Lesson In Honesty (Club Serenity #3)

Epilogue

Christmas Eve

Mack

I t was surprising how many people chose to spend the holidays at a kink resort, Mack thought with amusement. Turning slowly, he took in the thirty or so members dressed in Santa costumes, as elves and snowflakes.

One innovative sub was cleverly attired as a present—with miles of colorful green, red, and gold ribbons as her wrapping paper.

He laughed as a couple of reindeer played tag with several elves, creating chaos as they dodged and weaved through patrons in the thrilling game.

Sipping his beer, he waited patiently for Liam and Sierra to arrive. They were supposed to attend the first Serenity Christmas party together, but a slight costume malfunction sent Sierra into a panic, so Liam had sent him ahead to snag the good seats.

How life could change in just a few weeks. His month-long stay was well over, heading into the permanent stage. Living in the cabin with his two favorite people suited him just fine, and he thoroughly enjoyed his new position as Master Maverick.

In the new year, his company was undertaking a huge relocation. MVM Tech would be based in Denver out of a building he was now part owner of with Callie, Elias, and Evander. Sixty percent of his original staff were also making the move, which pleased him immensely, even if it hurt that the other forty percent decided both the physical and scientific shift in direction the company was taking wasn’t to their liking.

It wasn’t their company, he reminded himself. They didn’t understand the ramifications he’d faced if he stayed on that line. They’d seen his one-eighty turn as a betrayal of science instead of the sacrifice he’d made to keep dangerous technology out of everyone’s hands.

Level Twelve was shut down the same week that Sonja was found dead in her home, hanging from a ceiling fan with a chair toppled beneath her. The letter left on the kitchen counter had confessed everything from how she accrued a monumental debt to selling her soul in a weak moment.

The projects were swiftly destroyed; Mack had returned to Fresno to oversee disassembly and incineration of the prototypes, along with hard drives and everything else associated with them.

Including, he thought with a wry smile, the data bought by the Corrinthian Technologies assholes.

Tabitha was officially a legend. He owed her a great deal, even though neither of them could ever admit to their agreement. Not when the individuals who’d turned one of his employees into a traitor and terrorized others were brutally, artistically annihilated by an unknown assailant.

“All alone?”

Mack glanced over, grinning as Elias and Evander stopped by the table in matching Santa suits. Evander looked as though he was having the time of his life, where Eli should probably have starred in a Christmas horror movie. “For the time being. Costume malfunctions and Littles really don’t mix.”

Evander winced. “Oh. Fixable?”

“Hopefully.”

“Everything is fixable,” Eli commented, holding his arm out as Callie skipped over, a sprig of mistletoe in her hand. “Van, did you need a word with Mack? We can go hang the thing on the tree.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Callie waved at Mack. She wore a giant round ball made of… wool? Cotton? Something fluffy and incredibly white. “I’m a snowball!”

Ah, that explained it. Some of it, anyway. “Oh, I see. And a pretty snowball you are.”

“Thank you!” She held the mistletoe up to Evander, barely reaching his throat. “Kiss it for good luck, Daddy Vander.”

He snorted and picked her up by the waist so she could hold it over his head. Kissing her slowly, thoroughly, until her arms went limp. “There. Go put it on the tree before the luck runs out.”

She hummed, licking her lips, and quietly took Eli’s hand. They headed for the massive Christmas tree in the corner by the fire, decorated in so many lights, the damn thing looked like a solar system gone mad.

“Mistletoe on the tree?” Mack asked dubiously.

“Little logic. We don’t argue, we just go with it.” Grinning, Evander slid into the opposite seat. “I’m not going to take up a lot of time discussing business, not tonight. Just wanted to make sure you were still doing okay with the changes you’re implementing.”

“I’m excited, actually. It’s completely different to anything we’ve worked on before, certainly safer for mankind. Adult video games, sex toys, and VR units,” he said with a laugh, still astonished. “Who’d have thought it?”

“You’ll build an empire,” Evander told him.

“ We will, partner. I think half the team are spending their holidays designing systems and programs. The ones who’ve stayed are certainly enthusiastic.”

“As are we.” Evander’s attention veered toward the doors, then he tapped his hand on the table. “She’s a vision, Mack. Congratulations.”

Mack followed his line of sight, sitting up straighter as Liam escorted their girl into the party. She was positively glowing, even though he could tell from here she’d been crying.

The candy cane costume she’d had on when he left was no more—evidently some things were not fixable—but the dress he and Liam had bought her in case of such an emergency turned her into a Christmas princess.

Red material covered her arms, hiding the psoriasis outbreak she was suffering through right now, dipping down to expose the barest hint of cleavage. It shaped her upper body, tapered down to her waist, then flared out to stop a few inches above her ankles.

From her hips down, the skirt was adorned with a myriad of different sized snowflakes, along with a snowman on one side and a red-nosed Rudolph on the other.

While it was perfectly suited for a Little, it was just as fitting for an adult with a playful side.

The kitten heels they’d got at the same time lifted her an inch or two, matching the color of the dress, and all that wonderful hair was curled into ringlets, scattered through with pretty, glittery snowflakes.

How the hell had he gotten so lucky?

Mack rose, giving Evander a nod as his friend went to join his family, and stepped out to meet his own. Nothing felt as right as having her in his arms, feeling Liam’s come around them both. “Pixie, you take my breath away.”

She smiled shyly, tipping her face back to watch his eyes. There were tear tracks, faint but there, on her cheeks, and her eyes were slightly swollen and irritated. “I feel pretty.”

Now that was a rare statement. Shooting Liam a stunned look, he cupped her face, gently wiping away the trace of her earlier upset. “Sierra, you’re the most beautiful woman here tonight. Maybe we should hide you from Master Merrick, he might not be able to contain himself.”

A brilliant flush conveyed her pleasure at the compliment. “We saw him outside. Daddy Liam said he could look but not touch.”

“I bet that went down well.” Kissing her sweetly, he met Liam’s eyes again, silently seeking confirmation. When he got a nod, he relaxed slightly. Using the code they’d worked out earlier, he asked, “Are we dancing now or later?”

Liam studied the room. “I think now is a good time. Everyone’s here.”

Everyone who mattered, aside from their friends at Avalon. Mack knew it didn’t sit well with Liam that their family from Phoenix weren’t there, but arrangements were already being made for a trip home the following week.

They both took a step back, and Liam reached into his pocket.

Mack held his hand out, feeling the ring slide onto his palm. The metal was warm from Liam’s body heat, and he closed his fingers around the symbol of his future.

When he’d learned Liam already had plans to propose, ring included, before Mack came into their lives, he’d fully expected to tag along with what Liam already had in mind. Instead, they’d worked together over the past few weeks to create a proposal that suited both of them and their love for Sierra.

The metalsmith who’d made the crown clamps had been more than pleased to design and create a very special pair of engagement rings. The interlocking bands were a stolen inspiration, fashioned after Callie’s wedding bands—with her husbands’ permission.

“I’m not very good at dancing,” Sierra said quietly, ducking her head as her feet shuffled nervously. “Maybe we should wait—”

Liam dropped first, taking the knee in front of her. “I’ve waited five years, Sierra. I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Her jaw fell in surprise.

“Not quite as long for me,” Mack added, lowering himself beside Liam, “although it feels as though I’ve been waiting forever for you two to make me complete.”

Those beautiful eyes were huge, blinking at them in shock. “I thought you’d forgotten.”

“To propose?” Liam asked incredulously.

“Um… yeah. I kind of did something…”

Unsure whether to laugh or be nervous, Mack bit his lip and decided to let Liam handle this particular situation. He supposed it was just their luck that fate wouldn’t let them get engaged without at least a little hitch in the road.

“Something bad?” Liam said coaxingly.

Gnawing on her bottom lip, Sierra slipped her hand into the side of her dress, rummaging in the material. Sheepish as hell, an intriguing shade of red highlighting her cheeks and ears, she slowly pulled her hand free and held it out to them.

Shaking, she unfurled her fingers to reveal…

Mack frowned, cocking his head curiously. “Are those…”

Liam strangled on a laugh, swiftly diverting it into a harsh clearing of his throat. “Babygirl, are you proposing to us with gummy rings?”

They sat on her open palm, one red and one green, slightly squished from being shoved in her pocket. It was an adorably Little gesture.

“I thought you forgot,” she murmured again.

“We could never forget how much we want you to be ours,” Mack told her when Liam seemed to lose his voice. “I bet you’ve put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you, pixie?”

Sierra lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug, obviously expecting to be overridden by her Doms. She glanced at Violet, who was standing across the room beside an unfamiliar curtain. “The Mistress helped me.”

Mack elbowed Liam in the ribs, rousing him from whatever thoughts he was lost in. Shaking his head, Liam tilted his chin. “By all means, babygirl, go for it.”

“Really?” Hope lifted the desolation from her eyes and she clapped her hands together excitedly. With a little dance, she sent Violet a wave, and the curtain dropped to reveal a huge widescreen television affixed to the wall.

It switched on, and the screen was suddenly filled with a unfamiliar location and a lot of strange faces. By the way both Liam and Sierra lit up, Mack presumed that the people smiling and waving—and in a couple of instances, crying—were the family they’d left behind in Phoenix.

The slow Christmas song playing on the speakers faded to silence, and then the room filled with cheers and greetings, drawing the attention of everyone in Serenity.

“Sierra!” A dark-haired beauty with outrageous blue eyes bounced on a huge guy’s lap, squealing in delight. “Liam! We miss you guys! Hey, who’s the hunk on one knee?”

When Liam rose and dragged Mack with him, they faced the screen as one with Sierra between them. “God, it’s good to see your faces. We miss you too. Um… this hunk,” he said with a grin at Mack, “is Maverick Morehead. We were planning on heading back to see you reprobates next week to introduce you all.”

“Maverick,” a tall redhead mused, crooning his name. “Does he live up to his name?”

“Rebel by name, rebel by nature,” he responded easily.

She beamed at him. “He’ll fit in well.”

“I hope so,” Liam commented. “We’re getting married. The three of us.”

The collection of faces on screen went blank for a split second before chaos erupted. Whoops and shouts, sober congratulations and happy squeals deafened the club.

“We are if anyone actually gets around to proposing,” Mack reminded him.

“Wait, no one’s actually asked the question yet?” A Dom with very familiar blue eyes and white blond hair smirked. If he wasn’t a close relation of Tabitha’s, they needed to take a DNA test. “Did moving to Denver make you stupid, Liam?”

“Far from it, brother.” Grin widening, Liam jerked his chin at the screen. “Let me introduce you to the Avalon crew, Mack. Starting from the left, we have Braun and Bodie, the club owners. The blond jackass next to them with the prettier blonde on his knee is Jasper, with his wife Anarchy.”

Oh, that rang a bell. She was one of the ones Sierra was plotting with, wasn’t she? Mack narrowed his eyes at her, wondering if she was responsible for the teddy bear costume prank; if so, he needed to thank her. Repeatedly.

“Then we have Connie, and her husband, Thane.” Liam’s voice gentled, softening with… grief? Homesickness? “The enormous bearded one is Atticus, and that’s his Little-slash-wife, Alicia, tucked under his arm.”

The other culprit, he thought. From the mischievous glint in her big blues, she was in the running for prank leader as well. Not only that, she bore a striking resemblance—just as strong as Jasper’s to Tabitha—to the lady Liam introduced as Bodie.

Family affair, much?

Liam lowered his voice. “The super shy sub is Caera; she’s married to Saul.”

The Dom in question lifted his hand in greeting, but Mack’s brain was beginning to fizzle. Caera’s hair was almost the same shade as Jasper’s, aside from the fact it was slightly more golden, as though darker strands were woven through the starkness. Her facial shape was similar, although her eyes were green and not that intimidatingly pale shade of blue.

“Tabitha and Jasper’s sister?” Mack asked under his breath.

“Half. Long, very complicated story.” Liam kept his eyes on the screen. “Last but not least, we have Zeke, who is currently holding down the fort as Avalon’s manager, and his beautiful wife, Olivia.”

Olivia was the one who’d purred his name, Mack thought. The redhead who was wrapped around a man considerably older than her. Yet the love on her face was as tangible as the love pulsing between him, Liam, and Sierra.

Age was just a number.

The heart was all that mattered.

“I’ve heard a lot about you all,” Mack said politely. It wasn’t a lie; Sierra chattered about her family on a regular basis, either to him or her stuffies. Some of the stories she told were pretty fantastic, he had to admit. “I’m looking forward to meeting you in person next week.”

Connie smiled slowly. “Brace yourself for carnage, Mack. Our version of family time is slightly insane.”

“Can someone please propose? I’m dying here!” This from the dark-haired troublemaker, Alicia. “We’ve been planning this for weeks —”

“Oh, have you now?” Atticus gave his sub a hard stare. “Have you really, princess?”

“Um…” Wisely, she pressed her lips together and blinked innocently.

“You wouldn’t know anything about a giant teddy bear, would you, Alicia?” Mack stifled a laugh when those blue eyes snapped to his through the screen. They darted sideways for an instant, toward the other instigator if his suspicions were correct, then back to him. “One that, perhaps, a certain pixie could climb inside and attempt to terrify her Doms?”

Blink, blink . “Absolutely not, sir. I wouldn’t even know where to find one.”

Taking the ball, Liam set his face into hard lines. “Anarchy? How about you?”

“Me, Master Liam? Sorry, we’re not into costumes.” She lifted her shoulders in a casual shrug. “My sadist prefers whips and clamps instead of props.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Nerves crackling, Sierra tugged on their arms. “I told you, I got the costume.”

“You didn’t act alone, pixie,” Mack disagreed, then found his mouth was occupied with a gummy ring. He started to laugh, unsure whether she’d intended to do it or panicked and shoved his potential engagement ring in there to shut him up.

Alicia squeaked in dismay. “Oh, Sierra.”

Braun chuckled. “I think it might fall to you to seal the deal now, Liam. Unless, of course, Mack spits instead of swallows.”

Both clubs broke into laughter, reminding Mack they weren’t alone in this conversation. It seemed surreal to be standing here, talking to one family while the other was surrounding them.

“Stop teasing them, Braun.” Saul smiled, stroking his sub’s hair absently. “Sierra is either going to cry or kick their asses. No one wants a spanking on their engagement night.”

Staring at the remaining gummy ring in her hand, her expression downfallen, Sierra exhaled sadly before turning to Liam. “You really didn’t forget?”

“No, babygirl, we really didn’t.”

“Okay then.” She popped the second ring in his mouth. “Proceed, Daddy.”

Well, Mack mused as he laughed and managed to chew the gummy, it was a night they wouldn’t soon forget.

Liam

He should’ve known she couldn’t do this important thing without their best people involved. Honestly, he was kicking himself for not thinking of it, but he’d been wrapped up in trying to perfect every angle he could control.

Apparently, he’d missed the glaring detail of their girl believing they’d forgotten all about marrying her.

The question now was how to proceed, as the minx dictated.

God, she was adorable.

Seeking Mack’s amused gaze, Liam lifted an eyebrow, asking for input. This plan hadn’t been just his brainchild, but a combination of both of them. He rolled his eyes when his soon-to-be husband just grinned and shrugged.

No help there then.

Ah, fuck it.

Standing, Liam snagged Sierra’s hand and pushed the ring on her finger. “This time next week, babygirl, you’ll be Mrs. Carradine-Morehead. There’s never going to be another day when you feel alone or unloved, because Mack and I adore you. We’ll love you until the day we die.”

Mack snorted. “Beyond that, pixie. We three?” He gestured to each of them so there was no misunderstanding as to who he meant. “We go past this life into the next as one. Three hearts, three souls, three spirits tied together wherever we go.”

“Connie?” Liam asked without taking his eyes off Sierra’s, entranced with watching knowledge and tears fill them as she realized he was serious. “Are you free New Year’s Eve?”

“For my favorite people? Always.”

“New Year’s Eve, Sierra,” he repeated quietly, keeping her hand steady as Mack bent to kiss her knuckles and slide the second half of the ring onto her finger, connecting it with the first. “We’ll say our vows in front of the people who have had our backs since the day we met them. Old family and new,” he added when her brow furrowed. “Anyone from Serenity who wants to come is welcome. But we are going back to where it all started, where the ghosts have been laid to rest, and by the time the clock strikes midnight and the ball drops… you, me, and Mack are going to be a family all our own.”

Taking her other hand, Mack winked. “All ours. I didn’t want to wait that long, but Liam persuaded me that a new life at the start of a new year is symbolic.” He leaned forward to kiss her cheek and whisper, loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Plus, neither of us will be able to claim we can’t remember what day our anniversary falls on.”

Sierra snickered and some of the shock in her eyes dissipated into joy. “This is the best Christmas present ever .”

Liam cupped her face, reading every nuance of emotion flicking over it, through her tear-sheened eyes. He loved her beyond measure, knew Mack worshipped her past reason, and felt as though they’d finally reached that hallowed place where the past was truly behind them and the future stretched out ahead.

When she smiled, happiness radiating from the curve of her pretty mouth to the glow of her eyes, he was sure of it.

Her kiss, bestowed first upon him and then Mack, sealed it as cheers went up around the room, and their family celebrated in the two states they called home.

The End

Thank you for reading Liam, Sierra, and Mack’s story!