Heart So Reckless

by K. C. Mills

  I shrugged and looked at her with a seriousness that had her face tight. “That’s not fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair, baby girl. I don’t mind meeting your parents, but I’m gonna be me. If you’re cool with that then we don’t have any issues.”

  “Are you going to tell them to suck your dick when you meet them?” She gave me a hard stare and placed her hands on her hips at the same time.

  The idea made me smile, and the harder she stared at me, the more amused I became, which ended with a muffled laugh on my end that didn’t help the situation.

  “I’m serious.”

  I leaned forward and gripped Peyson’s waist, positioning her between my legs. This was the first time that we had been this close since the night we met, and my body instantly reacted to the proximity of her body to mine. I was sure she could feel that reaction pressing firmly against her stomach.

  “I know you are, which is what’s so damn funny. I’m not a disrespectful type of man, Peyson. I wouldn’t walk into your parents’ house and tell them to suck my dick, but the same way I’m not disrespectful, I’m not going to allow anyone to be that way with me. As long as we’re cool on that, then there won’t be any issue.”

  “My parents won’t be disrespectful.”

  “You don’t know that. Shit changes when people feel threatened. The type of man that I am makes people feel threatened, especially rich people whose daughter went half on a baby with me.”

  “You’re already judging them.”

  “Nah, I’m really not. I’m just speaking what I know from my experience.”

  “Oh, so you have a baby from another woman who has rich parents?” She peered at me, and I smirked.

  “Nah, I don’t, and you already know that. But the rest is not hard to figure out. I’m just expressing how I feel and how I know they’re gonna feel, so don’t be surprised when it plays out exactly the way I’m telling you.

  “It won’t.” There was no confidence behind her words, but I already knew there wouldn’t be.

  Our daughter was just shy of six weeks, and they hadn’t been around yet. I was more than positive their absence had a lot to do with Peyson not wanting them around. She loved her parents, so the only reason for them not to be around would be me. Either way, I was gonna be me regardless, and Reid was my daughter. Nothing was changing that, so I wasn’t pressed about the situation. Instead, I opted to take advantage of the current one that had presented itself.

  “Can I kiss you?”

  “What?”

  I chuckled at her rattled answer. “I said…” Leaning in close to her face, damn near brushing her lips with mine, I made my request once more. “Can I kiss you?”

  “Mmmhmm.” Her eyes were already closed when my lips pressed against hers.

  Holding still for a minute before I actually kissed her, Peyson moaned into my mouth, causing me to do the same. I gripped her waist tighter, bringing her thick hips closer to me before slipping my tongue in her mouth. My dick hardened a little more.

  “Wait, you said… what about who you were with?”

  “I’m not with anyone but you right now.” I leaned in to kiss her again, but she reared her head back, creating a void that pissed me off.

  “Right now?”

  “Not like that. I’m not dealing with anyone at all. I’m trying to figure shit out with you. Did I not say that you didn’t have to worry about me with anyone else?”

  “You said it, but what does that really mean? I—”

  Instead of answering verbally, I cuffed the back of head, forcing another kiss on her again. She tried to fight me at first but gave in without much resistance. When her body relaxed against mine, I took it a step further and pushed my hand between us. My palm pressed against her abdomen until I was able to ease down enough to work my fingers between her thighs.

  I half expected her to stop me, but when she didn’t, I kept going, working my hand into her leggings. I accepted the way she dropped her head back and pushed out a throaty moan as permission for me to continue. Keeping eye contact, I watched her face transition when I pushed two fingers in as deep as I could but stopped when her face strained, and she flinched.

  “Shit, my bad. I thought maybe—”

  “No…” Peyson grabbed my wrist to prevent me from moving my hand like I had initially planned. “It’s just been a while. Please don’t stop.” Her voice was breathy like she was struggling to speak, which pushed a smile from me.

  “You sure?”

  Nodding slowly, she spread her legs a little more, and I used it to my advantage. With a slow, steady motion, I worked my fingers in and out of her, loving the way she gripped me tight. I smiled inwardly, knowing that she hadn’t been giving herself to anyone; there was no way.

  In no time at all, she was rocking her hips against my hand with her head back, eyes closed and hands gripping my arms to keep her balance. The shit was so damn sexy that I was damn near about to cum just from watching her.

  “Oh God, I’m shit… please…”

  Her breathy pleas went straight to my dick, and I had to close my eyes to get my head right as her center began to pulse, warning me that she was inches away from cumming.

  When her body began to quake and tremble, her breath came out harder, but I didn’t let up until it eased to a slow, steady pace. Even then, I continued massaging her throbbing clit with my thumb until she peeled her eyes open and was looking at me again. Damn, she was so fucking beautiful.

  “You good?” My tone was cocky, and it had her smiling.

  “No.”

  “What you need me to do to fix that?”

  “Give me this.”

  Peyson pressed her hand firmly against me, causing a groan to move from my throat. When her fingers gripped tighter, I was already in the process of pushing her leggings down, but we both froze when Reid’s little voice pierced the air. She was up and needing attention. Was my baby girl really playing me like this? I guess babies didn’t give a fuck about loyalty.

  “Shit.”

  I stared at Peyson with my eyes low and my brows knotted together. I was seriously debating how long it would take for me to get my first one and deliver her second, possibly third. I only snapped out of it when Peyson eased out of my grasp, looking as reluctant as I felt.

  “Umm, she’s probably hungry.”

  “Shit, I am too,” left my mouth so quickly while my eyes moved from hers to the spot that my hand had just being using as a playground.

  Peyson laughed, causing me to look up at her again, and the goofy ass grin she wore wasn’t helping.

  “I’m going to feed her.”

  “Mannnnn.” I groaned under my breath, moving my hand across my dick, which was at its full potential and aching.

  “She’s about to make me have a conversation with her, straight up.”

  “Sorry,” Peyson offered as she tried to step around me, but I caught her wrist. “You sure you good?” Things went from zero to one thousand in a matter of seconds, but our sexual chemistry was never an issue. It was all the other shit that complicated things between us.

  Peyson was vulnerable, and I didn’t want her physical needs to overshadow her thought process. I had no issue fucking her until we both tapped out, but with her being here with Reid, I knew I wanted more than just sex. If she didn’t, I wasn’t trying to get caught up simply for her to disappear on me again.

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  Studying her face for a moment longer, I moved closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “Aight. We can talk about this later. Go feed my cock blocking ass baby girl.”

  “Don’t call her that.”

  “Why not? That’s what she is. You know what was about to go down and so did she. Reid just got here, she isn’t trying to share her space with a baby brother or sister. That’s what that was all about.” I winked at Peyson, and her lips quickly poked out.

  “Oh, she definitely doesn’t have to worry about a baby brother or sister
. Not happening.”

  With a low pitched chuckle that was meant for only me, I mumbled under my breath. Don’t be so sure.

  Just before she left my room, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, and dinner with my parents is tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  When our eyes met, she smirked and nodded, and then she was gone. Damn, one step forward and ten of them back. I damn sure wasn’t looking forward to this but it was necessary.

  Peyson.

  “We gonna sit here all night, or we going in there to get this shit over with?”

  Red had been in a mood since we left the house. He wasn’t exactly being mean, but his demeanor was kind of dry and unwelcoming. It was so strange to me how we had gone from pure lust to this weird space again.

  I elected to ignore the question, biting my lip to avoid saying anything to make the situation worse. I was already anxious about Red meeting my parents, and for the two of us to walk in that house as a team divided versus a united front wasn’t going to make this any easier. I had yet to tell Red that my parents had assumed that Linus was Reid’s father, so not only was he meeting them for the first time, but they would be learning a truth that I had never made them aware of.

  Glancing at him quickly, I reached for the handle to get out of his truck, but he fought my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine.

  “Hey, seriously, are you good with this?” His tone was softer and less agitated.

  “Yes, are you?”

  “This is not about me. I don’t give a fuck what happens when we go in there, but you do so I’m here.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Reid before I eased my hand away from Red. Once I got out, he did the same on his side and immediately went to get Reid out, unbuckling her from her seat and choosing to carry her in his arms while I lifted her bag. I could feel my heartbeat pounding between my ears as we neared the front of my parents’ house. I was nervous. And for good reason. There was no way this was going to go smoothly.

  My parents might love Red as a person, but they were going to hate how he came into my life and what him being in my life meant. Not to mention I had to consider what Red would think about me not telling them that he was Reid’s father versus how disappointed my parents would be when they found out.

  Just as we both stepped on the porch, and I reached for the door to let myself in, I stopped and sucked in a deep breath before I looked up at Red. I had to let him know before he walked into chaos.

  “I need to tell you something, and please don’t be mad.”

  The way he looked at me was a clear sign that things were definitely not going to end well, but I didn’t get a chance to find out because he got a phone call. After looking at the screen, he held his hand up.

  “I need to take this. Give me just a minute.”

  Before Red stepped away without waiting for my response, he handed over Reid. I yelled for him to just come inside when he was done.

  He then offered a nod before moving back toward his truck and rattling off, “What’s good, Lobo?”

  I had heard the name in his conversations before, so I knew it was someone who worked for him. I decided to take the opportunity to break the ice with my parents before they had to meet Red. Hopefully, I would be able to manage their reactions before he had to face them.

  As soon as I stepped inside, my mother was the first person to greet me. She hugged me tightly before carefully removing Reid from my arms. “Oh my goodness, she is absolutely adorable. How on earth did you get your grandmother’s beautiful brown skin?” My mother smiled as she talked to Reid, admiring her in the process.

  I frowned at the fact that my mother assumed that my daughter had somehow took after her. I guess it was natural being that Linus was as bright as they came, and I was only a few shades darker then he was. In their eyes, Reid belonged to Linus, so my baby girl’s chocolate skin had to come from lineage.

  “Is that my baby girl?” My father’s cheerful voice was soothing, and it made my heart sink that much more, knowing that I was undoubtedly about to break his.

  However, when I removed my eyes from my mother and daughter to look at him, my heart basically stopped. I froze, and literally everything about me halted in motion. My heart, my breathing, my thought process, just from the sight of the person trailing him. Why the hell is he here? No, this is not happening. The skeptical look on Linus’ face certainly wasn’t helping.

  “What are you doing here?” I spoke to him first before giving my attention to my father. “Why is he here?”

  “It’s a family dinner, sweetheart. Why wouldn’t he be here?” My mother was the first to respond, but both my parents looked at me with confused expressions.

  The two were clueless to what was going on, but Linus was well aware of why I was asking. That was proven by the look on his face and the rushed answer that he attempted to provide.

  “Your father called, and—”

  “…and,” my mother cut him off, obviously about to defend him being there. My anger only grew because they always took his side. “I know that you two have had some issues, but you need to work through whatever it is. Tonight would be a good start.”

  My father sent a firm look in my direction as if agreeing with my mother before taking Reid from her arms and settling her into his. “Look at this beautiful baby. She needs both of her parents. Isn’t that right, pretty girl?”

  My mother smiled and grasped my hand along with Linus’ pulling the two of us closer. “You two have this beautiful baby girl to raise together. Nothing is that bad that you can’t find a way to make things work. I know that you still care about each other.”

  “What the fuck did you just say?”

  For the second time that day, my heart stopped. This time, it was because of the venom in Red’s voice, which had all eyes on him.

  My father squared up, peering at him while my mother stepped closer to his side seeking protection. I, on the other hand, moved right to Red and placed my hands on his chest, already anticipating his reaction.

  “Who are you, and why did you just walk into my house like you belong here?”

  Red’s heated stare left my father and lowered to me. I could physically see the veins pulsing in his neck. It was the only movement that gave away how explosive his attitude was at that moment. The calmness was a danger point.

  “He’s here because I’m here and his daughter is here?”

  “Excuse me?”

  My father’s face tightened as his eyes shifted to Reid and then over to Linus, who stood off to the side with an unconcerned look on his face. He was such a coward that it irritated me to the depths of my soul.

  “Linus is not Reid’s father. Redmon is, which is why I asked what he was doing here?”

  Red chuckled arrogantly and narrowed his eyes at me.

  “Son, you knew this baby wasn’t yours?” My father spoke to Linus.

  My mother belted out in my direction, “How is that even possible?”

  I ignored her because Red spoke right after she did.

  “This the type of shit you’re on?” His voice was filled with so much anger when he stepped closer to me. Our bodies touched as he towered over me, dipping his chin enough to grant me a visual of the storm brewing in his eyes. Lifting a hand, he angled one finger so close to my face that I flinched. “Your fucking parents didn’t even know that she’s mine. They invited this muthafucker over here, expecting to have a nice little family dinner, and you couldn’t tell them that shit before we got here?”

  “Young man, if you touch my daughter…” My father was moving, but my mother held her hand up and caught his arm.

  “I have never and would never put my hands on her. I wouldn’t hurt her in any way…” His eyes left me and moved to Linus before they landed on my father. Red released a cocky laugh before he continued. “But that’s your first thought when you see me? I’m not even surprised, though.” When he gave me his attention again, my chest tightened. This was my fault
.

  “I told you how this was gonna play out. Fuck this shit. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. All y’all can kiss my ass with this shit.” His eyes moved around the room again before they landed on me. “Let me find out that muthafucker so much as breathed on my daughter...” Red’s stare was unrelenting until he delivered his last warning. “Be a good girl that your parents want you to be and work shit out with him, Peyson, but just know he ain’t raising my fucking daughter. I am.”

  Red turned so quickly and left through my parents’ front door that by the time I could wrap my mind around what had just happened and was able to move and follow him, he was already in his truck, slamming the door. He damn near hit Pree’s car as he left my parents’ driveway.

  I stood with my mouth hanging open, knowing that yet again, Red and I were at war because of a decision that I made.

  “What happened?” My sister had already hopped out of her car and hurried to my side looking past me toward the issue. “Shit, what’s he doing here?”

  “Dad called him.” The words robotically left my mouth.

  “Did Red get into it with Linus. Oh shit, or Dad, what happened?”

  “No, but he heard mom telling me and Linus to work things out because we had a beautiful baby girl too raise, together.”

  “Ohhhhh. What do you want me to do? Do you want me to take you home? I’m sure from the look on their faces, you don’t want to stay here.”

  Nodding, I lifted my eyes to my sister, and I could see my pain in hers. She knew. Pree was the only one who understood how I felt about Red, but she also knew that most of this was my fault.

  The only thing I wanted to do at this point was leave. Pree and I entered our parents’ house where I took my daughter from my mother while she and my father waited for answers that I had no interest in giving right now.

  “What the hell is going on, Peyson? Is that man really Reid’s father?” My father was the first to speak up.