Adored (Masters and Mercenaries #8.5)(62)

She could have died.

“Mitch, I know you’re mad at me.”

Mad didn’t cover it. He was overwhelmed. His body was a riot of emotion and he wasn’t sure where to start. He’d been proud because his girl didn’t hesitate. He’d been horrified that she was in danger. He’d been so f*cking helpless.

But one thing had played out in his head and that was the fact that they weren’t done. God, they couldn’t be done.

She sank to her knees in front of him. “I know I upset you, Master. I know I scared you and I’m willing to take anything you have to give me.”

She hadn’t left him the day she should have. She hadn’t walked away because he’d f*cked up and lost his temper. He’d woken up the next morning and realized that he could get this situation back in hand. He could steer her toward the relationship he was comfortable with. He could go back to being her Master. Hell, if he played his cards right, he could probably train the waywardness out of her. He could likely manipulate her so she was comfortable accepting his dictates. She wouldn’t try to sneak things in or go behind his back because she thought she was helping him.

She was proving it right now. She was kneeling before him, her head bowed.

She would be his submissive for the rest of her life, if he wanted.

God, he just wanted her to be his Laurel.

He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her and said the words he’d sworn he would never, never say. “Please don’t leave me. Don’t ever leave me.”

He was five again, clinging to a mother who cared more about parties than a child. When she’d turned him away, he’d stopped asking, stopped hoping, stopped wishing. He couldn’t do that anymore. He couldn’t live in that world because if he did, he forced Laurel and their baby to live there, too. He had to find a way out.

He had to find a way to believe. He knew only one real thing he believed in and that was her. If he held on to her, if he followed her lead in the things he didn’t understand, maybe, just maybe he could be a better man. He could be better for her, better for their children.

Laurel’s arms came out, holding him tightly to her. They were on the floor, their bodies pressed together as though they were trying to meld into one. “I won’t. I promise. Mitchell, for as long as you want me, I promise I won’t leave you. I’ll be here.”

He tangled his hands in her hair, desperate to be surrounded by her. She was his everything. How had he ever thought he could leave this woman alone? She’d been made for him. “Don’t you ever do that again. Don’t ever put yourself in danger. I swear to god, Laurel, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“I can’t promise you.” Tears shone in her eyes. “I won’t ever let someone hurt you when I can help it. You’ll simply have to punish me.”

“No punishment, baby.” He would do the same for her, and he wouldn’t change her in any way. He loved her exactly the way she was. “But you will have to calm me down. I’m going to do something I wanted to do from the moment I hired you.”

“Are you going to take me rough and hard on my desk?” She was grinning up at him. “Even though the cops are probably storming up the stairs as we speak?”

Yes, that had always been on his mind, and he was definitely going to do that. Since the moment she’d walked through his doors, he wanted to have the right to come into her office and demand she take him. But there was something else. Something he should have done all along because it had been inevitable.

“I’m going to tell you I love you.” He framed her perfect face in his hands. She’d become the most precious thing in the world to him. She was the reason he breathed. “I love you, Laurel. Be my wife.”

“Yes.” She pressed her lips to his. “Yes, Mitchell.”

He got to his feet and hauled her up and into his arms. He hadn’t changed a thing about her office since the moment she’d walked out. It was neat as a pin and clean, so he felt zero guilt in setting his fiancée on top of the desk and running his hand up her skirt. His mouth found hers and he kissed her. His bride. He was going to kiss her for the rest of his life.

He heard the Dallas police enter and start asking questions, but it didn’t matter.

His life started now.





Epilogue



Six months later



Mitch stared down at the baby boy in his arms and wondered how he’d managed to get so lucky.

“He’s very wrinkly.” Chase stood beside him, looking down at the little boy they’d named John William Bradford.

After his father and Laurel’s brother. “He’s only a few hours old. The whole birth thing can take a lot out of a baby.”

His son yawned, and it was the single cutest thing Mitch had ever seen. His tiny mouth opened and his whole body wriggled before he settled back down and blinked his eyes up at Mitch.

Blue. Like his. Like his father’s.

“He looks a little like Dad,” Chase said. His brother was living in Dallas. He’d decided to finish school here after their father had died. Flynn had packed them both up and moved to the Dallas office where he was running things remotely. He’d said they needed a new start, but Mitch had a suspicion that after John Adler had peacefully passed, they’d both wanted to be near family. Near him and Laurel and their new nephew.