Creed (The Marquette Family Book One) (7 page)

“Uh, yeah! It’s like a dream come true. Thank you.”

In an instant, the cool detachment was gone, and she saw what she had seen in the storeroom a few nights ago. A thrill raced through her, and it had nothing to do with the food.

“Later,” he promised and disappeared out the door before she could ask him to explain.

* * * *

They served the last meal at eight-thirty and officially closed at nine. Even though Shada’s feet hurt and she was tired, she was also keyed up. She stretched her arms over her head and worked out the kinks in her neck. They had their dishwashers tonight, so no double duty for her. Earlier, against her protests, Damen had run Marisa home and returned in a decent time, which told her he hadn’t stayed to take advantage of her. She knew she was being overprotective, especially since Marisa had turned twenty-eight three months ago, but one couldn’t be too careful with a man like Damen. He was nice, but he also didn’t come off as serious. Shada wouldn’t have her sister used, and she’d snip his balls off if he hurt Marisa.

“Shada,” Creed called from down the hall. She snapped out of her reverie to go see what he wanted. Expecting to find he wanted to review something with her about her performance, she gasped when he tugged her into his office, slammed the door, and trapped her against it.

“Creed, what’s going on?” She swallowed, avoiding his eyes, but his Adam’s apple, the thick column of his neck, and the broad shoulders weren’t much better. “You said you wouldn’t push.”

He tilted her chin higher, forcing her to meet his gaze. “
If
you told me to back off. You didn’t tell me, Shada. In fact, you’ve said nothing.”

“Well, I was thinking.” She wriggled to get free, but her thigh brushed his, and she froze. “I have cleanup duty. Everyone’s going to think I’m shirking my responsibilities.”

“Let them wait.”

She realized from the glint in his gaze and the firmness of his jaw that he was just as keyed up after the success of the night as she was. The difference was, Creed’s assertive personality came to the forefront even more because of it.

“I want you,” he reiterated. He leaned down and kissed her throat. Her pulse raced. “In point of fact, I want to eat you up.”

“C-Creed.” Her body was on fire. She licked her lips.

Creed narrowed his eyes and pulled on the strings of her apron. The material loosened around her waist. He flattened the palm of his hand on her belly. “Do you know where I want to put my hand right now, Shada?”

“No,” she lied.

“Should I show you?” he said, his voice low.

“Um.”

Somehow she spun away from him and grabbed for the doorknob. He covered her hand and moved closer. Now she realized he’d let her turn on purpose so he could spoon her ass. All of her willpower worked to keep her from grinding into him.

“S-so let me get this straight.”
Damn it all, I’m over the stuttering. You’re not a virgin, Shada. Stop acting like one.
“I want to be clear, Creed.”

He nuzzled her nape. “Of course.”

“If I say no right now and mean it…?”

“Baby,” he groaned in her ear. Her panties were done for. “Don’t say no.”

She shut her eyes and rested her forehead on the door.

Creed pounded the wall with his fist, and then his body was no longer pressed against hers. She peeked over her shoulder. He had stepped back, his fist pressed to the bridge of his nose. “Go,” he said.

“You’re letting me?” She hesitated to move.

“I said I won’t force you. Go now.
Please
.”

Shada pivoted in degrees. She eyed his crotch and saw the tent there. He reached his desk and leaned over it. The tension in his hand when he gripped the desk turned his knuckles white. This man wanted her bad.
Really
bad. The knowledge boggled her mind. He could surely have any woman he wanted. Hell, half the women who had come to the restaurant would have said yes if he’d propositioned them—no matter their age. Since she’d met him, he could have satisfied his lust many times, but over the last few weeks, she hadn’t seen Creed leave the restaurant except late at night. He always returned early in the morning and worked straight through. This man had denied himself physical pleasure with a woman, as far as she could tell, and he had chosen her. He wasn’t offering what she didn’t crave, and he definitely wouldn’t interfere with her personal decision not to fall in love. Nothing could be more perfect.

She walked over to him and rubbed her hand over his cock, squeezed it, and pressed her body to his. Chin raised, she challenged him with a look and waited.

Creed’s arm shot out, and he crushed her to his chest. “You better be serious, Shada.”

She kissed him and caught his bottom lip between her teeth. A tiny lick at it with the tip of her tongue made him moan. “I’m serious, as long as it’s your place and not mine.”

“Let’s go!”

She pushed at his chest. “I have to clean up first. You’ll have to wait.”

“I’m the boss, and I say—”

“Wait for me, Creed. I’m worth it.”
Check me out, getting all bold.
She spun away from him, ground her ass into his crotch, and walked to the door. At first she thought he would force her back, but he let her go. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw a lust burning so hot in his eyes that she almost went back and begged him to take her right there.

Somehow, she made it through work, and then they were off. The last things Shada saw at Marquette’s were Tiffany’s scowl of jealousy and Damen’s knowing smirk. Stefan had disappeared altogether, and Rene had walked off down the street in silence.

“I think they know,” Shada said, sitting across from Creed in his car. She kicked off her shoes and rubbed a foot.

He glanced at her and then focused back on the road. “Do you care?”

“Sounds like you don’t.”

“Like I said, my lover is my business.”

“We’re not exactly lovers. This is a one-time thing.”

“And if I want more?”

“Whoa. Wait, didn’t you say we’re not going for a relationship?” She held up her hands as butterflies fluttered in her belly. “I’m not in the market for a boyfriend right now.”

“That surprises me.”

She frowned. “Why’s that?”

He shrugged and reached across to touch her lips with a fingertip. The man had an obsession with her mouth. Not that she minded.

“Something about you. But you’re right. I don’t want permanent attachments other than what I’ve planned for.”

“Planned for?”

“Never mind. I’m not asking you to stay with me, Shada. I want your body. You’re very beautiful.”

She smiled and lowered her lashes. “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Plus you owe me.”

“Excuse me?”

“I get to see that luscious body naked. You’ll stand before me so I can have my fill of looking at you.”

“Oh, I will, will I?”

“Definitely.” He reached out again, but this time, he flicked her nipple through her blouse. The tiny peak pebbled at his touch, and she squeezed her legs together. She didn’t like the knowing expression on his face and told him so. But no matter how much sarcasm dripped from her lips and how much she teased him about the last time she saw him naked, Creed’s amusement only increased.

“You don’t care what I say, do you?” she demanded.

“Baby, all I want you to say to me is yes. And you
will
say it, all night.”

Chapter Six

Shada had expected Creed to take her to a hotel, especially with him just as new to the city as she was. When they pulled up to the house on about three acres of land, she blinked in surprise. The two-story stone-exterior house wasn’t exactly a mansion, but the quality of the structure, with a wrought-iron fence that opened with a remote, came through loud and clear.

“You moved fast,” she commented, but Creed said nothing as they drew to a stop in the wide driveway.

She followed him inside and paused in the foyer, gasping at the marble floors, the winding staircase, and the high archways leading off into various rooms. Was it lame for her to gawk? She wasn’t sure, but her mouth fell open and her eyes widened all the same. This was how the rich lived, or maybe it was the way they slummed. The house probably didn’t have more than four bedrooms or so, when she had imagined Creed’s house to have no less than ten.

She glanced over at him as he shut the front door. “This place is—”

Creed lay a hand at her nape and slid it around to her throat. He moved up close behind her and pushed the other hand between her legs. A rough squeeze had her moaning and her lashes fluttering downward.

His deep voice sounded in her ear. “Forget the house.”

He devoured her mouth in a hungry kiss and thrust his tongue inside to steal her breath. Through her pants, he rubbed at her clit until it swelled toward his finger.

Somehow she managed to free her mouth and turned her head. “C-Creed, I have to call home.”

He released her with reluctance. She fumbled in her purse for her cell phone. Talk about aggressive—the man was ready to eat her up just like he said he would, and she was all for it. Why she had thought Creed to be a gentle man, she didn’t know. Sure, she’d seen his kindness, but he was strong, and he often fought a temper. Right now, she thought he might tear off her clothes if she didn’t get naked fast enough. Just the idea made her wetter.

“Hey, Marisa,” she said when her sister answered. “It’s me, sweetie. I’m going to be a little late tonight.”

As she spoke, she watched Creed walk to the hall table and remove the keys from his pocket. He tossed them on the table and pivoted to face her. In one long stride, he reached her side again, nabbed the phone from her fingers, and spoke into it.

“Marisa? Creed. Are you okay?” he asked. “Need anything?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Shada heard her sister say.

“Good. She’ll see you in the morning,” Creed said. He tapped the disconnect button just as Shada was about to protest and tossed the phone beside the keys.

Shada frowned and put her hands on her hips. “Seriously, Creed, I could have talked to her. You didn’t need to handle it.”

He backed her up until she bumped the door, and he pressed a leg between hers. When he raised it, his hard thigh brushed her pussy, and she caught her bottom lip with her teeth. Creed lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her silly. He raised his head but didn’t move far. “When I say I want to be inside you now,” he whispered against her lips, “I mean it.”

“Creed.”

He snapped the button off her pants with one hand and lowered the zipper. Her gasp turned into a groan when he reached inside her pants, past her panties, and skimmed her clit. Creed’s impatience didn’t allow him to stay there long. He pushed lower until he parted her folds and eased fingers inside her pussy. Shada cried out. She grabbed onto his shoulders and dropped her forehead against his chest.

“Creed,” she begged, but he ignored her desperate pleas as he stroked his fingers in and out of her pussy. “Fuck it, I’m going to come!”

“Yes, you are, right now.” His command didn’t depend on him ordering her around, but he raised her off her feet and held her against him. The man’s strength knew no bounds as he held her up while he worked her pussy. She writhed and screamed, wishing she could arch into his thrust. Creed controlled all her movements while bringing her to the edge of sanity.

“Look at me,” he said.

Confused, she struggled, and Creed stilled the movements of his hand.

“No, don’t stop,” she begged.

“Look at me, Shada. Keep your eyes open while you come.”

“I can’t. I’ve never been able to do that.”

She put her head on his shoulder and peered at him through heavy lids. Creed licked her lower lip, and she mewled and shut her eyes. He withdrew.

“What are you doing?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I told you to watch while I bring you to orgasm. It gets me off.”

“You mean you’re a control freak.”

He squeezed her pussy hard, his fingers moist with her come. She squirmed in his hold, but he didn’t let her loose. Arching into his touch, she managed to get his fingers to sink into her heat, but Creed took them away again.

“Okay, okay, whatever you want,” she said. “Just let me come.”

“You’ll come, as much as you want.”

She nodded, and he pulled his hand out of her pants. With swift movements, he shed her clothing. Not even pausing to be careful, he yanked her pants down her legs and ripped her panties to scraps. She followed suit and tore at her blouse. Tomorrow, she might regret ripping one of the blouses she wore to work, but who the hell cared right now?

When she wore not a stitch of clothing, Creed picked her up, a hand at either hip, and all but tossed her over his shoulder. They wound up in the living room, and she landed on her back on the couch, with Creed kneeling between her legs. He lapped at her juices as if he had tasted nothing better. Her orgasm rose toward the surface again. This time, she cupped his head in both hands and pushed up to his face, groaning and encouraging him to feast on her.

Creed wiggled his tongue as deep as he could get it into her wetness. He moaned, sending vibrations through her. When he raised one of her legs, squeezing the back of her thigh, and nibbled at her pussy lips, she shouted his name.

Creed moved like lightning. He climbed up her body and replaced his mouth with his fingers. He massaged her clit with the pad of a thumb. Shada knew what he wanted. She gripped his arms and stared back at him. The lust, the intensity, his ragged breathing, and most of all, the feel of him playing with her clit, drove her to the place she longed to be. Her orgasm roared through her body, pulsing from her core out to her thighs and belly, seemingly all over. She had never felt one this strong, and she screamed.

Creed covered her mouth with his. He tasted of her essence, and he held her chin, hungrily kissing her. While he crushed her beneath his weight, making her feel small and feminine, he took her hand and guided it to his pants front. His cock twitched in her fingers, and Creed made her press hard. He grunted and broke their kiss.