Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Creep glances into the small mirror hanging by the door and cocks his head as if he can’t really trust the reflection.
When he turns, he says, "would you like me to pay you?"
I still and we stare at each other. Is he suggesting… I'm an escort? Sure, my arrangements with the guys I've been juggling involved them supporting me, but that's not what I want with Creep and it's kinda hurtful to realize he might have considered me something he can buy.
Creep raises his eyebrows as I mull over the answer. "For the haircut. And nails."
My shoulders relax. “No. No, I wanted to do that for you. Because I like doing it. And because it seems you need a bit of pampering.”
I’m babbling, all hot on the inside, my stomach fizzing as if I drank far too much soda, so I segway to a different topic before things can get too awkward.
“You know what you need to complete the look? Some cool jewelry,” I tell him and take off my necklace, the one depicting the planets of the solar system and their orbits. It’s made of brass, with tiny specks of crystals to play the roles of all the celestial bodies. I want him to have it. Is this what Marina felt when she gave it to me two years back? “This nice lady who owns the crystal store I often visit gave it to me. I was feeling sorry for myself that day, and she just put it around my neck, telling me it needs to be with the right person at the right time. Something tells me it should be yours now. So don’t lose it!” I jokingly add and shove his shoulder.
I’ll miss its weight, but at this moment, it’s the right time to let its energy move on.
Creep grabs it and turns it in his fingers, as if getting to know each planet with care. “I won’t. I’ll protect it,” he says so seriously I just know it’s safe with him, and that puts me at ease.
I feel myself blushing and cough to put an end to the awkward moment. “Oh, it’s only natural that the necklace moves on to the next person who needs it. Good energy must flow freely. I can’t just hoard it. And you’re… nice. You deserve it.”
He’s making me feel so strange. Like that first time I realized I liked another boy. He seems so innocent, despite everything he is, despite the odd fetish thing, and I want him to keep that innocence. Maybe if I’m around, I can protect him from all the cruel things that could hurt him? I might not have the muscles, but I can be the shield around his heart.
He frowns, and it only makes him more handsome. What have I done? He will be my ruin.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been called ‘nice’,” he says and licks his teeth, as if those long canines need to be wiped clean of blood.
“Well, that’s because you live with people who’ve never told you how handsome you are either. Clearly, everyone here’s blind,” I say, breathing in the scent of his hair, because we’re standing so close that if he was anyone else, I might be reaching out to touch him by now.
I know I should remain vigilant. After all, often people don’t show their true faces until much later. Someone smarter would have kept him at arm’s length and remained wary of the man who abducted me and tried to keep me inside his cave.
But I like him. And I trust him despite it being reckless.
I’ve been with so many walking red flags. Maybe it’s not such a crime to see the green shimmer on Creep’s?
“Do you think they’ll see the difference?” he asks when we walk out, and it’s just precious. I hesitate, unsure how my next gesture might be seen, but I make the final push and slot my fingers between his.
“We’ve already established they’re blind.”
He snorts and looks at me with the cutest blush on those sharp cheekbones when he squeezes my hand. I can hardly believe the same man who did all those filthy things with me last night is still shy, but here we are. My hand in his as though we’re fourteen and still too afraid to make out.
Chapter 17
Creep
I would die for my club, no questions asked. The Vulture Hollow MC took me in when I had nothing and no one, not even a name worth saying out loud. But the kind of acceptance I feel when Angel holds my hand transcends even my attachment to the Vultures. I hope nothing ever pits those two loyalties against each other, because fuck, I might crumble under the weight of such a decision. I now know why Road put everything on the line for Clyde. Not doing so would have been like cutting off all your limbs and then being expected to go on as you bleed out all over the asphalt.