It made my stomach flutter.
Adoring, Gage-style, meant hot and possessive and smug and cocky, all rolled into one, and I would never, ever get enough of him looking at me like that. Notever.
“I want you to wear these rings,” he said, “so we both know you’re mine.”
His eyes were locked onto me with a shivery intensity that felt like it was somehowmorethan adoring this time. Something… bigger.
“Okay,” I said, because of course I would do whatever he wanted… even if I didn’t exactly see how replacing my barbells with rings would make memorehis. That was impossible. I was all the way his, and we both alreadydidknow it.
But then he smiled, slow and sweet, and said, “All three of them, babe.”
“All three of what?”... I was about to ask when he suddenly dropped down to one knee and pulled out another box, making a breathless “omigod,” what actually came out of my mouth, followed by a trembly, “Gage?” when he popped it open.
There was… there was another ring.
A wave of hot-cold-dizzying-tingleraced through me, my legs suddenly feeling like jello and my heart racing so fast that I got lightheaded.
I swayed, and Gage took my hand, steadying me.
“Noah,” he said, his lips quirking up on one side as he looked up at me. “Don’t faint on me.”
I shook my head, my eyes stuck on the ring.
“You’re gonna marry me,” Gage said firmly.
I couldn’t look away from it, but I nodded, using my free hand to brush the tears off my cheeks when my eyes spilled over, right along with my heart, making the gorgeous, perfect, shiny forever-ring he’d chosen for me start to look blurry and out of focus.
“You’re gonna be mine forever, sweetheart,” Gage went on, his voice turning husky as his hand tightened around mine.
I nodded again. I already was. I always had been. It was all I wanted.
“Noe...”
His voice shook, and I dragged my gaze off the ring—myring, the one that no one would ever mistake for just a fashion statement once I got it on my finger—and looked at him, my eyes going wide at the expression on his face. Was he… was heuncertain?
Gage swallowed, gaze locked onto me hard, and I knew for sure that no one else in the world would have seen it. But it was true.
“We both know that collar means I’m in charge,” he said, making my fingers automatically drift up to stroke it, “And I know we said from the beginning that wearing it means anything goes, whatever I want, but I still—” his voice suddenly cracked, doing something to my heart, “—I still need you to say yes, Noah. I need to know you want it, too. That you want us to be permanent, just like this. That you trust me to always take care of you. That you want to be my hus—”
“Yes,” I blurted, accidentally losing the towel when I tumbled down to tackle him and, oops, sending the ring box skittering across the floor, too.
I wrapped myself around him, too busy smothering his face in kisses and trying to fuse us into one body to worry about either of those things right now. Besides, he’d wanted me out of that towel anyway, and the ring?
Ilovedthe ring.
Iwantedthe ring.
I’d cut the bitch who ever tried to take the ring… but the ring wasn’t everything. Gage was.
“OfcourseI want it,” I said, my whole body one big quiveringyes. “I wanteverythingwith you. I want to be your husband and you can be mine and should I get you a ring, too? I mean, of course I should, and I’m totally having it engraved to sayProperty of Noah—”
He huffed out a laugh, squeezing me so tight I squeaked as he buried his face against my throat... but a little thing like a potentially collapsed lung wasn’t enough to stop the flood of yeses that bubbled up from inside me and spilled out to fill the room.
“—andyes, I want to get married,” I babbled on. “Oh my God,married, Gage. I never thought about it before because, because… Why didn’t I think about it before? Because I’malreadyyours, that’s why, but now I can be evenmoreyours. All-the-ways yours, andyes, G, I want that. Do you want it? I mean, of course you do, because you got me a ring and… and…”
I sniffled. He’d gone down on one knee for me.
“You do want to marry me.” My throat was suddenly tight. My eyes welled up with tears all over again, and nowIwas the one who sounded husky. “And I totally want to, too,” I forged on anyway. “So… so we should. Let’s get married, Gage. Can we? I want to marry you. Please marry me, Master. I… I love you.”
