by Sophie Oak
meats.”
He took her hand and started to lead her toward the dance floor.
“It’s all right, bella,” he said in what he hoped was his most
soothing voice.
She was skittish about this. Laura walked beside him, but he could
feel her reluctance. It wasn’t surprising after everything she had gone
through. He pulled her into his arms just as someone changed the
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song. Before it had been a two-stepping country song, but now the
music slid to something slow and sexy.
“Busybodies,” she said under her breath as she allowed him to put
his arms around her. Her hands wound almost reluctantly around his
neck.
He let it go. There was a lot he didn’t understand about this little
town and Laura’s place in it. “Cam and I have been talking. We
mishandled everything on the day you turned in your profile. We’re
sorry.”
Her face was stony even as she swayed to the music. “I don’t
know how to take that. Should I forgive and forget when it cost me
my career?”
It had cost her much more. That little truth lay between them like
a brick wall keeping them apart.
“No one wanted to believe that it could be one of us,” he said,
wishing he had never opened the subject.
“I didn’t want to believe it, either.”
He pulled her closer, loving the feel of her body against his. “I
don’t want to fight. Can we have one night where I’m just happy to
see you?”
She moved stiffly in his arms. “Tell me why you’re happy to see
me and maybe we can talk.”
Rafe felt his eyebrows creep up his face. “What do you mean?”
She stared at someplace past his shoulder. “I mean I want to know
why you’ve been looking for me.”
Was she high? Had the altitude affected her brain? “Because
that’s what people in love do, bella. They look for their loved ones when they disappear. Cam gave up his job to look full-time. We’ve
done nothing but think about you and search for you.”
“You weren’t even in bed with me the morning after we had sex.”
Relief flooded his system. That he could address. “We woke up
early. We weren’t exactly sure how to handle it. It’s odd waking up in
bed with a naked man.”
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“It didn’t seem odd to me.”
At least there was a hint of a smile on her face. “Well, the way I
was raised, it is definitely odd. My culture isn’t big on sharing.”
“I don’t think any culture is.”
“This town doesn’t seem to mind.”
“Ah, met Max and Rye, huh?” Her movements became more
graceful as the music seemed to take over.
“And the sheriff, if I’m not mistaken. Tell me something, I can
almost understand the twins. I’ve heard twins have deep connections.
But what about the sheriff? He seemed so normal to me.”
“That’s because you don’t know him. No one’s normal, Rafe.
Haven’t you figured that out yet? Here in Bliss, we don’t even try to
be. We fit together because no one tries to fit in.”
He doubted that seriously. Even in odd communities, there was a
certain amount of fitting in. He couldn’t believe that Bliss was so
different. But discussing Bliss with her seemed like a bad idea. He
concentrated on his previous line of questioning. “So the sheriff is
bisexual?”
Laura stopped in the middle of the dance floor and laughed.
Rafe felt himself flush. “No, then? Well, how am I supposed to
know?”
She put her arms back around him. “I guess you aren’t. No,
Nathan Wright isn’t bi. He’s totally hetero, just a little kinky. He and his partner, Zane, have been best friends since they were kids. When
they fell in love with the same woman, they decided to share her. The
sheriff says it’s the best of both worlds. He gets to hang with his best friend all the time, and he gets his girl. It works nicely for them, and here, no one blinks an eye.”
It sounded nice. Rafe just wasn’t sure if it would work.
“So that morning after we had sex…”
“Made love,” he corrected her. He wasn’t about to allow her to
cheapen it.
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Her blonde hair shook. “Whatever. That morning, the two of you
couldn’t figure out how to share, so you left?”
It had been so much more complex than that. “We went to
breakfast to talk. It seemed like something we should do.”
He and Cam had ordered breakfast, but neither had eaten it. They
had stared at each other over the tabletop.
“And it never occurred to you that I should be in on that
conversation?”
It hadn’t. It still didn’t. “It was between me and Cam.”
He and Cam had sat in a little diner a block from her place and
really talked. It had been an odd and stilted conversation that ended in a fight. Neither one had been willing to give her up, and neither one
had really been willing to share. The entire idea had been foreign. It
was fine for one hot night, but they had both wanted a lifetime with
her. They had argued over how to proceed. Neither could stand the
idea of the other winning. All of that had changed when she was
taken. When she had been taken by the Marquis de Sade, Rafe and
Cam had been inseparable. They had almost clung to each other.
Over time, they had begun to see less and less of each other as
though their guilt had become a wall neither wanted to climb. He
wondered what would become of the sheriff and his partner if
something happened to their wife. Or to the brothers. He strangely
doubted they would fall apart the way he and Cam had.
He’d missed Cam. He’d missed Cam as much as he’d missed
Laura. The idea kicked him squarely in the balls. He didn’t have
sexual feelings for Cam, but he did have feelings. Serious feelings.
What did that make him?
“It’s just guilt you know,” Laura said softly. “Some bad stuff
happened to me, and you feel guilty about it. I’m okay now. You can
stop worrying about me. I’m safe here.”
It seemed to Rafe that she was gently giving him permission to go.
She had no idea what he was feeling. He pulled her into his body,
thrusting his pelvis towards hers. “Does this feel like guilt, bella?”
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He let his hands drift to her hips, pressing them together. His cock
responded immediately. It grew long and hard. Rafe could feel it jump
in his pants like it was a heat-seeking missile that had finally found a target.
Her gasp filled him with hope. It was the same breathy little sound
she made when he touched her clit or sucked on her nipples. His cock
hardened painfully. It had been on full alert since the moment they
had found her, and being close, being able to touch her and breathe in
her scent, wasn’t helping.
“I still want you. I never stopped wanting you.”
“I’ve changed,” she said, but she didn’t pull away.
“You couldn’t possibly change enough for me to stop wanting
you.”
She bit into her bottom lip as her eyes turned down. “I’m a
different person now. And I gained twenty pounds.”
He chuckled. She was worried about that? “I can see that. It looks
good on you. You were always too thin before. I had fully intended to
fatten you up a bit. Why do you think I always ordered dessert for
you?”
She laughed and leaned into him, her chest brushing his, making
his cock twitch. “Jerk. I had to work twice as hard at the gym every
time you did that.”
“I tried to tempt you away from that, too. You might not believe
me, but I prefer you like this. You’re beautiful. Every inch of you
calls to me. I didn’t come here out of guilt. I came out of desperation.
I’ve missed you so much.”
She turned her head up, and his lips were so close to hers. He
could feel the breath coming from her body. Everything inside him
stopped, as though frozen and waiting. He leaned over to press his
mouth to hers.
“Hey, Laura, heard about the wedding.” A smiling couple danced
around them. They were middle-aged and looked like the oddest
couple. The man was expensively dressed, but the woman looked like
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she’d been cast as Annie Oakley. She wore all-white Western wear,
with the exception of her shiny red boots and cowboy hat. The woman
was the one who had spoken. Rafe kind of wanted to punch them
both.
“I’ve reserved the diner for your reception. I don’t think you
should hold it in a barn, dear. And Pastor Dennis said he would
perform the ceremony, but you have to give him a couple of days’
notice because he gets feed deliveries every Thursday.”
“I am not getting married in The Feed Store Church, Stella,”
Laura said flatly.
The woman named Stella simply gave her a bright smile. “I don’t
see why not. Stef and Jen are. It’s lovely once you get rid of the smell.
Jen selected a very nice potpourri to mask that horsey smell. Why
does feed smell like horses?”
“She could use the estate,” the older man interjected. “Stefan
wouldn’t mind. He didn’t use the estate because it wasn’t Bliss-
oriented enough. Oh, it would be lovely. Especially in the spring.”
The minute that couple danced away, another took their place. A
man in a cowboy hat danced with a tall, lovely brunette. She was
dressed more chicly than the rest of the group.
“I’ve already got plans for your wedding dress! And I already
have your measurements, so I can start working as soon as possible.
I’m seeing something fitted and very elegant. How do you feel about
a satin sheath?” the brunette asked.
“I don’t feel any way about it, Brooke,” Laura said on an
obviously frustrated sigh.
“Now Brooke, I had plans for you after this wedding business is
over,” the cowboy replied, seemingly just as frustrated.
The brunette rolled her eyes. “That’s not happening, James. I told
you once before, I am not going to be your one-night stand, and I
have no intention of staying in Bliss. And you should be happy about
it because both of my brothers would kick your ass if I played around
with you.”
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“They could try.” The man named James nodded Laura’s way.
“Congrats, Laura. You’re getting an amazing man in Wolf. I heard the
town is going to throw you an engagement party next week.”
Laura stopped in the middle of the dance floor. She fairly vibrated
with frustration. “I am so done with this.”
Rafe wanted to protest the loss of her closeness, but she was
already leaving.
She turned and stomped toward the raised stage where there was a
microphone and a DJ. The DJ, who appeared to be a teenage boy, and
his twin brother stopped the music right in the middle of the song as
though they had been planning for this particular eventuality. All
heads turned Laura’s way.
“What the hell did you do?” Cam asked as he forced his way
through the crowd.
“I don’t know. She said she was done with this.” Rafe was at a
loss. “I was actually getting through to her.”
Cam’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I saw how you were getting through
to her. You practically humped her leg.”
“I did not.”
“You were rubbing your penis all over her,” Cam complained.
“I was dancing with her.” And if dancing had happened to bring
his penis in close contact with her body, then so be it.
“Well, you didn’t do it right. Now I don’t have a chance to rub my
penis on her. How is that fair?”
Rafe was about to reply when Laura began to speak.
“Good evening, all you lovable busybodies,” Laura announced,
looking perfectly comfortable taking the stage. She adjusted the
microphone like a pro.
“Hey!” one of the cowboys, Rafe couldn’t remember if it was
Max or Rye, called out. “Shouldn’t Wolf be up there with you if you
have a big, formal announcement to make?”
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“No, asshole,” Laura said and flushed suddenly. She looked back
at the boys standing by the stereo. “I am so sorry to have cursed like
that.”
One of the boys waved his hand. “We’ve heard them all.”
The other nodded. “Yeah, we actually thought asshole was Max
Harper’s name for a couple of years.”
“Bobby!” a woman’s shocked voice rang out.
“Sorry, mom.”
The crowd hooted, even Max.
“Well, I’m sorry, anyway. I do have an announcement to make. I
would like to tell you all that you suck. I’m not engaged. I was trying
to keep my pathetic single status under wraps, but I know you all
believe that the truth will set us free.” Another loud cheer went up,
and Rafe heard Cam breathe out. “There. Now Nell can start talking
again. My little lie was the only thing that kept Nell and Henry from
vocally protesting, so please enjoy.”
“Animals are people, too!” Nell yelled.
A collective groan went through the crowd. Laura gave them a
jaunty salute, a wide smile on her face.
“She’s happy here,” Cam said, his lips spread in a wide grin.
Yes. She was happy. And he had to figure out how to get her to
come home with him. Rafe realized he had his work cut out for him.
* * * *
Laura winked at the Farley brothers and started down the steps. A
hand came out to help her down the last step, and she looked into the
eyes of Stefan Talbot.
“Congratulations on coming clean,” he said in that deep voice of
his.
“Well, I didn’t have much of a choice,” Laura replied. “If I hadn’t,
this town would have planned the whole wedding and sent me a bill.”
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His lips quirked up in an affectionate smile. “You might be right
about that. I’m afraid this whole town takes an active interest in you.
Nate has already called all of
his old contacts at the DEA. He
managed to get the details on those two feds sniffing around you.”
She felt her stomach turn. This was exactly what she hadn’t
wanted to happen. She didn’t want her two worlds to meet. She
wanted her old world to go away and her new world to not ask any
questions.
Stef put a steadying hand on her elbow. “Stop. I can see by the
look in your eyes that you’re worried about Nate finding out about
what happened in DC. Well, you should know that almost all of the
men know.”
“They do?” Wolf had told her, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it.
Stef shook his head. “No one comes into my town to stay without
a background check.”
There was a reason his fiancé called him the King of Bliss. Stef
took his town seriously. “Well, I’m glad to know I passed the test.”
His face lost its previous bright smile, but he continued to look at
her with a softness in his eyes. “What happened to you wasn’t your
fault. Not even the part where you got fired from the FBI. You didn’t
realize that reporter was taping you, did you?”
Shame filled her. She didn’t like to think about Jana. “No. Jana
had been my friend for a long time. I was a bit surprised she sold me
out the way she did. But it was my fault. I shouldn’t have talked about
it.”
Stef patted her shoulder. “Well, I understand how hard it is to
forgive yourself. I really do. Anyway, it was obvious to me that you
needed a place to stay and maybe a second chance. Why do you think
the cabin you’re in was so cheap?”
Laura stared at him for a moment, surprised he would even make
the statement. “It was part of the deal I made with Bart Vickers. He
needed someone to work the day shift at the gas station, and he just
happened to own…damn, I’m stupid. You own it all, don’t you?”
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His head tilted slightly in acknowledgement. “I have my fingers in
just about every pie in this town. I’m Bart’s silent partner in the gas station, and I owned most of the cabins in the valley at the time. I’ve
sold them off as needed. I like to take care of my family.”
She knew she should be upset about the deception, but there was
genuine love and compassion behind most of the things Stef Talbot