Gray Back Alpha Bear(10)

Creed hunched in on himself and yelled out, “What? What happened?” He was out of the bed in a flash, balanced on the balls of his feet, planted between her and the door with his hand stretched back toward her, close enough for her to swat away if she wanted.

Peanut Butter attacked. Okay, really, Peanut Butter barked once and stared at Creed while his little doggy tongue hung out the side of his mouth. Terrible guard dog.

Creed eased between her and the vicious fluffy-haired Cujo. “What the hell is that?”

Fury blasted through her. Oh, now he was protective? Madness seizing her, she grabbed his hand and bit down as hard as she could.

“Ow!” he yelled, yanking his hand out of her mouth.

Peanut Butter yipped again.

It had hurt when Creed yanked away from her, so she checked to see if her teeth were still in her mouth. “You hurt me!”

Creed stood tall, and now his eyes were glowing silver. “Well, I’m sorry you hurt your teeth while you were biting me. I didn’t hurt you, though. You hurt you.”

“I’m not talking about my teeth, Creed! You freaked out and left me here yesterday. And why are you sleeping in my bed, snuggling with me without my permission? You don’t get to touch my belly until I say you can. You haven’t earned it yet.”

Creed ran his hands through his dark hair. His eyes, as black as onyx, pooled with remorse. He wasn’t wearing a shirt or shoes—just low-slung jeans. Creed was cut, his smooth skin delving over defined muscles. His six-pack flexed with every breath, and a light dusting of hair trailed from his belly button into his jeans, dragging her helpless gaze along with it. Holy shit, he’d somehow gotten hotter since she’d seen him last. Her eyes stopped on the huge bulge between his legs. “Do you have a boner?”

Creed looked down and flung his hands out of his hair. “Yes, Gia. That is a boner. I have them when I wake up in the morning.” His eyes had gone wide and irritated.

Oh. Morning wood, then. Disappointment shredded her insides, but she kept her face perfectly free of emotion. At the rate she was putting on the pregnancy pounds, she’d probably never give Creed a boner again.

“How long did you sleep beside me?”

“I don’t know. I got in at four or so. Shit, what time is it?” He dug around a small pile of clothes and yanked his cell phone out of it. “Mmm,” he growled, then flapped the wrinkles from his shirt. “I have to go.”

“Seriously?” Gia crossed her arms and glared.

“Yes, but we need to talk, and I don’t want to be away from you right now, so you’re coming, too.” Creed jogged past her to the living room and threw the door open. After he’d given two sharp whistles, he came back in, pulling a white T-shirt over his head.

Gia offered him a nonplussed look. “Is that you demanding I come, or asking?”

“Gia, please, woman. I want a chance at making this right with you.”

“And you can’t take a day off work? This is all a little chaotic.”

“I know, I know.” Creed sighed and held his hands out in a calming gesture. “I’m in charge up on the landing, and I can’t just leave my crew without a manager up there right now. Things are complicated with them. Can you be ready in five minutes? I’m going to go pack lunches for both of us.” He stared into space, looking slightly panicked. “Do you have those…shit, what are they called? Where you want certain foods.”

“Cravings?”

“Yes,” he said, snapping and pointing as if she’d won some big contest. “That’s the word. Do you have cravings? Or anything you can’t eat? For the baby? Anything that will hurt the baby. My baby. Our baby. Jesus.” Creed inhaled deeply and hooked his hands on his hips, lips pursed. “What would you like for lunch?” he asked in a calmer tone.

“A bacon and egg sandwich would be nice. I can’t have lunch meat.”

“Yes. I can do that.” The panic was back in his eyes.

“Why are you acting weird?” she asked, biting back an amused smile.

“Because you make me nervous.” He winced. “Really nervous. I can’t stop talking. I’m going to go.” In his attempt to escape, he stumbled over a comforter and caught himself much more gracefully than she could’ve ever managed. He huffed a breath and leveled her with those dark, uncertain eyes. “Bacon and egg sandwich.”

Then he turned and strode out of the trailer, leaving Gia staring after him. What the heck had just happened? She padded across the cold floorboards to the window, pulled the green curtain aside, and watched Creed jog away, shaking his head.