Creed

Chapter Seven I’m What You Need

Present day…

My eyes opened and I stared at the alarm clock amongst the junk on my nightstand.

Fuck.

Last night I picked bourbon. I should have picked tequila.

I pulled myself out of bed then I lugged myself down the hall to the bathroom. I used the facilities, washed my face, brushed my teeth, downed numerous gulps of water cupped in my hand and was walking out when I heard the front door open and close.

Right. Well then. There it was.

God did not answer my prayers and made yesterday a bad dream like that whole season of Dallas where Bobby was dead and then, poof, the next season he’s in the shower.

It would appear that, yesterday, Tucker Creed actually did come back into my life, I agreed to partner up with him then ended the evening eating his food and fucking him.

Shit.

Great.

I wandered into the living room, through the entry and rounded the wall into the dining room.

There I saw a bakery box on the counter and a hot guy behind it with a small raised bruise on his cheekbone, an angry bite mark on his neck, a white, paper coffee cup in one hand, and, to my expert donut discerning eye, a Boston cream in the other.

His assessing eyes came to me. “Mornin’.”

“Guh,” I mumbled and ignored his quick grin by looking down at my cat, who had her face in her food bowl.

I stopped and stared. Hard.

Gun felt it and looked up at me.

“Meow,” she defended herself and she had a right. She was a cat. Food was food whoever gave it to you.

Still, I returned, “Traitor.”

I heard a chuckle, my eyes cut to Creed then down to the big box and I continued wandering his way, asking, “Did you buy donuts for the whole block in an effort to get your partner close in order to have dozens more reasons to keep me not dead?”

“No, I bought enough donuts to make Charlene and her kids happy for a morning.”

Shit, they were going to love that. These days, donuts did it for them. Then again, they were the kind of family, simple pleasures always did. Save Dan, the Douchebag, of course.

I stopped opposite the counter and looked back up at him. “Have I told you you’re an asshole today?”

“You just got up, so no.”

“You’re an asshole.”

He grinned again.

I threw open the baker’s box and plucked out a glazed. I usually went for the fancy, complicated donuts. It was feeling like a glazed day.

I bit into it and looked back at Creed, saying through sugar and fried dough, “Coffee?”

He scooted a white paper cup across the counter toward me.

I picked it up, sipped and closed my eyes.

Ah, good.

“What was that about me bein’ an asshole?” Creed asked.

I opened my eyes but only to narrow them on him.

He burst out laughing and I glared at him while he did but I multitasked, glaring while taking another bite of donut and sucking back another sip of coffee.

He stopped laughing and trained his eyes on me. “Have a good night?”

“No. I lost two hundred dollars playing pool.”

“Meet your match?”

“No. I suck at pool. Fuck drunk texting. Drunk pool betting is where your shit will get burned.”

That got me a full blown smile before he asked, “Where’s your ‘Vette?”

“A parking lot outside The X, hopefully resting easy under the benevolent eye of the Kickass Car God.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” he reassured me.

I took another huge bite of donut, chewed twice and said through partially chewed dough, “I hope so.” More chewing then, “She isn’t, I’ll curl up in the closet and I swear, I won’t come out for a week.” More chewing, I swallowed then, “And, just saying, I’ll take my gun with me and if you open the door for any purpose other than to toss in food and beer, I’ll shoot you.”

Through another grin, he muttered, “I’ll take that under advisement.”

“Don’t think I’m joking.”

He kept grinning.

Then his grin faded before he asked, “How’d you get home?”

“Don’t know. Ride for a blowjob. I think he was blond though.”

His anger instantly started slithering through the room.

“Don’t play with me,” he whispered. “You think my ass didn’t wait for yours to get home?” he asked and before I could answer, he went on. “She was a redhead, way too much makeup and you both giggled your way all the way up to the door. Though she was giggling like a lunatic, she walked straight back to her car so she wasn’t loaded, like you.”

“She wasn’t a she, she was a he.”

“She had way more tits and ass than you.”

“Foam rubber, Creed. The X is a gay bar. She’s a drag queen. Her name is Uqueesha.”

The Creed anger snake retreated and his brows shot up.

“That bitch was a dude?”

I nodded. “That bitch was a dude.”

“Fuck, didn’t call that,” he muttered.

“Maybe Grandpa needs his eyes checked,” I muttered back and those eyes that I insinuated needed checked narrowed on me.

I took another bite of donut and grinned big through dough.

He took a bite of his and chased it with coffee.

Then before I could stop it, right after I swallowed, I asked, “You waited for me to get home?”

He said nothing, just looked at me.

Suddenly, standing at the bar to my kitchen, it felt weirdly like the sun was shining warm down on me.

Creed twisted his neck and looked at the microwave before his eyes came back to me and he said quietly, “Got ten minutes to go time for next door, baby.”

Those rays of invisible sun heated my skin, taking the warm straight through me.

I shoved the last bite of donut in my mouth, put my coffee down on the counter, rounded it chewing then swallowing as I headed straight to him. He turned to me, his chin dipped, his eyes never leaving me even when my hands went to his neck, one sliding up and back, I went up on my toes, pressed deep and pulled him down to me.

I kissed him hard, my tongue sliding in his mouth and glazed mixed with Boston cream.

It was divine.

I pushed him back, back, kissing him, holding on and he slammed into the side counter.

His arms closed around me, pulling me up off my toes, off my fucking feet and he pivoted, crossing the kitchen until my back slammed against the refrigerator.

I used his shoulders as leverage, clutching hard, pulling up, my hand in his hair holding his head to me as the kiss went wild and deep. I lifted my legs and wrapped them around his hips, used my back to push away from the fridge, leaned in hard and he moved back until he crashed into the counter facing the dining room.

I tore my mouth from his, lifting my head to find both my arms wrapped around his. My breath was coming fast and shallow, my chest heaving with the effort, just like Creed.

Hair had fallen over his forehead and was mixing with the brow and lashes of one of his bright, blue eyes. It was strangely cute on a man who was not even a modicum of cute but hard, rugged and all male.

It was also hot.

And it was all kinds of sexy.

Shit.

“I gotta get dressed and get over to Charlene’s,” I whispered, not moving an inch, not letting go.

“I’m coming with,” he whispered back.

“Suit yourself.”

“That’s what’ll suit me.”

I shrugged but held his eyes and said quietly, “You get that family hooked on you, you disappear, I’ll hunt you down, Creed. I’ll hunt you down and find an uncomfortable way to make you pay. Do you get me?”

“I get you,” he replied just as quietly. “I also get that she may be rougher around the edges but wrapped around me right now is all the Sylvie who used to be.”

I reared back but he was prepared, his arm angled across my back and held me close.

“Put me down,” I demanded.

He didn’t move a muscle even as he stated, “Anything for you, baby. Any fucking thing. Now do you get me?”

“You don’t have anything I want except my desire for you to put me down.”

“I’m not what you want, Sylvie, I get that because it’s the same for you as it is for me. I’m not what you want ‘cause I’m what you need.”

My gut squeezed.

“Put me down,” I whispered.

He dropped me to my feet.

I reached around him, whirled the donut box and grabbed another glazed. Then I moved around the counter, snatched up my cup and started through the living room. Unfortunately, Gun was waddling her fat, furry ass in front of me and taking her time, there wasn’t room to get around her so I was forced to go slow.

This meant Creed could get another shot in.

He didn’t waste the opportunity.

“You kiss me like that just for waiting up for you, partner, lookin’ forward to payback when I do something that actually means something.”

I turned at the opening to the entry. “You win back my two hundred bucks playing pool, I’ll give you a blowjob that will make you think you entered a new dimension.”

He grinned. “Seems we’re goin’ out tonight.”

“Can’t wait.”

His face changed, his eyes changed, the way he held his body changed and all of this reached across the room and burned straight through me.

“I can’t either.”

I decided it was the time to get the hell out of there before his intensity obliterated me.

So that was what I did.

Though I did it after giving him the finger.

This meant, as I walked away, I heard him laughing.

Shit.

Great.

Whatever.

“Jeez-oh-pete, he’s hot,” Charlene whispered.

She was wrapped around the doorway to the back hall of her house, watching Creed who was at the end of that hall in her bathroom inspecting her leaky faucet.

I pulled her back and wrapped myself around the doorway.

Today, more faded jeans. The suede boots. But it was summer and today was going to be hot so he’d lost the t-shirt and was just wearing a lightweight plaid shirt, this one with light blues and hints of yellow against a background of cream.

Adam was in there with him and Creed was standing huge and tall in the room, smiling down at Adam who was babbling up at him excitedly.

Donuts were a hit.

Creed was a hit too because he brought them, at least he was for the kids. He was also a hit because he was huge and badass. It was my experience the only people who didn’t tread cautiously with badasses were kids. They adored badasses and had no qualms approaching or engaging them in conversation. Badasses were kid magnets and if the badass was a true badass, he had no qualms about this either.

Creed had proved that morning he was a true badass.

He was good with kids.

Not a surprise, he had them, he had experience, he would be. It didn’t mean I liked watching it.

I didn’t let on and behaved as usual.

The kids ate donuts, drank milk and they did this while Creed and I looked after them and Charlene got ready for work. Then Creed helped Adam while I dealt with Leslie and Theo. Creed and Adam were done first, Charlene was out of the bathroom so they went down there to look at the faucet. Charlene got done getting ready and found me.

This brought us to now.

“Can I help you fix it?” Adam cried loudly and excitedly, jumping up and down twice.

“Need a part, pal,” Creed’s deep, smooth voice with the rough edge sounded down the hall. “But I’ll get it, come back tonight and you can help me then.”

Great.

“I can help!” Adam shouted, jumped again and Creed’s smile got bigger, brighter, sexier and, fuck me, sweeter.

I pulled away from the door and turned to Charlene who was examining me.

“You give him that bite mark?” she asked quietly.

“Um… yes,” I answered.

“The bruise on his cheekbone?” she went on.

“Things got outta hand,” I whispered.

“How out of hand?” she whispered back.

“He pissed me off. I attacked him. Got a bite and punch in. He defended himself. Things got heated in a different way. He gave me an orgasm after introducing me to bewilderingly good head and rough, hard sex, during which he carried me partway across a room still inside me and shortly after, I returned the favor. With the orgasm, I mean, I didn’t carry him across a room.”

Her eyes went huge and she muttered, “Holy crap.”

I would use different words but I still agreed with an, “Unh-hunh.”

Her face changed, her eyes going warm and worried before she said quietly, “I know it’s him, Sylvie.”

Unlike Knight, I’d told Charlene his name.

She kept talking. “Knew it was him yesterday when he came over and introduced himself. I played it cool though I have no clue how since I was,” she leaned in and hissed, “freaking out. Are you okay?”

I nodded and moved further into the kitchen, murmuring, “I’m cool.”

“Sylvie –”

I turned to her. “He has to matter for it to matter and, babe, he quit mattering a long time ago.”

This was the conclusion I’d come to the night before. I was off my game because I was letting him get to me, like he meant something when he didn’t, not anymore.

So I had to let that go and when I did that, I would get a partner who knew what he was doing. I would work with him to make Knight’s troubles go away. In the meantime, I could jump a hot guy whenever I felt like it.

This was not a bad deal.

The rest was done and had been a long time.

I just had to get over the shock of it and I’d done that over bourbon and pool with a bunch of gay guys and drag queens which was the best way to go about that. Or one of them.

“Sylvie, when you told me –” Charlene started.

I stepped close to her. “When I told you it was my birthday. That was our day. That was the day. And I was drunk. Being over it doesn’t mean being over it. Shit like that,” I shrugged, “you never get over. But you can deal. I’m gonna deal. He lives in Arizona, has kids and a life down there and he’s a fucking great lay. You know me. I don’t get involved but I do have fun. So I won’t get involved but I will have fun.”

“The guys you pick up, honey, they aren’t Tucker Creed.”

I shrugged again. “They aren’t anyone. Neither is he. A memory come back to life, who’ll eventually become another memory. Might as well make it a good one this time.”

She bit her lip looking doubtful before she let it go to whisper, “Be careful.”

I grinned. “Careful’s my middle name.”

She rolled her eyes at my blatant lie then shook her head and, doing so, caught sight of the microwave.

“Crap!” she snapped. “Right!” she called loudly to the house at large. “Car! School! We gotta go!”

She moved into the dining room where Theo was chewing on something, diapered ass to the floor. I moved there, straight to Leslie who was sitting on a booster seat at the dining room table, coloring. Creed and Adam appeared in the kitchen as we were heading out.

We got the kids in the car and I was still being a goof with Leslie when I heard Creed ask Charlene, “Sylvie got a set of keys to your house?”

I gave Leslie one last smile and touched her nose with my finger before pulling out of her car door as Charlene answered, “Yeah.”

“I’ll change the windows out today. Tonight, I’ll deal with the faucet and look at your car,” he told her. “Good for you?”

“Definitely, Tucker, thank you,” she replied and her gratitude was genuine. Dan was gone but even when he was around Dan was a lazy-ass motherfucker. Creed, for Charlene, was a godsend.

I slammed the car door, moved to Adam’s window and pressed my hand to it before I bent and pressed my mouth to it and blew my lips wide making him and Leslie giggle.

After doing this, I moved around the hood of her car to the other side where Creed was standing as Charlene went on. “And thanks for the donuts.”

I watched Creed jerk up his chin.

“Later, babe,” I called as I walked by him.

“Later, honey,” Charlene called back. I lifted a hand and kept going as I heard her say, “Bye, Tucker. Thanks again.”

“No problem,” he muttered and I knew he was following me.

I stopped at my front door, Creed at my side, and I waved as they drove away.

Badasses, apparently, didn’t wave because Creed didn’t but when I turned to look up at him I saw that they watched cars drive away while smiling.

“Your agenda for the day?” I asked and he looked down at me.

“First up, drugstore,” his smooth, rough voice answered, giving me a quiver.

“Excellent,” I muttered. “Next?”

“Got a lead yesterday. Following it. You?”

“A lead?” I prompted and he shook his head.

“Let me see if it pans out, Sylvie.”

Oh shit. Oh no. Oh shit.

That could mean bad things if he had a lead on one of the guys.

I buried that and nodded. “Okay, me. Nair.”

“He doesn’t get out of bed before noon,” Creed shared.

“Right. Okay. Me, drive-by of Nair’s to get the lay of the land. Then office. Then check in on Serena. Back to Nair.”

“Check in with me, too,” he ordered, I nodded and he went on. “The part of your business I help you do is not this but, head’s up, saw your girl had job applications on her counter. Part-time. How the fuck she thinks she’s gonna manage part-time on top of full-time and three kids, got no clue. What I do know is, you do all your own admin and you got the money not to have to. It also doesn’t take full-time help. It’s none of my business, shit like this can go sour amongst friends but, you set her up, she can do it at home. Extra money for her, bullshit work you don’t wanna do gone for you.”

Fuck, that was genius and it sucked because it was his idea and I wish I’d thought of it myself.

I jerked up my chin. “I’ll talk to her.”

“You’re at the office, grab any files you got on the jobs I may need to get involved in with you. Bring ‘em home. I’ll look ‘em over.”

I nodded.

“Now you’ll give me her key so I can see to her windows before I head out.”

I jerked up my chin again, walked in and opened the drawer to the table by the side of it, grabbed the keys and tossed them to him.

He caught them then his other hand snaked out, nabbed me around the neck and yanked me to him. He bent low and his mouth crashed down on mine whereupon he laid a deep, wet, long one on me that ended with me arched into his body with my hands fisted in his hair.

He pulled his mouth from mine, looked directly in my eyes and muttered, “Later.”

Then he let me go and took off.

I took in a deep breath.

Then I headed to the shower to get ready to start my day.

Gun was sitting on the top of my couch, tail sweeping the back.

“Meow,” she said.

“Not you too,” I replied.

“Meow,” she repeated.

“Whatever,” I muttered, not needing a lecture from my cat and pulling off my clothes as I moved. I was naked by the time I hit the bathroom, which meant no delay in the shower so I turned on the water, waited for it to get warm and stepped right in.

It wasn’t until I was in my uniform, tank, jeans, belt, cowboy boots, long hair drying wild, a swipe of mascara and line of eyeliner and I was standing in my driveway staring at the lone Expedition when it hit me I didn’t have a car.

So I turned on my boot and headed to Charlene’s to ask Creed to take me to my car.

I was sitting in my ‘Vette parked on the street, nursing a chocolate malt and staring at the house out my side window when I sensed movement. My eyes went to my rearview mirror and I saw a huge, shiny, black Ford Expedition pull in behind me.

I rolled my eyes, grabbed my phone, flipped it open, went to the top of my recent calls list and hit go before putting it to my ear.

“Sylvie,” Creed answered after one ring.

“Partner, I checked in before I rolled out to get here. No reason to physically check up on me. Reminder, I’ve been doing this awhile.”

His response was, “Come back and get in my truck.”

“No. You got something to say you can’t say over the phone, come and get in my car.”

“Truck, Sylvie.”

“’Vette, Creed.”

Silence.

I dug in. Creed did too.

Patience was one of the many virtues I did not have.

“Fine,” I bit out. “Truck.”

I flipped the phone shut, threw open my door and me, my phone and my malt angled out. We jogged to his truck, I threw open the door and climbed in.

I turned to him to see him grinning a crowing because he won (again) grin.

I checked the eye roll and asked, “I’m here. What?”

“You know a woman named Amy?”

I forgot to be in a snit at Creed and his superiority. I felt my eyes get round as my mouth breathed, “Fuck me.”

His gaze moved over my face before it locked with mine and he muttered, “You know her.”

“No shit?” I asked.

“Pillow talk, baby,” he answered softly.

Blood roared in my ears as I sat back in the seat, faced forward and sucked up malt so fast, I had to close my eyes against the ice cream headache. Then I pulled the straw from my mouth and clipped, “That stupid bitch.”

“She’s in with Nair,” he told me and I turned my head to look at him. “I’m here because I got her phone wired. She just called him and she’s heading over.”

“That stupid bitch,” I repeated.

“Far as I could tell, Lively is a loyal soldier. But Nair was getting info from somewhere. It’s her.”

“Money?” I asked.

“Don’t know. When I wasn’t concentrating on you, Banks, Nick and Nair, I honed in on Lively. Had my eye on him, which means I’ve had occasion to have my eye on him when he’s with her. The little I saw of Knight’s men with their women, they don’t chose nagging, greedy bitches. Gut told me he had a weak spot, seein’ as he’d have that in his bed. I paid more attention, wasn’t wrong. His weak spot is her and his inability to get shot of her even though she’s a serious pain in his ass. Heard them have a fight in a restaurant a coupla nights ago. She doesn’t like his hours. She likes that he’s well paid but she’s not real fond of him workin’ for his money. Could be, she’s gettin’ money from Nair for info. Could be, she’s workin’ with him to close Sebring down so Lively will have more time to devote to her. Could be both.”

“She’s greedy, she’s a bitch and she’s a nag, Creed, but she’s not stupid. Yeah, it’s known she pitches a fit when Live has to work when she doesn’t want him to but she’s not so dumb to think they’ll live large if he doesn’t have a fucking job. She’s in it for the money.”

He nodded, his eyes went over my shoulder and he jerked up his chin.

I turned my head to see a red Mazda roll into Drake Nair’s driveway, a brunette I knew at the wheel.

Amy, the stupid bitch.

I heard the noises a camera made when pictures were being taken and looked back at Creed. He had an expensive digital to his eye. I turned back to Nair’s house to see Amy get out of the Mazda and approach the front door. The camera noises kept going as she did and continued up until she disappeared inside. Then they stopped.

“You good to be my eyes while I get close?” he asked.

“Fuck yeah,” I answered.

“Let’s move,” he muttered and threw open his door.

I stored my shit, threw open mine and jumped out.

“I approach from the north,” he said to me as we crossed the street. “His study is that side. I’ll start there and move on if he doesn’t meet her there. Catch up.”

“I’ll go south, perimeter check, see if anyone’s around. Been here about fifteen minutes before you and didn’t see any activity. I’ll meet you north.”

“Right,” he muttered and started jogging toward Nair’s neighbor to the north’s yard.

I did the same to the south, did a wide sweep, jumped a fence, crossed Nair’s backyard and rounded the side, seeing Creed crouched low under a window but his head was at the edge, camera to his face.

I whistled low when I got close, his head turned to me then he shook it.

I crouched low beside him, my back to the house, eyes on a continual scan.

“In the study?” I asked.

“Yep,” he answered.

“And you were shaking your head because?” I prompted.

I heard camera sounds and the hint of disgust in his voice. “You don’t wanna know.”

I always wanted to know.

I twisted, shot up and looked into the window.

He was right. I didn’t want to know.

I twisted back, shot down and muttered, “Gross.”

I just heard a hint of humor when he mumbled, “I told you you didn’t wanna know.”

“FYI, that put me off the blowjob I had planned for you tonight,” I informed him seeing as what I just saw was Amy on her knees going at Nair who was not attractive but he was hairy and he had skinny legs.

“Fuck, I hope he doesn’t eat her,” Creed murmured.

That got me a tingle. Yes, even after what I saw. Mostly because it said Creed didn’t want to be put off his plans for tonight and I liked his plans.

I scanned. Creed kept silent but his camera didn’t.

After a while, he broke his silence with, “That’ll mean dry cleaning.”

“Creed!” I hissed. “Don’t gross me out.”

“Just sayin’, there’s times when a woman should learn to swallow.”

I turned and punched him in the arm. He chuckled.

Then he muttered, “Time for business. Thank fuck, he’s not reciprocating the gesture.”

“Our day just brightened.”

“Comin’ home with donuts for you and people you give a shit about, seein’ you in those little shorts and tight cami, no matter that you were hungover, nothin’ could darken my day. Not even that shit.”

Sneak attack and I held my breath until my chest burned.

Creed’s camera sounded.

“Cash,” he muttered. “Wads of it. More than a blowjob is worth.”

“Even if that includes reimbursement for dry cleaning?”

I felt his eyes and looked up to see he’d lowered down from the window and was looking at me.

“Yeah, and then some. She’s the leak.”

I nodded. Poor Live. For whatever reason, he dug her. This would strike deep.

“Truck,” Creed grunted, I jerked up my chin and we both moved.

I’d learned that if you were somewhere you weren’t supposed to be, if you acted like you were supposed to be there, people assumed you were. So I always did that and noted, as Creed and I walked to his truck, free and easy, he followed the same school of thought.

We both angled in and I turned immediately to him. “You calling this into Knight?”

“Yeah. You wanna stay on Nair or come with me while I have a chat with him?”

“Get more done, we separate.”

He nodded. “Nick’s still a wildcard.”

“Yup,” I agreed.

“But Nair’s pullin’ the strings.”

“Yup,” I agreed again.

“Your plan?”

“Stay on Nair.”

“Right,” he muttered. “I finish with Knight, I’m on Nick.”

“After what I saw, I’m beginning to miss Nick. He’s boring but he’s not gross.”

Creed grinned at me.

My eyes dropped to his mouth then my body angled across the cab, I grabbed him at both sides of his head, pulled him to me and kissed him hard, wet, hot and long.

I let him go, grabbed the shit I stowed and threw open the door, muttering, “Later.”

“Later, baby,” I heard him mutter back.

I sashayed to my car and I did it deliberately. I felt his eyes on me as I went and they felt fucking great. I got in, settled in and he pulled out. My car was too low to see him as he drove by which was a shame.

I sucked back mostly melted malt which still tasted great and turned my eyes to the house.

Ten minutes later, Amy left and drove away.

Half an hour after that, Nair got in his ridiculously yellow Lotus and drove away.

I followed.

Hours later, I sat on my barstool, sipping beer, watching Creed play pool and thinking.

I was thinking about what I saw earlier. Creed walking into Charlene’s house with a bucket of chicken and a bag of fixin’s, all of which made the kids and Charlene, who not only didn’t have to cook but also didn’t have to pay for it, go wild.

I was thinking of taking turns with Charlene hanging around the corner of the doorway in order to watch Creed, with not only Adam but also Leslie, in the bathroom.

I was thinking he had a lot of patience, a lot of good humor and I hadn’t heard Adam or Leslie laugh that much since their Dad left.

I was thinking of sitting on the couch in front of the window in Charlene’s living room with Theo climbing over me, Charlene beside me and watching Creed’s ass as he bent over the opened hood of her car. And I did this while thinking how much cooler it was in her house now that the windows were open and the breeze could get through.

I was thinking I liked all I was thinking about.

Shit.

I stopped thinking when I saw Creed put the end of his pool cue down, give his opponent a look and lift his hand, palm up.

The dude was pissed. He should be. He lost.

He said a few words to Creed that only a blind person would miss were angry and Creed showed no reaction whatsoever.

Total badass.

Bills were passed over without a whole lot of sportsmanlike conduct.

Creed turned from the pool table without a backward glance, walked down the steps and crossed the bar to me. He stopped in front of me and shoved the bills down my tank, straight into the cup of my bra.

I felt my clit swell along with my nipples.

He dipped his face close, his eyes never leaving me.

“Time to go home, baby.”

Fuck yeah, it was.

I smiled.

I was on my knees at the side of the bed between Creed’s spread thighs and I was working his beautiful cock.

Fucking hell, I liked his cock. Big, thick, long, hard and silky. Beautiful, every inch. All of them.

I pulled up, lips tight around the rim of the tip and, while rolling it with the tip of my tongue, I sucked deep and hard.

“Jesus,” I heard him groan then, before I knew it, I had hands in my pits and I was flying through the air.

I landed on my front in the bed and I didn’t have the chance to get used to my change in circumstances before my hips jerked violently. I heard the rip and my panties were gone.

I rolled and looked up at Creed who was looming over me.

“I wasn’t done,” I informed him.

“You’re done,” he growled.

“I totally wasn’t –”

I stopped talking because my head shot back seeing as his fingers glided through the wet between my legs and he started finger fucking me.

“Fuck,” I breathed.

He got closer, I felt his heat and hard body at my side and his fingers worked me faster, driving deeper.

I moved my hand between my legs to curl around his so I could feel.

I felt Creed’s lips skim my chest before they disappeared and then his mouth was at my ear.

“Tank off, baby,” he whispered, his fingers not ceasing for a nanosecond in their delicious activity.

I yanked off my tank.

“Bra,” he grunted.

I arched my back, twisted my arms behind me, released the clip and tore off my bra, tossing it aside.

The instant I was done, his mouth closed over a nipple.

My back left the bed, I ground my hips down on his hand and shoved my breast deeper into his mouth.

My free hand slid into his hair and I moaned, “Oh God, yes. My God, yes.”

I rode his hand, my hips bucking and jerking against his fingers.

His thumb tweaked my clit and I gasped loudly as sensations tore through me.

His mouth released my nipple.

My chin dipped down and my eyes locked on his.

“Don’t stop,” I begged.

He shoved his fingers up deep and tight. “Want my dick there,” he growled.

Right.

I was good with that.

“Condom,” I breathed.

He dipped his head and ran his tongue from the base of my throat, down my chest, between my breasts, over my belly and he didn’t move his fingers until his tongue slid through my wet heat.

My neck and back arched and a long, silent moan escaped my throat.

He moved away, it took me a minute to recover as I heard sounds of foil ripping then my eyes opened when he stated low, “Call it.”

I looked at him. “Call what?”

His hand shot out, hooking me at the back of the neck, pulling me up off the bed, his other arm curled around my back and he tucked me close against his body.

“Until I know what you can take, and what you can’t, you call it.”

Warm rays of sun hit me.

“What?” I whispered.

“You want me to fuck you, you wanna ride me, you want it on your knees. Against the wall. On the floor. Bent over the back of your couch.” He paused, his face got closer, his voice more impatient as he demanded, “Baby… call it.”

My invisible sun warmed me deep to my soul.

“On your back, Creed,” I whispered.

He dropped us to our sides, rolled and lifted me even as I positioned my legs. I grabbed his cock and he lowered me down as I guided it inside.

Fuck yeah.

I started moving, my eyes on him, his pinned to me.

“Hands to the headboard,” I demanded, watched his eyes flash and I ground down and kept grinding.

He lifted his hands to the headboard and I watched his fingers curl around.

My eyes went back to his face and I saw his jaw was hard.

He didn’t like that. That wasn’t his gig.

But he did it.

For me.

Fucking hell.

The heat of the rays of my sun burned deep.

I bent to him and kept moving on his cock as I explored the skin of his neck, shoulders and collarbone with my mouth.

I ended at my scabbed-over mark on his neck and licked it.

His hips started bucking up to meet my downward glides.

“Yeah, baby,” I whispered in his ear.

Suddenly, both our bodies jerked up the bed and my head flew up to see he’d pulled us both up, his arms were now cocked, the muscles flexed and straining in his biceps, the veins in his forearms had popped out.

I looked to his face as our hips met over and over, rough, hard, fast, deep, beautiful.

“You wanna touch me,” I said softly.

“Want your tits in my hands, your tongue in my mouth.”

“Take it,” I breathed.

His hands immediately moved but only one curved around my breast. The other one dove into my hair and crushed my mouth down on his. His tongue spiked out and I took it. It curled around my tongue then he sucked deep, my tongue was in his mouth and I gave it.

His thumb slid across my nipple hard and I took that too, moaning down his throat, our hips moving faster. His finger met his thumb and rolled. The kiss, already wild, went out-of-control and I had to lift a hand and curl my fingers around my headboard. The power of his hips increased so much, if I didn’t, he’d throw me off.

It was coming, fuck, holy shit, it was coming.

I tore my mouth from his and my head flew back.

“Ride ‘em, cowgirl,” he murmured and it was the first time in my life I came while smiling.

My head dropped forward as it left me, my hands were curled around the top of my headboard and I still felt Creed’s mouth between my legs. His head to the pillows, I was sitting on his face, his tongue lapping at me, sweet, gentle, even tender.

Fuck me.

I shifted my hips, he got the message, his fingers, already curved around my hips, pulled me down the length of his body and I collapsed on him.

“Right, you got a Costco around here?” he asked and, sated, relaxed, in a total happy zone, this question threw me.

So I muttered into his neck, “What?”

“You weren’t fuckin’ around. You can go all night. This means I need to find condoms in bulk.”

My body started shaking on his with my laughter and I lifted my head to look down at him. “I’m not sure Costco sells condoms in bulk.”

“Worth a fly-by to check and see,” he muttered and I kept laughing but collapsed back into him.

He waited until I quit laughing then his arms gave me a squeeze.

“You got the plan?”

I nodded. “Knight’s business as usual, no one’s the wiser we got the goods on Amy and Nair except Lively who will pass along bogus intel. Set up. You need to work on Charlene’s car after you pick up the part tomorrow morning. I’m on Nick. Tomorrow afternoon, another search of his place. After that, we regroup.”

“You got it.”

“You tired Grandpa?”

He was silent.

Then, “Shit, seriously?”

I lifted my head and smiled down at him. “No. I’m wiped.”

He pressed his head into the pillow and looked back at the headboard muttering, “Thank God.”

“God’s not in my headboard, Creed.”

He looked back at me, grinning. “Disagree. Saw some heavenly action tonight.”

He was not wrong.

I tipped my head to the side and dipped my voice low when I asked, “You wanna sleep in here tonight?”

His voice was dipped low, a flash went through his eyes and his arms tightened again when he replied, “Yeah.”

“I don’t cuddle,” I told him.

His arms tightened again but this seemed reflexive before he muttered, “Right.”

“He cuddled.”

Another flash went through his eyes as his jaw hardened then he unclenched it to repeat a muttered, “Right.”

“You can manage that, you’re welcome here until you go back to the Grand Canyon State.”

One of his hands slid up my back, over my shoulder, up my neck to curl around the side of my head before he whispered, “I’ll take it, Sylvie.”

It was my turn to mutter, “Right,” and I did before I shifted off him.

I turned off my light.

Creed turned off his.

I pulled the sheet up to my waist, settled on my belly, head turned away from him, knee crooked. I didn’t know how he settled.

“I like morning sex,” I warned into the dark.

“Fuck me,” he muttered.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

I heard him chuckle.

Then my body tensed as I felt the tips of his fingers glide over my hip, my ass to my waist in a super soft touch before they moved away.

“’Night, partner,” he murmured.

“’Night, Creed,” I murmured back.

Five minutes later, Gun joined us, curling in the crook of my leg.

By the sounds he made, Creed fell asleep before me.

It took me a while.

Mostly because, over and over in my head, I heard his voice saying, call it and saw in my mind’s eye his hands curling around my headboard.

I adjusted minutely, reaching out to Gun and sifting my fingers through her thick, soft fur.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

She started purring.

I fell asleep.

Creed

“Fuck,” Creed heard her whisper.

He squeezed his eyes tight.

He heard her cat start purring.

He cuddled.

Creed opened his eyes.

It took some time but the cat quit purring so he could hear Sylvie’s breaths come deep.

He shifted out of bed and moved to her dresser. Carefully, he opened the drawer where he found it while he was doing his search a month before.

He dug back behind her tees and his fingers hit it.

He pulled it out, moved to the window and stood in it, letting the moonlight light the wooden box as he flipped it open.

His put his finger in, flicking through the chains there.

Eleven necklaces. Eleven peridot pendants.

He flipped the box shut and his eyes went to the bed.

Her cat’s head was up and Creed knew she was looking at him.

Sylvie kept his necklaces. She cared.

She kept them.

She cared.

He fucked her twice that night, made her come four times. She was there but she was not. He could be anybody.

But if she kept those fucking necklaces, somewhere in her, she cared.

He put the box back, grabbed his shit and left the room. He dumped it on the floor in her wreck of a guest bedroom, climbed into the double there and settled on his back.

He shoved one hand between his head and the pillow. He lifted the other one and traced the scar on his cheek then through his hair, his fingers pressing deep, feeling the ridge along the skin under his hair, over his skull until it stopped.

The memory played in his head like it did thousands of times before, his voice coming back, pained, weak.

Promise me.

The bastard promised.

He’d lied.

Creed rolled to his side.

He didn’t cuddle Chelle. He gave her that until she fell asleep and then he set her away.

He’d fucked her over, huge. He’d tried but a dead man felt nothing. Creed had nothing to give. He wanted to, she deserved it but it just wasn’t there.

He couldn’t sleep next to Sylvie, his Sylvie, and not hold her.

So he didn’t.