10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace (Caselli Family Book 1)

My bladder felt like it was going to burst into pieces, and I couldn’t move. Maverick was sleeping too peacefully. Every time he moved, he made sure he remained on me, kissing my chest, before he went back into a deep sleep.

Staring down into his face, I appreciated his long lashes and his own small specks of freckles. You didn’t notice them because who the hell wanted to be up close to him? Menace Caselli was scary.

Not Maverick though.

Maverick Caselli tracked down Tony, whipped his ass and made him apologize to me because I shared my story with him. It was Maverick who turned his pool house into an art studio for me because he knew I loved to paint.

His alarm had gone off three times and I silenced it each time because he was so peaceful. There was no telling the last time that he had slept like this. Since I had been here, he was up every morning like clockwork going downstairs to work out before having his smoothie. He was so rooted in regimen, and I understood that was because of his OCD.

Maverick liked control and being that certain things in his life happened that he didn’t have control over, he wanted to get that control back. I wish he knew no matter how much he tried to control something; life was going to happen, and certain things were out of your control.

Shortly after his alarm went off, the soft knock made me turn my attention from this man on me, to where Greene was sneaking into the room. “Finally stopped giving him the silent treatment?” She snickered.

“Purple, the fuck you want?” Maverick’s rough voice vibrated against my chest as his eyes remained closed.

“Kora is on the phone… she said she called you and you didn’t answer.”

Greene grabbed the house phone and handed it to him, as he pressed the button, putting it onto speaker. “Yeah.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah… I’m always good.”

She paused. “Maverick don’t do that to me. You always answer the phone for me… I got worried.”

“Not going anywhere, K… what you need?”

“I have to pee,” I whispered while trying to slide out of the bed.

He pulled me back. “Wonder, you hate me?”

“What? No… why would you say that?”

“’Cause you trying to mess up my comfort,” he grumbled, as he lifted up and allowed me to slip out of the bed.

“Wait… is she in your bed with you?” His sister sounded too thrilled.

“K, don’t sta⁠—”

“Hi Stevie!” she greeted on the phone.

“Hi Kora,” I smiled.

I mouthed that I was going to pee, and tip toed into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. The minute the door was closed, I did a low squeal and danced while thinking about what that man did to me last night.

His eyes always appeared lower because of his long lashes, and as he slurped me like my favorite milkshake, he kept eye contact with me. He was so intense, and the look on his face turned me on even more.

On the way to the bathroom, I had swiped my phone off the nightstand. Rushing into the water closet, I closed the door and sat on the toilet to relieve my bladder while hitting Skyler’s name in my contacts.

“Talk to that damn man, Stevie,” she answered the phone.

“Hi Skyler… how are you?”

She laughed. “I’m sorry… I thought you were calling because you were mad at him.”

“I heard he called you… which is funny because I wouldn’t think he would call you… my silent treatment must have messed with him.”

“He likes you, Stevie. No man, especially that one, is going to care that the woman that willingly put stolen money into her account isn’t talking to him.”

“I guess you’re right… I like him, too.”

“Enough to marry him?”

“I have to marry him.”

I could hear keys tapping in the background. “You don’t have to do anything, and he wouldn’t make you. Menace cares about you, so he would let you go before forcing you down the aisle.”

“What if I want to see where this goes… he took me on a date.”

“To the cemetery… don’t know who is crazier, him for taking you, or you for sounding like it was exciting.”

“It was exciting to me. I was scared at first, but it was sweet in a Menace kind of way.” I took a breath. “Skyler, he ate me out last nig⁠—”

“Stevie, Jesus! Hold on.” I could hear something moving in the background, and then she came back onto the line. “I had you on speaker and I’m in the office today… anyway, Stevieeeee you got some action… tell me everything.”

I ran everything down to her while I wiped and then left the water closet. “I’m scared, though.”

“Of what?”

“I saw what he’s working with… I might die, Skyler. How do you… never mind.”

Skyler laughed. “Girl, I’m over here a newly virgin since I stopped fucking with Keyshawn. I will say, don’t overthink it. I remember my first time; I had a damn panic attack because I was scared. Just allow him to lead the way because he’s more experienced and don’t be afraid to tell him that something hurts or is uncomfortable.”

“Okay… got it.”

“Be sure this is what you want to do, Stevie. Don’t feel like you have to, and a man like Menace would never rush you. He’s a nutcase, but he’s a real nigga, too… and being that all I’m surrounded by is big dawgs, I know how they move.”

“Time for you to go get your big dawg back, Skyler.”

She sighed. “I don’t know… enough about me. I love you, Stevie, and let’s do lunch or something this week. Feel like all I have been doing is working and need a little release.”

I smiled. “Sounds good. I love you.”

After ending the call, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before going back out into the room. Menace was laying in the bed with his phone on his chest staring at the high ass ceiling. How this was someone’s room was beyond me.

My sisters want to meet you, Wonder.”

“I want to meet them, too… how about I plan a brunch or something for us to get to know each other?”

“You know I pay people to do that.” He looked at his wrist, forgetting that he didn’t have his watch on.

“Be honest… when’s the last time you slept in like this?”

He put his phone on the night table and looked over at me. “Can’t remember.”

“Do you feel like you about to die because you didn’t get up and work out?”

“Yeah.”

I shoved him as he chuckled. “Let me plan something for your siblings. I would like to meet them, too. We’re going to be married, so we should start getting acquainted.”

“Your father and Priscilla are missing, Wonder… you can dip out of this anytime that you want to… ‘cause I can promise I’m not going to hold up my end of the bargain.”

My heart rate increased as I stared down at my hand. “Why would he do that?”

“Niggas create their own storms and then get mad when it rains… this ain’t on you, baby.” He looked over at me. “You can go if that’s what you want to do, Wonder… no hard feelings.”

He got up from the bed and stretched. “You want to get rid of me?”

I watched as my words sat with him. “Never want to get rid of you… I also don’t want to hold you here. I’m too real of a nigga to make you go through with this when I have all plans on handling your father and that bitch. He shot one of my men, and I can’t look the other way.”

“You’re not holding me, Maverick.”

He walked around the bed and sat where he was closer to me. “What you trying to tell me, Stevie?”

I scooted closer to him. “You need a wife and an heir, and I want to be the one to do both of those things. I like you, Maverick… you are strange, and I am, too.”

Maverick smirked as he looked over at me. I noticed he wasn’t rubbing his hands, and I climbed into his arms. “So, you want to marry me? I come with a lot of shit, Stevie.”

I touched his face. “I do, too.”

“Not more than me.”

“Are we really about to compete on who comes with more baggage?”

I kissed his lips. “Our paths were supposed to cross for a reason. You’re used to doing what is controlled, and I am used doing what is chaotic… I wanna be controlled chaos with you, Mitchell.”

“I don’t know about the chaos, but you the only chaos that I want… real talk, Wanda.” We hugged, as his phone rang, and I climbed back onto the bed.

As he stomped up the steps, I got comfortable back in the bed and quickly fell back to sleep, thinking about the mess my father got himself into.

Why would they risk their lives when I had done everything to save it? My life was already saved the minute Jeffie walked into the warehouse. It was their lives that were on the chopping block.

Certain things were out of my control, and I couldn’t tell him how to run his business. Raye and Priscilla had stolen from him, and he had looked the other way because of me.

I couldn’t ask him to spare them again, especially when his own men were being hurt in the process.