Page 79 of Creep

I grinned. How would she react if she realized she already knew my name? I shook away the thought. I already knew how she would react.

“Who else? Were you expecting another man to come to you?”

“No,” she grumbled. “Who else would be creepy enough to sneak into my bedroom in the middle of the night?”

Fuck, but she was amusing. How fucking great was it that I not only love the way she looks but her personality as well? My girl really was the whole package, wasn’t she?

“Did he hurt you?” I asked, moving my hand around her body as if I could somehow assess her injuries that way.

She slapped my hand away. “Stop it.”

“Be a good girl and hold still so I can check,” I said, working hard not to let my real voice come through… especially when I was feeling like this.

“What is that, the starter line to a porno? No, I’m not going to hold still for you tocheck.”

“I really was just going to check,” I answered seriously.

“I’m fine,” she said, the tone of her voice indicating that she didn’t want to get into this with me.

I would have to get a better look at her as Mael. Surely, she would be more receptive to getting naked with me and letting me check.

“Then tell me, did he hurt you?”

She let out a sigh. “No. He didn’t hurt me. You came out just in time.”

The last part was said quietly.

I took in a deep breath at that. Thank fuck.

“What happened to the guy, anyway?” she asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about. He won’t ever get near you again.”

After all, a dead man was a useless man.

The silence that followed was deafening. I waited for her to ask me, wondering if she was brave enough to do so. If she was brave enough for the answers. I already decided there would be no secrets between us. Eventually, she would know all there was to know about me, even the ugly parts.

But for now, if she asked me if I had killed the man or not, I would tell the truth, whether she could handle the answer or not.

But surprisingly, she didn’t ask.

Instead, she let out a small sigh and lay back down on the bed, offering no resistance when I pulled her into my arms.

“I’m too tired to fight you tonight.”

“Is that what you’re calling it? When you were lying frozen in my arms before a part of that fight?” I teased.

She elbowed me in the stomach. My smile widened. She was getting comfortable with me—as both her stalker and as Mael.

Which was good.

After all, once she finds out her stalker and her lover are the same person, I would have to take her away from here. She would be spending a hell of a lot more time with me then.

“I won’t thank you for saving me,” she said, and I wondered about that odd note in her voice.

“I didn’t ask you to.”

She didn’t have to thank me, not for something like this. Never for something like this.