Conceited Read online

  I look back up to him. “And when did you say you met him? What night exactly?”

  He smiles then stands. “That can be saved for our next night out.”

  “This is important, Tom.” He shrugs on his jacket and hits me with a smile that I’m sure melts many panties, except mine. It makes me dry up like a prune and want to die.

  “If it’s that important, come to mine in two nights. I’ll have a driver pick you up at your work.” He walks off leaving me sitting there. I run through what this man could possibly look like in my head, and I can’t put a face to it. The way he described him, it was as if he was transfixed by him. What other man, who isn’t as famous as him, could do that? Considering how up himself Tom is to begin with.

  We all want what we can’t have, I guess.

  And Tom didn’t get what he wanted. Something stopped him and now he’s out for revenge. I look back to the email again and press forward. If my boss still thinks I should be working on this case after these emails, I may just quit.

  Probably not, but the thought is nice.

  11

  Falcon

  “Is she still pursuing him, Falcon?” Darby asks as we all sit at Creed’s while the women hover around the baby.

  “You said I could handle it.”

  He shakes his head. “This has not been handled. I’ve just taken control of one matter in regards to this. Shall I take control of this one, too?”

  Both Creed and Echo stay silent as they wait for us to finish talking. It’s not that we are afraid of D, we aren’t. It’s that he doesn’t just have connections everywhere you could possibly think of. He’s also smart, smarter than most of us. Where Echo beats him in technology, D outsmarts him in almost everything else. So, you have to watch what you say around him because he takes and thrives on it, making it his own. Each and every word he remembers, almost like he has a photographic memory.

  “You won’t, I forbid you.”

  Creed sits up higher as D’s eyes don’t move from me. “You forbid me? To what? Handle a situation you’ve clearly fucked up?”

  “She doesn’t know anything. All she knows is hearsay.”

  “And Creed, how do we deal with hearsay?”

  I look to Creed who’s watching us both intently, ready to break anything up that may happen.

  “We get rid of the problem.”

  Darby nods his head as he looks back to me. “You see, you know the rules. You want to destroy it all?”

  “That’s not what I’m doing.”

  “Are you sure, Falcon? It seems you don’t care if we’re exposed, and our business ruined. What about Creed who’s just had a baby? Do you plan to provide for him once you fuck up our business?” I look over at Creed but he doesn’t say anything, he hardly ever does. He just waits and watches and will intervene if he must.

  Echo, on the other hand, stands up shaking his head. “Too fucking far. Falcon wouldn’t do that. He loves that place second to you.”

  “He’s right.” I do. The other two don’t love what we do as much as Darby and me. We live and breathe our work. Echo takes long ass holidays, Creed always looks like he wants to be anywhere else but there.

  “Well, start proving it, and fix your mess.”

  “I am.”

  He leans forward on his knees. “Are you, though? Or are you still in fantasy land?”

  “I’m fixing it, and only I shall do the fixing as well.”

  “Let’s hope that to be true then.”

  Just as he finishes talking, Storm walks out holding the baby in her arms. She walks straight over to Echo and sits next to him.

  “Don’t go getting any ideas, woman.”

  Storm laughs at him and kisses the top of baby Annabelle’s head. “But isn’t she just so damn cute.”

  Echo leans over and pulls the blanket from the baby’s face.

  “She is, considering she’s related to Creed,” Echo jokes, making Creed shake his head. Echo thought he could keep his relationship with Storm to strictly sex. It didn’t really play out that way for him because his feelings grew, and he understood that his love before her wasn’t really love, she was merely an in-between. Now, I couldn’t imagine them not together. They fit so perfectly, even considering she’s ten times too hot for him. I mean, all that spectacular red hair.

  Elicea walks out holding a few bottles of beer, handing each of us one before Creed pulls her down to him, and kisses her cheek making her blush. She pulls her shirt down, covering her belly, and walks off again before returning with a bottle for the baby and taking her from Storm.

  “What were you talking about?” Storm asks looking around the room. Echo slides his hand on her leg as we wait for someone to answer. No one does. So, I do.

  “Darby’s trying to cockblock me.”

  Elicea snorts from where she’s sitting. “Please, you do that all on your own,” she says as Storm nods in agreement.

  “What do you mean?”

  Elicea looks to Storm and nods her head, indicating for her to speak. “You hit on anything with two legs and tits, nearly every woman who’s met you knows this.”

  “So, are you saying that hinders me? Could a woman not find that attractive?”

  Elicea laughs. “Yes, Falcon, it hinders you. Why don’t you stop being a playboy and try talking to a girl without checking out her tits, or better yet, speaking to her as if all you want to do is fuck her?” Storm says.

  “What else is there to do? Fucking is everything!”

  The boys groan.

  “You’ll never win her, you know that.”

  I smile. “Who said I want to win her, I just want to fuck her.”

  12

  Ariel ‘Raven’

  Have you ever wanted to cause bodily harm to someone before in your life? Because I have, and it’s to the man standing opposite me, blocking my path from leaving Tracey’s. Somehow, he seems to be here at the same time I am. We go years without seeing each other, and now I can’t seem to get rid of him no matter how hard I try.

  “Falcon, leave her alone,” Tracey says coming to stand behind me. “She needs to stay. Mum and Dad are coming over and I have news. I want her to be a part of it.” I take a step backward, and I go and sit on one of the couches. Falcon sits opposite, watching me the entire time. “That’s a bit creepy, brother.”

  He sits back and smiles. “Ariel kissed me the other night.” My mouth falls open in shock. Tracey looks to me then to Falcon and back to me.

  “You didn’t, did you? That’s like feeding the beast,” she jokes but is deadly serious.

  “I didn’t, it was forced.”

  Falcon coughs in his seat and shakes his head. “If you call sticking your tongue down my throat forced, I would have to agree.”

  Just then Tracey’s girlfriend, Vicki, walks out and sits next to her.

  “I did not.”

  He leans forward. “Oh, but you did, and I happened to like it.” He sits back in his seat. “A lot. Let’s do it again.”

  “It was a mistake,” I say staring at him. My eyes are hard, showing him that I am being serious.

  “A mistake we will make time and time again.”

  I wave him off with my hand as a knock sounds on the door. Falcon gets up to answer and lets his parents in. They are very good people and I loved spending time with his family growing up. His mother kisses my cheek and pats my back before she moves on, and his father bear hugs me tightly before he taps my head like I’m still little.

  “Haven’t seen you two…” she waves between Falcon and myself, “… in a room together for a very long time,” his mother says smiling. Falcon doesn’t come back with any smart-ass retorts. He’s respectful in front of his parents and he always has been.

  “I’ve tried my best to avoid it,” I say through a fake smile.

  His father laughs and shakes his head. “You might have to try harder, son.”

  Falcon’s easygoing smile comes through as he speaks to his father, “I haven’t put th
e moves on her yet, Dad.” Falcon turns to look at me and winks.

  I pretend to barf and Falcon shakes his head as Tracey stands holding her girlfriend’s hand. Their parents weren’t okay with Tracey telling them she wanted to marry a woman, their beliefs are different to ours. They grew up with very black-and-white opinions on life, though I like to think they have come around now as they support Tracey even though it didn’t start off like that.

  “It seems serious. Is it serious?” their mother asks with a concerned look on her face. I turn to look at Falcon, to see he’s watching his parents as he waits for what is to come, but part of me thinks he already knows.

  “It is.” Tracey takes a deep breath. “We’re going to have a baby.” Everyone’s silent for a second before I get up from the couch and hug both of them telling them congratulations.

  “I don’t understand, how?” Tracey’s father asks confused.

  Tracey looks to Falcon. “Falcon helped.”

  “He slept with your wife?” his mother asks while they all shake their heads.

  “No, we wanted our child to be related to me as much as possible. So, what better way than my brother donating.”

  Honestly, I sit there shocked. Falcon’s hand is now on Tracey’s back as he tries to keep her calm. When did he move over to her, I don’t even remember.

  “So, the baby will be your brother’s?” their mother asks, trying to piece it all together. She doesn’t seem upset, just confused.

  “No, Mom, the baby is Tracey’s. Not mine. Now wish them congratulations.”

  “We’re sorry, honey. We didn’t mean to not sound… well, excited. We are, of course. You know we always wanted grandkids, it’s just come as a shock is all.”

  Falcon grabs my hand as he steps away from Tracey and pulls me through the door, leaving them to talk alone. He stops when we reach the front porch and watches me.

  “You okay with that?” I ask him.

  He shrugs. “Of course, the kid isn’t going to be mine. It’s hers. It’s what she wanted.”

  “And you would do anything to make her happy,” I finish his sentence.

  “Yes.” I smile at him. “Is that a smile I see, and not a forced one either?” I watch as he steps closer and I’m helpless to do anything about it. The hate that I’ve manifested in my head for him runs away as his eyes flick to my lips then back to my eyes. He’s trying to work out if I will hit him again if he kisses me. I just might. Maybe after the fact because right now, I do want his lips on mine. I enjoy his lips on mine.

  “It’s forced,” I say, making his eyes stay glued to my lips.

  “I know your smiles, and this one is anything but forced.” He leans in and I do nothing to stop him, not even when his hands touch my lower back and pull me even closer. Or when his lips claim mine as if he owns them. At this moment, though, I’m too helpless to stop it. I want what he can give because right now, I’m weak. I’m a weak, weak girl craving what he can give because it’s something I wanted all those years ago but never got. And now that I can have it, I’m taking it. For the moment, at least, until my sensibility kicks back in and tells me to stop.

  My hands seem to have a mind of their own and touch his back, gripping onto his side. It’s hard. Just as I imagined he would be. My hands find the bottom of his shirt and sneak their way up to his bare skin. He bites my lip and takes my tongue when I do this. I bite back as my nails dig into his skin, our bodies glued to each other. Our breathing is labored and our bodies hot. It’s a stepping stone, these kisses, to something I don’t think I’m ready for. Or rather, never will be ready for. Because if I give him what he wants, he will get something else, and then my heart will be broken. That I cannot have.

  Pulling back fast, separating us, his eyes stay closed as I speak, “Stop stealing my kisses.”

  They spring open as he touches his own lips, smudging the lip gloss I had on all over his lips. “Those kisses are being begged to be stolen. So, I’ll keep stealing them each and every time.”

  I huff at him. “Don’t.”

  The door opens before he can say anything else and his parents walk out. They look between us then to Falcon’s lips before they each kiss us goodbye.

  “They so knew what we were doing,” Falcon says as they get in the car and we wave goodbye.

  “They did.” I giggle. His hand goes to touch me again, but this time I resist and pull away. “No… more… kisses.”

  “But I plan to steal many more.” His lips quirk up, and I know he’s deadly serious.

  “No, I had a momentary lapse in judgment. That won’t happen again.”

  Falcon reaches for me and flips me back, so I have to hold onto him or I will fall. He laughs above me and reaches down, kissing me again. I squirm in his hold, finally wrapping around his shoulders and kiss him back.

  Fuck, he got me again.

  Pulling away, I hit his chest while taking a step back. Stop stealing them.” I turn and walk inside to find Tracey smiling at us.

  “Mum and Dad asked about you two.” We both turn to look at each other, Falcon’s smiling. “I told them it’s nothing serious.”

  “It’s nothing, at all. Why would you say that?” I cringe, reaching for my keys.

  “So, you weren’t just on my porch kissing Falcon, not once, but twice?”

  My mouth falls open and I shut it immediately. “He steals them. What am I meant to do?”

  Tracey shrugs. “Well, usually when someone kisses you without your consent, you go crazy on them,” she says.

  “And not kiss them back,” Falcon adds. “Which I’m not complaining about, by the way. Anytime your lips get needy, holla at me.”

  I roll my eyes at his words. “I have to go, I have a date.”

  Everyone stops and stares at me. I smile at Falcon’s shocked look on his face.

  “Didn’t see that one coming, now did you?”

  I blow him a kiss and walk outside. The minute I get to my car and pull far enough away that they can no longer see me, I pull over and take a few deep breaths.

  What am I doing to myself?

  I can’t keep doing this.

  Why am I even kissing him to begin with? I hate him. Or so I thought.

  Falcon is trouble, and wanting someone who’s trouble isn’t the smartest move in the book considering he’s expressed his feelings for exactly what he wants me for—

  sex and nothing more. I’m not one of those women who can detach like that. It’s too hard for me. When I sleep with someone, I do so because I see something there. I’m struggling to see that in Falcon, when all I see is the women he sleeps with time and time again. Each another notch on his bedpost.

  13

  Falcon

  Night of the Party

  Then

  * * *

  We didn’t plan to go to the party, but Tracey convinced me to come. Then she proceeded to threaten to tell my parents what I really did, or was working on, and that couldn’t happen. My parents are Christians, their son being involved in the selling of women for sex is something they would never condone. Ever. So, we keep it a secret and we do it in another town, so our families will never have to know. To them we are business owners and nothing more.

  The boys are whinging and don’t want to be here. But they are because I’m fucking driving and this weekend was my choice. Last weekend we went to the beach for Echo, that was boring as shit. Especially, because I can’t surf to save myself.

  Holly is the first person to walk up to me when we get to the kitchen bench where the alcohol is located. Her hands touch me, and it reminds me of all the fun times we’ve had together, and how good in bed she is. I grip her and whisper in her ear.

  She walks off as I see Tracey and Ariel coming down the stairs. Ariel looks my way and I’m almost shocked to see a woman now standing on the stairs, so much so that I have to shake my head and look away.

  “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “Ariel, you got boobs,” Echo states with a wide sm
ile.

  My eyes fall to her chest, the words slip coldly from my mouth before I can stop them, “You should cover up.”

  She turns up her nose and her hands fall to her hips. My dick twitches. “I think… no.”

  Then she does the unthinkable, pushes her tits together right in front of me making my eyes zoom in on them. My teeth clench, my eyes widen, all while trying to tell my cock to stand down.

  “You guys have fun now.” Her hips sway as she walks away, and my eyes stick to her like glue.

  “Did you just see Ariel?” Echo asks nudging me.

  I nod my head, I did. And holy fuck has she grown. She’s even more beautiful now, and that’s saying a lot since I’ve always had a thing for her.

  “She’s going to be married and having babies before she hits her twenties. I would lock that down if I wasn’t already in love.”

  I gag at his words of love and shake my head. Turning back around, I see her dancing on the dance floor. Her hips move from side to side and every boy around her is watching. Fuck! I’m even watching knowing she isn’t eighteen yet, and I can’t touch her. Laws can never be broken, especially with what we do. We can’t have trouble with the police, not this close to the business. Looking back at her, I groan as she proceeds to dance with every guy that comes her way.

  “Do you plan to ignore her all night?” Tracey asks walking over to me.

  “Yes.”

  “You came to see her, and now you’re with Holly?”

  “Holly is of legal age.”

  Tracey scoffs at my words and drinks some more. I try to take the bottle from her lips but she shakes her head.

  Holly’s arms wrap around my side as I watch Ariel’s ass grinding on some high school douche.

  Reaching for Holly, I pull her away and go straight into the closet. Her hands touch everywhere. Our lips smash together before she pulls away and drops to the floor, unbuckling my jeans and taking my cock in her mouth. She sucks it like it’s her favorite paddle pop, and it doesn’t take me long to come considering the whole time all I can think about was her. Ariel. With her long black hair and those sinful lips that I want wrapped around my cock.