A teasing smile curved my lips. “For the way you’ve been with women, it would serve you right if you had a houseful of daughters.”
“You’re killing me, babe.”
Standing on my tiptoes, I brought my mouth to his. Deacon responded by wrapping his arms around my waist. Just as his tongue began to dance tantalizingly along mine, I broke away from him. “Having a baby together is a big commitment. Are you sure you know what you’re saying?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I sure as hell do. I’m not some asshole who wants a bunch of baby mamas. I want one woman to raise my children.”
“Inside of marriage?”
He swallowed hard, sending his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. If the conversation hadn’t been so serious, I might have laughed at his horrified expression. Finally, he drew in a ragged breath. “Yeah, I could see it within marriage.”
“You want to marry me someday?” I asked. Although there was a teasing lilt in my voice, my heartbeat fluttered wildly as I waited for his response.
Deacon cocked his brows at me while amusement danced in his eyes. “Are you fishing for a proposal, White Bred?”
I shrugged. “You did just say you couldn’t live without me.”
“That’s true.” With a teasing look, he said, “So we don’t need a ceremony or a piece of paper to unite ourselves until death.”
“Maybe with another woman but not with me,” I huffed.
“Is that right?”
Nodding, I replied, “I want the ring, the ceremony–the whole fucking happily ever after.”
Deacon chuckled. “Then you have my word as an outlaw that you’ll have it.” Just as I started to protest, he dipped his head to bestow a gentle kiss on my lips. “I’ve never wanted to get married before you. Guess it makes sense you would be the one I would marry.”
“You’re so romantic,” I replied, with a grin that hid my exhalation.
“I am what I am, babe. You aren’t getting anything else.”
“I’ll take you—just as you are.” After a few breathless moments of kissing, I once again pulled back. “Shouldn’t you go to your mother and brothers?”
“They know.”
I gasped. “How?”
“I left them a cryptic message on a burner phone.”
My eyes bulged. “Then you don’t even know how they’re holding up.”
“They know I’m alive and to keep it a secret a little longer.”
“We should go to the compound.”
“While I should, I want nothing more than to be alone with you.” He kissed me again. “Another twelve hours isn’t going to matter much for Rev and Bishop to get to kick my ass.”
With a giggle, I replied, “You deserve it.”
“After everything, you do understand why I did what I did, don’t you?”
“As much as I hate to admit it, yes, I do. I just wish there had been a way you could have let us know you were all right.”
Deacon shook his head. “Appearances are everything. If my family and brothers hadn’t truly been grieving, then the plan wouldn’t have worked.”
“Well, Sigel bought the lie that you were dead. That’s for sure.” The moment the words left my lips, regret flooded me. Deep down, I felt like I shouldn’t have mentioned Sigel’s visit to me at the school. Like I had just unknowingly taken a pin off of a grenade.
Tightening his arms around me, Deacon asked, “What do you mean? Did you see him?”
