Risk (Gentry Boys #2) Read online

  “Hi,” I croaked and then cleared my throat. “You might remember me. I’m Saylor’s friend. My name’s Truly.”

  His eyes traveled over me with a heat I felt across every inch of my skin. “I know,” he finally said.

  “Your name’s Creedence, right?”

  He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “You know it is.”

  Something about the certainty in his voice rolled straight through my belly with a bolt of erotic hunger. He knew why I’d been watching him. He knew what was going to happen next.

  I had to stiffen my body to keep from trembling when he moved in closer. His eyes went from my face down to my breasts, lingering as if he was already seeing me naked.

  More couples began to move together softly. I didn’t know what the hell to do. Creed seemed to be waiting for something.

  I looked around. “You want to dance?”

  He seemed to find the question amusing. He smirked and then grabbed me close, his big hands reaching around my waist and pulling me flush against him. It was on purpose. He wanted me to feel how hard he was.

  “Yeah,” he answered, resting his forehead against mine as he pressed me more tightly. He smelled of smoke, beer and a fresh hint of soap. Creed lifted me then, only a few inches, but enough to crush me against his body. Shit, he was hard. He was huge.

  His voice rumbled next to my ear. “We’re gonna dance, Truly. All night long.”

  I swallowed, noting that the way he was handling me caused my dress to ride up indecently. I didn’t care at all.

  “Then let’s go,” I whispered.

  Creed’s big hands massaged my waist and his lips brushed against mine just long enough for me to nearly beg for more. The chorus of ‘Between the Devil and Me’ reached its crescendo but there was nothing else that mattered except the ache between my legs and Creed’s need to fill it.

  He set me back down and quickly took my arm, pulling me through the crowd and out to the street. He paused and looked around. “You got a car?”

  I was feeling a bit breathless. “Yes. It’s still parked over at Cluck This.”

  Creed stopped and held me at arm’s length for a second, looking me over. He wanted me bad. I could see he was half crazy about it. After a moment he dropped his stare and started walking. He walked fast and it was a little tough to keep up in my heels. He didn’t seem to have much use for small talk but then I’d already known that, especially after listening to Saylor complain about his gruff ways. I figured there might not be anything to talk about anyway. We weren’t going to dinner and a movie. We were, presumably, going to go fuck our brains out.

  “My apartment’s empty,” I told him. “I have a roommate but she’s out of town.”

  “Good,” Creed answered without stopping.

  We turned down a more well-lit street within several hundred yards of Cluck This. I was getting nervous and felt the strong urge to fill the silent gap with something, anything.

  “We get along okay, me and Stephanie. Mostly we stay out of each other’s way. I answered a roommate ad online and that’s how I met her. Good thing because I can’t afford my own place on waitress wages. I got my GED last year and I’d love to go to school to study textiles, fashion design. Do you go to school, Creedence?”

  I didn’t know why I asked that. I already knew Creed Gentry wasn’t the academic type. He stopped walking and stood still. When he spun around and lifted me I gasped. He eased me against the wall of the nearest building as my legs went around his hips.

  Creed’s lips were on my neck and his hands were suddenly all over my breasts. His voice was low and absurdly sexy, his breath hot on my neck.

  “No need to talk about it, Truly. Just take it in.” He pushed my dress up and rolled his hips in slow motion, grinding against me. “Just relax and take it all in.”

  He pushed against me harder and tipped my chin up, forcing me to look him in the eye.

  “Okay?”

  “Yeah,” I breathed. “It’s okay.”

  Creed smiled and smoothed my dress down before pulling me the rest of the way to Cluck This.

  “That yours?” he asked, pointing to my old Ford Escape.

  I’d begun digging around in my purse for my keys. “It’s mine.” The keys were hardly in my hand before Creed reached over and grabbed them.

  “I’ll drive.”

  “You don’t know where I live.”

  “Give me directions.”

  I swallowed. “How much have you had to drink?”

  He laughed. “Not nearly enough to make a dent.”

  “Well, all right then.” Normally I would have argued about handing my keys over to a near stranger but normally I wouldn’t be planning on shortly screwing that same stranger. A sensible part of my brain kept screaming at my foolishness but I hushed that voice. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to do anything but take it all in, like he said. I want to take all of him in.

  Creed drove where I told him to. It didn’t take long; my apartment was only about a mile away. It was also only a few blocks from the place I knew he lived with his brothers and Saylor. I thought Creed would make a grab for me whenever we stopped at a red light but he only looked straight ahead. Once, when we were about to turn into the entrance of my apartment complex, he glanced over. He smiled. It was enough to thaw whatever resistance I had left. I squeezed my knees together and waited for him to park the car.

  I pointed. “My place is right back through there.”

  Creed had scarcely set the brake before he rolled out of the door without a word. I sat there in the darkness for a second, my mind turning somersaults.

  I shouldn’t do this.

  But I wanted to do this.

  I needed to do this.

  Creed Gentry opened the passenger door and extended his hand. I took it.

  He still had my keys so he was the one to open the door. It was better that way. I was not very steady at the moment.

  Creed flipped on a light switch and a black ball of fur streaked across the floor and into the kitchen.

  “My cat,” I explained needlessly. “She’s a darling but she doesn’t like strangers. Don’t go taking it personal.”

  “I won’t,” Creed shrugged. He tossed my keys onto a badly scarred coffee table that my roommate Stephanie had dragged all the way from New York.

  He looked at me expectantly and I realized I was at a loss over what to do. When strangers went home together did they just start humping away as soon as the door shut? From the look on Creed’s face and the noticeable bulge in his pants I could guess how he wanted things to go from here.

  “Do you want something to drink?” I asked.

  He cocked his head. “What do you have?”

  I thought about it. “Water.”

  “I’ll take some of that.”

  Tap water in Arizona is hideous and tastes like a public wading pool. I grabbed two glasses and started filling them from the filtered refrigerator line. I was so intent on watching the water rise that I didn’t hear him come into the room until his arms reached around me, his big hands spreading across the front of my body. I had to stop and set the glass down or I would have dropped it on the tile.

  His fingers were pressing, kneading and finally ventured lower to cup the hot crevice between my legs. When I leaned back into him I realized he’d already removed his shirt. He was all heat and muscle, so big and broad he enveloped me easily.

  When he took his hands from between my legs I let out a low moan of protest. Creed turned me around and backed me against the fridge before searching out my mouth. The heat of his skin was overpowering. I couldn’t wait to feel more of it. He teased my lips with his tongue before going in strong. Damn, that boy knew how to kiss. Creedence kissed in a way that tolerated no argument. The deliberate slide of his tongue was enough to turn me into something a little less solid than jelly. Somehow he’d managed to get my dress unzipped without me even feeling it. He slid the sleeves down and then pulled back a few in
ches.

  “Fuck me,” he groaned, staring down at my body. I’d forgotten that I’d worn the black corset underneath the dress. It smoothed out the lines and flattered my figure. Best of all it was driving Creed berserk. He impatiently pulled the dress the rest of the way down and let it puddle at my feet. Then he flipped on the kitchen light switch and knelt before me, staring at my body with crazed hunger. With the light on I could see full well what an absolute work of art he was. There was a line of black script inked across his upper chest. I couldn’t read what it said. I really didn’t care what it said. I just wanted to run my tongue over every square inch of his skin.

  Creed’s hands were everywhere as he remained kneeling. His voice was so thick with lust I knew he couldn’t hold it in for much longer.

  “Shit,” he swore, “I knew you were it as soon as I fucking saw you tonight.”

  My back was against the cold door of the fridge and I was shivering underneath his hands. I wanted so badly to see him, to feel him. Creed’s fingers pushed underneath my panties and entered me smoothly. It had been so long since I’d been touched and Creed knew exactly what he was doing. I clenched around his fingers as they moved in and out of my body. I could barely remain standing. My head rolled to the side and that’s when I realized we were basically fornicating in a brightly lit kitchen next to a dark window where anyone could be looking in.

  “Let’s go,” I gasped, trying to move him to my bedroom.

  But Creed only smiled faintly and stayed where he was. “When you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready now,” I moaned. “You know damn well I’m ready.”

  Creed took his hands away and stood up. He stayed a few feet away and studied me. With trembling fingers I reached behind my back and began unfastening the corset. He didn’t help with the task. He just watched until it was loose enough to push down. Then his mouth descended on my breasts. Creed wasn’t about being gentle and I loved it. I clutched him behind the neck and spread my hands along the back of his head, pushing him to suck harder, first on one side and then the other. That put Creedence Gentry over the top. He groaned with a muffled curse and lifted me in his arms, carrying me through the first dark doorway he found. Luckily it was my room, although at the moment I was so focused on getting him inside of me I wouldn’t have had any qualms about using Stephanie’s bed.

  Creed paused at the threshold, searching along the wall.

  “What is it?” I panted.

  “Lights.”

  I found the switch and the overhead lamp lit up the room. “You afraid of the dark?”

  “No,” Creed snorted and put me down, backing me into the nearest wall. My breasts were completely bare and instinctively I started to cover them. Creed swiftly pinned my arms on either side. Not enough to hurt, but enough to let me know he was running the show. “Just need to see you.”

  “Creed,” I whispered, feeling every inch of his thick erection even through his jeans. “I need to see you too.”

  He dropped his pants without hesitation. “You see me now?”

  “Yes,” I breathed, transfixed by the sheer size of him as he pushed his thumbs under my panties, stroking me briefly before hooking the waistband and sliding them over my thighs.

  Creed already had a condom in hand. He tore off the wrapper and rolled it on matter-of-factly. “Come here.”

  He sank into a seated position on the edge of the bed. When I’d first seen him tonight, sitting in the bar all brooding and gorgeous, I’d been jolted by the forbidden thought of how it would feel to straddle him. Now I knew. It was easy. He slid right into me without a pause. I gasped and clutched his shoulders as he seized me around the waist so he could thrust hard and deep.

  “Holy shit,” I yelled as every nerve in my body woke up and howled ‘Where the hell has this been?’ We’d barely started and I was already on the verge of shattering. “Creed,” I gasped, “Goddammit to hell.”

  “Shhh.” He put a hand briefly over my mouth and changed direction, rolling on top of me. “Just take it, honey.” He was in me fast and deep, already thrusting so furiously I didn’t know how he could keep the pace for long.

  But Creedence wasn’t an ordinary man. He proved that over and over again as I lost track of time. Actually I lost track of everything but the frantic need to satisfy him and the cataclysmic pleasure he gave me.

  Creed was relentless, absolutely freaking relentless. We did things to each other that I’d thought were only legends. As I finally began to doze off I felt his weight leave the bed. A pang overcame me as I realized he was likely done for the night, and done with me. Apparently I was wrong. Creed turned off the light switch and crawled into bed, pulling me against him. Then he spoke for the first time in hours.

  “Truly your real name?”

  “Yes,” I said sleepily. “I mean no. My mama named me Tallulah after the town I was born in. Tallulah Rae Lee. Melted together into ‘Truly’ at some point.”

  Creed was silent. He ran his fingertips lightly over my shoulder.

  “Is Creedence your real name?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he answered rather flatly. “I’ve always been just Creedence Gentry.”

  I hugged his chest. The dark curtain of sleep was begging to fall. “Well, that’s a whole lot from what I can tell.”

  His voiced sounded odd. “If you say so.”

  I slept soundly until the sun came up.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CREED

  I woke up before her. I hadn’t really meant to hang around until sunrise but that girl had drained me to the point where all I could do was pass out at her side.

  As I pulled my jeans up I stared at her. She stirred as the soft light of morning bathed her face and the sheets freed one of those juicy tits I’d gotten so much mileage out of last night. A slow smile spread across my face. Damn, I’d been all up in that shit. It would be almost worth going without for another two months if it meant being treated to a happy ending like that.

  Truly sure as hell knew her way around. Whatever she didn’t know she’d been more than willing to experiment with. The big pile of rubbers over in the garbage can was proof I’d hit my goal. Still, I was sorry I hadn’t stuffed even more in my wallet. As I stared at Truly’s naked skin I was sure that I could get in the mood for some morning action.

  I stood over her for a moment, just watching her sleep. She was one hot slice, even more of a great roll than I’d figured. What’s more, I strongly suspected that even though she knew how to please a man it had been quite a while since she’d done anything about it.

  “Hi,” she said, opening her dark eyes and gazing up at me.

  “Mornin’,” I answered, sitting on the bed next to her. She pulled the sheet up to cover herself even though I’d already been over that landscape quite a few times now. Her dark eyes seemed stern as she pushed her black hair out of her face and regarded me seriously.

  I started to feel a little uneasy. I mean, usually when I banged around with a girl I didn’t need to worry about running into her much. But Truly was Saylor’s friend. There could be some fallout in my future.

  “You sleep well?” she asked. I thought I caught an edge of sarcasm in her voice, although it was tough to tell beneath that drawling accent.

  I played it safe. “Sure,” I answered smoothly. If she was going to buckle under a crazy amount of guilt over our frantic fuck fest then there wasn’t much I could do about that. Still, I didn’t want to just run out the door and let that be the end of it.

  “Breakfast?” I asked and her eyebrows, which were as dark as her hair, shot skyward.

  “I don’t cook,” she scowled.

  I rolled my eyes, knowing she’d misunderstood me. “No, I meant would you like to go out and get something for breakfast?”

  She was thinking. “Is that what you want to do, Creed? Go out to breakfast?”

  For crying out loud, did she need an engraved invitation? “Jesus, I just asked you, didn’t I?”

  Truly sighed a
nd rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, sorry. I’m not real hungry though.”

  Her words were pretty clear. Her body language was even clearer. She’d pulled her knees up to her chest and was keeping her body bandaged in the sheets. She just wanted me to leave her alone with her morning after remorse.

  “All right then,” I said, rising and stifling a yawn.

  “Bye Creed,” she said in a flat voice as she kept her eyes down.

  “Truly.” I reached over and touched her bare shoulder. She finally looked straight at me. There was a cute smattering of light freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her big brown eyes were deep, dark and wary. I just wanted her to know something and then I’d get out of her hair.

  I cleared my throat. “I had a fucking great time last night.”

  She smiled slightly at that. “Yeah,” she blushed, “I did too.”

  “So I’ll see you around, Tallulah?”

  “You might but you should know I don’t answer to that name.”

  “You will if I’m the one saying it.”

  She flashed me a withering glare and I laughed.

  “Careful not to let the cat out when you leave,” she grumbled, rolling to her side to face the wall. I figured that was the final hint to get lost, which was fine with me. I wanted to go home and grab some more sleep.

  I had to hunt around in the living room for my shirt. I finally found it beneath a big black cat.

  “Pssst.” I held my hand out and made animal noises, trying to get the thing to move. It just dug its claws more firmly into the fabric and hissed.

  “Move,” I whispered, lunging forward threateningly. “Come on, get.” The animal just stared at me with neon eyes. I glanced at the door to Truly’s room. I didn’t want her to come charging out here asking what the hell I was doing to her cat.

  The stupid thing yawned and blinked at me. I’d always hated cats. They seemed like sneaky little shits.

  “You don’t win,” I warned it, wagging a finger. “We’ll be revisiting this shit.”

  I left Truly’s apartment bare-chested and closed the door softly behind me. I halfway hoped the stupid cat actually would try to run out.