This was who they were at their core. Forever.
His lips curved into a quick smile before he released her chin and looked up at the group. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight. As all of you know, our relationship did not begin under the easiest of circumstances.”
Heart pounding, Thalia stared up at him, shocked to hear him address aloud what they had only quietly discussed among the trusted few in this room — and not at all with the stern man standing behind the table.
“It was a dark beginning for someone who brought so much light to my life, and even then I do not think she understood just how much I adored her. For a time, Thalia only saw herself as my slave, and I cherished that submission.” James turned to Kalen and held out his hand, and his friend opened a large black, jewelry case. “In honor of that submission, that gift she gave me, I gave her this collar.”
The platinum, braided circlet he lifted made her breath catch. The spotlight glinted across the metal and she knew her eyes were wide looking upon the item she now only wore to clubs like this — but back then, she had worn it everywhere. Had needed it everywhere they went, and even then she had barely been able to function.
“Often, relationships like ours culminate in a collaring ceremony, but Thalia and I did things a little differently. Our relationship began with that level of submission.” James moved closer, and someone lifted her hair from her neck.
Turning slightly, Thalia saw that it was Julie smiling behind her as James clasped the cool metal around her neck, brushing his knuckles across her chest as he released it. The weight of the collar was a comfort, a sedative against the nerves clanging inside her, and she was silently grateful for it as Julie stepped back. Smiling down at her, James took a deep breath.
“Our challenge was in having Thalia recognize how important she was to me, in believing just how much I wanted her to have a life… to live her life with me.” His words almost brought tears to her eyes, and as Kalen and Maggie stepped forward to stand beside him, she had to bite her lip to fight the emotion as he said the next part. “And so we went to the only place that I knew could help us… we went to Purgatory.”
“When I learned what Thalia had faced, what James had taken her from, I admit I was unsure if I could do what my old friend asked.” Kalen’s brogue was softer than usual as he stared down at her, eyes warm as he winked. “But I saw the fire inside her, the strength, and I did my part to help her be James’ partner as much as she was his submissive.”
Maggie cleared her throat, the short, black dress she wore flaring at the hips and barely touching the tops of her thighs. “And every one of ye here helped with that in one way or another. Most of us were there in Thalia’s first week at Purgatory. We saw the deep submission, and we also saw her commitment to James.” Brushing her hand down James’ arm, Maggie smiled. “And we saw James’ commitment to Thalia.”
Kalen picked up the dialogue with a nod. “That’s right, blessing. So, we honored that commitment. We supported them, accepted Thalia into our strange little family, and pledged to be there for each other.”
“And we are forever grateful for that,” James spoke solemnly, and Kalen rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Before the ceremony tonight, we ask that each of ye express yer commitment to stand by James and Thalia as they continue to grow in their relationship as Master and slave, Dominant and submissive, and soon husband and wife.” Kalen raised his voice, waving his hand to the small gathering. “If ye do, state it now.”
“I do,” Julie piped up almost instantly, cheerful, a vibrant smile on her cheeks. Antonio grinned and nodded next to her as he repeated the words.
Analiese and Nick spoke softly at almost the same time, “I do.”
“I do!”
“I do too!” Lauren and Chloe talked over each other, giggling on either side of Brad as he inclined his head.
“As do I,” Brad added.
“I do,” Ethan spoke, gripping Clair’s hand who had quickly been brought into the fold once he had brought her to a meet-up at Purgatory. So much sweeter and kinder than Marisol had ever even pretended to be.
The girl shrugged, smiling at Thalia as she spoke. “Of course I do.”
Kalen and Maggie stepped forward, each of them pressing a kiss to Thalia’s cheeks. “We will always be here for ye both,” Kalen added, and then they both stepped back into the lines at the sides, and Thalia was flushed, overwhelmed, as she looked up at James.
Her Master, her Dominant, her lover, her future.
“We are so lucky to have all of you in our lives, and we know this, but as Thalia reminded me earlier this evening — there are still things that taint the light that each of you bring to our lives.” James held out his hand for her and she took it, her brows pulling together as she stood. “That darkness that brought us together will never truly disappear.”
“Master…” she whispered, and he squeezed her hand tight.
“And it should never be forgotten, but I will always do everything I can to ease it. To push it back, to protect you from it.” James’ free hand slid down her side until his thumb pressed in at a point on the inside of her hip, and Thalia’s heart stuttered, skipped a beat, and then picked up harder.
Did he mean…
“Thalia, pet, you asked me months ago if I would put a mark on you. One that would erase the Williams Brothers’ mark.” All the air left the room as his thumb dug in sharper at the point where their insidious tattoo still stood in dark contrast to her pale skin. James had not even needed to glance down to find it, and her head swam at what he was offering. “I told you then that I knew you were mine, that you knew you were mine, and it wasn’t necessary to erase it… but if you thought I missed the disappointment in your eyes — I did not.”
“I —” Thalia tried to speak, but her voice failed her and he squeezed her hand in his a little tighter.
“Tonight, I want to do just that. To erase their mark, to ensure that it cannot taint the memory of our wedding day. I want to mark you as mine, but this is your choice, pet. I promised you on the day I met you that I would never do a thing without your consent, and this is no different.”
“What is it, Master?” Thalia asked, her nerves making her tremble even as he lifted his hand from the tattoo on the inside of her hip.
Turning slightly, James reached over the table and the man handed him a long, dark rod, but the end held one of the solutions she’d researched and her breath caught.
“A brand.” She answered her own question, running her fingertips over the thin metal that formed a mirror image of James’ initials, J H, only there was a small, solid heart that was perfectly sized to cover the tattoo Marcus had imbedded in her skin.
“We are all here for you, if this is what you choose, baby.” James stepped close, releasing her hand to hug her tight against his front. “I know what this means to you,” he whispered, “and Nick and Analiese brought David from their club in Germany just for this. He knows how to do it, he’s done it for many others… if you want it. Only if you want it.”
Thalia swallowed, breathing deep against his chest, surrounding herself in him for a moment as she closed her eyes and listened to his heart. The heart of the man who had seen her strength from half a world away, who had saved her, nurtured her, protected her, given her everything in his power to help her build a life after she had lost it all. The same man who had done everything in his power to save her when everything had gone wrong, who had built her back up, fought for her — the man who loved her more than anything. Who wanted both halves of her, submissive and girlfriend, fiancé, wife.
And now he was giving her the freedom to never have to look at their mark on her skin ever again. What else was there to say?
“I want it.”
James barely let her finish the sentence before he was kissing her, and it was hard, a possessive kiss that almost bruised her lips as he took her mouth. Tongues clashing, his arms strong around her, the metal of the brand
pressed into her back — there was nowhere else she would rather be.
Nothing else that was more perfect than this.
He released her, eyes steady on hers as his brows pulled together. One more mental check in his strange ability to read her like an open book, but whatever he saw must have satisfied him because he nodded and stepped back.
“Up on the table, pet.” James helped her climb up, and her friends moved closer.
As soon as she lay down, Kalen caught her wrists and pulled them above her head to press them to the table. “Ye will have to be very still,” he answered her unspoken question at being pinned.
Looking down the table she felt Julie press down on one thigh, Analiese and Maggie each taking an ankle. Then Antonio took a place next to David as James handed across the branding iron.
“Thalia?” David spoke for the first time, his voice warmer than she’d expected, with more of a German accent than Analiese carried.
“Yes, sir?”
“I have questions for you. Do you understand the brand is quite permanent? That this is a serious commitment between you and your Master?” David had not moved, his eyes on hers as if he were evaluating her.
“Yes, sir. I understand. I want this.” She nodded, and he waited for a moment before he nodded again.
“Then we continue.” Turning to Antonio he spoke more quietly. “Shave and disinfect the area.”
At the first cold swipe on her hip, Thalia was hit with flashbacks of the yellow toned bedroom from Marcus’ house. The desperate look Kaia gave her when Thomas had prepared to tattoo her. Her first look at the tattoo that would mark her as Marcus’ property. His product, his slave.
His.
The whimper that slipped out was uncontrollable, but James was right there, hands on either side of her face as he stared down at her. “I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere, are you okay?”
Nodding, she fought past the emotional tidal wave cresting inside her. “Yes, Master, please. I want this, please?”
“Antonio just has to get you ready, okay? And then it will be done. Just a few strikes of the brand. Remember?”
“I remember.” She swallowed, focusing on all of the research she’d done. Tattoo removal, cover-up tattoos, and branding. All of the ways to erase Marcus’ ownership of her, even though she’d never forget what had brought her and James together. Never forget the weeks of hell she had spent with the man.
A brand had been her suggestion, and James had been the one to pull back from the idea… but clearly he had done his research since. Prepared. Planned for this gift so that her wedding day wouldn’t be marred by the ink on her hip. The same ink that had earned Kalen’s rage, that had made James flinch, more than once, even if he thought she’d never noticed.
Every inch of her was shivering, but she focused on James’ eyes. That perfect bottle glass green. The blond tousle of his hair just brushing his brows as he leaned over her, whispering comforting things to her that she couldn’t quite process as loud as her heart was pounding. Either way, her mind was too focused on the weight of their friends’ hands on her, the fingertips of those not holding her down reaching to brush her skin so she knew they were there.
Surrounded by more love than she had ever thought possible.
The loud click of a blowtorch made her jump, but everyone’s hands tightened on her skin, and she pulled her eyes from James’ to watch David rotate the brand through the flame. Antonio held it steady, and she watched as the dark tone of the metal slowly began to glow at the edges. “I need you to consent once more, Thalia.”
“I consent to receiving James’ brand, just please cover the mark.” She met the man’s eyes as calmly as she could, even though her racing pulse and the tremble of her muscles were things she couldn’t fight.
“Thank you,” he answered, and then he turned his eyes back to the brand. Watching as it turned a dull red, then he lifted it from the flame and Antonio laid one hand to grasp her thigh. “Hold her still,” David demanded.
Everyone tightened their grip, and James forced her eyes back to his, cupping her cheeks. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispered as she felt the heat of the brand close to her skin, blistering and terrifying. Then there was a moment of sharp, searing pain where her entire body tried to contract, her teeth clenching tight against the urge to shout, but her friends held her tight to the table — and then the pain passed, and a second later David lifted the metal. A dizzying rush followed, making her head swim, the memory of the pain still fresh.
“Don’t let go,” David commanded, and Thalia tried to remember to breathe as Antonio lifted the flame once more and the man rolled the brand through it.
“You’re doing so well, pet. Just hold on.” James’ weight pressed her into the table, his forearm between her breasts, holding her chest down.
“Thank you,” she whispered, clenching her teeth as he lifted the brand away from the fire.
“Hold her tight.”
Another hover of the impossible heat, another searing press, another unavoidable contraction of her body as she cried out.
Trying to stifle it, she kept her teeth clenched, and the brand was already lifted before she opened her eyes again.
Fire. Heat the brand. Press.
At the third strike she screamed, unable to keep her teeth clamped against the shock of pain. David had pulled the brand away before she’d even finished the whine, tears rolling from the corners of her eyes into her hair. Uncontrollable.
“I want this, Master. I want this.” She locked her eyes on James, recognizing that he had been constantly speaking soft words, encouragement, love.
“Almost done, almost. You are so strong, and I love you so much.” His eyes flickered to David, and she turned to see him rolling the brand through the fire again. Her limbs jerked before she’d even thought about it, a subconscious effort to avoid the pain even though she wanted the results. Wanted the tattoo obliterated, wanted to wear the mark she’d asked for.
This is James’ mark. James’ initials. My Master. Mine.
I chose this.
Opening her eyes she saw his, and could see the pain reflected in them. The concern, the worry that this might be too much, and so as the heat grew close to her skin she gasped. “I love you!”
One last sear of her flesh, and she would have torqued off the table without the pressure of her friend’s hands holding her in place. And then it was over, the heat fading into an ache at her hip, the lingering scent of the burned skin unpleasant but important.
It was done. Marcus’ tattoo burned away. The last physical evidence of his touch erased.
All that was left was the scar on her arm, the pink line that reminded her of her commitment to James. Her attempt to escape, and that she had never cared about. That jagged line was all about survival, but the tattoo had been her submission to Marcus. Her obedience.
His property.
His – and she only wanted to belong to James.
The lingering ache on the inside of her hip was a simmering heat, but with her heart racing, and the adrenaline rushing through her she could barely feel it anymore. Most importantly, James was still there, meeting her eyes, concern pulling his brows together.
“I’m okay,” she whispered, and he kissed her. Deep, intense submission spiraled through her as she pictured the mark on her hip, her Master’s lips pressed against hers.
It was everything she’d wanted.
He pulled back and she watched David smear something across the mark, but before he could drape the dressing across she pulled at Kalen’s grip on her wrists. “Wait, I want to see.”
“Let her up,” David responded and as soon as Kalen released her she propped on her elbows to see the raw, red burn of the brand. The heart had been carefully placed and there was not a hint of ink left from Marcus’ tattoo.
Tears welled as she dropped back to the table, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes to hide them. “Thank you,” she whis
pered, and then she felt him taping the loose gauze in place, accompanied by the gentle rubbing of her friends’ touches on her arms and legs.
“Are you happy?” James’ voice was tenuous against her ear, and she knew it was his hand on her belly, his thumb rubbing back and forth.
“Yes, I swear. I — I’m just so glad it’s gone.”
“I am too, baby. I am, too.” James pressed a kiss to her cheek, and she moved her arms to wrap around his neck so he would kiss her again, and he did. Warm, gentle, and absolutely perfect.
“You have the directions for care, and as long as you follow them it will heal just fine.” David was smiling when James stood up, and the man’s eyes stayed on hers. “Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your branding, Thalia.”
“Thank you for doing it, sir.” She gave a small smile, and he lifted her hand to his lips to press a kiss to her knuckles.
Kalen cheered. “I think it’s time to celebrate!”
“Amen!” Maggie repeated, and everyone stepped away from the table except for James.
“You look so beautiful, pet.” His hand slid down until he brushed her folds, parting them with a slow swipe. “Do you feel up for more play tonight?”
“Yes, Master,” she purred, reveling in the sensation of his deft touch against her clit.
“How much play?” James asked the question, but he thrust two fingers inside her hard and she moaned, arching her hips off the table with only the slightest twinge from the brand.
“Whatever you want, Master. Please?”
Chuckling softly, he slid her wetness over her clit and started to rub her in earnest. “I just want to make you happy.”
“You do, you always do.” She nodded, fists clenched at her sides as all of the endorphins spiraled, swelling to match the heat in her skin, the heat that pooled around the mark. So much tension, so much pleasure as he plucked her with the practiced ease of a lover who knew his partner inside and out.
Tying the Knot (Thalia Book 4) (The Thalia Series) Page 12