Page 23 of Bloom: Part 2

His words rang with a quiet certainty. He met my eyes with a steady gaze that held nothing but honest sincerity. I sighed, clenching the sheet. I wanted to please him so much, but I couldn’t promise him I would lose my edge.

“It’s okay.” He took my hands, squeezing them. “I don’t expect you to change overnight, but that’s fine. We have the rest of our lives together.”

The rest of our lives together.

I liked the sound of that. I liked it a lot.

“There, that’s the smile I love.”

I made a face. “Now you’re being mushy. I love it when you treat me this way while you’re mean to everyone.”

“I’m mean to everyone?”

“Yes, you were mean to me at first too.”

“But then you wore me down.”

“And made you fall in love with me.”

“Yeah, you did.” A faraway look entered his eyes as he brushed my cheek with his thumb. “It would kill me if anything happened to you, Bloom.”

“Good. Then you’ll take care of me.”

“Always, but there’s something I need to tell you.”

I shuffled closer to him, placing my head on his chest. His heartbeat was steady and strong, a comforting rhythm that was slowly becoming my favorite sound.

“What is it?”

Logan’s breath hitched as if he was steeling himself for something. “You’ll be discharged soon.”

“I can’t wait. I didn’t grow up with luxury, but your place has spoiled me, Logan.”

He inhaled deeply, his chest expanding against my cheek. “That’s the thing, Bloom. When they discharge you, I want you to return to the clubhouse for a while.”

I jerked back, ignoring the discomfort in my chest from the fast movement and shrugging off the hand he tried to use to restrain me. “Why would you say that? You don’t want me anymore?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then why do you want to send me back to the clubhouse? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you didn’t. Bloom—”

“What the fuck, Logan!”

A cold shiver ran down my spine and spread a chill through my upper body. A terror I hadn’t felt even when I’d been shot coiled tightly in my gut. The words rang in my ears, echoing back at me like a cruel joke. But the look in Logan’s eyes was far from humorous. He was serious. He didn’t want me to live with him anymore.

“It’s not what you think. Bloom, for god’s sake, don’t let that brain of yours trick you into believing I don’t care about you. I love you.”

“Then why?”

“Because there are many people at the clubhouse who can help to give you the care you need while you’re still recuperating. Itdoesn’t mean I’m leaving you alone. You’ll find that I’ll spend most of my time there with you.”

But the clubhouse was so different from his place. We wouldn’t have the privacy we did in his home. My bedroom was no place for a man like Logan either. Why would he leave the comfort of his two-story home to shack up in a bedroom and shared living space with me?

“I don’t see why I can’t recuperate at your home unless there’s a reason you don’t want me to be there. Do you have someone else there?”

He gently rapped me on the forehead with his knuckles. “Foolish boy, how can I have the time to entertain anyone else? You’re already a handful on your own.”

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