17
BLOOM
A shiver ran down my spine, prompting a low curse from Logan. He shrugged off his jacket and placed it around my shoulders to ward off the cold. “Didn’t I tell you to wear a jacket before we left the house?”
I didn’t expect it to be this chilly. It was the end of November. I’d done exactly what I’d set out to do—get Logan to fall in love with me. I’d not only survived another November but also had a repaired bullet-sized hole in my chest and a ring to show for it. My life was good.
“Yes, Logan.”
Yes, Logan.
No, Logan.
For the past couple of days, I’d been the perfect angel for him since we returned home. I went to bed when he told me I needed my rest. I ate whatever food he placed in front of me, and I didn’t do much more than give him a kiss, even though I ached to jump his bones and fuck myself on his cock. But Logan insisted on no sex until he was certain I wouldn’t bleed out. Sometimes I wondered if he wanted to punish me because he knew how addicted I was to having him inside me.
At least I’d been able to convince him to take us to Jamie and Grimm’s for Thanksgiving. As we walked up the steps, I slipped my hand into Logan’s and squeezed. He squeezed back, and we both looked at each other at the same time and smiled.
Moving back into his house had worked wonders for our relationship. Logan was less tense when he was away from the club.
The clubhouse was open to any biker and prospect who didn’t have a family to spend the holiday with. In our case, we had way too many found families. Blood Hounds and Grimm Reapers, once fatal enemies, now laughed and drank together in the same mess hall. By the time we arrived, almost everyone was already there.
Jamie had gone all out with decorating the clubhouse for Thanksgiving. The mess hall looked nothing like its usual gritty self. On the long tables stretched across the room were table runners in burnt orange and deep burgundy.
Candles smelling of warm spices flickered, casting wavering shadows and a soft light. Piles of pumpkins, leaves, and pine cones adorned the center of the tables.
Each table was decked out with actual plates, the heavy and ceramic kind, set beside real silverware that gleamed under the lights. And the metal forks and knives seemed out of place. Normally, we’d use the disposable ones at club events.
“You made it!” Jamie hurried to us, a big grin on his face. He clasped Logan in a hug first, then stepped back to assess me from head to toe. I wore one of the outfits Logan had bought me when he took me shopping—black on more black, the usual, but I knew I looked good because for a second, back at the house, I’d thought Logan would fuck me before we left the house. He’d practically been drooling.
“Bloom, you look amazing!” Jamie cried. “Doesn’t he, Logan?”
Jamie’s compliment be damned. My entire focus was on Logan. He swept his gaze appreciatively over me and swallowed. “He always looks amazing. He’s a pretty boy.”
My stomach flipped. Pretty was such a basic compliment, but coming from Logan, it felt like winning the lottery. I never gave a fuck about what others thought of my appearance, but I wanted to be pretty for him.
“He has stunning looks. Even I am envious.” Jamie cocked his head to the side. “Do you take after your mother or father?” Almost instantly, he seemed to realize what he’d said. His eyes grew wide, and he clapped his hand over his mouth. “Oh my god, Bloom, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought them up.”
No, he shouldn’t have. My parents were long dead after I killed them. Crowe had his men bury them somewhere they would never be found. Just what they deserved for the way they’d treated me.
Logan placed his hand on the small of my back, curling me into him protectively. “Are you all right?” he whispered.
I am now. Because of you.
I nodded. “It’s okay. Let’s not mention them again.”
“Of course,” Jamie said. “I’m so glad you both came. Things were quite tense after you left the clubhouse with Logan. Gunner and Crowe almost came to blows when he found out what had happened, but we’ll catch up later.” His whole face lit up, and his eyes shone with happy tears. “Oh my god! Joel’s here!”
“Joel?”
In the doorway stood a tall, lanky guy wearing dorky glasses. In his formal suit and tie, he stuck out like a sore thumb.
“My best friend—Grimm’s son!”
Shit. I didn’t even know Grimm had a son. Jamie ran to a grinning Joel. He was actually quite attractive. Logan was staring at him as well.
“Why are you looking at him?”
“Just never knew Grimm had a son. He looks nothing like Grimm.” Logan returned his gaze to me. “Stop sulking. Though I wish I could say it doesn’t look good on you, but the truth is, it does.” He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, “Makes me want to take you to that corner, have you kneel in front of me, and take my cock between those plump lips.”
He rubbed my bottom lip with his tongue. I opened my mouth and sucked on his finger, my eyes locked with his. A pulse went through me. The room fell away, leaving nothing but Logan in my orbit.
“Listen, there’s no fucking at Thanksgiving.” Grimm turned up next to us. “At least not before I carve the turkey, one of the many Jamie bought for tonight. He went to a lot of trouble setting this up. Everyone’s going to have a good dinner. After y’all leave, you can do whatever you want because you’re no longer my problem.”
Logan pulled his finger from my mouth with a soft pop . “A little flirting doesn’t hurt anyone.”
“I beg to differ, but that’s for another time. That thing you asked me to do for you, Logan? There’s been a snag. Can we talk in private? It won’t take long.”
What had Logan asked him to do, and why hadn’t he mentioned it? I hated being left in the dark, but the conversation seemed urgent, so I nodded when he asked me if I was okay being alone for a while.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the shit stirrer.” Saint wandered over, folding his arms. “Heard you almost caused a rift in the club.”
I rolled my eyes. “Everyone’s overreacting.”
“Crowe didn’t think so. Neither did your man. What were you thinking?”
“Sweet Satan, Saint, Logan already gave me the lecture, made me watch it on DVD with subtitles and the post-credit scene. Please, I can’t listen to it again.”
“Good.” Saint chuckled, but his gaze drifted to the door where a man with wide shoulders and long blond hair entered. “Finally, a man who can tear you a new one without you wanting to stab them. Geez, I wonder what that’s like.”
“You’ll never find out.”
“I take it the sex is that good?” Saint asked.
“Fuck yeah.” I nudged him. “Is it normal to want it all the time?”
Saint, the son of a bitch, threw his head back and laughed loudly.
“What’s so funny? It’s not?”
“What exactly do you mean all the time? How often have you and the doctor been doing it?”
“Before this latest incident? Every day. Sometimes twice a day.”
He low-whistled, slowly nodding. “Damn, how old is this doctor? Wouldn’t have known by looking at him he had all that in him.”
“We don’t always…you know.”
“Speak plainly, Bloom. You and I know you’re not shy with words.”
“He doesn’t always fuck me with his cock. We do other things. Things I really like.”
“That’s good.” Again he shifted his attention to the door, but this time it was Sarge turning up. “The only thing that matters is that you consent to whatever the doctor does and that you enjoy it. Fuck everything else.”
So totally normal then to want to jump Logan’s bones all the time.
“Are you expecting someone?” I asked. He was going to get a crick in his neck if he continued to watch the door. “Dove’s already here, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, but I told Jasper to stop by if he gets the chance.”
“What’s it like to fuck him? Is it different from you and Dove?”
Saint spluttered. “What are you going on about?”
“I just told you about me and Logan. I don’t know anything else about sex, though. Just what he taught me. Is it different with other people?”
“It is. You know, Bloom, it’s okay if you want to explore with other people and—”
“Let some other man touch me!” A shudder of revulsion rippled through me. “Never.”
“You’re young and—”
“I won’t change my mind, Saint. Only Logan touches this body. Only he gets to do those filthy things to me. Just thinking of another man putting his cock inside me makes me want to stab someone. ”
“Fine, fine.” He threw up his hands. “But I’m not having sex with Jasper, and I don’t want you to mention anything of the sort when he’s around. Do you hear me?”
“You aren’t? Why are you spending so much time with him, then? He even slept at the clubhouse the other night.”
Saint shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s not what you think. Jasper’s straight, and I’m still fooling around with Dove, though not as much as before. Jasper and I definitely don’t fuck, and that’s not going to happen either. I help him out sometimes. That’s all. His kid’s cute, okay?”
“Okay.” Though I wasn’t convinced. He sounded way too defensive.
“Did I mention he was straight as an arrow?”
Well, there was that. “Too bad.”
He gave a heavy sigh. “Story of my life. Everyone’s got someone.”
“Win doesn’t. Neither does Sarge.”
“Oh, please. Sarge is obviously into Max’s little brother. Why else would he still be here? Sarge never stays around for long. And that reverend Win’s interested in is here today.”
“He is? Where?”
“Long blond hair, faded jeans, and burgundy-and-blue shirt?”
The man who’d entered the mess hall just a few minutes ago. He was the reverend? He looked so much different without his clergy robes.
“I see him. What’s he doing here?”
“Think he’s close to—Jasper’s here!” Saint’s face broke into a grin. He didn’t even spare me a good-bye as he rushed off to the man carrying a baby in his arms and a baby bag. The child was crying, and his father looked frazzled. Saint reached for the baby, who quieted down almost instantly. Jasper looked close to tears as Saint brought him over to a table.
“Bloom, over here!” Jamie waved me over to the table where all the boys were gathered.
Groaning, I scanned the room, but Logan hadn’t returned with Grimm. With a deep breath, I grabbed a bottle of beer and walked over to them. I had taken my pills hours ago. Maybe I could finish the beer before Logan found out.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.
“I already introduced Joel to everyone else. Joel, this is Bloom.”
“Wow,” Joel said. “He’s really as good looking as you said in your messages, Jamie.”
“Told ya!”
“Sorry, no one mentioned you before now.” I shrugged. “Are you Grimm’s biological kid?” I asked. They didn’t look alike. I’d been in Smoky Vale long enough. Why hadn’t I bumped into him before?
“Yes, I am.” He folded his arms, the corners of his mouth hitching into a smile. “What? I look nothing like him?”
“I’m afraid not, but given Grimm’s not exactly a looker, that’s probably a good thing.”
“Hey, that’s my Daddy you’re talking about!” Jamie protested.
Joel burst out laughing so hard he almost toppled over from his seat. Tears streamed down his face, and he had to remove his glasses to wipe them with the back of his hand.
“You have a good sense of humor,” Joel said. “We have to hang out sometime. I’ll be here until after Christmas. It’s rare for me to get such a long time away from work, but my boss agreed this time.”
“What do you do?” I asked.
“I’m a criminal defense attorney.”
“Jamie says he’s really good,” Cass said.
“He is.” Between Jamie and Cass, I couldn’t tell who was more excited to see Joel. Fable was quiet as usual, and Miles was fiddling with his glasses. “Last year, the Agosti family recruited him as their lawyer.”
Joel just smiled, neither confirming nor denying. Lawyers. They were as bad as the police. Unless they were on your side.
“They’re paying him a hefty retainer fee too.”
“What’s the Agosti family?” I asked.
“One of the five major Mafia families in New York. They were the strongest family in La Casa Nostra until their own son took them down.”
Familiar hands came down on my shoulders from behind, massaging them gently.
Logan was back.
“What interesting story is Jamie telling now?” he asked.
“About the Agosti crime family.” I tilted my head back to look up at Logan. He’d gone still, his fingers still gripping me tightly. “Apparently, his friend here works for them. Have you ever heard of them? Their son betrayed them. Who fucking does that? You don’t betray your brotherhood. Ever. Those who do deserve worse than death. Logan? Ouch, Logan, that hurts.”
But he wasn’t listening to me. He was staring at Joel, who was looking right back. I didn’t like it at all.