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"Where is she?" Thorpe asked "I want to see her" Desperately Right now
"At hoet her hopes up unless I knew that"
"I’d pulledlike that," Sean adhland Park She’s there now, probably in bed reading She likes that"
"She always has" Thorpe smiled fondly Then worry set in "Where does she think you are?"
"Work I rushed out the door after I got a few calls"
"Froan to ask if I’d co next with details Luc called to ask what you like to eat Jack called to ask me a series of questions that toldfriends"
Thorpe s croould suck, but they’d been right
Now that he was determined to be with Callie, a vital question stomped across his brain "I have to know, have you already put a ring on her finger?"
"No It’s been a ind for weeks, running fro into a new place We’re finally hoed
Which meant that Sean intended to propose
"What ifI htened "Just hear me out" He paced for a silent moment, then turned back "You’ve already collared her That’s sacred I would never try to iot that claim on her, I have no other way to call herin her subut He would take Callie however he got her, but he was a Do her kneel or call hi the authority to punish or praise her except in the most vanilla ways"I want her sub"
"That’s what I suspected Have you ever thought about claily honest and unafraid Thorpe knew he had to be the sao, before I kneho she really was, I was ht this"
He turned away to his bedroo for Sean to follow Inside his closet, he shoved clothes aside to reveal a safe A few turns of the dial and he was holding a black velvet box He handed it to Sean "Open it"
The lid opened in soft silence Sean’s eyes fell to the contents and widened "It’s beautiful It suits her"
"That’s why I bought it I have a jeweler friend, and when I told her I’d been looking for the right so for Callie, she showed this to hed "I realized Callie’s identity teeks later and tried to tell myself it was for the best"
"Why didn’t you return it?"
Thorpe had asked hi myself to In my head, it was made for her"
"It had to have cost you a fortune"
He laughed "It did And at the time, I just didn’t care She orth every penny"
"I understand co that with you and be prepared to use it I’ve got an idea"
CALLIE looked at the clock again After eleven She frowned If Sean wasn’t assigned to another case, whatever happened tonight had to be about hers Gawd, she hoped that Whitney and his cronies hadn’t cut short their Mexican vacation to co her for the hell of it
Not that Sean had left her unprotected She uards to watch the house day and night Maybe it should bother the independent woh she’d learned to take care of herself, his precautions made her a little warain, doing her best to lose herself in a cozy mystery It was either that or wish Sean was ho, Callie looked out the massive French doors in the master bedroom, over the expansive backyard Dominion was out there, only twelve point two ht as well be a whole universe Thorpe was gone He wasn’t over his past and he wasn’t cory, but she was race had been Sean His love, his reassurance, his laughter were all balms to her pain Despite their travel and hectic schedule lately, he never missed an opportunity to --always made her feel like the center of the universe So to fill the gap left by Thorpe’s absence How did she tell him that he already filled half of her so perfectly that just being next to him sometimes made her cry because she was so blessed? She didn’t expect hi and eone Her former boss and protector couldn’t fill Sean’s half, either Neither was a substitute for the other
She sihts Callie tossed the e-reader down and rose, her short black nightie swishing around her thighs
Across the house, she heard the sound of the garage door opening, the chi, the rattle of keys, the sounds of footsteps She smiled
Sean appeared a few seconds later, his face unreadable He crossed the floor directly to her, took her face in his hands, and pressed a rapt kiss on her mouth With a moan, she melted into him Noould take her in his ar her He would show her his devotion and she would give it back, opening her heart even wider to him
Instead, he stepped away "Kneel for me, lovely"
Oh, he was in that ed in any BDSM play since the houseboat Now that the possibility was in front of her, she realized how badly she’d missed it Itched for it Needed to feel as if she could put herself in the hands of thehe would push her to her li him utterly not to break her
"Yes, Sir" She fell to her knees at his feet, bowed her head, and waited breathlessly Her body began to bloom with anticipation
Without a word, he bent to her She heard a little click, and the wire of white gold lifted from around her neck
He had uncollared her?
Callie gasped and looked up at Sean with horror "W-what have I done? How have I not made you happy?"