by Lori King
“I won’t forget about it.” Buck put his fingers on her chin and pulled her face to look at him. She knew that tears had formed in her eyes so she pulled away, turning away from him.
“It was just my imagination. Please stop asking me about it.” Bloom’s voice cracked. Free was watching her from the mirror and she knew he was trying to make her look crazy.
“Okay.” Buck crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Free. The rest of the trip was in silence as Free pulled up in front of the feed store. She got out of the truck and followed them into the store.
She couldn’t even enjoy it as Buck introduced her to Macy, who owned the store. The woman was nice, but Bloom was distracted by the tension between Free and her. She had to stay strong and just stay away from him. The man hated her, and he let it be known every time they were around each other. His goal was to make her life miserable…or at least that was the way it felt to her.
“Are you ready to eat?” Buck asked as they walked out of the store.
“You two go ahead, I forgot I need to get some things from the store. I’ll meet you back out front when you have eaten. I’m not that hungry. I had a big breakfast. I’ll see you in a few.” Bloom didn’t give Buck a chance to object. She ran across the street to the General Store, leaving Buck bewildered.
12
“Let’s go.” Buck stormed off toward the diner. Once inside, he picked up his menu and flipped the pages. Free could hear each flip as he angrily turned them. Buck also ordered a to-go order of another hamburger and fries. As soon as the waitress walked off, Free waited for it. He could only recall a few times that Buck had gotten mad at him, but this time, he deserved it.
“I know you want all the land and the business. I understand that, but that farm has been in Bloom’s family forever. If Rose wanted us to have it all, she would have made it so, but she didn’t. Get over it. I don’t know if you are trying to scare her off at night, but stop.”
“I’m not. It’s not me. She really thinks there is a ghost,” Free spat out.
Buck lowered his voice, “What if there is? Did you see her eyes, Free? She has dark circles under her eyes and she looks like she is going to drop from exhaustion. I don’t think she’s lying. Give the girl a break. Damn, man, you pretty much called her a liar in the truck. Maybe you should let me deal with Bloom, and you leave her alone, because frankly, you are starting to piss me off at how you are treating her.”
With that being said, Free watched as his best friend got up and threw some money on the table and walked up to the counter. “I need mine and the to-go order in a bag, please, ma’am.”
Free couldn’t even say anything in his defense. Buck was right – he was acting like an ass. While Buck was waiting for the order, he watched as Bloom walked out of the store and over to the city park. She didn’t have any bags in her hand. Damn, she didn’t have any money. He was such a dick. Getting up, Free rushed out of the store and over to the park. Buck glared at him as he left, but he needed to make this right with Bloom.
Bloom was sitting on a bench, watching kids play. She had a small smile on her lips until he sat down beside her. The smile left and the tension swiftly returned. She didn’t speak but continued to watch the kids.
“I know you don’t have any money, and you said you needed to buy some things at the store.” She watched as Free held out a hundred-dollar bill to her. “If it’s not enough I can give you more. We need to set you up at the bank so you can draw money from the property account.”
“No, I don’t want your money.” Bloom sat up and moved to the edge of the bench.
“Bloom, you need some money,” Free insisted.
“No. I can get my own money. Don’t worry about it.” Bloom got up and started walking back to the truck.
“Bloom, stop!” Free yelled. He wasn’t used to people saying no to him, but Bloom was different. He wasn’t her Alpha. Running up to her he grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve been an ass to you.” Free ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “You—”
“What?” Bloom demanded. “What did I do to you? Because nothing I do seems right. If I breathe, you get mad. If I show up at the same place as you, you get mad. If I get Buck to explain the business to me, you get mad. What do you want from me?”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t like him touching you,” Free muttered.
“Who?”
“Last night, Nate Dunn had his hands on you and I didn’t like it.” Free couldn’t believe he just told her that. Bloom’s mouth was open. “He was holding you too close.”
“But…but why do you care?” Bloom asked, surprised.
“Because I do care and I don’t want to see you get hurt. I don’t want any man touching you, but…”
“But what, Free?”
Taking in a deep breath, Free watched as Buck walked toward them. He had already said too much. Buck looked at her, then back at him, and when he didn’t say anything, he handed the bag out to Bloom. “I bought you some lunch. You need to eat. We’ve been working all day, and you need to refuel.”
Bloom smiled back at Buck, and he couldn’t stop the jealousy he felt toward his own best friend. “Thank you, Buck. But I can’t take this. Here, you eat it. I will eat something later.” She handed the bag back to Buck and winked. “Really, I’m not hungry. I know you are, so eat it.”
Buck took the sack and they both watched as she turned around and walked back to the truck with her hands in her pockets. “What did you do to her now?”
“I offered her some money. I knew she didn’t have any to buy what she needed at the store, but like the food, she wouldn’t take it.” Free turned toward him. “And just so you know, I apologized to her…for everything I’ve said and done. I won’t act like that again. You’re right, I’ve been a complete ass to her.”
“Good, because I think Bloom Scott is the real deal. I don’t think she means us any harm, Alpha. I think she’s lonely and scared. She’s a quick learner, plus she had some good ideas on how to make our accounts better in that stupid computer system we bought. She showed me something that she had made for a class project, and it was good. Great actually, and I told her that we would give it a try.”
“Sounds good to me. Now let’s get her home. She looks like she’s about ready to drop,” Free answered.
Free pulled his truck in at the back of the house and parked. He glanced back and found Bloom sound asleep. Her head was propped up against the window. She really did look exhausted. The black spots under her lashes were more noticeable now that he could really look at her.
“She’s exhausted,” Buck whispered.
“Yeah. If you will unlock the back door, I will carry her to the couch and let her sleep. I doubt she has eaten much, if anything. I will cook her some dinner so she will have it when she gets up,” Free said. Buck pulled her head away from the window as Free opened the door. She didn’t even move. He placed her head on his chest and swooped her up. Buck already had the door open, waiting. He tried to be as quiet as he could without moving too much. As soon as the cool air hit her, she instantly curled up to him, snuggling up to his chest.
Free sat down on the couch and was going to put her down, but she snuggled closer, putting her hand around his waist. Buck picked up a blanket and covered the both of them. “I’ll make a fire. It’s cold in this old house.”
He watched as Buck lit the match and the fire spread to the wood. He could feel the heat as it snuck across the floor. “I’ve got some things to do. I’ll check back in a few.”
“I guess I need to lay her down.” Free started to get up, but Buck put his hand on his shoulder.
“If you do that, she will wake up, and I doubt she will get any rest. Just let her sleep. I will take care of everything,” Buck said, walking out of the room.
He didn’t want to move. Bloom felt great molded against him. He was hard as a rock, but it didn’t matter. She fit perfectly in his arms. Her scent was fresh and smelled like stra
wberries. Sweet strawberries were his favorite, and Bloom smelled just like them.
He was tired too, after staying up all night thinking of her. Every time he closed his eyes he thought about her, what she was wearing…or not wearing.
The heat from the fireplace, and from her snuggling up against him, made him sleepy. He could feel his eyelids drooping and decided he was only going to close his eyes for a few minutes…
Free woke up, lying on the couch with Bloom beside him. They were covered up with the blanket. The last thing he had remembered was closing his eyes for a few minutes, holding Bloom in his arms while she slept. Now they were lying on the couch facing each other. Their arm and legs were intertwined. He was afraid to move, but to be honest, he didn’t want to. He was comfortable lying next to her, watching her sleep. He checked his watch, and it was already after nine at night.
When he glanced back at her, Bloom’s eyes fluttered open and widened. “What happened?”
“Don’t panic. You fell asleep in the truck and I carried you inside.”
“Why are you still here?”
“I fell asleep, too.” Free admitted. He wasn’t going to lie to her. At the moment, she didn’t look like she was going to kill him. That was a good sign.
Free sighed. “I didn’t want to leave you.”
Bloom stayed quiet for a few minutes before she asked, “Why?”
“Because I wanted to stay with you.”
“Why?” Her face hardened, waiting for an answer. He had to tell her.
“Because…”
“Why?” She wasn’t letting this go.
“Dammit, Bloom, you drive me crazy. I like you a lot.” Free raked his hand over his face. He wasn’t going to push her.
“You sure have a funny way of showing it.”
“Fuck it.” Free reached over and slid his fingers lightly down her cheek. “You’re so beautiful.” When she didn’t say anything, he started to get worried. The woman wasn’t giving anything away. “You’re not going to ask me why again?
She laughed and shook her head. He smiled when her stomach growled.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yeah.”
Free threw his leg over her and stood up. “Come on. I’m going to cook for you.” Bloom hesitated, but then slipped her hand into his. It was a small triumph, but it was a start.
“Free, you don’t have to cook for me. I can warm something up,” Bloom said.
“I want to. I hope you like pancakes, because I make the best pancakes.” Free didn’t give her time to say anything more, pulling out eggs and milk.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower,” Bloom said standing at the doorway.
“Go. It won’t be ready for a while. I’ll call you when it’s ready.” He smiled but could tell that she was nervous about leaving him alone. Finally, she walked away toward the stairs.
He didn’t waste any time, quickly cooking. He wanted to feed her. She practically starved herself. He was always telling her to eat, but tonight he was going to cook for her, and feed the woman that drove him crazy.
He was cooking bacon when he heard something outside. He peered out the window but didn’t see anything. Now he was hearing things. He pulled the last pancake off the skillet and put it in the warming drawer. He hadn’t heard her move around in a few minutes, so he started up the stairs. Coming to a stop, he looked inside her bedroom and found her sitting on her bed, her towel still wrapped around her, and her hair pulled up. God, she was beautiful. But what disturbed him was the frown on her lips.
He walked over and stood in front of her. It took her a minute to realize he was standing there. “Food ready?” she asked.
Bending down in front of her, Free asked, “What’s wrong?”
Bloom gave that sad smile he was used to seeing on her. “I’m wondering where this is going. Why are you here in my house cooking for me? Are you switching tactics on me, trying to make me think you like me?” Tears showed in her eyes. “I’ve been through enough the past five months. Everyone says you’re a decent guy but…”
“Bloom…Bloom, look at me.” He wiped a tear off her face when she looked up at him. It broke his heart that he had caused this. “I’ve been a total ass to you. I’m so sorry for treating you like that. You took me by surprise. I didn’t want to like you, because I was scared of losing this farm. My family depends on it and I have to make it work. When Rose left part of it to you, I just…well, I felt like I was losing control.” Free took a deep breath. He might as well tell her how he felt. She deserved that. “You drive me wild, Bloom.” He bowed his head. “All I want to do is spend every minute of the day with you.” Glancing down at her, he whispered, “I want to touch you so bad right now, and I’m trying to stay in control because you make me want to…” Free felt like his heart was going to explode. His breathing was sporadic as he watched her bite her bottom lip. “Bloom.”
“What are you waiting for then? Touch me.”
All Free heard was “touch me” and that’s exactly what he was going to do, and nothing would get in his way. Pushing her back on the bed, Free pulled the towel open that she had wrapped around her, taking a few seconds to gaze at how beautiful she was. Everything about her turned him on. Even how she shaved her pussy. It was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. The woman had no clue just how much he wanted her. He had never wanted another woman like her. She made him crazy and happy all at the same time. Reaching out, he cupped her breasts in his hands, leaning over he licked one nipple, then bit down letting her feel the burn. Her moan was all he wanted to hear. The look in her eyes took his breath away.
He realized for the first time…Bloom Scott was his. “What?” she whispered as she waited.
“Nothing.” Free dug his hands into her hair and pushed her legs apart with his. Starting from her chin, he kissed his way down. Looking back up at her, he smiled, letting her know that he planned on being down there for a while. Inhaling, he could scent how aroused she was. Nothing smelled better to him, knowing this was his mate.
Teasing her, he licked her until her legs started to shake. “Free, please!”
“I will, baby. I will.” Free pulled away then started licking again. This time, she begged for more, and he planned on giving it to her. Sticking two fingers inside her, Free licked and pushed until her body bowed up, giving him the best show he had ever seen. Damn, she was killing him as she came hard. Her skin had turned pink as she screamed out. He couldn’t wait any longer. Jumping up, he slid his clothes off and crawled back to her. Her eyes were still closed, but she looked beautiful.
“I’ll stop if you tell me to.” He waited, praying she wouldn’t stop him. Need had slivered down his body and was waiting to strike. Not just anyone, but his mate. Bloom Scott was his mate, and he planned to show her just how much he needed her.
Her eyes popped open. She leaned up on her elbows and answered, “Stop? Dear God, are you crazy?”
“No, ma’am. I’m not. There is some unfinished business here that I need to take care of.” Free flipped Bloom over on all fours as the surprised yelp spilled out of her mouth. “Now there. I’ve got you where I want you.”
Slowly he pushed inside of her, almost coming undone. The woman had reduced him to feeling like a pup having sex for the first time. Except this time, Bloom wasn’t a young girl. He pulled back out and breathed in deeply, trying not to go too fast. He had to take it slow or he could hurt her. She was a human and he was an Alpha wolf. He was used to she-wolves taking it as hard as he could give it, but Bloom wasn’t a shifter.
“Damn, you’re so wet,” Free muttered against her back.
“Harder,” Bloom moaned. Then she shoved herself back, taking all of him.
“Jesus, woman!” Free lost it. He pulled out then slammed into her again. She grunted but didn’t say anything more. His mate liked it hard. Again she pushed back against him. Every time he pushed, she pushed back against him, encouraging him, and making the sweetest little noises he had ever h
eard.
“More!” she yelled over her shoulder. That was it. Holding her hips, his fingers dug in and he started giving it to the woman. Her words, not his.
Her body started to shake when her orgasm got close. He couldn’t hold out any longer and followed along with her. They collapsed together.
13
Bloom heard her stomach growl as she woke up. She was so tired, but her stomach wanted food. Turning around and expecting to see Free, she found an empty bed. He got what he wanted and ran away. Typical, and so stupid of her…he couldn’t even wait around for her to wake up. What the hell had she done? What if he said that she was trying to sleep her way to the money? Horrid thoughts rang through her mind as she lay there until her stomach growled again. Quietly, Bloom crawled out of bed. She felt sick to her stomach—not from hunger, but from being so damn stupid. She realized that she was so out of his league. She didn’t have two nickels to rub together, much less anything that could be called hers. But the question she kept asking herself was why had he acted like he cared for her? She was terrified that this was all going to come crashing down, and it had.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t let this continue. Nope, she would tell him when she saw him again that she had made a mistake. She needed to prove to him and everyone else in this town that she could work on this farm, and she wasn’t going to let him distract her. Today, she would go see Old Man Wright and figure out why those strawberries wouldn’t bud. She would beg if she had to.
Jerking her robe on, Bloom walked down the stairs. She let out a sharp breath once she got downstairs. Jeez, did he use all of the dishes to cook? Pulling the warming drawer out, Bloom stuck her finger to the pancakes and found them still warm, with a pile of bacon beside the pancakes. At least she got a semi-warm meal out of it. Sitting down, she started eating. She needed to take a shower and let Buck know she was going to be late.
