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Never in all her days, dead or alive, did Lute think she’d ever be in this position. Her entire life she’d been told to never trust men, not even her own father. She was told to never allow any man to hold sway or influence over her, to never let a man dominate her. In fact, she was told she should always be the dominant one if she ever chose to be so foolish as to become involved with a man.
Yeah… Her mortal life hadn’t been terribly exciting.
It had been lonely.
She never even found a man she clicked with. Not until…
Adam.
Lute gazed up at him with nothing but pure love and adoration in her eyes. Currently, she was kneeling at his feet, a comfy pillow under her legs because it wouldn’t do for Adam’s pet to be on the cold hard ground! No, the man wouldn’t stand for such a thing!
His girl deserved to be treated well.
That’s why he so graciously allowed her to use a pillow while they ate at the café.
Lute had been nervous at first, doing something like this openly. Her submission was a gift only for Adam, after all, but when Sir commanded her to her knees, she obeyed without hesitation.
And when he told her to lean against his thigh while he ate, she happily did that as well; she was even rewarded with head pats and scratches! It was like Heaven within Heaven!
Yeah, okay, the weird looks they got made her embarrassed at first, but it was the nasty glares aimed at Adam that made her feathers ruffle in anger. No one understood Adam’s needs, so they always assumed the worst of him.
Hell, they didn’t even notice how much calmer and more mature he’s been lately! She provided him structure and gave him responsibility. How could no one see that? How could no one understand that Adam simply needed dominance? It wasn’t a matter of want. It was a need. He needed control and Lute was more than happy to give him that.
It didn’t start out that way. When they decided to hook up, they had struggled for dominance in bed and ultimately decided to flip a coin. Lute won the first time and the sex had been lackluster for the both of them.
After that, they butted heads over everything and Adam had emotionally wounded her by comparing her to Lilith. He apologized later, as did she (for a disparaging comment she made to him), and they made up.
Fair is fair, so the next time they had sex it was Adam who took charge and it was like Lute could suddenly see all the colors in creation. Like parts of her she hadn’t known were missing were suddenly slotted into place. For once in her entire existence, she felt whole.
It was mind blowing and Lute had wanted more.
Slowly but surely, their dynamic started creeping out of the bedroom and into other areas of Adam’s house (where she pretty much lived these days). She started playing the part of a doting housewife and loved every second of it. Lute was certain if her misandrist mother saw her now, the bitch would drop dead for a second time.
The thought made her chuckle and it didn’t go unnoticed by Adam.
“Something funny, toots?” He asked in between munching on a plate of ribs.
“Oh, nothing, Sir,” she let out a small laugh, “just thinking about how my shitty mother would react if she saw me kneeling to a man,” Lute nuzzled Adam’s thigh even more, the mental image of her mother flipping out amusing her to no end, “she hated men.”
“Pfft, lemme guess, a carpet-muncher?” Adam snorted, rolling his eyes.
“I think she wanted to be, but no… She just hated men, blamed them for all her problems,” Lute huffed, “stupid shit like that. Wouldn’t even let me see my father…”
Adam stopped eating for a moment and he used the hand tangled in her hair to soothingly scratch behind her ears like she enjoyed, “Sorry that happened. Is your dad in Heaven? We could always track him down, even if he’s in Hell.”
Lute smiled warmly and closed her eyes. Adam was so kind and thoughtful to her.
“Thank you, Sir, but I believe he’s still alive. I checked once,” she sighed wistfully, “he got remarried and started a new family. He’s happy with grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren now. Even when he dies, I’m not sure I want to… Disrupt that.”
“Bullshit,” the man snorted, “trust me, he’d give anything to see you again, Lute. Any decent father would!” Adam grabbed his soda and started slurping it forcefully, “When he dies, no matter which way he goes, you at least deserve to see him after you two were kept apart!”
Lute stared up at him with wide eyes before smiling at him, much to Adam’s confusion.
“What’s with that dopey smile, Lute?” He chuckled, flicking the tip of her nose with his fingertip.
“Nothing, Sir, you’re just really amazing,” she hummed in contentment, closing her eyes and resting against his thigh while her arms wrapped around his shin which was hidden under his cassock. She ignored the hushed whispers of those that passed them by. Lute was far too content to care.
“Hey, Lute…” Adam stared up at the sky as he leaned back on a bench at a public park.
Lute was sitting next to him, rather than on the ground this time. She squinted at the man; Adam had been off all day today. First having her kneel at the café this morning and then insisting on walking arm-in-arm with her.
It wasn’t that their relationship was a secret, per-se, but the fact that the First Man had a mortal soul on his arm was a shocking sight to most people. It was funny, it was known that Adam liked to sleep around with Heavenborn, but an Earthborn like herself was considered… Unworthy to share his bed. She was his descendant, for one thing, which people saw as taboo even though they were so many generations removed that you couldn’t even count them. More importantly, she was a child born of sin, as are all Adam’s descendants thanks to Eve having eaten the apple.
She was too tainted for the likes of Adam, yet he chose her company anyway.
Just another instance of how truly amazing Adam was.
“What is it, Sir?” She tilted her head at him, her brow furrowing slightly.
“I…” He pursed his lips and shifted uncomfortably, “I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and, well,” he let out a long exhale, turning to face her properly, “I want you to be mine. Forever.”
Before she could process his statement, he fished a velvet covered box out of his cassock and held it in front of her. She looked between the man and the box repeatedly, not needing to see his real face to know he was blushing furiously under his mask.
“We’ve been dating and shit for a while, not to mention doing some awesome freaky nasty shit in the sack,” he chuckled awkwardly, “and I, uh, well…” He opened up the box and Lute’s eyes widened, stunned by the contents, “I love you, Lute, I’ve been meaning to tell you that for a while but, well, you know…” He turned his gaze away because, yeah, she knew. She knew how hurt he was and how he wanted to protect his heart.
That’s why she never expected to hear him actually say those three wonderful words to her. The amount of courage it must have taken him to be so honest with his heart like this…
It brought Lute to tears.
The item in the box was a beautifully crafted golden collar. It was thin and delicate; designed to appear as a simple piece of jewelry. It was beautiful.
“M-may I, Sir?” Lute gestured towards the collar and Adam nodded, giving her permission to pick it up.
She carefully took it from the box and examined it more thoroughly, amazed by how lightweight it was. The surface was so smooth other than the hinges and the place where it would lock into place.
As she ran her fingers over the polished surface she noticed an engraving next to the locking mechanism. Her heart melted when she recognized what it was.
An ‘A’ in the same style as what was on Adam’s uniform.
Lute couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her face.
Adam’s symbol on a collar he wanted her to wear. A symbol that marked her as his property.
Lute held it against her chest and gave Adam a warm look, her cheeks colored a dusty pink, “It’s beautiful,” she sniffled a little, “I— I’d love to be yours forever, Sir! I love you too, ha, although you already know that,” Lord knows she’s said it enough times in the aftermath of their rougher sessions, “I love belonging to you, Sir. I can think of no greater joy than to belong to you for the rest of eternity.”
The goofy love-drunk smile on Adam’s mask was absolutely adorable to her. Aww, he was flustered! Lute wished she could see his real face right now. Adam had the cutest blushing face that she loved to tease him about at home. She wasn’t normally one to playfully tease anyone, but Adam brought out that side of her so easily.
Adam coughed, clearing his throat, “Th-that’s damn good, danger tits!” He said a little too loudly, causing gasps from a few scandalized mothers covering their children’s ears, “Because there’s more,” he removed the little display pillow in the box and revealed the components meant to lock the collar in place, plus a ring intended to slide onto the collar.
Lute blushed deeper at that one. No doubt Adam had a leash meant to clasp onto the ring. Immediately, a mental image of the man leading her along in public, collared and leashed, entered her mind and she couldn’t feel happier. Of course, he probably wouldn’t actually do that! It was far too uncouth!
Ah… Then again, so was kneeling in public…
She looked in the box again and tilted her head at something else inside of it, “Sir, um, what’s that?”
Adam smirked at her and pulled out a thin, delicate, golden chain with a clasp in back designed to be screwed in. What really caught her attention was the ring in front that connected the chains and also had Adam’s ‘A’ symbol in the center.
“That one you’re holding now is a formal collar, babe,” he grinned at her, leaning in close to her face, “this one I’ve got here is for you to wear under your uniform. I doubt the proper collar would fit under your neck guard comfortably, but this one should.” His smile softened into something affectionate, “You’ll be wearing this one the most, but the actual collar is for when you're out of uniform, like now.”
Adam put the chain collar away and grabbed the ring along with the locking components. He stuck out his hand expectantly and Lute reluctantly handed the collar to him. He slid the ring on and motioned for her to turn around.
As soon as her back was facing him, he latched the collar around her neck. Lute’s breath hitched when he did so, her heart fluttering in her chest with more joy than she ever thought herself capable of feeling!
The man’s nimble fingers fitted the screw into the lock and fastened it into place with a huff of satisfaction before adjusting it, spinning it around so the ring was in front. Lute turned to face him again, a smile on her lips. She placed her hand on her clavicle, just shy of touching the metal around her neck; positively glowing as she gazed at him with love, a soft blush on her cheeks.
“How do I look, Sir?” Lute asked him just as a small breeze rolled by, making her hair ruffle softly in the wind.
Adam stared at her, eyes wide and mouth hanging open before he gulped, “Radiant,” he whispered, his expression softening as he felt more love in his heart than he had in eons, “you— you look perfect, Lute,” he reached out and put both hands on her face, bringing her in closer to his own, “my lovely little Lute.”
He kissed her tenderly and she melted into it, utterly helpless to his heavenly kisses.
When he parted from her lips, he smirked, wiping a bit of stray drool from her chin, “You know you just accepted my marriage proposal, right?” He chuckled a little, kissing her cheek as she was stunned by his words.
“Siiiirrrr!” Lute threw her arms around Adam’s neck and hugged him, her wings flapping happily.
When they left the park, Lute held onto Adam’s arm, utterly uncaring of the odd stares they were getting.
Lute awkwardly poked at her food while periodically glancing at the man across from her. He was glaring at her judgmentally while stuffing his face.
It would be so much easier to ignore if he didn’t look so much like his father. It was almost a little unnerving how much like a younger version of Adam that Seth looked like.
Adam wanted her to meet Seth, since she and Adam were getting married, but… Turns out Adam and Seth were estranged. So it was awkward, to say the least.
“So, you work under father doing…” He sighed, “Whatever it is he does that’s so secret?”
“That’s right,” she confirmed with a polite smile, “I’m his assistant and bodyguard.”
Seth hummed in thought, eyeing her up and down, before turning his attention to Adam. The man had been pretty silent throughout the whole meal, even though it was Adam’s idea to invite Seth out for dinner so he could meet Lute.
The place they were at was nice but not overly fancy and it wasn’t too crowded either.
“You’re finally giving up on mother for good then, father?” Seth scoffed, narrowing his eyes at the man.
Adam stopped mid-bite, lowering his fork to his plate, “Seth, I’ll always love Eve, but she’s gone. ” The man sighed heavily, “I’m in love with Lute, she’s very special to me,” he smiled a little, putting his arm around her possessively, “and she’s mine. Forever.”
Seth let out a long, annoyed, sigh. He eyed Lute, staring at the collar around her throat, “So, father, now you’re just being open about how you view those you claim to love as being your property,” he scoffed, looking disgusted at the couple, “that isn’t what love is, father, it never has been. Frankly, I pity this poor woman. You tried to control Lilith, mother, me,” he spat, “that’s why we don’t want to be around you!”
Seth fumed while Adam grit his teeth, “I came here because I thought maybe, just maybe, you’d changed! You’ve never introduced me to one of your floozies before!”
“Hey!” Adam snapped.
“But as soon as I saw that,” he continued, pointing at the collar around Lute’s neck, “I knew you were still the shameless, possessive bastard you’ve always been! No, as a matter of fact, you’re worse because you used to at least have the good sense to hide it instead of parading your sickness around! Roping in some hapless woman, convincing her you love her! Jesus!” He slammed his fists on the table, attracting the attention of the other patrons.
The trio were silent for a few moments.
“Apologize.” Adam demanded with a sharp glare aimed at his son, “Apologize to Lute right this instant.”
Both Seth and Lute gave him a confused look.
“She isn’t a floozy and you insulted her intelligence by suggesting she wouldn’t be able to see through my bullshit if I was lying,” he growled, “even if you are my son, I won’t tolerate any disrespect towards the woman I love.”
Lute looked at him, utterly baffled by the man’s change in demeanor. She can’t even remember the last time she saw Adam act like this.
Seth’s orange feathers bristled in anger as he growled right back at his father, slamming his hands on the table and standing up to glare at Adam, “You know what? You’re right,” he snapped his attention towards Lute, “I’m sorry, miss, for insulting your integrity and intelligence. You’re just another victim of his and I hope you realize that before it’s too late.”
The man scoffed and moved out of the booth they were seated at, “Thanks for the meal, father, have a nice afterlife.”
Rage bubbled up inside of Lute and she shoved her way out of the booth, marching to catch up to Seth, her heels clacking loudly, “Hey!” She grabbed Seth’s shoulder and forcefully spun him around, much to his shock, and grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket to glare up at him, “Adam is your father,” she growled deeply, her wings twitching in annoyance, “just because you don’t understand him or the way he loves doesn’t mean he doesn’t love at all! He loves so much and so deeply that you can’t even begin to fathom it! Don’t act like such a brat just because you’re ignorant!”
She released one of his lapels and put her hand on her chest, “I’m his property and that makes me feel cherished, so do not pity me or call me a victim. Adam loves you, Seth, that’s why he wanted you to meet me… He wanted to reconcile with you.”
Lute nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, whipping her head around to see Adam behind her. He reached out and took hold of her wrist, making her let go of Seth’s jacket.
“That’s enough, Lute,” he told her, “you can’t change the way he feels,” he sighed, his eyes downcast before he looked Seth in the eyes, “I love you, son, I always will. I hope you’ll realize that someday.”
Seth scoffed and smoothed out his jacket before marching off.
They left the restaurant shortly after that, having caused enough of a scene as it was.
It was dark out when they left so Adam decided to indulge and attach a leash to Lute’s collar. She walked slightly behind and off to Adam’s left side a bit, keeping her head down as they silently returned home.
Adam hadn’t said much since they left and it was a little concerning. He must be upset with her; she did lose her temper and speak on his behalf. It was one thing to do that as his bodyguard, but… Pets aren’t supposed to speak for their Masters.
As they approached home, Adam stopped in his tracks suddenly, “Lute,” he turned around and put his hand on her head, petting her hair back and making her blush, “just this once, I’ll overlook you speaking out of turn, okay?”
He smiled at her and she beamed with happiness, her wings lightly flapping with joy, “Yes, Sir!”
“Come walk beside me, sweetie,” he beckoned her with his finger and she eagerly stood beside him, taking his arm and resting her head against it, giving it a little nuzzle, “ha, you’re so fuckin’ adorable. Hope you’re ready to get pampered and spoiled when we get home.”
Adam shot her a knowing grin and her wings puffed out. Pampered? Spoiled?
Her face went red with anticipation.
“Really? Thank you, Sir!” Lute replied, lightly tugging on his sleeve to encourage him to lean down. He did so with a smirk and he allowed Lute to quickly kiss his lips and his cheek in gratitude.
His face warmed, love for her filling his heart.
Adam never thought anyone could understand him or the way he loved others before they got together. He couldn’t be happier to be engaged to such an amazing woman like Lute, so grateful that she gave him the gift of her submission, trusting him to take care of her. It made him genuinely want to be a better man for her, to be worthy of owning her.
Yeah, he really loved her, more than anything.