by Lexi Blake
“All right, then,” Wolf said, concession obvious in the slump of his shoulders. “Well, thanks for helping out with my mom. I promise to bring her by once a week. Hey, maybe if you convince her I’m taking the shots, too, she’ll stop trying to feed me beets.”
Caleb grinned. He only owed Wolf so much. “Nope. I’m afraid this doesn’t work on your alien DNA. And I’m the one who gave her the recipe for tofu and beets. And the beet smoothie.”
Wolf’s frown made his whole face turn to granite. “You son of a bitch. Do you know how horrible that was? And I had purple teeth for days from that smoothie. Asshole. This is how you treat the man who saved your life?”
“I’m looking out for your alien DNA, man.” And he liked fucking with Wolf. It made him feel almost normal.
He walked back to Cassidy, gave her a shot in her left butt cheek because that was what he did at a wedding, and packed his bag up. He looked out at the dance floor.
Holly swayed in Alexei’s arms, her gorgeous body moving with grace as he led her around. Caleb’s hands tightened into fists at his sides. Why the hell did Alexei deserve her? And what was he going to do about it? He strode out of the room before he did something he would regret, like attack a man at Stefan Talbot’s wedding. He’d given an oath to do no harm, but he really wanted to harm that asshole. He stalked down the hall. He needed to think. His brain was running a hundred different directions, every single one of them leading to a path of rejection and humiliation.
The halls were deserted, thankfully. Everyone was in the ballroom having a great time. He could hear the music, the chatter, the clinking of glasses. It was all at a distance, but then everything was. At a distance. He was on the outside, staring in at the life that happened to everyone but him. He couldn’t blame anyone but himself. He’d wrapped himself in a hundred different walls, building them so fast and so high that he would never break them down.
But suddenly he wanted to. Because he wanted Holly. He’d wanted her the moment he’d seen her. He’d spent the last year of his life watching her at Stella’s. It had almost been a relief when a serial killer had come to town. He’d had a reason to get close to her that he couldn’t deny. He’d been able to stay near her for days.
And he’d talked to her. Or rather, he’d listened. He’d taken her with him on his rounds. He was a country doctor now, and that meant driving from place to place, practicing in unorthodox ways. Holly had been a sympathetic helper. She hadn’t flinched when he’d lanced a boil or vaccinated screaming babies. She’d held the man’s hand and sang to the babies to get them to calm down. She’d been curious and quick to learn. She was a natural nurse, and he’d been a better doctor for having her around. It had felt so good to have her next to him in the cab of his truck.
Why the fuck was he walking away?
He needed to think. He needed someplace small where he could think. He hated it, but when he needed to clear his head, he needed a closet, someplace tight where he didn’t have to worry about his back. He spied the supply closet.
He was about to open it when he heard the moans.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Doc. Not unless you want a spectacular view of Rafe and Cam’s junk in use.”
Caleb turned and saw Rye Harper leaning against the wall with a teasing smile on his face. The cowboy had a tux on, but he’d ditched his tie, and there was a Stetson on his head. “Why are Rafe and Cam showing each other their junk in a…oh. Laura’s in there with them.”
Laura Niles, Rafe Kincaid, and Cameron Briggs were Bliss’s latest trio. They’d only been together for a short time, but they seemed to be getting into the groove.
“And Max, Rach, and me have dibs on that closet. We talked Stella into watching Paige. Do you have any idea how hard it is to doubly penetrate a woman with a baby monitor that goes off every ten minutes? Seriously. It’s not as easy as it sounds. We’ve been looking forward to this.” Rye leaned in and pounded on the door. “Hey, you’ve been at it forever. Give a fellow a chance!”
There was a muffled shriek, and then a masculine voice shouted back. “Screw you, Harper! Find your own closet.”
Rye frowned. “Fine. Dibs on the coat closet.”
Rye turned and ran toward the closet down the hall.
Caleb sighed. Maybe a walk would do him good. He forced himself to go for a run outside every day. In the beginning, he’d barely been able to walk from the car to the house, but now he did it all the time. He even fished regularly. It was only on occasion that the panic hit him. Yes. He needed a walk.
Maybe then he could figure out how to deal with his heartache.
* * * *
Alexei Markov settled his hand on Holly’s waist with a deep sense of satisfaction. She was here. He was here. No one was going to arrest him. He knew it was an odd thing to consider, but he’d had to worry about being arrested for so long that being able to not worry about it was freeing. No cops would come between them. Just one cranky doctor, but he had a plan for dealing with him. Yes, Alexei Markov was a damn lucky man. He’d come through hell with only a few scars.
Bliss had given him back his life.
“Have you healed up? The last time I saw you, you were still in pretty bad shape.” Holly looked down at his torso where a bullet had torn through his gut.
“I find life is perfectly fine without spleen.”
Caleb had been forced to remove it and resection a part of his bowel. Caleb Burke had stayed with him through the first terrible moments all the way through the operating room. It had been Caleb’s hands that held him together. It had been Caleb’s cranky voice that had told him he better live.
Alexei pulled her close. Dancing was an excellent way to get a woman close to a man. He was grateful for whoever decided to have a band and dancing at this wedding. It gave him a brilliant excuse to do what he’d always wanted to do—rub himself all over her.
“How was witness protection?” Holly’s feet moved in time to the music. “I read your letters, but you didn’t talk a lot about what it was like.”
Terrifying. Lonely. He’d been shot at multiple times. It was to be expected when mobsters were involved and prison time was on the line. Alexei had gotten used to the feeling of a Kevlar vest around his chest. He’d become close to the two US marshals assigned to protect him. Michael and Jessie. Michael was the badass former Marine, and Jessie matched him. Only she did it with a feminine flare. He’d been sad to say good-bye to them.
Except he hadn’t exactly said good-bye. He’d done exactly what Caleb Burke had accused him of. He’d run. The marshals had wanted him to stay in Florida where he would have become someone named Howard Solev. But he’d always known he would come back to Bliss. He’d always believed he would come back for Holly.
And he owed Caleb Burke. It was a debt he intended to repay.
“It was fine. The motels were roaches, but I watch a lot of television. I learn much of the language. I watch all of your shows. Gilligan’s Island is my favorite.”
A laugh escaped her lips. God, he’d dreamed about those lips. “Tell me you haven’t been learning the language from old sitcoms.”
“What be you talking about, Holly?” He’d liked Different Strokes, too.
She leaned in, her laughter so much more musical to him than the song playing. “Well, this should be interesting.”
“I also watch much reality TV. I don’t like modern shows. Too many murders. I do not need to watch so many shows about blood splatter and the trajectories of bullets. But I like the ones about the housewives. Except for New Jersey. It is too close to mafia. The womens there could be bosses. But Atlanta is fun. How are your heifers?”
Holly’s eyes went wide. “I don’t have any cows, Alexei.”
Holly apparently wasn’t up on the lingo. “Your friends. Laura and Nell and Rachel and Callie and Jennifer.”
She shook her head and looked around as though afraid someone had heard them. “Oh. Yeah. That’s strictly a Southern thing, Alexei. Seriously. If y
ou call them heifers, the Real Housewives of Bliss might cut off your balls.”
So many nuances. “Well, please to keep balls on body.”
He had plans for his balls. And his cock. He wasn’t about to lose them now.
She flushed, a bright pink color staining her cheeks. She would look like that when she was aroused. Her face would flush, and a fine sheen of sweat would cover her when he worked over her, his cock so deep inside. “Yes. I think that’s best.”
How soon could he get her under him? Was five minutes too soon? He’d dreamed of having her for months. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face and her smile and her soft body. Holly Lang was the embodiment of everything he wanted out of life. She was funny and sweet. Her letters to him kept him going. He’d risked a lot to stay in touch with her. Every new city he’d been to he’d managed to find a way to mail her letters or send her texts from phones he wasn’t supposed to own.
He wondered if Caleb had even bothered to read the letters he’d mailed to him.
He twirled Holly, loving how her body moved and her eyes twinkled as she took joy in the dance. He pulled her close again and began to maneuver her toward the hallway. He was happy to see familiar faces, but he wanted to get her alone. He wanted there to be no doubt in her mind that he’d come back for her.
“Walk with me.” He couldn’t screw that phrase up.
“All right.” She put her hand in his. She was a voluptuous woman, but her hand was small in his. Trusting. He wasn’t going to let her down.
“Are you in town for a while?” Holly asked as she walked beside him. The hallway that led to the yard outside was deserted. Everyone was inside enjoying the party.
“I am here to stay. Stefan has been kind enough to help me with my citizenship. I would like to make Bliss my home.”
Her hand squeezed his. “Really?”
They passed a closet. It shook and a low wail came from behind the door. Someone was having a good time in that closet. Damn, but he was happy to be back in Bliss. Had she thought he would only come for a visit? “Really. I talk to Gene at Movie Motel. He agree to let me stay until I find a place to call my own. Gene is very forgiving man. I do have to promise to not murder anyone while I am in motel. Apparently after Ivan killed the girl in one of his rooms, his motel gets called The Murder Motel for a while.”
The Movie Motel had been where he and his former partner had holed up while tracking Jennifer Waters and the painting that held twenty million dollars in bearer bonds. Of course, Alexei hadn’t known that at the time. Ivan had murdered a young woman he’d thought was Jennifer. It was a death that made Alexei’s heart ache every time he thought about it. If only he’d been back to the room sooner, he might have saved her. He’d only saved Jennifer herself by killing his partner. It had been one of his last acts of violence.
“Oh, don’t let him make you feel bad about that. You didn’t kill that girl. And the Movie Motel was booked solid for months. Every ghost hunter in the country came out. It was a huge deal. He upgraded the drive-in screen off that money.”
“Really? He had the ghost hunting crews come out? Which ones?” He’d watched those shows as well. Though he did not understand why men would wish to spend time hunting ghosts.
“Oh, yes. A bunch of those shows turned up. I don’t remember which ones. I kind of tried to avoid them all. And Nell had a shaman from one town over come in and bless the place to rid it of evil. Of course, when they found out there was a real ghost, they all ran. I’ve never seen grown men in coveralls run quite so fast.”
“I am glad all worked out. I like the Movie Motel. It is nice place.” Way nicer than anything he’d stayed in lately.
He opened the door, and the night air hit him. He loved the way the mountains smelled and how dark it was. The sky was lit with a million candles. Each one seemed like a possibility. He’d spent so many years in smoggy, clogged cities plotting revenge. Now he was in a tiny nothing town and everything was open to him.
And there was nothing he wanted more than the woman beside him.
“Come here.” He tugged on her hand, pulling her toward a picnic bench. He could still hear the sounds of music coming from the reception hall, but they seemed to be alone here. It was a cozy nest surrounded by the beauty of the night. “Tell me how you’ve been. Tell the stories about your friends—who are not cows.”
She hopped up on the tabletop, her peach-colored dress crinkling slightly. “I’ve told you all the stories. I wrote to you.”
“Yes, and now I want to hear them from your voice.” He’d forgotten her soft, Western accent.
Her head shook, and he could tell she was slightly embarrassed. She probably wasn’t used to the attention. As far as he could tell, she hadn’t dated for a long time. He intended to make her very used to affection. He intended to lavish her with it. “Well, Laura’s in love. She’s getting married next. They haven’t made it official, but Rafe and Cam are living with her. I think they were the ones in the closet.”
Laura was the pretty, blonde former FBI agent. He’d spent a lot of time learning about the people of this town. He’d managed to find out an enormous amount of information on many of the citizens of Bliss. Except for the man named Mel. There were many classified documents concerning him.
“Callie is coming up on her due date. It’s a boy. She’s ready to not be pregnant anymore.”
“How is your friend Nell?” Holly often talked about Nell.
Her face lit up. “She’s trying to talk Callie into burying her placenta under a tree after she gives birth. She wants us all to have a ceremony to reaffirm our ties to the earth. You can imagine how that went over with Nate and Zane. Oh, and her husband finally reached a breaking point, and he hauled her into a bomb shelter, so now she’s claiming that Henry is a caveman because he won’t let her protest with her breasts.”
“Why does she protest her breasts?” Breasts were nothing to protest in Alexei’s mind. His eyes drifted down. Holly’s breasts were beautiful. How long should he wait before he took her in his arms?
A smile curved her lips up, and Alexei realized she knew what he was looking at.
“I am sorry.” Now he was the one who was blushing. She made him feel like a kid again. The things he’d seen and done during that dark time when he’d pursued revenge should have assured that he would never blush again, but Holly made him feel different, more innocent.
“For what?”
He put his hands in his lap, a reminder to keep them to himself for now. Holly deserved to be wooed. Holly deserved flowers and nice dinners. Holly deserved a man with a job. He had to find a job. “I should be careful. I am to be gentleman around you.”
Her whole face fell.
“Oh, god, not you, too.” She hopped off the table. Her hands went straight to her curvy hips, and those gloriously green eyes narrowed.
“I say wrong thing?” He said the wrong thing all the time. He tried to figure out how he’d insulted Holly. He’d wanted so much for this to go easily with her.
“What is wrong with me? You write me all these letters. You come back here and ask me to dance. I really want to know what it is about me that puts men off. I have nice boobs. They aren’t the perkiest things in the world, but they’re big and soft. And these are childbearing hips, damn it. It isn’t fair. Everyone in this town gets a little something something. Even Stella. Hell, Mel gets laid.” She leaned in, her voice going to a mere whisper. “You told me you thought about me during private times. I guess I thought that meant something dirty.”
Alexei smiled slowly. She thought he didn’t find her attractive. He knew what it meant to get laid. He wanted to get laid with her very, very much. “There is no problem. The private times were very dirty. I think about you in the shower often. Well, I’m in the shower when the thinkings come. And then I come. I thought you would want something different than a man pawing you.”
“Do you have any idea how long it’s been since a man pawed me? A woman needs a good pa
wing every now and then.”
Tears had formed in her eyes. Alexei wasn’t going to have that. What had Caleb been doing? He’d assumed that Caleb would date Holly. It had been obvious to him that Caleb had a thing for her. When he’d walked in the door and seen them standing close, he’d wondered if he’d missed his chance. Then Holly had been amenable to dancing with him. He got off the table and ran a hand along her hair.
“You do not belong to Caleb?” He had to know. If Caleb had already claimed her, he would have to honor it.
“I don’t think he wants me,” she admitted with a long sigh. “He’s nice to me, but he doesn’t want me that way.”
That wasn’t true. If there was one thing he knew, it was that Caleb was crazy about Holly. Even as he’d lain dying on the floor of the sheriff’s department, he’d been able to see Caleb’s love for Holly. But the fact that Caleb hadn’t made a move gave him the door he needed to make his dream come true.
He stood over Holly. “Then I still have a shooting at you?”
Her face went blank, and then a smile crossed her lips. “A shot at me. Yes, you have a shot at me.”
“You don’t care for Caleb?” His plan wouldn’t work if she didn’t care for Caleb. How would he handle that? He owed Caleb his life, but he wasn’t sure he could walk away from her.
She bit into her bottom lip. “I care about him, but it hasn’t worked out for us. I don’t want to jump into bed with you, Alexei. Well, that might be a lie, but I don’t want to do it tonight. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t welcome a kiss. Russians kiss when they greet someone, right?”
“Da, MIlaya moyA,” he said, dipping his head. My sweet. And he was about to find out how sweet she was. He lowered his mouth to hers, reveling in the way her breath caught. Her arms came up to his elbows as though she needed to balance herself. He placed his hands on those curvy hips and brought her close. “Ti takAya krasivaya.”
