“As long as I pay for my own college, I make the house payments, and pay all the bills,” I amended.
She popped up and stink-eyed me. “And what about the money I make from working? What happens to that if you’re paying all the bills?”
I probably shouldn’t have chuckled at her women’s lib outrage, but it was cute. “I figure since all my money will be tied in the house, bills, and cars, you’ll need to finance whatever your children are going to get into as they come into existence.”
She slapped at my chest. “You’re a dick, Talon,” she mumbled, but there was no heat behind it. She knew I had been teasing her.
“I know, baby,” I agreed. “I know.”
“How would this work?” she asked, curious and weakening.
“How the hell would I know?” I joked. “I’ve never been married before.”
Kenzlee sat up. “You are an asshole, Talon Draven,” she huffed, and moved to scurry off the bed.
I reached for her and wrestled her until she was positioned underneath me. “Awe, baby, don’t be mad,” I laughed, aggravating the shit out of her.
“I’m dumping you,” she declared. “I am so dumping your sorry ass and…and…”
I nuzzled my nose against her cheek. “No, you’re not, White,” I denied. “You’re going to agree to marry me after I meet your uncle and do this right. We’ll be engaged until we graduate, and then we’ll get married before we head off to college.”
“What if we go to diff-”
I reared back to look down at her. “That’s not going to happen,” I stated. “We go to the same school. That’s my only condition in all of this, White.”
She arched a brow. “The only condition?”
I grimaced a bit and gave her that. “Okay, an additional condition,” I conceded.
Kenzlee reached up and started playing with the wild strands of my hair. She was studying my features as if realizing that mine was the face that she was going to be looking into for the rest of her life. And, being only teenagers, that was a long fucking time.
“This is crazy,” she whispered. “We hardly know each other, Talon. We…it hasn’t even been a month, and we’re here talking about marriage and…it’s crazy.”
I nodded, because the girl was right. This shit was crazy. We were only eighteen and had an entire world of opportunities to experience in the years to come. Teenage relationships very rarely lasted through the adult years because real life was a constant slap in the face as you grow up and tackle new obstacles; everyone knew this.
But looking down at this beautiful girl, I also recognized that, while I was only eighteen, I’ve lived for eighteen years. And in all those years, I’ve never felt anything close to what I felt when she bumped into me that day in the hallway.
I’ve been with girls, and I’ve met tons of people around the fight scenes, but no one has ever pulled at me the way Kenzlee has and does. And as much as I didn’t like thinking about it, she had a boyfriend for two years who she gave her virginity to, and she’s admitted that she’s felt more for me in this one month than she ever did for him in all the years they were together. That meant something, and I wasn’t going to ignore the signs just because we were young; too young, by society’s standards.
“Do you love me?” I asked, point blank. “And I don’t mean love me like you have love for me. Do you love me? Are you in love with me the way I’m in love with you?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” she answered, sure and confident.
“Then say you’ll marry me, White,” I demanded. For some reason, this teasing, yet serious conversation has lost all its mirth. I was really asking her to marry me because I really needed her to marry me.
Her light eyes and beautiful face lit up like she’s finally found the peace she was seeking. “Okay, Talon,” she whispered. “I’ll marry you.”
I let out the deep breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. My dick started to harden, and as soon as it was hard enough, I slid back inside Kenzlee’s body. She was giving me everything I could ever want, and it was because she truly loved me more than she loved diamonds or that goddamn money.
My movements were slow and measured. “I’m going to take care of you, Kenzlee,” I promised. “No matter what career you choose, no matter what career I choose, no matter what happens, I will always take care of you.”
Her eyes watered, but she was exactly where I needed her to be in her heart and mind. “Snow White wouldn’t expect anything less from her Prince Charming,” she replied making me fall in love with her all over again.
“No, she wouldn’t,” I agreed and went on to show her just how good I’ll always take care of her.
Epilogue
Kenzlee – Five years later~
I sat at the kitchen table, head in my hands, wondering what the hell was I going to do.
I’ve only been teaching for a year, but I hadn’t realized what a true calling it had been until the first time I had little Katie Matthews run up to me, wrap her little arms around my legs, looked up and grinned at me with her checkered smiled, and lisp out, “I did it, Mrs. Draven! I spelled the word!”
The second I decided to go into teaching, I knew I wanted to teach the little minds. I wanted to experience the satisfaction of watching little ones learn the basics. There was so much joy in their innocent youth. I’d rather teach honest, innocent 6-year-olds than know-it-all teenagers.
And, while Talon and I chose to stay in Lakeside, Edie and taken her college degree and moved to Baltimore to attend John Hopkins. That girl was going to change the world, and Talon couldn’t be more proud of her if he tried.
Edie had attended Harvard, where Talon and I had both gotten good enough grades to attend Stanford. And, must to Talon’s dismay, I made him wait until our sophomore year in college before getting married. I had wanted at least one year of college under our belts so we knew what to expect out of college life and the demands it would place on us. We did live together off campus during that time, though.
Talon had kept fighting all through school because that was the only way he could afford school. Edie and I hadn’t liked it, but we knew we couldn’t stop him. He had also kept true to his word. Talon hadn’t said a word when I paid off my Uncle’s house, his mom’s house, and bought my little Nissan Maxima. He hadn’t uttered a word as I wrote checks out to Harvard and Stanford.
The only time he showed any displeasure, was when we got married and set up the trust for our future children and our will should something happen to me. He wasn’t happy with me leaving him any of the money, but the attorney explained that if I didn’t, my mother had action at the funds. Knowing how I felt about my mother, that’s all it took for Talon to agree.
Over the past five years, my mother had only contacted me a handful of times, and each time had been to get money out of me. I finally block her indefinitely when she accused me of tarnishing Kaden’s memory by taking care of everyone but her. She was sure Kaden would want me to make sure she was okay. That had been the final straw, and I had cut ties with her completely after that.
One of the good things to come out of Talon’s illegal fighting career was that he ended up with a career in social services. Wanting to make sure kids had better options, he delved into community social services and he headed up many social programs for kids. His favorite, however, was the self-defense classes he taught.
I heard the front door open and you could hear the clonk of my head hitting the kitchen table echo throughout the house. I heard a soft chuckle behind me and felt a kiss on the back of my head. “Rough day today?” Talon teased. “Did someone color outside the lines and start a brawl?”
I raised my head and narrowed my eyes at him. “Depends on how you feel about coloring outside the lines,” I retorted.
“I’m not coloring much these days,” he said, cocking his head at me, surely wondering where this conversation was going.
“Oh, you’re coloring lines these days, Talon,” I snorted.
“Trust me.”
He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m pretty sure I haven’t touched a coloring book in ages, White.”
“Yeah, well,” I threw the pregnancy stick at him, which he caught expertly, “that right there says you’ve managed to color two perfectly clear pink lines, Talon Draven.”
Talon stared down at the stick in his hand and he was quiet for way too long. He finally looked up at me and I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life. “I hope she’s no bigger than a pixie, has black hair with light brown eyes. I hope her laugh sounds like music, and I hope she always looks at me with all the love in the world shining in those eyes of hers.”
“Talon…” I sobbed, tears already streaming down my face.
“And I hope to God her momma gives me three more just like her,” he grinned.
I jumped up from the chair and ran into his embrace. His arms wrapped around me and held me like they always do. Talon always holds me like he’s afraid to let me go. “We’re pregnant, Talon,” I laughed in his chest.
I felt his chin on the top of my head as he nodded. “What we are, is perfect, White,” he whispered.
The End.
About the Author
∞∞∞
M.E. Clayton works full-time and writes as a hobby. She is an avid reader and, last year, she decided to trade in some of those reading hours to try her hand at writing her first book. With much self-doubt, but more positive feedback and encouragement from her friends and family, the Seven Deadly Sins Series was born and a hobby she is now very passionate about. When she’s not working, writing or reading, she’s being pampered by the best husband in the world, having heart-to-hearts with her son, giving her daughter life advice or spending time with her grandchildren If you care to learn more, you can read about her by visiting the following:
Smashwords Interview at:
https://www.smashwords.com/interview/MonClayton
Bookbub Author Page at:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-e-clayton
Follow my Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/MEClayton
Other Books
∞∞∞
Please visit your favorite ebook retailer to discover other books by M.E. Clayton:
The Seven Deadly Sins Series (In Order)
Catching Avery (Avery & Nicholas)
Chasing Quinn (Quinn & Chase)
Claiming Isabella (Isabella & Julian)
Conquering Kam (Kamala & Kane)
Capturing Happiness
The Buchanan Brothers Series (In Order)
If You Could Only See (Mason & Shane)
If You Could Only Imagine (Aiden & Denise)
If You Could Only Feel (Gabriel & Justice)
If You Could Only Believe (Michael & Sophia)
If You Could Only Dream
The How-To: Modern Day Woman’s Guide Series (In Order)
How To Stay Out Of Prison; A Modern Day Woman’s Guide (Lyrical & Nixon)
How To Keep Your Job; A Modern Day Woman’s Guide (Alice & Lincoln)
How To Maintain Your Sanity; A Modern Day Woman’s Guide (Rena & Jackson)
The Enemy Series (In Order)
Facing the Enemy (Ramsey & Emerson)
Engaging the Enemy (Roselyn & Liam)
Battling the Enemy (Deke & Delaney)
Provoking the Enemy (Ava & Ace)
Loving the Enemy
The Enemy Duet (In Order)
In Enemy Territory (Damien & Fiona)
On Enemy Ground (William & Victoria)
Standalone
Unintentional
Purgatory, Inc.
My Big, Huge Mistake
An Unexpected Life
Contact Me
∞∞∞
I really appreciate you reading my book and I would love to hear from you! Now, unfortunately, because I do have a full-time job, and a family I love spending time with, at this time, I’m afraid it would be very hard for me to maintain a multitude of social media sites. However, for the sites I do participate in, here are my social media coordinates:
Favorite my Smashwords Author Page:
https://www.smashwords.com/interview/MonClayton
Like my Facebook Author Page:
https://facebook.com/claytonbooks
Follow my Bookbub Author Page:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-e-clayton
Follow my Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/MEClayton
Visit my Website at:
https://meclayton2016.wixsite.com/mysite
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