Creed

Chapter Thirteen Issues with My Man Being a Badass

Present day…

I walked into the bedroom and saw Creed in my bed, up on a forearm looking both pissed and sleepy.

Oh, and hot.

“Where the fuck you been?” he growled and I stopped dead. When I didn’t answer, just kept staring at him, he went on, “Baby, get this, woke up without you for sixteen years. Got you back for good yesterday. Don’t wanna do that shit again. You get up, you wake me. Even if it’s just to kiss me and tell me you’re leavin’ our bed. You with me?”

I kept staring at him.

“Sylvie,” he continued growling. “Are you with me?”

I took off running and, close to the bed, took a flying leap, arms wide and landed flat on top of him.

He grunted and so did I. His hands had curled around my waist while I was on the downward plunge and his fingers dug in as I lifted my head to look down at him.

“Morning!” I chirped and he started grinning but stopped when his eyes dropped to my throat and I felt his entire body go stone-still.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“Love them,” I told him.

His eyes came back to mine and they were agonized.

“Fuck,” he repeated in a whisper.

I ignored the agony and dipped my face close.

“Every one of them,” I whispered back.

“You wearin’ them all?”

“All twenty-six. Even the ones you got me when I was a little girl. They’re tight but I'm wearing them.”

His hand went from my waist, pressing in, trailing up my body then I felt his fingers weave through the tangle of chains.

I’d gotten up way early because they were calling me. So I left Creed in bed, went to my dresser, got the old then went out to the living room to collect and inspect the new.

And every last one of them I put on.

“Dreamed of this,” he murmured, his eyes glued to the chains. I dropped my head to rest my forehead on his. “Dreamed of seein’ you again, my green at your neck.”

“Guess today that makes me the woman who can make dreams come true,” I remarked, trying to keep it light and his eyes came to mine, so close, so blue. Gorgeous.

“Yeah,” he said softly and I watched a light ignite in his eyes. “Though, never dreamed of you wearin’ all of them at once.”

I pulled my head away and tucked my chin in my throat in the wasted effort of trying to see them, doing this muttering, “I don’t know.” I looked back at him and smiled. “I think they look awesome.”

He smiled back and my smile got bigger but his faded as he lifted both hands to either side of my head and held them there, his eyes moving over my face, his hands holding me steady.

“You love me?” he asked quietly.

I dipped my face close and answered quietly, “On a cold night, a long time ago, you put your hands almost exactly where they are right now and, I might have been six years old, but I fell hard. So, yeah. For over twenty-seven years, every day, every minute, every second, I’ve loved you, Tucker Creed.”

His hands left my head and my back hit the bed because Creed flipped me there before he kissed me, hard, deep, long, a kiss filled with twenty-seven years of love and beauty.

It was the best kiss of my life.

“I’m seeing I’m gonna have issues with my man being a badass,” I stated, standing in my front yard in my jeans, tee, boots, belt with my coat of mascara, eyeliner, gun in its holster on my belt, travel mug in hand and narrowed gaze on Creed.

“Just get in the truck, Sylvie.”

“’Vette, Creed.”

“I drive.”

“No, I drive,” I shot back.

“I drive,” he reiterated.

“Why, because you’re a man?” I asked.

“No, because I lied yesterday. I’m not all right with bein’ dead and havin’ you back for one day. After this morning, I want another day, at least, and, as I’ve already said, you’re a lunatic behind the wheel. We’re ending this day eating steak I’m grillin’ and drinkin’ beer then fucking. We’re not ending it in a fiery ball of flame.”

“I’ve never had an accident in my life,” I informed him.

“And today, you won’t have one either even though you’ll court it.”

“I’m not that bad of a driver.”

“Baby, you are.”

“Am not!” I snapped.

Creed looked to the heavens.

“We have a meeting with Knight in twenty minutes, Creed,” I reminded him and his eyes came back to me.

Then his arms crossed on his chest.

I crossed mine on my chest and we went into stare down.

I may have mentioned patience wasn’t one of my virtues. Actually, I didn’t have many virtues but patience definitely wasn’t one of them.

So it was me who gave in.

But I did it grumping, “Oh all right,” and stomping to his truck.

I avoided looking at his face as we both angled in. I was in a good mood. I had my eighteenth birthday peridot at my neck (tough choice but I decided on chronological) and the man I loved since I was six at my side so I didn’t want my mood broken.

Creed pulled out of my driveway like a Grandpa.

I didn’t inform him of this.

Instead, I shared, “Just so you know, I speak English. You don’t have to macho-speak with shit like ‘you with me’ after you macho-speak with a bunch of bossing me around. I get you. I’m with you. Or if I’m not, I’ll tell you.”

“Noted,” he muttered but sounded like he was smiling.

I made the diplomatic decision not to look.

Then it hit me.

“You’re not gonna stop talking like that are you?” I asked.

“Nope,” he answered.

I sucked back coffee.

Then I turned on the radio.

“Switch it to news, baby,” he ordered.

I absolutely did not switch it to news. I switched it to country with excellent timing. Kellie Pickler was just beginning to sing, “Tough”.

“Sylvie, news,” Creed in a way repeated.

“News is depressing. Kickass country bitches are awesome.”

“Sylvie –”

I started singing. Loud.

Silence from the driver’s seat.

Then a burst of laugher.

So that was when I kept singing but did it smiling.

“You, a word. The rest of you, downstairs.”

This was Knight and on the first “you” he pointed a finger at Creed. We had just made it to his office at Slade. Rhash and Live were already there. Everyone but me looked at Creed. I glared at Knight.

I knew what this was about. Knight loved me. He hadn’t told me but he’d shown me. He thought Creed “shredded” me. He was instigating a badass throw down that, I suspected, would include threats and intimidation as to what he’d do if Creed hurt me again which had zero chance of working on Creed. Mostly because I knew in my soul Creed wouldn’t hurt me. Partly because Creed was as badass as Knight, just a little more rough around the edges and threats and intimidation didn’t work on badasses. Still, Knight was going to say his piece.

I loved that. I loved him. I loved that about him.

But it was totally unnecessary and it could cut into our happy vibe and I didn’t want that to happen for me or Creed.

Knight’s eyes sliced to me. “I’m having a word with Creed now, Sylvie.”

“And I’m feeling a girlie tantrum coming on, Knight,” I shot back.

He scowled at me.

I glared back.

Then he stated the God’s honest truth.

“You know you don’t have the patience to win this.”

I rolled my eyes.

Then I decided to make a point, walked right up to Creed, grabbed his head, pulled it down to me and laid a long, wet one on him.

We broke the kiss with Creed smiling so huge he looked in danger of laughing.

I tossed Knight an unhappy look, ignored Rhash and Live staring at me with huge eyes and sashayed to the door.

I was standing outside the door at the bottom of the stairs that led up to Knight’s office when Rhash and Live lumbered down behind me.

“What the fuck was that?” Rhash asked upon arrival. He was clearly both curious and also wondering why I was making out with the hired investigator seeing as that was a wee bit unprofessional.

Quickly, succinctly, honestly and somewhat brutally, I laid it out.

All of it.

When I shut up, they were both staring at me.

“Holy fuck,” Rhash whispered.

“They starved him, beat him, chained him and sliced him?” Live asked quietly. “For a month?”

“Yup,” I answered. “But they’re dead. We’re not. I’ve got twenty-six peridot necklaces and had a morning that included,” I lifted up my fingers with the count, “three orgasms. And this was before we went over to help out Charlene. So we win.”

“Shit yeah you do. Three?” Live was clearly impressed.

I grinned at him.

Rhash’s voice rumbled to me and the tone made my eyes cut quickly to him.

“He promised him you’d be safe, he’d see to it you had a good life then he sold you into hell?”

One look at him and I could see Rhash was in the mood to be super scary.

“Rhash –”

I didn’t say more because his hand shot out, tagged me at the back of my head, I did a face plant in his wide chest and his other arm closed tight around me.

All the air squeezed itself out of my lungs and not because he was holding me too tight. Without a choice, though I wouldn’t have taken another one, my arms stole around his bulk.

“Glad you won, Sylvie,” he whispered into the top of my hair. I took in a deep breath realizing that in the last two days the people I was tight with that meant the world had doubled to welcome back Creed and include Rhashan Banks.

“Thanks, babe,” I whispered back.

He let me go and his eyes went right to Live. “You tell anyone I hugged Pip, I’ll break your neck.”

Live grinned at him and held up his hands. “Lips sealed.”

I decided sharing time was over. At least for me.

That was why I asked Live, “You doin’ okay?”

Something flashed across his face, he looked away, down to the floor then back at me. “No. Don’t like breathin’ that bitch’s air. Don’t like her touchin’ me. Knight’s keepin’ me busy and away from her so I don’t gotta spend a lot of time with her but when I do, gotta keep up appearances. I’ll be happy when this shit is done and I can get shot of her ass.”

I got that, big time, so I nodded.

Rhash’s phone beeped, he pulled it out, looked at it and then he shoved it back in his pants.

“Knight’s done with Creed,” he announced.

We all moved to and through the door and up the stairs but it was probably only me who was hoping we didn’t open the door to a bloodbath.

We didn’t. Creed had his back to the wall, arms crossed on his chest, feet crossed at the ankles looking like he was waiting patiently for his woman to get done in a shop so he could take her ass to a bar and get a beer. Knight was leaning against his conference table with much the same look about him. My eyes did a scan of Creed first then Knight and they seemed hunky dory. In good spirits even, like they’d just got done talking about the Rockies chance at a pennant this year. This ticked me off so I stopped and crossed my arms on my own chest.

My eyes narrowed on Knight. “I know I have a vagina but that doesn’t negate the fact that I have a brain and a spine so I can make my own decisions about my life and deal with the consequences. I’m also not real big on dudes talking about my shit behind my back.”

He held my gaze steadily and replied, “Babe, cool it. You got a man who cares about you, namely me, this shit is gonna happen. Deal with it because it’s not not gonna happen because you throw a shit fit about it with a gun on your belt.”

I opened my mouth to speak but Creed cut in so I looked to him.

“Baby, it’s cool. I’m not gonna be pissed that after what you been through, for the last ten years you had a man who gives a shit about you at your back and doesn’t delay in layin’ it out that, because you got your man back, he’s still gonna have your back. He’s cool. I’m cool. Now you need to be cool. You get me?”

At the, “You get me?” I rolled my eyes at the same time my phone rang.

I pulled it out, ignoring Creed’s amused grin and looked at the display. I felt my brows draw together as I flipped it open and put it to my ear.

“Hey, babe,” I greeted.

“Sylvie.”

At the sound of her voice, my back went straight and my eyes sliced to Creed. “Talk to me.”

“I hurt.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

I lifted a hand, my gaze going to Knight. I snapped but he was already straightened away from the table and staring at me, alert. “Serena, where are you?”

“He just left. At the hotel. I hurt, Sylvie.”

I heard the pain and tears in her voice.

Knight was already taking long strides to his desk and computer.

“You need Baldy?” I asked into the phone, looking down to my boots.

“Baldy?”

“Dr. Baldwin, Serena. You need him?”

“Yes.”

Shit. Fuck. Shit!

I looked at Knight, nodded and turned on my boot toward the door. “What hotel, babe? Room number. I’m on my way. So is Baldy.”

She gave me the hotel name and room number as I jogged down the steps, hearing boots behind me.

“Hang tight, Serena. We’ll be there, ten minutes,” I told her as I ran across the nightclub still hearing boots behind me.

“I don’t think I can get up to answer the door.” Her voice was weak.

Shit!

“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “We’ll get it. Be there in ten.”

“Okay, Sylvie,” she whispered.

“Soon, baby,” I whispered back.

We were out the door, running down the sidewalk to Creed’s truck parked on the street. He beeped the locks, ran around the hood and we both angled in even as I flipped my phone closed and opened. I called Knight as I gave Creed the hotel name and preliminary directions. Creed pulled away from the curb not like a Grandpa and I put the phone to my ear as I yanked the seatbelt around me.

Knight answered with, “Already called Baldy. He’s on the way.”

“You know where she is?” I asked.

“New rules. Girls report where they’re goin’, phone when they get there, phone when they leave, phone when the door to their house is locked behind them.”

“Right. She’s in room number six twelve,” I told him.

“I’ll text that to Baldy,” he replied.

“Her client pay for an all-nighter?” I asked as Creed took a turn on red he wasn’t supposed to and it felt like the truck was going to go up on two wheels so we both leaned into it.

“Yeah,” he answered. “Gotta go. Report back.”

He disconnected and I flipped the phone shut.

Creed drove and I gave more directions.

Then he murmured, “Cab’s full of your fury, baby, check it.”

“Right,” I muttered and sucked in breath.

Creed drove.

He pulled up and screeched to a halt in front of the hotel. The valet made the approach but I was out of the truck, running into the hotel and didn’t look back.

Luckily, reception was clear except the clerk.

“Hi,” I said when I arrived at the desk. “I have a friend in room six twelve who’s diabetic and she forgot her insulin. She’s in bad shape and I need to get up there and give it to her. She says she can’t make it to the door. Can you give me a keycard to six twelve?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, against hotel policy. Not unless your name is registered to the room. Really sorry.”

Fuck! I didn’t bring my money roll with me.

I flipped open my phone but kept my eyes on him. “Can she call down, tell you it’s okay?”

“Uh… I’m not sure –” he started then his eyes flew down to the desk so mine did too and I saw a familiar, big, strong, veined, scarred hand sliding a fan of three one hundred dollar bills across the desk.

“Keycard. Room six twelve,” Creed rumbled, my head tipped back and I looked at his hard profile as he finished, “And advice, don’t say no to me.”

Okay, maybe I wasn’t going to have issues with my man being a badass. Especially when he was also my partner on a job and could get shit done by being scary.

The guy took Creed in for approximately a nanosecond then jumped to the stash of keycards, did whatever he had to do with the machine and handed it to Creed.

I turned and dashed through the lobby. Ignoring the elevators, I scanned for the sign, found it, darted that way and hit the stairs. My legs were short but I still took them two at a time, hearing Creed hurtling up behind me. I hit the door to the sixth floor, winded, heart pumping and shoved through. I didn’t slow down as I ran down the hall, scanning the signage to find the way to six twelve.

I stopped at one side of the door, Creed right behind me, he stopped at the other side.

“Gun,” he grunted, I nodded, yanked mine out, he had his in his hand. He shoved in the keycard but his eyes cut to me. “You lead, Sylvie, but careful. This shit’s a set up, you got no vest and today’s not my day to lose you.”

I nodded.

He pushed down the door handle and shoved in.

I moved into the room, gun down but at the ready, staying close to the inside wall, eyes peeled, slow, scanning. I turned my head left and peered around the door to the bathroom. It was clear so I kept moving in, feeling Creed just feet behind me. I hit the room proper, saw her, saw she was alone, saw the state she was in, stopped and lifted a hand back to Creed. I turned my head and shook it once.

He jerked up his chin, holstered his weapon and settled back.

I holstered my weapon and bustled in.

“Sylvie,” she whispered through cut, swollen, bleeding lips as she looked up at me through slitted, nearly swollen shut eyes.

“Here, babe,” I whispered, moving quickly, gently, efficiently, pulling the bloody sheet around her naked body. “Baldy’s on his way. Knight knows what’s happening. I’m here with my partner. His name is Creed. He’s a good guy. In a second he’s gonna come in. Let’s get you decent.”

A whimpering sob slid past her lips as I tucked the sheet around her bruised, bloodied, abused, violated body.

When I was done, I asked, “You okay for Creed to join us?”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

I felt him move in and looked up at him as I sat on the bed and pulled her hair away from her face. “Ice, wet washcloth,” I said softly, Creed’s heated infuriated eyes moved from Serena in the bed to me, he jerked up his chin, turned and disappeared.

I bent over Serena. “We’re here. We’ll take care of you, babe. We’re here.”

Another whimpering sob.

I heard a low whistle, my head came up and Creed tossed a wet cloth to me. I nabbed it and he disappeared again.

I folded it, pressed it light against her eyes and got another whimpering sob.

“We’re here, baby,” I whispered, stroking her hair.

“There’s nowhere I don’t hurt,” she whispered back and rage tore through me as blood rushed in my ears. It took effort but I fought it back.

“We’re here,” I whispered. “You’re not alone, Serena. We’re here, baby.”

After a short while, the door opened, I looked to the opening of the hall and Creed filled it, ice bucket in his hands. He stopped close to me, handed me the bucket but held my eyes.

“Check it,” he mouthed.

I nodded.

Then I checked it.

Then I bent back to Serena.

I paced the hall outside Serena’s room but while I moved, my eyes were locked on Creed who was on the phone with Knight. Baldy, or Dr. Baldwin, a good doctor, a good man but one who accepted cash and kept his mouth shut, was in with Serena as was a nurse he’d called in to assist him.

I’d heard Creed’s side of the conversation and got from it there were two other girls who had since called in, both newish, both with all-nighter clients, both messed way the fuck up.

Pre-emptive strike. We fucked up.

“Right, Sylvie and I will take the girls,” Creed said into the phone, eyes to me.

Oh no.

Fuck no.

That meant Creed and I were on check and security detail and would miss the action.

Again, fuck no.

I stomped to him, reached high, snagged the phone out of his hand and put it to my ear.

“Do not fucking bench me,” I snapped into the phone.

“Sylvie –” Knight started.

“Offensive, Knight and you fucking know it. Finesse is done. These assholes pay. Find Live. Find out where the fuck Amy is and I’m all over that fucking bitch until she talks to me.”

“Babe, you know I trust you but this kind of shit, you got a hot head. Give the girls your touch, keep them safe and –”

“Bullshit. I got more control than you and Rhash put together when shit like this goes down.”

“I know you, remember?” he asked softly. “I can hear it in your voice. Your control has snapped, Sylvie. Rein it in and look after the girls.”

“She told me there was nowhere that didn’t hurt,” I hissed and Knight was silent. “Don’t bench me,” I repeated.

Knight took a beat then, “Don’t make me regret this.”

I lifted my head and jerked my chin up at Creed. He turned to Serena’s door, used the keycard and went through probably to brief Baldy we were leaving.

“You won’t regret it,” I promised Knight. “Get me the details on Amy. Two minutes, Creed and I are on the road.”

I disconnected and Creed came out.

His eyes caught mine.

“Let’s move,” he grunted.

We moved.

I stood in the stall in the bathroom, peering out a small opening of the door.

Amy was having a martini lunch with her girls who also lived off a man’s back. We clocked her, Creed told me he’d get her to the bathroom and my objective was to clear it so we could do our business there.

Luckily, no one came in while I waited so when she did, red wine stains down her dress, a pissed off look on her face, I had her.

Seriously, Creed was genius. I didn’t know he managed it, probably bribed a waiter, but not only would red wine down your dress send you straight to the bathroom, it’d also leave a nasty stain. Amy deserved more than red wine stains on her dress but that was where I came in.

“I cannot believe this shit,” she hissed at the mirror, flipping her arms down, eyes to the stain reflected in the mirror.

I walked out of the stall and she turned to me then blinked.

“Wow, Sylvie. Hey,” she greeted.

I glanced through her, walked to the door, rapped on it once and Creed slid in, closed the door and leaned against it.

“What the fuck?” Amy asked and I turned back to her. Her eyes went from Creed to me. “What’s going –?”

I moved and, in a flash, I had her against the wall, my hand to her throat, my body pressed into hers. Her face had paled and her eyes were wide.

“The blowjob you gave Drake Nair pay for that dress or did you get it off Live’s back?” I asked and her eyes got wider. “Oh yeah, bitch, we know. Mark this, Amy, you fucked up, not getting your name on the lease. Live, right now, is packing your shit up. You got the choice, you talk, I let you go and you go home and you’ll find your shit in boxes or you don’t talk, I let you go and you find your shit all over the goddamned grass.”

“I…” her eyes shifted side to side as her hand lifted to try and pull down on mine but I just pushed her deeper into the wall with my hand and body. Her gaze came back to mine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ll refresh your memory but I’ll do it by posting pictures of you on your knees, his dick in your mouth side by side with pictures of you taking a roll of bills to every social network I can find and I’ll tag you in it. By the time they take it down, it’ll have gone viral, there will be sites it hits that won’t take it down and thousands of people will see you sucking cock for money. You’ll walk down the street and never know when someone will recognize you. That’s not enough, copies get couriered to your folks. Wonder what Daddy will think of seeing his girl getting her face fucked for cash.”

Her eyes suddenly went hard and she bit out, “Fuck you, Sylvie.”

“Wrong answer,” I whispered, let her go but grabbed her wrist, flipped her around and shoved her face first into the wall, yanking her arm up. She cried out, I got close and snarled in her ear, “Talk.”

“I’ll scream.”

“Do it,” I invited. “See that big guy against the door?”

She didn’t answer.

I didn’t wait and went on, “Well, that’s my man and no one out there saw him or me. You scream, we vanish. You report this to the cops, we both got alibis. But you, you live with Knight Sebring’s wrath breathing down your neck and everywhere you go, every minute of the day, you fear the day he unleashes that wrath. If you can live down the blowjob pictures, you still got Knight to deal with. You talk right now, you’re homeless and without a man to lead around by his dick. You don’t, you bought yourself a life full of fear.”

She didn’t say anything.

I yanked up on her arm hard.

She whimpered.

“Don’t test me. I might be small but I’m strong and I’m pissed. I’ll snap it,” I whispered in her ear.

“He… he, I don’t know much about it,” she whispered back, straining against my hold, lifting up to her toes in her high-heeled shoes to alleviate the pain.

“Share what you know,” I invited.

“Let go,” she demanded.

“Not until you share.”

“Not until you let go.”

I yanked up again and she cried out.

“I got all day. You got a martini to get back to,” I told her.

“I… fuck,” she snapped. “He wants Knight’s girls. Thinks, if they don’t think they’re safe, they’ll defect. If it’s bad enough and they just quit, he’s fine. Just as long as he shuts down Knight and his girls.”

“You know Nick?” I asked.

“Who?” she asked back.

“He work with a man named Nick?”

“No. I don’t know. I never heard that name.”

“Those clients last night, Amy, they weren’t new,” I told her.

“He’s been planning this a long time,” she told me.

“Are there more men in the system we gotta worry about?” I asked.

“I… don’t know.”

“How many men are there, Amy?” I pushed.

“I don’t know,” she repeated.

“Three men worked girls over last night. Are there more?”

“I don’t know!”

I yanked up her arm and shoved her so deep into the wall, her face smushed against it.

“Now is the time to share,” I advised softly. “I find out you withheld anything, Amy, this will not make me happy and I’m a girl. Girls know girls. I’ll know exactly what’ll cut deep and I’ll do that to you. You get me?”

“I don’t know!” she snapped. “I just told him what Live told me about the new girls. He wanted to target the new girls. The other ones, the ones that have been around awhile, they were in the business, defected to Knight for protection and know the score. They wouldn’t blink. The new ones would freak. He knew that. So I gave him their information.”

Stupid, useless bitch.

“Do you know what else he’s got planned?” I pushed.

“No!”

“You sure about that?” I prompted.

“I just told him about the new girls. That’s it!”

I whipped her around again, grabbed both wrists and cocked her arms, shoving them into her chest and her back into the wall so hard her skull cracked against it. She blinked and winced in pain but I got in her face.

“He beat her bloody, split open and swollen. He raped her between her legs and up her ass. He did the deed but you did that to her, too. He’s a man and men can be animals. You’re a woman and we gotta look out for each other. What could bring you to do that to a sister?”

Her head tipped slightly to the side and her face got snide. “Can you rape a girl like that?”

Blood roared in my ears and it took everything I had not to spit in her face.

“You sucked cock for money,” I reminded her, she flinched and I leaned in. “And you spread for Live for the same reasons. He might not have handed over cash direct after the act but those girls got one on you, bitch, in a way that makes them so many steps up from you it isn’t even funny. They’re honest about being whores. You’re just kidding yourself that you aren’t one.”

I shoved her against the wall and stepped away.

Her hands went to her wrists and rubbed.

“I don’t see you again,” I whispered. “You see me, you disappear. Do you understand?”

“Fuck you,” she whispered back.

“Blowjob pictures, Amy.”

She scrunched her face up and glared at me.

I continued, “I do not see you. I do not hear about you. Live doesn’t. No one does. You have ceased to exist on the club scene in Denver. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she snapped.

I was done so I turned away from her to see Creed watching me blank-faced, arms crossed on his chest. He moved away from the door and opened it for me. I walked right through and we moved down the hall, through the restaurant, out and to his truck.

I called into Knight what I knew. He reported back they’d picked up Nair. I told him we’d be there in thirty.

I disconnected, filled in Creed and suddenly, he pulled into a parking lot, drove to a section far away from the store without any cars around, stopped the truck and switched off the ignition.

I turned to him. “What –?”

He’d already unbuckled his belt, he hit the release on mine and before I knew what he was doing, he’d shoved his muscled bulk between the seats, reached through and yanked me between. He had me on my back across the seats, his mouth on mine and his hand went down the front of my pants, scraping past belt and straight into panties.

I gasped against his tongue and when his finger slid hard across my clit, I moaned.

He broke the kiss and his lips didn’t leave mine as he muttered, “That was fuckin’ hot.”

Maybe, but this was way hotter.

“Glad you approve,” I breathed.

“Give me room to move, baby,” he ordered and my hands went directly to my jeans, I loosened the belt, unbuttoned the button and slid the zipper down.

Then my head shot back when Creed got room to move.

His mouth worked my throat, his hand worked my pussy and my hands clutched his shirt. He didn’t mess around and I came for him within minutes. As I came down, his mouth was still working my neck as his fingers slid, gentle and tender, through the wet between my legs.

His lips glided up to my ear as his fingers kept toying between my legs and he whispered, “You, sittin’ on the end of the pier. Your sixteenth birthday. You got the same thing every year for ten years but you acted every time like I didn’t hand you some shit necklace but the moon. I looked at you and it hit me it was you. It hit me that it could be no one else but you. You were born to be mine. I was born to be yours. And it hit me that it sucked huge I had to wait at least two years to make my move to claim you.”

I closed my eyes, turned my head and pressed my face into his neck.

“Watchin’ you work back there,” Creed went on, “I get you. Huge parts of that Sylvie are gone. I loved them but they’re gone. But, baby, know this, the new parts of Sylvie that took her place are fuckin’ amazing.” My heart squeezed and Creed lifted his head to grin down at me. “Seriously. I had to fight against gettin’ hard, watchin’ you work that bitch.”

“I didn’t even give her my good stuff,” I informed him through my own grin and his fingers slid around and in, driving deep.

My lips parted and Creed’s dropped to brush them as he spoke.

“Then, baby, partnering with you is gonna be all kinds of good.”

I lifted my head half an inch and kissed him.

He kissed me back.

We broke the kiss, his fingers slid out as he dropped his head to kiss my throat. He moved to shove himself through the two front seats as I righted my jeans and then I shoved myself through.

I was belting my seatbelt when Creed put the truck in gear and rolled.

I looked to the side, saw he had the tip of his middle and index fingers in his mouth and he was licking them clean.

My clit spasmed.

Oh yeah.

This partnering business was gonna be all kinds of good.

I held onto the headboard even though I really had no choice.

With two scarves tied to my wrists, their ends clutched between my palms and the headboard, in other words within easy reach if I needed to release them, I couldn’t move my hands.

I was on my knees in the pillows, ass tipped back, Creed behind me, arms around me, both hands at my breasts, rolling and tugging my nipples as he powered deep.

My head flew back as the headboard rocked with his drives and my body’s jerks.

This shit was great.

“You okay?” Creed grunted in my ear.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “Harder.”

He drilled up harder.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

“Give me more, Sylvie,” he growled and I arched my back and tipped up my ass. “Yeah, baby,” he approved and slammed in harder.

“Creed!” I gasped, so close, oh so fucking close.

He pulled out to the tip and stopped.

No!

I pressed back but he moved with me, withholding.

“Need you, baby, I’m close,” I whispered.

He withheld, I only had the tip and his mouth came back to my ear.

“Keep your back arched, ass high, yeah, Sylvie?”

“Creed,” I begged.

“Let me give you somethin’ good,” he urged, his voice rough, the smooth totally gone.

I swallowed then nodded.

I lost the tip and I bit my lip not to whimper.

His fingers swept my hair over one shoulder then, starting at the base of my scalp, one trailed down my neck, between my shoulders, slow, so fucking slow.

“Arch, tip that ass,” he murmured and I arched deeper for him, lifting my ass further. “Beautiful,” he muttered, his finger going down my spine, down, between the cheeks of my ass, down through my wet, he tweaked my clit and my entire body jolted, the headboard banging.

Oh God. He was right. This was good. This was hot.

“You should see you,” he whispered and I felt both his hands at my hips, they went up my sides, light, over my ribs, light, and then they moved in to cup my breasts. “Give me those, Sylvie.”

I pressed into his hands. His thumbs moved to rub over my nipples hard, my body jerked again and my heavy breaths grew heavier. Creed rewarded me, his thumbs circling my nipples, pressing deep, making me moan.

“Fuck, so fuckin’ beautiful,” he murmured, his hands moving to my back, pressing in more now, pushing me further down.

They moved over and curled around my ass, the thumbs sliding in, gliding along the sides of the cleft, one honed in and circled the sensitive skin and, fuck me, fuck me, I was so far gone, I wanted it so much I strained into it.

“Gonna take that,” he muttered.

Oh yeah.

He pressed in tighter. “When you’re ready, baby, gonna fuck that and play with you while I do. Rock your world.”

“Do it now,” I breathed.

His thumb moved away and I couldn’t control the whimper before I felt his lips move over the ass cheek of my right side then up to the small of my back.

“Oh no,” he whispered against my skin. “Got you tied and arched for me. Little at a time.”

“I’m ready,” I panted and felt his lips move against the small of my back like he was smiling.

“Pleased, Sylvie, but when I fuck that, you’re gonna be a whole lot more than ready.”

Holy shit.

Something to look forward to.

My legs quivered.

His mouth disappeared and not a second later, his cock drove inside again.

I came instantly and I came hard. Never better. Never bigger. Never.

Fabulous.

I took him through mine, I took him through his and I stayed tied, on my knees, arched with ass tipped back as he pulled out but moved a hand between my legs and toyed with me gently until he was finished with me. Then he positioned under me and I thought he was going to take me with his mouth but his long arms reached up, gently pulled the ties out from under my palms and he released me. With hands to my hips, he slid me down his body. When I was close, one of his hands slid into my hair to pull my face down to his and kiss me.

When he was done, he shoved my face in the side of his neck.

“You good?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah.”

“How good?”

“Really fucking good.”

His arms wrapped tight around me and he gave me a squeeze.

I pressed closer and brushed my lips against his skin before I whispered there, “Thank you.”

“Baby, you don’t have to thank me for makin’ you come.” His voice had a smile in it. “My pleasure and I mean that in every way that can mean.”

I lifted up and looked down at him.

I was not smiling and his faded when he caught sight of my face.

“No,” I said softly. “Thank you for making me feel safe then giving that to me. Never, Creed, not once since him did I give over total control to a man. You’re the only one. I didn’t think I could like it. You made me like it. No, fucking love it and want more. So,” I dropped my face closer, “thank you.”

I watched a wealth of emotions flash through his eyes before his hand pulled me down and he took my mouth again, rolling me, covering me with his body, kissing me long, wet, hard and deep.

When he broke the kiss, his lips trailed over my cheek to my ear and his voice was hoarse when he promised, “You’re always safe with me.”

I held him tight. “I know.”

“I’ll erase him.”

“You already are.”

“Make your body sing.”

“You already do.”

“I love you, Sylvie.”

“I love you back, Creed.”

His head moved, I felt the edge of his teeth run light along my jaw then his lips came back to mine and he locked our eyes.

“Gonna claim back every inch of you,” he vowed.

“You already have.”

“No, I haven’t. But I’m gonna.”

I smiled against his lips. “Looking forward to that, baby.”

He smiled back. “I got that. Nearly begged me to fuck your ass.”

I shrugged under him. “You made it hot.”

“Oh, it’s hot,” he promised.

I squirmed under him. He smiled against my mouth again. Then he touched his lips to mine and lifted his head an inch.

“Need provisions,” he said quietly. “For you to like it, need you slick.”

He was killing me.

“Sex shop, first stop tomorrow,” I declared and he threw back his head and burst out laughing.

I stilled and stared as his laughter shook my body and filled the room with its beauty.

When he sobered, he grinned down at me then his grin faded and his hand came up to curl around the side of my head.

“What?” he whispered.

“I missed you,” I whispered back.

I watched him close his eyes slowly then his face disappeared in my neck.

We lay that way awhile before he rolled us to our sides but kept our bodies close.

When we settled, quietly he told me, “You got shit to think about.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Future shit.”

Oh fuck.

“Creed –”

“Just fucked you again without a condom, baby.”

Oh fuck!

“You got pills in your bathroom. You take ‘em?” he asked.

“Um… sometimes,” I answered and he grinned. “Usually, I’m steady with that and condoms, always. You’ve put me off my game,” I told him and his grin got bigger. “We’re on day two, Creed,” I reminded him gently. “This is good. I like it. I missed you. I love you. I’m happy as all hell to have you back. But we gotta be better with that shit.”

“Take your pills,” he ordered. “Give me the head’s up when you’re back on track. I like to feel just you.”

I nodded. I liked that too.

He kept talking. “Future shit you gotta think about is just that. I’ll lay it out. I want a life with you. A home with you. Kids with you. All we should have had but did not get. Yet. I want you to get to know my kids and build a relationship with them. And, bonus I didn’t expect, I enjoy workin’ with you. You’re good at what you do. You got energy. You believe in the job. You let that emotion make you better at it rather than clouding it and I dig that. I got a business in Phoenix. You got one here. We gotta pick where we’re gonna be. No pressure but I don’t wanna be far away from my kids or put them through the hassle of flyin’ every other weekend to come and see me. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get creative and work something out. That’s enough for now but that’s where I am, what you need to think about. No decisions today, tomorrow, next week. We’ll talk when you’re ready but that’s where I am.”

“Okay,” I replied.

“Okay,” he whispered.

I decided it was time to switch subjects. “What’s your take on today?”

He rolled to his back but pulled my torso up on his as he did. He looked to the ceiling. I looked at his face.

“I get the play but I still think you all jumped the gun.” His eyes came to me. “Sebring does the job fueled by emotion. I don’t know where it comes from but he’s got a fire in his belly. He was playin’ it smart with finesse, diggin’ deep, lookin’ to make sure he got all the players. Beatin’ the shit outta Nair until he gave all the names of the clients he planted to work over the girls and promised to get the fuck outta Denver might not solve the problem if Nick or some other fuckwad is in on this with him.”

I nodded. “Takes care of the immediate problem, though,” I noted.

“Maybe, maybe not.” His eyes grew sharp on me and when he went on, my body braced. “Torture doesn’t work. Incentives do. Anyone will say anything to stop the pain. We have no idea if he gave us all the names of all the clients he planted. He swears he’s workin’ alone, we can’t trust that either. The only thing we know since we’ve been watchin’ him is that he hasn’t directly approached the girls but Knight’s no further than he was before.”

“Torture didn’t make you say what they wanted you to say to stop the pain,” I said quietly.

“Exactly. Torture does not work if you’re usin’ it on a true believer. Until they offered incentives, they got nothing,” he replied, not quietly.

I pulled in a breath and moved us out of this. I couldn’t deal with this. Not now.

“We’ve found nothing to even hint that Nair had a partner.”

“That’s the only thing I feel good about. My gut throughout this entire job said the man worked alone. He got info and he bought talent to do their thing with the girls but this is not a man who inspires loyalty. Knight’s business is fucked. He shouldn’t be doin’ it but before I took this job, I looked into him and got nothing back but respect. Even know some cops on the DPD who had good words to say, no fuckin’ joke. So, regardless that he does it, I couldn’t sniff out one single enemy, outside Nair.”

“Knight shouldn’t be doing it?” I asked and my tone made him focus more intently on me.

“I get you,” he said gently. “And I’ll say, straight up, in my job with the clients I take, I cross a lotta lines so I am far from squeaky clean. But there is no denying what Knight Sebring does outside that club is not okay.”

“I disagree,” I retorted and his arm around my back gave me a squeeze.

“I know you do, Sylvie. I know why you do. But now you know that I disagree with you.”

“Do we have a problem with this?” I asked and he shook his head against the pillows.

“Nope. Your life, your job, your choices. I fit into that life; I don’t bend it to my will. Same goes for you with me. We got issues along the way, we discuss and maybe agree to disagree. But if I accept you have reasons for making the decisions you make and vice versa, we’ll be cool.”

That was the right answer so I nodded and my body relaxed.

His arm gave me another squeeze.

“Do you know why Knight does it?” he asked.

“No. He hasn’t shared and I don’t care. He does it. He doesn’t fuck around. He’s committed and, honestly, Creed, this shit rarely happens. So he’s good at what he does, whether you agree with it or not.”

“Right,” he muttered and I braced again when his eyes went back to intent. “That visit to Serena, baby, before we came home, she wants out. The girls want out, you should help them and so should Knight.”

“We do,” I told him and continued. “And I will. So will Knight. He’ll pay to make her physically healthy again, the girls will work with her to help her get over what happened or learn to live with it then he’ll work to pave her way in another life. She’ll be okay.”

His eyes got more intent and his arm tightened so I kept braced when he carried on.

“Just throwin’ this out there but, the new ones come in, you should counsel them to different ways of goin’ about life.”

“I thought you accepted I had reasons for making the decisions I make?” I asked.

“I do. I also told you, we had issues along the way, we discuss them. And a woman finds herself in the position to approach Knight in order to have protection so she can sell her body, Sylvie, he or you should do what you can to show her another way before you take her on. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Okay, I get you,” I told him. “And, you may not know this but he does that already. I cannot say that he expends a lot of effort and there is no doubt he could make more of one but he doesn’t just set them up. Sometimes they feel there are no other ways.”

He shook his head and his arm came up, fingers sifting in my hair so he could pull my head closer to his.

“I had all access, Sylvie, demand that shit when I take a client and Serena was hookin’ to pay for art school. Can you tell me there’s no other way?”

“She’s twenty-five, Creed. She can also make life choices.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Fuck.

“Okay,” I gave in. “That was whacked.”

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“All the girls don’t have reasons like that, Creed.”

“Maybe not but sometimes shit in life can make you blind to choices you don’t know that you have. You and Sebring really wanna look after those girls, you help them open their eyes before they sell their bodies. Talk to him about making more of an effort.”

“You know, you annoy me when you make sense,” I shared and his face lost its intensity when he grinned.

“Not much I can do about that, baby.” His fingers twisted gently in my hair. “You gonna talk to him?”

“Yeah,” I muttered.

“Be convincing,” he ordered.

I rolled my eyes.

He kept being bossy.

“Now kiss me.”

“No.”

His brows went up. “No?”

“I’m not in the mood to kiss.”

“What are you in the mood for?”

“I’m in the mood to suck you off.”

His face got lazy and I got even more in the mood to suck him off.

“Want my mouth in your cunt while you do that,” he growled.

“This would not be a hardship,” I muttered.

“Top or bottom?” he asked.

“Top,” I answered.

His hand slid down my back and lightly smacked my ass. “Bathroom. Want you clean when I eat you. Then come back, climb on and give me that pussy.”

It was then I suspected my face got lazy.

Then I dropped my head and kissed his throat. Down, I kissed his chest.

Then I dashed to the bathroom, cleaned up, dashed back, climbed on, gave him my pussy and took his cock.

Again, it was fabulous.