Page 12 of Creed (Satan’s Fury MC- Little Rock #6)

DEVIN

" H ello, Devin.”

“What… how…ah,” I stammered. “What are you doing here?”

I sounded like a blubbering idiot. But I couldn’t help it.

I was in a state of utter disbelief.

After all these years, there he was. The man who haunted me in my dreams was standing right in front of me with a damn smirk. “Good to see you, too, babe.”

And just like that, my knees almost buckled beneath me.

He had a way of doing that to me.

It wasn’t exactly my fault. The man had always been the perfect mix of sex appeal and trouble. And that hadn’t changed. Not one bit.

There was a little more gray in his hair and a few crow’s feet around his eyes, but damn, if they didn’t make him look even better.

He was wearing a fitted black T-shirt that clung to his broad shoulders with a pair of jeans and his black leather boots, and he had a few more tattoos than he had when I’d last seen him.

He looked good.

Too good.

“You didn’t answer my question.” I crossed my arms tight across my chest. It was the only defense I had left. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer right away. Just looked at me with something that felt like regret and something else I couldn’t name. His silence stretched too long, thick with everything we didn’t say back then.

And suddenly, I was scared.

Because I wasn’t sure I was ready for what might come next.

“I came to see you.”

“Why?”

“You got time for a coffee?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s just coffee, Dev.”

I let out a slow breath, trying to ignore the ache that came with hearing him say my name like that. Like no time had passed. Like we weren’t standing on the jagged edge of a thousand unresolved feelings.

Everything in me screamed that I should walk away, but then, I heard myself say, “There’s a shop on campus. We could go there.”

“That’ll work.”

His mouth tipped into the faintest smile, and the next thing I knew, we were sitting at a table in the back of the coffee shop.

It was small and quiet and nestled behind an old bookstore.

Students filled the space with the kind of casual noise that should’ve made me feel normal. But nothing about this felt normal.

Jameson sat across from me, calm and unreadable, and I felt like I was about to come unglued.

I didn’t want him to know that he was getting to me, so I took a sip of my coffee and did everything I could to avoid his gaze.

When I couldn’t stand it a moment longer, I forced myself to look up at him and ask, “So, are you going to tell me what we’re doing here, Jameson? ”

“Just a couple of old friends catching up over a cup of coffee.”

“Old friends, huh?”

“Just wanted to see how you were.”

“It’s been years, Jameson. Why the sudden interest?”

“I saw you and your friend at the casino the other night.”

“Oh, so, you were there?”

His blue eyes narrowed. “You saw me?”

“No, but I thought I saw a couple of your brothers. I figured if they were there, you might be, too… Speaking of which, where is your cut? Are you still with them?”

“I am.” He motioned his head over to a table full of students. “Didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention.”

“You avoiding attention? That’s new.”

“I’m a changed man.”

“Um-hmm.” I rolled my eyes with a smile.

He shifted in his seat, and his thumb tapped lightly against the coffee cup. It was a small tell he probably didn’t even realize he had. “I’m VP of the club now.”

“Wow. That’s big.”

“Yeah.” His jaw tightened for a moment, then he added, “I’m proud of it. Worked hard to get here, but it can be tough. It’s hard leading a group of men you consider family. It’s a lot of pressure. I don’t want to fuck it up.”

That was Jameson. Strong and steady but carrying the weight of everyone around him without letting anyone see how heavy it was.

I wanted to reach across the table and take his hand again, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. So, I just nodded, letting him know I heard him, that I saw him.

“You could never fuck it up,” I said softly. “You were meant for this.”

His eyes softened, just for a moment, before that familiar smirk tugged at his lips. “You always did believe in me.”

“Yeah.” I smiled, even though it hurt a little. “I guess I did.”

Jameson smiled, and my chest tightened exactly like it did when we were younger. His eyes burned through me as he said, “Noticed there’s no ring on your finger.”

“Oh, yeah.” I ran the tips of my fingers over the spot where my ring used to be and sighed. “Brian and I divorced about a year ago. We tried to make it work, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“This is the part where I’m supposed to say I’m sorry…”

“Not unless you mean it.”

“I would if I thought you or your kids were torn up about it.”

“You know about my kids?”

He didn’t answer.

He didn’t have to. I remembered how things worked with him and the club. I had no idea how he or his brothers did it, but they always seemed to know things no one else knew.

“Of course you do.” I shook my head. “Well, they took it pretty hard. They’re still taking it hard.”

“I hate to hear that. Hopefully, they just need some time.”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure they’ll ever forgive me for leaving their father, but that’s a story for another day.”

“Understood.”

“What about you?” I braced myself even before I asked the question. “Are you married?”

“Wouldn’t be sitting here if I was.” His smirk faltered as he admitted, “I considered it once, but she wasn’t you. So, I didn’t go through with it.”

“Jameson.”

“You look good, Dev,” he said, eyes roaming over me just enough to make me feel it in every nerve ending. “Damn good.”

Hearing him say that stirred something inside of me, and suddenly, I was feeling all those things I’d buried so long ago. He’d hurt me. We’d hurt each other, and yet, here we sat.

I looked down and tried to catch my breath as I reached for my coffee. I wasn’t paying close enough attention, and my hand brushed against his. I should have pulled away. I didn’t.

Neither did he.

It was such a small touch. Our fingers barely grazed, but it felt like so much more.

The spark was still there, and it was a reminder of every late-night whisper and every promise we’d made and hadn’t kept.

I finally pulled my hand back, but the warmth of his touch stayed with me, so I asked, “What is this, Jameson?”

“Like I said, it’s just a couple of friends catching up.”

“Feels like more.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

I wasn’t sure if I meant for him to hear them, but there they were, sitting heavy between us. “It feels like we’re trying to step back into something that I’m not so sure we need to step into.”

“We don’t have to figure it out right now.”

His voice was low, but there was a softness there that made it hard to breathe. I needed some space. I needed to think, so I told him, “Well, this has been great. It was really good to see you and all, but I’ve gotta go. I’ve got class in an hour, and I still have assignments to grade.”

“Have dinner with me.”

“We’ve already been there. Done that.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, but I remember all too well.” I finished off my coffee before saying, “Maybe it’s best that we leave the past in the past.”

“You really believe that?”

A dull ache filled my chest as I quickly grabbed my things and stood. “It was really good to see you, Jameson.”

Before he could say anything more, I rushed through the crowd of kids and darted out the door. I was practically running as I made my way through campus, and I kept going until I reached my office.

I whipped inside and closed the door behind me. I felt like everything around me was spinning as I went over to my desk and collapsed in my chair. I don’t know how long I sat there, staring into space in a complete daze.

He was there.

It wasn’t a dream.

He was right there within my reach, and I fumbled. I fumbled hard.

I’d imagined this day a hundred times. I’d thought about all the things I’d want to say and do, and I finally got the chance and didn’t do or say any of it.

I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.

He asked me to dinner. Dinner. Not to run off and get married.

Not to start all over. Just dinner, and I didn’t have the balls to accept.

I don’t know what was wrong with me.

He was the love of my life. He was the one I measured all the others against, including Brian. Especially Brian . Eventually, I had no choice but to stop. There was no point in it anyway. There was never really any comparison, and deep down, I knew there never would be.

I rubbed my hands over my face and groaned quietly.

I made myself believe that it was best to leave the past in the past, but now, I wasn’t so sure.

The papers on my desks were taunting me.

I knew I needed to get them all graded and posted, but I didn’t dare move. If I did, I might have to admit that I was spiraling.

I was starting to completely unravel when my cell phone started to ring. I grabbed it out of my purse and groaned when I saw that it was my mother calling.

Perfect timing.

I sighed and answered, “Hey, Mom.”

“So, Brian has a new girlfriend.”

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for asking. So nice to know you care.”

“Oh, hush. You know I care.” She took a breath, then jumped right back in. “I just got off the phone with Chrissy, and she was pretty upset. She said he didn’t even tell them about her, and then, he forced them to spend an entire weekend with her.”

“Well, he didn’t exactly force them.” My mother had a tendency to be a tad dramatic, and I often shared the flare, especially when I was talking to her. I couldn’t seem to help myself. “They were supposed to be with me and chose to go with him.”

“I know that hurt your feelings, dear, but you can’t exactly blame them for wanting to go to the lake. You know they love it, and after everything they’ve been through, they deserve a break.”