Reviving Bloom (13 page)

Anger seeping into my voice
.
“One, only my family
and friends
calls me
Blu
and you are neither
. Two,
Pike is not a mutt. Three, stay
the hell
away from me
, Trace
. I’m
not interested!” To send the point home Pike let
s
out a ferocious growl. Trace put
s
hi
s hands up in defeat and starts
backing away. He’s pissed and it shows
cl
early on his face that he isn’t giving up, but I’m not
going to worry
about that right now. Pike’s
won me this battle.

As soon as Trace’s a safe distance away and clearly not coming back
Pike
relaxes
and c
o
me
s back over and rubs
up against my side. I slid
e
ba
ck down onto the bank and rest
my head against his side. I c
an’
t help but think that if I
can
find a
guy
half as loyal and caring as this dog I’d marry him in a heartbeat. I chuckle at myself. Did I really just wish I could find a guy that acted like a dog?
That has
to be a first; usually we want
them to stop acting like dogs.

Chapter
17
–
Pike

~
How?
~

I can see in her mind and feel her emotions.
I was listeni
ng when she told Bonnie what
happened but
see
ing
what that jerk tried to do to her
, through our mate bond, has made my wolf crave his blood
.
Thankfully
I also saw
what she did to
him;
it was
smart of her
carrying that spray. She wasn’t
frightened though most women
in that situation would’ve been, she was mad and n
ot even at him. She was mad at her
self for being such a fool. She’
s way too hard on herself. I want to hurt this guy for making her question herself.
If she hadn’t been right there
w
atching me I would have ripped him apart, but the last thing I want to do is scare her. I’m already worried how she’s going to react whe
n I reveal my true self to her.

I’ve
lain
beside her every night for a week. I’ve watched her sleep and breathed in that
sweet scent of hers
;
strawberries
and cedar. Even now surrounded by the smells of this lake and the fish living in it, I can smell her strawberry and cedar scent strongest. I could smell her from miles away. I did, that’s how I found
her and how I got caught in that
damn
trap. I was consumed with finding where that heavenly scent originated and wasn’
t paying attention.
I haven’t been able to be far from her side since the moment I found her.
My heart aches
for her closeness and my wolf’s
protective of her.
My pack would laugh at me now if they saw me playing “pet
,
” but I have to get to know her and find away to reveal mine and now Billy’s secrets without scaring her away.

I can hear her thoughts seeping into
my
mind, they are washed in exhaustion. She hates arguments; they seem to drain her as much as I
seem to relax her. She’s glad I’m
h
ere to protect her and she’s hoping
she doesn’t see this guy again, but she knows it’s not over
. I wish I c
ould
shift and pull her into my arms
to
comfort her, but that would just
cause her more stress
. Instead I just rub up against her side, knowing that’s the best I can do
at this time
.

She’
s leaning against me now and is
knott
ing
her hands in my fur. I can’t wait to have her hands in my hair that way, and mine in hers. I’m brought back out of my fantasy by more of her thoug
hts. Wait did she just say she’ll
marry me?
No, she’s just wishing she could find a man who was like me and said s
he’ll marry him if she does. I have
to chuckle at that though. She already has and doesn’t e
ven know it. Though I wish she’ll
quit calling me a dog. I can’t really blame her for that; I’ve been the one playing the good “dog
.
” I need to work up the courage I know I have and show her she already has me.

How do you break it to the woman you love that the “dog” she has come to care for isn’t a dog at all, but a
man who can change into a wolf
? I could shift right in front of her so s
he won’t be able to accuse me of
being insane, but she’ll probably think she’s lost it instead.

Chapter
18
–
Bloom

~
She’ll burn you faster than the Florida sun in July ~

By the time Bonnie co
me
s back from her “talk” and finds me it’s after midnight. I’m
drained from the confrontation with Trace, but
I don’t
w
ant to worry her
so
I d
on’t
bring it up. She
’s clearly
having a good time. Her lips
are
bruised pink from
being freshly kissed and the smile hasn’t
left her face since she
sat
down beside me. Knowing she’s ready to relay
what’s
happened to
m
e but not wanting to brag I go
ahead and ask, “So on a scale of 1 to 10, how good of a kisser is he?”

Watching the dark water on the lake trying to hide that her smile ha
s
somehow grown wider, “Hmm, I’d say he’s a 6.”

Shocked I
ask, “A 6 has put that smile on your face?”

“A six is a decent kiss rating.”

“A six is average. The smile you have should only come from a kiss that rates at least a 9
if not a perfect 10
. So please explain what’s causing this reaction.”

“I’m smiling because I’ve realized that all those years I crushed on him I could’
ve had him and now I don’t want him. It’s funny how things work out.”

“Let me get this straight. You’re smiling because he wants you and you don’t want him?”

“I know it sounds mean, but it feel
s nice to be wanted even though
I know now he’s not what I want.”

“Not mean Bon that
’s
just the way it goes
sometimes
. You’ve had this perfect idea of what he would be like for four years and now you’re just realizing he doesn’t live up to the dream him. Plus he’s been on the receiving end of being wanted for four years without stepping up so it’s about time you got yo
ur turn to feel wanted back
,
” I t
ell
her putting my arm around her shoulders.

Laying her head against mine she says, “Thanks for not thinking I’m an awful person.”

“Bon I could never think that. We both know it’s my job to be the mean one.”
I lay my head a top hers.

“True. Do you remember what you did in junior high when I got my first period in gym class and Sarah Jenkins made fun of
me? That was mean.” She laughs at the memory
.

“I waited till lunch then pretended to trip and dumped my tray
all over
her favorite white sweater. There was no way she could’ve got that spaghetti stain out.
But she deserved it, we girls are supposed to have each other’s backs when it comes to those issues and that witch broke girl code.
” Thinking back on the memory still makes me laugh
too
. If someo
ne messed with Bonnie they
had
to deal with me and vice versa.
Bonnie may come across as pure sunshine but if you think that means she’s weak you
’
r
e
wrong.
If you mess with her family or me, she’ll burn you faster than the Florida sun in July.

“Sorry I left you alone with Trace on the prowl. He didn’t bother you, did he?” Crap! I really h
ate lying to Bonnie, but I
can’t bring myself to make her feel guilty for going off and enjoying herself.

“Nope, no sign of him,
”
I lie.

“Good. I wouldn’t want to have t
o use my mad ninja skills and take out his knees.” She laughs
striking her seriously funny version of
a
ninja pose.

“Oh my gosh! Those are some killer moves. Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

“I’ll try. Well I’m going to go back and join the bonfire, maybe roast a marshmallow or two. You want to join
me
?”

“As much as I love the gooey wonderfulness that is a toasted
marshmallow, I think I’ll
take a rain check
. I’
m going to head home so I can pass out.” Standing up I take her hand and pull her to her feet.

“If you insist, but make sure you text me when you get home.”
She pulls
me into a tight hug.

Hugging her back
I say,
“I can handle that as long as you do the same. I don’t care if it’s four in the morning you better text me.”

“I will. See you tomorrow!”

“
See ya
Bon
!”
I watch her to make sure she mak
e
s
it back to the group
without any trouble then pack
up my gear.
Reaching the truck
and holding
open the door I call
, “Come on Pike. Let’s head home.”

We’re
only a few miles away from the lake when
I notice
a
vehicle behind us
i
s driving way to close.
I slow
down trying to give them a chan
ce to pass, but they just slow up and stay
right on my tail.
I spe
e
d up and they spe
ed up too. We play
this back and forth for about
4
miles and we’
r
e nearing a curve when I notice
the vehicle slip into the other lane to pass, but he d
oesn’t
pass. He
pulls right up beside me and
I r
ealize it’
s Trace behind
the wheel.

He rams
the jeep into the side of my truck running me off the road and
into the ditch. I’m
luckily we
aring my seat belt and we don’t
hit hard enough for the
air bags to deploy but Pike’s
thrown into the front floor pretty hard
and doesn’t
seem to be movin
g. Unfastening my seatbelt I try
to reach for
him to check on him, but
as soon as I’m loose I hear the door open and I’m
jerked from my seat.

Trace wraps
his arm around my
chest
and presses
something hard and cold
against my temple. With pure hatred in h
is voice, “Now we’
ll finish what we started
!”
My brain’s
racing. How can I get out of this and make sure
Pike’s alright and is
this jerk really holding a gun to my
head? I guess I should be afraid but I feel
eerily calm. My voice dripping with s
arcasm, “You know if you wanted something from me
you could’ve just asked. No need to dent my fender.”