49

River

I sighed as strong arms pulled me closer.

Daimen...

"River Hart Sparrow what is going on here?" Dad? I started to come out of my sleep.

"Come on. She's asleep. Can we talk about this in the morning?" Daimen's voice was hushed.

"No we can not." I faintly heard my father's voice.

"Just let her sleep a little bit more." Daimen said and I felt myself drifting back to sleep.

"Shut up. River get up." My dad growled.

My eyes snapped open at the stern voice of my father and Daimen wrapped his arms tighter around me. I stared at his shirt and my heart started drumming. My face was pressed into his chest and I could feel his heart pick up as well.

Daimen loosened his hold some and I turned in his arms. The covers brushed my skin gently as I faced my parents.

They stared from the open doorway with a slightly disgusted expression and my face began burning.

"Well?" My father was the first to speak and I felt Daimen run his hand slowly down my waist in a devilish manner, his actions were hidden by the blanket.

"Mr. Sparrow, we only-" Daimen started.

"Don't you Mr. Sparrow me! We're talking to our daughter not you." My dad snapped and I felt the boy take in a sharp breath. I flinched softly.

"I don't wanna talk to your bitch ass anyway." Daimen muttered behind me. Luckily my father didn't hear him.

"We didn't do anything wrong." I said and my father scoffed. Slay pulled me closer and I felt warmth course through me. I pictured Daimen was giving my dad a challenging look because suddenly my father frowned deeply.

"Both of you up. Out of the bed now." My father growled and Daimen sighed. We both climbed out of bed and the young man threw an arm over my shoulder. My dad glared at us.

"Hands off. You there, you over there." Slay scoffed and walked over to lean against the wall and I sat on the edge of the bed. I met eyes with him and he gave me a mischievous smirk and my face heated in a blush.

"So, are y'all mad that she was with a guy in her bed, or is it more that she was with me in her bed?" Daimen asked from the wall a wondering expression on his face.

"It doesn't matter." My father shot back. Daimen lifted a brow and pushed himself off of the wall.

"Actually it does matter, because if you wouldn't react this way to another guy, it just shows that you're like every other dumbass in this town." Daimen said and I could see the fire starting to burn in his eyes.

"Daimen-" I tried, but my father began speaking over me.

"Get out of my house." My dad said and he glared horribly at the boy who was beginning to clench his fists.

"Who's gonna make me?" Daimen snapped and took a step forward. His eyes flickered with mounting rage and I stood.

"Stay there." My dad growled at me as I tried to step toward Daimen who looked to be about to go into another violent episode.

"Slay, look at me." I said sternly trying to move his attention from my father. I took another step.

"I said stay there." My father retorted and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from yelling at him.

"River." Daimen gritted out and I could see he was fighting it. He was trying his damnedest to stay in control of his anger. I rushed over to him and cupped his cheeks in my hands.

"Shh, look at me. Breathe." I said softly as I tried to calm him. He let out a chocking noise and met my eyes.

"Deep breaths." I encouraged him and he took in a shaky breath. His body trembled softly and I swallowed the nerves that were threatening to overwhelm me.

He closed his eyes and just breathed for a while and his body relaxed. I let out a sigh of relief when his eyes opened to show their mellowness.

"Better?" I asked softly and he nodded.

"You're not a monster." I breathed.

A warmth rushed through me as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. I could feel my parents gazes and I tensed up. Daimen's hands rested on the small of my back and butterflies swarmed my stomach as he placed a soft kiss to my cheek.

I smiled gently as he placed one to the corner of my mouth and my heart leaped as he brushed his lips against mine. He was teasing me in front of my parents.

"Slay..." I breathed and he snuck in a quick passionate kiss. I was lightheaded as he pulled away.

"... It's not like we haven't slept together before." Daimen geared and I looked at him in shock. My father was turning red and my mom looked like she was going to faint.

We'd been going at this for about thirty minutes now.

"It's not that big of a deal..." I interjected.

"Yes, we had sex last night. Best sex I've ever had. Hell we didn't just have sex, we made love." Daimen said and I felt a shiver shoot down my spine.

I bit my lip as my parents trained their gazes on me.

"You're not going to touch my daughter." My dad spat and I gulped as Daimen gave a bitter chuckle.

"It's a little too late for that; plus she's a grown woman, if she wants me to touch her I will. You don't have a say in that." He said and I could see the annoyance in his eyes. He was starting to get angry again.

"Slay...." I said in a soft voice and his eyes swiveled to mine. He blinked a few times before taking a deep breath and letting it out. My heart melted at the lovely dimpled smile he gave me afterward.

"I'm fine." He said and mouthed I love you. I felt my heart swell with affection.

"I said get out." My dad snapped and Daimen turned a sharp gaze on him, but he didn't say anything back.

Without a word Daimen stalked over to me and pulled me in for a deep, aggressive, almost desperate kiss. When the kiss was over he caressed my hips and leaned to whisper in my ear, "I'll see you later, I wish I could stay." Then he stepped back and began to leave the room.

Suddenly he stopped. His body was a blur as he turned to my parents.

"I love her. I want to spend my life with your daughter. If she'll have me, I'd like to marry her in the future. And if it does happen, you'll have to accept it." Daimen said and I felt my heart drumming as tears welled up in my eyes.

"I'll see you later River. Call me if you need me. And I'm gonna go to the store to get some ice cream for our next Ice Cream Party." Daimen said and left the room. I watched him go with a soft smile.

For a while all was silent and I could hear the front door shut as Daimen left.

"Well that was something. Come on John, you need to calm down." My mother said after a pause and I didn't miss her smile as she tugged on my father's arm.

"Kiara you can't be serious—" my father started.

"You're not gonna change her mind. And I thought it was cute." My mom said and I felt my smile widen. My mother gave me a wink. My eyes welled with sudden tears.

"Thanks Mama." I sighed and she gave a nod.

"If he hurts you you're going to see the ghetto come out of me." My mother said with a pointed look.

"Your father doesn't like him because he acts like he did." My mom said and my dad looked highly offended and he scoffed.

"I did not act like—" Dad started.

"Maybe not, but the 'wannabe gangster' was so you." My mom giggled and my father stood there open-mouthed before shutting it and leaving the room.

My mother watched him and snickered before following.

"John wait! You're such a baby!" My mother called her voice garbled because of her laughter.

The days following passed with ease and I was wrapped in thoughts of Daimen.

I sat on the edge of my bed, combing my freshly washed hair back into a damp bun. My minty breath blew passed my lips as I let out a shudder as a cold droplet slid down my back. I frowned as a drop landed on my lap; more specifically the book sitting in my lap.

Moonlight shown through the blinds as I gently dabbed the wet area of the page of the murder mystery I was currently engrossed in. I found it helpful in coming up with new ideas to read. It was just getting to a suspenseful scene, a detective had come across a disemboweled corpse of a young man with his lips sown into a smile, when my phone buzzed.

I glanced from the page and smiled as I saw it was from Slay.

MINE💙: Get a whole lot of rest.

Me: Why?

MINE💙: Because tomorrow I'm taking you to my place and fucking you for a few hours. Don't want you falling asleep on me. My eyes widened and instantly my heart was racing.

Me: Slay...

MINE💙: C'mon Princess I missed you today. I smiled and bit my bottom lip.

Me: Oh yeah, how much did you miss me?

MINE💙: You'll find out tomorrow baby. I'll pick you up around noon, but you can change the time if you want.

Me: Noon sounds great. See you tomorrow.

MINE💙: How about you spend a couple nights here too? We can do some Mr. and Mrs. Smith stuff. I grinned at his reply.

Me: They tried to KILL each other. I pointed out and laughed.

MINE💙: Yeah but they still loved each other and in the end they ran off together.

Me: You've got a point.

MINE💙: Of course I do Mrs. Princeston. My heart started drumming at his response.

Me: Stop playing. I sent back and I could just imagine that devilish laugh of his.

MINE💙: Goodnight Princess.

Me: Goodnight.