Free Harm's Hunger by Patrice Michelle

jerks. “I want it all, Jena.”
    Her spine stiffened. “Too bad. You aren’t getting it.”
    Harm’s hand landed on hers, yanking the horse’s reins. When her horse halted, he glared at her. “It’s bad enough you fucked with my head last night. I won’t let you screw with my business too.”
    Jena jerked her hands from under his and glared back at him. “First of all, there was two of us in that bed, Harm, not one. I tried to apologize, but you wouldn’t hear me out, so I’m done making an effort on that front. Second, I’m not trying to fuck you over. I sincerely want the land and the house. I’ve made you a fair counter offer. You’re just refusing to take it.”
    His jaw worked as his hard gaze drilled into hers. “Don’t go riding alone again.”
    She curled her fingers tight around the leather reins and counted to five to keep from yelling at him. “I’ll go riding any time I damn well please.”
    “Not on my horses, you won’t.”
    Jena glanced down at her mount. The horse had instantly responded to his whistles. Meeting his gaze, she shrugged. “I didn’t know he was yours. Be sure to take your horses with you when you leave.”
    “My horses aren’t going anywhere. Sally gave me permission to use her stables and they’ll stay there until I decide to move them.”
    “Not in my stables, they won’t.”
    “Jena—”
    “Give and take, Harm. Give and take.” She threw his words back at him, eyebrows raised in challenge.
    Harm clamped his mouth shut and turned to stare straight ahead. Nudging his horse forward, he said in a gruff tone, “Let’s get back. It’ll be dark soon.”
    Jena followed behind him, a bit of satisfaction warming her heart. Their relationship might’ve been entirely made up, but if Harm hadn’t figured it out already, he’d soon learn that the Jena he met last night was one-hundred-percent real.

 

Chapter Six
     
     
    Jena hadn’t seen Harm in a couple weeks. She didn’t count the few times she’d seen him shadowing her while she took a horse to explore more of her aunt’s property. Harm did come by everyday to take care of the horses, but he always came before she woke. If it weren’t for the mucked stalls and freshly replenished food and water in the horses’ troughs, she’d never know he was there.
    During that time, she’d updated pictures, lamps, and throw pillows, purchased new sheets and a comforter for the bed, then restocked all the household items that had been donated. She’d even put a new flowerbed in the yard, installed big pavers leading down the drive to the barn, and added flower planters on the front porch as well. The house was finally starting to look lived in once more. But during all her home improvement efforts, she grew angrier and angrier that Harm continued to take care of the horses like some kind of spirit in the night—a virile, handsome spirit she never got to see—especially since two of the four horses in the stables were Sally’s.
    The past four days, she’d gotten up in the wee hours to take care of all four horses herself. As each day passed, she’d had to get up earlier and earlier, because Harm started coming earlier each day too. It’d become a stupid way to avoid and one-up each other, but she didn’t care. What she did care about was the faulty light fixture in the rafters that kept flickering in and out. It made working in the early morning hours difficult. On the fifth day, the job was taking longer than normal, because the light stayed off longer and longer. She’d only made it three-fourths of the way through mucking when the bulb flashed bright then went completely out.
    Burnt out. Crap. Once she retrieved a new light bulb from the storage box, Jena tucked it in her overalls front pocket and moved over to the wall to retrieve the shorter ladder from its hooks. An extra tall ladder had been hooked above it, but it was awkward to get down at this height. Setting the ladder against one of the beams, she