“What are you good at?” asked Brick in a tone that made it obvious that his question had a hidden meaning. If she hadn’t caught the tone, the way his eyes were scanning her body did the trick.
“What type of business are you in?” she questioned his father instead, wanting to deal with the older man rather than Brick.
“We are involved in many things,” Brick remarked, answering the question. He wasn’t going to be dismissed. “My father is mainly into mining. Pike and I are in construction and real estate. We build luxury hotels and resorts which is mostly handled by Pike. I oversee the managing, assisting in the construction when need be, and we both scope out the locations. We’re global with eleven places in the U.S., six in the Islands, three in South America, twelve in Europe, and four in Asia.”
“Oh God,” she gasped. “Why didn’t I ever hear about all of this from other people?” They were both 29, yet he had accomplished so much. She wondered if she, too, would have been as successful if her father had valued her.
“Because the men in this family don’t like to brag,” he replied, dryly. “Since you will be my wife, you need to deal with me, not him,” he pointed in his father’s direction.
Forester kept from smiling. Brick was letting her know he was the man of his own household, not him.
“Okay, okay, okay,” she nodded while she tried to process what was happening to her, which was a lot. She had gone to bed last night trying to plot her next move against the war with her father, to now trying to decide the terms that would shape her entire life.
“I want a hotel in the U.S. or in Europe, just one. That should be more than enough,” she responded, breathlessly.
“One more thing,” added Forester.
Brick regarded his father. “Why do I get the feeling you had already worked this out beforehand? What are you playing out?”
Forester rocked back in his leather chair. He never lied to his sons and he wasn’t going to start now.
“I had a plan in mind when I figured out who she was and her father, although it has changed since this morning.”
Brick gestured with his hand for his father to explain.
“I know all about your father’s failing business. At first I saw you marrying Brick as a way of creating a partnership.”
“And now?” asked Lakyta, her gaze narrowed.
He tilted his head and stroke his beard. “Now, I’m going to take your father’s business and leave him with nothing,” he answered without blinking an eye.
Lakyta shrugged her shoulder.
“I’ll take of it, myself,” said Brick, at which his father nodded. “And the other thing?”
“You need to produce three children during those five years. I don’t think that should be that hard witnessing the sexual tension between the two of you.”
“I already have a son.”
“True, and there’s more than enough assets to be spread around to more children. Do you agree to these terms?” pressed Forester.
She shifted in her chair under the weight of their stares. She had never considered having kids with Brick, but it wasn’t that unreasonable.
“If I say yes, will I have to give up my rights to the children, like that Debbie chick did with Michael Jackson?”
“Well, you would—”
“Would that make a difference to you, if you had to?” Brick questioned, cutting his father off.
“I guess not, but...” her words trailed off when he got to his feet. “Where are you going?” she cried, fearfully.
“I’ll let you handle the minor details, Father. Don’t worry, I won’t run out on you,” he sneered as he turned to walk out. “Make sure you stay here. I don’t want to find you fucking the gardener, if you change your mind, later,” he tossed back over his shoulder before he left the room.
Forester saw the confusion in her sapphire eyes when she looked at him. He was well aware of why the topic and her non-straightforward response had set his son off. He cleared his voice and flicked on the recording device that was on the table.
“Now, let’s state again the terms of the arrangement for the taping and for the legal documents that will be drawn up later.”
CHAPTER THREE
An hour later, Lakyta was happy to see that her father had left the house. It didn’t surprise her that he hadn’t stuck around to give her a loving farewell. He had gotten what he wanted which was the connections and money that he thought joining her to Brick would bring. It was as if he had dropped off his dirty laundry, never to return to pick it up later. She retraced her footsteps to the stairs to reach the main floor. She wandered around like a lost child for the next thirty minutes while she pondered her thoughts. It wasn’t as if she was too upset about the change of events. At least she was going to marry a man that she kind of knew, and the fact that he was her age, and in the U.S. was a plus. Then there were the generous terms of the agreement to lift her spirits. She sent up a silent praise that her soon to be husband was also attractive, too. Her skin still crawled from the photo of the old man her father had originally arranged for her to marry. The fact that she was marrying Brick, a man that didn’t love her or she him, didn’t faze her a bit since that was going to be her fate no matter what.
Besides, a lot can happen in five years, she reminded herself.
And maybe he’ll hate you, while you fall for your secret crush and you’ll be rich, but with no kids in the end, the voice in her mind responded.
The little ray of light she had been holding onto was instantly covered by the gloomy clouds in her mind. With a frown, she turned the corner to find herself in the kitchen, but she wasn’t alone. There was a young boy sitting on a tall barstool at the end of a very clean marble countertop island. He was too focused on the piece of paper he was pushing back and forth over the shiny surface to notice her, until she was standing on the other side of the counter. When he lifted his head, she was looking into the same enthralling emerald green eyes as his father.
McCormac’s eyes widened at the sight of the dark-skinned woman. While she was pretty, it was the color of her eyes that got his attention.
“You’re black, so how come you have blue eyes?” he asked in childlike wonder.
She rolled her eyes and smiled. It was the honesty of children that she always found refreshing.
“I have no idea, but it’s my claim to fame.”
“They look really cool. They’re different…hey, do people think you’re a mutant or something?”
She broke out into a fit of laughter. The combination of what he said and how he said it, was just too much.
“I’ve been called many things, but a mutant, that’s a first. Although I’ve always wanted to be Storm from X-men or maybe Phoenix,” she admitted as she sat in a chair.
“Who’s that?”
“It’s Gene Gray’s other form.”
“Wow, she has another form? I hope it’s better than her regular one. She’s just like a woman…always crying she has a headache to keep from doing what’s needed,” he mumbled.
Her eyes widened. She was sure that comment came from overhearing his father speak, and she was sure he wasn’t complaining about a something non sexual.
“Yeah, I don’t like that about her, too,” she chuckled.
He stared at her. “Were you beat up a lot as a kid ‘cause you were different?”
She was taken back a bit by his question. “Not beaten up, but I was bullied. There were people that liked the fact that I was different and they used it…and then there were people that were nasty because of it.”
“What did you do?”
“At first, I acted really dumb and got into trouble over it. Then, I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I guess I just realized that I couldn’t change who I was, or how I looked, so the problem wasn’t mine, it was theirs.”
“Maybe,” he whispered as he nodded.
“Why are you in here?” she asked. She didn’t like the feeling the conversation was giving her. Althoug
h he was still little, she could see that he was a wise old soul that observed a hell of a lot.
“I was waiting for my Da to come down so I could eat lunch with him.”
“Oh,” she replied. She debated telling him that he was going to starve if he was waiting for Brick because he had left. Luckily, the loud rumbling of her stomach took center stage.
“Was that you?” McCormac laughed.
“Yes, yes it was,” she admitted while she got to her feet.
“How come you so hungry? Didn’t you eat breakfast?”
“I’m so hungry because my father sent me to bed with no dinner, and no breakfast this morning.”
He laughed, but stopped at the serious look she shot him. “Damn, that’s cold,” he said in awe.
She shook her head at his choice of words. She cautioned herself to not correct him. She hadn’t established herself as a part of the family yet, and she wasn’t his mother, either. She knew he was still watching her while she rummaged around in the large refrigerator.
“Oh, they have hamburgers already molded into that perfect size and shape. You want one?” she questioned with a smile as she turned around with the cover plate in her hand. Her smile slipped due to the hard frown he had on his face.
“You’re the one that’s going to marry my da?”
Lakyta sighed as she tossed the plate into the counter.
“My name is Lakyta, and the answer is yes. Listen, I know I’m not your mother, and you have good reason to be angry, because I was too just a little while ago. Don’t ask, maybe I’ll tell you the story when you’re older, but I really don’t want to fight, okay? I’m coming to a new family that I know nothing about. I’m a stranger in a new land, and I hope we can be friends ‘cause I don’t know if your Dad likes cartoon and video games as much as I do, and I—”
“Okay, okay, okay, okay…gosh,” he cried as he held up his still slightly chubby hands. “All that babbling is going to make my head explode,” he grumbled.
She clamped her mouth shut out of shock again over what he said that was far beyond his tender age.
“I have a few questions.”
He waited for her to nod.
“Do you spank?”
“Only as the last defense, so I’ll talk to you most of the time.”
“I’ll never push you to that point, then. Do you make sounds when you read stories?”
“I can.”
“Good,” he paused before he asked his final question. “Will you give me a brother? I’ll take a sister, if you give me that,” he added as an afterthought.
The little boy had picked up an awful lot from the men in his family. He was already working out deals.
“I’m sure that can be done…in a little time. I need to get know everybody, and the place, and—”
“Oh, don’t worry! I’ll help you with all of that,” he grinned, happily. He held out his hand for her to take. “The name is McCormac.”
“Nice to meet you,” she smirked as she shook it. She tilted her head, and narrowed her eyes. “Is McCormac your last name?”
“Yep,” he answered, taking back his hand.
“Then what’s your first name?”
He hopped down from his perch on the stool. “I don’t like my first name because my Ma gave it to me,” he replied in a thick voice. “Can I have one of those burgers?” he asked.
Lakyta gazed down into his big green eyes and swallowed. For a split second, she saw the pain in their depths.
“Cheese or no cheese?”
**
Brick opened the door slowly, and walked into his bedroom in his parents’ home. He stood silently by the door as he scanned the almost empty room until he found her sitting in the middle of the large sleigh bed. The room only had a bed, two nightstands, one tall dresser, a mirror on the wall, and leather chair, and the most important thing, a bar.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Lakyta gestured to her body.
His eyebrow went up as he took in the short t- shirt of his she was wearing.
“My father’s sending over my clothes tomorrow,” she mumbled.
He nodded. He walked slowly toward the small bar and poured himself a drink. She wanted to ask him where he had been all this time, but she didn’t feel that it was her place to do so.
“I didn’t think you would still be up,” he said, sheepishly.
“I couldn’t sleep.” And I wanted to see the time you got in, she wanted to say, but didn’t.
Brick sighed. He pushed the heavy chair over to the side of the bed and took a seat. He sipped on his whisky while he eyed her in the bed.
“Never in a million years would I have thought you would be sitting in my bed.”
His voice was deep. It seemed to vibrate through her body.
“Is it a bad image?”
The silence spread out between them.
“I didn’t say that, Lakyta.”
He got to his feet. He heard her sharp intake of breath. His eyes narrowed.
“What do you have on under my shirt?”
“Nothing.”
He closed his eyes at her response. By the time he opened them, he had his lust in check. Without another word, he retreated into the bathroom.
Lakyta took a ragged breath to calm herself. She rolled out of the bed, removed the extra pillows, walked over to the door, locked it, ran back to the bed, pulled back the covers and paused. Quickly, she ran over to the bar, turned up the bottle, took a few gulps, before she ran back to the bed, pulled off the shirt, and got back into bed. Ten minutes later, Brick strolled back into the room cleaned, refreshed, and nude.
“Yes, you do have a few.”
He glanced over toward the bed, and froze in his mid-step, his mouth hung open at the picture she created. There she was leaning against the cushioned headboard. She hadn’t even bothered to cover her full breasts with the covers. He could feel the blood rush to his cock. He saw her eyes on it as she watched it thicken and stiffen in a matter of seconds.
“Eager as ever, I see,” he smirked before he continued onward to the bar. A deep frown creased his forehead as he examined the whisky bottle.
“Did you need a drink for courage?”
“Just a little.”
His gaze darted between her and the half empty bottle in disbelief.
“I wasn’t going to fuck you tonight,” he informed her. He read her expression; it was rejection. “Not because I don’t want to, I just have an issue that makes the whole ordeal—”
“What is it?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. His dick was telling him to keep quiet and fuck the night away, but he had to know.
“It turns my stomach that you were willing to sign away your children for money.”
His words hit her like a slap across the face. She worked her mouth a few times before she was finally able to speak.
“I didn’t sign away my children, Brick…but at that moment, to be honest, I would have said anything if you and your Dad would have pressed it. I was fighting for my life, and I have nothing to bargain with. Shit, I have to wear your shirt and my underwear is hanging out to dry in your fucking bathroom because I have to wait for my clothes to come,” she hissed in anger. “All I can hope for is that at the end of the five years you’ll—”
“Have feelings for you?” he suggested with a raised eyebrow.
She paused to still the butterflies that took flight over the thought of that happening.
“That we might still be friends, and you wouldn’t hate me,” she said instead.
She knew she had dreamt of her school crush over the years, and whenever his name had come up in passing, her ears would burn to hear about him, but those were her feelings, not his.
Satisfied with her answer, he walked over to the bed, took hold of the covers, stopped, then thinking twice, he laid down on his side with his weight supported by his elbow, on top of them, instead. He acknowledged the change in her breathing at his closeness. Her reaction caused him t
o clench his jaw as he focused on the footboard of the bed. He kept his eyes hidden from her. Of course, he knew that she could see his throbbing cock, which was a normal response to a naked woman in your bed, but he didn’t want her to know the extent of his desire to be with her.
“Why did you leave school like that?” he asked out of the blue.
She stared at him a bit confused. From her upright angle in the bed, his hair kept most of his lower face hidden from her, but she was able to feast upon those damn lips of his.
“I…well, I…” she began in a weak voice. Her throat felt dry. “I kinda, no, that’s not true.” She was having a hard time getting her thoughts together with him sitting there in all his firm, muscular, tanned, tattooed glory with his at least eight inch, thick dick laying proudly along his hip. “Umm, I had a hard time fitting in at school,” she managed to say, at last.
“Really? You had friends, me included. You seemed fine.”
“Those girls were not friends, and you damn well know it. They were two faced, backstabbing bitches, and for me to seem fine, I had to drink every day, all day to cope with their shit and the pressures at home. I left and went to a school to help me deal with my drinking and tiny drug problem.”
Sweet Obsessions: His Beauty, Her Beast Page 4
