“Fight, you stubborn bastard,” Jagger growled. “Your son needs to meet his father. Yes, you have a son, Denise had your child, Crone, and Carter needs you to live. Every boy has to know his father. He has to meet his dad.”
Sienna sat up, sheets pooling around her waist. “You have a son?” Crone nodded, pride and regret contorted his expression.
“He’ll be six at the end of the year. I’ve only seen him twice, but I speak regularly with him on zoom calls. Denise’s globe-trotting career keeps us apart since she carts him everywhere.” His lips twisted into a grimace. “Up till now and with the darkness I couldn’t shake, I wasn’t father material.”
“But that's changed now,” she said softly as he brushed her hair back from her face.
“Yes, love, it has. For the first time in seven years, I feel like myself again. Like someone who could be good for his son. A man who deserves to know his child... and for his child to know him.” His smile turned gentle. “And his stepmother.”
Sienna’s heart skipped a beat. “S-stepmother?”
That heart-melting smile spread across his face, morphing him into a mischievous bad boy. “I had this whole elaborate, romantic plan, but…” He reached into his nightstand drawer and produced a ring box. Inside nestled a stunning band of bouquet diamonds circling a marquise-cut green diamond that matched her eyes perfectly.
Sienna stared at the ring with her heart thundering in her chest. The diamond caught the soft bedroom light, throwing sparkles across her tear-stained cheeks.
“I’ve known you were meant to be in my life since that first scene when I intervened in the Dungeon,” Crone said softly as he lifted the ring from its velvet nest. “When you trusted me enough to let go, to fall apart in my arms... I knew you were the one who could release me from the hellhole I’ve been living in for years.” He caught her trembling hand in his. “The one who would help me find myself again, who would make me want to be the man I used to be.” His thumb brushed over her knuckles. “You made me believe in life and love again.”
“Crone…” His name came out as a broken whisper.
“Marry me, kitten. Be my partner, my love, my submissive. Help me be the father Carter deserves and let me spend the rest of my life showing you how precious you are to me.” He slipped the ring to the tip of her finger, waiting. “Will you please be my wife?”
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, but this time they were accompanied by a smile that lit up her entire face. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, to all of it.”
The ring slid home as he pulled her into a kiss that tasted like new beginnings and promises of forever. When they finally parted, she couldn’t stop staring at the way the diamond caught the light.
“It fits perfectly and it’s beyond beautiful in every way,” she whispered in awe. “How did you...?”
“I had it made the day after we got back from glamping.” He grinned at her surprised look. “I told you, little one, I have known for a while now.”
Sienna traced the ring with a loving caress, then narrowed her eyes at him. “Wait a minute... is this why you’ve been so chummy with Angel lately? Did he help you with this?”
Crone’s laugh rumbled through his chest. “You caught me. He knows every jeweler within two hundred miles and since I had a specific design and this exact color diamond in mind, I needed someone with skill. But I swear if he asks me to test one more chocolate recipe as payment…”
“So that’s why you’ve been spending so much time at the bakery!” She poked his ribs accusingly. “Here I was thinking you were just being a good therapist, checking on the Littles in Rawhide Ridge you were treating.”
“Well, that too.” He caught her hand. “Though I have to admit, watching you get jealous every time I walked in there was pretty entertaining.”
“I wasn’t jealous.” At his knowing look, she blushed. “Okay, maybe a little. But you try watching every Little and sub on the Ranch make googly eyes at your future husband.”
“Your future husband, huh?” The dangerous edge in his deepened voice scattered shivers across her skin. “Say that again.”
Instead, she leaned in and kissed him softly. “I love you, my future husband, my Master… and my heart and soul.”
“I love you too, my beautiful heart.” He pulled her close, then chuckled. “Though I can’t wait to see Heaven Leigh and Angel’s faces when we tell them they have to share their taste-tester with a wife.”
“Oh god,” Sienna groaned as she buried her face in his chest. “They’re going to be impossible.”
“Probably,” he agreed cheerfully. “But those chocolate-covered congratulations will be worth it.”
Chapter Eighteen
The lobby of the main building, Rawhide Ranch
Crone
“Thanks, little one.” Crone accepted his latté from the barista with a quick wink before finding a quiet spot near Derek’s office. A swift scan of the busy room confirmed Sienna hadn’t arrived yet.
Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the massive windows of the lobby. The usual buzz of activity filled the space with members drifting between the restaurants, the coffee shop, and the general store.
