Caged

  garden. Kind of dangerous, but Ronin and Amery were the only ones who usually came up here, and they were used to navigating in the dark.

  The vibrant red door separating the spaces was ajar. She pushed it open, and the sweet scent of flowers rolled over her. When she crossed the threshold, darkness was no longer an issue. Tiki torches lit up the deck around the pool. But what she saw in the pool made her jaw drop. Dozens of candles floated in the water, creating a warm glow. With each step, the floral scent became stronger.

  She slowly turned around, overwhelmed by the dozens of vases of roses. When she faced forward again, he emerged from the shadows. Startled, she jumped back and closed her eyes.

  He’s not real. Deacon isn’t here. It’s just a shadow.

  “Molly. Babe. Open your eyes. You’re too close to the side of the pool, and it’s making me nervous that you’re gonna fall in.”

  That forced her to look at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “I didn’t like that you left me.”

  Deacon-speak for he missed her. “I’m surprised you noticed I was gone.”

  Not nice. But it was true.

  “Well, that was a really fucking helpful note you left me as to where you’d gone. But not why.”

  Molly squared her shoulders. “Bullshit. You know why I left. How many times have we been in this situation?”

  “Too many,” he admitted.

  “And you shouldn’t be here in Denver. You ditching training camp in Texas a week before a career-changing fight is only proving Maddox’s point that I’m a distraction.”

  “Molly—”

  “Save it. I explained everything in the note. And I asked you not to do this.”

  “That’s the thing, babe. You don’t get to make that decision. I do. And you sure as fuck don’t get to end it with me in a fucking note. Do you have any idea how crazy that made me?”

  “Crazy enough to charter a plane, I imagine.” Molly couldn’t believe he was here. And where had he gotten the idea she was ending it? “I left you because the fight—”

  “Doesn’t fucking matter if I lose you over it!”

  “Don’t you see that’s the point I was trying to make? I don’t want you or your trainers to blame me for you backing out of this fight!” She inhaled deeply to calm herself. “We both know that’s what will happen. Dammit, Deacon. You’ve worked too hard for too many years. You’ve only been with me for a few months.”

  He ran his hands over his head, then across the stubble on his jaw. “You don’t get it, do you? So I’ll spell it out, literal girl. I want you—a life with you—more than a championship belt. More than anything in the world. Did you not hear what I told Maddox when we were in Nebraska, woman?”

  How could she forget? But she had, hadn’t she?

  I could have a title fight on the line tomorrow and I still wouldn’t walk away from her. I won’t ever walk away from her. She needs me, and I sure as fuck need her.

  “I like fighting. And I’m good at it.” Deacon pointed at her. “But you? You, I love. Big difference. You should see that love every time I look at you. You feel that love every time I touch you. I told you that we weren’t ever breaking up again. I wasn’t fucking kidding about that. So I’m here to apologize for bein’ a dickhead and to ah . . . talk.”

  She almost burst out laughing. He’d uttered the word talk like it was a communicable disease. “So talk.”

  “I figured you could start. Tell me exactly what I did wrong so I don’t do it again. Because I swear to Christ, Molly, one small thing snowballed into a huge fucking thing. I know I ignored you, hurt you, and pissed you off. Then the next thing I knew, you were gone. It kills me that I hurt you. But none of it was intentional. And I don’t want it to ever happen again. I just don’t know how to stop from doin’ that.”

  His earnestness and anguish mixed with hope—and yes, the love she saw in his eyes—was a potent combination.

  Oh, man of mine, what am I going to do with you?

  Show him you love him unconditionally. Teach him to be what you need.

  Molly remembered Amery telling her that trying to understand a man like Ronin Black, or predict how he might react, was the hardest thing she’d ever done—but if that was the price she paid for loving him and being loved by him in return, then she’d suck it up and learn to deal with things on Ronin’s level and his way.

  That’s what Molly needed to do now. Deacon wouldn’t change overnight. But when she really thought about it . . . he’d already changed—or at least proved to her he was willing to try. The issues between them would never be as simple as him forgetting to refill the toilet paper dispenser in the bathroom. But having him here, looking at her like that, even after she’d left him in Texas . . . She would do whatever it took to make sure he looked at her that way for the rest of their lives.

  But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t make the man grovel. Because for him, that would always be part of learning too.

  “Say something,” he demanded.

  She gestured to the candles and the flowers. “What’s all this?”

  “After bein’ at your place, I know you like candles and flowers and shit. So I got some. For you.”

  “Thought it’d help your cause, did you?”

  “Figured it couldn’t hurt.”

  “You put this together by yourself?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “I called the orders in before I left Texas, and Knox picked up the flowers. He and I hauled it all up after Amery insisted I use the poolside as a staging area—whatever the fuck that means. Then Shi-Shi arranged the flowers, ’cause I suck at that stuff. But I lit all the candles.”

  “That’s a lot of candles. So you’ve been here awhile?”

  “Seems like a fucking eternity since I saw you last night.” Deacon shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit pants.

  She was impressed he’d dressed up. Her eyes narrowed. Wait. He was still wearing the same clothes he’d had on last night. He’d been so anxious to get to her that he hadn’t taken the time to change clothes? “How did you get to Denver before me?”

  “JFW jet.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “I won’t play fair when it comes to you. You know that about me.” He paused. “Look, I’m sorry I ditched you at the country club. I’m sorry I was short with you in the hallway. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was goin’ on with Dad and Julianne. There’s a lot I need to tell you. And I’m really fucking sorry that I didn’t call you to say I wouldn’t be coming back to the hotel.”

  “That’s a good start,” she murmured.

  “It is?”

  “Yeah. I was worried about you.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “So what happened with your parents?”

  “I’ll fill you in on everything about that later. Because this right here? This is about us. Only us.” He locked his gaze to hers. “Molly, do you still love me?”

  His vulnerability did her in completely. He hadn’t come here believing she’d fall back into his arms—but he wouldn’t let her go without a fight either.

  “You hurt me. And I hated that I couldn’t talk to you about it. But I’m sure I hurt you too by leaving you with a helpful fucking note. But it wasn’t a breakup note.”

  He remained stoic. Waiting for her to continue.

  “Love isn’t something that just stops. Not real love. So yes, I’m still in love with you. I don’t ever want you to doubt that, Deacon.”

  Then he was on her. His hands cradling her face as he kissed her with hope, love, and passion.

  The man definitely had the hot-makeup-kisses thing down.

  When he finally released her mouth, he buried his face in her neck. “I need to hear you say it again.”

  “I love you.”

  He shuddered with relief. Then he said, “Close your eyes.”

  Molly obeyed him without question.

  Deacon kissed the knuckles on her left hand and slipped
something on her ring finger.

  Her heart hammered. Blood whooshed in her ears. Did that mean what she thought it did? No. It couldn’t. It was too soon, wasn’t it? But what if it—

  “Babe. Gotta remember to breathe.”

  She sucked in a huge gulp of air.

  He curled his hand beneath her jaw. “Look at me.”

  Those amazing blue eyes were the first thing she saw.

  “Marry me.”

  Of course the man didn’t ask her; he never did anything the right way. He did it the Deacon way. And that was fine by her. “Yes.”

  Deacon smiled. And she wondered if she would ever get used to how gorgeous the man was when he smiled at her like that.

  “Don’t you wanna see the ring?”

  “You have to let go of my face so I can look down.”

  Still smiling, he kissed her. Then he shifted back, turning her wrist so the light from the tiki torch spilled across her hand.

  Stunned by the fire flashing in the diamond, she forgot to breathe again. The square-cut stone seemed awfully large in the simple platinum setting.

  “Well? Do you like it?”

  “It’s breathtaking.”

  “If you look closely, there’s a flaw in it. The jeweler tried to get me to pick a different stone, but I liked this one. I like the reminder that nothing is perfect. That it’s better to overlook a small flaw when the rest of it is so—”

  “Beautiful and perfect.” Like him, her wonderful man.

  “Exactly.” Deacon rested his forehead to hers. “I love you more than anything—you know that, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “But, babe, I gotta warn ya. I’m probably gonna fuck up from time to time.”

  She laughed. “And I’ll still love you when you do.”

  “Thank fuck for that.”

  Her man—her fiancé—had such a way with words.

  Then he said, “We’ll figure this out.”

  And she believed him.

  EPILOGUE

  One week later . . .

  “DEACON.”

  He stopped shadowboxing and looked over his shoulder at Ronin. “What is it?”

  “Molly said to tell you they’re here.”

  “Cool. Thanks.” He grabbed a towel and mopped his face. He needed to sit down and chill out. But waiting to fight, especially for this fight, was making him antsy.

  “Who’s they?” Knox asked.

  “My dad. My cousin Warren and his folks.”

  “You seem surprised they’re here.”

  “I’m surprised I’m here.” Last week, after he and Molly had straightened things out, he’d told her about Warren’s parentage. His sweet woman had cried out of guilt for leaving him to deal with the shocking revelations alone. Then a fearful but heartfelt phone call from his aunt Annabelle had convinced him it’d be in Warren’s best interest to wait until he turned eighteen to reveal his biological identity. But Deacon had asked for a chance to get to know his nephew, and Annabelle and Derek had agreed it’d be good for Warren. So the three of them and Deacon’s dad had flown in for the fight.

  His mother hadn’t come. His father told him he believed Julianne had suffered from a psychotic episode borne of grief when she’d said such awful things to Deacon after Dante’s death. And she continued to treat him the way she did out of guilt for what she’d said.

  Deacon had let that go for his father’s sake. If the man wanted to pretend his wife wasn’t a monster, that was his business.

  “You are ready, amigo,” Vasquez said, interrupting Deacon’s contemplation. “You were a beast this week.”

  “If we’d trained together even one more day, you’da seen my big nasty teeth, you sadistic bastard,” Deacon retorted. When Deacon had tried to back out of the Watson fight, citing personal reasons, Maddox, Ronin, and even Vasquez had convinced him to stick it out. Ronin had persuaded Amery to let Molly work remotely so she could be with Deacon in Laredo while he trained. And Deacon was man enough to admit he wouldn’t have made it through the week without Molly by his side. He planned to never be without her again.

  Since neither of them wanted a long engagement, they were sneaking off to Corpus Christi tomorrow to get married. And maybe it made him a fucking sap, but he wanted Molly’s first trip to the ocean to be unforgettable, so he’d secretly arranged for the ceremony to take place at sunset on the beach. Then the woman would have to eat her words about him not being a romantic guy. He was gonna romance the hell out of her for the next sixty years. He’d be a motherfucking pro at this hearts and flowers shit.

  “I remember the good old days when students used to complain about that with you,” Knox said, drawing Deacon’s attention back to the conversation.

  “They still do,” Beck inserted. Then he and Knox laughed at the same time.

  Maddox hustled in. “All right, everybody out. I need to prep my fighter.”

  Beck and Knox walked out together. Vasquez and Riggins followed.

  Deacon pulled out his fight bag and tossed his hand-wrapping supplies on the bench. He already had his gauze premeasured and cut. His gauze pads were folded. He flexed his fingers, stilling the left hand when Maddox began to wrap it.

  “You all right?” Maddox asked.

  “I’m great.”

  “Cool.” He paused. “They’re here.”

  “My family? Yeah, I know.”

  “Not them. The Smackdown guys.”

  “I figured they would be, since it’s a Smackdown event,” Deacon said.

  Maddox looked at him as he ripped off strips of tape. “I mean the Smackdown fighters are here. Specifically, the three guys in your weight class you’ll be going up against after you win tonight.”

  “Huh. Why are you telling me this now, Mad?”

  “It’s my version of a pep talk.”

  “It sucks.”

  He laughed. “I’ve heard that before.”

  “Even if I lose tonight—”

  “You’re not gonna lose,” Maddox assured him.

  “But even if I do get my ass kicked, I’ve already signed with Smackdown, so they’ll have to suck it up and come up with a new strategy for me.”

  Maddox lifted his head. His eyes were shrewd. “When did this signing happen?”

  “Last night Molly and I had dinner with the suits. They made their pitch. My woman took the contract back to the hotel and went over it with a magnifying glass, because she’s smart like that. They agreed to strike two of the paragraphs about promotional requirements she disagreed with. So it’s a done deal.”

  “Congrats, man. That is awesome.”

  Maddox’s enthusiasm was completely faked—which made zero sense. “You pissed about it?”

  “Nah. I’m happy for you. But since I’ve been helping you navigate this stuff the last year, it sorta feels like you’re firing me as your business manager.”

  “That job never should’ve fallen on your shoulders, Mad, and it did by default. You’re my trainer. That doesn’t mean I won’t talk to you about the business side of my fight career. It just means I’ll be talking to Molly first.”

  After a moment, Maddox said, “As it should be. She’s a good