Believe in Me Read online

  “But—”

  I gave her the eye.

  “Okay,” she relented. “I will.”

  “Thank you.” That went a lot easier than I expected. Maybe it was because she was exhausted and had no energy to do anything. “And tomorrow, we’re staying in bed and drinking milkshakes.”

  “That sounds nice.” She grabbed my shirt and tugged on it, telling me she wanted me to take it off.

  “You aren’t getting laid tonight.”

  Both of her eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

  “That will be your punishment. That way you’ll never do something that stupid again.” I stripped down to my boxers then got into bed beside her.

  “I get what I want, when I want.” She tried to move on top of me.

  I shoved her off. “I’m not in the mood, Trinity. I don’t think you could get me hard if you tried.”

  She flinched like she was hurt. “And why not…?”

  “Because you scared the shit out of me,” I barked. “That’s why. I told you not to diet but you did it anyway. You went behind my back.”

  “I said I was sorry.”

  “Apologizing doesn’t make up for a hospital visit or the fact you scared the shit out of me and your family.”

  She turned on her side and ran her fingers down my arm. “I just wanted to be perfect for you. You’re so handsome and sexy, and I didn’t want to be the girl everyone looked at and wondered what you saw in me…”

  I turned to her in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

  “Every time we go out, girls dog me when they see me with you. Every concert you have is full of girls who say I’m not pretty enough for you. I just want…wanted to make sure I looked my best.”

  That was a load of crap. “You’re the one out of my league, Trinity.”

  “No. Every girl hates me because I’m the one girl you actually settled for. Do you have any idea how many other girls wished you’d fallen in love with them when you fucked them? All of them. But you settled for me. And I want to prove to them and you that I was a good one to settle for.”

  “You’re crazy,” I said seriously. “I’m just some loser with a bunch of tatts. Sure, I have a nice body and I’m ridiculously good looking, but there’s still no comparison, baby.”

  “My point is, I just wanted you to look at me when I walked down the aisle and think that I was beautiful.”

  I turned to her and pulled her close to me. “I promise you, I’m going to think that anyway. You want to know why?”

  She nodded.

  “Because I think it every morning when you wake up without wearing make up or combing your hair. Because I think it even when you cry and smear all your make up. Because I think it even on the days you claim to be hideous. That’s why.”

  She ran her fingers through my hair while she stared at me in adoration. Then she kissed the skin of my chest, her lips burning me when they connected with my skin. Her hair moved across my body, tantalizing me with its softness.

  All the anger I had toward her was gone. Now I just wanted to have her, to feel the area between her legs and claim it as mine. I wanted to connect our bodies together, to feel our souls dance.

  I rolled on top of her then pinned her legs back as far as they would go. Like a magnet to steel, my cock found her entrance and slid inside. A moan came from deep within my throat and I felt the pleasure stretch everywhere. I leaned over her and pressed my face close to hers.

  Her arms wrapped around my neck and she kissed me slowly. “I love you.”

  I wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted her from the bed, pulling her onto my cock over and over. “I love you.”

  Chapter Five

  Silke

  I headed to Arsen’s shop then walked inside. Mechanics were working on the cars outside, and the receptionist immediately looked at me. When he recognized me and knew I was there to speak to Arsen, he didn’t talk to me.

  I walked across the checkered tile then approached his door. Unsure if I should just walk in, I knocked.

  “Come in,” he called.

  I entered then saw him sitting at his large desk. Papers were scattered around the surface, and judging the way his hair was messy he’d been having a long day. “I can leave if you’re busy…”

  He gave me a smile that melted my panties right off my legs. “Get your ass in here.”

  I shut the door then came around his desk. As I walked, I noticed the pictures on the surface. There was one of Abby and I at the beach. We finished the sandcastle and it was in the background. I remember Arsen taking that picture.

  “It’s a good picture, huh?” He snatched me then pulled me onto his lap. My dress flew up at the movement and my ass was exposed.

  “Ooh…what do we have here?” His large hand moved to my ass and covered both cheeks.

  I immediately felt his hard-on form in his slacks. “How’s your day going?”

  “So much better.” He massaged the muscle then stretched his fingers around until he found my clitoris. He rubbed it gently. “How about you?”

  “Really good,” I said as I enjoyed the sensual way he touched me.

  “It seems like it.” His eyes smoldered but there was a playfulness deep within.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a deep and sensual kiss. “I missed you…”

  “I always miss you.” He kissed the corner of my mouth and kept rubbing me.

  “You need to stop,” I said. “Otherwise I’m not leaving until you fuck me as hard as you can on this desk.”

  His eyes lightened noticeably. “I’ll make sure it gets done.” His fingers pulled away my thong then slipped inside me. He used two fingers immediately, knowing I was already wet.

  I tried not to let the pleasure distract me. “You seemed…irritated before I came in here.”

  “Just been stressed—that’s all.”

  I had a feeling I knew what he was stressed about. “She won’t come around?”

  “I don’t want to talk about her,” he said immediately. “Not when I’m inside you.” He pushed his fingers deep inside.

  “Can we talk about it afterward?”

  “We can. If you’ll be coherent.” He stood up then placed me on the desk. While one hand moved my thong over, he got his slacks undone and pulled his cock out. Then he pulled me to the edge and slipped inside me. “Always so tight but so wet…” He gripped my hips and slammed into me.

  I bit my lip so I wouldn’t make a sound as he pounded into me hard. For the past few months, all we’d been doing was making love. But now the lust came to the surface and we just wanted to fuck each other’s brains out. Arsen looked at me the way he did on that night we first met. I walked inside that bar, he looked at me, and I knew he wanted to fuck me just like this.

  “Beauty…you feel so good.” His cock stretched me every time he entered me. He moved one hand to my clitoris and rubbed it with his thumb. “Try not to scream.”

  The orgasm hit me hard in the center and made my legs shake. It felt amazing and I pulled him further into me, loving the fact he was hitting me in just the right spot. “Beast…” I felt the wetness pool and knew I came all over his dick.

  He pumped into me harder and I knew he was about to fill me. He leaned over the desk and sealed my mouth with a kiss. Then he tensed and released, filling me with his warm goodness. He inserted himself as far as he could go and released everything he had. “Mmm…” He pulled out of me then cleaned himself off with the tissues from his desk. I did the same then returned to his lap.

  He held me close to him then kissed my bare shoulder. “I’m in a much better mood now.”

  “I can tell.”

  “Your pussy is fucking amazing. I could fuck it all day.”

  “That would be nice,” I said seriously.

  “When I get home, that’s what we’ll do.” His hand moved up my dress again and back to my ass.

  “You’re definitely an ass man,” I said.

  “Or a Silke man,”
he said. “Because I like your ass, your tits, and we just talked about how much I love your pussy.”

  My stomach felt warm.

  “So, what brings you here?” he asked. “I forgot to ask.”

  “No reason.” I massaged his shoulders. “I just wanted to see you.”

  “That’s a good reason to me.” He kissed my neck then pulled away.

  “So, she’s not coming around?” Arsen didn’t like to talk about it but I needed to know what was going on.

  “No,” he said sadly. “She won’t give me joint custody.”

  “Did she say why?”

  “She thinks I’ll try to get full custody afterwards. Honestly, it’s something I didn’t even think about. But after what she did to me, she thinks that will be my next move.”

  “And that’s it?” I asked incredulously. “You can never get her?”

  He shrugged. “Mike offered to help me but I can’t take his offer.”

  “What did he offer?”

  “To pay her off.”

  That sounded about right. “How much?”

  “A million.”

  I whistled. “It’s safe to say my family loves you.”

  “He said he was doing it for Abby. He doesn’t want her to have a guardian who’s clearly crazy.”

  “And because they love you.”

  “Maybe that has something to do with it…”

  “Are you going to take his offer?”

  “I really don’t want to. I really, really don’t.”

  “Well, Mike wouldn’t have offered that if he didn’t want to do it,” I reasoned.

  “Even so, I can’t take that kind of money from someone, especially when it’s my problem.”

  “It’s not just your problem,” I said. “It’s everyone’s problem. That little girl is going to be my daughter someday. I need to fight for her.”

  A smile broke out on his lips. “And having a family with you is what I want most. Even then, I can’t take money if I don’t intend to pay it back. Ryan gave me a lot but I paid back every penny. A million…I’ll never be able to pay that back. Well, I could but it would take my entire lifetime.”

  “What else are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Worse come to worse, I was going to let things stay the same until Abby becomes older and more knowledgeable. If she really doesn’t want to stay with her mother she doesn’t have to. She can choose to live with me.”

  “That’s a long way away…”

  “I know,” he said. “But there’s not much else I can do.”

  I continued to rub his shoulders. “It’s not fair. You’re such a better parent than she is.”

  “I hate the fact I served prison time even more,” he whispered. “And I’m dreading the day I have to tell Abby about it.”

  “Why would you?”

  “She’s going to ask about my past. I’d rather be honest with her.”

  “I guess.” I ran my fingers through his hair then kissed the corner of his mouth. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work.” I started to move out of his lap.

  He snatched me back. “Or you could say here and keep my lap warm…”

  “You mean hard?” I asked.

  “Same difference.” He kissed the area over my ear and gave me shivers.

  “No, if I don’t get out of here we’re just going to have sex all day.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.”

  “And then the room is going to reek of sex.”

  “Even better,” he said with a playful grin.

  I managed to get out of his lap. “Call me when you’re off.”

  “I will. Dinner at my place?”

  “Sure.”

  He stood up and leaned over the desk as he kissed me. Then his hand snatched my upper arm and he dragged me back around the desk.

  “Arsen, no.”

  He came around then bent me over the desk. Then he thrust himself inside me.

  I didn’t fight it because it felt so good. “Fuck me just like that.”

  “You got it, Beauty.”

  ***

  I arrived at Lydia’s doorstep with a heavy heart. I had extremely low expectations of the outcome of this conversation. She was unable to reason or have logical conversations. It would more than likely blow up in my face. But I had to do something for Arsen.

  Not only was I doing this because I loved him but because he was an amazing father. He deserved to have legal right to care for Abby. He may have messed up in the beginning and behaved like a coward but he made up for what he did.

  He deserved forgiveness.

  I stared at the door for a long time before I finally knocked. After I heard the sound, there was no going back. I sincerely hoped Lydia didn’t pull my hair or attempted a catfight. Because I wouldn’t reframe from kicking her ass. She tried to take my man away and I was still pissed off about it.

  I would always be pissed off about it.

  She opened the door and stared at me with narrow eyes. “Yes?” Her voice was cold, like she wanted to scratch my face with her long nails.

  “Hello, Lydia,” I said pleasantly. “I was hoping we could talk if you aren’t busy.”

  “I’m a single mother. I’m always busy.”

  I ignored her attempt to pull the victim card. “May I come inside?”

  “I think this is close enough.” She crossed her arms over her chest and blocked the doorway like I might try to get inside. “Did you come here to talk or just stare?”

  Why did Arsen sleep with her to begin with? She was a terrible person. “I came here in the hope you and I could be friends.”

  “Friends?” she asked in surprise.

  “Yes, friends,” I said. “I would really like it if we put the past behind us and move on. As Abby’s mother, you’re really important to her. I want Abby to see us get along. It would make me happy.” It was painful to ask for a friendship when I despised her.

  “I tried to make Arsen mine and you’re willing to let that go?” Disbelief was in her voice.

  “It’s in the past,” I said calmly. “I’m not one to hold a grudge.”

  “It’s something worth having a grudge over…”

  “Well, I really want you and Arsen to get along. And I really want you and I to get along. If we could move forward, we could be a family—all of us. That would make Abby happy.”

  “I think you’re just trying to talk me into giving Arsen joint custody.”

  “I shouldn’t have to talk you into that at all,” I said simply. “He’s a great father and he deserves it anyway. If something happened to you, she should go to Arsen. He did help make her. He deserves to have some legal right.”

  “You think you’re going to convince me to do anything?”

  I smiled. “You don’t have many friends, huh?”

  Her eyes turned cold.

  “Instead of assuming everyone is out to get you or bring you down, you should just trust people. Unlike you, Arsen doesn’t want to damage your relationship with Abby. All he wants is to make what he has with Abby stronger. Do you really not see that?”

  She kept her arms across her chest.

  “I think if you made an effort, you and I could be friends. And you wouldn’t have to feel threatened by me anymore. No matter what you do or say, Arsen and I are gong to be together forever. The sooner you accept that, the happier you’ll be. The fact I came down here to talk to you shows what kind of character I have, and that should be a type of role model Abby should have in her life. Instead of thinking about yourself all the time, think about her.”

  My words weren’t helping. In fact, they were only making her angry. She pushed her lips tightly together like she was about to burst like a kernel in the microwave.

  “You’re about to go to war with Arsen and I. Believe me, we have very powerful allies. Allies who could make your life totally miserable. So, think twice before you fuck with me.”

  “Fuck with you?” she asked in surprise. “
Who are these precious allies?”

  “The Prestons and their empire. Google them if you don’t know who they are.” I marched off, knowing I wasted enough time accomplishing nothing.

  Chapter Six

  Conrad

  Dad came into my office then sat down. “Trinity is doing better. Apparently, Slade is shoving donuts down her throat as we speak.”

  “Good,” I said. “Trinity was never very bright.”

  “I’m glad she loves her passion so much but I always feared she would get caught up in the superficial bullshit. She’s such a beautiful girl that I don’t understand how she could possibly doubt her appearance.”

  “Like I said, she’s not very bright.”

  He shot me a glare. “Now isn’t the time for jokes, Conrad.”

  “What? She’s okay so what’s the big deal?”

  “She’s your sister,” he said. “That’s the big deal.”

  “And I love her very much,” I said. “But she’ll always be an idiot to me.”

  Dad dropped the argument. “The Peterson’s invited us to a charity gala this weekend. We’re going.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “Dad, are you asking me to be your date?”

  He rolled his eyes and didn’t bother to respond. “Your mother and I are going, Skye and Cayson are going, and I need you to come along.”

  “What about Sean?”

  “He can’t make it.”

  “What’s he doing?”

  He dodged the question. “Bring a date.”

  “Why?”

  “It looks better if you bring a date. It’s about your image.”

  “Well, I don’t have anyone to bring.”

  He rubbed his chin. “What about that fuck buddy you’ve been messing around with?”

  “Well, she and I are just friends.”

  “You can bring a friend to a charity gala. Besides, I want to meet her.”

  “Dad, she’s off limits.”

  He cringed. “First of all, I’m very happy with your mother. And secondly, I’m not a pedophile.”

  “She’s way older than eighteen.”

  “Even so, not my type.”

  “You’re only into old ladies?”

  “I prefer to call them MILF’s.”

  I laughed. “Whatever you say, Dad.”