His Angel: The Wounded Souls Series

by Leah Sharelle

  I let out a long, low moan when Creed’s tongue licked the inside of my bottom lip, then again when he caught it between his teeth and pulled at it gently. I wanted more, so much more. Becoming more aggressive, I threaded my hands around the back of Creed’s neck, pulled him closer, and kissed him back with the passion I had for Creed, which I hid deep down in my soul. His answering groan thrilled me, and then his mouth became more demanding as his tongue sought mine and tangled with it. Never had I been kissed like that in my life. I was being devoured, and I wanted to be devoured, feasted upon—claimed.

  Before I was ready for the kiss to stop, Creed tore his mouth from mine, his panting and gulping giving me a pretty good indication that he was just as affected as I was. The intense burning need to have his mouth back on mine was strong, really strong.

  Creed’s forehead pressed against mine. I could feel his breath on my face, and I just wished I could see his eyes. The way I read a person’s face helped in many situations, but the one thing I missed was looking into a person’s eyes. The eyes never lied. They told the truth, telling you something words couldn’t. Years ago, I made a promise that I wouldn’t wish for what I had no control over, my sight was gone, and there was nothing that could be done to bring it back, but right now, in this very moment, I wanted that control.

  Creed’s eyes really were a window into his soul. I remember how black they were, and they had an intensity that would take my breath away. When he looked at my sister, they shone, when he was really mad, they darkened. When he had smiled, they sparkled like onyx. I missed seeing that more than anything.

  “Angel, are you okay? Did I do something wrong? It’s been a while since I kissed a woman, but did I do all right?” Creed asked, his usual confidence slipping.

  Good one, Memphis. Way to make a guy feel inadequate.

  “No, babe, you were great—fantastic, in fact. I didn’t want you to stop, especially when you lost control and devoured me like you really liked what we were doing,” I babbled, making a complete fool of myself. “I will just stop talking now,” I mumbled, feeling a heated blush on my cheeks. Did I really call him babe? Oh, Lord.

  “Memphis, stop,” Creed said, and then pressed a firm kiss to my lips.

  Okay, now we’re talking. Lifting my lips under his, I opened my mouth just a little more, hoping to get that taste of his tongue like before. It was so smooth. And I nearly got it, too. Creed opened his mouth wider and kissed me back for a few seconds more before he again put a stop it and pulled back with a growl. He suddenly rolled off me, and I felt the bed move in such a way I knew he was up, leaving me worried and, if I were honest, a lot disappointed. His groin area had been doing some good things of its own. Being blind didn’t stop me from noticing his hardening shaft against my thigh.

  “I can’t talk when you kiss me like that, and I definitely can’t talk when you moan like that when you kiss me.” I could tell he was pacing, and Creed didn’t pace. He was a rock, his sniper training giving him an edge. Nothing rattled Creed Stephens—except, it seemed, my kisses and moans.

  That realisation made me very happy, but what it meant was yet to be found out. Maybe I needed some more time with Rainn. Last night, in the kitchen, getting to know the flock, I sensed Rainn was the go-to woman for advice on the Souls men. I needed advice because my experience was limited to one guy when I was twenty. He had no idea what he was doing, which I knew when he stuffed his tongue into my mouth the first time we kissed. A shudder ran through me, and not in a good way. I had tried very hard to rid my mind of that particular memory—it was furry, and he tasted like—

  “Are you listening to me, Memphis?” Creed asked exasperated, shaking me from my very gross memories.

  “Huh, what? You were saying something?”

  “Memphis! I was saying that yes, I enjoyed kissing you, and yes, I want to do it again and again. But… I don’t want to rush into making love.” I felt the bed depress at my hip, indicating he was now sitting beside me.

  “Okay, but you do want to make love, together, with me?”

  My nose was given a warm, wet kiss.

  “Yes, Angel, I want to make love, us together. We were made to skip a few steps in our relationship, so let’s just take a minute to go back and take those steps first. This is… all new for me, Angel. I never thought I would be here again, never wanted to until now. Give me some time, okay, Memph?” he said in a gentle voice, his hand squeezing my hip just where my tee had ridden up during sleep. His warm, callused fingers felt amazing. He was right, in a way. We hadn’t had a courtship. Those moments where small touches like the one he was doing now leading up to the bigger stuff. We knew each other well, and we were friends. He had seen me mad, seen a tantrum, and seen my tears and seen me at my lowest. My feelings for Creed had always been there, and now he just needed to catch up. At least, I hoped that was what he needed.

  “Okay, Creed,” I whispered and kissed him gently but quickly. I was getting addicted to his kisses, so going slow was going to be hard, but if I was going to get all of Creed and not just a part of him, going slow like he asked was what I had to do. Losing him now wasn’t an option.

  ———

  Creed helped me get a better feel for our room. He told me in detail where the furniture was, and we discussed if there could be a better place for it. It took us an hour, but eventually, I was more comfortable with the layout. The room was really quite large, and it even had a sitting room, one that could, in the future, be made into the baby’s room. I felt rage at my grandparents for adding the condition to the will. It made no sense and was, in my opinion, archaic, this wasn’t the dark ages. A woman could own a house and a business successfully on her own. Not that being married to Creed was a hardship—secretly, I liked that condition. It was horrible of me and shameful, but a woman in love thought some pretty strange things. This one did, anyway.

  After Creed left me in the bathroom to shower and get dressed, I found myself on another step-counting exercise. Deck had shown me a little the night before, but his way of explaining things was a tad different to the way Creed did. Deck did a lot of grunting and kicking things, and saying things like ‘watch your step’ or ‘fucking prospects need to move that shit’ wasn’t the most helpful way to learn my way to the rooms. Charlotte had told Deck as much, but when she giggled, and I heard wet kisses and moans, I got the impression Charlotte liked to rile her man up.

  “Okay, so that’s seventy steps from our room to the kitchen, including the staircase. A right turn at the bottom of the stairs then a straight line to here.”

  “Yes, what can you tell about the kitchen?” Creed asked.

  He was still holding onto my hand, so I released it and took the cane from my pocket, making quick work of turning it out to its full length. It was a telescopic one, very handy to carry around in my back pocket when I didn’t need it. I rarely used it around my house and the store since everything was where it was supposed to be, and I didn’t like it much. It made me feel blind.

  “Okay, the first thing I am noticing is the room is big, very big. The tapping from my cane on the floor echoes.” I experimentally walked around, getting a feel for things.

  “It is, huge in fact. Other than the table, there is nothing for you to run into. The countertops run along three walls in a U shape. At the ends are two big fridges and two commercial ovens, opposite each other. The table itself is long, seats twenty people easy. The chairs will always be tucked in, although there might be one that won’t always be.”

  “Shiloh?” I guessed with a chuckle, which Creed joined in with a grunt of his own.

  “Yeah, Squirt has recently advanced from her high chair to a proper seat. We still use the booster thing now and then, but she is getting better. There is less mess under her after a meal now, much to Trig’s displeasure.”

  At the mention of Steel’s dog, I looked up.

  “Where is Apollo? I can’t believe I forgot him last night when I went to bed.”

  “Don’
t worry, Angel. Booth has taken a liking to the big mongrel. Apollo stayed in Booth and Stell’s room last night. I’m sure he will join you soon,” Creed said. I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn’t the only one in a new environment, and Apollo was so used to our house and yard that all this space might do him in. The lazy beast hardly ever walked further than he had to.

  “What would you like for breakfast? The fridge and cupboards are stocked with everything imaginable. I’m sure Stella made some muffins last night before she took off for the night.”

  I groaned and held my stomach at the thought of Stella’s amazing baking skills.

  “Please, just cereal for me this morning. I ate so many mini cheesecakes yesterday, it’s a wonder I haven’t turned into one.”

  Creed’s snicker came from across the room. “They are good. You better be careful, Angel. All the women here are pregnant and use it as an excuse to eat themselves silly on all the sweet stuff blondie offers up.”

  Now I knew he wasn’t picking on me—well, the rational side of my brain did, but that part of me was nowhere to be seen when I opened my mouth next.

  “Are you saying I’m fat?” See! Totally irrational, but all I could think about was the sheer number of those delightful desserts I’d consumed and the fact that, this morning, my tee had ridden up to my belly when Creed and I kissed like randy teenagers. Had there been a pooch? Did Creed feel it or see it? Lila had the perfect body, and she ate whatever she wanted, carbs were actually her friend.

  “What the fuck are you talking about, woman? When did I say you were fat?”

  I heard the heavy footfalls of Creed’s military boots as they came my way.

  Oh, boy. Well done, Memphis. Jolly good job.

  Creed took me by the shoulders and crowded his face in close to mine, his heavy, angry panting hitting me in the face.

  “Creed—” I tried to backtrack. He wasn’t usually one to get mad. He got quiet instead. My wrong assumption, however, seemed to do the trick to bring out his fury.

  “Listen to me, Memphis, because I am only going to say this once. Are you listening?” His angry voice vibrated through me.

  I wasn’t scared of him, far from it, so I nodded my head, thinking he wasn’t really looking for any words from me right then.

  “I have never thought of you as fat. You are fucking beautiful. This morning, you made my dick hard for the first time in five fucking years. Eat what you want, and as much as you want. I was just saying that the other women about complain how addictive Stella’s treats are. Nothing more.” The heat from his breath told me he was close, so very close, and once or twice during his rant, I felt his lips touch mine.

  His words penetrated through the fog that was my brain. He thought I was beautiful? He didn’t have to remind me about his hardness because that was not something I was likely to forget in a hurry.

  “You do? It was?” I rasped, and then I squeaked when he suddenly grabbed my hand and pressed it against the denim of his jeans where I encountered the cold metal of a zipper and the hard bulge of his cock.

  “Do you feel that, Angel? I am still hard as a rock—it won’t go away. All I can think about are your moans when your tongue tangled with mine, the way you opened your mouth and let me in, sucking that fucking plump bottom lip of yours into my mouth. What else that delicious mouth of yours can do to me. Where I want it.” His voice dropped impossibly lower, deeper, and I could feel his desire for me—aside from the obvious one under my palm. His hand pushed mine one last time against him before he removed it and pressed a kiss to my knuckles.

  “Creed, I am so sorry. I am new to this, and I guess I just reacted before thinking,” I said by way of explanation. The last thing I wanted was to get off on the wrong foot. Yesterday had not been a stellar start for us as a married couple, and I wanted to get this right.

  “I know, Memph. It is for me, too, in a way.”

  I pulled my lip between my teeth and decided to voice another of my insecurities.

  “It’s just that Lila was thin and perfect. My body isn’t bad, I don’t think, but I have a tendency to go overboard when I find something I like,” I said quietly.

  “Hmm, Memphis, if this is going to work, we have to leave Lila Rose out of our marriage. I will never compare you to her, other than you look very much the same. She was who she was, and you are who you are. She had issues with her body, baby, trust me. Now, are we over this?”

  I was elated that he said what he said about my sister. The idea of leaving her out suited me just fine. I loved her dearly, and she was my best friend, but she was gone, and I was here. Creed was right. If we were going to work, I had to put her elsewhere in my mind. I just hoped he could do it, too.

  “Yeah, we are good, baby. How about that cereal?” I smiled big for him and was rewarded with a chaste kiss to the lips.

  “Right, then. What’s your favourite? Stella keeps fifteen different kinds, believe it or not. Shiloh changes her mind every other day.”

  I laughed at that. I couldn’t wait to meet the little girl who had ten tough former soldiers wrapped around her little finger. Maybe I could ask her what her secret was, I mused as I let Creed lead me around the kitchen.

  Chapter 12

  CREED

  “You okay, brother?” Booth asked as he came up beside me and leaned his hip against the counter. He was holding a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a shortbread biscuit in the other.

  “Yeah, I just remember what an emotional rollercoaster marriage can sometimes be,” I admitted. Jesus Christ almighty, when Memphis put those words into my mouth, my blood boiled. Fat? How the fuck could she think that? Her hurt expression when she admitted that stuff about Lila Rose, I admit had pissed me off. Last night, after Booth gave me his two cents about my situation, I stayed at the bar and drank some more, thinking. When I finally got the balls to head to bed, Memphis was already asleep. She looked so beautiful lying in my bed, our bed now. She didn’t know that I tucked a piece of her silky hair behind her ear or that I kissed her soft cheek. She didn’t hear my whispered plea to give me time, be patient with me. I wanted to have a normal relationship again, craved it. Memphis was the first woman that made me want those things. Telling her while she was awake was something I wasn’t ready to do yet. My body’s reaction to my wife was over-riding my head and my heart. There was just something about her that had my inner alpha screaming to come out.

  “Mate, wait until she is pregnant. Then you will see crazy. Holy hell, the other day, Stells burst into tears because I didn’t take her while we were showering.” Booth shook his head, but the huge grin he was sporting as he told the story… Yeah, Stella got her shower sex after all.

  “In all seriousness, mate, Memphis is one hell of a woman. I am in awe of her survival skills. Losing your sight at seventeen, fuck, it must have been hard for her, and for you and Lila to watch.”

  I looked over at my wife, who was sitting with Stella and Mia, laughing like she had been part of the flock forever. I watched her closely but gave her space. This was going to be her life, and I had to let her find her own place in the group of women. My protective streak was still very much on alert—I wouldn’t have her uncomfortable in any way. I knew her tells and was watching for them.

  When Shiloh had finally woken, she barrelled into the kitchen and went all gaga over Apollo. The big dog was just as excited to have a little person around, and the gentleness he used around Shiloh calmed me a bit. He was so bloody big, bigger than Trigger, so I was a little concerned at first when Squirt wrapped her arms around his big neck and squeezed him. Apollo did nothing but lap up the attention, easing my worries that he might hurt her.

  Now I was looking at Shiloh jumping around in front of Memphis, throwing out question after question. Memphis was incredible with the little girl, answering every question no matter how absurd.

  I was about to turn around and make a cup of coffee when I heard Memphis’s melodic laugh.

  “Can you see me do this?” Shi
loh asked as she poked her tongue out and waved her hands around.

  “Nope,” Memphis answered.

  “Can you see me do this?” Shiloh danced around in a circle, her little feet shuffling and slipping on the tiled floor.

  Memphis threw her head back and giggled, the expression on her face was one of pure happiness. I held my hand to my chest at the vision. Fuck, she was so beautiful, so pure, so fucking beautiful.

  “Nope, can’t see that either,” she answered.

  “Can you see telly?”

  “No, honey, I can’t, but I can hear it. I remember some shows I used to watch when I was younger, though.”

  “Did you ever watch Tour of Duty?” Shiloh, of course, had to get her favourite show into the conversation, so typical. Fucking Darth.

  “Ah, I don’t know that one.”

  “You ain’t ever seen Zeke? Is you shittin’ me?” I nearly choked at her question.

  Charlotte and Stella groaned and hid their smiles behind their hands.

  “Better go save your woman from Squirt, Creed, before she pulls out the DVD player, and Memphis has to watch three seasons of Zeke,” Booth joked, but it was true. Shiloh took her obsession very seriously. I fucking hated that show. I had seen it so many times I could recite every episode. My love for that little girl was stronger than my hatred for Zeke, so once a week, when it was my time, I sat down with her on my lap and watched it—again.

  “Copy that. Shiloh is with me today. I have to go to the bike shop and do some quotes and check out a paint job.” I made quick work of making a coffee in my travel mug, then turned to Booth. “What you got planned. brother?”

  “Deck and I are heading to the building the girls want to use for a dance school. I want Deck to check what needs to be done to bring it up to code for the insurance company.”

  I nodded in agreement. The dance school was a fine idea, and Rainn and Charlotte had a really good plan for it to be successful, so I didn’t doubt that it would be. My only concern was all the balls in the air at the moment for the club. Were we taking on too much with Callie and Rogue out there somewhere ready to pounce?