Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
I’m elated. A bit scared, yes, but I could move mountains for him, and when he palms my cock, making it grow, I gasp into Angel’s lips.
I hide my flushed face from the next photo as he giggles.
“That’s… yeah, I think we have enough photos.” I have to shift in the seat. I’ve already pushed my own boundaries in ways I thought unimaginable just weeks ago. He’s touching me, we’re kissing, making eye contact. He’s so bold yet mindful of how I feel about being touched. He’s so in tune with me he knows when to push and when to stop to avoid causing damage. He would probably be really good at gardening, because he’d always recognize the signs of whether a plant has too much or too little water.
“We really should go hang that picture in the canteen,” he says, teasingly locking his gaze with mine as he slides out of the booth. Is that… does he mean—
I follow him once I adjust my jeans. “Um… n-now?”
He grins, taking a few steps back toward the merry-go-round. “Don’t you want to be alone with me, Creed?”
I love the sound of my name on his lips. It’s giving me the courage to do what I’ve been hesitant about for three days now. Tonight. I’m doing it tonight.
“I do. I want to be alone with you so bad. Let’s go.”
Surrounded by the flashing lights, he’s my own personal gate to heaven.
Chapter 27
Angel
We’re flying through the woods, Creed and I.
Creed.
I love that name. It feels so familiar on my tongue, but infinitely more… right, because a creed is something noble, something worth keeping.
Just like my man.
I bury my face in his leathers, eyes closed as I cling to his back, trusting that he will keep me safe on the way home, just like he kept me safe at the rally, when Domino found me. Creed really does notice everything.
A part of me is sorry to leave our friends behind—and yes, I already call them that in my mind, despite only moving to Vulture Hollow earlier this month—but there will be other parties and rallies. This night together feels special.
I want to be alone with Creed, free to tell him things I wouldn’t entrust to anyone else, to breathe in warm air straight from his mouth, and show him he belongs. With me. With his brothers. On the canteen wall.
When he slows down I know we must be driving into Vulture Hollow, so I open my eyes and look around. The central area has a few lights on, even at night, but I’m alarmed to see fire and smoke from afar. Creed’s not tensing up though when we drive that way, so I don’t panic either, and he was right.
We drive past one of the little squares around which several of the cabins huddle, and a small bonfire is burning in the middle. When people glance our way, I spot Brigid and her daughter Luna among at least a dozen teens roasting something over the fire, a few of them crafting figures out of sticks.
I don’t have time to work out whether it’s some mystical ritual or just entertainment. We drive down the dirt road toward the canteen instead.
The village is quieter without the bikers and their party-loving friends, and the main communal area feels deceptively still as we stop close to the empty playground. The scent of moss hangs in the air as I slide off the motorcycle and take a lungful of it, straining my eyes to see details in the dark. A couple of people are still up, as evidenced by lamps in individual cabins, but the canteen appears deserted, and I half-expect to see dust once we enter.
Grinning at Creed, I march up to the main door and press on the handle, to find the entrance locked. He stops by his bike to grab a jacket from the saddlebag, but he doesn’t put it on, which is no surprise because it’s not particularly cold outside. He has his habits, so I don’t question it.
“It’s locked,” I announce my disappointment when he joins me.
Creed shakes his head. “Of course it is.” He walks into the bushes to the side of the door, then scoots down there, disappearing from my sight. When he eventually emerges, a set of keys jangles in his hand.
I cock my head. “Do you have spares for every building?”
“Most of them. Prophet even trusts me with his.” It’s clearly a point of pride, because he stands straighter when he says it. Creed unlocks the door and opens it for me like a gentleman. As if we’re not breaking in. As if he’s taking me to an exclusive event, he’s wearing a suit worth thousands of dollars, and I’m the date he intends to seduce.
It’s working.
“This place looks different after dark,” I mutter, facing the shadows of tables and benches stretching far into the space where everything becomes a uniform shade of black. The moment I finish speaking, several lamps light up at once, illuminating the canteen just enough to prove that it is still in use, and we won’t be attacked by zombies. Though there is Beaky watching us from above. I can only hope the vulture carcass isn’t coming alive any time soon.