The Falcon Ridge Series Book 4: Art of a Girl

(Chapter song ‘It's My Life' by No Doubt)

BASTIAN

Sammy seems different.

She got back two days ago and it feels like she’s avoiding me. I don’t expect much more than a hello or good morning, but I don’t even get that. She just heads to the ballroom and shuts the door.

It's starting to bug me. I kind of at least expected a Thank you for the flowers. Even though she doesn’t know they came from me directly. Even still…

I think I'll pop into the ballroom really quick. Just to see how things are and maybe find out why she’s being so secretive. I hate secrets.

As I enter the hall, I start to smell burgers coming from the ballroom. Curious, I open the door and peek in.

Sammy has a bag of greasy food she’s picking from as she’s hunched over her work.

I enter and casually look around at the room as I walk up behind her. The floors are down and they’re polished. Again, it’s an impressive color that really shines in the lighting. It’s a good compliment. As I inspect further, I suddenly realize that she has a week or two left. A full three months early. Great for my job preparations. When I think about her not being here, I get a weird twinge inside. I don’t think I like that thought.

I brush it off as I step up beside her. I lean on the table and look down on her. "We have a dining hall for a reason."

She glances at me then turns back to her work. "Oh, sorry. I didn't want to stop working while I had lunch."

“I can see that.” I glance at what she’s doing. I quickly look in the bag and cringe. "You call this garbage lunch?"

She looks at me with those huge eyes of hers. "Yeah. What's wrong with it?" She pops a fry in mouth and chews.

I scrunch my face. "Everything. Do you even know what's in that?"

She smirks. "What are you like some health nut or something?"

"I take care of myself, yes. So should you. You look like crap." I cross my arms.

She sits back. "Thanks so much."

"You have lots of time. You don’t need to rush.” I lean my hip on the table and cross my arms.

She shakes her head. "I have all the deliveries coming in this week. The tables need to be placed. I need to get the sashes on the walls and then there’s the artwork…”

“Sounds busy.” I glance at her work again.

“I am.” She takes a bite of her burger.

I scan the back of her and again, the thought of her not being here bothers me. "Well, if it's that much stress, just move in here. Stay here and you won't have travel time."

She chuckles. "That's a horrible idea."

I tilt my head. "Why?"

"Because...You're my client. It wouldn't look good." She goes back to her work.

"You'll be a live in decorator. I could pay you more if you want." I watch her closely as I gauge her reactions.

She shakes her head again. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't think it's a good idea."

I push off the table, grab a chair and sit beside her. Her scent starts to overpower the burgers. A much better smell.

I fold my arms on the table and lean to her. "What are you working on?"

She glances over quickly. "Design concepts."

"Can I see them?" I ask.

She sits up. "Uh... Sure. Go ahead."

She passes them to me and I flip through them. They're very good. Perfect, actually. This confirms that she will be complete very soon. I can’t have that.

"I don't like it." I pass them back.

She gives me a curious look. "What don't you like?"

I sit back. "Everything. Honestly, it's like you don't understand that this project is the highlight of my career. These are boring. I need more." I flick the pages and drop them.

"Ok. I can make a few changes then..." She starts.

"No. I want a whole redo. I'll expect the new concept in the next couple of weeks." I stand.

"Are you kidding me? It took me more than that to develop this one!" She stands with me.

I cross my arms with a smug smirk. "Hey. If you can't do it, then I'll just have to find a designer who can."

She narrows her eyes. "Fine." She sits back down rather aggressively. I seemed to have pissed her off, but for some reason I'm satisfied that she won't be finishing the job any time soon.

"I'll leave you to it." I turn and saunter out of the room. I turn back and pause. I’m now feeling weird about pissing her off to get what I want.

I’m sure I’ll get over it, I think as I continue up the hall. With her preoccupied with a whole new design plan, I can work on my plan to keep her close.

Yes. I have an ulterior motive. A damn good one. My wolf likes her around. When she’s here, he’s calm and manageable. When she’s gone, he’s a fucking nuisance. He claws at me to go find her and it’s damn annoying. He never gets attached. He knows the game we play, but my mental state can’t handle it, so I really need to find a reason for Sam to move in and stay here.

As I run scenarios through my head, my phone rings. I pull it out and look at the screen. I groan as I hit the answer button and enter my office.

"Rennet, I thought I told you to call my secretary." I bark as I shrug off my suit jacket and toss it over the back of a couch.

"I'm calling for you, Alpha. I'm ready to start my program and I'm waiting for your approvals on my reports."

"What reports?" I pull the cap off my bourbon and pour a glass.

I can hear him sigh. "Check your email."

I take the phone away from my ear and check my email. Crap. There's a lot of reports. I bring my phone back up. "I'll have to read them and get back to you. Call me next week."

I hang up before he gets a chance to argue.

I walk out of my office and head to Anton’s office. I rap a knuckle on the door and he looks up from his training plans.

"Alpha." He sits up.

“Hey, Anton. I need you to go into my email and print out all the prisoners reports and put them on my desk, then delete them." I stuff my hands in my pockets.

He looks confused. "Why can't you do it?"

I furrow my brow. "Because I'm busy. Get it done."

He sighs as I leave his office.

I am busy.

As I was talking with Rennet, I realized I care more about her being pissed than I thought. I need to cheer up her up somehow. I know I did her dirty. I won’t take it back, but I kind of need to show her that I didn’t do it because I hate her. I won’t tell her why, just that it’s not a bad thing.

I just need to figure out how.

****

SAMMY

I can't believe it. Weeks worth of designs flushed down the toilet because the jerk thinks they're not flashy enough. I swear. I’m starting to regret not leaving him in the parking lot a few weeks back. This job is starting to become a real headache, even without the thing inside me.

Bastian Cole is becoming insufferable and I’m starting to wonder what his motive is here. He hates my clothes. He hates my hair. He hates my truck. He hates me. But he wants me to move in? Can he not find another punching bag to lay out when he’s frustrated. To think I’d even say yes after the way he treated me.

Besides. I love my office and my parents need the help, so no. There’s nothing Bastian could do.

The fact that he’s right about the exhaustion makes me mad. I’m certainly going to lose a hell of a lot of sleep redoing all this. These were perfect. They had color, glamor, a huge amount of flash. I just don't understand how he couldn't like them.

It’ll be weeks of sleepless nights. Not that I was getting much anyway. My dreams are still keeping me up. Not of my beast, but of the Alpha. Almost every night, I dream of him kissing me and taking things further. It's to the point now, that I'm pretty certain I know how hard his body is. I can’t get him out of my dreams. I'm trying so hard not to let this happen.

I’m just glad Dr. Rennet did what he did. I haven’t dreamt about the wolf or any other weird things that trigger my night terrors. I’ve been sleeping solidly, but with this change, I just hope I don’t blow my therapy all to hell.

****

BASTIAN

Ugh! For the past 2 weeks, Sammy has been in complete lock down. I do get a rushed ‘hi’ as she runs by me, but I don’t see her again until dinner and that’s when she’s leaving.

I can’t handle this. Every day my wolf gets worse. I just can’t think of any good reason for her to stay as my live in decorator.

I'm pace around the foyer, looking at the floor as I wait for the other half of the meeting I don’t want to be in. But I promised I’d see his proposal, so…

What I really want to do is go the ballroom. I want to invite Sammy to something, but I just can’t figure out what.

As I think, Nigel escorts Luke Jackson into my house. Yes. The Red Rock Hoodlum. Don’t worry, he has something I need. It’s the only reason he’s here.

"Alpha Jackson. Nice of you to come." I stride up to meet him.

He looks my house over and I preen. "I always knew you'd live in a castle, Bastian. It's about the only thing that would fit your head." He gives me that stupid smart-ass smirk.

"Well, I imagine it would be hard to keep a place this nice in Red Rock with all the criminals blowing things up." I arch my brow as Luke's ticks his jaw.

"You want to talk about the Enforcers or what?" He grits.

"My office is this way" I lead him through the halls and open the door to my spacious, richly decorated office.

"Yeah. This is you." He snorts as he stuffs his hands in pockets and strolls to my desk.

"Sit." I bark.

He sits in the chair opposite me and I give him the rundown of what I expect from the Enforcers set up. We talk about numbers and how many separate units I would need for a pack this size. It was going pretty well until Sammy showed up.

“I think 3 units would be good. You can put 12 guys or more in each. It should cover the city" Luke says as he kicks back in his seat.

My intercom buzzes and I hold a finger to Luke. “Yes.”

‘Alpha. The decorators here to see you.’

"Show her in." I smile, hang up and turn to Luke. "This should only take a minute.”

Sammy gently opens the door and looks for me. Her eyes meet mine and I wave her in. She smiles as she adjusts the package she has under her arm.

My God she looks amazing. She’s dressed in a short black mini skirt, and it makes her legs go on forever. Her white top shows the curves of her breasts so well, I just want to tear it off her. I do have a thing for the classy business look.

Her silky chocolate brown hair is pulled up in a bun. God, I want to kiss those full, pouty, pink lips so bad. Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who noticed.

"I'm sorry, Alpha. I didn't realize you were in meeting." Sammy says as she approaches my desk.

I'm trying to push back the vision of bending her over my desk, rolling up that skirt and slapping that tight ass of hers.

“It's fine. Samantha Gale. This is Alpha Jackson of Red Rock." I introduce, slightly rising from my chair.

Luke stands up. "Samantha." He flashes her a smile.

"Please, call me Sammy." She smiles back.

"Sammy... That's cute." He grins.

I clear my throat and Luke looks over at me as I shoot him a look.

"So, what can I help you with?" She stands at the end of my desk and I catch Luke eyeing her ass. My wolf is running circles in my chest. He's not liking Jackson checking her out. It might just be because of history, but even still. I find myself disturbed by it. I need to get her out of here quickly.

"I have the design concepts you wanted." She lifts them to me. She shoots me a smile and every time she does that, her entire face lights up. She’s fucking stunning. How do I constantly miss these things?

"Excellent!" I grin and take the package from her.

I remove them from the envelope and flip through them. "This. This is definitely better. I love it. When can you get started?" I hand them back.

"Um... First thing tomorrow." She flicks her gaze between Luke and I.

"Great. I'll see you later? Maybe for lunch?" I flash my cutest smile.

She fights a bit. "Sure... I guess... Lunch it is." She chuckles nervously.

I can't help but chuckle myself seeing her so awkward.

Luke is still checking her out and my wolf is starting to get aggravated.

She looks between us. "Ok... Well, I'm just going to..." She walks backwards, pointing to the door. Once she's taken a few steps, she turns, walks fast out of the office and shuts the door.

Luke shoots his head to me. "Dude! Tell me you’re hitting that?" He points to the door as his brows shoot up.

"What? No. She's my decorator." I furrow my brow and glance at him while I straighten the papers on my desk.

"You've got to be fucking kidding? She's all kinds of fucking hot and you're not getting any?" He leans forward in his chair.

I lace my fingers on my desk. “No. I’m not.” I tilt my head and stare.

He leans on my desk and crooks a finger at me. He smirks. “Come here.”

My lips shrink and my brow cinches. “Why?”

“Just… Come here.” He crooks his hand.

I lean forward on my desk. “Ok. What?”

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” He growls as he cuffs me upside the head.

“OW!!” I shove him back and rub my head. “It’s not that kind of relationship!”

He points to the door then to me. “That is all kinds of hot, and you’re a dumbass.”

"You realize you' pretty much a married man, right?" I arch a brow to him.

"Married…not dead. But you seem to be if you're not even thinking about it." He smirks.

Not looking up, I slightly smirk myself. "Never said I wasn't thinking it."

"Bastian, I'm telling you. I have a sense for this stuff. That girl. She's a Rockstar in the sack. A freak in the sheets. I can tell." He leans back grinning.

"Ok, that's enough, really." I raise my head.

Luke stretches his arms out to his sides. "What?"

"I just don't want to talk about Sam that way." I continue writing.

A shit eating grin comes across his face.

I glance up. "What?"

"You feel something, don't you?" He nods.

I cinch my brow together. "What? No."

"Yes, you do. You dog. You know, don't you?" He wags a finger.

I sigh. "Know what?" I fold my hands on my desk.

"That you two could be..."

I shake my head. "No. No way. She's definitely not my type for that."

"Ok, man. But I'm telling you. The moment I felt it, I was right. Might want to take notice." He stands.

"Whatever. I doubt she's my fated. She won't even be here when the ball happens anyway." I stand, too, and walk around the desk to lead him out.

He turns to me. "I'm telling you. I'll bet 100 bucks she's your fated."

I grin because I love a good bet. "You're on."

I send him off and head back to my office.

There's no way Sammy's my fated. We're nothing alike. We don't complement each other in any way. I don't see two of the most incompatible people even remotely dating, let alone becoming blue moon mates. It's laughable.

I chuckle to myself as I get to the dining hall door. I completely stop laughing when I see her waiting for me at a table. Her delicate fingers play with her small chain as her doe eyes scan the room. Her soft legs are crossed in such a way that I actually feel like whining.

I shake my head.

Totally laughable.