Page 55 of Sundowners
“Why should I trust you?”
Cross blinked and his eyebrows shot up, though I wasn’t sure why he thought I might not trust him. “Because I have nothing to gain by deceiving you, and everything to lose if these punks out us with their foolish activity.” Cross put an arm around me and sighed. “I always liked you, Creed. You didn’t put up with bullshit and you were a stand-up guy. But if you’ve been living like a monk this whole time, we need to have this conversation.”
I allowed him to lead me inside and chuckled at his comment.
“Nottotallya monk…”
He laughed hard at that, grabbed Mark, and we went up to the bar, which was nearly deserted by now. A cute bartender in a halter top and fitted jeans asked us what we wanted.
“You know what I want, baby.”
She batted her eyes at him and wiped her hands off on a towel. “And for your friends?”
“I’m good,” Mark said with a grin. “I’m the wingman tonight. Creed?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
She shrugged and came around the bar to stand in front of Cross with her back to him. Mark blocked them with his body and kept watch, though the few stragglers were either deep in conversation, making out with each other, or on their way out the door.
Cross slid her hair to the side and held my gaze as he kissed the side of her neck. She wiggled in his arms and giggled. “That tickles,” she said with a laugh. She ran her hands up and down his thighs and pressed her bottom into his groin.
“You keep that up and we’re going to end up giving my friend more of a show.”
She looked me up and down. “I wouldn’t mind that.”
Cross laughed and went back to work on loosening her up. I recognized his technique. I smelled his pheromones the moment he released them.
Damn, he smelled good. Even from four feet away.
“Relax, baby. I’ll take care of you. And if you want more, well, I’ll come find you after you close up.”
She sighed and tilted her head to the side, closing her eyes.
Cross was so smooth you couldn’t tell he was doing anything other than kissing her, and he was done wicked fast. It was obvious he did this…often. He looked at me as he finished with her, then turned her around in his arms and kissed her on the mouth.
“Thank you, Marina. You always taste so good.”
She nibbled on his ear. “I’m done at two. You know where I keep my spare key. Come on by.” She kissed him once more and they hugged for a long moment before she went back to cleaning up the bar.
“And that’s how I’ve kept myself sated and happy, my friend.”
“You just…tell them?”
He laughed. “Not exactly. Marina knows because I’ve known her a long time. She owns this place and we have an arrangement. Most people, they don’t believe it. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, I get sloppy, as you do, but yeah. Baby, you tell most people you’re a vampire and they think you’re playing a game.”
“Yeah, and we don’t hurt anyone, Creed. You need to know that. I get a sense you think we’re abusing what we’ve been taught.” Mark’s solemn look reassured me. It bothered him, thinking I might have a bad opinion of them
I thought about Roman and my gut clenched. If I continued seeing him, spending hours in his bed, eventually I was going to drink from him, and I needed to get his permission, which would mean telling him everything.
But the more time I spent with him, the closer the police got to the attackers, the more likely that they’d go after him. To get to me.
“I’m glad for you. But we’ve got a problem, and I could sure use your help figuring out what to do about these attacks.”
Mark looked between Cross and I. “I’m ready. Let’s fuck some shit up.”
18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
