Gray Back Alpha Bear Read online

  Chapter Eleven

  “Are you angry he didn’t tell you sooner?” Gia asked.

  Creed was propped up against the headboard of the hotel bed, hugging a white pillow to his bare chest. He’d been staring at the television without seeing it for a half an hour. She knew because she’d turned it off five minutes ago, and he was still staring.

  Creed softened and hunkered down closer to where she lay on her side, watching him and worrying.

  “I should be, but I’m not. I think a part of me knew we were related somehow. I just didn’t consciously piece it all together.

  Gia shoved a pillow between her knees to relieve her aching hips and slid her hand over his taut belly. “So will our baby be born a dragon shifter?”

  “I don’t think so. Too much grizzly blood.”

  Gia snuggled against his side and stared at the blank television screen that held Creed’s attention. She realized he was staring at himself. He’d been quiet all day, barely speaking on the car ride with Willa and Matt to the airport or on the plane. He’d touched her constantly, though, as if he needed her affection. Creed had been through so much already, and to find out about his lineage just as he was starting his own family? Gia squeezed her arms around his hips and sighed. She wished she could make things easier for him. He already carried such an enormous burden on his shoulders with the Gray Back Crew. With her barreling back into his life pregnant and with the breadcrumbs Damon had given him today about where he came from, it was perhaps too much at once.

  “It seems like a lot to do lunch with my parents tomorrow considering everything that is happening right now,” she murmured, giving him an out.

  “Bullshit,” Creed said with the ghost of a grin. “I’ve always wanted to eat a luncheon at a country club right off a golf course.” His accent had gone proper at the end.

  She laughed and bit his side gently. “That’s a typical power-play done by Graham and Judy Cromwell, a-k-a the kind and sensitive grandparents to your child. It’s a signature move to take parties they want to belittle to their country club instead of their home. It says they don’t respect us enough to invite us into their territory. They’ll probably have an I Hate Shifters banner across the grand entrance to greet us.” She giggled at the image. Mom and Dad really weren’t as nice as Creed was thinking he could convince them to be. It was very sweet of him to try, though.

  “If I can handle Easton for two years without killing him, I can handle a lunch with your parents.”

  She looked up at his strong jaw and chiseled cheek bones when he stopped talking. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and the scruff on his face made him look rugged and sexy. And those silver eyes he’d been donning most of the day gave him an edge of danger. Perhaps he could handle her ball-busting parents.

  “Do you think the boys fought on the landing without you and Matt there to break them up?”

  Creed laughed and stroked a strand of her long hair out of her face. “That’s a hell yes. They probably didn’t get any work done. I don’t know why I even sent them up to work today. We’ll have to make up the numbers when we get back. I might be scarce for a few days trying to catch us up.”

  “Hmm, that sounds not fun,” she murmured as she rolled up and straddled his hips.

  Shimmying down him, she pulled the elastic waist of his gray cotton sweats down his legs, unsheathing his cock.

  “Frisky mate, you gonna make me forget all my problems?”

  “Keep calling me your mate, and I’ll try.”

  A satisfied rumble vibrated through Creed’s chest, and she pressed her palm against his top two abs to feel the sexy growl. He pulled her hand to his mouth and bit down gently on the flesh between her thumb and forefinger.

  A shiver rattled up her spine and landed in her shoulders as he released her. Oh, she knew what his bite would do to her, and he’d never Turn her—not while she was pregnant. He sure did like to tease her with the claiming mark she’d read all about, though.

  With a wicked grin, she blew softly against the head of his cock. Creed was long and thick, swollen with need, and already there was a tiny drop of moisture at the tip. She tasted it, and the second her tongue touched his skin, he rolled his hips and groaned as if he couldn’t help himself.

  Her mate. Big, powerful, carefully-controlled, ever-loyal, ever-caring, dragon-blooded mate. Pride surged that he’d picked her. Not just because she’d come to him pregnant or pleaded with him. She’d been patient, and he’d chosen her because he wanted her. Because she was enough. When Gia slid her mouth over his dick, Creed hissed and gripped her hair.

  “Teeth, woman.” His voice was low and gravelly—toeing the edge between human and snarling bear.

  Mine, mine, mine. Creed was ruining her fun with his rules, though, so she clamped down gently around his swollen head and released him, then took him as far as her mouth would allow.

  “Fuck,” he drawled in a shuddering voice. His knees drew up on either side of her, and his spine curved forward as he rolled his hips. She took him again and again until both of his hands slid into her hair.

  “Don’t stop,” he said, voice strained.

  Stop? Never. Gia was no quitter, and she wanted the salty taste of him to coat her throat.

  His hips bucked rhythmically with each deep suck now, his ab muscles twitching and jerking as his breath came in short pants. His fingers tightened in her hair, and he pushed her down harder.

  A snarl rattled his throat, louder, and he yanked her off him. Her stomach dropped as he pushed her backward. Her shoulder blades hit the cold door, and she marveled at the distance he’d just taken her in the span of a moment. He was much more powerful than he’d ever let on. Creed was on her, body pressed against her, arm locked around her waist, knee jamming her legs apart.

  “Don’t want to come in that sexy mouth of yours, mate.”

  His voice was gritty and edgy, and the feral tenor made her wrap her leg around his waist in desperation to be closer to him. He slid into her until their hips crashed together. The burning sensation of his thick size disappeared on his second thrust. His teeth grazed her neck, and she threw her head backward to give him better access. God, how could anything feel this good?

  She dug her nails into the smooth skin across his shoulder blades, and Creed gripped the back of her hair and dragged her gaze to his eyes, the color of polished chrome. “Careful with those claws, kitty.” A wicked grin curved up the corners of his mouth as he bucked into her again, refusing to release her from the intensity of his eyes.

  Trapped, trapped, trapped—she was trapped looking at the one she loved while he drew her orgasm ever closer.

  “Creed,” she said on a gasp.

  “Louder.”

  Pressure was building so fast, so intense in her core where they collided. Arching her back, she obeyed and yelled his name as release pounded through her.

  Creed pushed into her again and gritted out her name. Pulsing warmth sprayed into her as Creed’s muscles tensed and released, tensed and released. He dipped his head and set his teeth against her shoulder, biting down, but not nearly enough to break skin. Oh, her sexy bear. Chest heaving, she closed her eyes as aftershocks rocked through her core, matching Creed’s as they fell into oblivion together.

  Creed’s gentle nip turned into a lingering kiss. He trailed more up her throat and along her jawline, adoring her slowly as her bones felt like they were melting away.

  “Sexy, beautiful, sweet mate,” he murmured against her skin as he sucked and nipped. “I do wonder if you were my fate.” Palming her belly, he kissed her lips, then rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t know how I would’ve handled everything this week without you.” He eased back and searched her eyes as his dimmed to the onyx color that said his bear was sleeping. “You make me feel stronger.”

  The baby kicked from inside her, hard, and Creed’s eyes went wide.

  “Please tell me you felt that,” she said on a hopeful breath. He hadn’t been able to feel the k
icking and rolling that she did. Not yet.

  Creed slid out of her and carried her tenderly to the bed where he lay her down and propped on his elbow beside her. He laid soft kisses along the curve of her belly and settled his hand over her again.

  A thump against her other side had Gia dragging his palm to where she felt the movement. A moment of stillness, and then another hard kick. The smile on Creed’s face was instant and beaming—beautiful. He looked so proud she wanted to cry.

  “You’ll be a wonderful father,” she whispered through her thickening throat. “No matter what happened in your past, I can tell you are going to be great.”

  With a sigh, he pulled her against his chest until her belly rested against his.

  “You make me better,” he murmured, laying a kiss on her forehead. “I was so frustrated with my crew before you came, and now you’ve reminded me that the reward for trying could be great. You’ll make an amazing alpha’s mate, if you’ll have me.”

  Gia smiled as she endured another solid kick to her middle. “You’re mine, too.” A steady rumble vibrated against her chest, and she laughed. “You purr when you’re happy.”

  “Bears don’t purr.”

  Gia leaned back and grinned up at him. “I wonder if our cub will purr like you.”

  “I hope it’s a girl,” he said suddenly.

  “You do? I thought you wanted a boy. You always say he.”

  Creed dipped his chin slightly and stroked her hair. “I want a little girl who looks like you. One who’s sweet like you.”

  She hugged him close to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. Her big, tough bear. Alpha to the feral Gray Backs and keeper of so many scars. Steadfast and strong and hoping for a cub with a tender heart.

  Big, tough bear who was so much more than he seemed.

  She loved him. She loved him.

  And no matter what happened tomorrow, or next week, or ten years from now, her heart would belong to him always.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gia gasped and turned in the hotel’s full-length mirror. “What is that?” she murmured, squinting. She mashed her belly against the reflective glass to get a better look. “Creed!”

  “Yeah?” he said around his toothbrush, sticking his head out of the bathroom.

  “What is this? Is that a stretchmark?”

  With a frown, he muttered, “Hang on,” then rinsed in the sink as she poked the little red stripe of betrayal. Her body got a C-minus in baby growing. Twenty-five pounds gained and a stretchmark at five months? She let off a human snarl.

  “You put a giant baby in me,” she groused as Creed knelt by her belly to study the tiny rip near her hip bone.

  He laughed, but tried to cover it up unsuccessfully with a cough. After he’d cleared his throat and tried to stifle the grin on his face, he announced, “It looks like a stretchmark.”

  “Aw, for fuck’s sake,” she said, turning in the mirror again. “I’ll never be able to wear a bathing suit again.”

  “Because of a stretchmark? It’s cute!”

  Gia guffawed and let the hem of her coral-colored dress slip over her stomach to cover the little monstrosity. “This one stretch mark might be cute to you, but I’m only halfway through this pregnancy. I’ll have billions at this rate.”

  “Be serious. Billions?”

  She crossed her arms and pouted. “Perhaps trillions.”

  “Baby,” Creed said sympathetically, pulling her into his arms. He splayed his legs to be eye-level with her. “Even if you had trillions of stretchmarks…I’d still hit it.”

  Gia swatted his arm. “I thought you were going to say something romantic.”

  “That is romantic.”

  “I’d still hit it? You’d hit anything with a slimy hole.”

  “Gia, stop it.”

  He was laughing harder now, and a grin cracked her face. She hated the little stretchmark with the intensity of a thousand suns, but she did love that it had evicted the faraway look in her mate’s face and replaced it with a genuine grin.

  Creed fondled her boob and dragged her waist against him. Against her ear, he murmured, “I only like your slimy hole.”

  She giggled and kissed him, insecurities all but forgotten because her man didn’t give two fudge pops whether his baby marked her up or not.

  His hands gripped the hem of her dress and slid it slowly up her thighs as he leaned forward and kissed her.

  A knock pounded against the door. “Our taxi is here. We’re leaving!” Willa called through the barrier.

  Gia sighed and hugged Creed close as she stared at the fancy gold and cream wall paper of the bedroom.

  He nibbled her ear and lifted her off her feet, then carried her gently toward the door. Air whooshed in as he opened it. “You guys want to meet up for dinner before our flight back?” Creed asked Matt and Willa. “Or do you want to meet at the airport?”

  “I think we’ll probably spend the whole day with my dad,” Willa said as she leaned against Matt’s side. “I imagine finding out your only kid has been Turned into a werebear will require some extra reassurance that said kid won’t actually go primal and eat people.”

  “Good luck,” Gia said, hugging Willa up tight and kissing her on the cheek. She knew exactly where her parents stood on the whole shifter issue, but Willa’s dad had been dealt a blow with his mother and wife passing away within a short time of each other. And now his only daughter had lost her humanity? She felt bad for Mr. Madden and hoped Willa could somehow make him feel comfortable with it before they all had to fly back to Wyoming tonight.

  “You, too,” Willa said, squeezing her shoulders. “You’re going to need it a whole lot more than me.”

  “Maybe it won’t be so bad,” she teased.

  “Ha! Your parents have been snooty butt-faces since the first time I met them. At least they’re consistent. Have fun meeting your future in-laws, Creedy.”

  “Dooon’t,” Creed drawled out. “Don’t call me Creedy.”

  “I werebear swear I won’t ever do it again,” Willa said with a wave as she sauntered down the hallway with Matt toward the elevators. Her spiky red ponytail bobbed with every confident step. “Bye, Gia. Bye, Creedy!”

  Matt’s chuckle echoed down the hallway. “Good one, Nerd.”

  Hands hooked on his hips, Creed watched Willa and Matt disappear around a corner with narrowed eyes and a resigned sigh.

  “You ready?” Gia asked.

  “Yeah.” Creed buttoned his starched white shirt, then gestured for Gia to pass through the doorway first.

  She’d worn her hair long and flowing today to compliment the dress, but Mom would probably still find something wrong with her appearance. As she walked toward the elevator with Creed, she realized how much she hadn’t missed her parent’s cruel words over the past week. At some point in her life, she’d grown used to the biting, snide remarks and the insults that took place of the compliments Gia always dreamed of getting from them. But over the last week, she’d felt better about herself without her parents and the bombshells in her life, constantly placing her beneath them. No one in the Gray Backs made her feel less than.

  Perhaps because they were broken themselves, or perhaps they just didn’t care where she came from or what inadequacies she toted like baggage. Or maybe it was because she was mate of the alpha. She didn’t know. All she knew was she felt better about herself when she was at the trailer park than she did right now, marching toward their rental car to meet her unsupportive parents for a meal.

  Creed helped her into the passenger’s seat, then pulled them out of the parking garage and turned onto the main road that would lead to her small hometown of Minden.

  A muscle twitched in Creed’s jaw where he clenched it, but other than that, he looked perfectly calm. He made a striking profile. White, oxford shirt stark against his suntanned skin. His gray dress pants clung to his powerful legs, and his eyes were dark as night and focused on the road ahead. Or perhaps the task ahead of them. She apprec
iated him so much for what he was doing—trying to salvage her relationship with her family—but it wouldn’t work. Did she regret this trip, though? No. Never in a million years, because this trip had taught her how truly selfless Creed was. He’d dropped everything, the first week of logging season, to try and make things right for her. He’d left his half-crazed maniac crew of brawlers in charge of work when hitting timber numbers was his way of trying to earn Damon Daye’s respect. He hadn’t cared one bit that he was traveling with her away from everything that needed to get taken care of and right in the middle of the bomb Damon had dropped on him about his parentage. All Creed cared about—his only focus—was making sure she was taken care of and happy.

  She rested her palm on his knuckles, and he responded instantly, drawing her hand to his lips and letting them linger there.

  “Creed?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I’m glad you brought me here because I think my parents should meet you. You’re it for me, and they should see the man their daughter chose. But I’m really, really ready to go back home.”

  He shot her a beaming white grin and huffed a laugh. “You missing the trailer park already?”

  She nodded and nestled back into the seat cushion better. She watched the familiar streets and shops passing, and such a strange sensation washed over her. She knew where everything was. Every corner of this town held a memory for her. Milkshakes in high school with Brittney and Kara there, and she’d made out with Bryant Thompson in the dressing room of that store over there. She’d watched holiday parades here, had come to Willa’s band concerts when they played downtown, and cheered at the football games at the old stadium on Friday nights, but this place didn’t feel the same anymore. She’d changed over the past week.

  Gia knew this town, but it didn’t really know her anymore.