Aimlessly, I drift into Mabon’s sumptuous bedroom. Oh lord, he truly was roughing it during his time with me. I hadn’t fully remembered the sheer decadence of his chambers and being faced with it now is startling.
He never complained, though. Or whined. Not once during the whole time we were on the run. The only thing he moaned about was being horny. And his hair.
My throat tightens and I can’t swallow.
There are far too many emotions swirling through me. Each one clamouring for attention. It’s overwhelming.
I take a deep breath. Mabon is home. I did what I set out to do.
I’m free. I can slip away now while he is in the bath. There is no need to stay for a painful goodbye. My duty is done. I can leave.
The moment I have been dreading and trying not to think about, is finally here. I cannot put it off any longer.
My heart has never felt so heavy.
My gaze runs over the neatly made bed. The very same bed I was chained to. Where I was kept as a sex slave.
My attention falls to the bedside table and a selection of collars. Mabon never did change mine, but he considered it often. I see the soft brown one. The first one he put around my neck. The one that he said matched my nipples.
A smile stretches across my face. Then a chuckle bubbles out of me. Suddenly, everything seems so very, very simple.
By the time he emerges from the bath, I’m ready.
He looks serenely beautiful in his long flowing robes and it is an absolute delight to see him back in them. Silver bracelets are adorning his slender wrists. He looks like himself. He looks like Prince Mabon.
He comes to a jerky stop when he sees me. Then he becomes as motionless as a statue. Only his eyes move, and they grow enormous.
He is not even looking at my naked body. Or my collar. He is staring into my eyes and trying to see into my very soul.
I smile. “Come on, Mabpie, I’m hardly going to give up immortality and then just leave you.”
His mouth opens. It closes. It opens again. Eventually, he gets some words out in a small, quiet voice.
“You are willing to live as my pet?”
I shrug. “If it means I get to be with you.”
His amethyst eyes grow even wider.
“If you want me, that is.” I add hastily as nerves get the better of me.
He nods slowly, still seeming too astonished to move or function. But a nod is a nod. It’s a yes. Mabon wants me, and my heart is going to explode with joy.
“I…I’m sorry my hair is short and I can’t unbind it for you, but I would if I could,” I babble.
He is still just staring at me. It is sweet and endearing, but part of me hates that he is this shocked that I want to stay with him. For the rest of my life. Forever and ever.
But that’s on me. It’s entirely my fault because I have not told him.
I take a deep breath. Only so I can speak loudly and clearly. I don’t need courage to speak the truth.
“Mabon, I love you.”
Finally, he is moving. Flying across the room to fling himself at me. The force of it topples us over and we land in his bed.
The very best place to be.
Chapter forty-one
