The Bad Boys' Reluctant Woman by Sam Crescent Read Free Book Online Page B

care
about your past, Zoe. We want your future to be with us.”
    “You can’t speak for your friends,
Connor.”
    “No, I can speak for myself.”
    “And what do you want?”
    “You, at my house,
in my bed, naked.”
    Zoe gazed into his eyes. She saw the
need in his depths. Zoe recognised the pain inside him. She felt something
similar most days of her life. Every where she travelled to, she tried to find
a home. Law Castle had looked like the right place to be. These three men had
her scared. What if she settled down, made some friends, and they left you?
    You’re worried about something that might never happen, Zoe.
    The pain of being alone hurt far
more than the pain of knowing no one cared for you. She’d spent so many years
trying to find the love she’d lost out on when she’d ended up in the system.
Zoe wanted to have a small memory of it to keep her going.
    “Take me back to your home, Connor.”
    She placed her hand in his and
waited for him to lead the way.
    ****
    Jake was pacing the front room. He
could kill his fucking friend. Brent sat nursing a scotch while he stared into
the dead fire. It was the height of summer. The flames would be flickering
inside in a couple of months. He wanted to slap Brent.
    When they’d pulled up at The Dugout,
Brent had been walking round to the front. His clothes covered in mood and
water. Zoe had long gone according to Vicki. After Brent described in great
detail what had happened between them, Connor had gone in search of their woman
while Jake took Brent home.
    “Could you stop pacing? You’re
giving me a headache,” Brent said.
    “I’m giving you a headache. You
didn’t go after Zoe. She could have hurt herself. Shit, she may have hurt
herself for all we know.”
    “Connor will call us if he can’t
find her. She pushed me down hard, Jake. I thought she’d gone back into the
bar. I’m not wearing any underwear, and on the fall I hurt my balls, all right.
I’ll be lucky to father children.”
    Jake laughed. The way Brent had
described the shove he took, he wasn’t surprised if
the guy’s balls were stamped on.
    “She wanted me to take her, Jake. I
was already horny, and then her jeans were in the way. Before I had chance to
explain properly she was gone. She looked at me with so much hurt in her eyes.”
Brent shook his head taking another sip of scotch.
    Jake sat down next to his friend.
“Connor will bring her back.”
    “They have a connection. I’ve seen
it.”
    He didn’t need to say anything. Jake
had seen the connection between Connor and Zoe. They’d both been hurt in the
past. That was clear to see. “We’ll form our own connections.”
    The sound of Connor’s truck pulling
up on the driveway didn’t leave Jake with a lot of hope. Jake sat in his seat
wondering what the next few minutes would bring.
    The front door opened. No other
sound came, and he couldn’t make out another set of shoes. Seconds later he
felt a presence at his back. Both Jake and Brent turned. Zoe stood in front of
Connor. She looked tired.
    He stood up as Brent spun around.
    Her eyes were wide as she looked at
both of them. “I found her walking down the dirt road towards her apartment,”
Connor said. “She’s going to stay here for tonight at least. I’m going to get
her settled in.”
    “Are you all right?” Jake asked.
    She nodded her head. He couldn’t do
it anymore. Jake walked over and wrapped her in his arms. Her natural earthy
scent surrounded him. He kissed her cheek and moved down to her neck. Jake
couldn’t help but feel like he’d come home when her arms went around him.
    “Thank you for inviting me to your
home,” she said.
    He pulled back, staring at the streaks
left by her tears. “You’re always welcome here.” It saddened him to see the
emptiness inside her. “I’ll leave you to get washed.”
    Connor moved her down the hall to
the stairs. Before she moved past the sitting room, Zoe’s gaze moved to Brent.
“I’m sorry for pushing