“I like you. You’re nice. Kind. Thoughtful. And so many other things.” This came back to him not just owning me but my feelings about wanting to serve him.
“I like you too, boy. More than I should.” My face fell for a second before he went on. “I’m not letting you go. I like you too much for that. And like is not the word I want to use, but I don’t think it’s quite right to use another in its place. It’s more than adore.”
My heart melted. I’ve never been adored before.
“My parents didn’t like me, so I don’t know what this feeling is called.” I sighed, trying to grasp the word that I couldn’t find. Men said they were obsessed with my body or they liked certain things. But they never said the word I needed to be spoken right now. Although, if the word had been, it wasn’t in the right situation.
“Crush? No.”
“Oh, where did you hear that word?” Sir humored me,
“Asher. He says I may have a crush on you. But that doesn’t make sense. Crush is…like squishing?”
Sir laughed, leaning his head back on the couch. I didn’t know what I had said, but I liked hearing him laugh.
“I think I love you, Dakota Knob.”
Oh. That was the word!
Before Sir could say anything else, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. He was surprised, freezing for half a second before relaxing and meeting me in the middle.
Butterflies grew inside of me as his hands slowly ran up my back and ended up cupping my face as he took over control of the speed and deepness of the kiss.
I was addicted to his kisses.
Panting, Sir pulled back, keeping me just far enough away I couldn’t follow. I pouted, looking at his lips for a moment.
I leaned into his touch as he cradled my face and gazed at him with all the emotions I felt inside.
Epilogue
Dakota
Nervous energy like no other tingled up my spine. It had been way too long. Too long for many things. But it had been so long since I kneeled at the end of a bed, on my own terms and waited with bated breath.
These were all good things. I had to keep telling myself that as my stomach threatened to roll. I wanted this. I was ready.
I knew I could back out, call out the one word that would stop all of this. Sir, because he’d never be just Allister to me, would end all of this with a single word.
It was okay to panic, to fail. It was how we could overcome the monsters that wanted to hang on.
But I was done letting the monsters win. I wanted to do new things, explore the world in ways I never would have dreamed of.
There had been enough talk, enough therapy, to get us here, now,
Sir was all for it.
Kneeling on the end of the bed on the floor; my knees were perfectly placed, my hands on my bent legs, and my head down. I breathed in, for once glad I was no longer in pain. Sure, the aches would come with weather changes now, but that was expected with the abuse I had endured for years and the lack of food. It was just one of those things I was lucky to live through and got to tell the tale of.
Taking another deep breath in, I relaxed my shoulders. If Sir at all thought I was stressed oroverthinking tonight, he’d be the one that would call it off. And I didn’t want that.
I wanted Sir more than I ever wanted him before.
I heard his footsteps in the hallway before he appeared. He had been cleaning up downstairs while I got ready. Mostly, he was putting the cat’s dinner out and trying to entertain her for a few minutes while I did what I needed up here to prepare.
I sure did love that cute little critter, even though she loved to run off with Sir’s dirty underwear. I swear, that cat wanted to drive Sir up the wall, which happened—a lot.
My lips twisted up at just the thoughts of Butters.
