I needed to move us on, immediately.

In order to do that, I announced, “Okay, so it doesn’t work and you get me pregnant. It isn’t like we both don’t want kids. It happens, I won’t be sorry.”

His finger stilled.

No!

“Creed,” I whispered and it came out sounding like what it was. A plea.

I started to lift up but his voice, a rough, low, vibrating growl I’d never heard before stopped me.

“You wanna get pregnant now?”

His words, the tone they were uttered in, performed a miracle. It took me out of what was happening to my body and into the conversation and I realized what I said.

When I did, I realized I meant every word.

“Absolutely.”

Creed stared into my eyes.

I stared back.

Then his finger disappeared and I whimpered. The feeling of loss was cut short when he yanked my panties back up, shifted, rolled me and then lifted me in his arms. When we were up, he started moving, carrying me like a groom carries his bride over a threshold, his strides long and swift, his destination clearly the bedroom.

I slid my arms around his shoulders and asked, “Creed, where are you going?”

“I’m taking you to your bed. We make a baby, Sylvie, we do it making love. Not f**king on the kitchen floor.”

Of its own accord, my hand slid up his neck into his hair, cupping the back of his head spasmodically as goosebumps rose on my skin.

When we made a baby, we did it making love.

Making love.

Making a baby.

What I wanted. What he wanted. What we’d planned.

Sixteen years late.

But, thank God, not too late.

I felt my lip start to tremble and I bit it so the feeling welling up inside me didn’t overwhelm me. I didn’t want to cry. I wanted Creed to plant our baby in me while he made love to me.

How a Nerf fight ended up like this, I didn’t know.

Just that, as with everything, as always, while experiencing something wonderful, only Creed could make it more wonderful.

He set me in the bed and immediately covered me with his body.

Creed’s hands started moving on me, mine on him and his head was descending so he could kiss me when Gun pranced in, stopped and stood by the bed.

“Meow.”

Creed’s lips were brushing mine when I whispered, “She wants breakfast.”

“She can have breakfast after we try to make a baby,” he replied, not whispering.

I grinned.

I was down with that.

Creed did not grin.

He slanted his head and kissed me.

Then he made love to me.

* * * * *

“What?” Charlene hissed.

We were sitting on her couch in her living room. Creed was outside mowing her lawn.

After Creed made love to me, we took a long shower where Creed paid more attention to me, giving me a slow, sweet orgasm and taking his time doing it. We then got dressed and went over to Charlene’s to help her with breakfast and, after, Creed went out to mow her lawn.

So he could concentrate and not run over anything precious with the lawnmower, like, say, children, the kids were inside with us, doing something in their rooms which was likely destructive (except Theo, he was taking a nap). Charlene was ignoring this because I was laying it out, starting with imparting on her the fact that Creed and I had decided not to delay in trying to start a family.

It was Saturday. I’d been home nearly a week after making my decision to move to Phoenix and I hadn’t yet told her I was moving to another state. I hated to admit it but this was because I was chicken.

It seemed clear Drake Nair was out of town and we found no rumblings that he was still scheming against Knight. We also had no indication whatsoever that Nick had anything to do with Nair’s plot or even held any ill-will against his brother.

Therefore, Knight released Creed.

This meant Creed needed to go home, see to his own business. We discussed it and although he could give me a week, he had to get home and work. I had to stay in Denver, put my house on the market, finish the jobs I was still working on and shut down my business.

This was going to suck, being away from him for the first time since I got him back.

Creed thought it sucked, too and he was somewhat vocal about that.

Regardless that we both thought it sucked, there was no way around it. We’d have to be separated, for weeks, maybe even a couple of months with quick visits the only thing breaking our separation.

See? Sucked.

I also had to tell Charlene I was abandoning her.

It was arguable but this might suck more. I’d get back to Creed. I was losing Charlene, Adam, Leslie and Theo and they were losing me.

I felt shit about this because I promised I’d be there for her. I also felt shit about this because she was doing my admin part-time, she needed the money and that would die away.

Creed, being Creed, solved this problem. He farmed his admin out to an agency. He had no emotional ties to them and it was also part-time. He said it didn’t matter who did it or where they did it which meant he could yank it from the agency and give it to Charlene.

But that didn’t solve the problem of her losing her lawn guy, her morning helpers or the moral support coming from next door.

In my heart, I knew she’d survive. She was that kind of person. It might take a while to get used to it but she would eventually find her way to the bright side of life. I also knew that she’d be happy for me, finding Creed, living my life with him, starting a family.

So it wasn’t about Charlene, as such.

It was about me.

I’d miss her.

Back in the day, when Creed disappeared and I found myself owned by Richard Scott, all my girlfriends abandoned me. I didn’t really blame them. Suddenly, without an explanation, I was what the town saw as the local pimp and drug dealer’s girlfriend. Although Jason Dixon had been telling people for ages he banged me, no one believed him and no one but no one, not even my girlfriends, knew about Creed.

Needless to say, being with Richard did not do wonders for my reputation.

People talked about me. People speculated. People said shit things behind my back, gave me ugly looks, sometimes even said things straight to my face. I’d learned to live with it and I’d learned to live without friends.

That didn’t mean having one again didn’t mean everything to me.

Fortunately, two days after Knight released Creed, Hawk Delgado called me. He had a job and not only was he interested in contracting with me, he also asked if Creed was still in town. Since Creed was and since Creed was good with hanging around longer and taking another job, Hawk hired both of us.