My gaze held steady to Alexander’s.

“Where do we go from here?” he repeated. “Well, I was hoping that you’d still like to take that walk down the aisle.”

That fact that he would even question it astounded me. I was resolute in my decision to marry him, but I did think it was safe to assume that he would want to wait until the dust settled before we tied the knot.

“Alex, of cour –.”

“Wait,” he said and help up a hand to silence me. “Before you say yes, I need you to listen. I love you so much that it hurts. But there are few things that are going to change. Things I didn’t plan for that I need you to be on board with. If you can’t be, I’ll understand.”

My heart began to pound rapidly, wondering why he would think I wouldn’t support what he needed. I loved him irrevocably, without any sort of stipulations. Yet, it seemed as if he was going to give conditions to me. Apprehension crept into my bones.

“What is it?” I asked tentatively.

“I’ve made an appointment to see Dr. Tumblin again.”

“Oh! Well, that’s a good thing,” I said, feeling shocked and relieved all at the same time. I thought therapy was completely off the table.

“I’m going to see him alone, Krystina.”

“I see,” I replied, nodding slowly and waiting for him to continue. I had no idea where this was going.

“You and I don’t have any real issues that we need to work on. However, I do. My educational background won’t allow me to overlook the suppressed childhood memories I had. Ignoring PTSD of any kind would be foolish and potentially dangerous,” he paused and took a deep breath. “Any major problem we had in the past was always because of the issues I couldn’t face. If I continue to ignore them, it could cause problems down the road for us. I’m doing this as part of my promise to you, to show you that I will do anything to keep you. Are you good with me going at this alone?”

“Alex, if this is what you need to do, you have my full support. I promise.”

“There’s one more thing. I spoke to Kent Bloomfield about the house in Westchester. I asked him to modify the blueprints.”

“Oh, you spoke to the architect too? You’ve had a busy couple of days,” I observed. I tried to keep my tone light by adding a small chuckle in order to hide the way I instantly bristled at his statement. I thought we had an understanding about my involvement with building our house.

What changes would he make? He didn’t think to consult me first?

“I asked him to add two separate wings to the house,” Alexander added.

This time I really did laugh.

“Why in the world would we need two more wings?”

I stopped laughing when I saw how serious his expression became.

“One of the wings is for my mother. I’d like her to be transferred there to live. You won’t have to worry about anything. I will arrange for a full-time, live-in staff to care for her. She doesn’t know me, but I feel the need to make up for lost time.”

I thought about it for a moment before answering. All the horror stories I ever heard about nightmarish in-laws came to the forefront of my mind. However, this situation was so far from the norm. I would be extremely selfish to deny him this. For him, she was lost for more than twenty years. I couldn’t blame him for wanting her close.

I slowly nodded my consent.

“Okay, I’m good with that. What about the other wing?” I asked cautiously. If he told me Justine was moving in, I might have to take issue. Yes, I was currently upset with her, but it wasn’t that I didn’t like her. It was more of a privacy thing than anything else.

I looked at Alexander expectantly, waiting for him to respond. A devilish smile formed on his lips, making him seem more like himself than he had since he arrived.

“The other wing will be our master suite.”

“But we already had one designed,” I pointed out in confusion.

“Hmm, yes we did. But it was upstairs, in the middle of the house,” he waved off. “It will now be on the second floor of the East Wing. There will also be a staircase added.”

“I’m sorry? A staircase? Leading up to where?”

His smile grew broader.

“Not up. Down. It will go to a room that is only accessible from our bedroom. It won’t be open to anyone else. Just us,” he explained, drawling out his last two words slowly. Seductive almost.

My brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before the realization dawned. I nearly stopped breathing as a shiver raced down my spine.

“A playroom. You’re making us a playroom,” I stated, my voice coming out in almost a whisper. My pulse began to race as he gripped the nape of my neck and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

“On Friday night, I saw your body wrapped in leather and lace. On Saturday night, despite the terrible circumstances, I got to see you in a shadowy setting surrounded by whips and chains. Just the idea of combining the two makes me inexplicably hard. And, if I recall correctly, you did say something about helping me secure the chains that would bind you to the wall.”

“Shackled. I said shackled,” I breathed the correction.

His fingers began to trace small circles near the hairline of my neck.

“As twisted as it sounds, I can’t seem to get that image out of my head. I don’t plan on ever stepping foot inside Club O again, but I did realize something as a result of that night. You were right when you said I needed that outlet. But it was never to release violence like I once thought. It’s for my pleasure. It’s what I enjoy. And with you, I can’t ignore it. I can’t explain how much I get off on seeing your strong spirit willingly submit to me. So, I’m creating a playroom of our own. That is, of course, if you still want me,” he added and pulled away to look at me. His eyes were intense when he met my gaze. “Do you still want me, Krystina?”

The tone of his question was low and husky. Goosebumps pebbled over my skin. I wasn’t sure if it was from the idea of a playroom or from the potent way he was looking at me. There was no doubt that still I wanted him. However, his gaze was so penetrating, the words got caught in my throat.

Tears began to well hot in my eyes and threatened to fall. It didn’t matter what his past was. He was still Alexander. He was still mine. He would always be mine. I reached up and cupped the side of his beautiful face.

“Yes, I still want you. I want forever with you,” I whispered.

Alexander grasped my shoulders, his sapphire eyes blazing fiercely with love and possessiveness, before tugging me into his embrace. I clung to him, absorbing the moment for a long while. When he pulled away, he leveled his gaze to mine. His expression was serious.

“Pick a date,” he said.

“A date?”

“Yes, for our wedding. I want this set in stone today. Right now.”

God, he’s always so demanding.

I contemplated toying with him over it and tossed him a cheeky grin.

“Oh, well…I don’t know,” I said slowly.

“So help me, Krystina,” he began in warning. I laughed and swatted at his arm. It felt so good to be here with him. In this moment. It was where I belonged and where I planned to stay for a very long time.

“You make it too easy,” I kidded. “But, if you insist on picking a date today, I was thinking about sometime in the summer. I kind of fancy a certain boat docked at Montauk Marina.”

“You want to get married on The Lucy?” he asked, almost sounding incredulous.

“Only if you want to. It was just an idea,” I shrugged and looked down at my lap, trying to sound indifferent. The fact of the matter was, I had been thinking about getting married on his boat for a while now and couldn’t get the images of a sunset wedding out of my head. But, if Alexander had a different idea, I’d be open to it. I didn’t want to fight anymore, especially about the most important day of our lives.

Alexander reached up and took my chin in between his fingers. Lifting my face to meet his gaze, I found his blue eyes alight with happiness.

“Miss Cole, I can’t wait to call you Mrs. Stone and I think getting married on The Lucy is an absolutely perfect idea.”