Page 30 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family

Chapter

Eighteen

Emir

Shit was crazy.

But no matter how chaotic things currently were, I liked having Baylyn here.

Going to bed with her body wrapped around mine and waking up to her mouth wrapped around my dick was something I could damn sure get used to. It wasn’t just the physical. I wanted her here. It felt right and she was a part of what made my house feel like I belonged here.

The thought had me staring at the ceiling, hands resting behind my head, thinking about how much I loved the idea of us. So much that it pissed me off knowing eventually, once I handled this thing with Trent, she could choose to go back to the normalcy of her life.

At her apartment…

Without me…

The thought had me climbing out of bed at three in the morning, grabbing my phone, and dialing my father.

Our pops was cool with almost every aspect of our lives, but he stayed out of our way. He never pressed us for details or forced his opinions, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t always willing to have those talks when we needed them.

The phone barely rang before he answered.

“You good, son?”

His tone was easy, but I picked up on the concern. I smirked because I knew him. It was three in the morning.

“Yeah, I’m straight.”

“What’s on your mind, then?”

I brushed a hand down my face. “Life shit.”

“Life shit or woman shit?”

I grinned. He always knew how to read me and my brothers.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

He chuckled. “I thought we had that all cleared up when you started skipping gym and sneaking into the girls' locker room.”

I smiled big as shit. “Nah, I got that part covered. It’s the other shit that comes with that when it’s not just about busting a nut.”

“Baylyn?”

I smiled when he said her name, knowing exactly who I was talking about.

“Yeah. Her.”

I was quiet for a moment, thinking.

“You and Mom work.”

“We do.”

“Which means it’s possible.”

“It’s very possible, son. Damn sure not easy, but possible.”

I ran a hand over my jaw, processing. “How did you make it work?”

I knew the basics. My father lived this life. He had been where I was now… years ago. But he found a way to marry my mother, love her, keep her safe. When she had us, he protected us too. Having people you cared about in this world wasn’t normal.

Carter proved it was possible too. He and McKenna had a happy marriage and their kids. They made it work.

My father’s voice was steady. “I loved all of you more than I loved myself.”

I frowned. Not getting it. “What does that have to do with any of this?”

“It has everything to do with all this, Emir. If you love the people in your life more than you love yourself, you move in ways that will never put them in the line of fire.”

His words settled deep.

“You live for them and you die for them. It’s that simple. That mindset keeps them safe.” His voice dropped. “If you love someone, you’ll make sure that if a choice ever has to be made about life or death?—”

He let that linger before he confirmed…

“They live. You die. That’s the only way it works.”

I didn’t speak, instead just considered his words.

I heard him shift on the other end of the line. “You there, son?”

“Yeah, Pop. I’m here.”

“You understand what I’m telling you?”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah. I do.”

The silence between us lingered and his next words hit harder than anything else.

“Are you willing to be the choice when it comes to her?”

I sat with that.

Was I?

I thought about Baylyn.

Her smile.

The way she challenged me, calmed me, wanted me, trusted me.

The way she felt in my arms, in my bed, in my life.

The way she made me want to be better.

And then I knew.

“Yeah. I’m willing.”

There was no hesitation in my voice because I didn’t feel any.

“Then you’ll be fine.”

I leaned against the wall with my mind feeling at ease. “I appreciate you, Pop.”

“And I love you, son.”

I heard the slight shift in his tone and knew he was proud, but regardless he was also worried.

“Just know, as much as I want you to be that type of man, I know the danger it brings. As proud as I am of you… you’re still my son.”

He didn’t like that I was willing to put my life on the line for the woman I cared about but he would respect the decision.

“You raised me well and trained me even better. I’m always gonna be good.”

His voice was harsh but also soft. “I know, but that won’t stop me from worrying.”

“I love you too, Pop.”

I ended the call, feeling better about my decision because it wasn’t just about this shit with Trent.

This was much deeper than that. Baylyn was mine.

To love.

To protect.

To care for.

After dinner at my parents house we had a discussion about her family. She told me that she lost her parents when she was a child. Instead of ending up in the system her mother’s sister raised her until Baylyn turned eighteen. They weren’t close, didn’t talk so she didn’t have family she relied on.

She could rely on me.

I also knew that if I loved her, my family would too. I damn sure planned on being there. Even beyond this shit I had her caught up in. No matter what came next, I was willing to be the choice for her.

The next day, Baylyn had an event she had to be there for.

Even if she could have moved some stuff around, I wouldn’t have asked her to.

I promised not to let my shit fuck up her life and I was doing my best to keep my word.

But that didn’t mean I was going to get careless with making sure she was good, so I was there with her.

Partially to keep an eye on who had access to her since I still didn’t know where the fuck Trent was and also because watching my baby on her boss shit was sexy as fuck.

I lingered at the edge of the event, staying out of the way with my arms crossed and eyes on Baylyn. She moved through the space with confidence, in control and handling shit. She made it look easy and it was damn near impossible for me to take my eyes off her.

I heard movement beside me, but I didn’t turn my head until a cold beer appeared in my line of sight.

“Figured you could use one.”

I barely glanced at the man beside me, but nodded in thanks before I removed the cap and turned it up. I didn’t give him my full attention until he said some shit that could have potentially gotten him killed.

“She’s beautiful.”

My eyes were on him quick as fuck because he was playing with his life. The guy chuckled, holding his hands up in defense. “You can relax. I meant my wife, who is with the woman that has all your attention.”

I relaxed my grip on the bottle and he was quiet for a minute before saying some random shit.

“They love us, but we love them harder.”

I glanced at him while his focus was still on the women across the room. “They don’t even know.”

I turned my attention back to Baylyn. “Nah, they know.”

“My wife pretends not to know how deep it is, just to fuck with me.”

“Sounds familiar.” I grinned because that sounded just like Baylyn.

He glanced at me. “She yours?”

“Yeah.” I turned up my beer as I watched her smile at the women she was talking to.

“She’s good according to my wife who has been going on all day about how she is the only one who can do our shower. I don’t know shit about this but my wife is hard to impress.”

“Yeah, she knows her shit.” My voice was even.

He studied me for a second. “This is not your thing. You don’t have a clue what she’s good at, do you?”

I chuckled. “Not even a little but this shit makes her happy and she gets hella respect.”

“You’re here. That’s what matters and you’re right, she’s very well respected.”

I nodded in response but kept my eyes on Baylyn. Before he could say anything else, she turned my way and smiled big as hell, said something to the women she was with, then walked right into my space.

“Hey.” She eased her arms around my waist and I held her in place against me.

The guy beside me smiled and raised his beer, tipping it in my direction. “And that’s my cue, be easy.”

I gave him a nod, watching as he moved back toward his wife, who was still talking to Baylyn’s client. She watched him go before lifting her chin so she could meet my eyes. “You made a friend?”

“I’m grown, baby. That shit sounded juvenile as fuck.”

Her pretty ass smiled when I dropped my eyes to hers.

“Then who was that?”

“Don’t know.”

She lifted a brow and I lowered my mouth to hers and pulled Baylyn closer. “Aren’t you supposed to be running shit and not babysitting me?”

She smiled, allowing her body to press into mine. The warmth of her against me settled something in me.

“I am,” she said, tilting her head. “But I’m also checking in. I know this isn’t how you planned on spending your Saturday.”

“No, it’s not.” I slid my hand down and let it rest at her hip. “But I’m also not complaining because anything I do that includes you is more than okay with me.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t pull away. “I’m sure this is not your idea of a good time.”

“Maybe not this, because it’s theirs and not ours, but I fuck with it.”

Her pretty ass blinked and smiled too damn hard. “You’re awfully casual with all that.”

“All what?”

“Theirs and not ours. Husband not baby daddy.”

I brushed my mouth over hers. “I’m casual because I’m speaking from the heart.

I’m not the type of man who says shit just to hear myself talk.

I’m damn sure not just saying what you want to hear to get the pussy ’cause that’s already mine.

I’ll give you a baby, Baylyn, and I’ll make you my wife too. ”

She stiffened and her eyes searched mine. “You barely know me.”

“I know enough. The most important instinct I have is the ability to trust when things feel good or when something is off. This feels good. You feel good. I trust what I feel, so I can say I’ll make you my wife and mean that shit.”

“Emir…”

I was amused as hell at how thrown off she was.

“Relax, beautiful. I’m not saying it will happen tomorrow. But if that’s what you want, then it will happen.”

“You’re full of shit.”