Stephen stared at her for a long moment, and she chewed her lip nervously. He wasn't sure he had heard her properly and he was too stunned to risk asking her to repeat it in case he had heard her incorrectly.
"I know I should have said that kneeling at your feet and begging fervently for you to accept me but once I started talking," she shrugged and shook her head. "I had planned to wait until after the memorial," she said quietly.
"I love you too," he said pulling her to him and kissing her softly. "Stay exactly where you are he commanded nestling her head on his shoulder and picking up his phone.
"Nothing's wrong," Stephen smiled into the phone. "Why would I worry about the time when I know you don't sleep," he chuckled as Kurt slowly calmed down. "I need Bella to have the day off, it's important. I'll fill you in at the club tonight," He paused listening as Kurt brought up her schedule on his tablet and agreed to the day off while frowning at Bella as she gasped in shock. "Great tell Rhys I'll owe him one for covering for her, thanks." He hung up the phone and grinned down at Bella. "You and I are playing hooky today, get up and get dressed we have a lot to do."
"The sun isn't even up," she nuzzled into his neck confused by his sudden need to get up and move when he hadn't answered her.
"Not a good way to start after begging my collar, lucky I didn't just agree if this is the sort of behaviour I can expect." He smacked her ass but couldn't hide the grin on his face. "Now up and shower and wear that dress your mother gave you when you got your car. We're going to take it for a drive."
Bella got up and went to shower considering what had just happened. Had she messed it up so badly he was about to be punished? Maybe h just wanted to take her to the Cove and have her beg him properly. Several thoughts ran through her head but he kept urging her to hurry and she quickly got ready to leave.
An hour later after a hurried breakfast, they were on the road with Stephen in the passenger's seat content to let Bella drive while he made a few calls. Bella loved her Sunbeam and was always disappointed that she didn't get to drive it more often. At such an early hour of the morning, the traffic was light and she made the trip in record time.
"Did you wear your lead boots this morning?" Stephen laughed as he got out of the car and put his arm around her waist pulling her close.
"It not exciting unless you play a little with the speed limit," she blushed. "I just love driving that car."
"You love a lot of things I have noticed, I am glad that I am one of them," he kissed her lightly and then hurried her through the abbey to his tower thankfully not meeting anyone along the way. Now that Anissa and Thomas had moved into the farmhouse and the workers were now housed in that part of the estate he and Bella had the living areas of his home to themselves mostly. The rooms closer to the main house would be used by staff in the future, when the guest rooms were finished and available to people wishing to stay but, for now, they lay empty.
"I had always imagined that if you begged for my collar that you wold ask me here, in the great hall or the garden, maybe even on the rooftop at sunset," Stephen said as they descended the stairs to the dungeon. "You took me by surprise this morning, and that is not an easy thing to accomplish," he chuckled lightly unable to stop smiling despite himself. "It never occurred to me that you would present yourself with sleep-tussled hair and wrinkled sheets covering your beautiful body while offering it to me."
"I'm sorry," Bella blushed and allowed him to help her remove the dress. "I wasn't thinking about that part of it at all."
"I realise that you had not planned it that way or at that time but it gives me the opportunity to bring you here, to my domain and have you beg me properly," he said. He turned and went to sit in the large wooden throne-like chair that dominated one corner of the room. Bella watched as he removed the arm from one side and withdrew several boxes, one long and thin and she smiled realising why he had not answered her back at the apartment and felt silly expecting him to just produce a collar on the spur of the moment in her bedroom. Sitting in the large chair, he looked bigger and more imposing than ever and she walked slowly to stand before him and sink into a kneeling position.
"This is what you asked for so eloquently earlier," he opened the case and held it before her. Small gold ingots barely an inch in length, were held together by small rings at each corner to form the chain of the collar. On the central ingot standing out in platinum relief were the crossed swords of his crest behind a stylised heart shape sculpted to perfection. Each of the other slim ingots were finely engraved with similar images but included floral decorations as well. It was beautiful and Bella looked up considering the man who offered it to her. A man she had come to love as she had no other.