Page 46 of Lethal Truths

As if Creed can read my messy thoughts, he softly adds, “He hates himself. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you. I don’t know the whole story, but I guarantee you he was acting on a direct order, and the guilt has been slowly killing him ever since.”

I open my mouth to argue, or say that Griffin could have been honest, or something else, but Creed doesn’t let me get a word in.

“I’m not saying he didn’t deserve your wrath. Hell, all three of us do. All I’m saying is that Griffin is the most worthy of your forgiveness. He’s the most worthy of your big, beautiful heart. And yet, you’re here with me, when I’ve tormented you just the same.”

“Are you implying that I should be with him instead of you?” I ask, shocked as hell after the speech he gave me earlier about being his in every way.

His eyes flash with possession a second before he grabs me and pulls me into his lap with ease. With his arms wrapped tightly around me, keeping me close, he nips my bottom lip and says, “Don’t ever say such a silly thing like that again, Prudence. I’ll never let you go. Not even for my best friends. Haven’t I made that clear by now?”

I scrunch up my face. “Then what are you saying?”

Creed grins, slow and filthy. “I’ll never let you go,“ he repeats, his voice husky and dark. “But I won’t deny you of a single want, either. And you want Griffin, baby. You have since the moment you two book worms started meeting in the library. That’s why his actions hurt you so much.”

My heart clenches, hating how right Creed is. I haven’t allowed myself to think too deeply into this shit with Griffin and all my feelings on the matter, but hearing Creed say it aloud, I know he’s right.

Creed continues before I can even think of how to respond. “I’m not pushing you to do anything. I just don’t want you to regret not doing anything later. Like you said, we don’t always have the luxury of waiting sometimes. And with The Celestials no doubt planning our deaths right now, isn’t it better to try talking with him? You guys made each other happy once, and I hate to see that connection lost.”

Fuck, he’s right. Even if I’m still so angry about what Griffin did at that party, I’d be gutted if he died tomorrow. If losing my mom has taught me anything, it’s to love hard and hold on tight, because you could lose it all in a blink of an eye. “I still don’t understand what you’re saying. How—“

“I’m telling you to talk to him because I’m okay with sharing, Prudence. I meant it when I found you and Asher together, and I mean it now about Griffin. Whatever you want, as long as I still get to hold you just like this whenever I need to,” he says softly.

My mind implodes as I recall his confusing words the other day. I hadn’t understood him, and now I feel dumb. He hadn’t been all that cryptic after all, had he? I just didn’t hear him right.

Share.

God, no matter how hard I try, I can’t shake that word out of my freaking brain. Never in a million years would I ever think it would be Creed, of all people, to suggest such a thing, either. But he’s never fit in a box. He beats to his own, albeit usually violent, drum, and I’ve been well aware of that since the day I met him. Is it really such a shock that he’d be into unusual relationship dynamics?

Would it even work? Work I want it to? I mean, I can’t say the idea isn’t… appealing.

Tipping my head back with a soft groan, I force my thoughts back to the here and now. Even if I’m not sure yet, Creed was right about one thing. I have to talk to Griffin. Whether or not we can ever get back to being true friends, let alone something more, I have no clue. But I almost died. Several times now, actually. And I refuse to leave this plane of existence with so much painful baggage.

That’s why, half an hour after my chat with Creed, I’m now standing outside Griffin’s closed bedroom door. With a tremble working through my body, I lift my hand and knock softly. “Griffin?” I say a moment later.

I wait a few seconds, but when he doesn’t come to answer the door, I test the handle myself. Turning it, I ease the door open as I mutter, “Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk about—“ My words stop dead when I take in the scene before me.

Griffin and Asher. Asher and Griffin. It’s like my brain sputters to a standstill while I try to make sense of it all. My body freezes, as do theirs, and it’s the most awkward handful of seconds I think I’ve ever experienced.

Asher is in Griffin’s bed, leaning back against the headboard with the sheets draped over his waist. His chest is bare, his hair messy, and I can’t tell if he’s got any clothes on beneath those sheets. The momentary shock of me walking in has his eyes going wide, but it disappears in a second, replaced by a dirty grin.

I can’t stand to look at his face or the smugness in it a second longer, and instead, I find Griffin once more.

He’s standing in the middle of the room, naked, with boxers pooled around his ankles on the floor. It’s almost like he heard me call his name and got up to throw clothes on, but my impatient ass barged right on in before he could cover up. My traitorous eyes take it upon themselves to drop down his strong, muscled body and settle on his dick. He’s hard, and the size is intimidating and so… Nope. Bringing my gaze back up to meet his snaps us both into motion.

I stumble back a step while he rushes to yank his boxers up. Asher watches me, chuckling under his breath as he runs a hand through his hair. “Feeling okay, pet? You look a bit flushed,” he muses, like the asshole he is.

I blindly reach behind me and grasp the doorknob in a tight fist. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have— I didn’t mean to, um, intrude.”

Griffin is covered now, thank god, and he’s watching me retreat with a deep frown that I don’t know how to read. Is he upset I caught them like this? Is he upset I’m leaving? Or maybe he’s just seeing me and remembering pulling me from the bathtub yesterday, and it’s all too much? He steps toward me as he quickly pulls his curly hair back into a bun.

I take another step backward, gripping the doorknob like it’s the only thing keeping me upright. “I just, uh… Thank you for saving me yesterday.” I give one stern nod, like that’s all I wanted to tell him when I barged in here. Then I turn around and leave the room, closing the door on my way. My feet don’t stop walking until I’m back in Creed’s room, and I collapse on the bed without telling him a single thing.

“That was quick,” Creed says after a moment of shocked silence.

“Yeah, he was busy with Asher,” I mumble. I close my eyes, trying to purge the images from minutes ago out of my mind, but it’s harder than I’d like.

30

Prudence

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