Happily Ever After in Bliss (Nights in Bliss, Colorado Book 11)

by Lexi Blake

  Henry moved in front of her. “Hey, let me go first. He’s got this place trapped.”

  “Trapped?” Nell asked.

  Novack sighed. “Who told you?”

  “I don’t need anyone to tell me. I can look around the ground and spot at least four places where you’ve laid out traps,” Henry said. “It looks like they’re alarms, but if you’ve got something set up that could hurt someone, then we really do need to talk. People hike out here.”

  “Traps?” Nell was looking around the yard. “Like for people? Or is he hunting? Because I can help him set up a garden if he needs food. Also, there are tons of edible plants out here. There’s no need to kill animals.”

  “They’re strictly alarms, Flanders,” Novack replied. “I don’t like being caught off guard, but I’m not trying to punish hikers or anything. I’m surprised you can see them. I wouldn’t have expected a professor to know what a trap looks like.”

  He knew what it meant to sneak up on a paranoid target, and he knew how to set a hundred traps to protect himself. It was good to know there was one person in town who hadn’t heard the stories about him.

  “Oh, Henry wasn’t a professor,” Nell replied. “That was his cover. He was an assassin with the CIA.”

  Novack laughed. “That’s a good one. What do you really need?”

  “I was not an assassin.” Sometimes her anger came out in little ways. He had to deal with her patiently, but he couldn’t let her forget the truth. “I was an operative, and I managed other operatives.”

  “Did you assassinate people?” Nell asked in a prim tone.

  He’d promised he wouldn’t lie to her anymore. “Only people who deserved it. Bad people.”

  She snorted. “So you say.”

  “And it wasn’t the biggest part of my job,” he continued. “I mostly tried to stop terrorists from blowing things up around the world.” He turned back to Novack. “I need to be out of town for a couple of weeks so I can settle some old debts. But I need someone to watch over Nell.”

  Novack’s brow rose. “Someone wants to hurt Nell?”

  Nell shrugged. “Probably. The activist’s life is not for the faint hearted, but most of the people I anger are satisfied to call me bad names on the Internet. Henry, however, has many enemies, and they prefer to show their rage in person. He’s killed all the ones who’ve come to town so far, but I prefer nonviolent methods.”

  They’d gone over this. “I told you, love, they are not going to listen to lectures.”

  She frowned his way. “You don’t know. I haven’t tried. I can be very persuasive.”

  “What kind of joke is this?” Novack asked. “Because it’s funny, but I’ve got things to do today.”

  “Really?” Henry couldn’t think of what the man needed to do. “Do you need to brood some more? Contemplate the dark turn your life has taken, perhaps?”

  “I did have a book I was reading,” Novack replied.

  Nell sighed and sent Henry a look that told him snark was not appreciated before turning to the big man. “Michael, we’re not pulling a prank. And I do know that there are people in the world who would like to hurt me to get to Henry. I was hoping you could stay with me while Henry’s gone.”

  “Why would anyone want to hurt Henry? Look, I could believe that the professor here might have worked some desk job,” Novack began.

  Nell turned to Henry. “He’s not going to believe you. You have to show him.”

  He was going to get killed. He could see it easily. At least then Nell might forgive him. She would probably feel sorry for him. She would bury him in the backyard and grow organic tomatoes over his dead body.

  “Show me what? You going to send the professor to assassinate me?” The thought obviously amused the former marshal. “I’d love to see that happen. It might make the last year worth it.”

  If there was one good thing to come of all this mess, it would be proving everyone who thought he was weak wrong. They saw the sandals and the tofu and saw vulnerability. They should know he’d always been able to protect the woman he loved. He was on Novack before the marshal could move. The other man barely had a chance to gasp before Henry had taken his rifle and had him on his belly, his own gun pointed at his head.

  “Hey,” Novack complained.

  Nell simply stepped onto the porch. “See. He’s good at that. How about I make us some tea and we can talk? I do need a bodyguard. We can work out payment, and perhaps you can fix up your cabin. And the good news is I’ll cook all the meals so you don’t have to worry about eating well.”

  Novack’s hands came up. “All right. I believe you. Now tell me what’s going on and I’ll tell you if I can help. As you can see I’m out of practice.”

  Henry backed off and Novack pushed himself off the porch. “I need you in practice if you’re going to guard my wife. I’m not joking. If someone shows up, it’ll be a serious situation. Nate’s been informed and he’ll check in while I’m gone. I can’t promise how long it’ll take.”

  He handed back the rifle.

  Novack stared at him as though reassessing his whole opinion. “Okay. Nell’s a nice lady, and it’s not like I’m doing anything else. I don’t like the thought of someone trying to hurt her. I’ll do it. Is she serious about the cooking thing, though?”

  He could prove something else, too. Everyone thought he suffered. “She’s an excellent cook. Maybe you need to broaden your horizons, Novack. It’ll be good for you.”

  Henry just hoped it wouldn’t be the end for him.

  * * * *

  Nell stared at the closed bedroom door and wondered if Henry was sitting up on the sofa or if he’d managed to get some sleep. He would leave in the morning. She and Michael would drive him to the airport where he would board a plane for Los Angeles. He had everything he needed to be Josh Hunt’s new DEA contact. In the end her plan had worked perfectly, and now she knew a whole lot about forging documents.

  Not that she would do anything with it. She hadn’t written in weeks, couldn’t even consider working on the story she’d been developing about a young woman who falls in love with a man who isn’t what he seemed.

  That hit far too close to home.

  He was right outside and she couldn’t quite open the door between them. How would she feel if this was the last time she saw him?

  She forgave everyone. Why couldn’t she do the same for him?

  There was a slight knock on the door, a timid sound as though the knocker was certain he wasn’t welcome.

  “I’m trying to sleep.”

  He hesitated for a moment. “I’d like to come in and talk to you.”

  It was stupid, and she knew she was being stubborn, but she couldn’t help herself. “I’ve locked the door.”

  The knob turned easily and then he was standing in the doorway in his pajama bottoms and T-shirt that showed off his lean strength. “And I have an enormous amount of experience picking locks. This one is nothing, love.”

  She stared at him, wishing she didn’t find him so sexy. “I thought the lock was really my will.”

  “I’d like to pick that apart, too. I don’t want to sleep on the couch. I want to be with you.”

  She wanted nothing more than to wrap herself up in him and pretend nothing had happened. “Then you should have told me the truth the first time.”

  “Do you honestly want me to go without letting me touch you one more time, without letting me top you? You’re anxious, Nell, and I won’t be here to calm you down. Michael will protect you, but he can’t put his mouth on you until you cry away every bit of stress you have. He can’t let you ride his dick until your eyes roll to the back of your head and it no longer matters what’s going on in the outside world. Let me do that for you one more time.”

  Because he wasn’t sure he would come back.

  Every word was like a stroke to her skin, and her body didn’t care a bit about his lies. Her body was already warm, and that deliciously antsy feeling had come over her. She
loved it. It was the kind of thing that would be frustrating if she didn’t have such complete faith that all her needs would be met.

  “I don’t want you to leave,” she admitted.

  “Then I won’t.” He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. “Nell, if you ask me to scrap this whole mission, I’ll do it.”

  She stared at him for a moment, taking in the beauty of his body. “You have to save that woman.”

  She didn’t like to think about how ruthlessly Henry had upended Kayla Summers’s life. It seemed utterly foreign to her that the man who volunteered every time he could, who’d helped her put together a food pantry and shown up every time a neighbor needed him, could have lied and manipulated the way he had.

  His expression went stony as he stalked across the room. “Then that’s what I’ll do.”

  So often lately she found herself in the presence of the other Henry, as she’d come to think of him, the Henry who always looked hungry when they got ready for bed, the one who never seemed to eat his fill. Perhaps John Bishop had always been with her. He’d always been the Dom side of Henry.

  He reached out and shoved aside the blanket she’d been under and let his hands snake around her ankles. He did it slowly and with great purpose. “I’ll do whatever you want me to, but I get tonight. Tonight I get your submission, and tomorrow I’m your soldier to command.”

  “I thought you were doing this for you.”

  “There’s no me without you. That’s what I can’t make you understand. Yes, I need to do this, but I would walk away from everything if you asked me to. Nothing is more important than you.” He began to pull on her ankles, dragging her down the mattress.

  She wanted to believe him. There was a part of her that did believe him, but a dark place had opened up inside her, a place she hadn’t even known existed, and she couldn’t deny it.

  “You have nothing to say?” Henry looked over her, his jaw tight.

  She shook her head. She didn’t know what to say. She could tell him she loved him, that she would be missing half her heart when he was gone. She could say how sad she was that they hadn’t been in sync for weeks.

  She could tell him how hollow her life felt since she’d learned what shaky ground it had been built on.

  His hands moved up her legs, squeezing lightly, and she moaned at the sensation. It had been too many days since she’d felt hands on her. Not just any hands. His strong ones. She loved how big his hands were and how she could feel the power in them when he stroked her.

  “Feels good?” He moved up to her thighs, shoving her gown up as he traveled. “I can make you feel so much better.” He drew her right leg up and took her foot in his hands. He squeezed and kissed the arch of her foot, making her shiver.

  “Yes.” It felt so good. Too good. It was precisely why she had Henry on the couch for now. She couldn’t think when he was touching her. When Henry took control, all that mattered was being close to him. The world fell away and for tonight, she let it.

  He would be gone in the morning, and she would have to think far too much.

  He nipped at her foot, giving her the bare hint of his teeth. It sent her straight into that lovely place where she didn’t have to think at all. He’d introduced her to this world and he was the tour guide, taking her down intimate paths she’d never imagined. Henry had been the one to prove to her how physical a being she was.

  “I talked to Stef,” Henry murmured as he started to kiss his way up her leg.

  “So did I. He was at the Trading Post today.” She’d gone into town to gather some supplies for the week. Michael would be here in the morning, and they would have to find a routine that worked for both of them.

  This nip was sharper than the rest and made her gasp. “Sarcasm is not welcome tonight. I talked to Stef about how he and Jen played when she was pregnant.”

  She’d liked that bite. “Oh, I just talked to him about the state of plant-based proteins.”

  Another bite sent a thrill through her, and she felt the delicious drug known as arousal start to pound through her system.

  “You’re a little brat. You want to push me? Because like I said, I had a talk with Stef, and Caleb says everything is going well. He told me if I was careful I should be able to do whatever I want to you. I want to do a lot of things to you, but tonight I feel like you need some discipline. Give me the gown. You know damn well you’re not allowed to wear clothes to bed.”

  She did, but she’d felt vulnerable without him next to her. She’d hated it, but she’d put on the gown. If she took off that gown, she would be accepting the fact that Henry was going to sleep in their bed tonight. She didn’t even want to argue with him. She wanted one more night of feeling safe before she would have to work through her problems. She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. Henry gave her very little space, as though he was worried she might make a run for the door. She could have told him she had no thoughts to running away. She wouldn’t run away from him. They had to find a way to get through this.

  She pulled the gown over her head and offered it to her husband. She wore nothing underneath, and her body reacted to the cool air of the room.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” Henry breathed. He moved in closer, so close she could feel the brush of his cock against her belly. He stood over her, reminding her of how big he was compared to her. Her big, strong husband.

  She would never tell him that watching him put Michael Novack on his belly in the blink of an eye had done something for her, wouldn’t mention that sometimes the idea of John Bishop got her heart racing. All that power hidden away. It had always been there. She simply hadn’t seen it.

  But it had been there waiting for the right moment to come out.

  His hands went up to cup her head, gently stroking her hair as he stared down at her. One hand curled around her hair and gently tipped her head back. “You don’t have to say a thing to me. You stay stubborn, brat. But I will not allow you to forget me. We might be apart for a while, and you might be thinking to make that a permanent punishment for me.”

  She wished he understood. “It’s not punishment.”

  His hand tugged harder, forcing her on her toes. “Oh, I’m sure you’ve convinced yourself it’s not. Know that I will grovel. I will beg and plead. I’ll do anything to get back in your good graces, with the singular exception of giving you up. You can make me sleep on the couch, but I’ll find a way into our bed. Always.”

  It was habit to think of a million ways to explain to him how the speech he’d made was anti-everything. She should be able to tell him no and he should be able to accept it. But he wasn’t threatening to force her. He was telling her he would find a way to make her want him.

  She always wanted him. Yes, it was habit to argue, but instinct made her drop her head back and offer him the long line of her neck.

  “That’s right. Don’t fight me tonight. Give me everything.” He leaned over and ran his nose from the crook of her neck up to her ear. “Everything, Nell.”

  Again, she didn’t argue, merely sighed because she couldn’t fight him on this. If he did find a way to get her alone, she might never muster the will to turn him away.

  “Everything.” It was an easy thing to promise since he already had her everything. Her heart and soul and body and trust.

  If only she’d had the same from him.

  “Turn around and place your palms on the bed. You should be happy you didn’t add underwear into your new nightly routine. I can understand the gown, but you’re definitely not allowed to wear panties. I want easy access to all your beauty, my love.”

  She shoved away the deep well of sorrow that threatened to steal the moment from her. She could cry and worry later. For now, she needed this. He’d never been anything but honest with her in bed. She could see that now. Sex was where that dark part of Henry got unleashed.

  Nell turned and put her hands flat on the bed. She spread her legs because she knew the drill. He would spank her an
d touch her and make her crazy. He would have her begging, and she would be happy to do it.

  She felt his hand cup her ass and squeeze lightly.

  “When I get back, we’re going to talk. We can’t go on like this.”

  He wasn’t wrong. She found herself in an odd place she couldn’t seem to force herself out of. She couldn’t simply break things off with him. That wasn’t what she wanted at all, but she also couldn’t go back to the way things had been. So she stayed silent.

  The first slap of his hand made her gasp. It had been months since they’d truly played, months of worry and anxiety where they hadn’t connected in the way that always felt best.

  He spanked her again, a bit harder this time. She’d come to crave this kind of play. Henry had made her crave it, made her crave him.

  Her hands curled around the comforter as he spanked her, peppering the flesh of her ass and lighting up her skin. He was careful, but then he always was. Henry was always in control when they played.

  He smacked her ass and she breathed through the pain, allowing it to morph into heat and pleasure. This was what she needed to feel complete, to bring the two sides of herself together.

  She would be so lonely when he was gone.

  Another smack and she could feel the tears pulse.

  Henry’s hand cupped her, holding the heat against her skin. “Spread your legs wider.”

  She whimpered because she knew what he was going to do and she wanted it. She moved her feet further apart, holding onto the end of the bed and offering her husband access to her tender flesh.

  She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out when she felt the first touch of his hand between her legs. She could feel him standing behind her, two big fingers delving into her pussy and drawing out the arousal he found there.

  “You didn’t seem to get the point of my discipline, sweetheart. It’s supposed to be punishment.”

  God, she loved it when he played like this, when his voice went deep and he acted out his fantasies with her.

  “It hurts, Sir,” she replied, sinking into her role.