by B. Love
Because at the end of the day, nothing was more important to him than his future with Treasure.
And baby or no baby, they would soon be married, and a little addition would be added to their family.
He’d seen what choosing the family business and loyalty did to his mother and Trevor, and he would never give up his life like that.
Nothing or no one was going to change that.
Chapter 26
Diem didn’t know what the hell she was thinking agreeing to this shit. The last time she and Deacon went on a date, things went left. The date itself was great; it was what happened on their way out that changed things. As they left the lounge, a man bumped into Diem without saying excuse me. Used to handling business herself, she was fully prepared to handle the disrespect. As her man, Deacon wanted to take care of it for her.
What should have been them teaming up against the problem, because of their egos and needs to be alpha, turned into a problem between them. They argued the entire drive to her place about her inability to submit to his lead as the man. While Deacon understood her past and position in her family, he tried to get Diem to understood that he was a man who could earn not only her love but respect and submission as well. And it didn’t matter how tough she was in the streets… she would always have to submit to him within the confines of their relationship.
The night ended with her telling him off and slamming the door in his face. After she calmed down, she called her mother and sisters who all told her she was overreacting and not really trying as much as she could have to make things work with Deacon. Still being stubborn, she tried to convince herself that she shouldn’t have to change and compromise to be with a man, but that didn’t last long. Truth – Deacon was the kind of man Diem wanted, but if she didn’t get her shit together, she would end up being with a weak man who let her walk all over him.
After apologizing and promising to do better on Diem’s part, they picked back up where they left off. This evening, they were meeting with a couple of his friends and their women along with Cassius and Treasure and Chief and Remington. Diem couldn’t believe there were women on this earth who could make her brothers commit. They both weren’t the type she saw ever settling down. Cassius was too detached and focused on business while Chief wasn’t the committing and sleeping with one woman at a time type.
But Treasure and Remington had seemingly done the impossible – made honest men out of them.
Every time Diem thought about it, it tickled her. And she wanted to see them interact with their women now that they were in committed relationships. So when Deacon mentioned his friends wanted to meet her, she figured that was the perfect opportunity for them to all meet up. Things were going good at first, but when Cassius started talking about marriage Diem wanted to shrink in her seat.
While she was happy for her brother and genuinely wanted love and happiness for herself, there was still quite a bit of ice around her heart. Ice that made her wonder if agreeing to dating was such a good idea.
“What you quiet for, sis?” Chief asked with a grin.
Everyone had pretty much weighed in on whether they wanted kids and marriage or not, and when it was Diem’s turn, she took a long gulp of her French Connection and remained silent long after she wiped her mouth. With an uncomfortable chuckle, Diem looked from Chief to Deacon.
“You know how I feel about that, Chief. Don’t be an asshole.”
“Well, I know, but does he know?”
Running her tongue over her teeth, Diem stared at Chief as her leg began to shake under the table. “The fuck does it matter for?”
He shrugged and sat up. “I love you, and I want you to have the world if you want it. This is the first time you’ve ever brought a man around, so I want to make sure this doesn’t lead to hurt for either one of you. Especially you. So you need to let him know what it is so he can decide if he wants to deal with it, instead of y’all fucking around and he fall for your ass then feel some type of way and want to jump stupid if you break his heart.”
Diem may have been upset about Chief bringing the subject up, but it was the truth. He knew that she’d never wanted love, marriage, and children. Just recently had her mind began to change. The men she usually fucked around with only met her family by random luck of seeing them out in public. This was truly new for her on all kinds of levels. And though it was a little uncomfortable at times, Deacon made it worth it.
She looked over at Deacon, and he was already looking at her.
“You don’t have to talk about anything that makes you uncomfortable,” he assured, to which she smiled.
“It’s cool; he’s right – you do need to know how I feel about this.” Deacon nodded, and as she continued, she blocked everyone else at the table out. “I am trying out this whole relationship thing, and I do want marriage one day, but I haven’t always. I don’t want children. Not right now at least. Because I don’t want to risk them having the same childhood as me. Maybe if I were to really fall in love and be able to trust my husband to be a good father, I will change my mind. But I have to warm up to this shit one thing at a time. So yes, I want marriage one day, but no, I don’t feel like I need it. I don’t need a man. I don’t need love.”
Deacon’s friend, Eric, brought his fiancée along, and when Diem said she didn’t need love she chuckled. Looking across and behind Deacon, Diem looked at Lydia as she asked, “Something funny?”
Lydia shook her head as her smile lingered. “I just think it’s odd to hear a woman say she doesn’t need a man or love. So you’re saying you don’t need Deacon?”
Now Diem was the one chuckling.
“Check your girl, fam,” Deacon ordered, to which Lydia repeated…
“Check his girl?”
“Ain’t that what I said?”
“It’s fine, babe,” Diem assured, covering his hand with hers. “No, Lydia, I don’t need Deacon. Or any other man for that matter. And I don’t need love. Yes, it would be nice to have it, but to imply that I need either means I wouldn’t be able to live without them, and I would never give a thing or person that big of a weight in my life because it’s too much for them to handle. That’s why so many people end up in fucked up situations with unrealistic expectations. Do I want Deacon? Hell the fuck yea. I want the shit out of him. Do I want marriage with Deacon? Possibly. We’re still getting to know each other. But I will never need him, and I won’t ever let him idolize me so much that he needs me. We’re going to enjoy the fuck out of each other, but that’s it.”
Diem sat back in her seat as Lydia said, “So how would you two work if you’re not sure you want children? Does that include step-children?”
Deacon’s head flung back as it shook. “You told her that?” He asked Eric.
“Told her what?” Diem questioned.
“Man, she was all in my face asking what caused me to leave out that time of night. I had to.”
“And you couldn’t tell her to keep her fucking mouth closed? That wasn’t her business to tell or even insinuate.”
Deacon stood and pulled three twenties out of his pocket before lifting Diem out of her chair by her hand.
“What is she talking about, Deacon? Do you have a child?”
“We’ll talk about this later.”
“No.” Diem ripped her hand from his grip. “We will talk about this now. Do you have children?”
Deacon looked at all the eyes that were staring at him before walking away. Diem groaned as she followed behind – knowing that was the only way she’d get any information out of him. He waited until they were leaving the parking lot to say, “The night she called me she mentioned having a son by me. I didn’t believe it because it didn’t make sense for her to keep something like that from me and wait until now to tell me. She said she kept it from me because she knew I would want to make things work between us. But she wasn’t ready for that type of life. I took a DNA test, and I did block her and tell her I wanted nothing to do with her like I told you I did
. But if her son is mine, I’m going to be in his life of course.”
Diem chuckled, but she didn’t say anything. Not right away. Because if she said something right away, it would end up being the wrong thing. It would be something she said out of emotion, not logic. When Deacon pulled into her driveway, he cut the car off, but made no effort to get out and open her door.
“Say something, Doll.”
Her head shook as she looked out of the window into the darkness. “Why didn’t you tell me, Deacon?”
“Because I didn’t want you to let that be the reason you cut me off. When I found out for sure, I was going to tell you. That’s my word.”
Her head shook again as her lips parted. This feeling in the pit of her was foreign to her. It felt like hurt, but Diem wasn’t exactly sure why. They weren’t in a relationship yet, and she had convinced herself that she could cut Deacon off at any moment. So what was this feeling that was consuming her?
While a part of her felt disappointed over his secrecy, she understood why he wanted to wait. Things were hard enough as it was, and if he had told her then, she probably would have cut him off. But as they spent more and more time together, she’d fucked around and caught feelings for him. All that bullshit about not needing him in her life was starting to feel like a lie. Because the thought of cutting him off tonight for his ill thinking and never seeing him again had her heart dropping into the pit of her stomach.
“You shouldn’t have taken away my choice,” she mumbled.
“Maybe. I did what I thought was best. It’s my job as your man to lighten your load not add to it. I didn’t want to put this on you until I knew for sure, Diem. I won’t apologize for that, but I will apologize for keeping something this serious from you. Good intention, bad decision, I guess.”
She nodded and licked the corner of her mouth. “Well, just let me know when you get the results.”
“Will I see you before then?”
Gritting her teeth, Diem looked over at him briefly. “I don’t think so. I need some time.”
More than anything, she needed time to come to grips with how she felt. This was dangerous. Having such a deep reaction after such a short period of knowing him. If she wasn’t careful, she would fall for him… quickly.
“That’s fair.”
Deacon opened his door and went over to her side of the car. He opened it, then walked with her to her door. His head was hung, and Diem tried her hardest not to renege on her decision. After unlocking the door, Diem stepped inside.
They avoided each other’s eyes, but neither seemed to be in a rush to be away from each other. And while Diem understood his hesitation to leave, she couldn’t understand why she couldn’t pull away.
“If he’s mine, will this be the end of us?”
“I don’t know, Deacon. I don’t know how I’ll feel when I get that news. I’m struggling to understand how I feel right now.” She chuckled – feeling silly at how hard it was to come to grips with her emotional state. “But we can talk it out when the time comes. You’ve taught me the importance of communication…”
“And now you think I’m a hypocrite huh?”
He looked at her, finally. Diem smiled and shook her head softly. “No. I think you had my best interests at heart, but… I just need some time.”
Deacon nodded as he released a sad sigh. “I understand.”
Still, neither made an effort to move. Unable to withstand it any longer, Diem stepped back out on her porch. Directly in Deacon’s personal space. He looked down, letting her lead. Diem stepped on the tips of her toes and tilted her head. She kissed his lips three times before Deacon kissed her back. He sighed, as if he was trying his hardest not to do it. Not to want her. Not to feel anything.
But the moment he surrendered, he cupped her cheeks and spread her lips with his tongue. She gripped his shirt and pulled him closer. Deacon wrapped her legs around his waist and carried her back into her home. After closing the door with his leg, Deacon put her back against it. He held her body up with his as he unzipped his pants, and as much as Diem wanted him inside of her… she knew she was setting herself up getting it like this.
“Deacon,” she begged.
“Please,” was his rebuttal.
Beating her head against the door softly, Diem whined as he pushed her panties to the side. Up against the wall was her absolute favorite position with Deacon. His dick was long and curved perfectly. In this position, she felt every inch deep in the pit of her, got the ridges of her G-Spot rubbed every time he pulled out, and had her clit brushed every time he pushed himself in. It would take no time at all for her to be leaking down her ass and onto the floor.
It also didn’t help that she was completely powerless in this position. Under his total control. Maybe that’s why he liked it so much, too. Because it was the one time for sure where she had no choice but to surrender.
As he slid inside of her, Deacon bit down on her bottom lip. He alternated between stroking her slow and soft with deep and fast. And hard. And long. And just at her spot. And in no time she was cumming all over his dick as her body trembled against the door. Tightening his grip around her, Deacon carried her to her bedroom. He put her on the bed, on her knees, then sheathed his dick with a condom before sliding back inside of her.
For a while, he let Diem take control and throw it back at him. When she felt him start to throb inside of her, Deacon gripped her hips and began to take control. Relaxing into the bed, Diem gripped the sheets until her second orgasm began to build. When it did, she reached behind her and tried to push at his thigh, but Deacon grabbed her hand and held it on top of her back. Her whimpers turned into moans, moans into heavy breathing, heavy breathing into his name until she came.
Deacon reaching his climax wasn’t far behind. Once he did, they went to separate bathrooms to clean up. Deacon returned to her room to grab his things. After getting dressed, he walked over to the bed and stood in front of her as she sat on the edge of it. He tilted her head by her chin and kissed her lips softly.
“I’ma give you your space and stay away, but if you change your mind I’ll be here as soon as you call.”
Diem smiled and nodded, resisting the urge to ask him to stay. She followed him out so that she could lock the door, then grabbed her strawberry ice cream out of the freezer and headed back to her room. More than anything, Diem needed this time to come to grips with how she felt about Deacon, because if she was worried over losing him this soon… maybe it would have been wise for them to end things now.
Chapter 27
“I don’t know what that mane on, but he on something,” Cassius decided, to which Chief nodded in agreement.
Chief was on his way to pick up Remington for their night together, but he had to call Cassius on the way there. He’d stopped by to see Estella when he was sure James wouldn’t be home. It had been bothering him for days not knowing who the tall man was that had stopped to see James. After Estella showed him the video again, there was no doubt in Chief’s mind that the tall man that stopped by to see his father was the same man that had murdered Trevor.
What Chief wasn’t sure of was if James knew this already or if he was an unaware target, and that’s why he’d called Cassius. They may have had different ways of handling things, but they almost always were on the same page mentally. Chief had already put invisible guards on James just to be safe, but the situation still wasn’t sitting well with Chief. Until he had proof, though, he wouldn’t say anything to anyone else.
“That’s what I’m thinking. He a loose cannon at this point. Every other time I see ‘em he going off about some shit. That’s why I put them guards on him to be safe.”
“Yea. And if he did have something to do with Trevor, it will slip out soon enough.”
Chief’s head shook as he pulled into a parking space at Remington’s place.
“I’m praying we’re just being paranoid. I would hate to think he would be capable of doing something like that to Pops of all peo
ple. But I’ll see you later tonight. I just pulled up to get Remi.”
“Aight coo’.”
Chief disconnected the call as he sighed. They’d been trained to think the worst and consider all possibilities and outcomes. Chief was known for acting first and thinking second, and that was something he’d gotten from his father. James would have had to have been really upset to take Trevor out, but to set him up? That was too calculated and required too much planning. James wasn’t the type.
With that reasoning, Chief cut his car off and headed to get Remington out of her shop. She’d agreed to spend the evening with him and his family at Eira’s welcome home party then spend the night at his place. Even though Chief was very much in a committed relationship with Remington, she was still carefully taking her time warming up to him. After the fight they had, Chief was willing to do whatever it took to make things right.
When he apologized via email, Remington unblocked him. She let him come over that night, and they were able to talk things out. Chief promised her that he was hers and only hers from that point forward, but Remington was a little hesitant to commit out of fear of being hurt. Since Chief understood where she was coming from, he didn’t force her into putting a title on them and instead focuses on using their time together to prove that she could trust him.
The dinner they went to with Cassius and Diem was a good start. It allowed them to get inside each other’s minds in an environment that made it a bit more relaxed and comfortable for something that would otherwise be a serious conversation. So far, Remington had been enjoying this side of Chief, but she was still taking her time instead of rushing in.
