Free His to Seduce by Elena Aitken Page B

again.
    “Chloe.”
    Her heart ached as his voice twisted her name. It was only moments before he’d said her name with something akin to love in his voice. That was gone.
    She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Luke. I am. But—”
    “Then you’re on your own.”
    She turned around then, just in time to see him stalk off toward where they’d parked the Jeep. Her first instinct was to run after him. To stop him from leaving her in the forest. But there was no point. He needed space. He was clearly upset and she couldn’t blame him. She was just as upset, but she still had a job to do. And the reality was, Chloe knew all too well what could happen if she didn’t do it properly.

Chapter Seven
    “ A xel !” The heavy wooden door hit the wall behind it and Luke stormed into the Den. He should care about their guests hearing him. He should care about maintaining a sense of decorum. He should care about Chloe stranded in the woods.
    He didn’t.
    All he cared about was finding out who the hell was responsible for the garbage in the woods. In his woods.
    “Axel?” He bellowed again, and when the two ladies on the couch in front of the fireplace jumped up, Luke didn’t even flinch. His brother was either in his office or in the kitchen; either way, he’d better make his presence known, and soon.
    “Axel, where the hell—”
    The swinging door to the kitchen flew open; Kade stood there, a small white apron around his waist and a towel in his hand. “Luke? Why don’t you come in here?” He bit off each word as if it were jerky, leaving no room for question.
    Luke stalked past him into the kitchen. The moment the door shut behind him, he turned. “Where the hell is Axel? We need to talk. Now.”
    “What’s going on?”
    Luke whirled to see Axel and Harper walk into the kitchen through the back door. They looked happy and glowing in that way they always seemed to be lately. That way that screamed of new love, or mated love, or whatever it was that Axel insisted it was. The fact that less than an hour ago Luke felt the exact same way about Chloe didn’t register. He had bigger things to worry about and maybe if Axel hadn’t been so damn preoccupied with a female, he wouldn’t have to be bringing it to his attention now. When it was probably too late.
    Luke flashed back to the image of Chloe crouched down in front of a pile of garbage on his land. By his favorite fishing hole, no less. The look on her face. The utter disgust that he could be part of something so dirty.
    He wasn’t.
    But someone was.
    He looked at both his brothers in turn. “Who dumped garbage by the stream?”
    “What?” Kade choked as he took a sip from a water bottle. He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and put the bottle down. “What are you talking about?”
    “Garbage,” Luke said again. He looked to Axel this time, who watched Luke very carefully. He didn’t say a word to either confirm or deny anything, but his eyes narrowed as Luke continued. “Chloe and I were walking out by the ridge today. I took her by the stream. Showed her where I was going to lead some fishing groups and we—”
    “Chloe?”
    “Of course Chloe,” Luke spat at Harper. He immediately felt guilty, but he didn’t apologize. “She needed to see the land in order to complete her—”
    “Where is she now?”
    Harper glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She was definitely not a female to be messed with. She’d never accepted his attitude, and he couldn’t imagine she was about to start now.
    “Luke?” Axel said carefully. “Harper asked you where Chloe was.”
    He looked carefully between his brothers and Harper, meeting each of their eyes in turn. They clearly knew something was up, but they were missing the point completely. “She’s fine. You guys need to focus.” He tried to bring them back to the issue at hand. “There’s garbage on the ridge and I need to know who put it there.”
    “Right,” Axel said. “And since