Bejeweled and Bedeviled (10 page)

Several more minutes ticked by before Hunter summoned the
energy to request his secretary to come get the collar Kayden had left and lock
it way.

His hand was halfway to the button when the intercom
bleeped.

“What is it, Elizabeth?”

“Sorry to disturb you, Sir. There’s a lady here to see you.”

Not interested in any other woman except the one who’d just
walked out of his life, he said, “Express my apologies and ask her to make an
appointment. Then cancel anything else on my schedule.”

Rather than her usual ready agreement, there was a moment of
silence followed by the hushed tones of a conversation. “She’s rather
insistent, Sir. She says you’ll definitely want to see her.”

An internal sigh rose and fell in his chest. “Why?” he
asked, scrubbing his hand across his eyes. “Who is she?”

“She says her name is Onyx, Sir.”

Hunter’s hand fell away from his face. This time the
prolonged silence was on his part. “What did she say her name was?” he asked,
with more enthusiasm in his voice than he was comfortable with.

“It’s…
Onyx
, Sir.” The clear, sultry answer floated
across to him from the other side of his office.

Heart expanding in his chest like a dehydrated sponge tossed
into the Atlantic, Hunter looked up to find Kayden, eyes aglow, a sultry
self-confident smile on her lush red lips, leaning against his door, the
diamonds from her ankle bracelet and toe ring drawing attention to the bare
foot she had pressed high up on the door. She pushed off and sauntered toward
him, one hand hidden behind her back, the other working loose the ends of the
belt on her ankle-length, blue winter coat. Halfway across the room, the front
of the coat separated, giving him a glimpse of the heaven he’d despaired ever
laying eyes on again. One sexy little roll of her shoulders and the garment hit
the floor.

His thundering heart shot a deluge of blood straight to his
cock. Hunter gripped the edge of his desk to brace against the sudden aching
fill.

She was wearing every present he’d given her—nothing else.

His gaze narrowed on the shimmering gold chain dangling from
her creamy breasts, held there by the nipple clamps that clung tenaciously to
her pouty, engorged nipples. The mesmerizing, shimmering sway of the chain, the
result of Kayden’s enticing, loose, long-legged strides.

The devious little witch
. Had he known she was naked
beneath her coat before she’d left, she would’ve never left this room unfucked.

Shoring up his declining restraint, he slowly rose to his
feet and came around the desk to meet her.

She stopped directly in front of him. Her clear, bright gaze
held his for several seconds before she bowed her head, brought forward what
she’d concealed behind her back and sank gracefully to her knees. “I should
never have left the club…you, the way I did,
Master
.” Stretching the
flogger between her hands, she presented it up to him. “I’m ready to accept
whatever punishment you feel justified.”

Deeply touched by the revealing gesture, Hunter made no attempt
to contain the smile that claimed his lips.

Taking the flogger from her hands, he flung it aside. It hit
the wall with a light slap.

Kayden flinched but otherwise held her head-bent position.

The last thing he wanted to do right now was beat her. Especially
when all he wanted was to answer his escalating need to yank her up and wrap
her in his arms. But before he did that, there was something he needed to know.

“Stand,” he said, cupping her shoulders and gently pulling
her to her feet. “Look at me.”

She raised her head.

“Why did you give back the collar? You’re wearing everything
else.”

“Permission to be Kayden, Sir.”

“Granted.” An easy request to fill since it was Kayden’s
free-willed answers he was looking for.

“Are you so sure I’m wearing…everything?” she asked, a
devilish sparkle springing from the depths of her beautiful blue eyes.

Holding her gaze, he relaxed his control enough to allow her
a glimpse of the lust raging through him.

Her eyes widened and then she smiled.

Looping the back strap of her thong around his index finger,
he gave it a sharp tug. The resultant gasp when she came up on tiptoes and
canted her hips to relieve the pressure on the butt plug made him grin. “I’m
sure. But on the off chance I’m wrong…” He tugged again, eliciting a soft
squeak. “I have every intention of checking later. Now answer my question.”

“I gave you the collar back because,” remaining up on her
toes, she wound her arms around his neck, “it would mean more if you put it on
me. I read somewhere it’s a symbol of a Dom’s pledge to protect, love and
cherish. And my accepting it symbolizes my willingness to surrender, be devoted
and loyal.”

“Similar in meaning to an engagement or wedding ring.” He
reached into his pants pocket to pull out the little box he’d carried around
since the day she’d left, flicked up the lid with the tip of his thumb. “Like
this one.”

“Oh…my…God.”

He eased his grip on the thong’s strap to accommodate her
descent to flat feet.

She tilted the box for an admiring look at the red diamond.
An exact match to the one on her collar. “Are you asking me to—” Her stunned
gaze swung to his.

“Marry me?” he helpfully supplied. “Yes, I am.”

“Why?”

He chuckled and, untangling his finger from the strap, used
that arm to give her a brief squeeze. “Because…I fell in love with you before I
even met you. I knew from your e-mails you were destined to be mine. Meeting
you only confirmed it. And because with
Onyx
wearing my collar and
Kayden
wearing my ring, there will never be any doubt as to whom either belongs to.”

“Oh Hunter.”

The soft, warm emotion gleaming from her eyes nearly melted
him into a puddle.

“You won’t need any physical proof to be sure of that.
You’ll find the answer here.” Bringing his hand from around her back, she
pressed it over his heart. “And here.” She moved his hand to the identical spot
on her chest. Removing her hand, she cupped the back of his neck. “And here.”
Levering back up on her toes, she pulled him down to meet her lips and
whispered, “I love you,” just before sealing her pledge with a passionate,
soul-melding kiss.

Tiffany Bryan lives in a suburb of Cleveland, where the only
thing more fickle than the weather is her imagination. A late-life baby, born
in the year of the Dragon and the youngest of three girls, she found boundaries
were something to be tested instead of adhered to. Since she is happily married
to a man who provides an inexhaustible amount of support, it was a fate-driven
step from reading romances to writing them.

A staunch believer of including children in your life and
not wrapping your life around them, she celebrates being an empty nester with
the same enthusiasm she delegates to any new adventure. After her son and
daughter left, Tiffany took the opportunity to do a little wing-spreading of
her own and has since attained her scuba diving certification in the deep blue
waters of Hawaii and filled the space in the garage where her daughters’ car
once sat with a shiny new Harley.

Her creativity, coupled with her dare-to-try anything
attitude, ensures when you delve into the pages of her books you are guaranteed
an entertaining and steamy read.

The author welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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