Chapter 35
Millie
“You scared the shit out of me,” Hyde says, bursting into my dorm. “Why are you asleep in the middle of the day?”
I sit up in bed, frowning at him, then at the clock.
It’s lunchtime already. I should’ve set an alarm after Creed’s arms, scent, and heat eradicated every bad feeling brought on by the nightmare.
By the time I left his room, my eyes were heavy, body mellow, and I crawled into my bed for just five more minutes.
“I couldn’t sleep at night,” I tell Hyde, pleased that it’s true. “Nightmares.”
He takes a seat at the edge of my bed, his hair a mess as if he ran his hands through it multiple times. “Evan?”
I nod, holding the sheets close to my chest. I’m pretty sure there are a few strategically placed bruises and love bites dotting my skin. Better not to let him notice.
“Okay,” he says, exhaling down his nose. “Text me next time, alright? I was worried. It’s not like you to miss classes.” His eyes rake over my desk and night table, probably checking for pills. “Get dressed, you should eat.”
“I just woke up. I’m not hungry. I’ll grab a shower and try to make it to my afternoon classes.”
He takes my hand in his and pulls me into his chest, both arms going around me. I hope he can’t smell Creed’s cologne or there’ll be hell to pay.
“Want me to wait for you?” he asks.
“No, go grab some lunch.”
He lingers a moment longer, then ruffles my hair and leaves the room. I fall back on my pillow, eyes on the ceiling, head full of Creed and our first moment that wasn’t defined by the electric, physical pull between us...
I already want more.
***
“I should go before everyone’s up,” I say, lifting my head from Creed’s chest, my body sore and exhausted after we worked out in bed instead of the gym this morning.
It was my fault. I didn’t see him all day yesterday, and he went into town with the guys in the evening, so I showed up at his door at five this morning.
He was leaving the bathroom when I entered, water trailing down his muscular chest, a towel draped over his hips. It made dropping to my knees and swallowing him down very convenient.
Three orgasms later, we’re tangled in his sheets, bodies slick and hot, my breath still not back to normal.
“It’s barely six o’clock, baby,” he says, pressing my head back down. “Ten more minutes.”
I smile despite myself, my fingers absentmindedly trailing the ink mapping his skin. “Do they mean anything?”
“Every single one, though they’re not all equally deep.” He reaches up, index finger dragging over the snake coiled around his neck. “That one’s for the Fight Club. Brock settled for snake stamps, and I inked one after the first fight.”
“What about this one?” I kiss the spider he’s got below his sternum, dragging my parted lips up to his neck.
Creed weaves his fingers into my hair. “Keep kissing me like that and you’ll be back on your knees.”
“You need to work on your threats, that one sucked.”
That earns me a slap on the ass. “Mouthy little thing.” He squeezes hard, then soothes the ache, massaging the spot. “When I first opened the door to my freshman dorm room, a spider was crawling down from the ceiling. Apparently, they symbolize destiny among other things.”
“So Gravemont was your destiny?”
He curls me back into his side. “It’s where my life changed for the better, so yeah, I like thinking that.”
“Okay...” I hum, studying every tattoo before I pick the next one. “And this?” I bring his hand closer, poking the tally marks. “All the fights you won?”
His expression darkens on cue, jaw tightening, and nostrils flaring. Before I can inch away or backtrack, having apparently picked something deeply personal, he tightens his hold on me.
“That’s every one of my bones my father broke.”
The words hit me like a punch to the stomach.
I stare at his hand, counting the thin black lines across his skin, at a loss for words.
I figured his relationship with his father wasn’t a good one based on the celebrations, pine casket, the lack of flowers, and everything he said while I listened at his home in Seattle.
But I didn’t expect such horrific abuse.
There are twelve, twelve little lines.
My mind whirs through possibilities, the creative side of my brain pushing images of Creed, much younger than now, taking a beating from the one person who should’ve protected him.
What are you punishing me for, baby?
He asked that when I wouldn’t speak around him.
My eyes water, throat cinching with shame. Did his father punish him like that? Were the memories unbearable every time I gave him nothing but silence?
My fingers hover over the tally marks, unsure if touching them would soothe him or make it worse.
“Eli...” I swallow hard, looking up at him. “I’m sorry, I—How old were you when—”
He doesn’t let me finish the question, flipping us over quickly. My back hits the mattress, his body hovering over mine, arms caging me in.
“I was five when my mom passed away and my life changed for the worse,” he says, a small frown marring his forehead. He moves his hand to wipe a stray tear I hadn’t felt escape. “Fourteen when I grew into myself and my father stopped throwing punches, too afraid I’d hit back.”
“Was he always—”
“I have you naked in my bed,” he cuts in. “My father’s the last thing I want to talk about, baby. Save it for a rainy day.”
I glance toward the window. “It’s raining right now.”
A quiet huff of amusement escapes him. He dips his head, his warm mouth brushing along my collarbone.
“I’m in a much better place right now, I don’t want to spoil it with the past,” he says against my skin. “What about your ink?”
He’s deflecting.
I hesitate for a moment but decide not to press.
If anyone understands keeping certain things close, it’s me. I hated it every time Hyde was prying, almost demanding I talk to him about Evan and what I was feeling.
Inhaling slowly, I let the tension slip from my shoulders. “I don’t have any tattoos.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” he says. “Do you want one?”
“Maybe one day.” I weave my fingers into his hair, the strands still damp and cool between my fingers. “Once I figure out what and where.”
“Somewhere hidden.” He sucks my lip into his mouth, bites down, and tugs it between us. “Somewhere only I can see.” Moving his hand down my body, he draws a small circle in the crease of my thigh. “Could be here, or...” he strokes higher, under my hip bone, “...here.”
I open my mouth to speak, and he seizes the opportunity, diving in for a deep kiss. It takes me a moment to recover and remember that I’m supposed to leave.
If I don’t, I’ll risk getting caught later, and the news about Ward’s weird sister sneaking out of Creed’s room at dawn would travel the campus at lightning speed.
I flatten my hand against his chest. “I need to go,”
He lets out a frustrated groan, but rolls away, his head hitting the pillow. “Fine, but I want you back here tonight.”
“Say please.”
He smiles. “You want me to beg, baby? I can do that... on my knees... head between your thighs.”
I swat him with a pillow as I scramble to my feet, picking my clothes off the floor. I get dressed, tame my hair, give him one more kiss and crack the door open, glancing left and right before stepping out into the hallway.
No one’s around, the whole floor silent as I tiptoe toward the elevator, heart on my shoulder. Bouncing on the soles of my feet, I glance at my watch. Six twenty-seven. I’m cutting it way too fucking close.
My pulse hammers against my ribs the longer I wait, watching the digits move from zero to five in slow-motion.
If someone sees me...
The bell dings, making me damn near jump out of my skin. The doors slide open and my heart drops to my feet.
Hyde’s inside, leaning against the back wall, dressed for the day. His face is set, eyes on the screen of his phone for two seconds before he looks up and they narrow then flick to the display above, then back to my face.
We’re on the fifth floor. Creed and Noah’s floor. He’s on sixth along with Dash. I’m on second.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, pushing away from the wall and out of the elevator.
“I—I was...” I stutter, a deep flush creeping up my neck. My palms start sweating, mind blanking out. “I was just...”
“Where have you been?” he repeats, looming over me, his protectiveness surfacing like a physical wall. “It’s barely past six, Millie. Why are you on this floor?”
“I was just... checking if...” I scramble for an excuse, for something plausible, but my hands are slick, and my ears are ringing. “I was just here to... I mean, I was just checking if...”
“If what? Stop stuttering and don’t fucking lie to me. What were you doing—” he pauses, head whipping left where a door clicks open ten feet away.
Noah peeks out, parking his shoulder against the frame. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants, his chest bare, hair ruffled as if he just crawled out of bed.
“She was with me, Hyde, unclench,” he says. “We were watching a movie and she fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake her.”
Hyde’s gaze is sharp as it shifts between us, nostrils flaring as he takes in Noah’s barely dressed form.
The silence is agonizing.
I’m trying to hide the shock, my fingers twisting in the hem of my sweater. I look at Noah, but he doesn’t look back at me.
“What movie?” my brother asks, testing us.
“Breakfast Club,” Noah shoots back without missing a beat.
Hyde lets out a slow breath, his shoulders relaxing a fraction, suspicion receding. “No wonder you fell asleep, sis.” He looks at Noah again. “Next time, wake her up or walk her back. I don’t want her wandering the halls at dawn.”
“She’s not five. Stop hovering.”
Hyde’s jaw ticks and he motions his chin toward the elevator. “Get back to your room, Millie. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
I don’t dare argue, stepping inside, my legs no longer like jelly but lead instead. As soon as the doors slide shut, my phone pings, Eli throwing my words back at me.
Eli: You need to work on your lies, baby, that one sucked.
It wasn’t much of a lie. Just incoherent stuttering, so it’s my skills that need honing. I smile at the screen, the stress of the last two minutes evaporating in a flash.
Me: Yet another thing you can teach me.