Page 8 of Bloom
“Do you think less of me?”
“Never,” I replied honestly.
“Even though I lost control?”
I placed the cloth on the sink to cup his face in my hands. “You reacted to a terrible situation. Everyone has emotions, sweetheart, and your passion and protection overflowed. You say you wouldn’t have stopped if I weren’t here, but I don’tbelieve that for a second. You have a good heart, and you should have a clean conscience.”
He gave a half smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He was disappointed with himself and unconvinced by my words. I leaned down until our noses touched. “If you think a few thrown punches could change the way I feel about you, you’re crazy. I love everything about you, Jersey. What can I do to prove that to you?”
Finally, his smile stretched wide as his eyes glistened. “You’re already doing it.”
I kissed the tip of his nose and went back to scrubbing away the blood and bad memories from the night. Once his hands were clean, I cleansed off the red speckles that splattered up his arms. I removed his shirt and tucked it away in the clothes hamper before lowering onto my knees in front of him.
I untied his boots and worked them off one at a time before rolling off his socks. Unlike my hungry grabs earlier, these actions weren’t filled with lust. Of course, I wanted him like crazy, but this moment was about gentle touches and promises of acceptance and care.
I stood up and pulled him to his feet before unfastening his belt buckle and lowering the zipper of his jeans. They were the next to hit the floor, and after retrieving his phone from the pocket, I placed them in the hamper as well. Now every stained piece of clothing was out of his sight, and he could put it out of his mind. I planned on taking care of the laundry later so he wouldn’t have to see it, but for now, I had other matters to tend to.
I took his hand, lacing our fingers together as I led him into his bedroom. I pulled back his thick down comforter and patted the mattress. He climbed on and rested on his back, watching me expectantly.
I shimmied off my clothes down to my underwear as well, placed our phones together on the nightstand, and nestled onto the bed beside him. I raised my arm in invitation, and Jersey nestled his cheek against my chest. I secured my arm around him and dropped kisses to the top of his head until I heard his breathing slow.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” I whispered, and allowed my eyes to slide shut.
Chapter Four
Timber
I sat bolt upright in bed at the sound of Jersey’s phone beeping again. He shot up next to me and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. With a swipe of his finger, he brought up the camera feed, and we once again saw Bart approaching.
Only this time, he wasn’t carrying a gas can. Instead, he held a pair of bolt cutters. The asshole put his bruised, swollen face right in front of the camera, giving a smile and a wave before lowering the cutters, and the signal went dark.
Jersey threw the covers off of himself, but I stopped him from getting out of bed with an arm across his chest. I knew how guilty he felt about hurting Bart the first time, even if he deserved it. I didn’t care what happened to the man, but I would protect my mate, even from himself.
“He’s baiting you,” I warned. “I don’t know what he has planned, but whatever it is, let him do it. Whatever damage he does, I can fix it.”
“But the cameras are off. We won’t have proof and he’ll just keep coming back again and again.”
“Then we’ll call the police now and have them come and catch him in the act.”
I could tell he didn’t love the idea, but he let out a long sigh before nodding his agreement. But before he could dial the number, both of our attention was captured by…not a noise, but rather alackof noise. The ceiling fan stopped spinning, there was nowhirrof the furnace, and there were no more sounds of background electrical devices that you don’t notice until they’re silent.
It was still the middle of the night, so the room was dark anyway, and I couldn’t tell if the lights were affected. But when Iattempted to flip on the lamp which sat on the nightstand beside me, nothing happened, and my fears were realized. “He cut the electricity.”
“The fucking bolt cutters,” he growled before jumping out of bed. I threw one leg over the side of the mattress, but paused when I heard an unmistakable sound in the distance; a door opening. “He’s in the house.”
Jersey rushed out of the room and in my haste to follow him, my feet got tangled in the sheets and I hit the floor. I shoved them away and hurried out of the room behind him. I made it to the living room and skidded to a stop at a sight that made my heart drop into my stomach; Bart was standing in the front doorway, pointing a gun at Jersey’s chest.
“I tried to do this the easy way,” he murmured between clenched teeth.
“By destroying my farm?”
“Hey, I made you a generous offer, but you declined. I did what I had to do.”
“You didn’thaveto do shit,” Jersey countered. “You could have been a decent human being and found someone whowantedto sell.” He was speaking too boldly for my comfort to the man holding a gun. “And now I’m sure you think youhaveto put a bullet through my chest.”
“It wasn’t the original plan,” Bart shrugged, “Until you did this.” He waved his free hand in front of his face, gesturing towards the bruises and scabs. “But I can adapt. Once you’re dead, your land will go into foreclosure and I’ll be able to purchase it for far less money than I originally intended. Now, shooting you is going to be for pleasure as well as necessity.”
He cocked the gun and I stepped closer as I yelled, “No!” His cold eyes fell on me and widened, as if he hadn’t even realized I was in the room with them.
