Conceited Read online

  Standing up, I kiss her on the head before I walk away saying over my shoulder, “Love you.”

  “I know,” is all she says back. She’s going through a lot right now, and the only person she can get angry with is me. So, I take it because her girlfriend couldn’t take Tracey’s crazy ass if she saw her at full swing, whereas I can.

  She wants a child.

  They can’t conceive.

  Nothing I can say will help, and she won’t take my money to help either. So, instead, I take her verbal diarrhea and simply smile and kiss her goodbye each time.

  It’s what family does for each other.

  Standing on Raven’s doorstep, I ring her, hoping she’ll answer. She doesn’t, my call is rejected straight away. I smile despite myself knowing that the game she’s playing she won’t win. I’m a master, and I have my way almost every time.

  Mark my words, soon she will be putty in my hands.

  4

  Ariel ‘Raven’

  “If I could strangle one person on this planet it would be your brother,” I tell Tracey as she sits across from me while we have coffee.

  “He isn’t that bad.” I look up from my rambling to see her eyes are tired, and her hands haven’t moved, not even to lift her coffee.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She looks up at me, tears welling in her eyes. We haven’t been as close as we once were for a long time. But we have been trying to fix that situation. One thing I can say, though, is I’ve never ever seen Tracey cry.

  She wipes at her nose shaking her head. “It’s nothing.” But she’s lying. Tracey and Falcon Marseilles never get upset, so I know there’s something she isn’t telling me.

  “Should we go and egg your brother’s house?”

  She laughs, wipes at her eyes and smiles. “I missed you, you know.”

  I reach for her hand, covering it with mine. “I did, too. But I am serious, can we go egg his house? Think of how much fun that would be.” We did it once to his room when we were teenagers. And told him if he pissed us off again, one day he would have his own house and we would egg that too.

  “He’s been… good.” She isn’t lying, Falcon idolizes his sister. Thinks she walks on water. It’s something I wished I had growing up—a brother who loved me like Falcon loves her. If we ever got in trouble, it’s not our parents we would call, it would be Falcon and he’d bail us out every single time without questions. I was an only child, so I wished I had what Tracey and Falcon did.

  “We could drink?” I suggest instead, noting she obviously doesn’t want to talk about it.

  “That sounds so much better, but unfortunately I have to go to work.” She gets up to leave as her cell starts ringing. “No.” Her eyes look to me as she holds the cell to her ear, then they lift and search around. “Falcon, I told you… no.” She huffs into the cell, hangs up on him, and looks at me. “I really am sorry, I didn’t know he would be here.” Just as she says those words he walks up behind her, kisses her on the cheek and looks directly at me.

  “I was just leaving.” I stand but his hand comes over to where my bag is before I can grab it.

  “One drink,” he says. I look to Tracey who gives no indication about what I should do. I want to be polite because I know she’s hurting, but I also want to tell him to fuck off at the same time. “Please.”

  “You’ll be okay?” I ask her. She’s already checked out and not paying us any attention. She manages a nod before she walks off. Falcon comes to stand behind me, pulls my chair out and smiles for me to sit. I do so because I don’t like him standing behind me.

  “What do you want, Falcon?”

  He calls the waiter over and orders us drinks. Sitting there, he does nothing but stare at me while we wait. I’m almost ready to walk off when a glass is placed in front of me, which I don’t intend to drink.

  “You’re even more beautiful,” he finally says. “Even when you’re dreaming of all the ways you can stab me.”

  I smile at his comment, not the beautiful part but the ways I can stab him. In the eye, perhaps? I stare as he puts his drink to his lips, takes a sip, and watches me over the top of his glass. My legs start twitching. I want to move and not be sitting here with him. Anywhere but here right now.

  “I want to know… would you escort me to a Mariah Carey concert? I have to do some work there, and figured I could use the company.”

  My body goes stiff in my seat. He’s low, he takes shots real low. He knows she’s the one person I’ve always wanted to see. When I was a teenager, my parents tried getting me tickets but missed out. And I know she’s in town right now, too. I shake my head, standing.

  “Is that a no? Should I take a photo, perhaps, and send it to you?”

  What leaves my mouth is like a train wreck that just won’t stop coming. I can’t do anything to halt the verbal diarrhea.

  “How about you find the closest gutter and roll over in it and die.”

  He laughs as I turn to leave. That was low, he made me angry, and he makes me stoop to even new lows, lows I’ve never been to before. My heels click loudly on the pavement as I try to get as far away as possible from him, except he’s faster, he always has been. His hand closes around my wrist, stalling me from going any further.

  Swinging around, I try to pull it free but he doesn’t budge. “Let go.”

  “Not until you agree to one date.”

  I pull again, trying to get free, with no luck. “You’re hurting me.”

  He drops my arm then looks to it. I turn, walking away again, but it’s no use. He’s like a dog that’s chasing a bone.

  “Just one, what could it hurt?”

  I swing around when we finally reach my car. “You never had time for me back then, why now?”

  He looks me over and I know whatever he’s about to say will be the truth. Whether I like it or not. “You grew up, you have legs for days and tits that most women would pay for.”

  “So you want me for my body?”

  He thinks about it then nods his head. “Yes.”

  I open my car door and wind my window down as I get in. Looking up at his perfect features—the way his eyes zoom in on me, making me think that what he said could somehow be a positive, and his lips that he licks would taste as good as I imagined—would it be worth putting my hate away for just one night.

  Nope.

  Not happening.

  “Go and find someone else, and lose my number.” I pull out, only looking back once to see him smiling as he watches me drive away.

  “He’s so persistent, maybe you should just fuck him. Get it out of both of your systems,” Chad says passing me a glass of champagne.

  “No, that would mean he wins.”

  Chad leans forward to where I’m curled up, my legs tucked under my ass. “But you could win, too. Maybe a few orgasms.” He raises his eyebrows.

  “Nope, I have my trusty BOB… aka my vibrator, and he does just fine, thank you very much.”

  “Please, he buzzes so loudly it wakes up the neighbors. Get some real dick. Especially if it’s his dick you want.”

  My cell buzzes and Chad reaches for it before I can.

  “Asshole,” he mutters out loud reading the call screen. “Now, I wonder who that could be.”

  He looks up to me then back to the cell and starts typing.

  “What did he say? And don’t you say anything back.” He types some more and smiles at me. If Chad were straight I think I’d have issues. He’s perfect. Not as perfect as Falcon is, the asshole, but close to it. He’s got a flawless jaw which meshes well with his high cheekbones and blond hair, just a bit lighter than Echo’s color.

  “Oh, fuck,” Chad says, his eyes widening as he stares at my buzzing cell. When he looks back to me his eyes are dancing with amusement. “Do you think he could possibly be gay?”

  “Not a chance in hell.”

  “Well, let me just say… you need that dick in your life.” He turns my cell to me and shoves it right in my face.
/>
  I scream as a dick is all I can see. “What the fuck?”

  Chad fans himself. “Exactly, what the fuck. That, my dear, is a damn near perfect dick. Fuck! I want a dick that perfect.” He looks back at it then turns it again and shoves it in my face, so I have to see it.

  “Why is he sending me pics of his dick?”

  Chad’s right, that dick is very lickable. Oh, I mean fuckable. Shit! I mean good-looking. I shake my head at Chad who’s taking a photo of legs, exactly where my leg folds over. I’m confused until I realize he hits send. His smile is so wide as he starts laughing, handing the cell to me. It looks like he’s sent a photo of my ass, but it’s not. It’s my legs. Right under that dick pic.

  “Stop. Now.” Reaching for my cell, I tuck it under the pillow and away from Chad’s interfering. He just wants me to have that dick. Which now is all I can think about.

  “He’s not going to stop. You know that, right?”

  “He will when he finds someone else who holds his interest.”

  Chad shakes his head. “I don’t think so. I’ve not even met the man but no one chases a woman like that unless they want her. And he wants you.”

  I get up, taking my cell and champagne with me, and kiss him goodnight.

  He waves me off and reaches for his own cell. “Turn him gay… for me?” he yells.

  As soon as I shut the door my cell starts buzzing. His name ‘asshole’ pops up on my call display.

  “Yes.”

  “You answered. I was contemplating leaving a message. One you could replay over and over again.”

  “What do you want?” I sit on my bed and place him on speaker and open up the messages. I didn’t even need to read what his first one was to know. It asks if he can see me. Followed by Chad asking for a dick pic, which Falcon seemed to have no problem sharing with him. Or me. Whoever.

  “You left me hanging.”

  “Huh?”

  “I want more than that ass, which by the way is a fine ass.”

  I spit my drink out laughing.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “That wasn’t my ass, that was my leg, you asshole, which my housemate sent you.”

  “So, you didn’t send me a photo of your ass, even after I sent you a photo of my cock?”

  “Correction, you didn’t send me a photo of your dick, you sent it to my housemate. I wasn’t even aware it was you he was texting.”

  “Raven,” he growls into the cell. That old nickname sends shivers down my spine like he wants to bite me in all the right places. And I want him to. Lying back on my bed, I wait for what else he has to say. Falcon has a voice that women drool over. Even if you hadn’t met him, just his voice alone could make you come. It’s what we dream about when we want to be spoken dirty to. It’s what I envision when I play with BOB.

  “Let me come over,” he finally says after a pause. “I can show you in person.”

  “Sure,” I say smiling.

  “What…”

  “Sure,” I say again.

  “What’s your address?”

  I rattle off the address and hang up.

  It takes thirty minutes for my mother to call me to tell me Falcon turned up at her door, and it takes thirty-one minutes for him to message and call me back. Both of which I don’t answer as I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

  My mother may have loved him growing up, but she wouldn’t have liked being woken up.

  5

  Falcon

  She got me good, better than any other woman has gotten me. When I saw Laurie at the door, the chocolate body spray I had in my hand didn’t really soften the blow of waking her up. She let me off with a smile and a door slammed in my face. I always did love that woman.

  This now means war. She can’t play those games with me and not expect consequences. I haven’t thought of the perfect plan yet, but I will.

  “She did what?” Echo laughs at me.

  “You really thought after a dick pic she would just be like ‘come over and fuck me’?” Darby says while shaking his head.

  Yes, in fact, that’s exactly what I thought because that’s what usually happens. Granted, I typically don’t have to work this hard to get a woman to sleep with me. Raven is proving to be more difficult as time goes on.

  “Maybe you should let sleeping dogs lie,” Echo says shaking his head. He leans forward. “Unless you want more from her. Why would you try this hard to get a woman, otherwise?”

  “Because I want a taste, just one.”

  “It’s always just one. Then you taste and you won’t be able to come back from it. Trust me, I know.”

  Darby doesn’t say a word, just watches us.

  “She’s a reporter,” I say.

  Darby sits up straighter in his chair, then starts to shake his head. “Are you mad?”

  “Nope, I’m insane.”

  He stands from his chair, pushing it backward. “I’ve learned my lesson on telling you fools to end relationships when they could hurt this business, but this one needs to stop. Or you need to hurry the fuck up and fuck her and get it over with. If she found out what we did—”

  “She won’t.”

  “Needless to say, a relationship with a reporter is out of the question.”

  Echo nods his head in agreement. “That could be a big fuck-up.”

  “Calm the fuck down, we all know her. You know she wouldn’t do that.”

  “Correction, we knew her. Now she hates you. So, we don’t know what to expect and what levels she would go to harm you,” Darby says.

  He’s right, but no one can tell me who to see. Though, I’m not an idiot, I know bringing her into this world would not be the same as Creed bringing his woman in. They’re two completely different people. Ariel has the means to ruin us. And she’s already pissed at me.

  Is it a smart move to make her mad? Probably not, but where’s the fun in smart.

  “Where is Creed, anyway?”

  Echo shakes his head. “Hospital. Elicea had the baby, she had a few complications so she had to stay longer.”

  “When?”

  “A week ago. Where have you been?”

  Ariel’s face flashes in my mind. Has it been a week already since that night I saw her at the club?

  “Busy, is he up there?”

  Echo shakes his head. “Of course, he is, you dick. Maybe you should go visit.”

  They both leave my office, Darby slamming the door on his way out.

  Creed’s sitting next to Elicea’s bed, not moving. His eyes are closed as Elicea sits up with a small baby in her arms. She notices me and smiles, nodding for me to come in, then looks back down at the baby. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” she says in just above a whisper. When I look down, blue eyes stare wide-eyed back up at me.

  “She is.” And I’m not lying. I’ve never been around babies, never held an interest in them. Why would I? But as I look at her, I can see the beauty.

  Elicea looks up to me, then to Creed still sleeping in the chair. “He won’t leave. Maybe you can convince him?”

  His arms are crossed over his chest, his face soft, very unlike him.

  “When do you get out?”

  She turns the baby around, so she’s lying on her legs as she starts to change her. “Tomorrow hopefully.”

  “Congratulations,” I say, and I mean it.

  Elicea looks to me and I’m taken back by how beautiful she is with no make-up, tired and green eyes staring back at me.

  “I think you actually mean that, so I’m going to thank you.”

  “I do.”

  She smiles as she looks at her new baby. “Thank you, Falcon.” Elicea nods to the end of the bed and I sit on it, looking back to Creed as he starts to stir. His eyes find Elicea’s first then straight to me. I used to fuck with him by hitting on Elicea when he first met her, how could I not. He didn’t love. It was impossible to get an ‘I care for you’ out of him. Yet, here we are now, sitting in a hospital with a baby I never thought
he would have.

  “Falcon came to sit with me while you go home and get me some things and take a shower. Isn’t that nice of him?”

  Both sets of eyes lock onto me. Elicea smiles and Creed’s forehead crinkles as he tries to work out if what she’s saying is true.

  “Yeah, you go. You stink.”

  He stands, walks around to the other side of the bed and leans down and kisses Elicea hard on her lips, his hand on her face not letting her go. She smiles at him when he pulls away, with a faraway look on her face.

  “Go. We won’t be going anywhere.” Elicea pushes him away and he looks back to me, unsure.

  “I won’t move.”

  He nods his head then grabs a bag that was next to him on the floor and rushes out.

  “Guarantee he’ll only be gone an hour,” El says with a laugh, looking back to her baby.

  “I say forty minutes.”

  El smiles and lifts her daughter up. “Want to hold her?”

  I shake my head. Never have I held a baby and I don’t intend to start anytime soon.

  “She won’t break.” She holds her up. “I promise. If Creed can hold her, I have faith in you, Falcon. You’re a man of many wonders.” She winks at me.

  I stand and walk to her side of the bed while she lifts the baby up. “Her name is Annabelle,” she says as she places her in my arms. I don’t know how to hold her, so El starts to move my hands into the correct positions until I have hold of the baby properly, then slowly lets go. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  “She is,” I agree, barely above a whisper.

  Who would have thought that Creed would be the first of us to have a family? If any of us would have guessed it would have been Echo, not Creed.

  “She has his eyes,” I say. “I know those eyes, I grew up with those eyes.”

  “You’re the only one that’s noticed.”

  I sit with her in my arms and she closes her little eyes and goes back to sleep.