Chapter Six

Miles had been acting weird all day. I knew he and Phebe had met for shopping and coffee earlier. Who was still shopping three days before Christmas, anyway? I’d had all my gifts bought before Halloween. I would never understand how people could stress out and scramble at the last minute to find gifts. Either way, it didn’t explain the fact that Miles had been acting differently ever since he got home from his outing. When I asked him what was going on, he just blew me off, telling me it was a surprise.

He didn’t seem upset or depressed. I still worried about him having flashbacks or anxiety attacks, but this didn’t seem like anything to be bothered about. Except for the fact that it was a surprise. I neither liked nor disliked surprises. It was just… weird. I thought the plan was for us to go to Eden tonight, but Miles asked if we could stay in.

He’d disappeared into the bedroom fifteen minutes ago and said he’d let me know when it was time for my surprise. Every once in a while, I thought I caught a whiff of one of our favorite candles, called A Christmas Secret, which smelled like a cross between pumpkin pie and a candied apple. It was a strange combination, but we both loved the scent. We had one for every room in the house.

While I waited for Miles to finish his surprise, my mind drifted to Casey. I had cajoled her into coming over to Connor and Bridget’s house with us on Christmas Day. I had secretly invited Philip as well. He didn’t have any family that he spoke of, and I knew that there was a budding friendship between my baby sister and the gentle giant bouncer from Eden, no matter how much Casey tried to deny it.

Over the last year, Casey had slowly grown from the ghost-like shell of a young woman she used to be to a shy, but smart twenty-four-year-old. I was so proud of how far she’d come with the love of a family who gave a shit about her. She was thriving now that my father was dead and our mother might as well be. A year ago, I’d stolen Casey from my father’s house the day before he was killed—a house she’d been serving a self-imposed prison sentence in after being repeatedly raped by a business associate of my father’s when she was just a young girl. I’d come home from college on Christmas break early one year and walked in on it happening, and it was the last thing he ever did.

I didn’t regret for one second killing that piece of shit, but to this day, I still bore the guilt that I hadn’t known what was going on and that I hadn’t stopped it sooner. Casey didn’t blame me, even if I blamed myself. I pushed aside my guilt for the day though, especially when I heard Miles call my name.

I walked down the hall. There weren’t any lights on, and it was just past dusk so the hallway was darkened. Flickering lights grew brighter, and the delicious odor of apples and pumpkin grew stronger as I finally reached the door of our room. I had to blink several times because I thought it was an apparition in front of me.

It seemed like every scented candle we owned was lit and placed around the room. On a pallet of blankets and pillows in the middle of the floor sat Miles. An entirely naked Miles. He was on his knees, his butt resting on his heels, with his hands behind his back.

Instantly, wetness soaked my underwear and a throbbing need began deep down inside me. “What do we have here?”

“I wish to please my Mistress tonight.” Miles voice was gravelly with desire. It ratcheted up my arousal by a few hundred degrees.

“I’m not sure what brought this on, but I approve.” Oh, I wholeheartedly approved. I stepped into the room and settled on my knees in front of Miles. I ran a nail lightly down his sternum. His breath hitched when I reached his abs and continued. He flinched when I dragged it across his hardened cock. I soothed the sting with a caress.

“What pleases you, Mistress?” he asked, even though we’d played this game before, although not in quite some time.

I studied him thoughtfully as though pondering his question. “Remove my clothes.” I responded in the same way I always did.

Slowly, Miles removed his hands from behind his back and with ease, pulled my shirt up and over my head. Then came my bra. Effortlessly, I moved to my feet and stepped slightly closer to him. His head tilted back as he looked up at me while he reached up and unbuttoned my jeans before sliding them down my hips. I braced myself on his shoulder as I stepped out of the denim, our gazes never leaving each other’s.

“Lick me,” came the next command.

Without hesitation, Miles grabbed a handful of my ass and dragged me against his face as he buried his tongue inside my cunt. He licked me from back to front, devouring me and lapping up the wetness that poured out of me. Without permission, he thrust two fingers inside me as he bit down on my clit. I fisted my hands in his hair and yanked his head back. His eyes met mine as I gasped, but he continued finger-fucking me. It was all part of our game. I bent over his knelt form and crashed my lips to his, tasting myself on him.

Our tongues dueled, and Miles mimicked the action of his fingers that continued to plunge deeper inside my pussy. While his fingers thrust inside me, his thumb circled my clit, causing a delicious friction. With the combined sensation of his three digits, my orgasm crested like a wave before it crashed through me. My wobbly legs couldn’t hold me, and I tumbled down on top of Miles. He braced my fall and caught me as I collapsed against him, our lips never leaving each other’s.

Miles fell on his back with me on top of him. I shifted positions and flung one leg over his body so I now straddled him. I reached between us for his cock and slowly lowered myself onto it. I ended the kiss as I sat up and began to roll and undulate my hips, fucking myself on his shaft. He gripped my hips tightly in his large fists and tried controlling my pace, but I was having none of that. I pinched his nipple hard. He hissed in a pained breath at the sensation.

“Naughty boy, trying to take control. This is my ride, and I decide how fast or slow it goes,” I chastised him even as I bent to lick and soothe away the pain I’d caused.

“Yes, Mistress,” he gasped.

Up and down I moved, controlling the pace like I’d promised. Every once in a while, I’d clench my inner muscles as I rose before releasing the stranglehold as I dropped back down. It was a coordinated dance we’d practiced many times.

I reached down for Miles’ hands and moved them upward until he was cupping my breasts. I kept my hands on top of his and together we kneaded and squeezed my tits while I rode him. I changed directions just slightly so now my clit was rubbing against his pelvis, hurrying my orgasm along. I was desperately chasing it. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than it rushed through me and stars burst behind my eyes, colors flashing in my darkened vision.

My head spun as Miles rolled us so he was now on top, and with punishing thrusts, he continued fucking me straight into a third orgasm where, this time, his followed. His mouth captured mine in a kiss so tender in comparison to the ruthless fucking we’d just had.

I opened my eyes to look at Miles above me. His forearms caged my head as we stared at each other. One of his hands reached under the pillow my head was resting on. When he brought his hand out from under it, he now held something. He moved off me and sat on the pallet cross-legged at my side. Shakily, I sat myself up and mirrored his position. We both sat in the middle of our pile of blankets and pillows as Miles turned his hand over to expose what he held in his palm.

I blinked at the sight, not sure if I was seeing a shadow cast by the flickering candlelight. When the box didn’t disappear, I hesitantly reached out to take it from him. My gaze darted between Miles and the box. He didn’t say anything, just remained sitting there, waiting. With shaking fingers, I opened the box, almost dropping it in the process. I gasped at the bright diamonds winking up at me.

Finally, Miles spoke. “I love you, Josie. I love being your submissive and being collared. There’s no greater sign of commitment between a Domme and a sub than this collar. Outside these walls, though, no one truly understands that type of commitment. And I want them to understand. I want them to see our weddings rings and know that we belong to each other.”

Tears filled my eyes at his speech. I’d had no idea he needed this symbol. But now that he’d said it, I realized I wanted the same thing. For people to understand how committed we were to each other. I carefully pulled the ring out of its cushion and held it out to Miles, who took it from my fingertips.

“I want that too, Miles. So, yes. A thousand times, yes.” I smiled through my tears as I stretched out my trembling hand toward him, fingers spread. My gesture finally processed because Miles’ eyes widened, and he clasped my hand in his while he slid the engagement ring down the length of my finger until it rested snugly at the base.

Once it was securely on my finger, I threw myself against him, wrapping my arms around his neck and peppering kisses across his face, repeatedly whispering, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Miles lowered me to our pallet and proceeded to show me again how much he loved me.