Risk (Gentry Boys #2) (3 page)

Truly

I’d seen enough of Creed Gentry to know he might be the worst thing I could do.  Yet one lustful glance from him scrambled every piece of sanity I owned.

The bar was crowded.  Most of these people weren’t really country types.  They were just throwing themselves into the gimmick.  A big group up front was screeching the lyrics to ‘
Friends in Low Places’
.

After having a word with Saylor, Cord headed to a table in the back where Creed and Chase waited.  I blinked hard when I saw the three of them together.  They fiercely resembled one another yet it was easy to tell them apart.  It was really a wonder, what varieties there were among siblings.  Sometimes there was no mistaking the blood connection.  Other times there was no likeness at all.  It had always been tough for people to believe my three sisters and I were even related because none of us looked anything like the other.   There was a reason for that though.  Our mother had been wild and indiscriminate about the men she laid down with.  

“A drink?” Say was asking, or rather yelling.  “My treat!” 

I shook my head.  “I’m just getting a soda.” 

“Hold on, I’ll get it for you.” 

As Saylor elbowed her way over to the bar the ‘
Low Places’
crowd ended their song with a lot of whistling and clapping.  I was starting to feel rather conspicuous in my dress.  A few of the snobbish girls dripping with designer accessories were sneering and even more of the guys were checking out my rack with leering interest. 

Saylor returned with a couple of sodas and pushed one into my hand.  The noise surrounding us had died down a little and it was now possible to talk without screaming.

“You having fun yet?” she asked me. 

“Any minute now, I’m sure.”

She cast a sly glance around the bar.  “Don’t look now but the boys are watching.” 

“Boys will do that.” 

Say laughed.  “Of course they’re staring at you tonight.  Remember when I said you were looking hot?  That was a completely unbiased no bullshit view from a heterosexual female.  I can imagine what you’re doing to some of the oversexed crotches staring you down.” 

I didn’t really have a nice answer for that so I just took a drink.  The casual game wasn’t my thing, not anymore.  I’d gotten hurt badly enough when it was supposed to mean something.  Yet as I watched all the hormones reeling around it occurred to me that maybe I’d missed a step somewhere.  Maybe one night of passionate risk should be on the menu after all. 

Saylor was distracted, staring over at Cord.  I knew she’d rather be with him and was hanging around up here just for my sake.  Cord seemed to be engaged in a tense exchange with his brothers.  He said something to Creed and Creed shook his head, looking away. 

Seated there at that table in the corner, Creedence Gentry had the sprawling manner of an arrogant king.  I still couldn’t stop myself from wondering what it would be like to feel the muscles of his broad shoulders under my hands.  From there I started thinking about the thick strength of his body.  I wondered how wide I would need to stretch in order to straddle him. 

Creed’s blue eyes fastened on me with such sudden force I was sure he must have heard those nasty thoughts as clearly as if I’d yelled them across the room.  I didn’t back down, not right away.  I met him stare for stare.  Creed didn’t blink.  The heat coming from his gaze was too much.  If I didn’t break free now it would be impossible.  I spun in the other direction so quickly that Saylor stared at me. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing.  A girl just gets worn out from carrying plates of chicken for ten hours.” 

One song ended and another one began.  I recognized it even before I heard the soulful tone of Alan Jackson’s voice singing
‘Between the Devil and Me’
.  A peculiar spasm shook my heart.  I remembered how he’d always been a favorite in whatever temporary home my mother had scrounged up for us girls. 

“Truly,” said Saylor absently as she gazed at Cord.  “I’ll be right back.  Don’t think about leaving.  I forbid it.”  She gave me a quick smile and a brief squeeze of the shoulder before heading over to claim her man. 

He saw her coming and rose immediately.  He took her in his arms as naturally as if they were made to hold her. 

There’s nothing lonelier than standing by yourself in a sea of couples.  A few more of them began swaying as they clung to one another.  Saylor was in ecstasy, the side of her face pressed against Cord’s chest as his hands circled low around her waist.  She would forgive me for ducking out early.  I’d been entertaining too many foolish ideas tonight.  It was time to leave before any of them happened. 

Creed Gentry stood up suddenly.  When his eyes locked on me this time I simply couldn’t move.  I couldn’t do a goddamn thing but stand there all weak-kneed and biting my lip like a teenager.  It seemed to take an ungodly eternity for him to reach me. 

“Hey,” he said, coolly nodding. 

It was all I could do to keep my mouth from watering.  Creed was tanned and muscled with dark blonde hair and blue eyes able to bore straight through me.  He was one of the finest looking men I’d ever seen up close.  He was also a big son of a bitch.  I didn’t fully realize
how
big until he was standing two feet away from me. 

“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 inches.