Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, but I wasn’t expecting anything since Jax had already done so much for me. Besides, we hadn’t even really solidified that we were in a relationship until last week.

I thought we might go out to eat, or order in something special. What I hadn’t expected was him to say we were going out, especially after everything he’d just learned. He’d said a distraction was exactly what he needed, and of course, I hadn’t been able to deny him. The weather wasn’t bad, at least. Cold, but not bitterly so.

As the car pulled up to the curb, I caught my breath. “I hadn’t realized they’d cleared it already.”

“I may have mentioned a bit of incentive if they finished the job before today.” Jax held out a hand to help me out of the car.

I stood in front of the lot and stared at the place where my home used to stand. I’d come by once after the fire, but the sight of the charred bones of the building had been too much. Now, it was smooth ground, everything gone.

“I also hired men to salvage anything they could. It’s being packed away for whenever you feel up to going through it.”

“Thank you.” I gave him a tight smile, emotion clawing its way up my throat. “It’s just hard to believe it’s gone, you know.”

He put his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. “I do know.”

If anyone knew what it was like to have something there one day and gone the next, it was Jax.

“We haven’t really talked about what you want to do,” he said. “You have the insurance money, but that doesn’t mean you have to rebuild.”

I leaned my head on his shoulder. If that wasn’t an invitation to tell him the idea I’d had floating around in my brain, nothing was.

“I think I might like to rebuild, but not as a bar. And I might need a partner for what I have in mind.”

I felt him stiffen as my words sank in. “Syll, are you sure that’s what you want?”

I pulled away enough to look up at him. “I am. If you still want to build a club here.”

“I do,” he said. “And I would love for you to be my partner.”

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the mouth. Instead of deepening the kiss, however, he raised his head.

“My sweet Syll, I brought you here to talk about the future, but not just the future of your business.” He brushed back my hair. “I want to be your partner in everything.”

I stared at him. What was he talking about?

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but I want you to live with me. More than that, I want to marry you.”

“Are-are you serious?”

He smiled widely. “I am. And if you’ll let me go, I’ll get the ring out of my pocket.”

Holy shit. He wasn’t kidding.

* * *

I could feel the cool metal of my engagement ring on my finger, but I still couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that I was engaged to a man I’d known for only a month. A billionaire who was going to be my partner in every way.

And that wasn’t all I couldn’t believe.

My current position was also more than a little unbelievable.

I was on my knees, bent forward so that my cheek was on the soft carpet. My arms were stretched out behind me, legs spread wide so every bit of me was exposed. But I couldn’t change any of that thanks to the leather cuffs connecting my wrists to my ankles.

Not that I would’ve wanted to change anything. Not with Jax going to his knees behind me, his cock hard and bare. When he asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate our engagement, I told him that I wanted to feel him inside me with nothing between us.

He’d fingered me to two climaxes in the back of the car before we’d gotten home, and then we’d gone straight to the playroom, where he’d stripped me and tied me up.

That had been ten minutes ago, and I was still wet and ready for him.

He grasped my hips, the tip of his cock nudging my entrance. The anticipation had my entire body tight and quivering, so when he buried himself inside me with one hard thrust, I felt it in every cell of my body. I let out a cry that became a wail when he set a punishing pace, driving the air from my lungs and all reason from my brain.

My mind scrambled to keep up with all the sensations coursing through me, but the one word that dominated my thoughts was love. All-encompassing, all-consuming. A fire that burned through me faster, brighter, and hotter than anything I’d ever felt before.

Pressure coiled in my belly, tightening every time Jax bottomed out. With my hands restrained, my climax was completely in his hands, but I trusted him not to leave me unsatisfied. Then he worked a thumb into my ass, and all I could do was whimper.

His hips jerked, rhythm faltering, and then he was coming, emptying inside me as his fingers dug into my hips. With a groan, he draped himself across my back. He moved one hand beneath me to where our bodies were still joined, fingers finding my clit, skillfully manipulating it until I came with a shout.

“My sweet, sweet Syll,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss to my skin.

“I love you,” I said when I could manage words. “And I can’t wait for us to start our life together.”

“I love you, too. And that life is going to begin with me spending the rest of today, and all of tomorrow, showing you just how much I love you.”

As he reached down to unhook the cuffs, I took the opportunity to let my body come down from the high he’d given me. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Every last minute of it.