Claimed By My Husband's Enemy novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

(Eli)

It was a bad time to be awake and sober. That was what I realized when I opened my eyes and found Creed sitting beside me on the bed, his full attention was on the phone on his free hand while the other was holding mine.

I remembered coming to my room alone and cursing the hell out of this man for tempting me so much until I fell asleep. I woke up panicking in the middle of the night because of the same nightmare and then I remembered seeing the door opened and slightly arguing with Creed who walked in, freshly showered.

‘Are you sleeping here again, Black?’

‘Do you have a problem with that, Vicious?’

Yes. This is my room.’

‘Well, surprise. This is my house.’

‘Did I ever claim it as mine?’

‘Just fucking sleep.’

And then Creed laid on the bed, reaching out his hand, as if I needed it. Still frowning at him, I took it anyway and felt it instantly soothed my frightened nerves. I closed my eyes. ‘You’re so goddamn rude, Black.’

‘Politeness doesn’t work on you, Vicious.’

I didn’t remember responding. I just remembered accepting the fact that Creed and I were never going to talk like two normal people although I did fall asleep and peacefully at that. I just wished I didn’t have to wake up with him still by my side.

“I still haven’t talked to her about it, your highness. I will let you know her decision by the end of the day,” I heard Creed speak in that same bedroom voice that I wanted to gatekeep while I pretended to sleep.

There were many aspects about my life that I wished I could forget. And one of them was last night. I couldn’t forget how I tried to pleasure myself with my hands and still didn’t get to come. The frustration and humiliation from last night was still fresh in my head. That’s why I was just waiting for Creed to leave before I could curse myself for ever putting my guard down like that.

Why wasn’t he going back to his room anyway? The sun was already up. Shouldn’t he be at work by now?

I pretended to stir as I took my hand off him and turned my back on him while making sure that my breathing and heartbeat were as normal as possible since I learned my lesson the first time.

“Elianna is doing good, your highness. Nothing to worry about. In fact, she is beside me right now, eavesdropping while pretending to sleep, but you get the drift.”

I froze and he laughed. The sound strangely calmed my heart and irritated my pride.

“Alright. I appreciate your concern. I will see you at the party, your highness.”

I didn’t move even when I could feel Creed staring at my back. It was cold, but I was starting to sweat. The worst part? I needed to pee, damn it. He was supposed to be busy. But if I didn’t move, he might assume that he was wrong. I just had to stay still.

But again, I heard the bastard chuckle. He lightly bit me on the shoulder and then I felt his lips press on the back of my neck. It was quick but it awakened all my senses, even the frustration from last night.

“Good morning to you too, Vicious. I’ll leave for now so you can take care of your business.”

And then he got up. I heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Only then did I open my eyes. I stood up and rushed to the bathroom, my cheeks were flaming hot as I locked the door and lightly pressed my head onto the wall while cursing the alcohol.

Why did I ever think that I could fool someone who was decades older than me?

My college friends were right. I should totally ban drinking from my life.

Although when Creed’s reaction about our age gap crossed my mind, my face was no longer the only part of my body that was hot. I was wet… all over again. I needed a shower. A cold one.

Fortunately, until I finished showering, brushin Successfully unlocked! d, Creed didn’t show up. I went down to the kitchen. The girls were there with a cup of coffee

at the fifth cup on the marble counter.

“Here,” she said, looking very much sleepy, as she leaned on the counter.

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Chapter 21

“Thank you,” I said. It tasted just right with a little bit of milk.

“You’re welcome, Eli. Anyway, back to what I’ve been meaning to tell you, guys, yesterday before we all got distracted. A little disclaimer before I start. This isn’t my story. This is my cousin’s.”

The rest of the girls and I glanced at each other. Whatever it was, it was clearly her story. But Shanty just winked as if urging me to play along. Lizbeth handed me a basket of fresh baked bread as if to prevent me from speaking. I grabbed a loaf and leaned closer.

“There’s this guy. Let’s name him D. N, my cousin, has always been into him since she was young. They’re civil to each other. N watched him fall in love with just one girl for years.” Silver sighed. For someone who claimed it wasn’t about her, she looked very affected. “When N finally wanted to move on and was determined to meet another guy, she saw D at the bar and learned that he broke up with his long-time girlfriend. N and D had sex that night which continued for months. N is happy that she gets to be with him but D still doesn’t want to name their relationship. In fact, he doesn’t want anyone from their pack to know about them.”

Before I could ask for more details, a box of reheated pizza was handed to me. This time, it was from Carmie.

I took a slice as Silver resumed her cousin’s story.

“And just the other day, N saw D with his ex, they’re hugging each other. D knew that N saw them but still hadn’t contacted her until now to explain his side.” She sniffled. I quickly pushed the tissue box in her direction. “I just feel so bad for my cousin. What do you think she should do?”

“Tell her to run away from him and to just stay single,” I answered after another slice. “Men are assholes.”

“What’s an asshole?”

That super young sounding voice nearly made me choke on my pizza. The girls gasped as we all turned to the little girl who just slid into the kitchen with a barbie doll in her hand. She looked like she was only eight years old. With her curly red hair, pale chubby cheeks, big brown, curious eyes, and a bright yellow ribbon on her hair, she had instantly become the most adorable little girl I’d ever seen.

Lizbeth rushed to the kid. “Eli, meet Bridget, my daughter.”

“Hi, Bridget,” I greeted, a warm smile on my face. Bridget’s name came up last night although I didn’t think she would be here today. “Nice to meet you.”

She waved at me. “Hello. You must be Eli. I heard about you from mommy and Uncle Dale. They said that for a human, you are very brave.”

My smile widened. “Thank you.”

She smiled back. “You’re welcome, Eli. So, what’s an asshole?”

The sudden silence in the kitchen was so thick I could almost slice it. I swallowed hard. Lizbeth cleared her throat although she still looked lost.

“It means a cool guy,” I answered, which made the girls raise their eyebrows. Shanty and Carmie covered their mouths so the kid wouldn’t catch them laughing quietly. “But not a lot of people say that anymore so don’t say it. It’s… an ancient word. And if you say that to others, they will be insulted because they won’t understand it even if you explain it to them. It’s that ancient and complicated. So don’t say it, okay? Please.”

I sounded like I was begging which made Silver’s shoulders shake as she struggled not to giggle. Suddenly, she didn’t look as sad anymore.

Bridget nodded and we all sighed in relief. “Okay.”

Someday, when she was old enough, she would understand why I had to lie.

I thought I was already safe but then Creed walked into the kitchen in his dark suit. The little girl hugged him, beaming like she had seen a hero or something.

“Uncle, you’re an asshole!” she suddenly blurted out.

Another round of silence filled the kitchen, preventing me from taking another bite of my pizza. Creed’s eyes automatically landed onto me as if he already knew that I was behind his niece’s new word. His eyes narrowed as his wolf growled at me.

“Vicious!”

I nearly jumped by the intensity in his voice. I took a step back and did what any mature adult would have done in that situation.

Iran.

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