I looked round the table, moving from one face to the next. Everyone was talking and laughing. It was a wonderful sight. “Where’s the birthday boy?” was a popular refrain. “Any ideas, Zoey?”

“I’ll go look for him,” I said at last, scraping my chair back and getting to my feet.

It was the first time our two families had got together and it was going exactly how I’d expected. My mother was on her third wine, her cheeks rosy as she insisted on carving. My father was talking to Ethan’s father about the traffic, the universal language of fathers everywhere. My grandparents were half asleep but looked as content as ever.

Josh, Ethan’s brother was talking to Sarah, his sister. I could see the family similarity in both of them. It was a wonderful thing to see all these people together at last and I took a moment to enjoy the sight before heading into the kitchen.

Ethan was sitting on a stool by the breakfast bar, staring into the distance. “Hey,” I said, putting an arm round his shoulder. “What are you doing in here?”

“Hi,” he replied, managing a smile. “I’ll be in in a minute.”

“What’re you thinking about, Mr Serious?”

“Nothing much.”

I put my finger on his chin and turned his face towards mine. “We agreed to be honest, remember.”

“I can’t believe how close I came to ending it all,” he blurted out quickly as if afraid of the words. “I’d never have seen any of this.” He pointed at the dining room.

“You’re not seeing it hiding in here,” I replied, pulling him to his feet. “You can’t stay in the kitchen all night.”

“I wanted to say something,” he said, wrapping his arms round me. “Well, actually, I wanted to thank you. If it wasn’t for you…”

I pressed a finger to his lips. “It’s time to see what presents you’ve got. Come on.”

“Hold on.” He turned away, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a gift wrapped parcel. “I got something for you.”

“You’re not great at the whole birthday thing, are you?” I asked, taking the gift from him. “Normally, people give you presents.”

“Just open it.”

I tore into the paper as the sound of laughter echoed through from the dining room. I blushed as I saw the contents, covering it back up in case anyone came in.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“A new tail,” I said, smiling as I peeled back the paper again. “For your little pet?”

“Want to try it on?”

I blinked, my heart starting to beat faster. “That’s not for me to decide, is it, Sir?”

I had a long skirt on and as I stood there, our families just a few feet away, he lifted it slowly to reveal my legs, raising it higher and higher. “Hold this,” he said, passing the bunched skirt to me. Kneeling down he looked at me, a grin appearing on his face. “No underwear. You are being good.”

“You told me not to wear any.”

“And this is your reward. Turn round.”

I shuffled on the spot until I was facing away from him. I felt the tip of the plug brush between my buttocks. He’d already lubricated it and I was used to the sensation by now, after so much time together, so many toys being used between us. He’d not used a tail since that first week though. It brought back pleasant memories of crawling across the floor to him, his little pet.

I felt like his pet again, his sexy, naughty pet, as he slid the tail into me, leaving it brushing against my buttocks as the dress fell back down, hiding it from view. “How does that feel?” he asked.

“My tail is wagging,” I replied with a grin, lowering myself to my knees. “Now let me give you your present.”

I pulled open his fly before he could say anything, reaching in to find his cock and bringing it out. It was already stiffening as I took it into my mouth, feeling the shaft grow harder as I ran my tongue along it.

I stared up into his eyes as I drew him towards the back of my throat, gagging on his length. He grabbed my head and began fucking my face, all the while biting his lip to keep from moaning.

The plug inside me moved and shifted as I rocked in place, making my clit tingle with desire. His cock twitched as I flicked my tongue over the tip, still looking up at him, showing him how much I enjoyed giving him pleasure.

He twitched again and a few seconds later, I was rewarded by a hot spurt of cum hitting the back of my throat. As he pulled back, another spurt landed on my tongue and then he slid free, allowing me to lick the last drops from him.

I stood up, wiping my mouth as he pushed his cock back into his trousers. “Come on, birthday boy,” I said, taking his hand. “They’re all waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” he said just before we reached the door.

“What for?” I asked, looking at his suddenly serious face.

“For everything.”

Then he pushed the door open and we went through. A cheer went up. “There he is,” my mother said. “Ready to blow out the candles?”

Ethan nodded, slipping into his seat, watching me closely as I did the same.

I winced slightly as the plug was pushed deeper into me but I did my best to ignore it. I could deal with the tingling inside me later, when we were alone. For now, it was time to celebrate.

“I’d like to make a quick toast,” Ethan said as the cake appeared in the middle of the table. “Quiet please, especially you, Dad. First of all, thank you all for being here. It means more to me than you’ll ever know. It won’t come as a shock to know that things were very different this time last year. But I’m not going to ramble on about that and bore you all to death. Instead I’m going to ask you all to charge your glasses and toast the woman who brought us all together, who changed my life as she’s changed so many peoples since we started our foundation, and the woman who I hope will agree to join me for my birthday every year. I wanted her to last a week with me. Now I’d like her to put up with me for the rest of my life. Ladies and gentlemen, to the heroine of my own personal story, Zoey Greene.”

A chorus went up. “To Zoey.”

And then the candles were lit on the cake as I looked round the table again, my eyes finally settling on Ethan as he silently mouthed, “I love you.”

I grinned and mouthed back at him, “I love you too.”