Past Unbound (House of Doms Series) (5 page)

Chapter
Ten

Not wanting to answer, Lia struggled in his hold and shook her head, but he wouldn’t let her go.  She couldn’t do this, not now.  “Dare, please let go.”  Her voice sounded weak, even to her own ears.

“Talk to me, Precious.  I’m not letting you go until you do.”

Her gaze went from his chest to his eyes, saw the determination in his face and let out a huge sigh.  Lowering her head again, she spoke the words into his chest.  “Tracy may not have been pregnant…but I was.”

Dare’s hold on her loosened and she felt the loss like a sledge hammer to the gut.  They were still standing in the tub, but suddenly the water felt as though it was freezing making her shiver.  Lia let the tears roll down her face unchecked; she wouldn’t
—couldn’t—raise
her head to look at him.  The pain and the memories were killing her.  Her stomach clenched with the remembered pain of what was lost.  Her heart felt as though it was beating out of her chest.  She needed air.  Tremors started to flood her body.

Dare took her by surprise when he suddenly lifted her in his arms and carried her to the huge bed in the other room.  They were both still wet when he sat with her in his lap, covering them both with a thick blanket.  He didn’t say anything, just held her.  Silently.  Waiting for her.  Giving her strength.

The room had seemed huge at first, yet now it felt as though it were smothering her.  Lia began to speak, her voice low as if she were in a daze.  “If you remember the night you left me, we had dinner plans.”  She felt his nod against the top of her head.

“I had a routine doctor’s appointment that morning.  I found out I was two and a half months pregnant.  With my cycle as erratic as it was, I hadn’t paid attention when it hadn’t shown.  I thought to surprise you with the news over dinner.”

“Lia!”  His voice was strained and filled with pain.  His arms pulled her even closer.

“I don’t remember much after you left
m
y apartment, just a horrendous pain, then darkness.  I awoke in the hospital with my father and sister by my side.  I knew before they told me.  I felt the loss to my soul.  My father told me he’d found me passed out on the kitchen floor with blood between my legs.  He said he’d come because you’d called him and said I needed him.  It took a bit of work to convince him that you hadn’t
physically hurt me
.”

She gripped the blanket securely as she felt Darius’ body start to shake.  Wetness fell on her forehead, and she looked up to see tears flowing from his eyes.  Untangling her hands from the blanket, she gripped his face in her hands, rubbing away the tears.  He suddenly grabbed her wrists and held her still.  She knew that he wanted her to see his tears, his pain, and anguish.  He was hurting.  This big, powerful man was hurting, and he wanted her to see it.

When he spoke
,
his voice was filled with the raw pain that was etched on his face.  But, she also heard the anger and the regret.  She wasn’t the only one this had devastated.  “I don’t know how
,
but I’ll fix this, Precious.  I swear I will.  I’ll make it right.”

A sob tore from her chest.  “Dare…”

He cut her words off with a soul-stealing kiss.  Darius made love to Alia until she slept in his arms, but his mind wouldn’t settle down.  His heart hurt for the woman in his arms and the child he never knew about.  His father and Tracy had cost him a child along with the trust of the only woman he’d ever loved.  He was determined to get both back.  No matter what or how long it took, he would see his father rot in hell for the pain he’d caused.

Epilogue

Three
Months
Later

Darius paced his office at the House
,
barely listening to Slade as he waited for Alia to arrive.  His desk was no longer a mass of papers.  Alia had straightened and organized everything.  He could actually see the top of his cherry wood desk.  His office seemed bigger since Lia had come in a
nd
fixed it up.  The hardwood floors gleamed and matched the walls.  She’d replaced the curtains with vertical blinds.  The fireplace now had wood next to it instead of more papers, and the small bar was now stocked with more than just whiskey, even though that’s all he or Slade ever went for.  She had even started to fill the built-in bookcase that took up one whole wall with books she liked.

“Man you need to chill the fuck out.  She’ll say yes.”  Slade’s voice brought his head back around.

Dare looked at Slade sitting in the chair across from him with a glass of whiskey in his hand.  “How do you know?  She’s been through so much.”

“That is one tough cookie.  If she didn’t want to be with you, she wouldn’t be.  She would have walked away already.”  Dare knew Slade was right.  Slade downed his drink, stood, and walked to the door, turning just as he put his hand on the knob.  “I love you like a brother, but if you hurt her again, I’ll pick up the pieces.”  Slade walked out the door before he could say anything, knowing his friend meant what he said.

Dare began to pace his office again, fingering the small box in his pocket while he kept glancing at the larger rectangular-shaped box on his desk.  He hoped Slade was right and Lia would say yes.  He had never been this nervous in his life.  What would he do if she said no?  He heard her laugh
ter
before he saw her and pivoted just as she opened the door to his office.
 

She was followed into his office by her friends, Sheila and Jamie.  Her sister Pam pulled up the rear.

Some of his anxiety waned when Lia walked into his open arms with a smile as he spoke to the others.  “Ladies, I wasn’t expecting you all.”

“What’s in the box Darius?” Pam asked obviously spotting the black velvet box he’d left on his desk.  Pam was still wary of him, and he couldn’t blame her.  She was an older version of Alia.  She had the same lush build and beautiful brown eye
s, the same
temper that could freeze a man’s balls off.  She loved her sister more than anything.

Lia pulled out of his arms, giving him a questioning look.  He hadn’t wanted to do it this way
,
would have preferred it if they were alone.  He had plans for her if this worked the way he hoped.

Nodding his head toward
s
his desk, he spoke with a raspy voice.  “Go on and open it.”  Darius held his breath as Lia opened the box.  A hush had fallen over the room as everyone waited for her to open the velvet rectang
ular
package.  He watched her mouth form a perfect circle of amazement as she fingered the platinum choker collar with the O
-
ring attached.  The lock with his initials on it was in his drawer, the key hung on his key chain.

Lia looked from the collar, to him, and back again.  A questioning look filled her face.  “Dare?”

“You remember what I said to you?  I wanted you to wear my collar, be my wife, and have my children?”  At her nod he took the collar from her hands and held it up.  “Will you wear my collar, Precious?”  His palms were sweaty as he held his breath
,
and he waited for her answer.

****
*

Lia couldn’t get the words to come out so she just nodded.  The smile that Dare gave her lit his whole face, she knew at that moment he had been worried she’d say no.  She held up her hair and turned her back to him, letting him place the collar around her neck.  The platinum was cold against her heated skin, making her shiver.  The kiss he placed on the sensitive column between her neck and shoulder made her wet.

She spun and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.  Everything around them faded away.  The sound of someone clearing their throat brought her back to the here and now.  She had forgotten about the others in the room.  Lia blushed and rested her head on his chest.

“I do believe our lunch has just been cancelled.”  Lia heard the laughter in Sheila’s voice as she spoke.

She twisted in Dare’s arms, moving to apologize to her friends, but Dare spoke before she could.  “Ladies don’t leave just yet.  I’ve got one more question for Lia, I’d love for you, her closest friends, to hear it.”

Lia looked over her shoulder up at Dare and saw the mischievousness in those gra
y eyes that she loved so much.  When he reached into his pocket and dropped to his knee, her body started to shake, Lia let out a squeal that echoed around the room.  Tears formed in her eyes as she blurted out, “YES!!!  OH GOD YES!!!”

“Precious, you’ve gotta let me ask first.”  His smile was so dazzling she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“Alia Ward, we’ve been through a lot.  You’ve decided to take another chance on me, on us, and I’ll never let you down again.  This I swear.  Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”  When Dare opened the box to reveal the two-carat pear shaped diamond surrounded by three opals on each side set in platinum, her hand flew to her mouth to cover the sob that tried to escape.

This time when she answered, it only came out as a whisper.  Tears clogged her throat
,
and it was hard to breathe.  Dare slid the ring on her finger before rising
to take
her mouth in a kiss that went right to her soul.

This time when she heard clapping and a deep male voice from behind, she didn’t start.  “I told you she’d say yes.”

Alia walked into the arms of her friends as they hugged and congratulated her.  She could hear Dare and Slade talking off to the side.  Before long Dare walked up behind her, wrapped her in his arms.  She could feel his hard length pressing into her ass.  “Ladies, I have another surprise for my woman, but things need to be set up.  Go have your lunch, and I’ll see you back here later.”

She turned in his arms and looked up at him.  Dare shook his head and told her to go on. 

“Yes, Sir!”  She gave him a saucy smile and a wink before turning to leave.  The swat to her ass would stay with her the rest of the day.

Walking out of his office and the club with the biggest smile on her face, she wondered how long it would take him to open the bag she’d left on his desk and realize he’d
soon be a daddy
.