by Lexi Blake
“Don’t.”
He turned to Zane. “Don’t what?”
Zane put a hand on his hip. It was weird. Everyone was naked. There wasn’t a place he could look that he didn’t see skin. “Don’t be an asshole. It’s just a game. You can’t be good at everything."
But he was supposed to be, a voice inside him said. Sometimes that voice wasn’t so little. Sometimes that voice was a roar telling him that he wasn’t good enough, and he had to do better. God, what would his father think of him now? He was standing in the middle of a nudists’ colony with his dick hanging out, playing horseshoes. “It’s all about practice. I need to practice and I’ll be better at this.”
Zane groaned. “That’s your dad talking, man. You know, there was a time when I envied you. My mom couldn’t have given a crap whether I made anything of myself. When I got the opportunity to get that scholarship to go to private school, I had to forge her name on the paperwork. She didn’t even know I’d changed schools for six months.”
“Your mom was a drunk.” She still was, though he refrained from mentioning that. He didn’t think Zane had spoken to her for years. When Zane had been in the hospital, he’d called her. She’d said she didn’t have a son, but if she did, he owed her money. He’d hung up, and he’d been the only one sitting by Zane’s bed when he’d finally woken up. “And you shouldn’t be jealous. My parents wanted the perfect son. I never pleased them. I screwed everything up when I joined the DEA instead of taking over the family business.”
Which his father had run into the ground. Could he have made a difference? Guilt burned through him.
Zane tugged at his elbow and led him away from the group. “Stop it. You aren’t responsible for what happened to the business.”
“How did you know what I was thinking?”
“I’ve lived and worked beside you for years. I know when you’re letting the old man get to you. He pushed you so fucking hard you couldn’t take a dump without wondering if you were the best at it.”
Nate couldn’t help it. He laughed, really laughed. It was true, and Zane knew just how to put it to him. His father had pushed him on his grades, pushed him at football, pushed him to date the prettiest girl. Only the best for a Wright… His father hated Zane.
His father wouldn’t like Callie.
That thought sobered him really quickly.
Zane’s brow was furrowed. “Now I don’t know what you’re thinking.” It seemed to bother him.
“I was wondering how Callie and my parents would get along.”
“They wouldn’t, and you know it. He’ll see her as a piece of fluff who could never help you socially. I know exactly what your father would say. He would tell you that if you simply had to have her, keep her as a mistress and find a proper wife. That’s when I would go to jail for assaulting your dad.”
Only if Nate didn’t get to him first. Damn, Zane was right. Callie was far too sweet for his high-society world. They would question her on every level. They wouldn’t like the way she dressed or how she did her hair. They would make fun of her for her lack of an education and the jobs she’d done in the past. They would tell her all the ways she wasn’t good enough. “They would tear her up.”
“I didn’t say that,” Zane corrected with a shake of his head. “She’s no shrinking violet. She can be downright mean when she wants to. Did you see what she did to my bike? That was a custom-made bike. It took some strength to pry the seat off. And what she did to the tires… I’m kind of scared of her now. I don’t think I’ll piss her off again anytime soon.”
Nate grinned at the thought. She had been one pissed-off sweetheart of a woman. Callie often allowed them to take the lead, but when she put her foot down, he had the feeling he and Zane would fall in line. She could handle herself, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t get her heart broken. “You need to stick close to her. I don’t trust Ben and Marcus with her.”
Zane’s eyes went positively arctic. “What did they do?”
“I didn’t like the way they questioned her,” Nate admitted.
“Why the hell did you call in those two? They’re going to cause problems here. They’re assholes.”
He sighed. “I didn’t ask for them specifically, though I do believe they’ll get the job done. I actually asked them to send Tyler Williams out here.”
Williams wasn’t as senior, but he was a solid agent. He didn’t mind getting his hands dirty and did undercover like he was born for it. He would have fit in here because he fit in anywhere. He was smart and quick. He didn’t think Zane was a fuck-up.
“Yeah, he would be good here. So why send in the suits?”
Nate shrugged. “No idea. Maybe Williams is on a job. Maybe the director wanted to show he was taking this seriously. I guess they wanted their best agents on it.”
“The director’s blind. Those two are paper pushers. The only reason they move up is the fact that they went to Harvard and their dads are big in Washington.” Zane laughed bitterly. “I know why they sent them. They want you back. They’re really here to convince you to return to work.”
“Well, I think they might reconsider now that I apparently outed us as a gay couple.” He waited for Zane to roar.
A slow smile broke over Zane’s face. “What?”
“Yeah, I was pissed about the way they treated Callie. They were acting like she didn’t matter. Assholes. I might have outed us as a threesome, and they took it wrong,” he explained.
“Nice. Now I’m not only the agent who blew his cover. I’m the gay agent who blew his cover.”
He didn’t seem upset. Zane was grinning from ear to ear. It surprised Nate. “This doesn’t bother you?”
“Nah. I’m perfectly comfortable with my heterosexuality, man. I have no desire to jump your nasty ass, but our lady likes a little kink. I put up with you for her sake.” His smile faded slightly. “It doesn’t matter what they think of me. I’m never going back. But rumors like that could hurt you. Go and talk to them. Tell them you were only protecting your partner.”
“Fuck that. It’s the truth. I love Callie. I share her with you. I’m not hiding it.” He wasn’t going to hide it. He still wasn’t sure about the future, but he didn’t want to hide Callie and Zane. It didn’t feel right. He looked at Zane and realized they had a problem. “Damn it, Zane. Try to be less comfortable with yourself.” Zane’s cock was lengthening by the second. “Seriously, you can’t walk around with that thing.”
Zane pointed to a spot behind him. Nate turned, and then his dick was hard, too. Callie stood next to a woman, a smile on her face and talking animatedly. She was gloriously naked, her skin glowing in the sun. Her smile was lit by a warm glow that came from deep within her. Even as his dick got hard, Nate felt his heart soften. She was so beautiful.
He heard a feminine squeal as two women ran to Callie. It was Callie’s friend Jen, who seemed to make Stef insane, and the twins’ wife, Rachel. The three women hugged enthusiastically, and he heard a bunch of questions about what had happened. Nate felt a definite affection for the women who seemed so concerned about his Callie.
“Damn, Sheriff, you gotta put on some pants,” a wry voice with a deep western drawl said. “The naked thing only works when you keep your dick calm, man.”
Nate cupped himself and reached for his pants as the Harper twins walked up.
The second twin laughed out loud and didn’t give him the courtesy of looking away. “Yeah, Rye, this is why we couldn’t live up here. I would be hiding too damn much of myself.”
Nate tried to quell his rising embarrassment. He carefully zipped up his pants and left the shirt off. He wasn’t going to show how uncomfortable he was. It was a natural damn reaction. She was his mate. She was naked. He would be worried if his cock didn’t react.
He glanced back at Zane, who was calmly grabbing a towel from the stack near the horseshoe pit. Zane wound it around his waist. There were piles of towels neatly stacked throughout the place. Like Nate, his chest was still on
full display.
“Harper,” Zane acknowledged.
“Damn, Max, you were right about him.” Rye Harper wore a blue shirt while his brother was in a black T-shirt. Otherwise, they were perfectly identical. The former sheriff looked Zane up and down and finally whistled. “You are one big, scary dude. Callie has way more exotic tastes than I would have thought.”
Zane’s eyes were off in the distance, watching the women as they talked. A faint smile touched his lips. “Lucky for me, huh?”
Rye’s eyes went hard as he stared at Zane. “It is lucky for you, you big son of a bitch, and it better stay that way. You need to understand that she has a family and we will watch over her. The way I look at it, you might have some nasty people after you, but you break her heart and I swear I’ll make those bikers look like a toddler’s playgroup.”
Max sighed heavily as though they’d been over this a couple of hundred times. “Back off, Rye. I told you. The big guy and I have a deal. He takes care of Callie, and I don’t kill him.”
Zane’s head was thrown back as his laughter boomed across the yard. “Yeah, believe that, Harper. We made that deal of yours with my hand wrapped around your throat.” He looked at the twins seriously. “Don’t worry about Callie. I’m staying close no matter what, even after the threat passes. I’m going to be here for her. She owes me. She trashed my bike, so I can’t leave.”
Nate didn’t like the way any of this sounded. The way Zane was talking, he was taking responsibility for Callie on his own.
Rye Harper held out a hand and shook Zane’s. “All right then. Just know that when you take on Callie, you take on her family. Rach will have you out to the house for dinner as soon as possible. She’s completely obsessed with having a close family for our kid.”
“You better be ready to play the doting uncle,” Max tossed in.
Yup, Nate didn’t like this feeling at all. “I think Zane and I can handle it.”
Max turned to him with a frown on his face. “You’re welcome, of course, Sheriff. For as long as you’re here. The rumor is you’re going to leave as soon as you can. I’m glad one of you has the sense to stay with Callie.”
“Callie is going to have the good sense to stay with me.” Nate heard himself grinding the words out of his mouth. Max Harper would have to find his close-knit family with someone else. Callie would leave with him. She would leave behind the Harper twins and Stef and Jen and all her friends at the diner. She would say good-bye to Logan and his moms, Marie and Teeny. There would be no more knitting sessions with Nell. She would wave a fond farewell to everything she knew to follow him to Washington and a cushy job where he never had to deal with alien invasions, naturists, or vegans declaring their rights at the stoplight on Friday afternoons. Zane could be a well-kept secret.
Yeah, the money he could make would be worth giving up all of this, right?
“Damn it, Rachel!” Rye Harper was yelling across the yard at his pretty wife. “You put your clothes back on.”
The woman with the strawberry-blonde hair and a faint curve to her belly placed a hand on her hips and yelled right back. “No, I won’t, Rye. I’m in Rome, damn it!”
Rye turned back to his brother. “She is pregnant. What the hell is she thinking? Pregnant ladies shouldn’t be walking around like that.”
Max’s grin was broad. “I don’t see why not, bro. That’s how she got pregnant in the first place. I think she makes for some really nice scenery.” He turned a black look back on Nate and Zane. “Not that anyone else should be enjoying it.”
“You’re safe, Harper. I only got eyes for one woman.” Zane slapped Nate on the back.
Jen ran across the yard and practically threw herself in Zane’s arms. Luckily, she still had her clothes on, but Zane seemed startled by it anyway. The slender brunette kissed his cheek enthusiastically. “Thank you so much. When I saw you earlier, I was so caught up in my own drama that I forgot to thank you for saving Callie this morning.”
Zane gently disentangled himself. Nate looked over at the two naked females who were approaching now. Callie didn’t seem bothered by her friend throwing herself at Zane. She was smiling.
“You know Nate helped, too,” Callie pointed out.
Finally, someone acknowledged his contributions. He braced himself for Jen’s impact. The brunette simply gave him a distant smile. “Thank you, too, Sheriff.”
She went back to looking at Zane like he was a conquering hero.
The group crowded around Zane. In one morning, Zane had managed to make himself a part of this weird place. Nate had no doubt that Zane would be invited to the monthly poker game, behind Nate’s back of course, since Nate had pointed out that gambling was illegal. Zane would spend family dinners at the Harper ranch. Zane would become a part of Bliss.
Zane would be happy here in a way he’d never been anywhere they had lived. This place was already ingrained on Callie’s soul. Nate realized with a sudden ache that he was the one who didn’t fit. After a lifetime of being on the inside, being outside the circle hurt like hell. Was this how Zane had always felt? Was this how Zane and Callie would feel if they followed him?
A warm hand slipped into his. Callie. Her brown eyes were luminous in the late afternoon light. The very air around her seemed soft. “You okay?”
He knew that she would go with him if he pushed hard enough. Despite her earlier protestations that she wouldn’t have anything further to do with them, the minute she thought he was hurting, she was there at his side, trying to give him comfort. He could use that if he wanted to. She would go because she loved him. Zane would go, too. Zane would go because Zane loved him. They would leave behind the only place where they belonged because he wanted them to.
“Yeah,” he lied. “I’m fine, baby.” He wasn’t anywhere close to fine, but the feel of her hand in his was helping.
Rachel slapped at Rye’s hands. He was trying to wrap a towel around her. “Stop it.”
Max was grinning like a loon watching them fight.
It was chaotic and surreal and somehow fun at the same time. He wouldn’t get this kind of feeling in the outside world. He would always be thinking about how other people would judge him and his friends.
“Wow, I love this tattoo,” Jen was saying as she stared at Zane’s chest. She glanced back at Callie. “Have you really looked at this? It’s so intricate. It must have taken forever.”
“Days,” Zane conceded. He nodded at Nate. “Nate got off easy. His only took a couple of hours.”
Nate remembered the day they had first sat on the chair and gotten inked for the Barbarians. It was a statement of intent for the MC. It proved a man was in for life. Ellis took those tats seriously. Each one had the snake logo, but the art surrounding it was slightly different. Nate’s had been relatively simple, Zane’s insanely complex. There were at least four bikers with the same level of intricacy as Zane. Two of them were dead.
“What do the numbers mean?” Jen asked.
Nate dropped Callie’s hands as it all finally fell into place.
* * * *
Zane looked down at the artist. “What numbers?”
He turned his head down, trying to get a good look at his chest. He could see the tat that marked him as a Barbarian, but all he could discern was a mass of curly-cue-looking things around a big, mean-looking snake. He tended to not pay attention to the mass of ink on his chest. Of course, he tried not to look at the other side of his chest, too. It reminded him too much of that day when he was strapped down and tortured. Ellis had branded his right side with superheated metal, and he’d cut his face all to hell. The one part Ellis insisted on leaving alone was his Barbarian tat. That had been off limits when making the pig squeal.
Zane shook off the dark thoughts. He would never figure out how his cover had been blown. Someone had known and told, and then his life had gone to hell.
He would have to accept it because now things were looking up. He wasn’t going to allow the past to stain the future he
had here. His eyes moved around the small crowd of people on the lawn. They were smiling and teasing each other and he was a part of it. Max Harper elbowed him in a friendly way. Jen had hugged him and thanked him. Rachel Harper was apparently ready to accept him as an uncle to her baby. Callie made that possible. Callie couldn’t know how much the gift of her home and family, of sharing it with him, meant.
Damn, he was getting misty-eyed just thinking about raising a family in this place. The last thing he wanted to do was think about his tat. He would get it lasered off as soon as he had the cash. Nate was right about that. He’d been stubborn and now he couldn’t wait to start the process.
“These numbers,” Jen was saying. She had called Callie over and ran her index finger over the ink. “See? They’re kind of woven into the design. Did you do that? Are they meaningful?”
A cold knowledge rushed in, seeping into his bones. He might not have wanted a career in law enforcement, but he’d been a cop long enough to have instincts. “Ellis designed it.”
He turned quickly to Nate, who was pale, his eyes locked on the tat.
“Damn it, that would explain everything,” Nate muttered.
Zane swallowed as the full reality hit him. No wonder there was a bounty on his head. Hell, they didn’t give a damn about his head—his chest was another story.
“What’s wrong?” Callie’s gaze moved back and forth between them.
Nate’s face had already taken on that hard-as-granite look he got when he went into full-on lawman mode. Nate’s eyes got cold, and his mouth became a flat line. Everything about him became still, like a rattler waiting to strike. Nate was a true cop—in a way Zane had never been—and that was a good thing because it looked like they would need one.
“Nothing’s wrong, baby. At least nothing we can’t handle.” Nate stood beside Jen, who also seemed to understand that something was wrong. “Jen, I’m going to need you to write down the numbers you see. If you can discern a particular pattern off of them, I would greatly appreciate it.”