Page 122 of Creed

This is so much more than giving her all of my firsts. More than her giving a part of herself to me. What we just did fucking healed something inside of me that I thought had long since been broken and irreparable. She’s shown me that I am wanted, that maybe I’m not so ugly from the inside out, after all. That maybe…I am deserving of the love that she may one day give to me when I’ve earned it.

My eyes sting from the emotions welling up inside of me. As if she can read my thoughts, she kisses me tenderly before pulling back just enough to look into my eyes. “I’ve got you,” her sweet and smoky voice cuts through the silence, but her words feel like a balm to my bruised and battered heart. “You’re mine, Riley Graves.”

“Always.” I smile and kiss her once more as I shift us to the end of the bed before carrying her into the bathroom to wash the both of us.

The silence between us is intimate and full of contentment. Creed is still gone when we’re clean and crawling back in bed. Collins snuggles into my side, wrapping herself so perfectly around me and I hold her close, not daring to let go as I drift off to sleep; afraid it’ll all disappear when I wake.

I have the girl. I still have my best friend. I’ll do everything in my power to be deserving of both of them.

Once I’m certain she’s asleep, her breathing deep and even, I kiss the top of her head and whisper softly into her damp hair.“You’re everything and more, Snow. I’ve been waiting my whole life to be loved by a woman like you, and here you are. Believe me when I say I’ll wait a thousand lifetimes and more, just to hear you say you love me back, but I’m really fucking glad that I get this part of you now.”

Chapter 42

Creed

Ifeel the moment Tony’s nose breaks beneath my fist with a satisfying crack. I grin and welcome the pain that flares in my knuckles when I grip him by the shirt, rear my fist back and hit him again, this time the hit cracking across his jaw. I can’t help but laugh maniacally when he spits blood and a tooth accompanies it.

He knew exactly why the fuck I was here by the way he laughed when I barged into his bus.

I’d told Collins I was going to get the three of us some late night ice cream and snacks to celebrate the start of our beautiful throuple, but my plan took a detour when one of Asher’s men called me and reported what he’d witnessed earlier tonight.

The McTavish brothers’ security team are highly skilled men and women who are trained to remain in the shadows so their charges have no idea they’re there unless they make themselves known.

I’d just pulled up to the 24/7 convenience store with my hat and sunglasses ready when I received a call. It was one of the guards named Jones who told me what had happened between Tony and Collins tonight. How Tony had cornered my girl the moment Steve had pulled me and Riley away and showed her a video on his phone. Jones said he didn’t see or hear what was said between the two, but he caught a clip of the video as he'd stepped up to intervene, but Collins had taken matters into her own hands. He said that she’d shoved him so hard he fell flat on his ass and smashed his phone against the wall before storming off, one of the female guards following silently on her heels.

What has me seeing fucking red is the fact that the video was one of Collins in yet another compromising state, being taken advantage of. By motherfucking Tony and fuck knows who else. My heart physically aches at the mere thought of everything my girl was put through and I’m ready to seriously kill someone over it. Multiple someone’s, actually.

I knew something was bothering her from the moment I’d opened the door to my dressing room she stood there looking stricken and panicked, like she was desperate to tell me something. But then she had just played it off like it was nothing but nerves for her performance. I’d felt it again on the ride to the hotel but with my plan in place, I’d needed to get her out of her own head and grill her about it later.

Now she won’t have to relive it by telling me because I get to take care of the problem right the fuck now. I’ve hated Tony from the moment he joined the band and now we finally get to get rid of the fucker.

Tony tries to right himself and charge at me but Bear intervenes and grabs him from behind. I’d called him on my way over and was already up and waiting for me by the time I’d stormed the bus. We’ve been lucky with the extra security keeping paparazzi at bay so moving around tonight has been a breeze so far. I’d hate to knock out an innocent that tried to keep me from getting revenge.

“I don’t see what the big deal is, Creed.” Tony laughs through bloody teeth as he struggles in Bear’s grip. “You and Riley are clearly fucking her by the way she clings to each of you like some needy bitch. So why the fuck can’t I join in, huh?”

“Shut the fuck up.” His question is cut off on a garbled rasp at Bear’s growled words. His grip shifts and he wraps one of his fucking gigantic biceps around Tony’s neck, cutting off his ability to speak. Probably robbing him of taking a full breath, too, if the growing redness in his face is any indicator. Bear’s eyes meet mine from behind Tony and he lifts a blonde brow at me. I shake my head once because now is not the time to talk about it.

But Tony is Tony, which by definition means he’s not very smart. So of course he keeps speaking. “Sharing is caring, right boys? Think about it, it’d be like… zero adjustment period for her to go from two to three. You know, considering I’ve already had a taste of her and all.”

No sooner do the words leave his mouth that my fist is connecting with his nose again and he wails in pain. He sways in Bear’s arms, fighting consciousness when the look in my friend’s eyes looks about as murderous as I’m positive mine does right now.

“The fuck is he talking about? ‘Already had a taste?’” Bear spits, barely hanging on to a quickly waning Tony who’s sleepily laughing like he’s the cat who won the cock, or however the saying goes. But I notice that Bear’s looking at me like he wants to rip me in two and it’s got me confused as fuck. He suddenly drops Tony like he’s a bag of dicks and storms over, shoving me back against the wall with a grip so tight in my t-shirt that it threatens to tear the fabric.

“You wanna let go of me? Collins likes this shirt. Makes a pretty dress on her.”

“Did you let Tony touch Collins?” His question shocks me and it hits me now why he’s so close to murdering me. I understand and even appreciate the protectiveness that he’s showing of my girl right now, but it’s sorely misplaced and I won’t sit back and let him accuse me of a goddamned thing.

“You seriously think I would let that sack of shit anywhere near Collins?” I grip his shirt back and shove him off of me and I know it’s a move he allowed because he wouldn’t have budged otherwise. “You think that I’d willingly let him even share the same space as her? Fuck, Bear. She was my family before she was my girl. I’ve protected her my whole fucking life. I might have lost her for a while, but she’s here and she’s fucking mine.” I grit the last word through my teeth, clamping a clawing hand at my chest. “She’s mine to protect from anyone and anything that I’d see as a fucking threat. My world could be falling into chaos while keeping her safe and I couldn’t give two fucks as long as all she sees are fucking sunshine and rainbows.”

My massive friend looks at me for a moment before sighing and running a hand through his long blonde hair. “Why do you think I called you here tonight, Bear? I want this motherfucker gone. I’m two seconds from strangling the fucking life out of him. The shit he’s talking about? A security guard told me what he overheard and saw. He has a video of Collins.”

His eyes snap to mine, fury burning bright, finally aimed back at the right person. “A video?”

I nod, not wanting to share too much, but needing to share enough to stress just how badly we need Tony fucking gone. “Tony lied when he said his buddy had just discovered Viper. From what I’ve just been told tonight, he’s been a fucking VIP member there for a while and he’s met Collins before.”

I don’t dare say more, but the implication is enough because I see the pieces clicking together for Bear.

Before we can do a goddamned thing about it, the door to the bus blows open and Steve comes hobbling onto the bus, his lips flapping and jowls jiggling as he talks a million miles an hour about going to some bar, but he pauses mid-sentence when he sees me and Bear standing over a now-unconscious Tony.

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