Page 14 of Unravelling The Beast

His brow rises casually as he makes a hand gesture toward Cree.

"That's not my only car; as you may have noticed, I have a kid."

Because of his obnoxious tone, I grind my teeth and try not to roll my eyes. I think he knows that he is irritating me, and I'm not sure if he is an outright asshole or if he enjoys being a pain in my ass. This is going to be a fucking long day.

I give him a fake smile as I stand upright.

“Very well.”

I smile down at Cree, extend my hand for him to take, which he accepts and then throw a glance over my shoulder at Arlo, my long, dark hair flicking as I do.

"Are you ready, Daddy?"

Something sinister shifts his eyes, and I turn my head to face forward, a faint smile creeping across my lips.

That either annoyed him or got him off. In either case, I'm satisfied. I begin to walk forward with Cree, firmly holding his hand as he skips alongside me.

When we reach the end of the lengthy path, we pause and I hear the front door slam behind us, followed by Arlo’s heavy footsteps coming our way.

He strolls past us, and we follow him until we enter a huge garage filled with luxury cars. The majority are black and gleaming, with tinted windows and chrome alloys.

As I take a glance around, I try to remain unimpressed until Arlo opens the back door of a black Mercedes AMG G-Wagon, and I lean down to lift Cree up from under his arms.

He is small for a three-year-old, but his vocabulary is amazing, and he has been very well behaved thus far. I effortlessly strap him in his car seat as Arlo opens the other back door and throws Cree's bag onto the back seat. Our eyes meet for a beat before he slams the door shut.

As soon as he can't see me, I roll my eyes and smile down at Cree as I finish strapping him in.

"There you go! Safe and secure."

Arlo settles into the driver's seat before reaching back with his fully tattooed arm to activate the small screen inside the passenger seat headrest.

When the screen comes to life, Cree smiles warmly at his dad, and Arlo, to my surprise, returns the smile, his pristine white teeth on display as well. He strokes Cree's leg with his palm before returning to his seat.

I stare in fascination, knowing that I’d just witnessed his eyes relaxed with a smile for the first time. When he doesn't have that bland, expressionless look on his face, he looks even more breathtaking and when he interacts with his son, he appears to have some life in him.

I snap out of my daze and smile down at Cree.

“Let’s go and see those trains!”

"Yes!!"

I can see the joy in his eyes, and it makes my heart leap. I close his door before climbing into the passenger seat next to Arlo. His strong aftershave envelops me, flooding my nostrils with the most delicious scent.

As I turn my body to clip in my seatbelt, I notice that he has one hand resting on the top of the steering wheel, fully relaxed, and that he is moving his tongue piercing along his bottom lip while staring ahead, completely zoned out. When he clearly hears that I'm all buckled up and settled, he starts the car and pulls out of the garage.

We drive for a while, and I check over my shoulder every now and then to see how Cree is doing and if he needs anything, just like I would with any child I care for. After some time, I ask him if he wants something to drink, but he shakes his head, so I smile and look forward again.

Arlo decides to speak for the first time during this entire journey.

"You know, he'll just tell you if he wants anything."

With annoyance, I purse my lips together. It's not what he says, but how he says it. The words come out as shitty and cocky, which for some reason, gets under my skin.

I pause, thinking of how to respond, before resting my head back and turning to face him with a slight smile on my lips.

"Would you prefer that I not ask your son if he needs anything, Arlo? Is that it?"

His dark eyes flash to mine, clearly picking up on my sarcastic tone, and our eyes lock for a split second before his gaze drops to my lips, where he can see my tiny smirk.

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