not,” Shani said with a grin. “But just the same, I have a little gift for each of you. Something I made special for this day.” She opened the tote and drew out the five necklace boxes. She handed them around, saving the largest, special box for Mama.
The girls opened their boxes, which contained a silver star pendant set with a single, tiny stone at its center—a ruby for Kaiah, a diamond for Malia, an emerald for Yareli and a blue sapphire for Chenoa—on a simple silver chain. They took out the necklaces, cooing with pleasure and delight. Shani lifted her matching necklace from underneath her bodice. Her star was set with an amethyst.
“It’s the five stars,” Malia, who always got Shani, exclaimed. “One for each of the five noble warrior princesses.”
“They’re so beautiful, Shani,” Yareli exclaimed.
“I love mine the best,” Chenoa cried.
“They’re works of art,” Kaiah added in a reverent tone.
Shani looked to Nina, who was smiling broadly at the girls, her eyes bright with tears. “You haven’t opened yours, Mama.”
Nina looked down at the white box on her lap and lifted the lid. Inside was a longer silver chain with five stars identical to the ones each girl now wore around her neck. Nina stared down at it, the tears now spilling onto her lap.
“Don’t cry, Mama,” Chenoa said, leaning over to put her arm around Nina’s shoulders.
Nina looked up, her face luminous in the starlight. “They’re tears of happiness, daughter,” she replied as she leaned her head forward, allowing Shani to place the chain around her neck.
The music had started, and the three kids were careening around the makeshift dance floor. Adam appeared beside their blanket, smiling down at the girls. “Can I steal my lovely bride away for the first dance?” he asked.
“She belongs with you now,” Nina said with a nod. “Your spirits are already dancing together up in the stars.”
Shani took Adam’s extended hand. He pulled her up and led her to the dance floor as Kaiah shooed the kids away. Adam took Shani in his arms and pulled her close, one hand warm and comforting on her lower back as he took the other into his. They moved together to the music amidst more applauding and cheers. A moment later, the floor filled with couples eager to join in the dancing.
Shani lost herself in Adam’s gaze as he smiled down at her. There was a sparkle in his eyes from the reflected light, so that it looked like he had a tiny diamond in each iris. Though she loved her family with all her heart, Adam—her Dom, her life partner, her best friend—was her most precious shining star.
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And to get you started, here’s a sneak peek at Secrets – Chapter One!
Secrets – Chapter 1
The rope around Allie’s wrists was tight, her arms pulled taut and secured to the headboard. His hard body covered hers, his cock pummeling insistently inside her. The foreplay had been, if not quite as intense as she liked, certainly spicy, with plenty of spanking, nipple torture, clit teasing and even a good, thuddy flogging.
He had almost, though not quite, sent her flying as the whip licked and kissed her skin, the intensity increasing as he got more and more excited. Yes, yes, yes, yes, she’d silently shouted as the pain edged in that magical way toward something powerful and sublime. Allie had only experienced that kind of pure, ecstatic release that comes from handling, overcoming and finally embracing erotic pain once or twice in the scene, but it had been enough to keep her coming back for more.
He’d quit just before the miracle, though he’d seemed entirely unaware of what he’d done, or rather, failed to do, and Allie hadn’t told him. In her mind, if you had to tell them, then the connection wasn’t there, no matter how much you wished it could be.
“I own you.” He thrust hard inside her. She shifted, trying to find a better angle. He took that as a positive sign. “Yeah, that’s it, I’m going to make you come so hard, babe. You belong to me.