Page 19 of Creep

She shook her head and went back to her car, probably driving home. I stayed where I was for a minute before I headed out, following her.

It didn’t take me long to find her car on the road, and not long after that to realize she wasn’t heading home but somewhere else.

“Where are you going?” I muttered to myself when she took a left. I knew she wasn’t aware that I was following behind her, considering her driving pattern didn’t change, and I always put at least one car between us, so it wasn’t like she was trying to shake me off.

Even if that was the case, I already knew where she lived, so that would be a moot point.

She turned right into a small bar not far from where she lived.

Not going to see the bartender “friend” of hers tonight?

Much to my satisfaction, she hadn’t seen the fucker Brody since the night she got wasted at his bar and came home to…me.

Fuck, but I could still remember, clear as day, the taste of her on my tongue.

How fucking addicting.

I watched as she found a parking spot and pulled into it.

I parked my car just across from her, pulling backward into the spot that gave me a full view of her car with the engine still on.

What was going on inside that head of hers?

From the weeks of watching her, I got the impression that she wasn’t as happy as she let on. But what could be bothering her?

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and, not for the first time, wished I had the ability to read her mind. How was I supposed to drive away all her demons if I didn’t know what they were?

It wouldn’t be long before I made my claim on her known—to her and the rest of the world—but until then, I was nothing more than a stranger with no privy to her thoughts and feelings, and something about that just fucking killed me.

I wanted to know her inside and out.

If I was going to lose my very sanity to her, it seemed her giving me everything inside her for me to own would be a fair price.

Her car shut off then and she got out, her gaze on the doors of the bar as she walked toward it. I waited until she was inside before I shut off my own car engine and followed her.

It didn't take long for me to locate my girl in the small, dingy bar filled with smoke.

She was sitting by the bar top in the corner, and the fucking vultures had already taken notice. The biggest offense came from the hideous fucker with a receding hairline, sleazy smile, and bloodshot eyes.

He was watching my girl like he wanted to devour her.

Wrong fucking move.

I came up to him from behind just as he was about to make his way over to her, my grip on his shoulder.

He let out a pained grunt when I pulled him roughly against me.

“What the fuck?—”

His words were cut off as soon as he got a good look at me.

I smiled menacingly at the fucker. “You’re thinking about approaching that girl over there, aren’t you?”

He shook his head so fast, it looked like it might just snap off his neck.

That could easily be arranged.

“No, man, of course not.”

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