ii. Devoted [Bonus chapter]

"Do you know how to skate, my queen?" Dominus asked as he secured her skateboard shoes.

"Absolutely not," she giggled, she doesn't even know what she was doing with Dominus in a private skating rink.

"Baka," he flicked her forehead and smiled. "Then why did you agree to this?"

"I'll agree to anything if you are the one who suggested it," she said honestly as she smiled sheepishly at him.

It was one of the rare moments he blushed, taken aback by her words. He stood up and lent his hand to her which she did not hesitate to take.

She stumbled forward, not used to standing on ice and the slippery icy floor underneath her shoes.

"Stick close to me, or there won't be a next time," he said seriously as he caught her and pulled her close to him. "I won't stand you being injured, you know this. I'm your knight, I should protect you, not put you in harm's way."

"Fine," she giggled. "You think too much, you know. You have become an over-thinker and a nagger."

Dominus slowly guided her on where to go and how to move her legs so that she regains balance. Whoever made the movies look like it was so easy to learn such things deserve a bonk in the head. There is no way she can learn something so hard that fast!

At the end of the session, she gave up and sat on a bench, demanding he skates for her instead. He happily obliged, it was always too easy to make him do things for her.

It's something she still did not expect from the school prince. It still all felt like a dream, and she couldn't help but feel scared at the thought of waking up and realizing that she just dreamed the whole thing up, their love, this relationship they have, his whole existence.

He returned to her and sat on the bench, removing his skating shoes and putting on his boots as well. "That has kept me so far away from you, we better do something that makes me miss you less, you know."

She laughed, her eyes twinkling at his words. "Not anything sexual right now, my privates still hurt from being edged all night."

He frowned and looked at her with puppy eyes. "Then what do we do? Obviously, you can't skate, you'll just keep falling."

"Let's go home and I'll cook you a champurrado," she beamed as she put her arms around him.

"What is it? A champorado?" he tried to say it the way she did but his accent sounded funny to her and so she laughed.

What she doesn't realize is she is the only one who can laugh at him so easily without any consequence. No one else can laugh at Dominus, but then no one else ever had his love, except his queen.

"It's a Filipino delicacy, my grandmother was an immigrant from the Philippines. She came here for work but she settled here because of love. We call her Nanay, she and mom raised me to be the person I am today," she smiled softly at the memories of her grandmother.

"Well, can I meet her? I would love to thank her for everything she has done for you," he smiled, his smiles came easy when she is happy like this.

She blinked her eyes, trying not to cry, "You can't, she is long gone. She died when I was twelve. Cancer. Apparently, it is something our family members are susceptible to catching. Her mom died with the same thing."

He pulled her close to him, "Not you though, not you because I won't let it happen. I'm sorry I never got a chance to meet her. Do you think she would have approved?"

She considered his question and nodded, "She would have. Because I love you, she would have loved you too. She is a very kindhearted woman, there is no way she wouldn't have liked you. Besides, you have an undeniable charm when it comes to the ladies, you would have charmed her head over heels."

"And I would have adored her just as much. I love everything about you, Mary. I love the people who raised you to be the person you are now. I am most thankful to your family," he cupped her face in his hands and leaned in for a kiss.

It was a tender kiss, their lips brushing softly against each other. She felt her heart flutter as she takes in the soft and gentle kiss that made her feel cherished.

She missed his sweet kisses like this, not one driven mostly by desire. She answered his kisses back in the same fashion, enjoying how her lips glided with his so effortlessly.

"I love you, Mary. Always, and forever. I love you, so much that I feel my heart will explode when you are so far away from me. I miss you so much I feel like I would go crazy when you are not around. Ever since I have met you, you have taken away my sanity," he told her when their lips finally separated.

"And I love you too, Dom. You are my first in everything. My first kiss, first touch, first love," she looked up and met his eyes. She felt herself melting as his eyes turned murky gold, an endless passion enveloping her with need.

"Be careful with your words my queen, especially in public places," he whispered.

She frowned, trying to make sense of what he just said. "What do you mean, Dom? Did I say anything wrong?"

He chuckled and claimed her lips hungrily this time. She couldn't help but moan into his kiss as he thrust his thick tongue forward, filling up her mouth and forcing her tongue to dance around his.

"Why? I can't understand," she panted and asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"Be careful not to say something so sweet in public places, you know how much you turn me on," he said seriously as he tried to stop himself from devouring her.

She blushed, hurriedly stood up, and pulled on his arm. "Let's go home."

His baritone voice filled the air as a hearty chuckle escaped her lips. "What's with all this hurry? Are you that scared, queenie?" he stood up and followed her, draping his arm around her protectively.

"Scared? Or turned on?" he teased her, pulling her closer to himself.

"Both to be honest. You can reduce me to a whimpering mess in a matter of minutes. To do that publicly is humiliating but soon I'll just forget about proprieties. It scares me to be like that. I do love everything about you, and I know you just want to teach me things, but it's still so scary for me," she walked faster, afraid he will notice how red her face has become.

"I'm sorry darling, for scaring you like that," he grinned. "I couldn't help it when you purr like a kitten so easily. Everything about you just turns me on. I couldn't help it."

She pouted and pinched his arm, "Let's just go home. Indoors can be good too, you know. I can cook for you, and you can watch tv, read a book," she blushed more knowing it is not what he would do.

They walked back to the cabin with Dominus opening the door for her. She was stunned when he knelt and removed her shoes for her.

"I can do that myself," she complained, feeling embarrassed to be waited on hand and foot. She was not used to being cared for like royalty. To her, he is the prince instead, and she is nothing but the school nerd.

"Don't fuss over small things like this," he corrected her. "Taking care of you makes me happy. Let me do this, queenie. Small things like this are already a source of joy to me."

"But it's too much Dom, you pamper me too much. What if I get used to this?" she bit on her lower lip, realizing she has just slipped out one of her many insecurities.

"Then get used to it. Get used to it as much as you can. Because I am not planning to stop. I will never stop treating you this way, Mary. I will never stop showing you how much I love and adore you," he assured her, pulling her closer to him once again.

He sniffed her scent and lovingly kissed her forehead, "You don't have to be scared, there is no way in this world I'll change. My feelings for you are far greater than you can imagine. And I know you don't believe this now, but please let me. Let me prove to you how much I love you. Just stay still and let me love you the only way I know how to. Completely and devotedly so."