Chapter 28: Deacon

I took Zoey's hand and led her back up to my room and went to a door that usually goes unnoticed. I took a key from my pocket and with a soft click unlocked it and opened the door. I led Zoey in and turned on the lights as Ash and Jer followed us in, closing the door behind them. The room was done in shades of red, grey, and black. Most of the floor was deeply padded. 

Zoey's eyes were wide as she took in my playroom. She started to explore the room while we stood silently and watched. I tensed when she ran her fingers over my collection of paddles, floggers, and riding crops. I swallowed hard as she stroked her hand down my spanking bench, visions of her braced on it as her creamy skin pinked under my hand. She made the handcuffs I had hanging jingle as she walked past them. She opened one of the toolboxes I had in the corner. One drawer held a collection of nipple clamps. Another drawer had a collection of dildos. A third held butt plugs in a range of sizes. One corner of the room had a sex swing, and a large bed with black silk sheets was centered in the room. Finally, she came to a stop in front of me and looked up into my eyes, all without having made a sound. I couldn't read the expression on her face, and it worried me.

"Are you into things like this, Deke?"

Her tone gave nothing away. I nodded and held my breath. I was terrified that this would scare her away, make her turn away from me, and reject me as her mate for being a freak.

She smirked at me. "It's always the quiet ones that are the best kind of kinky."

My jaw dropped and I stood there with my mouth open while Jer and Ash roared with laughter. Even Zoey started to snicker at me. I was floored. 

"You… you don't mind that I like this?" I gestured to the room and its toys. Fuck. Even I could hear the vulnerability in my voice. 

"Absolutely not." 

She reached up and gripped the hair at the back of my head and jerked my head down roughly. The sweet sting of pain made me hiss in pleasure and I moaned as her tongue traced my ear. 

"If anything, it makes you even fucking hotter. When I'm ready for you to claim me, I want you to do it right here in this room using anything and everything you want on me."

Her words literally brought me to my knees. I wrapped my arms around her and pushed my face into her stomach. Her pure acceptance and even desire to play with me overwhelmed me. I felt the understanding from Ash and Jer as they felt the depth of what I was feeling.

"Thank you, Zoey." Ash's voice was quiet.

"What for?"

"Accepting who he is. For accepting without hesitation this darker side of him, for even being eager to share it with him. Jer and I are the only ones until now that have accepted him just as he is."

"Why? Everyone has dark and light sides and every shade of gray in between. Why wouldn't I accept him for being exactly who he is? I would never want to change a thing about him. Not one thing. And I can't believe anyone would ever want to. Shame on them." I heard the frown in her voice.

I listened to Ash and Zoey talk and shivered in her arms as she wrapped them around my shoulders. I felt the love coming from my brothers, and it helped steady me. 

"Deke quit trying to find someone willing to go beyond the ordinary, something more than being just…"

"Vanilla. I've read Fifty Shades of Gray, Ash. I understand what vanilla means."

I tightened my arms around her and burrowed deeper into her stomach, breathing her in. 

"Exactly. Then you know how hard it is for people to be accepting of that lifestyle. I think the last woman he tried to be with utterly broke him, called him a sick disgusting freak. He closed off that part of himself ever since then. You're the first woman to enter this room in eight years."

"Is she part of the pack?" Zoey growled.

"Yes."

"So, he sees her often then?"

"Unfortunately."

"You will tell me that bitch's name and where I can find her. Now."

Jer raised his eyebrows at her tone. "Why?"

I felt her nails dig into the back of my shoulders as she gripped me tight.

"Cause the next time I leave this house I'm going to find her and fuck that bitch up. I will cut out her fucking tongue and make her fucking choke on it. And then I'm gonna beat her fucking ass. She does NOT get to make my mate feel that way. I won't allow it and she better learn that now. When it comes to my mates, no one hurts them and gets away with it. Anyone that tries it will end up bloody and wishing they had never met me."

We all froze. Swallowing, I lifted my head from where I had buried my face in her stomach and looked into her eyes, searching, hoping I had heard her right.

"Mates? You're accepting us?" I whispered. 

She looked down at me and smiled.

"Yes Deke. Mates. I know that's what you three are. My mates. My loves. My hearts. I fall a little more in love with you guys every day. My heart accepts you as my mates. I'm still scared to go the next step and allow you to claim me, mainly because of my inexperience. It's hard to open myself up and be that vulnerable. But you need to know that I'm falling hard for you three. I can't see living the rest of my life without you." 

She cupped my face and bent down to give me the softest, sweetest kiss I've ever experienced. I could taste her love on her lips.

"You are not a freak. I've been interested in this kind of stuff for a long time. A lot of people are." She looked deep into my eyes. "You listen to me, Deacon Fisher. You are perfect just the way you are. Every side of you. I wholeheartedly accept every aspect of who you are. And I want every one of them just as they are, with all my heart, body, and soul. You are a fucking miracle, Deke."