Stealing a Cowboy's Heart Read online

  Once I was dressed, I returned downstairs and found Griffin in the kitchen, stirring the soup. He looked uneasy when I walked in the kitchen. He let go of the spoon immediately, as if he wasn’t supposed to be touching it.

  “I was just stirring the soup.” His voice wobbled.

  I smiled and approached. “I figured.”

  He moved away, his jaw tense. “Sorry I fell asleep on the couch.”

  “Why?”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “Why are you sorry you fell asleep on the couch?” I laughed and grabbed a tiny bottle from the spice rack on the counter. I sprinkled some garlic powder into the soup. “I’m glad you rested. You need it I’m sure.”

  “Oh, yeah, well the baby does.”

  “You both do, I reckon. Can’t be easy having a baby growing inside of you.” I put a lid on the pot and faced him. “I meant to show you to your room earlier. I can do that now if you’d like.”

  “Sounds good.” He nodded.

  I moved past him, noticing he backed up slightly. It annoyed me a little, but I figured it was probably just a reflex. From his earlier comments, I kind of got the feeling his track record with alphas wasn’t good. I led him to the small room I used for the occasional guest. “It’s not much, but it’s got a bed and you have your own bathroom.”

  “That’s a luxury I haven’t had in a while.”

  I wasn’t sure if he meant the bed or the bathroom. “If you need anything, just ask.”

  “Thanks.” He didn’t move toward the bed. He stood stiffly near the dresser, his muscles tensed.

  “You can relax, Griff. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  He winced and blew out a breath. “Old habits die hard.”

  “I get that.” It was awkward in the small space with us just staring at each other, so I left the room and he followed.

  He stood in the center of the living room with his hands on his hips. “Do you seriously not have a TV?” He craned his neck and looked around the area.

  “I don’t watch much on TV. I prefer to read.”

  “Huh.”

  “That surprises you?”

  Shrugging, he said, “Yes.” He gave a gruff laugh.

  “Why?”

  “Because alphas tend to prefer immediate gratification.”

  I scowled. “You generalize a lot. I don’t assume all omegas are the same.”

  He smirked. “That’s because omegas are more complex. We have to be, since we’re the ones who carry the babies.”

  “Oh really? And what are alphas? Just the brain dead sperm donors?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Ouch.” I shook my head and perched on the edge of an armchair. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, I do.” He lifted his chin.

  I decided to change the subject. I saw no point in arguing with him, and it was obvious his mind was made up. “How did you end up in Sweet Water?”

  Grimacing, he asked, “How did we get from alphas suck, to how I got to Sweet Water?”

  “I don’t see what all the secrecy is about.” I tried to sound coaxing. I usually had a good rapport with omegas. Not to brag, but I’d rarely met an omega who didn’t chase me first. I’d dated just about every single omega in Sweet Water. But Griff seemed anything but impressed with me. On the one hand, his standoffish attitude annoyed me, but I had to admit, it also challenged me.

  “Why do you need to know details?”

  I exhaled roughly. “Look, Griff. I’ve let you into my home. It doesn’t seem that crazy you might tell me about yourself. You’re here in a town you obviously don’t like. People don’t just end up where they don’t want to be by accident. I’d like to know how you got here.”

  “What if you know the alpha I’m hiding from?”

  That was the first time he’d actually admitted he was hiding, and on the run from his alpha. I chose my response carefully. “So your alpha is from Sweet Water?”

  He just stared.

  “Did he bring you here against your will?” I frowned.

  His face tensed. “Why do you want to know who he is?”

  “It sounds like he treated you poorly. Nobody puts themselves through what you’ve been through without being pretty desperate. That makes me think this alpha is an abusive son of a bitch who should be dealt with.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “And you’d want to deal with him?”

  “Depending on what he did to you, of course.”

  He shook his head and sat on the couch. “Like you alphas don’t all stick together. Please. Who do you think you’re fooling?”

  My face warmed with irritation. “Abusing your omega isn’t acceptable. If he did something like hold you against your will, he needs to be arrested. I don’t care that he’s an alpha and I’m an alpha. There’s no reason I’d shield him.”

  Surprise rippled through his gaze. “You talk a tough game.”

  “Yeah. And I can back it up too.”

  He twisted his lips, a challenging spark in his eye. “Oh, really?”

  “You don’t know me, and you’re not from around here, so you don’t realize I’m one of the good guys.”

  He rested his palms on his stomach as he studied me. “You’ve been kind to me so far. I’ll give you that.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  His laugh surprised me. “It’s not like if you were an asshole you’d announce it to me.”

  “True. But I’m not an asshole. In fact, I can assure you, I’m generally very popular with omegas.”

  Amusement filled his eyes. “Somebody’s got a big head.”

  “With good reason.”

  “Wow. I guess I’m lucky then. Mr. Hot Shot Alpha gave me a place to stay.”

  “You can think I’m just being conceited if you want.”

  He smirked. “Oh, there’s no denying you’re being conceited. The question is; do you have a reason to be that way or not?”

  I grinned and moved into the kitchen to check on the dinner. I lifted the lid and inhaled the fragrant broth. I was surprised when he followed me into the kitchen. From his dismissive opinion of me, I’d assumed he’d want to keep his distance. He leaned against the counter a few feet from me. When I glanced over, his expression was hard to read. I stirred the soup and ignored him, and eventually he spoke.

  “If I tell you the name of my alpha, I don’t want you to go to the cops or anything.”

  I pulled my brows together. “Why not?”

  “I just want him out of my life. If you go to the cops, it just complicates everything. I’m free and that’s good enough.” His eyes burned into mine. “So if I tell you who he is, promise you won’t make trouble for me?”

  I set the wooden spoon down and faced him. “You just want him to get away with what he did?”

  “I don’t want any problems.” Glancing down at his stomach, he said, “I have enough as it is.”

  “Fine. If you don’t want me to do anything, I won’t.” I hated saying that. It seemed to me the alpha who’d hurt him deserved to be locked up. But it was his choice and his life. I knew if I pushed he’d probably clam up and maybe run. So I pushed down my frustration and nodded. “Okay, who is this alpha?”

  He swallowed nervously. “His name is Sven.”

  That wasn’t a common name in these parts, and I knew immediately he had to mean Sven Richard. Sven was an alpha who lived on the edge of town on his family’s ranch. There had been rumors in the past about him being abusive and predatory toward omegas, but no one had ever been able to prove anything. The omegas had been way too terrified to press charges.

  “Sven Richards?” I spoke calmly.

  His face tensed. “Yes.”

  “Yeah. I know him.”

  He stared at me, his jaw clenched. His muscles were tensed, as if he was ready to run.

  “Did he… did he rape you?” I felt sick thinking about that happening to Griff. But I kind of wanted to know exactly what I was dealing with. Someone who
’d been sexually abused would need counseling maybe, and listening skills I didn’t begin to possess. I could give him a warm bed and a safe place to live temporarily, but I wasn’t qualified to help someone who’d been raped.

  He shook his head. “No. We met at a bar in Houston. I was drunk, we had consensual sex, and even though we used a condom, somehow I got pregnant.”

  “Damn.” I squinted. “How did he know you were pregnant if it was a one night stand?”

  “Like an idiot I told him.” He sighed. “We ran into each other a few weeks later at the same bar.”

  “Well, you probably didn’t want to go it alone. I don’t blame you.”

  His face flushed, and he dropped his gaze. “I didn’t want to be his omega. I just wanted some money to help with expenses.”

  “You must have known he’d want to be involved. It’s in an alpha’s DNA to stick to the omega they breed with.” I frowned.

  “It was a one night stand. We didn’t even know each other. Fuck. I was in heat, and he was there. It never occurred to me I’d get pregnant, and once I did, it didn’t occur to me he’d want to be involved with the kid.”

  I squinted at him. “So when he found out about the baby, what did he do?”

  He winced. “He lost his shit and dragged me to his ranch.” Griff looked queasy, and he moved to the table and sat as if his legs had given out. “He wouldn’t let me leave. I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone. Not that there were many people to talk to.”

  “Did other people know you were there?” I asked incredulously.

  “A few alpha friends of his knew.” He shifted his uneasy gaze to mine. “They didn’t care about what he’d done to me. In fact, I think they thought he was a stud for the way he was acting.”

  “That’s disgusting.”

  “I agree.” His gaze was hard and wary.

  “You don’t have to worry about me. Sven isn’t my friend. Even if he was, I wouldn’t stand for that.”

  He was silent as he held my gaze.

  “I’m on your side, Griff. I swear.” I spoke firmly, hoping he could hear my sincerity.

  He released a shaky breath and nodded slowly. “Yeah. Okay.”

  An unpleasant thought came to me. “You said the first time was consensual.”

  “Yeah.” He winced. “That will teach me to get drunk when I’m in heat.”

  “Once he had you at the ranch, did he force himself on you?”

  He shook his head. “Thank god, no. He didn’t want to disturb the baby.”

  “That’s good at least.”

  “Yeah. The one positive out of the whole situation.” He patted his belly. “But I couldn’t stay there. I had to escape before the baby came, or what kind of life would that be for this poor kid?”

  “How did you get away?”

  “A van came to deliver grain. I climbed in the back and prayed no one noticed me.” He closed his eyes. “I was terrified. If Sven had found me… I’m not sure what he’d have done.” He opened his eyes.

  My heart ached at the fear on his face. “Did he physically abuse you?”

  He shrugged. “He liked to do stuff that wouldn’t hurt the baby. He’d slap me and shit like that. His favorite thing was twisting my arm behind my back until I thought it was gonna snap. But he assured me he knew just how far he could bend a bone before it would break.” He shivered. “I don’t really want to know how he figured that one out.”

  Anger simmered in my gut. “You sure you don’t want to press charges?”

  Widening his eyes, he stood. “No way. You promised.”

  I held out a calming hand. “Steady on. I wouldn’t do anything without your permission.”

  “You’d better not. I wouldn’t have told you his name if I thought you were going to do anything.”

  “Griff. Relax. It’s hard to hear what he did and not want to make him pay. But I won’t go to the police. I swear.”

  “I just want to have the baby and put all that behind me.” His voice was hushed.

  If he hadn’t been such a prickly little bastard, I might have tried to comfort him. It was natural for me to want to do that for an omega. And usually, wanting to be comforted would have been natural for an omega in his condition. But it was obvious he was no normal omega. Something told me I’d get a knee in the groin if I tried to touch him.

  “Fair enough.” I went back and stirred the soup again to give him some space.

  He didn’t speak right away, but then he asked softly, “If you’re so popular with omegas, why is it you’re single?”

  I laughed. “I like being single.” I actually hoped to settle down one day and have a family of my own. But I’d never met any omega that made me want those things with them. I’d met plenty that I’d enjoyed having sex with. But settling down was a whole other thing, and no one had ever filled me with the need to bond that deeply. “It’ll happen when the time is right.”

  He sighed. “This certainly isn’t how I saw my future playing out.” He sounded glum.

  “You mean the pregnancy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, with a kid on the way, for sure your life will change. But let’s take it one step at a time. No point in looking at the mountain, or you might get discouraged.”

  “Jesus, I am the mountain.” He scowled at his stomach.

  I grinned. “You’ll lose the baby weight fast, I reckon. Most omegas do.”

  He stood. “Do you mind if I have some more juice?”

  “Not at all. You don’t have to ask when you want something. Just take it.” I watched as he went to the fridge and helped himself to some more orange juice. “I noticed when you tried to steal my truck, you didn’t have any belongings.”

  “Yeah, well, when I sneaked into that guys van, I didn’t have time to pack. Not to mention I didn’t really have anything to pack.” He took his glass of juice to the table and he sat again.

  “I have some of my old clothes in the guest closet. You’re welcome to borrow some stuff. I don’t wear a lot of it anymore. I keep meaning to give it to the Goodwill, but I always forget.”

  “You don’t have to give me your clothes.” He grimaced.

  “Griff, you can’t just wear the same shirt and pants the whole time you’re here. Honest, I don’t wear any of that stuff anymore.”

  His jaw had a stubborn set to it, and he seemed to be having an internal struggle. After about a minute he said, “Thanks.”

  “I also think tomorrow, I ought to grab a crib at the second hand store in town. The baby will have to go somewhere. We can’t just put ‘em in the refrigerator.”

  He scowled. “I can’t afford to buy a bunch of stuff for the baby.”

  “My treat.”

  “What? No. You can’t keep doing all this for me. It’s not right.”

  I chuffed. “That’s all it is is right. You need this stuff. The baby needs stuff. I have money and you need help.” I shrugged. “For whatever reason, the universe has seen fit to drop you in my lap. I feel it’s my duty to get you back on your feet.”

  “Your duty?” He looked mystified.

  “Moral duty. We should help people when they’re down, right? Well, that’s what I’m doing. And giving you some old clothes and buying a cheap, used crib isn’t going to bankrupt me no way, no how.”

  “I don’t feel right about this.”

  “Well, it is what it is, my friend.”

  “But that’s just it! I’m not really even your friend.” His voice was riddled with confusion.

  “Don’t worry about that none. By the time the kid shows up, we’ll be best buds. You just watch.”

  I turned my back on him and smiled. He was a prideful little shit, and I could sort of understand that. I wouldn’t have wanted to take charity in his position either. But he needed help right now. That wasn’t really up for debate. Maybe that fact didn’t sit right with him, but if he cared about his unborn baby, and he seemed to, then he needed to stuff down his pride and grab my helping hand.


  Chapter Four

  Griff

  Waking up in a soft, warm bed the next morning was the best feeling in the world. After months of hiding and curling up behind dumpsters to sleep, I felt like a king. I yawned and stretched, my muscles relaxed and my mind at ease for the first time in forever. Yes, I was still knocked up with a lunatic alpha’s offspring, but I was free, and safe for now.

  My thoughts wandered to Tex. Against my will, my cock warmed, and I rolled over onto my side, and tried to ignore those lusty urges. I hadn’t had sex in a long time, and my hormones were raging. Plus, there was no denying, Tex was a sexy alpha. He’d said he was popular with omegas and I had to believe him. I sighed and touched my hardening cock, needing release. Jacking off hadn’t exactly been something I’d been worried about when I’d been living on the streets.

  But now, I was safe, and it felt so good to touch myself and give into my need. What the hell, Tex never needed to know he turned me on. I sighed and allowed myself to think about what sex with Tex might be like. I moaned and rolled my hips, squeezing my cock. Would he be warm and giving in bed? He seemed like he would be. He’d probably finger me a long time and get me so turned on I couldn’t stand it. Would he make me beg to come? Oh, god, or would he take me fast and hard? Would he nudge my legs apart and just thrust in, desperate to fuck?

  “Oh, shit,” I whimpered, as my fantasies took over.

  If he wanted me, I’d spread my legs wide and let him in. What if he walked in on me right now? Would he want to fuck me? I groaned, and started stroking myself harder and faster, picturing Tex bent over me, pounding into my ass. My climax buzzed around the base of my cock, prickling through my swollen balls and making me breathless.

  I rocked my hips, sliding my hand up and down my length, feeling desperate to come. I could almost taste and smell Tex as I imagined him thrusting in balls deep. Would he watch me? Would we hold each other's gaze as he sank in deep, and came? I could just see his handsome face contorting with his orgasm. I could almost feel the heat of his cum flooding my insides, and I dug my heels into the mattress and shot, my release pulsing over my gripping fingers.

  “Oh, fuck,” I groaned, squeezing and tugging on my cock. Every inch of me tingled and buzzed with my climax. Panting, I closed my eyes, and let the warm cloud of pleasure engulf me, leaving me weak and a little embarrassed. I let out a long, heartfelt sigh of ecstasy, basking in the afterglow of my climax.