Page 82 of Creed

“What’s that?” I was dying to reach over and touch her.

“I want my own account. That means I’ll pay rent, buy our food, and pay for things the same as everyone else.”

“Morgan, I don’t even feel your presence financially. If anything, that’s more of a pain in the ass for accounting than just letting me pay for it.” I paused when I saw disappointmenton her face. “Fine, you’ll have your own account and neither of you will need those lanyards anymore. I’ll arrange for you to meet with accounting and security before I leave.” I felt like she was taking some of my control away. Not control as in dictating her life, but my ability to take care of her. I wouldn’t be able to protect her personally once I was gone, so I could have at least have been able to provide for them. I wasn’t used to women that didn’t want something from me. I always provided for the women in my life, but suddenly I had one that wanted to take care of herself.

“What’s wrong?” She tilted her head as she studied me.

I shrugged. “I guess I’m not used to this kind of thing. Growing up it was just me and dad. My mom only stayed for the short time she was in my life for money. The same for any other woman that ever came close to me.” I finally gave up and reached over to slide a piece of her hair through my fingers. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Is this the other thing you said I needed to know when we were driving today?” She asked.

I gave her a slow nod. “Like I said, I don’t have many good experiences with women. You know about my mom, but you don’t know about Addison Shaw.”

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly like she was preparing herself. “I know Addison well.”

“I know you do, but you should know I once dated her while I was in high school. It wasn’t all that serious, but she did hurt me because she used me to get to Jonathan. I’m sure she was disappointed to learn that I never even met the man. I wasn’t heartbroken over the girl, just…I don’t know…she broke my trust.”

Her eyes grew and she took a sharp breath. “Oh my God, you’re him?”

Confusion hit me. “I’m him?”

“Addison isn’t all that bad. Well, maybe she is that bad, but I rarely put my guard down with people in the industry. She is a diva for sure, but I met a lot worse. We got along okay, but we weren’t best friends or anything. One night when we were shooting in Australia we had a few drinks. She told me about this guy in high school that she really liked, but she had a boyfriend in New York. She didn’t know how to break up with the guy in New York, and strung him along. The guy she really liked was well connected, and she always felt bad when he learned the truth about everything her parents did by trying to get close with his father and she thought the boy could help her future career as an actress. Anyway, to make a long story short, she’s never wanted a relationship with anyone since. We were drinking that night and talking about meaningless hookups. I told her I never had one and she said she never wanted to be responsible for someone else’s feelings. That is why she had meaningless hookups and wasn’t looking for anything serious. I told her I wanted a life like my parents have together and she warned me about trusting another human with my heart. That was one of the very few times I ever let any of them in too close.”

I was surprised to hear that Addison talked about me. “I wasn’t ever a hookup for her. Honestly, I never even slept with the girl. It was just another experience that taught me not to let a woman in close.”

She blushed and hesitated but finally asked. “So, you’re all about meaningless hookups?”

I shook my head. “No, actually…well maybe the meaningless part, but not so much the hookups. I will admitto some with a few of the girls at the clubhouse, but mainly I prefer to take my time with women. Sex gets better with time. If you learn what each other enjoy most it can be out of this world. Problem was, they all reminded me of mom and Addison. It seems like they all wanted what I could offer outside of the bedroom.” It was uncomfortable talking to Morgan about sex. Very uncomfortable but I wanted her to learn about my past from me and not someone else.

“Money, connections, and attention?” She asked.

“Money for sure, sometimes connections but it goes beyond all that too. When I was serving state side, I tried to hide my wealth. If the other servicemen learned about it…well let’s just say I would have had to work twice as hard and may never have gotten into Delta Force. I did a pretty good job of it too. By the time I was discharged I was living in a crappy little place in an old apartment building with Axton, drove an older bike, and didn’t spend much money. I’d meet women and the other guys faced the same shit as me. We called them barracks bunnies. They all wanted something, even though nobody had all that much money. Some wanted protection, marriage for the military benefits, food, and sometimes it was just attention, and they liked drama. A guy would ship out and learn his girl was fucking a fellow soldier. Honestly, Stephanie Zoey, and Bolton are the only women I’ve had even as friends. I’ve not met many examples of good women until I met them. Then I met you and I want to spend time with you. Umm…” I was so nervous. I never knew this woman existed and she was right in front of me. She scared me but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t try something. I knew with Morgan she had to like me as the man I was, without all the money and things I could offer. I ran my hand down my face and realized once again my beard was gone. “I’ve met someone I believe could like me for just me.”

Her eyes softened and she curled into me. I put my arm around her and kissed the top of her head as I took in her scent.

“I do like you for the man you are, Creed. You’re kind, and I meant that too. You truly care about people and you’re also protective.”

“You might not feel that way when you hear my confession.” I hated telling her that stupid shit.

“Why do I have a feeling it’s not that bad?” She asked.

Morgan was smart and very intuitive. She put the pieces together about me, she figured out who my mother was and didn’t say a word until the right time.

“My dad was destroyed when my mother left. He was weak and I never wanted that to happen to me.” I was trying to say it slowly and hoped she understood.

“Felicity said you have a girlfriend.” She said, probably knowing it wasn’t true. She had been with me in my home long enough to know it wasn’t true.

“I don’t have a girlfriend. I had someone in my life, but it was an arrangement that ended.”

She sat up and looked at me. “An arrangement?”

I nodded. “Her name is Dahlia, and she lives in Louisville. Before her it was Olivia, and before her it was a girl named Piper. I had an agreement with all of them, one at a time. As I said before, sex is better with time and that’s what I prefer. So, with Dahlia for example, we had a legal document that she was to see me and only me and I’d pay for her education and her living expenses. She wasn’t as young as it sounds. She was only a couple of years younger than you. She went back to school.Anyway, I guess I felt like it was best to give them what they wanted up front and not get too invested.”

She sat up and looked at me without saying a word then she looked amused before she laughed.

“What is so funny?” I couldn’t believe she was laughing.

She wiped a tear of laughter away. “You are…” She laughed again. “A sugar daddy?”

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