Stefan (The Marquette Family Book Three)

by Lockwood, Tressie

  “Stefan, what are you doing back here so soon? Jero—”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Talicia, but because you’re not alone and I don’t know who he is, I have to come in with Stefan. I apologize for my intrusion.”

  Jerome knew better than to apologize for Stefan’s.

  “It-it’s fine,” she murmured.

  The door clicked shut behind them, but Stefan’s attention was all for the man in front of him, the older man with slightly thinning hair, who had taken his shoes off and was swigging noisily from a can of beer and sporting an obvious hard-on. He eyeballed Stefan around the can, nervous and sweating but arrogant. A touch overweight but probably still appealing to women, the African American man wore a tailored suit, which said he had money. A lingering scent of cigars wafted from his direction.

  “Who are you?” the man said after he swallowed.

  “Stefan.” He tried to muster a smile but failed. That was a rare occurrence for him. “You?”

  Talicia rushed over to Stefan’s side. “Stefan, this is my business partner, Kevin Williams.”

  Just business, she had said. As far as he knew, Talicia never conducted business at home. Why would she? “Perhaps I’ve interrupted something.”

  “No,” she began.

  “Yes,” the man snapped. “Talicia and I were about to have a little conversation.”

  Stefan raised his eyebrows. “A conversation?”

  Talicia glared at the man. “Kevin, don’t start crap that doesn’t need to be started.”

  “Where’s Tyjon?” Stefan asked.

  “He’s got a date. Anyway, what are you doing back here? You usually disappear longer. Was there something you needed, another booking? Stop by the club and—”

  She must have seen his jaw tighten and let the words die away on her own. He folded his arms over his chest. “I’m more interested in the conversation you and your partner intend to have here at your apartment rather than at the club.”

  The man laughed and shook the empty can. He held it out to Talicia. “Get me another one, would you, baby?”

  “Baby?” Stefan growled.

  Talicia swore. She ignored the can and held up her hands to Stefan. “It’s not what you think, Stefan. He calls every woman baby. The man’s a chauvinist.”

  Kevin cackled. “Damn, Talicia. You know how to cut a man down, but that’s what I like about you. Yeah, I call every woman baby, but you’re special.”

  He sidled over to her and smacked her on the ass. Stefan lost focus for a second, but when he came to himself, he held Kevin up in the air with his feet dangling above the floor. Jerome zipped over to him and touched his arm.

  “Boss, I got this,” Jerome said.

  “No, I do.” Stefan cracked Kevin across the jaw and sent him falling backward to land on the couch. The softness of the cushions might have broken his fall, but the impact of Stefan’s fist knocked him out cold. Stefan spun away from the jackass to face Talicia, and he froze.

  She stood before him with her fists raised, feet spread apart, mouth tight. Her eyes were wide with pain and hurt but also with the same determination he had seen a thousand times. All his anger ebbed away.

  “If you even think about hitting me,” she said through clenched teeth, “I’m going to tell you right now, I can defend myself. I have taken down guys as big as you before.”

  Stefan’s mouth fell open. “I have never nor would I ever hit you. Why would you think that?”

  He saw the tears welling, but she widened her eyes to combat them. Her fists were still high, but they wavered. She swallowed several times.

  “I don’t want to fight you, Stefan, but I will.”

  He sighed. “Jerome, take him out for me.”

  “On it.” Jerome hauled Kevin over his shoulder.

  “Wait a minute,” Talicia cried out. “What are you doing? Stefan, you can’t just waltz into my apartment and do what you want to. Jerome, put him down.”

  In her agitation, she dropped her fists, and Stefan snaked a hand out to grasp her wrist and draw her to him. She struggled in his arms and punched him in the solar plexus. All the breath left his body. He felt like he’d been hit by a prizefighter.

  Stefan gritted his teeth and bore it until the door shut behind Jerome and Kevin. Then he released Talicia. Right away, she put space between them, her anger at an all time high.

  “I don’t like being manhandled.”

  “I’m your husband.”

  “Don’t even pull that shit. Why did you come back here, and what did you hit him for? You and I are just lovers, and that’s all. I told you—”

  “I know. It’s a piece of paper that we share. You’re right, Licia, but I take that paper seriously. I want to know if you’ve been sleeping with him behind my back.”

  “No, I haven’t.” She spun away. He was tempted to drag her back to face him, but his side burned. Damn, the woman was strong.

  “Then what was going on tonight? He seemed to think he had a right to touch you.”

  “He smacked my butt. It’s nothing football players haven’t done a million times.”

  “You’re not playing ball, and this isn’t a field,” he snapped.

  She faced him. “Why would you believe me? Nothing I say will make a difference.”

  “Try me.”

  For a few moments, she said nothing. He almost thought she would ignore him and let him think what he wanted to, but he refused to leave without an explanation. If that meant he had to keep her from rearranging his internal organs with her punch so be it.

  She sighed and walked to the dining room to flop onto a chair. “He asked if he could stay the night.”

  Stefan ground his teeth.

  “Not like that. He had an argument with the ho he brought to his house. The police were called, some drama, and she got to stay, but he had to go. They said something about she’d have trouble finding a place to sleep with the baby, but he would be fine for one night. So he came to me.”

  “You’re home early.”

  “I drove him over here. The ho apparently busted his windshield too.” She rubbed a hand over her face.

  “Licia.” He moved to stand in front of her. Desire came over him to touch her. No matter what she told him that bastard who wanted Talicia, and Stefan told her so.

  “I know, all right?” She stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. “The reason I looked crazy when you came in was because the fool had just tried to come onto me. I was about to beat him down, but you knocked.”

  Stefan rubbed his side. “I wish you had hit him rather than me.”

  “I thought you were going to attack me.”

  “I never have.”

  “Yeah, but experiences die hard.”

  He raised her chin, taking in her small build, wide eyes, and soft vulnerable mouth. “Has someone hurt you?”

  “Too many to count.”

  He stiffened, but she patted his chest.

  “Easy, Stefan. Not lately. If anyone tried, I wouldn’t have stopped with one hit like I did with you. I would have put him in the hospital. Unfortunately, I can’t do that with my partner, but he would have felt pain tonight thinking he could grab on me.”

  Stefan ran a hand over her ass and squeezed. “I don’t want another man touching you or smacking your butt.”

  She smirked. “I know.”

  “Licia.”

  “I hear you, Stefan. Don’t worry. I don’t have any interest in anyone else.”

  “And.” He hesitated. If he started dictating her actions, she’d be liable to do the opposite just to prove her independence. Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from voicing his concern. The memory of that asshole’s dick tenting his pants drove Stefan insane. “I don’t want him to stay here, not even for a night.”

  “I know.” She laughed at his expression and patted his chest again. “He won’t stay ever. I learned my lesson. It gave the fool ideas, but he was drunk. I doubt he’ll look at me like that tomorrow when he’s sober. Either
way, he should have enough money to stay in a hotel if the skank didn’t spend it all.”

  “Thank you.” He drew her closer and kissed her lips. “About that punch…”

  “I’m sorry. I know you’re not the type to hit, but I forgot for a minute. I was so mad because it was like I’d been caught doing something wrong. I’m not the one that was wrong. He was. Stefan, you’re my only lover, okay? That’s never been an issue with us.”

  He nodded. “I believe and trust you.”

  “That punch though. You knocked him out in one blow. He’s going to feel it tomorrow.”

  “I hope he won’t start any trouble because of it.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Let him try and see if I don’t give him another experience just the same. I’m not playing with Kevin. I have to put up enough with his stupidity. Coming on to me is way more than I’m willing to take.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him?”

  She stood on her tiptoes and hung her arms about his neck. Stefan encircled her waist and raised her off her feet. Her soft body aligned with his, and his cock swelled. She made a small noise of pleasure that took his desire to the next level, but then she wiggled to get down. With reluctance, he set her on her feet.

  “No, I can handle it. Now, are you going to tell me what this visit is about?”

  “Come away with me, Talicia, just you and me where no one will get in between us. Where we can enjoy each other’s bodies sunup and sundown. Where we can work out what it is that keeps us bound together.”

  Chapter Seven

  “So are you going to go, sis?” Tyjon asked as he held a compact in his hand and touched up his eye shadow. “I hear Cancun is nice. I wouldn’t know because my last boyfriend was stingy even though he made all this money.”

  “Bitter much, Ty?” Talicia hardly paid him any mind. She’d turned the lights lower in the office and watched over the club floor. Tonight, Kevin had come just like she knew he would. She’d thought to convince him to do something other than get on her last nerve. That all changed when he woke up to realize Stefan had knocked his gold tooth loose. He had had to go to the dentist to have it repaired, and it was a good thing she refused to tell him Stefan’s last name. The drama wouldn’t have ended.

  Instead, she had to deal with his pissy attitude because he was embarrassed Stefan got the better of him. She grinned remembering. Yeah, she’d been scared and upset that Stefan was mad at her. Not once in all the time she’d known him had she ever been afraid of his size. He was huge but so excessively sweet. The other night when he thought she was cheating on him, he’d been scary.

  Big men like Stefan went down as easy as any of the smaller men. Talicia hadn’t spent all that time training her body for nothing. The issue was it was him and how much she loved him. She’d almost cried too. Years had passed since she shed tears, and as much as it hurt loving Stefan and knowing they didn’t have a future, she had held in the pain and kept it to herself.

  When Stefan realized she thought he was going to hit her, he looked so ashamed. Damn, that’s why she loved him. The man never wanted her to be afraid of him. The idea was inconceivable, and all she wanted after that was to be in his arms. Of course, Stefan complicated matters by asking her to go on a trip with him. They had never done anything except drive straight from the club to her apartment. Not one date.

  “Well, Licia? Are you going to go away with Stefan or not?”

  “Are you worried?”

  She squinted, trying to see what Kevin was doing. The bald man he spoke with looked familiar, but she couldn’t see his face. Suspicion made her keep watching them, and sure enough it looked like he gave Kevin something.

  “I know they’re not trading drugs in my club.” Talicia charged toward the door, but Tyjon yelped and threw his makeup aside to run after her. He caught her before she could do more than open the door.

  “Don’t go down there, girl,” he begged. “Drug people are crazy dangerous.”

  “I’m dangerous. Kevin doesn’t even try to keep this club going, and he’s risking the police coming up in here.”

  “Then ask him later.”

  “He’ll lie.”

  “So he’s going to tell the truth with the drug dealer right there?”

  She hesitated. Her brother was right. Kevin would deny it either way, and she risked pissing off the dealer. Better to point him out and tell the others he wasn’t allowed back. If stupid Kevin wanted to do drugs, he could do it on his own time where it wouldn’t risk her livelihood.

  “This is why I can’t stand him,” she grumbled. “I wish I could go back in time and say no when he wanted to come in on our plan.”

  Tyjon shut the door and wandered over to the couch to look for his makeup. Talicia would kill him if he had stained the leather. “We didn’t have enough money to start it by ourselves.”

  She sucked her teeth. “I’d have figured it out one way or another. I always do.”

  “Yeah, you would do, Licia. You’re smart. Don’t worry either because Kevin will get bored soon enough and we won’t see him for two or three months.”

  “I’m hoping.”

  “He’s not stupid. He won’t risk doing anything too crazy to risk the club.”

  She eyed her brother.

  “Okay, he’s not overly stupid. Anyway, who knows? He might really get bored and sell out to us.”

  “That will never happen. One of his ho’s would spend all the money he made in a week. He needs steady income, and this club provides it. I don’t see him walking away anytime soon.”

  “Damn.” Tyjon blew a kiss at his reflection in the compact. “What if we ask Jerome to kill him?”

  “Tyjon!”

  “You think I’m joking? Those guys are killers.”

  “What guys?”

  “Those…uh…” Her brother looked like he was thinking up an excuse. Then his face cleared. “It stands to reason if Stefan has a bodyguard his brothers do. In fact, I saw pictures of them online. There’s this whole fan site devoted to the bodyguards. Let me bring it up for you.”

  “Never mind. I’m not interested.”

  “Girl, they’re huge, except one of them. I want me one.”

  “Are any of them gay?”

  “Who knows, but I’m always willing to convert.”

  “You or him.”

  Her brother looked scandalized. “Him! You know good and well coochie don’t do it for me.”

  “Don’t be gross, Ty. Look, I can’t help it. I have to get down there. I just don’t feel right if I’m not floor level watching everything. Don’t have a conniption. I’m not going to approach Kevin. I’ll see you later.”

  “Wait, Licia. Tell me at least if you’re going to go on vacation with Stefan. If you don’t, can you give me your ticket?”

  Talicia kept walking down the stairs. No sense in answering his outrageous suggestion. The night passed slowly for Talicia because she kept thinking of Stefan. Really, from the moment he asked her to take a vacation with him, she was on board. She’d told him she had to think about it, but days spent with the two of them alone? Hell yes!

  They could go wherever she wanted, he’d said, and he would foot the bill. She’d fussed that she could afford to pay her own way, but he had stubbornly refused. Then she pulled the thing about needing time to think about it because she was a busy woman. Sure, she was busy but not so much she couldn’t find someone to run the club for a week.

  The more she dreamed about it, the more she went through her wardrobe in her head, considering what she would take. Stefan had suggested some place warm, and so had Tyjon. Her on a beach in a bikini was comical, but she wouldn’t mind a wrap and a one piece.

  Talicia’s head was scarcely on the job as she locked the door behind the last person. Then she recalled she needed to recheck the men’s bathroom. Some people got notions about hanging out after hours in a bar and getting drunk for free. The bouncers made the rounds, but sometimes they got sloppy. That’s why she stayed on them
. Talicia pressed a hand to her mouth yawning and stretched the other arm over her head. She looked toward the DJ booth and made a signal. Cut the music. Quiet was what she craved, and her pillow so she could think about the trip.

  Just as she was about to go around to the back hall that led to the bathroom, a man stepped out in front of her. She jerked to a stop and frowned. “We’re closed, sir.”

  The bald head, height, and the black dress shirt told her this was the man Kevin had been dealing with earlier. Talicia went on alert and tried to recall if all the bouncers had left. At least the DJ should still be in his booth, and he might be watching right now. He had access to his cell phone and the landline if need be to call the police.

  Baldy strolled over to the bar and bent to the side to look under the counter. He pulled out a bottle of vodka and twisted the cap. “I wanted to talk to you about a business proposition.”

  “I discuss business between five p.m. and two a.m. As I said, we’re closed. Now you have five seconds to put that back before I call the police.” She preferred not to start out with threatening to beat anyone’s ass. As much as she knew how to fight, she didn’t like to. Handling things legally was better.

  He grinned at her as he set a glass on the counter and began pouring. “You don’t want to get the police involved. See, Kevin’s given the go ahead. He assures me it’s all good, but I like to get it from the real boss’s mouth.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “If you think flattering me will get you anywhere, you’re wrong.” Talicia started to raise her hand to signal to the DJ.

  “Your brother Tyjon. He’s a nice guy…uh…girl. What does he prefer? Never mind. I know you want him safe, right?”

  “You’re threatening my brother?” The bottle shattered on the floor because she leaped at him and slammed him against the back mirror. More glass broke, and the rack holding a small collection of rare brands joined the rest of the mess. Talicia didn’t care about any of it. “Do you know how many people I’ve met over the years who thought they could hurt Tyjon and get away with it?”