Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jada

The front door opened before I could even put my key in the lock. Creed stood there; a sight that always made my heart skip a beat. Even though I had seen the man in all his naked glory, seeing him with the top two buttons undone and his bare feet was my favorite version of Creed. He held his hand out to me, and I gladly put mine in his. He pulled me inside and closed the door behind me.

“You look tired.”

I kicked off my shoes and dropped my purse by the front door. “Hello to you, too,” I laughed. “And while I apparently look tired, you look sexy. Your night must have been better than mine.”

“Spending time with your mother is definitely a better time than being anywhere near Candace.”

He pulled me into his arms, and I buried my face in his chest. “This is helping to make up for it,” I mumbled.

Creed held me close, and the past hour melted away.

“Did you get dinner?” he asked.

“Oh god,” I moaned. “I forgot it in the car. I was so happy to be home that I just grabbed my purse and ran,” I laughed.

Creed pressed a kiss to the top of my head and stepped back. “Get undressed, and I’ll get dinner.”

“We’re having dinner naked?” I asked.

He chuckled and slipped on his shoes. “Pajamas, gorgeous. The naked part comes later.”

“Oh, fine,” I sighed. “Twist my arm to get comfortable.”

Creed left to go get the food from the car. I made my way to the bedroom and put on a cute blue pair of pajamas: a soft, short-sleeved top with tiny white stars scattered across it and matching shorts. I piled my hair on top of my head in a messy bun. By the time I returned to the kitchen, Creed was back with the food bag.

We worked in sync to get plates, ketchup, and drinks. We set everything on the coffee table and had a picnic in front of the TV.

“Have you ever been to the Green Door before?” I asked.

Creed shook his head. “No. Did they have a green door, at least?”

I laughed and nodded. “There was a green door, as advertised.”

Creed put a movie on, and we dug into our food. When I was halfway done, I sat back. “Okay, I think I’m ready to hear how things went at Larson House.”

Creed wiped his mouth and tossed the napkin on his empty plate. “It was good. She’ll have someone with her around the clock, and she didn’t remember anything about Candace.”

I shrugged. “I mean, I wasn’t worried about her remembering Candace. That ship has sailed. I just wanted to make sure she didn’t hurt her.”

“I wouldn’t be too quick to think your mom doesn’t remember things.”

I tipped my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“She didn’t remember my name, but she remembered me.” He leaned toward me. “And you, too.”

I reared back. “No, she didn’t.” I honestly could not remember the last time Mom had remembered me. I was always just a stranger to her, and I decided to hang around a little bit every week. But she was happy, and I was satisfied with that.

“She remembered us from last week, Jada. She asked me where my wife was and then even remembered your hair is black.” He held up his finger and got up. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of paper off the table. “And when we were done making this, she said she wanted you to have it.”

I clasped my hand to my mouth and took in the beautiful collage of bright cutout pieces of paper. I had made countless collages with Mom over the years, but she had never offered me one to take with me. She always kept them for herself.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

Creed moved closer and pointed to the various purple circles. “Your mom went to town on the purple. She wasn’t kidding when she said that was her favorite color.” He handed it to me, and I stared at it. “I was thinking I could get it framed for you.”

“Yes,” I whispered. It had felt like I had lost my mom years ago, but I could see her in this collage. “I’d like that.”

He carefully took it from me and set it back on the counter. “Now it’s your turn to tell me how things went with Candace.”

Ugh, talk about a downer. Creed settled back on the couch next to me. “I’m assuming it went well since you didn’t need to call out the cavalry.”

I nodded. “It went fine. I told her what you guys were doing, and then she asked about Leo. I mentioned that he said he was heading to St. Louis this week, and she perked up. She wanted to know when he was going, but I told her I didn’t know. She said she could find that out on her own. She finished her drink, which, by the way, she made me pay for, and then she was gone.”

“That’s all you told her?”

I nodded. “Swear to god. I know you don’t know what St. Louis has to do with anything, but it seems like Candace does.”

Creed sighed and shook his head. “Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

“Has Leo called?” I asked.

Creed shook his head. “Nothing from him yet.”

“Is it normal for him to just take off without telling you where he is going?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s normal, but he has done it before. Murphy and I were talking, and we’re glad he at least took Apollo with him.”

I guess that was a good thing.

“So what are we supposed to do now?” I asked. It seemed like all we were doing was hurrying up and then waiting.

“Wait for Leo to call. Or I guess wait for Candace to pop up again,” Creed shrugged.

Ugh. I didn’t want to wait anymore. I wanted all of this to be over. I’d like to go back to just working at the bookstore and spending my nights with Creed. Was that so much for a girl to ask for?

I moved to Creed and straddled his lap. “Just what are you doing, gorgeous?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought we could move on to dessert,” I suggested, letting a playful smile spread across my face.

“You still have half of your food left,” he pointed out, not taking the bait.

“Are you going to lecture me about wasting food again?” I laughed.

“No, but I am going to put your dinner in the fridge so it doesn’t go to waste.” He lifted me off of him and grabbed my plate. I watched him go into the kitchen and slap some plastic wrap onto the plate.

“Why are you so concerned about wasted food?” I asked, watching him from the couch.

“I didn’t have much growing up.” He set the plate in the fridge. “Food was not something I had. I went days without eating, and when I did get to eat, it was bread, and if I were lucky, there would be butter.”

“What?” I whispered, feeling a pang of sadness for him.

Creed moved back to the couch and positioned me back on his lap. “My mother was an addict, and my dad took off before my mom could even tell him she was pregnant. Any money she had was first spent on drugs, and what little was leftover got spent on food.”

I cupped his face with my hands, feeling the roughness of his stubble against my palms. “I’m sorry, Creed.”

“Don’t be sorry, gorgeous. It totally sucked, but it made me into the man I am today. My mom died when I was thirteen, and I was placed in foster care. I was incredibly lucky to be adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Clark. They owned seventeen gas stations in Illinois and had money flying out of their pockets. They also were kind and took me in as their own. I met Leo when I was fifteen, and we’ve been like brothers ever since.”

“I thought you were Banachi?” I thought all of the guys were Banachi.

“I am. It might not say it on some piece of government paper, but Banachi is who I am. Leo, Apollo, Princeton, Murphy, and me are Banachi.”

“Brothers by choice,” I whispered, understanding dawning on me.

He nodded and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Exactly, gorgeous.”

I leaned my forehead against his, letting the warmth of his presence wash over me. “Thank you for telling me that. It makes me understand you even more.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, his voice a low rumble that I loved. “I want you to know everything about me.”

“I want the same, Creed. I want us to share everything, the good and the bad.”

He smiled, and it reached his eyes, making them sparkle. “You know, I never thought I’d find someone who would accept all of me, my past included.”

“You’ve never had a girlfriend, Creed, so I have to wonder if you ever really tried to find one,” I laughed.

He pulled me into a tighter embrace, and I felt the steady beat of his heart against mine. We sat there in silence for a while, just holding each other.

Finally, I broke the silence. “So, what’s the plan for the rest of the night?”

Creed chuckled. “I thought you wanted dessert.”

I grinned. “I do.” I wiggled on his lap, grinding down on him. “I do think we have too many clothes on.”

Creed’s eyes darkened with desire, and his hands moved to the hem of my shirt. He pulled it over my head slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. His fingers trailed down my sides, sending shivers through me. He unclasped my bra with practiced ease, slipping it off my shoulders and letting it fall to the floor.

He leaned in, his warm breath ghosting over my skin before his lips followed. He suckled on my breasts, his tongue teasing my nipples until they were hard peaks. His hands palmed my full, lush breasts, kneading them gently. The sensation sent jolts of pleasure straight to my core.

I could feel the heat between us rising, and I needed to feel more of him. I popped open the buttons of his shirt, one by one, revealing his bare chest. My hands roamed over his muscular torso, feeling the strength beneath my fingertips.

He groaned, a deep, primal sound that made my pulse quicken. “Jada,” he murmured against my skin, “I need you.”

I shifted on his lap, straddling him more firmly. His hands slid down to my hips, guiding me as I ground against him. The friction was delicious, but it wasn’t enough. I reached down and unbuckled his belt, freeing him from the confines of his pants. He lifted his hips, helping me pull them off.

With his pants gone, there was just a thin barrier between us. I pushed my shorts and panties to the side, positioning myself over him. His hands gripped my hips tighter as I slowly lowered myself onto him, savoring the sensation of him filling me completely.

We moved together in a rhythm that felt both urgent and unhurried. I rode him, our bodies finding a perfect sync. His hands roamed over my back, my thighs, my breasts, touching and caressing everywhere he could reach. I leaned forward, my hands braced on his shoulders, and kissed him deeply.

Our breaths mingled, our moans filling the room as we lost ourselves in each other. The world outside ceased to exist; it was just us, tangled together in a moment of pure, unadulterated passion.

Creed’s hands gripped my hips harder, guiding my movements as our pace quickened. The intensity built between us, every thrust bringing us closer to the edge. My nails dug into his shoulders, and I threw my head back, lost in the overwhelming pleasure.

“Creed,” I gasped, feeling the climax building inside me, “I’m so close.”

“Me too, gorgeous,” he groaned, his voice thick with desire. “Come for me.”

His words pushed me over the edge, and I cried out as the orgasm crashed over me. My body trembled with the force of it, and I felt Creed’s release follow, his grip on me tightening as he found his own peak.

We stayed like that for a moment, bodies entwined, breaths coming in ragged gasps. Slowly, the world came back into focus, and I collapsed against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath me.

“Wow,” I whispered, my voice still shaky. “That was...”

“Incredible,” Creed finished for me once again, kissing my forehead softly. “You’re incredible, Jada.”

“I think we’re just incredible together, Creed,” I sighed.

When our breathing steadied, Creed gathered me in his arms and carried me to the bed. “I’ll be right back,” he promised.

I laid in the bed, listening to him moving around my apartment. “What are you doing?” I called.

“Locking up,” he hollered back.

I sat up on my elbows and waited for him to walk back into the bedroom. “That sounds like a lot more than locking the door. Come to bed with me,” I pleaded.

“I’m coming,” Creed called. Two minutes later, he walked back into the bedroom, still naked.

“Good thing I closed the curtains, or you would have given the neighbors across the street quite the show,” I laughed.

Creed turned off the light and got into bed. I burrowed under the covers with him and laid my head on his shoulder.

“What are the odds of Candace just disappearing, and you and I can just spend the rest of our lives tangled up in bed?” I pondered.

“Uh, slim to none, gorgeous. Candace is only going away if she’s in the ground.”

I hummed under my breath. “Is it odd that it turns me on when you talk like that?”

“I think it’s a good sign you like it because it’s who I am.”

I caressed his cheek. “My mafia man,” I whispered.

“My sexy bookworm,” he replied. He pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Get some sleep, gorgeous.”

I snuggled into him and did just that. For the time being, I was safe; that was all I could ask for.