Part Two

Leah

Darius has been acting weird for a couple of weeks now. I’ve tried asking him what’s wrong but he just keeps brushing me off and now I’m scared. I know this pregnancy has been rough on us both, but I’m starting to worry that he’s resenting me for wanting this little miracle so badly. I know my halfback would do anything for me, but I just hope this baby wasn’t something he gave me to keep me happy at the expense of his own happiness.

“Lee?” I smile at the sound of Beck’s voice.

“In the kitchen!” I call back, and my best friend saunters in and smiles at me. I try to hide my emotions, but the instant the smile falls from his face, I know I failed, and tears begin to fall on their own accord. Beck rushes toward me and wraps me in his embrace. I break down and start sobbing.

“Baby girl, what’s wrong?” His tone is laced with worry.

“I think…Darius…doesn’t want our baby.” Beck gasps and pushes me back, resting his hands on the tops of my shoulders, then bends down until we are at eye level.

“Why the fuck would you think that?”

My bottom lip trembles. “He won’t even touch me, he leaves the room every time I walk in, and he’s been avoiding me at all costs.”

Beck’s eyes darken, and his features pull taut. “I’ll kill the spineless fuck.” He growls.

“Becky, I can’t lose him.” I choke out.

He sighs, cups my face between his hands, and brushes away my tears with his thumbs. “Lee, he is a fucking idiot but everyone can see how crazy in love with you he is. Darius is a cold fuck, and the only person I have ever seen him be tender towards is you. Do you really think your brother would have agreed to let him marry you if he thought Darius was gonna break your heart?”

“No,” I whisper.

Becky smiles lovingly. “Exactly. Whatever is going on with him will pass. You just need to let him deal with his shit. Becoming a parent isn’t easy for him considering everything he went through as a kid.” Guilt churns inside me at the reminder of what my husband had to endure as a child.

“He isn’t his parents, and I know he’ll love our baby?—.”

“Exactly. You just said it yourself. He may be a hardhead and act a fool most of the time, but he will burn the world to the ground for you, Leah. Never doubt how much he loves you, D will come around. Just give him time.”

“Maybe…I just need to get out of here for a while and give him some space.”

Becky jerks back and shakes his head. “No. If you leave, he will destroy everything in this house, Lee.”

“Becky, please, I just need…time.”

Beck groans and spins away from me as he starts pacing my kitchen. I can tell he is torn between being my best friend and a loyal brother to my husband. “Fuck.” He snaps as he turns to me and tugs on the strands of his head.

“Please,” I beg.

His eyes soften and a groan of frustration escapes him. “You have eight hours, after that I’m telling him you left.”

“I love you, Becky.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you better love me after your husband breaks my fucking nose for not stopping you.” He mutters.

***

I sit outside on the loveseat and watch the snowfall. This cabin has many happy and bitter memories, this cabin has become the place we all escape to so we can forget our daily lives and live in the moment with the people we love most.

When I feel my baby kick, I gasp and cover my bump, smiling. “I love you, bug,” I whisper. It tears me apart inside to think about Darius not wanting this baby. I love that man with everything I have, but if it becomes a choice between him and our baby, I will choose my little bug. I pull the blanket tighter around me to ward off the chill. I should be inside in front of the fire, but I can’t find the strength to stand and face the empty cabin. “God, I wish he was here,” I mumble.

“Then next time, invite me along for the ride, Goldie.” I close my eyes at the sound of his voice, and I don’t bother turning around in my chair because I know he’ll come to me. He always does. I blink my eyes open when I feel the chair dip. Darius sits there looking at me with so much uncertainty and fear in his eyes that it robs me of air. “Why’d you leave me, baby?” He whispers.

Tears gather in my eyes, and I’m powerless to stop them from falling. “I don’t want to choose between you both.” I sob, his brows furrow in confusion.

“Between who?”

“You and the baby!” I snap.

Darius reels back like I slapped him. “Why the fuck are you choosing between us? That baby is half mine Goldie, and I’m not giving up on my kid without a fucking fight!” He roars, shocking me.

“Then why won't you look at me? For weeks you have been avoiding me?—.”

“Because every time I’m around, all I seem to do is make you cry and I fucking hate it. I never want to cause you pain, Leah but it seems that’s all I do lately.” His response stuns me to my core.

“You don’t make me sad. I love having you around,” I admit.

“Then why do you cry every time I touch your belly or talk to the baby? You always cry when you see me doing things in the nursery or talking to the guys about the baby?”

Tears trail down my cheeks and I bat them away. “Every time you touch my belly or speak to my belly, I cry because I never thought this would be my future.”

He gasps. “You don’t want our baby?” He asks in disbelief. I dart forward and grip his face between my frozen hands, but he doesn’t seem to notice how cold they are.

“I want this baby more than anything. I cry because I never thought I would ever get you back, halfback. Knowing I will be the mother to your child means everything to me. The tears I cry are happy tears and because I love you so fucking much, and it makes me emotional every time I see you doing things in the nursery for our baby. The pride I hear in your voice when you talk to my brother and the guys about our baby means everything to me. I just don’t want you to hate me for wanting this baby, and I know kids aren’t something you ever wanted, but—.” He silences me by pressing his mouth to mine. I melt into him instantly, but he pulls back before I can explore his mouth.

He rests his forehead against mine and smiles. I see nothing but love in those beautiful eyes as he stares at me. “I never wanted kids unless it was with you. I never wanted anything aside from you but now, I get two of you, and I couldn’t be happier, Goldie. You have given my life purpose, and I am so sorry for making you think I didn’t.”

“I love you too, so fucking much. Don’t ever leave me, Darius, because I won’t survive losing you.” I plead.

He places a chaste kiss on my lips. “Even in death, I would never leave you Leah. You’re my soul, the very fucking essence that makes me, me. Without you, I’m a shell baby. I was fucking petrified when I got home from picking Cody up from kindergarten for Corvin and Alexa and couldn’t find you. When you weren’t with your brother, I knew there was only one person you would have told.” I smile sheepishly, which just causes him to narrow his eyes. “That motherfucker took a lot of persuading, but in the end, Beckett gave up your location.”

“Darius, tell me you didn’t hurt him?” I chide. He scoffs and pulls back, puffing his chest a little.

“I didn’t do shit. Your brother broke his nose for letting you drive alone a month out from your due date.”

I balk at him. “What the fuck?” I snap.

Darius waves away my concern. “Now that I know you aren't leaving me, you better be prepared to make it up to me.”

“What?” I rasp out in outrage.

His face slackens. “Goldie, you took our fucking Mustang, which has my car keys on it so I had to ride my bike all the way up here in the fucking snow! My balls are frozen.” I bite my bottom lip to keep from smiling, which just has him glaring at me. “Get your ass up now. We’re going inside so you can give my dick mouth-to-mouth to revive it.” Laughter bursts out of me, and he grabs my hand, gently tugging me to my feet. The devilish glint in his eyes has me clenching my thighs. He stands in front of me with a lustful look in his eyes that has butterflies erupting inside me. “I love you, Leah Lockhart. Never fucking doubt that again. Because my world is nothing without you in it.”

I press up on my tiptoes and kiss him. His hands drop to my ass, and I gasp into his mouth, giving him the access he needs to tongue fuck my mouth.

“Fuck.” He growls as he breaks the kiss and drags me inside the house. He may want inside me more than his next breath, but he manages to find some restraint as he slows his pace and helps me up the stairs to our bedroom. He doesn’t bother closing the door behind us before he pounces on me. The second his tongue brushes mine, I’m done for. It’s been so long since I have felt him inside me. Our hands are manic as we tear each other’s clothes off. I step back to admire him, and instantly, I feel self-conscious. “Stop.”

“Huh?” He rolls his eyes, then turns and races out of the room. I stand here gaping at the sight of his naked ass running out of the room and wondering if the sight of me big and round is that much of a turn off. Before tears can gather, he rushes into the room a second later and my jaw unhinges at the sight.

“Still want to ride my face?” He asks, then winks.

Laughter bursts out of me. “Why are you wearing a Santa hat and elf ears?” I ask between fits of laughter.

He shrugs. “I saw it in your eyes, baby, never doubt your beauty because to me, you are still a 50/10, and I’ll live the rest of my life like a cocky fucker knowing I’m punching above the belt because I got the fucking grand prize of women.” My heart swells.

“You can keep the hat but lose the ears.” He shrugs and rids himself of the ears, then comes at me. The kiss consumes me and robs me of air. Feeling his bare skin against mine is euphoric and has more liquid heat gathering between my thighs. He gently lays me down on our bed and hovers above me, smiling. “What?”

“Nothing, I just can’t believe my life sometimes.” His words have tears pricking the backs of my eyes, but I fight to keep them back when he slowly trails kisses down my neck. When he moves to my nipples and blows his hot breath over them, I cry out. They are so sensitive lately and he loves it. When he sucks one into his hot wet mouth, I arch off the bed, pressing my belly against him. He switches sides and does the same, making me scream and squirm until he finally takes pity on me and moves lower. He pushes my legs open wider. My belly is so big I can’t even see over it to watch him. But I can feel it. The first of his tongue has me bucking my hips and withering with need.

“Darius.” I whimper. It’s been too long since I have come, and I know with every stroke of his tongue, I won’t be able to last.

“Give me what I want, baby.” He growls. I’m a puppet trying to defy its master, and I know it’s a fight I won’t win. Even after all these years, he is still the only person who can make me bend to his will with just one look. He pushes a finger inside me and hooks it to stroke that fucking sweet spot inside me, and I’m done for. He sucks my clit into his mouth, and I shatter with his name tearing from me. Stars dance in my eyes as he throws me over the cliff, but I know he’ll catch me.

“Halfback.” I rasp out as he shifts up my body, and I can see the residue of my orgasm on his chin and fuck, it makes me feel powerful knowing it's me that is covering his skin, and I still get to wake up next to this bad boy every day for the rest of my life.

His eyes stay locked on mine as he lines himself up with my entry. I suck in a sharp inhale when he pushes inside me. Fuck, he feels amazing.

“Jesus, Goldie, I’ve missed this perfect pussy baby.” I arch my back and gasp when he slams inside me. “I can feel you clenching my cock.” He grits out.

“Darius, I need you to move.” I pant, and he smirks cockily, loving that he can still get these reactions out of me. He places his hands on either side of my head, careful to keep his weight off my stomach, and then he moves, and I see nothing but him. All I feel is him. Every inch of him is mine, and I relish that thought. I can tell it’s hard for him to go slow, and as much as I love how soft he is being, I need him to fuck me! “I need more.” I snap.

He pulls out of me and helps me to roll onto my hands and knees, and heat spreads through me when he lines himself up behind me. He slams inside me, and I jolt forward, screaming. He grips my shoulder in one hand and my hair in the other to hold me in place.

“You want me to fuck you like this?” He growls as he slams inside me again, pulling another hoarse scream from me.

“Yes, just like that.” I push back, needing him to fuck me like a savage and dominate my body. I want him to rip my next orgasm from me, not build me up and slowly push me over the cliff.

“Tell me how much you love this cock, Goldie.”

“I fucking love it. I want to feel the ghost of you inside me for days.”

He growls his approval, then tugs me back against his chest by my hair and smashes his lips to mine as he thrusts inside me ruthlessly. He swallows my cries, his hands cup my tits and tweak my nipples, sending sparks of need through my body, my pussy clamps down on his cock.

“This is my pussy, and no one ever gets this but me.” He snarls. I nod, trying to fight off my orgasm so I can drag this out, but he sees what I’m doing. He wraps his hand around my throat and applies enough pressure to make me gasp. “Come on this cock, show me how you own it.” I moan and obey. I bounce up and down on him meeting his thrusts. Within a minute, we’re both roaring out our release.

Our bodies are slick with sweat. All that can be heard is our labored breaths. “Fuck, I love you baby.”

I melt into him. “I love you, halfback.” He places a kiss on my forehead.

“Come on, let’s clean up.” He says, slowly easing out of me, but then we both freeze. “Uh, did you just squirt? Please tell me you squirted, and my dick didn’t just break your placenta.” The panic is clear in his tone. I turn and peer over my shoulder at him.

“Halfback, we need to go now. My water just broke.”