Echoes & Ink: Raven by Emily Rose
Chapter Twelve
SLOAN
Irritation bursts through me at her assumption I have some sort of angle going. What the hell? Can’t a guy just be nice and try and help out without someone thinking they have an ulterior motive?
I narrow my eyes at her. “Maybe because you need help, you’re trying to be Superwoman and do it all yourself when you don’t have to?” I answer irritably. “Why can’t you just let me help, Raven? Don’t you think that for Falcon you could put aside your ego?”
Her eyes flash furiously and I briefly wonder if I’m going to leave without my balls after all. Knew I should have worn that cup. Even looked at it before I headed over here.
“My ego?” she snarls. “You think this has anything to do with my ego, Sloan? You’re even more of a fucking idiot than I thought. Apparently those good looks of yours are just a distraction to hide your tiny brain. This has everything to do with you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. This has nothing to do with Falcon. Falcon will be fine without you and I putting on some sham. Hell, it will probably do more damage.”
“Or it will let Falcon know that you’ll do anything to make sure he’s safe and won’t be ripped away again,” I snap. I can see my words hit their mark when she stiffens. I use it to my advantage and stalk over to her. “You’re fooling yourself if you think that bitch is going to leave things be, and believe you’re handling things with Falcon perfectly. At least if you and I pretend to be together, then you have a better chance to convince her to get off your back faster. It looks like more stability for Falcon, and he won’t have to be put through endless questions about how you’re taking care of him.”
I stand in front of her, looking down, ignoring the way my cock twitches in my pants as her scent hits me. She smells of something warm and simple, not whatever perfumes and overpowering scents most women I know like to use. It’s a bit distracting, but I push it aside when she all but snaps her teeth at me.
“You like to assume a lot of things, Sloan. Have you ever thought maybe I just don’t trust you? Why should I, after what you pulled earlier? Instead of trusting me, you had someone dig up dirt on me.”
“I apologized and told you I didn’t actually find anything out,” I roar, furious.
“Like it matters,” she roars back, her eyes so dark they are almost black as she steps into me further, mere inches separating us. I can feel the angry waves rolling off of her. “You’re just like every other man I know. You think I don’t know my own mind and can’t take care of myself. That I need you and your magical dick to fix all my problems. You come in, do the damage, and then you’re gone, leaving me to pick up the pieces. Well let me tell you something, Sloan Lincoln, I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone. I can handle this shit on my own. So take your tiny dick and get the fuck out.”
“No,” I refuse, fury rushing through me. Both at her dismissal and the fact she can’t seem to see past the fact I’m not here to hurt her. That I only want to help her. “Fuck that, Raven. I’m here offering you help, to take that burden off of your shoulders a bit, and you fight me at every fucking turn. You always have some sort of excuse. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to fuck with Falcon and make his life harder than it is. I’m trying to make it easier.”
“You’re trying to take control,” she returns.
“Son of a bitch, you’re impossible,” I hiss, stepping back and shaking my head. “Someone is trying to give you a solution and you’re too stubborn to even consider it. I’m not some dick off the street. You know me, you know my family, and you’re friends with my sister. I am offering you something other people would kill for. The chance to make sure you don’t lose your brother, the chance to actually not have to struggle for once in your life. Do you not realize the connections a fake relationship with me gives you? How many doors that could open?”
“I don’t want your connections or money,” she tells me icily. “I refuse to take a dime from you.”
“Which is why I have no problem offering it to you,” I tell her in the same icy tone. “Do you know how many women throw themselves at me because of my money? Because of my connections? Here I am offering to you on a silver platter, and you’re refusing.”
“Most men don’t offer that shit without a price tag.”
I go rigid at her insinuation. “I don’t want shit from you, Raven. Anyone who does that is scum. I don’t want sex or some sort of servitude from you because I’m being a nice guy. I want to help, and I have the means to. You just have to lower your guard and let me in. You need to trust me.”
“I don’t trust anyone,” she suddenly bellows, her entire body shaking with the volume of her statement. I’m glad this place is well insulated and sound-proofed because otherwise the neighbors would be getting a hell of a show. “Why should I fucking trust a single person? No one stays, no one does anything but lie or treat me like dirt. The very people that were supposed to take care of me, love me, and protect me couldn’t even do that. Why would you be any different? How could you be any better?”
Her words are like a punch to the gut. Raven looks shocked at her admission, and I can see her eyes flash with so many emotions it’s hard to pin them down. Shame, anger, distrust, and an overwhelming pain that I can’t even begin to fathom.
“Raven,” I say softly, gently.
She holds up her hand and looks away. I can see her hand trembling and everything in me is shouting to grab her and pull her close. To wrap her up in my arms, tell her she’s safe, and no one is going to hurt her again; but I can’t do that. Not because I'm afraid she’ll knee me in the balls, but because I know she won’t believe me.
“My life has been nothing but a shit-show since the day I was born, Sloan. I struggled, I kicked, screamed, and clawed my way out to where I am now. This farce you want to portray could kick it all out from underneath me if they find out. Lying to the government is not considered a responsible thing to do. Asking Falcon to lie too is also being a bad sister and setting him up to pay for my mistakes. I can’t do that to him. I can’t chance they will take him away and move him to some group home, or worse, back to my uncle. I can’t, and I won’t. I appreciate your help today, Sloan, I do, but I need to do this on my own. Not just for myself, but for Falcon.”
Her words ring in my ears and I know she has a point, but I can’t seem to let it go. Something in my gut is telling me if I walk right now, I’ll regret it. I’ll prove that I’m one more person that won’t fight for her; someone else she can’t count on. There’s more there, under the surface, and I know I’m not going to like it, but I also know I won’t get it out of her tonight. Even if I did, she’ll hate me for it.
Carefully, I move back towards her and say calmly, “Babe, I need you to understand where I’m coming from. The Lincoln name carries weight. You know it does. Us being together, even if it’s fake, it will speak volumes to show how stable Falcon’s life will be with you. Let me help. Let me make sure you don’t have to watch them take Falcon out that door and never let you see him again. I will prove that you can trust me, and even after we do this fake-breakup, I will still be around if you need me. Hell, if Falcon needs me. Even as someone to yell at and take shit out on. I’ve got big shoulders and I can handle it. Stop being so stubborn and let me in.”
Raven is silent, not looking at me. She’s looking across the room at the open windows and staring at the city lights below. I can’t read her mind, and her expression gives nothing away. So I stand and wait, but it gives me a chance to really look at Raven. Something I’ve never really done before.
I don’t think I’ve ever noticed how beautiful she is. She might not be the type of woman I normally would spend time with, but she’s definitely caught my attention. I remember the day I met her at Fire & Ink. I thought she was a sexy little piece of work with a smart, sassy mouth, and a wild spirit that drew guys to her like moths to a flame. I even contemplated asking her out, but then I found out she and Ash were friends and quickly put that out of my head.
Now, I’m wondering if that might have something to do with my need to help her. Normally, a woman tells me no and I’m gone. I don’t push, but why else would I be risking my dick and my sanity? Raven isn’t going to be easy. She’s going to fight me at every turn, and we’ll probably end up killing each other before the end of this.
Or, it might be the best ride of my life.
I take in her long black hair that she’s left down. It flows to the middle of her back, with soft curls that make me wonder if they’re as soft as they look. Her long t-shirt does nothing to hide her slim body, clinging to her shoulders and floating down to mid-thigh. Is she only wearing panties under that? A sudden blast of heat rushes through me at the thought.
I take in her toned legs and wonder briefly if they would also be smooth. I wonder what they would feel like wrapped around me? Would they fit completely around, or not quite? My belly clenches at the idea of having her wrapped around me. I move my gaze up to where her loose shirt skims over her small waist and the curve of her breasts. I can just make out her nipples, telling me she’s either wearing a very thin bra, or none at all.
I have to swallow the saliva that pools in my mouth as the urge to reach out and wrap my mouth around that small bud hits me. Would she reject me or pull me closer?
Raven suddenly turns and looks at me, pulling me out of my dirty thoughts. Damn, I’m going to be popping a semi, and in these sweats, there is no way it’ll go unnoticed.
She regards me coolly and says, “How far do you want to go with this little charade?”
“As far as we need to,” I answer immediately.
She arches a brow. “Are you willing to keep this a secret from your family?”
That makes me pause. “You ashamed of me already, babe?” I ask her, teasing.
She holds my stare, completely serious. “The less people involved the better, don’t you think?”
That tells me two things. She’s giving this some serious consideration, and she’s worried about how the people in our lives will react. “I don’t lie to my family. Besides, in this instance, the more people who know, the better. What if the social worker decides to question our friends or my family? You don’t want them blindsided and ratting us out.”
“You told her that we didn’t tell them,” she reminds me.
“How long do you think we can pull that off, though? Eventually, we will have to tell them. We can say we decided to let them know now that the cat is out of the bag with the social worker.”
Raven makes a humming noise in her throat before continuing, “I guess you have a point.” Then she sighs heavily. “Look, Sloan, the only reason I’m considering this is because you have a point, but I have some rules.”
“Rules?” I smirk. “Sure thing, babe, lay ‘em on me.”
“Rule number one, no pet names. I’m not your babe, honey, or sweetheart. Rule number two, if we do this, we tell Falcon the truth. No hiding anything from him, and he can make his choice on what he wants to say about it. Three, this is fake. No feelings, no promises, and we return to normal when it’s over. Got it?”
“Sure, the first two are good,” I tell her with a wicked grin, “but the third might be a problem.” She narrows her eyes at me. “How do you know you won’t fall hopelessly in love with me? I mean, I know I’m a great catch, but I don’t want to be responsible for you crying into your pillow at night and pining for me.”
Raven snorts. “God, I don’t know how you can fit in this apartment with the size of that ego,” she says in exasperation. “Don’t worry, Lincoln, my heart will be just fine. I’d worry about your balls. I have the feeling they’ll be black and blue before we’re done with the way you run that mouth of yours.”
“You can kiss them better,” I offer. “Like a good girlfriend.”
Raven outright scoffs. “I probably wouldn’t be able to find them without a magnifying glass.”
“Oh how wrong you are, Ms. Dixon,” I purr. “Though your obsession with my dick has been noted.”
“I’m not obsessed with your dick,” she snaps, crossing her arms over her chest. “This is a purely fake relationship, Sloan. Let’s be clear, I won’t be seeing your dick through any of it.”
“I think you’ll be begging me for it,” I say smugly. “Might loosen you up a little bit too. When was the last time you got laid, sweetness?”
Her eyes narrow to slits at the pet name, and I grin. “None of your business. And on that subject, just make sure you keep any encounters of yours out of sight until this thing is done, got it? I’ll do the same.”
Jealousy bursts through me at the thought of another man being anywhere near her, but I quickly tamp it down. This is fake, I remind myself, and I can’t go scaring her off before we even get started.
“Fine,” I say with a shrug, even though I know I won’t be entertaining anyone else, and if I have anything to say about it, neither will she.
“Good. Oh, and you got the one free pass on the pet name this time, but next one, you won’t like my reaction. Consider this your one and only warning.”
I’m tempted to reply with another one, but I know better than to push my luck. Not yet anyway. Best to do it when there are witnesses and she can’t castrate me. “Alright,” I say, palms up in surrender.
“Now go home so I can go to bed and get some sleep. I have to be up at the butt crack of dawn to get Falcon to school,” she groans.
I snicker. “Poor thing,” I coo at her. “Being the awesome fake-boyfriend that I am, would you like me to come and wake you up in the morning? I’m up at five most days and at the office by seven.”
She gives me a horrified look. “You’re just stacking up the reasons why we would never work in real life,” she declares. “There is something wrong with people like you. Who wants to be up that early?”
Not a morning person, I make note with an internal snicker. Good information to keep on hand. “People that have to be to work that early,” I say good-naturedly.
“Freaks,” she mutters, but still loud enough to make me chuckle. She smirks at me and says, “Goodnight, Sloan. You can show yourself out.” She turns to walk towards the hallway.
I don’t know what comes over me, but I decide to poke the bear one more time before I leave. “Night, snookums,” I call after her. The fire in her eyes when she rounds on me, tells me that I’ve succeeded. Then, just because I apparently really don’t value my life, I grab her before she can land any blows and haul her up into my arms, my mouth going to hers in a hard, fast kiss.
The taste of her is like the flash of a bullet from a gun. Fast, dangerous, and lethal. Her lips are soft under mine, and every primal instinct comes to life inside me. I groan at the feel of her lips, the way her entire body softens against mine, and the need that swirls sharply in my gut.
She makes a small noise in her throat, but she doesn’t push me away. Instead, her arms wrap around my neck, her fingers move into my hair, and her mouth moves with mine. She doesn’t hold back, tongue tangling with mine as I hold her tight. She’s fire and danger all rolled into one, and I can’t get enough. Her taste, her smell, and the matching desire to get closer are running over me and I’m powerless to stop it.
Her teeth nip at my lower lip and I groan at the sting, nipping her back, and enjoying the hitch in her breath. My hands move to her hips and I haul her against me so that there’s no mistaking what this kiss is doing to me. She groans and arches into me, the hands in my hair tightening, nails scraping my scalp. The sensation has me grinding against her, streaks of lightning going straight to my cock.
“Raven,” I groan against her mouth.
She suddenly clues into the fact that I’ve spoken and stiffens in my arms. Before I can react, she yanks her mouth from mine, and her knee is driving my balls up into my throat.
I immediately let her go and drop to the ground. Oh fuck. Cupping myself, I try to keep down the bile that’s rising in my throat. I glare up at her, and she looks down at me with a light in her eyes I can’t quite decipher. Though that might be because the pain in my balls has overtaken my entire body.
“I warned you about the pet names, Lincoln,” she informs me with a cool smile. “That goes for kissing me without permission too. Once you get your legs back under you, you can head on home. Oh, and if you puke on my floor, you bet your cleaning it up. Night, fake boyfriend.” Then she turns and walks away.
If I could breathe I would laugh. It’s always the crazy ones.