Swallowing the last bit of whiskey, this time she poured herself more. “Oh, so you think you know women, huh? Let me be the judge of your knowledge. Let’s pretend I’m a stranger. What come on would you use to get my attention?”
“Mindy…”
“Creed. Are you shy?” She rolled her tongue over her lips.
“Fine.” He set his whiskey aside. “Don’t laugh.” He rolled his shoulders and clenched his hands open and shut as if he prepared for a boxing match.
“I can’t promise there won’t be laughter involved.”
“Here it goes.” Clearing his throat, he smiled. “Hi, sweetheart. Do I know you? ‘Cause you look a lot like my next girlfriend.” He broke out into a full grin. “How was that?”
“Terrible.”
“Terrible? Why?”
“Because it’s cheesy. Try something else. This time something better.”
He crossed the short space between them, holding her gaze intently. Her spine tingled and her toes curled. “Most people experience love, but then there are those who don’t just love but they fall mindlessly. I don’t just love you with all my heart. I love you with all my circle. Hearts can break. They can stop beating. But a circle, it’s infinity. It flows on forever and ever and ever, just like the love I have for you.”
Her breath stilled.
Her knees quivered.
“Well?”
Clearing the butterflies from her stomach, she finally managed to gain her voice, “That’s better. Much better.”
“Just better? Are you telling me that didn’t do anything for you?”
Nervous, she gulped down the rest of the whiskey. The sudden rush of dizziness made her slightly wobble. He grabbed her gently and held her close. “Whoa there, sweetheart. I see you’re still a lightweight.”
She stared up at him, feeling herself wavering between logic and desire. “Honestly, if you use that line on any girl, I think she’d fall for you.”
“How about you, Minnow? Could you fall?” His whiskey-laced breath brushed her cheek.
“Creed…”
“Do you trust me?” He cupped her cheek, sending warmth into her bloodstream.
“No.” But she did. It was herself that she didn’t trust. What if she got hurt again? “Yes,” she finally admitted. “I’ve always trusted you. That’s why it hurt so much when I came home and you were no longer my Creedy.”
He smiled and it rained heaven into her soul. “You know I’d never hurt you on purpose, right?”
“These feelings feel an awfully lot like pain, Creed.”
“That’s because you keep fighting them.”
“Do you still like me?”
“Like you? Just a little.”
“I have to tell you that I came here tonight because I didn’t want to be alone.” She watched his expression.
“You have to be clearer than that, sweetheart. Do you want me, or do you just want to be held tonight? Call me crazy but I’m picking up some confusion. I won’t be a salve, not for you. I can’t risk losing myself again.”
“Both.” She moistened her lips.
He took her cup and placed it on the shelf, and with a tangled growl he picked her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. Flipping on the reading lamp clamped to the headboard the dim light cast a golden glow over them. She felt exposed lying on the bunk, feeling like all her weaknesses were laid out for him to see. Her body shivered and she brought her arms up around her body.
“Don’t hide yourself from me.”
“Okay.” Placing her arms at her sides, she swallowed hard.
“I want to see all of you.”
“You first,” she whispered.
He chuckled and stood.
“You’ve always been a beautiful man, Creed.” She lowered her eyes to the waist of his jeans that sat low on his slender hips.
With a flick of his wrist, he undid the buckle of his belt and pulled the leather from the straps, sending an echo bouncing off the walls. Then came an unsnapping of a button, the familiar scrape of unzipping, and a push of denim down long legs until finally he stood in front of her, wearing only thin boxers. The flap came open revealing dark, crisp hair. He sat back down beside her hip.
“You’re like a fine wine, Mindy. You’ve gotten better with age. Don’t let a man like your ex dictate how you feel about yourself. Any man with a brain and eyes would agree that you’re beautiful.”
“I look different,” she admitted shyly.
“Better than ever.” His husky voice vibrated her nerve endings.
“I’m older. I’ve had a child. I have some stretch marks and my breasts aren’t as perky as they once were.”
“So what?” Creed lowered himself and kissed her, teasing her lips. She moaned in delight at the phenomena he tweaked inside of her. He pulled slightly back, their gazes meeting, and she threaded her fingers in his thick hair.
“I used to be positive, saw the good in everyone and anything. I came back to Cooper’s Hawk to find that girl again, or at least a sliver of her. I don’t know what tomorrow brings, Creed, but I do know that I’ve learned a valuable lesson in never letting things slip through my fingers. I’m not sure I’m good for anyone right now though. Does that make any sense?”
He touched his finger to her chin. “You’re saying you haven’t found yourself again, right?”
“Right. When I say I’m not the same person, I’m not only speaking physically,” she said. She needed to get the boulder off her chest. “I have baggage. Branch did a number on me, but I was in the wrong too.”
“Do you still care about him?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t but shouldn’t I feel a little jealous that he’s married and having a child? I’m not. I’m only hurt because I didn’t recognize the signs that he and I just weren’t in it for the long haul.” She
