote for us to go right ahead and start a family.”
She began leaning away. “Whoa, hold up—”
He burst out laughing. “Remember where you are. I’m not talking about children.”
To remind herself, she glanced around, taking in the musky scent, seeing the dirty paw prints on the floor. She turned back to Miles with a gasp. “Are you talking about a puppy?”
He nudged her out of his lap and then rose. “You’re working nine to five now. I plan to work those same hours once I start my job out here. They’ve got a great doggy daycare nearby. We’ve got the property. So, what do you say?”
The door suddenly opened, and six dogs ran into the room. She glanced back at Miles. “I say that you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. There is absolutely no way I’m leaving with just one.”
Miles gave her a tender kiss as puppies jumped up on her legs. “As long as I’m leaving with you, too, I’m happy.”
EPILOGUE
Two years later…
Sweet blue eyes stared up at Liv as she finished buttoning up the onesie with the cute Koala’s on the feet. “Keep looking at me like that, Luca, and I’ll never be able to say no to you.” She kissed his little nose and then swaddled him back up in the blanket. “Come on, my little buddy, everyone’s waiting on you downstairs.”
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