Part 10 (1/2)

”Well, there's only one way to find out.” She pulled out of the driveway and pointed her car toward Cedar Rapids. A trip to the Planned Parenthood would not only keep her possible pregnancy anonymous, but the hour drive would give her time to think. What the h.e.l.l was she gonna do if she was? And how would her Sir react to the news?

”So what do you think?” Deacon asked his uncle. They'd just finished their two-mile walk as part of his rehab, Deacon was determined to get his uncle back into shape. The twenty extra pounds LeRoy had put on in the past year hadn't been the sole contributor to his heart attack, but it sure hadn't helped either.

Sitting at the table, in just a pair of shorts with his salt and pepper hair wet from his brief shower, LeRoy reached for the velvet jeweler's box sitting in the middle of the table. His brows went up as he gazed at its contents. Nestled inside was a simple engagement band with a fiery opal. The vivid colors captured within the stone reminded him of Bethany the first time he'd seen it.

”I'd have to say I didn't think I'd ever see the day you'd decide to give marriage another go-round. Especially after the h.e.l.l Amanda put you through.”

Deacon grinned sheepishly. ”Bethany is different. She hasn't pushed for marriage, nor has she even asked to move in with me.” He rubbed the back of his neck. ”I'm not saying we're going to go out and tie the knot this second, but I thought maybe in a year or two we'll make the trip down the aisle. I just want her to have more than my collar.”

LeRoy leaned back in his chair. ”Does this have something to do with the slick fellow that bought the Old Cartwright place?”

Deacon's face flushed. At the beginning of summer, Chet Sorenson had driven into town in his fancy Escalade wearing a megawatt smile charming women from one end of the town to the other. But he'd taken a special s.h.i.+ne to Bethany hanging out the bar to discuss the old days. It seemed that his little submissive had gone to college with the richer than sin entrepreneur. While she was devoted to their relations.h.i.+p as always, for the first time in his life the green-eyed monster called jealousy had reared its ugly head. ”Maybe. I just want everyone to know she's mine.”

His uncle sighed. ”That's no reason to get married, boy.”

”I know. It's just she's so...” Deacon struggled with how to explain that Bethany was fast becoming his entire world to the point he found himself unable to sleep without her at his side. ”....look, it will kill me if I lose her to some rich playboy. I've never felt like this before. She drives me crazy with l.u.s.t when she defies me, but melts me when she finally gives over.” He raked his hands through his hair. ”Christ, not even Amanda stirred me up like this.”

LeRoy drummed his fingers on the table, his silver eyes shrewd. ”Of course not. But then you weren't in love with her.”

Deacon frowned. ”I asked her to marry me...”

His uncle shook head. ”You were infatuated with the idea of having a full time sub and maybe starting a family. And I will admit Amanda played the part well. She even had me fooled, until Bethany caught wind of her rendezvouses in Cedar Rapids with her married lover. She gave Amanda a choice, either break her engagement with you, or she'd rat her out.”

”What? Amanda told me that she had second thoughts and couldn't see submitting for the rest of her life. That she couldn't handle my physical demands.”

To the point, she had an abortion, so she wouldn't have any ties to me if the child was even mine.

His blood ran cold at the memory of finding a discarded bill from an abortion clinic in Cedar Rapids. But it didn't sting near as much as the thought that Bethany had kept a secret from him. ”d.a.m.nit, I'm gonna warm her little a.s.s.”

LeRoy sighed. ”s.h.i.+t, Bethany never said anything, did she?”

He shook his head. ”No, she never said a word to me.” Anger began brewing in his stomach. How dare she keep this a secret? If Amanda had truly been f.u.c.king around on him, he could've caught something from her.

”Before you go off half-c.o.c.ked, Deacon, think about what it would've done to your relations.h.i.+p with Bethany if she'd accused your fiancee of sleeping around? Would you still have ended up as lovers, let alone friends? Or would you have cut her from your life for insulting the woman you were committing to?”

His anger deflated. His uncle had a valid point. He'd been so infatuated with Amanda with the idea of having a family, he would've cut Bethany out of his life, and wouldn't have realized until it was much too late that he'd f.u.c.ked up. Nor would he have ever had a chance to find out how perfectly Bethany fit him in and out of the bedroom. ”s.h.i.+t.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose. ”You're probably right. I'd have lost my best friend over a woman who had morals of an alley cat. But it still p.i.s.ses me off that she didn't tell me.”

He picked up the velvet box, and snapped it shut. ”It seems my future wife and I are going to have a discussion about secrets, before I march her a.s.s to the nearest preacher.”

LeRoy frowned. ”What happened to waiting a year or more?”

A slow grin crossed Deacon's face. ”If you were me, would you let the submissive who rocks your world with her submission, but acts like a momma bear outside the bedroom get away?”

A chuckle escaped his uncle. ”Not if I loved her.”

”Exactly.” He pocketed the box, then headed for the door his impatience tugging at him. He needed to find Bethany.

Chapter Fifteen.

”s.h.i.+t.” Bethany groaned softly when she pulled into the drive next to her small, but quaint home. She'd fallen in love with the ranch style house shortly after returning home from college. While not large with only two bedrooms and a single bath, it suited her needs.

Well at least it had...until I had to go and get knocked up. What the h.e.l.l am I going to tell my master?

While she didn't see Deacon's truck, there was no denying his presence especially when all six foot three of him waited for her, lounging on her porch swing. With his ball cap pulled over his eyes, white t-s.h.i.+rt and faded jeans, he looked just like every other guy in town enjoying the light summer breeze after a hard day's work.

Shoving her car into park, she took a deep breath. After her confrontation with his mother and her eye-opening visit to the clinic, the last thing her fragile hold on her emotions could handle was seeing the father of her unborn child. Her hand cupped her stomach. ”Get a grip, Bethany. It's not as if you got this way all by yourself.”

But d.a.m.ned if she was to up the fight that was sure to follow her announcement. Maybe she could put it off a day or a year. She sighed. ”Yeah right a whole year h.e.l.l not even three months. It's not like he won't notice real quickly the fact his submissive is growing round and fat with his baby.”

Maybe she could just stay in her car? Wait him out? As fast as the thoughts came to her, she discarded them. Staying in the car wouldn't solve anything. He'd simply come over and see why she was taking so long and hoping he'd leave? Well, that wasn't going to happen. Once Deacon Willis set his mind on something, little would deter him.

Judging by the look on his face, he's not about to leave.

She swore under her breath as he unfolded his thick frame from the swing and headed her direction. ”Might as well get this over with. Maybe he hasn't talked to his mom yet.” She grabbed her purse, along with the bag holding the prenatal vitamins and anti-nausea medicine the volunteer at Planned Parenthood had given her, before sliding out of the car.

She met him at the edge of the porch steps him standing at the top step and her at the bottom. The three steps between them should've seemed small, but to Bethany's already strained nerves the difference was huge. She couldn't force herself to climb the steps to stand beside him.

”Bethany?” Deacon hooked his thumbs in his front belt loops. ”We need to talk.”

She locked her knees. ”We do?”

His piercing gaze never left her face. ”Yes, we do. I wanted to talk to you first, but after I couldn't find you, I stopped by my mom's and -”

”You did...” Horror mixed with rage filled her. How dare his mother tell him? She should've been the one...Bethany tightened her fingers around the paper sack as dark spots danced in front of her eyes and her stomach lurched. Then she dropped not only her sack, but her purse as well. ”Move!”

”Little one?” Worry hit him hard as his submissive covered her mouth with one hand, pushed past him, and rushed into the house, leaving her purse and bag on the stoop. He cursed low as he followed her inside. The living room was empty, but he could hear the slam of the bathroom door, followed by the distinctive sound of vomiting.

”s.h.i.+t!” He raked his hand through his hair, while debating with himself on a plan of action. He'd come over in the hopes of giving her the ring he'd shown his mother. But, instead of proposing to his little submissive, he was listening to her get sick. This wasn't how he'd planned on asking Bethany to marry him. He should go after her, offer his moral support by holding her hair back, but the sound of her continued vomiting causing his stomach to churn warned him not to even tempt fate. Not only did Bethany hate anyone seeing her being sick, there would be no way he'd be able to help her without getting nauseous himself.

”Some big bad Dom, I am. I can't even help my sub when she's ill. ” Worried, he paced back toward the door. All he could do was wait her out. It was on his third trip between the couch and door that he spotted the white sack and her purse lying on the steps. The same bag she'd been carrying when she got out of the car.

”Might as well bring it in.” Pus.h.i.+ng open the screen door, he retrieved them. After setting her purse on the table, he turned over what looked suspiciously like a pharmacy bag. Had she gone to the doctor without telling him? Irritation rolled through him. While they didn't have a 24/7 power exchange, he'd like to think that she'd at least tell him that she had an appointment. Maybe that d.a.m.ned flu bug that had hit her so hard the week before was back. He wouldn't put it past her not to want to worry him.

”Stubborn little wench.” His own plate had been full between dealing with his obstinate uncle and taking his mother to her chemo. In fact, they'd barely seen each other all week - a situation he hadn't been happy with in the least. Maybe it was time to talk about her moving in with him. It wasn't as if she wouldn't have his ring on her finger. Other engaged couples had lived together before their weddings without raising any eyebrows in their small community. Now all he had to do was convince his little sub to either give up the house she'd worked so hard for, or rent it to someone else.

”f.u.c.k.” He tore open the bag. Maybe he could start by showing her how much he loved her by getting whatever medicine the doctor had prescribed ready for when she came out. She'd expect him to be gone. He never dealt with any kind of illness well. Reaching into the cabinet above the counter, he pulled out a gla.s.s, then reached for the first bottle. It had a hand written label on it. Zofran. He recognized the drug from his previous conversation with Bethany. Her doctor had said she might prescribe the med if Bethany's nausea didn't ease.

”Take one every four to six hours as needed,” he read the directions aloud. ”That's easy enough.” Then he turned to the second bottle. An antibiotic he a.s.sumed, or at least until he read the label. ”Prenatal Vitamins take two a day with a full gla.s.s of water.”

The bottle fell from his suddenly numb fingers, his brain trying to find a reason why his submissive would need such a thing. They'd agreed to wait.