Page 34 of Creed

I click see all comments to see if she replied to him. She only hearted it.

I don’t know what to think. I mean, I expected that there might be someone and know he’s no choir boy. But a married woman with a child? Is the baby his? Does he love her?

I swipe a stray tear from my cheek when Creed barges into his room. “Heard you were asking for your keys.” He stops at the end of the bed. “Why are you crying?”

“It’s nothing. I just want to go home.”

“Beautiful, you know that’s not going to happen.”

I slam his computer shut. “Don’t call me that,” I snap.

“Okay. I’ve clearly missed something, so why don’t you dial your tone back and tell me what the fuck has you ready to rip my throat out?”

“Fuck you. Give me my keys.”

“Not happening. I prefer you here in my bed, all in one piece, all sexy, even if you’re pissed off at me for whatever reason.”

“Don’t. You can’t charm your way out of this.”

“All right. Talk to me.” He sits at the foot of the bed, pulling my feet into his lap. I scooch back against the headboard, away from his touch. “What the fuck, Lottie? An hour ago, you were begging me to fuck you and now I can’t touch you?”

He goes for his computer, and I jump up off the bed. He changes targets and gets hold of me, tugging me back down on the bed.

I elbow him in the ribs and debate head-butting him with the back of my head, but I don’t want to hurt him. I only want him to let me go.

“You can try to run from me, Lottie, but I’ll always catch you. I’ll always find you. I love you and nothing you do or say is going to change that or stop me from proving it. No matter what it takes. So you can fight me. Bite me. Punch me. I don’t care. I’m going to keep coming at you until you submit, because we both know that despite whatever this tantrum is, you love me, too.”

Chapter Twelve

Lottie stops fighting against me, either because she’s giving in or she’s grown tired. Either way, she’s still in my arms and if that makes me a dick, I don’t give a fuck.

“Is this about what Kitty said?”

“Yes, and no. It’s everything, Creed. You have a bazillion condoms in your nightstand. You’re apparently obsessed with a woman that’s married with a child who looks oddly similar to me but prettier. Is that your kid? I don’t know anything about you. I mean, you belong to an outlaw club who has the means to show up and dispose of a body in broad daylight. Like, who even are you?”

“Seems we need to set some shit straight.” I loosen my hold on her, but she doesn’t pull away. I take it as a good sign to keep talking. “The condoms are there if I need them. I practice safe sex. I like to fuck. I’m not ashamed of it. The other guys around here love pussy, too. It’s not a bad thing to have plenty of protection for anyone who needs it. The guys know they can always count on me having astash in my room, so if they need it, they can come grab whatever they need.”

“Okay. That’s smart.”

“Damn right it is. You wouldn’t believe the bitches trying to pin a kid on a brother because they’ll do anything to be an ol’ lady. And yeah, Ember is gorgeous. We had a fling, and that’s all it was. I’m friend with her and her man. The kid is his. I check in sometimes on how they are doing and give him shit about if he’s not treating her right that I’ll step in, but beautiful.” She freezes up and I look at my laptop lying on the opposite side of the bed. “You don’t like me calling you that because you saw I said it to Ember. It’s just a term of endearment, same as calling someone honey or babe.”

Lottie scowls up at me and wiggles out of my arms.

“Okay. I get that means something to you, but you’re the only woman I call hellcat. But if that other shit bothers you, I’ll make a conscious effort to stop doing it. If it means something to you, then it’s important to me that I respect that boundary.” Her expression softens, so I keep going. “You know who I am.” I press her palm to my chest over my heart. “You know me the same as I know you. But you’re right that there are things you don’t know about me and if this is going to work, you’ve got to know those parts too and learn to accept them. I used to have trouble controlling my temper and, as you know, I’d fight to get that aggression out. I take jobs that involve me doing stuff that I know youmight hate me for, but I’m good at it. I make damn good money. Enough that if you’re with me, you won’t have to lift a finger if you don’t want to, but being with me comes with a lot of responsibilities and you being okay with there being some shit I can’t share.”

“I need a minute,” she tells me, and I give her that space even though we really don’t have the time for it. There are things we found out about Cade that she needs to be aware of. Her pretty blue eyes meet mine. “I understand a lot of what you’re saying. It’s a lot to take stock of.”

“Yeah. I’m sure you’ve got more questions and I’ll answer them, but there is something else we need to discuss.”

“Okay.” She sits up straighter, appearing calmer.

“This Cade pussy. What did he tell you his job was?”

“A delivery driver for fast food and sometimes he’d do taxi type stuff.”

“He ever tell you he was dealing drugs for the Red Scorpions?”

“Say what?”

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