Fatal Vengeance: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Romance

28. Prudence

With our fingers laced together, the knife still clutched in his other hand, Creed pulls me right out the front door and into the dark of night. I cast one last glance back over my shoulder at the guys and my sister. Genevieve bites her lip as she watches me, worry riding her features, but even though we don’t know a lot about each other yet, she trusts me in this moment, and I’m grateful for it. Asher and Griffin look considerably less trusting, so I narrow my eyes at them before either guy can get some silly idea, like charging out here after me.

Once I’m sure they’ll stay put, even if they aren’t happy about it, I give my full attention to Creed once more. He’s gazing up at the sky as his steps slow to a halt, his hand tightening in mine like he’s making sure I’m real. With a deep sigh, Creed shudders and closes his eyes.

“What is it?” I ask hesitantly, leaning closer to him and laying my head on his shoulder.

“The stars,” he breathes, shaking his head softly. “They’ve ruled our lives for too long. I’m done hiding from them. Done being afraid.”

Hearing him say the stars rather than The Celestials has thoughts of my mom thrusting up unbidden in my head. I blink through the tears that bite the backs of my eyes, trying not to turn this night into my issue. Tonight is about Creed and what he needs to feel safe right now, not about my grief that rears up whenever the air blows just right.

“Don’t you agree, Ember?” Creed whispers a moment later, pulling me back into the present.

I nod mutely, because fuck yeah, I agree. That damn cult has ruined so many lives, least of all mine. It’s time to stop running and hiding, and start striking back. Even with Creed’s… delay tonight, our plan still stands. It has to. If we have to push things back until next month’s full moon, then so be it, but either way, I will be facing down The Celestials and getting my fucking revenge once and for all.

“Then fuck ’em, baby. Take back the colors with me, and tomorrow we’ll start a war.”

I raise my brows at the charming, swoon-worthy smile Creed gives me. His whiskey eyes are far less frenzied out here than they were inside, when he was surrounded by people. I quirk a smile right back, turning into his warm, strong body so we’re pressed together chest to chest. Pushing to my tiptoes and wrapping my arms around the back of his neck, I murmur against his perfect lips, “What did you have in mind? How can I help?”

Creed locks one arm around me, keeping me close. Looking right into my eyes and holding me hostage with his gaze, he lifts the knife in his other hand, grazing the point of the blade down my cheek. “You promised to give me scars, baby. I’m cashing in on that tonight. I want to be surrounded by red; your vibrant hair and the deep crimson of blood. I want your mark on me for eternity, so even at my lowest, I’ll know where I belong.”

Be still my heart.

Despite the tendril of fear that lick down my spine at the thought of hurting this beautiful man, I find myself nodding easily. How could I not? If Creed needs me to write my love into his skin as an anchor for him, then who am I to turn him down?

“Okay,” I breathe softly, reaching for the hilt of the knife. A nervous little smile curls up my lips, which Creed swiftly smothers with a sweet, passionate kiss that sets a forest fire ablaze in my stomach. With his lips and tongue devouring mine, Creed releases the knife into my hand and then grips my hips with a fierceness that makes me think he’s struggling not to toss me over his shoulder and take me to bed.

There goes my stomach, swooping low with liquid heat. I”m just an inferno for this man, and I’m in danger of burning up.

“Where do you want it?” I breathe against his lips between savage kisses.

Creed chuckles, this dark and deeply depraved sound that does ungodly things to me, and then he pulls back and puts a few inches of space between us. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip like he’s savoring the last of my taste, his molten gaze locked on me and somehow making this moment feel equally intimate and vulnerable all at once. Creed pushes the hem of his boxers and black sweatpants down, stopping just before his dick can spring free, even though I can tell it wants to. Even in the middle of the night, I can see the bulge behind his pants, and I’m glad I’m not the only one affected by this tension bouncing between us.

“How about right here?” he rasps, skimming his finger along his hip, just a few inches to the right from his delicious—

Okay, Prudence, you damn perv. That’s quite enough.

“Here?” I confirm, gliding the tip of the blade over the smooth patch of skin he pointed out. Creed sucks in a ragged breath as the cool sting of metal dances over his skin, and the wicked smile he gives me a second later is almost enough to send me running into the woods from the big bad wolf before me.

Of course, then he’d take chase and we’d end up naked and dirty within seconds... Honestly, that’s not a half-bad idea.

“Mm-hmm,” he hums, leaning into the knife just enough to draw a single bead of crimson blood to the surface.

I watch, mesmerized, as it rolls down his pale skin and soaks into the hem of his boxers. What a waste. Licking my lips, I slowly sink to my knees at Creed’s feet, grinning to myself when he releases a breathy groan.

“Ember, baby.”

I peer up at him while brushing the pad of my thumb over the small wound he gave himself, collecting the small drop of blood there. “Yes, Creed?” I ask innocently before dipping my bloodied thumb into my mouth.

He sucks in a breath, tangling a hand in my hair and wrenching my head back. Leaning over me, our mouths close but not quite touching, Creed growls, ”Do that again, and you’re going to give me some truly morbid ideas. If you don’t want to fuck in a pool of blood anytime soon, then—”

He cuts off with a curse when I grip him through his sweatpants, squeezing enough to get his attention. His hold in my hair loosens, and I smirk. “Don’t go assuming I don’t want that,” I purr, and he arches a surprised brow at me. “I think you forget how fucked up I am, Creed, so let me show you.” I nudge him back with a gentle hand until he’s standing upright again, with me kneeling at his feet in the grass, the two of us surrounded by dark sky and shadow, which feels perfect at this moment.

“Hands behind your head,” I order. There’s a challenge in his gaze, but he does as I asked, lacing his fingers together behind his head. “Such a good boy,” I tease, biting my lip to control my giggle when Creed’s nostrils flare and a muscle ticks in his jaw.

“And now, my vicious little queen? You have me at your mercy. Whatever will you do with me?”

Heat pools low in my belly at that question. Oh, he’s in for quite a treat, and he doesn’t even know it. “You’ll just have to be patient, Creed,” I tell him, and then I get to work.

With a deep breath and a steady hand, I hold down the hem of his boxers and sweats with my left hand and then position the blade against his smooth skin with my right, ready to write my claim and know that it’s forever. The first cut has Creed’s stomach tensing, but he doesn’t say a word even though I know it must hurt. Trust me, I have more than enough scars from a blade. I know it stings like a goddamn bitch. And yet, here Creed is, taking it with ease. There’s a little whisper in the back of my head that’s telling me he’s doing it for me. He knows what I went through at Mark’s hands during Fright Night, and this is Creed’s way of suffering with me.

“Tell me what you’re feeling,” I murmur as I continue carving into Creed’s skin.

He tips his head back and stares at the endless night sky and twinkling stars above us. “I feel… like I’ve been caged. Trapped. Stuck in a glass box all my life,” he begins in a rough tone. My hand stalls and I frown up at him, but before I can comment on how sad that is, Creed smiles softly down at me. “But you’re setting me free, Ember. Chipping away at the cuffs keeping me still. And now, with you branded into me for the rest of my life, it’s like the final slam of the hammer, shattering everything that’s held me back.” He pauses, drawing my attention back up to his face. After a deep sigh and a deeper furrow between his brows, he says, “I won’t lose myself like this again, Prudence. I mean it… I’m sorry if I scared you, but I-I just woke up and… nothing made sense. It was dark, and I didn’t see you in bed, and my mind just imploded. All I knew was that I had to keep us safe, keep you close… Keep you as mine.”

My cheeks heat under the intense meaning in that statement, and I couldn’t keep the soft smile from my face if I tried. “Creed,” I sigh contentedly, glad to see him coming back to himself. I thought he’d be lost in that spiral for much longer than he was. “I love all the pieces that create the man you are. Even the sharp, broken, and dull ones. And believe it or not, I could never be scared of you. For you, yes. But never of you… I just want to keep you safe, close, and mine too.”

“Prudence, baby,” Creed whispers, his voice breaking like he’s overwhelmed with emotion. I finish my design on his hip and sit back on my heels, staring up at him like he’s my god and I’m a willing slave. Or one of my gods, anyway. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

Creed simply gazes at me, giving a slight shake of his head like he can’t put it into words, but is imploring me with his eyes to understand anyway.

And I think I do.

With a smile, I set the knife aside on the ground and sweep my thumb over Creed’s new mark — one that will scar and leave a lasting brand. I’ll be your colors, it says. It’s small, but perfect. I hope he’ll appreciate the sentiment behind it, the vow of my words.

Creed drops his hands from behind his head, gently cupping my cheek with one of his warm palms. “Are you cold? We can head back inside. I think… I might be able to get some more sleep.”

I almost say yes. I almost promise to lie in his arms until his breathing evens out and he’s lost to the peace of his dreams. But then I study the tension in his shoulders, the crease of his eyes, and I know he isn’t quite ready to go inside and get the curious, cautious gazes from everyone else.

Instead, I shake my head as I slowly peel his sweatpants and boxers further down his legs. Creed sucks in a deep breath when his hard cock bounces out, already leaking precum as if the act of me slicing into his skin was enough to have him halfway to an orgasm.

Dirty, kinky, filthy man.

I love it.

“What are you—“

I cut him off by flicking my tongue out and tasting the salty drop waiting for me. Creed groans, tipping his head back.

“Making sure you have no trouble falling asleep by the time we finally make it inside,” I answer, my voice dark and sultry, before I take him into my mouth. I wrap my hand around the base, the one that had brushed over his new cuts, so a bit of blood smears over his dick. For a second, I pause, looking at the deep crimson against his pale skin, wondering if I’m taking things too far, but then I realize this is Creed. There’s no such thing as too far with him.

Gently, so I don’t hurt him, I gather a little more blood as it drips lazily from the wound, and then I really get to work bringing him to nirvana. There’s not enough blood to coat him entirely — I didn’t cut too deep, after all — but just enough to give my hand some lubrication as it slides up and down Creed’s cock. It’s perfect and depraved, and so totally us that my panties are soaked in about two seconds.

“Fuck, baby,” Creed pants, thrusting his hips forward almost lazily, as if he’s in no rush for this to be over. I peer up at him as I take him deep, hollowing my cheeks and sucking just the way I know he likes. Creed rakes his teeth over his bottom lip, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths. “You’re a goddamn vision, Prudence,” he groans. “You look equal parts heavenly and sinful with my cock deep in your mouth. Like some twisted, fallen angel, created just for me.”

His softly growled words have my toes curling and I hum my approval. Jesus fuck, I’d give anything to have him shove me onto the ground and take me as wild and rough as he wants, but I refrain from saying as much. Right now needs to be just for Creed, my beautifully broken man. Some mindless pleasure to chase away the last of his demons.

With one hand wrapped around his thick cock, I bring the other one up to cup his balls. I tease my fingers along the smooth skin just behind them as I take him as far as I can and then swallow, drawing a ragged curse from him.

Another bead of blood rolls down from the cuts I made, and without really even thinking, I pull my mouth from his dick so I can lick it up.

That snaps the last of Creed’s control, and suddenly, he’s fisting a hand in my hair. “Show me,” he demands darkly, holding my head still, so he doesn’t miss a single expression on my face. I smirk and then flatten my tongue out, showing off the smear of red sitting there. “Good fucking girl,” he rumbles, his voice sin personified. And then he leans down and crashes his mouth on mine, stealing his blood straight from my tongue.

I moan from the delicious abuse, my lips already swollen from the rough kiss. Creed sucks my tongue into his mouth, taking all I have to offer, and then bites my lip, tugging on it like he just can’t get enough of me. He drops to his knees in front of me, his hand still in my hair, and all the while, he doesn’t stop kissing me. Or no. Kissing isn’t the right word.

He’s consuming me. Devouring my very soul. Owning me in every way.

“Fuck, Creed,” I whimper against his lips, leaning into his body and wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Lie back, Ember,” he orders, and I so do willingly. Once I’m flat on my back, the cold, damp grass beneath me, Creed says, “It’s your turn.”

I don’t know what he means at first, but then he looks around until he finds the discarded knife. When he grabs it and turns to look down at me again, there’s a devilish glint in his eyes that nearly sends me tumbling into a climax.

Good lord, have mercy.

He straddles my hips, his knees on either side of me while he lifts my shirt, exposing my bare nipples to the cold night air. They pebble immediately, begging for attention, for his mouth and fingers, for anything he’s willing to give.

As if reading my mind, Creed grazes the blade up my stomach and circles the point around each nipple before dropping down and taking the right one into his mouth. I hiss and moan, trying to stay still beneath that knife, but my god, it’s fucking hard.

“Is this okay?” Creed breathes against my skin, peering up at me through his wild black hair.

I nod eagerly. “God, yes. Please, I need this.”

“Need what?” he asks with a wicked, teasing smile. He knows exactly what I need, but he wants me to say it, put it out into the universe before he makes his move.

I curl my hand around his over the hilt of the knife, carefully pressing down until it nicks my skin. “Mark me,” I beg, holding his intense honeyed gaze. “Do it, Creed. Please.”

“I fucking love when you beg,” he growls, and then settles into position, poising the knife on the skin just above my right breast.

The first slice of the blade has me hissing out a pained breath, and Creed pauses, checking in with me with a single worried glance. I shake my head, telling him, “No, I’m fine. Don’t stop.”

He rewards me with a feral smile, his hard and likely aching dick pressed against my thigh while he works. I have half a mind to reach down and finish what I started, but I don’t want to distract him.

Having Creed above me, cutting into me with a knife, has my mind flickering between past and present. But as much as thoughts of Mark make me want to retch until I’m weak, panic never sets in. Not now, not tonight, because this is Creed and he’ll never ever hurt me. Even now, marking me and drawing blood, he’s not pressing in too deep and he keeps looking into my eyes for signs that I might want him to stop. Of course I don’t, though.

We both needed this… I needed this.

One last scar, but one that I have control over. A scar I’m asking for and one that I’ll cherish forever.

I gaze up at the stars while he works, silently vowing to extinguish every last one and send them crashing into the depths of hell. Well, okay, not the gorgeous stars I’m looking at, but since they’re all I have to look at, they get my full wrath.

“Done,” Creed breathes a few silent minutes later, setting the knife aside before pressing his lips to the fresh wound. His kiss is tender and caring, full of all the love and adoration he has for me.

I tangle my hand in his hair and pull his lips up to mine, sealing them together. The taste of my blood on his lips is almost erotic, and Creed must think so too, because his kiss becomes more urgent and demanding, his tongue diving into my mouth as he groans in hunger.

He rips his mouth from mine and trails his lips down my neck while he reaches down and fists himself, rolling his hips to chase the friction. My nipples brush against his chest, his teeth scrape along my racing pulse, and every time he thrusts forward, the tip of his cock presses against my clit through my thin underwear in the most delicious way.

I arch my back, overstimulated and so damn hot. “Oh fuck,” I whimper, lifting my hips to meet his movements.

“That’s it, baby, take your pleasure from me,” Creed rasps against my collarbone, and the whisper of his lips against my skin has me writhing beneath him. Creed reaches the mark he’s given me, flattening his tongue and licking up all the blood that’s spilled from me, and then he crashes his mouth to mine once more right as he rolls his dick against my clit.

It sets me the fuck off, the blood, our claims on each other, the delicious press of his hard dick. It’s too much, and I cry out as my orgasm crashes into me from all sides, digging my nails into his back until I’m sure I’ve left a few more scars on him.

Creed growls his release a second later, pumping his hand up and down his cock until he spills himself all over my exposed stomach with a ragged, “Fuuuuck.” We both lie there breathless for a moment, lost in each other and our bliss, and then Creed grins down at me. “My filthy girl. So perfect. Thank you for bring me back, Ember.”

“Always,” I tell him softly, cupping his gorgeous face in my hands.

He presses one last, quick kiss to my lips and then pushes up to his feet, offering me a hand up with him. Once we’re standing almost chest to chest, I glance down at the words carved into my chest, taking a moment to read them upside down, and gasp at the perfection.

I’ll be your storm.

“Do you like it?” Creed asks hesitantly, like he’s worried he fucked up. I smile so big my cheeks burn and it”s impossible to get a single word out. Instead, I throw myself at him, hugging him tight. Creed chuckles and cradles me against his chest, murmuring into my ear, ”I”ll take that as a yes, baby.”

When we walk inside a few minutes later, my heart full and Creed”s hands steady, no one else is waiting around. I guess they all figured I had things handled after all, and knowing that I have Asher”s trust with the fragile mental state of his cousin makes me beam with pride and contentment. It”s not that I solved the root of the issue, though, even if I did give Creed some small sliver of sanity with my soft words and tender touches.

Slowing to a halt before we can head into the bathroom to wash me up — his cum is slowly dripping down my stomach as it cools — I look up at Creed and chew my lip. How do I say this? How will he react?

For fuck”s sake, Prudence, just ease into it.

Before I can blurt out something rash like so what meds were you on and how do we get more? Creed sighs and runs a hand through his hair. ”I know, Ember. Let me just try to sleep for a few hours, and then I”ll… Well, I guess I”ll have to talk to my dick of a cousin, won”t I?” He rolls his eyes teasingly, because we both know Asher isn”t all that bad once you get past his asshole armor.

Never thought I”d say that, but here we are.

My shoulders sag in relief and a soft smile tugs up my lips. ”Deal. But you”ll wake me tonight if you need me?”

”Always,” Creed murmurs, echoing what I had told him outside. ”I”ll always run to you when my mind frays. You”re my sanity, Prudence. My colors.”

”And you”re my wild, chaotic storm,” I tell him, my voice bursting with adoration.