Chapter Six
Putting it All Together
A few months later, Brittany opened the door to my office and peeked in. "Master," she said as she entered and knelt by my desk, facing me.
"Yes, pet?" I asked. This was interesting. She hadn't knelt for me outside of play since the morning after that night in my basement.
"May I ask you a question, Master?" she asked.
"Sure, pet," I said, looking more and more interested.
"Do you... love me... Master?" she asked, looking fearful and anxious as she looked at the floor.
I turned to face her, giving her all my attention. "Where is this coming from?" I asked, confused.
"I..." She nibbled on her bottom lip. "I just..." She took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. "I love Jules," she began. "And... I... love you." Her lower lip was quivering now. "And I just... wanted to know if you felt the same way."
By way of answer, I opened my desk drawer and pulled out a large, flat box, and handed it to her. "Open it, pet," I said as I knelt on the floor in front of her.
She looked up at me with a mix of hope and trepidation as with shaking fingers, she pulled the lid off the box and looked inside. Her eyes went wide and filled with tears as one hand shot up to cover her mouth. "Really, Master?" she asked in a choked whisper.
"I've had that for a couple of weeks now," I said with a warm smile. "I've just been waiting for the right moment to ask you. Yes, I do love you, my beautiful pet," I said as I cupped her cheek with one hand. "Will you wear my collar?"
"Oh, yes, Master!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around my neck and showered my face with kisses. Then, she pulled back and looked at me with a guarded expression. "On one condition," she said, raising her index finger as the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. She poked me lightly on the nose. "You get this taken care of." She winked at me.
My eyebrows rose a fraction. "Why, pet," I said as my hand went to my chest in mock offense. "Are you saying I'm ugly?"
She giggled. "Far from it, Master," she replied then got serious. "But I've heard the noises you make when you're sleeping. That can't be healthy."
"You've been talking to Jess, haven't you?" I grumbled.
"Yes, Master," she replied. Cupping my cheek, she leaned down and kissed me. "And she's right, Master. If you keep on like this eventually your body is going to start developing some serious medical issues."
"I've tried, pet," I retorted. "They say there's not much they can do."
"That was years ago, Master," she replied gently. "The advancements made to plastic surgery have grown by leaps and bounds within the last couple of years alone."
I sighed. "Fine," I agreed. "If it will get you two off of my back about it, I'll make an appointment with Bill and see what he says."
"Yay!!" she threw her hands up in triumph and hugged me again, kissing me.
"It's not just them two, Daddy," Jules said, coming into my office. "Riley and I would like to get some sleep, too, when we spend the night with you, you know. Your snores are loud enough to wake the dead!"
"Not you, too!?" I exclaimed with humor. "I'm glad you're here, though," I said, changing the subject as I reached in my still open drawer for another, much smaller box. "Would you come over here for a moment?" I asked her, motioning to my side behind my desk.
She hesitated for a moment, then moved to where I requested. "Yes, Daddy?" she said as she started to kneel but I stopped her. I raised to kneel on one knee before her and her eyes almost popped out of her head.
"You have worn my collar for years now," I said, taking her hand with my free hand. "Without ever a collaring ceremony or any official declaration you have stood beside me for all of these years. You are my rock and my foundation to build a life upon. You keep me grounded when I'm ready to fly off the handle. You keep me stationary when all I want to do is run head-long into battle. You love me and stand beside me in spite of all my faults. You are my submissive, but you are so, so much more. Instead of just wearing my collar, will you also wear my ring? Will you be my wife for the rest of our lives?" I opened the box before her and her eyes lit up at the ring inside. "Julia Elizabeth Rhoades, will you marry me?"
Her hands went to her mouth as she inhaled a gasp. Tears immediately formed and fell from her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. "Yes," she croaked a whisper. Then more forcefully as she fell down upon me with her arms hugging my neck so hard she practically choked me out. "Yes! Oh, Kaden, I thought you'd never ask! Yes, a thousand times, yes!!" She kissed me, then, and I kissed her. For that brief moment, the world stood still and only the two of us existed. I briefly registered my door opening, closing, and the lock clicking into place.
Jules and I were in our own little world. We made love right there on the floor of my office. We were inseparable from that moment on. She moved in with me that weekend and all the girls showed up to help.
Six months later, we exchanged our vows in front of family and friends. Judge McKinley and his wife were there and gave us a hefty wedding gift.
"You're taking good care of my granddaughter, Kaden," he had said as he approached us during the reception. "I know she's been spending most of her time over at your house so I wanted to give you two something that would benefit her as well."
"Uh, thank you, Judge," I said, dumbfounded. "But, this is honestly too much."
"No it's not," Jules said quickly, cutting in. "Britt and I will get more use out of it than he will, your honor. Trust me." She gave Brittany a knowing wink.
"Us, too!" Riley chimed in as she and Jess found their way over to us, hand in hand. I kissed them both before turning back to the old man.
"Yeah, but," I protested. "This might as well be a big ass kitchen in the backyard!"
"That's why it's called a backyard kitchen, Cross," the old man said, chuckling.
"Yeah... but... I..." I spluttered.
Judge McKinley put a comforting hand on my shoulder and guided me away from the girls to a semi-private area. "Listen," he said, lowering his voice. "I don't pretend to understand what's going on under your roof, Kaden, but you've done an outstanding job of helping my girl get her life turned around. From what she tells me, she's head over heels in love with the both of you."