Page 102 of Creed

And I love him more for it.

I just have to hope that they can get rid of Guy, somehow. I don’t want to live a life constantly looking over my shoulder and worrying about mine, Creed’s, or Riley’s safety.

I shake off any budding thoughts of my tormentor and focus on breathing and stretching out my muscles as I watch the band wrap up their last song before the encore. I’m so nervous to go out on stage and perform in front of thousands of people that my stomach is in knots.

I’m wearing a silky robe over the outfit that Creed and Riley had picked out for me. I took Ayla with me to a costume store that I’d found by pure luck and she helped me pick out the perfect accessories to help disguise my identity to the world. When security led me backstage through this fancy tunnel thing that was under the physical stage, she met me in Creed’s dressing room and helped to paint over my tattoos with this iridescent paint with swirls and patterns that go all the way down to my fingertips. She’s fucking talented, I’ll give her that. I’d also picked out a lilac colored masquerade mask that was covered in glitter and sequins that she helped tie on. It matched my…outfit perfectly. This thing is even more scandalous than anything I’d even worn at Viper. It’s hardly more than a fancy, blinged out bra and thong with lots of extra straps that cross and wrap around my body. I’ve got my hair curled and partially pulled up into matching space buns, which were strategically placed so that my mask wouldn’t slip off my face while flipping around in the silks. I’m not entirely sure that Creed and Riley knew what they were buying when they picked it out. They’ll find out soon enough, I guess.

My gaze drifts over to Riley as he takes off into an insane drum solo and I’m mesmerized by him. My eyes are locked onto him and every movement he makes. He lost his shirt at some point during the concert because it’s hotter than Satan’s ass crack in here with the mass amount of bodies getting worked up over the sweet seduction of Dark Sins’ music. I can’t look away from Riley. He’s deep in concentration, his dark eyes focused on the drum set in front of him. I let my eyes rove over his body and it truly is a beautiful sight. He’s fucking flawless. Beautiful. Butterflies erupt in my belly when he hits the cymbals one last time and stands, his arms above his head, every muscle in his chest and abdomen stretched and on display for the crowd to devour. But it’s his smile that he gives the crowd that has me reeling. That wide, excited grin that shows off those damn fae-like canines.

Creed thanks the crowd and the band starts to leave the stage, and Riley’s eyes meet mine as he steps down from the drum set. My heart starts beating even faster than it already was when he looks at me like I’m the only thing in the world he sees.

Strong arms wrap around me, popping the little bubble I’d built around myself and instantly I feel ashamed for looking at my boyfriend’s best friend the way that I was. I feel Creed’s lips brush over my neck as he whispers in my ear.

“I was staring at him, too, Stardust.” I jerk and turn in his hold, ready to apologize profusely, but I’m greeted with a wide, heart-stopping, happy grin. He dips his head and captures my lips in his, my now purple lipstick adding to the growing collection of kiss marks on his face. I melt into him, falling into the comfort of his embrace. He pulls back, his eyes shining. He cups my face and leans in close, speaking so softly I can barely hear him over the roar of the crowd screaming for an encore. “It’s okay to want him, too.”

I barely have time to register his words and have no time to conjure up a response before he kisses my temple and rushes past me to pull his best friend into a hug, slapping him on the back as he releases him. He says something to Riley that has him laughing and I’m momentarily stunned by Creed’s words. They were said so quickly and quietly that I wonder if that’s what he really said and I’d just made it all up.

What the hell does that mean? Does he not want me like I thought he did? Does he think whatever I’ve been feeling for Riley is affecting the way I feel for him? Because it doesn’t. I don’t even know what it is I’m feeling for Ri, but it’s more than I felt when we’d first bonded. My mind has been warring with the guilt and acceptance that I’m feeling something for two men.

I haven’t told a damn soul, but Creed had to have picked up on it because he wouldn’t have said anything otherwise. I’m starting to feel sweaty and panicky when a water bottle appears in front of me. Ayla is there, with an inquisitive look on her face. Her head tilts to the side as she takes me in. She reaches out and gently squeezes my shoulder.

“You alright?” She asks, her voice soft and sweet.

“Um, y-yeah.” I say unconvincingly, pulling my attention from Creed and Riley who are chugging water and dabbing the sweat from their faces. It’s almost comical to see how careful Creed is being to not smear or wipe away my lipstick marks, the purple now covering his own lips. I look at Ayla who turns long enough to see what, or who, I’m looking at and she smiles when she turns back to me.

“Don’t worry about them, right now.” She says. I’m hoping like fuck I’m not that transparent about my feelings that everyone around me can see me lusting after two men. “You need to focus on you right now, you don’t need to be distracted before performing. Whatever is worrying you, put the passion of it into your performance, and address it later. You’ve got this.”

I take a deep breath and let her words sink in. I know she’s talking about me performing, but it sounds like more. And I’m thankful for her words. She leaves me without another word and I take a moment to take a deep breath and refocus my attention.

“You gonna take that off and show us your fuckin’ smokin’ body, girl?” A voice speaks into my ear, yanking me right out of my calm state. Tony slinks around me, his eyes raking up and down my body and I hug my robe tighter, crossing my arms to cover more of myself. I’ve barely interacted with this guy but he just gives me this bad feeling like he can’t be trusted. Being alone with him is the last thing I want and I start looking around for Creed and Riley, or even Bear, but I can’t find any of them in the darkness of the backstage area.

“Excuse me?” I snap, looking anywhere but at Tony’s snake-like face.

“I’ve been dying to see this tight body again. You’ve been my favorite from the first time I stepped foot in Viper.” He groans, grabbing his junk over his tight jeans and squeezes. My insides twist violently at the word ‘again’, and the realization that he’s seen me at the club more than once slams into me hard. “But my favorite part,” He growls, and in a flash, he grabs my wrist and yanks me to him. I struggle in his hold, but his grip only tightens to the point of pain. My mind threatens to slip into a safe space as the touch reminds me of my past, but I fight to keep myself grounded in the present. I refuse to let him take advantage of me in a weakened state. He leans in and his hot, stale breath wafts into my ear, “My favorite parts are those mind-blowing happy endings you give in the masked VIP room.” He leans back, licking his lips and looking at me like he wants to eat me alive. My stomach roils with nausea and every drop of blood feels like it drains from my body at what he just admitted. I feel dizzy with the realization that this guy, one of Creed’s bandmates, was most likely one of the men who had assaulted me when Tank started forcing me to these anonymous rooms to ‘pay off my debts’.

I lift my chin in defiance, looking down my nose at him, even being a whole head shorter. “Then you’re a fucking monster, just like the rest of those assholes who used those rooms.” I seethe as anger begins to boil within me and I clench my jaw. I highly doubt that Bear, Creed, or Riley participated with Tony, but the fact that he’s saying I’ve touched him in ways I never wanted to, that he took pleasure from me in those rooms, has me seeing red. With as much strength I can put into the motion, I yank my wrist free from his grip and turn to find Creed when Tony’s hand shoots out and grips me by the back of my neck instead, forcing my back to his front. I yelp at the rough grip but my stupid fucking voice doesn’t make more than a whisper of a noise. I want to vomit when I feel his erection pressing into my ass.

“You wouldn’t want to run and tell your little boyfriends about this, would you?” I don’t miss the way he said ‘boyfriends’ and not the singular ‘boyfriend’. My lip curls in disgust as he grinds himself against me. “Because I’ve got the most beautiful proof of the little whore you are, and how much you fucking love to be passed around.” He says as his phone comes into view, and tears sting at my eyes when I take in the video playing.

It's me in my red wig and matching red teddy bodysuit. I have a vacant, far-off look in my eyes, my pupils blown wide. I barely remember this night. One of the men in the room had given me a drink to ‘loosen me up’ and I stupidly drank it, wanting to numb the pain of what I was being forced to do, not realizing it was laced with a date-rape drug that made me much more pliant. Little did they know that I’d already gone somewhere else in my mind, the drug putting me in a further mentally catatonic state. I feel a physical pain in my chest to see my lips wrap around what I assume to be Tony’s pencil dick and take him to the back of my throat—which honestly doesn’t look like much now, but still.

I look away from the video and glance around for Creed and Riley again but still don’t see them.

Where the fuck are they?

The crowd outside is going nuts as music starts to play in the background, indicating that the show isn’t over yet.

I struggle in Tony’s grip, but it only tightens and he laughs in my ear. The shrill sound makes me shrink into myself. “You tell a goddamned soul, and I’ll make sure this video is the first thing Creed and Riley see, followed by the rest of the fucking world.”

“What do you want?” I grit through clenched teeth, trying to hide the way my voice shakes.

“I want what I got in the room that night. Those sweet, plump lips wrapped around my dick. You’re already living with two men, what’s one more? You’ve got three holes, after all.”

Oh, fuck no. I’ve fucking had enough of dumb motherfuckers trying to blackmail me and threaten me. I turn on my heel, the quick motion causing him to release my neck. Looking up into his soulless eyes, I peer at him from beneath my lashes and struggle to fight my nausea as I run my hands up his chest. Now it’s his turn for his pupils to dilate. “If it’s just a blowjob you wanted then…” I trail off, my hands roving down his arms seductively, my nails scraping lightly along his skin. He shivers at the touch. But before he can blink, I’m grabbing the phone in his hand and launching at the wall. It shatters and lands on the ground with a satisfying crunch. I turn back to him and shove him so hard he falls back on his ass.

I take a step forward and point a finger down at his shocked form. “I’m fucking sick of being threatened by pieces of shit like you. You think your threats scare me? They don’t. You think I won’t report your ass for sexual harassment? You’re. Fucking. Wrong.” I spit, hoping he can feel every ounce of venom saturating my words. “Stay the fuck away from me.”

I take off down the hall, looking for Creed. The adrenaline rush is starting to wear off rapidly and I can feel myself starting to panic again. I reach his dressing room and just as I move to shove the door open, it swings inward and a figure appears in the doorway. I wrap my arms around his bare chest and squeeze tight. The familiar clean scent hits me and I know it’s Riley. My mind settles a little as he wraps his arms around me and hugs me back.

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