by T. S. Joyce
He rubbed his forehead, hating himself. God, he didn’t deserve this woman, and for some reason, she was in this, no questions. Despite all the shit that came along with his crew, she still loved him.
And then, as she was drifting off to sleep, she’d told him something that ripped his guts out. Her friends had ditched her, she’d been fired from an internship she’d worked her ass off for, and her parents had tried to make her have an abortion as soon as they found out the baby was a shifter. They’d given her an ultimatum—get rid of the baby or disassociation with their family—because no abomination was going to carry the Cromwell name. Fuck no, their kid wouldn’t. Their baby would bear Creed’s last name, Barnett, if he had any say in the matter. Gia would, too, if she stuck around long enough for him to grow balls big enough to tell her how devoted he was to her. After tonight, there was no denying that nagging voice in the back of his head that said he’d begun the bond with Gia five months ago. She hadn’t stuck around long enough to see it through then, but after sleeping with her tonight, she was his.
And he’d already fucked it up.
She was always going to remember when he hadn’t said “I love you” back.
She’d given up her family and friends to protect her baby. Gia had the instincts of a momma sow already, and damn, Creed found it sexy. His woman would be a good mother to their offspring, and on an instinctual level, his inner bear was practically strutting like a rooster that she’d picked him.
On the other hand, he wouldn’t expect a woman like Gia to stick around unless he got his shit together. She needed more, deserved more, than him. Raising a child would be hard, and she would need all the support she could get. This rift with her family was going to hurt her for always. He knew what it was like to live without a family, and he couldn’t allow Gia to give up her whole life because of something he’d done to her. That’s not how love worked. Not for Creed.
Decision made, he snatched her phone off the nightstand and padded silently out of 1010. And when he reached the porch railing, he leaned hard on it and scrolled through her contacts until he found the one he wanted.
With one last glance over his shoulder, and a wary ear out for Gia, he made the call.
****
A pounding knock at the door woke Gia from a bottomless sleep, and when she cracked her eyes open, she squinted at the direct sunlight that pelted against her eyeballs. Willa had just thrown open the windows. She stood there with her hands on her hips, chest puffed out, inhaling deeply.
“Willa,” Gia muttered, “you’re supposed to inhale fresh air out of an open window. You’re standing in front of the window unit, and the air coming out of it smells like mold.”
She inhaled loudly again. “You smell mold. I smell a morning full of promise. Just look at that sunshine, Gia. Today is going to be phenomenal. I just feel it in my bones.”
“Your bones are wrong.” Gia flipped over like a flapjack and pulled the pillow over her face. Creed really didn’t love her back. She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and clenched her teeth against the pain that realization caused.
The pillow disappeared from her face, and Gia groaned. She’d forgotten what an obnoxious morning person Willa had been at slumber parties growing up.
“You want to come play with my worms?”
“No.”
“You want to take Spike on a walk together?”
“No.”
“You wanna get buck-wild and take a trip to Minden with our mates?”
“No. Wait, what?” Gia sat up and stared at Willa who was lying like a star beside her, taking up three-fourths of the bed. She had a dreamy look in her soft brown eyes.
“I’m going to tell my dad I’m a bear. I’m kind of nervous, but Matt will be there, so I know everything will be okay. I won’t have to carry around this guilt anymore, plus I’ll get to show Matt my horticulture trophies. He’s going to be so attracted to me. I’m definitely getting laid.”
“Uh, I can hear that you get laid every night, Willa. You two are ridiculously loud. Horticulture trophies aren’t going to get you extra points.”
“Shhh, Gia, you don’t even know. Matt eats that nerd shit right up. He even got my glasses fitted with regular lenses so we can role-play like I’m my nerdy human self again.”
Gia tried not to smile and failed. “You two are so weird.”
Willa scrunched up her nose and whispered, “We are awesome.”
“I said weird, not awesome.”
“Potato, pototo, tomato, tomoto.”
“God, I missed you.”
Willa shrugged and licked the tip of Gia’s nose. “I know. For our trip, I come bearing gifts.”
She pulled a can of squeeze cheese from her coat pocket and handed it to Gia, who was very busy wiping Willa’s lick off her nose. “What’s this?”
“It’s cheese that you squirt like whipped cream. Festus will love it.”
“Stop giving my child silly names.” Gia scrabbled with the seal until she growled and gave up, handing it to Willa who could use her mighty werebear strength on it or whatever. “I told Creed I loved him last night. He didn’t say it back.” It felt good saying that out loud to Willa and sharing the burden with someone she trusted.
“Oh, shit,” Willa said softly. She popped the cap and squirted a stream of yellow into her mouth, then handed it to Gia, who did the same.
“This is gross,” she said, squinting her eyes at the ingredients on the side.
“No more filet mignon for you, Gia. You’re in the trailer park now. Best get used to the food of my people.”
Gia laughed and gave the cheese another try. She highly doubted this fine delicacy was reserved only for the trailer park, though. Maybe it would taste better on a cracker.
“He does love you, though. You know that, right?” Willa asked suddenly.
Gia stared at the sagging ceiling and sighed. “He said hardly two words to me after I said it. I think I scared him off. It was too much too soon. I jumped the gun and messed everything up. He doesn’t feel the same way, and now I’ve ruined any chance of us ever getting there. He doesn’t look at me the same way Matt looks at you.”
“Then you’re paying too much attention to Matt because I see the way Creed looks at you, and he sure as shit doesn’t look at me that way. A—Matt would maul him, and B—I’m like the kid sister who he never wanted but somehow got Turned into a bear shifter by his crazy friend so he had to adopt me by default. Creed’s so lucky. My point is, he doesn’t look at you like a sister, Gia. He watches you even when you aren’t paying attention. Creed’s eyes are always on you. And besides, if Creed didn’t love you, why would he have gotten up at four in the morning to plan a trip to Minden to face down your asshole parents?”
Startled, Gia stared at Willa and waited for the punchline. “Wait, you weren’t joking? We’re really going back to Minden?”
“Yeah, Creed’s already packed your bags and everything.” Willa batted her eyelashes and sighed. “Oh, lovers.”
Gia took one last squeeze of cheese and slid out of bed. Outside the window, Matt and Creed were loading suitcases into the back of Creed’s truck.
Her stomach curdled. Willa was wrong. He wasn’t going to meet her parents. He was going to drop her off where he thought she belonged—far away from him. Betrayal blasted through her, tearing, ripping, and burning as she realized exactly what those three stupid words had done. They’d cost her everything she cared for. Tears stung her eyes, and she spun for the bathroom, denying the urge to chuck the can of cheese at the wall that stood between her and Creed.
“Gia, what’s wrong?” Willa asked.
Unable to speak through her closing windpipe, she shut the door and locked it, then turned on the shower full blast to disguise her crying.
He was taking her back, but what kind of life could she have in Minden now? Mom and Dad wouldn’t give her the time of day, and Brittney and Kara had shunned her. She’d have to raise her little bear cub in a small town where
the rumors would be a constant weight on her shoulders. The internship she’d landed had fallen through, and she’d be far away from here. Away from the chaos of the Gray Backs, which she was getting used to, and away from Willa. And worst of all, away from Creed.
“Gia,” Creed said, knocking on the door. “I can hear you crying, open up.”
“Go away.”
Apparently the lock was just for show, because Creed opened the door easily and stared at her. “What the hell is wrong now?”
Anger pounded through her veins, and she lifted the squeeze cheese and pressed the nozzle as hard as she could at him.
“Shit!” Creed hollered, jerking out of the way. “What is that?” He pulled his black sweater away from his torso and frowned at the cheese worm Gia had drawn on him. “Is that squeeze cheese? Did you just shoot me with squeeze cheese?” Creed looked pissed now.
“You want to get rid of me?” she yelled. “Well, I don’t need an escort. You could’ve just asked me to leave!”
Creed looked utterly baffled. “What are you talking about?”
“Taking me to Minden. I know what this is about, and I’m sorry I ever did it. I’m sorry I said those stupid words because now you’re hurting me with them.” Oh, she felt like a psycho now, but the hormones were a-ragin’, and she was running hotter by the second. She shot him with cheese again.
“Stop it, Gia. Stop it!” He grabbed her smelly weapon and yanked it out of her hand, then hugged her to him. Only her cheek squished against the liquid sharp cheddar, and it enraged her more.
Pushing off him, she glared him down, uncaring how silver his eyes had turned.
“Don’t look at me,” he said.
“What?”
“Look away, or I won’t be able to say it this first time, because fuck it all, I’m not scared of much, but you and water are my Kryptonite, so look at the wall if you want me to tell you what’s on my mind, woman. And I have half a mind to empty this cheese can on you, so do it quick before I give into that urge.”
Baffled, Gia spun away from him. The half empty can made a hollow echoing sound as it hit the floor, and Creed’s hands gripped her shoulders from behind.
“I’m sorry I messed everything up last night, Gia. I didn’t expect you to say what you did because no one’s ever said that to me before. And I’ve never said it before either. The more I waited for the right moment, the more it didn’t feel right. I didn’t want it to be a reaction to what you’d said. So I guess what I’m saying is this is my moment, covered in fuckin’ cheese while Nards stares at us from beside the toilet.” Creed inhaled deeply and released it. “Gia, I love you.”
She tried to turn but he held her steady.
“I love you, and I want to take you to Minden and try to fix things with your folks. Whether they realize it or not, they’re having a grandkid. And shifter or not, that’s a pretty big deal. And I thought if they could meet me and talk to me and see that I’m not that bad, then maybe they’d be nicer to you about all of this. I’m not going there to shoo you off, woman. I’m going there because I care about you and hate that there’s a tear between you and your family.”
Gia cleared her throat as her cheeks flushed with molten heat. “Oh.” She pursed her lips and stared down at Nards, who was now making his way toward the trashcan, dragging his giant testicles behind him. “It seems I was mistaken when I shot you with cheese, and for that I apologize.”
Creed snorted. “And?”
“And I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”
“And?”
She turned and braved a look up at him. “And I love you, too.”
“That’s what I was looking for,” he said through a beaming smile.
Chapter Ten
“I’m nervous,” Gia admitted out loud as she wound a loose string from the hem of her blouse around her finger.
“Why? I promise, Damon Daye is stoic, but he’s very polite. You have nothing to be worried about.”
“Yeah, but he’s like a father figure to you, right?”
Creed tipped his head back and forth and squinted at the mountain road they were climbing in his truck. “Kind of.”
“Well, he’s like family to you, and I already know we’re screwed on my side, so I’m nervous Mr. Daye won’t like me. Does he like humans? Does he care? He probably doesn’t care. Not like my parents who are very anti-shifter. He’s not anti-human, is he?” She was rambling, so she sucked her lips in and bit down to stop from going on.
Creed squeezed her leg gently and chuckled. “Gia, I swear, it’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, but he’s immortal right? Aren’t dragons immortal?”
“Only him.”
“So he’s eons old, and it’s really intimidating to meet someone who was around since the dinosaurs.”
Creed’s eyes tightened in the corners. “I don’t know if he’s quite that old.”
“What if he eats me?”
“Where did you hear that from?”
“Matt said to hurry back to the trailer park and not to get eaten…” Her voice trailed off as the scenery in front of Creed’s truck changed abruptly. “Wow,” she said on a shocked breath. Out the front window towered a glass mansion that had been built into the side of a jagged stone cliff. She’d never seen anything like it.
Creed parked next to a black Town Car and led her to the front door. Oh God, she was really going into a dragon’s lair. The hairs rose on her arms. Please don’t eat me!
Creed rested his hand on Gia’s belly. “Calm down,” he murmured against her ear. “I wouldn’t bring you here if I thought you or our baby would be in danger. Just breathe. I’ve got you.”
Gia inhaled deeply and held onto the crook of Creed’s arm. Everything in her trusted him.
“You ready?” he asked.
She nodded, feeling a little steadier now.
A man named Mason answered the door and led them down a white marble hallway capped with sprawling chandeliers and edged with Greek statues. Her sneakers squeaked loudly with each step, and she deeply regretted her decision to stay in the clothes she was going to travel to Minden in. She should’ve worn a dress to meet Damon. This was important to Creed, and she was showing up unprepared.
Mason opened a set of great wooden double doors and gestured for them to enter first. “Mr. Daye, Creed Barnett and Gia Cromwell.”
Wait, how did Mason know her name? She hadn’t told him. Perhaps Creed had talked about her on the phone or something. But the surprised look on Creed’s face said Mason had got his information from elsewhere.
“I was wondering when you would introduce me to your new mate,” a man said from behind a gigantic mahogany desk. He was trim and straight-backed. His hair was dark like Creed’s, but there was a hint of silver at his temples. His face was smooth and handsome with dark eyebrows over lightened silver eyes.
A rush of familiarity blasted through her, but was gone in a moment. For a split-second, Damon Daye looked like Creed. Surely the sense of deja vu was a trick of her mind. Still, she had to ask. “Have we met before?”
A slow, controlled smile spread his lips, revealing two dimples. “Your mate is very observant.”
“Oh, I’m not his—”
“What do you mean?” Creed asked Damon.
“Please, sit.” He offered his palm formally, gesturing to a pair of leather chairs in front of his desk. He watched Creed settle into a chair, then said, “I’ve been waiting for a special occasion to tell you where you came from. When I found you, I’d missed nineteen years of your life.” Damon’s smile faded, and the corner of his lip twitched. “I have three sons and one daughter now, but I’ve had many over my lifetime. Dragons used to be plentiful before we killed each other off. My oldest son, Arden, is cold and distant toward his offspring, a trait I’m afraid he inherited from me. And though I’ve changed in recent years, Arden isn’t capable.” A flash of sadness washed through Damon’s bright eyes. “If I had known that Arden had produced a child, it wouldn’t h
ave mattered that you were dragon or grizzly, I would’ve taken care of you long before your mother tried to kill you.”
Drawing to the edge of his seat, Creed shook his head slowly back and forth. “I don’t understand.”
“I have no one left who is a full-blooded dragon, Creed. I’ve bred with bear shifters over the past few centuries because I have a fondness for them—a deep respect for such a strong animal, if you will. My son Arden was born a dragon, though his mother was a grizzly, and you inherited her traits. You are my grandson, and that precious child in Gia’s stomach is my great-grandchild.”
Gia’s heart pounded against her ribcage as she jerked her shocked gaze to Creed. Holy fireballs, he was the son of a half-blood dragon, and the grandson of the last immortal dragon.
Gia could see the gooseflesh ripple over Creed’s skin from here. She couldn’t take her eyes from him as he stared at Damon with an unfathomable expression.
Creed scrubbed his hand down his face, then linked his hands behind his head. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought I had no family left but my mother. Why didn’t you tell me I was your grandson?”
Damon leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers together, resting them in front of his chin. “Because I was ashamed of what my son had done. I was ashamed because his actions have caused you pain, just as my actions have caused my own children pain. His failure was a reflection of my own failure as a parent.” His lip twitched again. “It seems to be a cycle with the dragon-blooded. You’re different, though. Warmer. Caring. Strong with an apex dominant grizzly inside of you, but with a level head and a big heart that makes you better than my son. Better than me. I wanted you to find your own way before you knew what kind of lineage Arden cursed you with. Would you like to see a picture of your father?”
Creed sank back into his chair and rested his hand on Gia’s round stomach. In her, the baby fluttered. Creed stared at her for a long time, and at last, he turned to Damon and said, “No. My father is nothing to me but a hard lesson. Dragon-blooded or not, it doesn’t matter where I came from.” He looked back at Gia with those lightened silver eyes, now so like his grandfather’s. “All that matters is being enough for Gia and my crew and the life we’re building.”
