Afterglow: An Apocalypse Romance

by Monroe, Maria

  “What?” Nina whispered.

  “That you’re so goddamn stubborn,” he said, stepping back with a smirk on his face.

  Fuck. Him. Nina flushed with embarrassment at the thought that he’d got her so turned on, so ready for something, and then just messed with her head. Again. Asshole, she thought, fuming, as she stalked into the kitchen.

  “Hey, hey!” Creed called after her. He grabbed her arm.

  She pulled away and set her coffee cup on the table, then crossed both arms across her chest.

  “I’m sorry, Nina. I was just playing with you.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m sick of it, Creed. Since we’re kind of stuck together, at least we could be respectful of one another, OK?”

  He put his hands up in defeat, but Nina wasn’t done.

  “You can’t act one way, then another, without giving me a clue as to what you’re thinking. Like last night? We were about to... you know... and then you were so angry at me. For no reason. It’s like sometimes you’re funny, and sometimes you’re a dick, and sometimes you’re nice, relatively, at least, and I never know which version of you I’m going to get! You need to tell me what’s going on with you, Creed. It’s not fair to be an asshole without any reason or explanation.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “That’s it?”

  “I said I was sorry.” He stood across the room from her, his muscular arms crossed in front of him, legs slightly parted.

  His hair was getting longer, and he hadn’t shaved today, so his jaw was rough with scruff. He looked part bodybuilder, part mountain man, and despite her anger, Nina couldn’t help thinking about how big he was, how capable of picking her up easily, dominating her, having his way with her. Which was a ridiculous thought right now because she was mad at him, but hell if things didn’t have to make sense all the time. What was wrong with letting her mind run a little wild every once in a while?

  “I don’t want an apology,” she muttered, unsure of exactly it was she did want. Her thoughts were muddled, anger and desire and sadness warring for space in her brain.

  “Then what do you want, Nina?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I want you to be honest with me.”

  “About what?”

  “Everything, Creed! All we’ve got is each other right now. If we can’t be real together, then we’ve both got absolutely nothing! I need you to just be... I don’t know... open.”

  Creed looked away, gazing out the window above the kitchen sink. Yellowed curtains decorated with blue and orange flowers were pulled back and hooked over nails someone had hammered into the sills. When he looked back at Nina, his face had changed. His eyes were darker than normal, an intensity she hadn’t seen before leaving her breathless.

  “You want open, Nina?” He took a step toward her.

  Instinctively Nina backed up.

  “How’s this for open?” Creed quickly covered the space between them until he was standing directly in front of her. “From the moment I saw you, Nina, even after you tried to kill me and steal my motorcycle, I have wanted to destroy these lips with mine.” He reached out a rough and callused finger and ran it across her lower lip.

  Nina drew in a breath, then darted her tongue out to lick his finger, the hitch in his breath when she did shooting a dart of desire between her legs. She sucked his finger into her mouth and watched his eyes close slightly, heard a soft groan in his throat.

  “Sweetheart,” he said, his voice raspy now. “I have wanted to take your shirt like this and rip it off.” He grasped the bottom hem of her tank top, tugging it up and over her head. He hissed when he saw she had nothing on under it, her nipples hard. Dark. Ready. But he didn’t touch her. And he didn’t kiss her. Instead he stood still, gazing at her, naked from the waist up.

  “Creed,” Nina whispered, but he shook his head.

  “You know what else I’ve wanted?” he asked but didn’t wait for a response. “I’ve wanted to get you out of your fucking jeans. Like this.” He moved his body right up against hers, pushing her backwards so she was pressed against the wall. Nina’s eyes closed, her lips tingling with desire to feel his kiss.

  But still he didn’t kiss her. Instead, his fingers found the fly of her jeans, and she closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, as he roughly unbuttoned, then unzipped, her jeans. The cold air kissed her legs as he pushed the denim down, and she stepped out of her jeans so she was clad only in her panties.

  “And your panties? Goddammit, Nina, I’ve wanted to rip them off your body.” He grasped the flimsy fabric, pulling harshly, and Nina uttered a brief cry of pain as the material cut across her hip before it gave and her underwear were off, torn to pieces by Creed’s greedy hands.

  She was about to object that she had a limited number of panties, but his lips finally met hers, crushing them, and she moaned, her body growing limp against his. As if sensing that would happen, Creed pulled her to him, then lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom. He half placed, half threw her onto the bed.

  Nina watched in silence as he pulled off his T-shirt, awed, as always, by the sleek muscles of his tattooed chest, those hard abs, the V that dipped down into his jeans, which he was now removing. He was even more gorgeous, not less, because of the scars on his body, marks of bravery and pain and strength, and Nina wanted to touch them, kiss them, dart her tongue over them.

  Now, in just a tight pair of boxer briefs, she could see how hard he was, and how impossibly huge. He looked directly into her eyes as he slowly pushed his underwear down and off, and she broke their gaze to look at his gigantic cock, straining up, veined and bigger than any she’d ever seen before.

  Nina had never used the word “beautiful” in reference to a penis before, but it was definitely one of the words that sprang into her mind. Creed’s cock was thick; she was sure she wouldn’t be able to fit one hand all the way around it. It was long, too. The head was rounded, and even in the dim room she could see pre-cum glistening on the tip like a pearl, inviting her to touch it, to draw her finger through it and down the incredible length of him, measuring him with his slick fluid.

  What would it feel like inside her? It would stretch her with its girth, fill her deeper than she’d thought possible. Her pussy clenched at the thought, and she felt warmth and wetness gather between her legs.

  “Since we’re being all open and honest here, sweetheart,” said Creed, taking a step closer to the bed. “I have wanted to fuck you since we met. I’ve thought about how wet and tight your pussy would feel. I’ve jerked off to thoughts of you sucking my dick, imagining what your lips would feel like wrapped around my cock. You know. Since you want the truth and all.” He was grinning at her, half joking but seriousness evident in his intense stare.

  Asshole, thought Nina, because he was teasing her. But her body didn’t care. Every inch of her was turned on, ready, wanting nothing more than for Creed to come closer.

  “What makes you think I’d be interested in any of that?” she uttered, trying to sound like a bad-ass but the sarcasm falling short since she could barely breathe.

  “This.” Creed was on top of her in a second, his huge body above hers as his hand pushed her legs apart to feel her hot, wet pussy. “You’re wet, baby. You were wet before I even touched you. That’s what makes me think you’d be interested.”

  “Oh,” murmured Nina as his hands continued to move, his fingers gently—too gently—gliding just a bit into her pussy, then pulling back again. He was exploring her slick folds but purposely—she was sure it was intentional—avoiding her clit, which was throbbing with need.

  “Or maybe I’m wrong?” He stopped suddenly, pulling back his hand.

  Nina whimpered, her desire for him to keep touching her intense.

  “I thought so,” he said smugly. This time when he touched her he pressed a finger to her clit, moving it gently in circles.

  Nina felt her body writhe against his hand. She couldn’t help it. He felt so good touching her, but he stoppe
d again. “Please,” she begged.

  “Please what?” he teased.

  “Please keep touching me.”

  “I will. But only if you tell me what you’ve thought about me. In the interest of our new openness, of course.”

  “Oh. Well,” she said, trying to focus on her words despite his fingers working magic between her legs. “At first I wanted to kill you.”

  He sank a finger deep inside her, and she groaned loudly, the sound so loud in the stillness of the house.

  “Creed! God,” she gasped as he withdrew his finger and tapped it against her clit.

  “Keep talking,” he urged, his voice deep, almost a growl.

  “I thought you were really hot,” she whispered. “I thought about how you must be huge.”

  “What exactly did you think was huge? Say it.”

  “Your, uh, cock. I was sure you’d have a huge cock,” she murmured as he touched her clit more firmly, the need inside growing stronger and stronger.

  “And were you disappointed?”

  “No. It’s even bigger than I imagined, Creed.”

  “What do you think it’s going to feel like inside you, sweetheart?” He kissed her now, his lips hungry, needy.

  “So big,” she muttered against his mouth. “So big and hard.”

  He growled, kissing her harder, then moving down her body to her breasts. His beard scratched against her skin, and she shivered, desire coursing through her. Creed took one nipple in his mouth, biting gently but pulling at the same time, leaving Nina a writhing body of need under him. At the same time he pinched her other nipple between his thumb and forefinger, sending electric shocks straight to her clit.

  Creed moved down her body, placing his huge hands on her open thighs as he kissed her lower stomach, then drew a line with his tongue over her hot skin, lower and lower. “Creed,” she whispered. “Oh god, Creed.”

  His fingers teased the flesh between her legs, separating the folds, exploring her most sensitive area and she bit her lip hard to hold back. What she wanted was to thrust against his mouth, to force him to take her, to taste her, to touch his tongue to her clit. But she held still, as hard as it was, while he slowly, so slowly, brought his lips to her pussy. She could feel his tongue thrust against her soft flesh, and her head rolled back against the pillow. He licked her, then sucked gently, tasting her, savoring her, but still avoiding her throbbing clit.

  “Please,” she whispered, the word out before she even knew she was about to speak.

  “Please what, sweetheart?” His words were harsh, throaty, filled with desire, but still that teasing drawl was present in his tone.

  “I need to come.” She moaned as he licked her some more, still moving his tongue everywhere but there.

  He rumbled a groan against her pussy. Then suddenly he sucked her clit into his mouth. Nina’s back arched and she cried out. It was so good, the way he moved his tongue over her in tight circles, winding her up tighter and tighter.

  Her entire body grew tense, her muscles clenching, and then, for a second, she was suspended in midair, in that sweet moment before the bliss of orgasm. She tried to hold onto that split second of just-before as long as she could, but Creed’s expert tongue sent her crashing over the edge, screaming out his name as she came, hard, for what felt like minutes.

  When she finally opened her eyes again, when she was finally able to actually think once more, Creed was staring into her eyes, a look half self-satisfied and half filled with passion meeting her gaze.

  “By the way,” he murmured, moving up along her body and whispering into her ear, “that’s another thing I’ve wanted to do since the first second I saw you. Or the first second I found out you were a girl, that is.”

  “Wait. What?” asked Nina, her curiosity overcoming her sex coma. What did he mean by that?

  “When I first saw you, you had all your hair up in a cap. I thought you were a kid, some teenaged punk coming to rob me.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess you’re not always right then, huh?”

  “Nina?” he said, his voice low and gravelly, “I have never been more wrong about anything. You are all woman.” With that he ran the back of his fingers down her side, breezing along her breast and over her hip. Nina’s body reacted immediately, writhing up against him in desire even though she’d just had her mind blown by the best orgasm of her life.

  “I want you, Creed.” Nina put her arms around his neck, pulling him down tightly against her.

  “Honey, I want you too. I want to fuck you all. Day. Long. But you’re going to be sitting on the back of my bike for hours, and I don’t want you to be sore.” His hands casually moved down, trailing spirals on her stomach, then lower, dipping into her soaking wet core.

  “Bullshit,” hissed Nina. “You’re not that altruistic, Creed.”

  He laughed out loud, then kissed her hard once more. “No complaining, then,” he whispered against her lips. “Because right now? I need to be inside of you. I need to fuck you. Hard.”

  Nina felt the tip of his hard cock between her legs, felt him pressing into her slowly. For a second she worried that she should make him use a condom, but her injectable birth control was good for at least another month, and somehow she felt certain that he’d be honest enough to let her know if he had some horrible STD.

  She grasped his ass in her hands, trying to urge him inside of her faster, sooner. He laughed, a low grumble, and pulled away from her slightly.

  “God, Nina, you’re so wet for me, aren’t you?” His voice was dark but tinged with awe, like he was somehow surprised to feel how much she wanted him.

  “I am,” she whimpered, unable to wait any longer. “Please.”

  “Aw, sweetheart, I love it when you beg,” he drawled.

  “Fuck you, Creed,” she growled at him.

  “Right now.” He slammed inside her all at once, so hard that Nina could barely breathe. “That what you wanted, baby?” he uttered, pulling Nina’s hips toward him so she was impaled on his huge, hard cock.

  Nina couldn’t speak. She nodded, or tried to, but Creed pulled out and pushed into her again, then again. Her wet pussy pulsated, pulling his hardness into her over and over again.

  “Jesus, Nina,” muttered Creed, pushing into her so hard she could feel his balls slapping against her. “You feel even better than I imagined you would.”

  “You do too,” uttered Nina, curling her legs up around Creed’s back so he could sink even deeper inside her.

  He started to move slowly, too slowly, and Nina ground up against him, forcing him inside her farther and farther each time he pushed. Their bodies moved together in perfect synchrony. Nina felt her body tensing, impossibly building up to another orgasm. Closing her eyes, she threw back her head against the pillow and let out a moan. Nothing had ever felt this good. Nothing. Creed deep inside of her was magical.

  “Open your eyes.” His words were raspy. “Look at me when you come, Nina.”

  Her lids flew open and she gazed into his eyes, so dark and fierce, staring at her with such ferocity she almost couldn’t breathe. His command worked, put her under a spell, and instantly brought her to the brink of orgasm as he thrust in harder, faster, giving perfect friction against her clit to drive her to another high.

  This orgasm rippled through her in waves, building and crashing again and again just as she thought it was over. Deep in the throes of passion she heard him curse, heard his breathless declaration that he too was coming as he thrust a few final times, hard, into her.

  They lay in the bed catching their breath for what seemed like a long time.

  “Jesus,” whispered Creed as his breathing finally slowed. He pulled Nina toward him, circling her with his strong arms. “I have wanted to do exactly that every. Single. Minute. Since you sewed up my arm.”

  Nina laughed and settled against him. The feeling of his body, so big and so warm, holding her like this was sheer perfection. But. She didn’t want to get too comfortable. There were still s
o many unknowns, not just about them but about everything. And she’d always had a hard time just enjoying the moment without worrying about the future.

  All her life she’d been strong; she’d prided herself on being able to take care of herself. She wasn’t the kind of girl who would lie down and take shit from anyone. And maybe she’d confused that, somewhere along the way, with not allowing herself to get too close to people.

  So something tugged at the edges of her happiness as she lay next to Creed. The sex had been incredible. In fact, there was no word for how good it had been. But what she wasn’t comfortable with was how much she liked being in his arms, how much she enjoyed the feeling of being taken care of. She didn’t need anyone to take care of her.

  Creed rolled over and kissed her forehead, holding her cheeks in both his hands. “Come on, sweetheart. As much as I want to stay in bed with you all day, we gotta hit the road.” His sweetheart sounded less sarcastic than usual. Almost endearing. Nina felt a strange mix of thrill and dread at that realization.

  “OK,” she said. “Let’s get out of here.” She got out of bed, pulling the sheet around her, feeling suddenly strange to be naked in front of him while she went to locate her clothes in the kitchen where he’d ripped them off.

  “Wait,” Creed said, arresting her movements with his voice. “Do we need to talk about this?”

  “This, what?” She turned to look at him, his tone sending tension into her shoulders.

  “That we just fucked?”

  Of course he’d be blunt. He wouldn’t be Creed if he wasn’t. Still, the harshness of the word made her cringe. They had just fucked. That’s what they’d done. Still...

  “No,” she said finally, keeping her voice as even as possible. “It’s cool. I’m good.”

  “Yeah, you are,” he whispered with a chuckle, standing and pulling her in to his hard body, encircling her with his arms. “You are,” he repeated without the humor, touching her hair, and something about it felt almost reverent; certainly kind.

  Nina wanted to respond, wanted to say something, but weirdly she felt like crying, which was totally unlike her. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly into his chest, grounding herself and defusing her emotions. “I’m going to get my clothes,” she announced, and walked out without risking a look at his face.