Gray Back Alpha Bear (8 page)

“I have one last secret,” he whispered against her ear as he smoothed a damp strand of hair from her cheek.

“Tell me.”

“I’m glad you’re pregnant.”

It was sandy and wet, and the chill was creeping into her veins, but his words stopped all of that. His words were a blanket. “You are?”

He smiled down at her, fingers smoothing water drops from her face. “Our baby brought you back to me.”

“I have another secret, too.”

His lips curved up in the corners, exposing those dimples she adored. “And what’s that?”

Gia ran her palm down the sloping curve of his shoulder and pressed her lips against his arm, hiding her face from him so she would have the courage to say something she’d never told any man. “I love you.”

Creed had messed up. He threw his feet over the edge of the bed and jammed his elbows on his knees as he stared at the silhouette of his sleeping mate. She’d told him she loved him—loved him!—and he’d frozen up and denied her the same words.

No one had ever said that to him in his entire life, and Gia had given them with such honesty in every word, he knew she really did. She loved him, and dammit, he loved her, too, so why the fuck hadn’t he been able to spit out the words instead of letting them stay lodged in his throat like that?

Because she’d shocked him.

He’d never uttered those three words to anyone else, and his moment had come, and like an idiot, he had let it pass.

And Gia was so friggin’ sweet about it. She hadn’t been able to mask her hurt completely, but she’d changed the subject and talked on and on as if nothing was wrong. She’d told him a dozen times she was proud of him for facing his fear of deep water, and still, he hadn’t been able to say it back.

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.