Once Upon a Time in Bliss

by Lexi Blake

  “Oh, Henry.”

  He hated the fact that she was saying his goddamn fake name, but then he didn’t give a shit because her mouth opened under his and he invaded, taking the space she’d ceded. His tongue surged in, finding hers and playing in a silky dance. So soft. She was ridiculously soft, and there was a natural submission inside Nell that made his cock long to dominate. She was hesitant at first, but then her tongue touched against his and she picked up the rhythm.

  His cock ached. She was too short. He couldn’t get her in the right position. He needed to lay her down and spread her out like a feast. Not this first time. He was too hot for that. This first time would be hard and quick, but later he would eat her pussy for hours. He would tie her up and have her begging for his cock.

  But for now, her tiny bed would have to do. He gripped her ass. Oh, yeah, he was going to fuck her there, too. He was going to work his cock into her little asshole and enjoy her squirms and the breathy pants she would make. Fuck yeah. “Hold on.”

  She gasped as he moved her. He was lifting her, carrying her with him. He didn’t give her a second to think. He didn’t need his mouth in order to turn and fall onto the bed with her. He kept her perfectly occupied, tangling their tongues together. Her hands found his hair, and he felt her fingers running across his scalp, holding him to her as though he would leave. She was seriously underestimating her own appeal. He wasn’t leaving until he’d had her a hundred times. He might need more than a week. They wouldn’t miss him. Two weeks. That was all it would take. Two weeks and he would surely have fucked her out of his system.

  He could fuck her a lot in two weeks.

  He buried his face in her neck as his hand found her breast. Definitely a C-cup.

  “Henry, that feels so nice.”

  Nice? He wasn’t nice. He was nasty, and he was going to get her nasty, too. He finally managed to get his cock where it needed to be, right against her pussy. He rubbed against her, letting her feel every inch of his erection. “It’s not going to be nice, baby. It’s going to be hot and fast and hard. I’m going to have you screaming for me before I’m done. Do you understand?”

  It was such a small thing. A tiny squeak, but Bishop was too well trained. His cock protested, but his instincts took over. One minute he was promising Nell a violent orgasm, and the next he was off the bed and had his hands wrapped around some kid’s throat.

  Tall, gangly. The skinny fucker couldn’t be more than twenty. His blue eyes went wide with fear. Even at the kid’s impressive height, Bishop managed to hold him off the ground with a single hand. The kid’s sneakers kicked, trying to find something solid. He dropped the baseball bat he had in his hand.

  “Now, see, I told him to leave you two be,” a laconic voice said. A man in a khaki uniform and a cowboy hat sat in the living room. From the open door, Bishop could see the man was relaxing, his feet up on the TV stand. “Seth wasn’t listening. Logan wasn’t either, but he didn’t happen to find a piece of sporting good equipment fast enough.”

  “I’m here.” Another equally gangly kid ran into the cabin. “Did Seth save Nell?”

  “Uhm, this really hurts,” the kid named Seth said. “Could I go now?”

  “Henry, you put Seth down this instant.” Nell was on her feet, straightening her clothes. She was right back to the buttoned-up, slightly prudish woman she’d been before he’d gotten in between her legs.

  He thought about going ahead and killing the little fucker. He could do it. He could decapitate a man without ever breaking the skin. It was one of his many talents.

  “Don’t, man,” the deputy said. He had to be the deputy. This was a man and not a boy, but he wasn’t anywhere close to retirement. “I understand the inclination to kill him, but he really did think you were assaulting poor Nell. The kid can’t tell the difference between a good moan and a bad one. I think we need to get them both laid, but Logan there has a momma who likes to shoot a man’s balls off for target practice.”

  “She doesn’t have to know, Rye.” The kid named Logan was carrying a Ping-Pong paddle.

  “Oh, Marie would know. Marie knows everything. And what did you think you were going to do with that thing? Were you going to paddle him to death?” Rye got up, a notepad in his hand. “Uh, Mr. whatever your name is, Seth’s turning blue. Now, if you’re really intent on killing him, I’m going to have to file a report, and I hate reports. The name’s Harper by the way. Rye Harper.”

  “Henry Flanders.” Bishop dropped the kid.

  Seth hit his knees, gasping for breath.

  Nell was right there beside him, offering comfort. To the kid who’d interrupted them, of course. No fucking comfort for him. She stared up at him as she smoothed a hand down the kid’s back. “That was horrible of you, Henry. What were you thinking?”

  He’d been thinking that the asshole who’d tossed the cabin was back, and he could take the criminal out and then go right back to fucking Nell.

  Hell, he hadn’t been thinking at all. And obviously the deputy had walked in at some point and had a look around, and Bishop hadn’t even noticed. He’d been too busy planning to sink his cock into Nell.

  Not once had he suspected they weren’t alone until the kid had actually walked into the room with them. He didn’t like the feeling. She made him vulnerable. He wasn’t vulnerable.

  “I apologize, of course.” He stood back, watching her. “Next time, I’ll let whoever walks into your cabin kill us both.”

  She looked up, frowning. “All I’m saying is you should have asked him what he was doing. This is Seth Stark. He’s the grandson of one of our locals. He’s here on his winter break. There was no cause to hurt him. I’m very surprised at you, Henry.”

  “And I thought you were hurting her. Nell doesn’t like men,” Seth choked out.

  “Yes, I do.” She turned that frown on the kid.

  Bishop stepped out, entering the living room. Logan was trying to explain to the deputy that his momma would never know if Rye found him a girl and hey, he was willing to share with Seth.

  What the hell was up with these people? The deputy seemed more interested in talking to the boys than he did in figuring out who was trying to hurt Nell. And Nell didn’t seem the least bit upset by any of it. She was on her feet, walking around and making sure all the other men were taken care of.

  She carefully avoided him.

  She didn’t look to him to handle the deputy. She didn’t ask him to help. She ignored him for the most part, like they hadn’t kissed.

  Maybe she did this sort of thing a lot. Maybe she was used to throwing down with random guys. Yeah, he didn’t like this feeling either. He wasn’t a possessive man. He’d learned long ago not to get attached to anything because it would be gone the next day. But watching Nell with the other men made his fists clench, his gut churn.

  She hadn’t accepted his courtesies, but she allowed the deputy, Rye Harper, to find a seat for her. She allowed him to dust it off and she sat while he stood, taking down her information. Even the dumbass kids were allowed to go and find her some cups since all of her glassware was broken.

  But she didn’t ask him for a damn thing.

  What the hell was he around for?

  He stepped out on the porch, the cold still a shock to his system.

  “Who are you?”

  Seth had walked out behind him. He had on a coat, cashmere by the looks of it. Seth Stark had cash, or rather his parents did. His best friend, the kid with the Ping-Pong paddle, didn’t. He was dressed in a sweater that looked hand knitted and well-worn jeans.

  “I’m Henry Flanders. I teach military history at a small liberal arts college in the northwest.”

  The Stark kid stared at him with intelligent eyes. “I doubt it. I’ve never seen any teacher move the way you do.”

  Bishop shrugged. He’d pegged the kid’s accent the minute he’d started talking. Pure Manhattan. Upper East Side. “You haven’t been out of New York enough, kid.”

  Stark kept
his distance. “I’m not stupid. I’m actually quite smart. What do you want with Nell? She’s a nice girl.”

  Stark had a thing for her. He could understand that. “She’s not a girl. She’s a woman, and I’m trying to help her.”

  Though he was starting to think she didn’t really need his help. Didn’t want it.

  Stark nodded. “Okay. I heard someone was trying to hurt Nell. It looks like it’s true. It probably has something to do with her work. She’s shut down some businesses for violating codes. That can make people mad. I can start trying to look on the web. I’m really good with a computer.”

  That could be helpful. “Check her e-mails. I would be surprised if he hadn’t written her before this. This feels like an escalation. You’ll need her password.”

  The kid snorted, an arrogant sound. Bishop appreciated a proper amount of arrogance. “I think I can handle it. I haven’t met an account yet that I couldn’t hack.”

  Yeah, sure. “All right.”

  The kid flushed, his cheeks reddening slightly. “I just mean, I’m pretty good. I can do it. Uhm, I’ll ask for her password. You’re right. That would be way easier.”

  And now Bishop was interested in Seth Stark because he was hiding something. It was right there in the pink of his skin and the way his eyes suddenly found the floor. Maybe he was wrong. “Who caught you?”

  Those lanky shoulders moved up and down. “No one.”

  “I can strangle you again. This time Nell isn’t around.” Killing the kid might release some stress.

  His hands came up in defeat. “Fine. I might have been a curious kid. I thought I was a hacker. I got into the tiniest bit of trouble with some suits.”

  Fuck. Suits? More like feds. Feds were the ones who showed up on a dude’s doorstep when he got handsy with someone else’s accounts. Yeah, if the FBI was interested in the kid, then maybe he really could help. “Did someone come see you?”

  He shrugged again. “I do a little work for the government from time to time.”

  Then he was really fucking good, and Bishop needed to look into him. “Sure, kid. Just check her e-mail. Find out what you can. I’m staying out at the Mountain and Valley. Get in touch and let me know what you find.”

  He’d promised Bill he would solve her problem. He glanced back in the room, and she was smiling up at the deputy.

  “I will,” Stark said.

  “And give her a ride back up the mountain, will you?” Bishop asked. He could do this from a distance. “She doesn’t need me.”

  Bishop stepped off the porch and got into the SUV. He needed a place to go so he turned toward that bar she’d mentioned. Hell on Wheels. Sounded like his speed.

  He could use a drink.

  Chapter Three

  Nell picked up her broom, eager to get something done now that Rye had completed the obligatory report. She glanced around. No Henry. He was probably getting some fresh air on the porch.

  She still couldn’t breathe thinking about how he’d kissed her. She’d been kissed before, but those tiny pecks and awkward fumblings seemed in another universe compared to what Henry Flanders had done. She could still feel his lips on hers. They hadn’t been tentative and waiting for her to take the lead. Nope. Not Henry. He’d taken what he wanted, and she had been very surprised to discover that did something for her.

  She couldn’t allow her female hormones to turn her into a crazed sex addict. But wouldn’t it be okay to just be a little bit crazy? What was one step down from addict? Enthusiast. Yes. She could be a crazed sex enthusiast.

  Of course she had to actually manage to have sex first.

  “Nell, what do you know about that Henry fellow?” Rye Harper asked, his eyebrows arched as though it wasn’t the first time he’d asked her.

  She could get lost in her own head. “I met him at Mountain and Valley an hour ago. He’s friends with Bill.”

  “An hour ago?” If Rye’s eyebrow moved another inch, it would climb right off his forehead.

  She felt herself flush but tried to hide it by crossing her arms over her chest and sending him her sternest look. “Are you judging me, Ryan Harper? Do you think I haven’t heard the story about the new hostess at the golf course in Del Norte? How long had you known her before you…well, escorted her into the bushes and got to know her in a biblical sense?”

  A slow smile spread across Rye’s face. “I get your point, darlin’. I really do, but Beer Bringing Becky is a little less lethal than the man you were playing around with.” He frowned. “Though she could cut me off from beers. I hadn’t thought about that. Oh, well. We didn’t talk much. The next time I see her I’ll pretend I don’t know her, and she’ll think it was Max who didn’t call.”

  She knew she should lecture him on the whole turnabout twin thing, but her ears had caught on something else. “He’s not lethal. He’s a college professor.”

  And a cranky one at that, but she was rapidly coming to the conclusion that his demeanor was likely brought on by a negative environment. She’d heard many professors complain about how rough it was to get tenure. Publish or perish. The ivory tower could crumble right beneath Henry’s feet if he didn’t have tenure. Yes, that was likely what was making him so crabby. And she suspected he ate too much red meat.

  But she wasn’t sure how much that mattered since she could still feel her lips tingling and it had been a good forty-five minutes since he’d touched her and kissed her and thrown her on her bed.

  She wasn’t a dumb girl, merely a cautious one. She knew what would have happened if Seth hadn’t interrupted them. She would have lost her virginity to a man she barely knew, and Rye Harper would have been sitting in her devastated living room listening to the whole thing. She knew how embarrassing that would have been.

  And yet she was still the tiniest bit mad at Seth.

  “All I know is I haven’t seen a man move quite as fast as that one did,” Rye said, closing up his notebook.

  She frowned. “You were watching?”

  Rye Harper was completely immune to her sternest look. “I wasn’t watching the sex stuff, but I damn straight wanted to see if Seth could save you.”

  She sighed. “Do people really think I don’t like men?”

  Maybe Bliss was less tolerant than she thought.

  Rye winked at her. “Honey, Seth is just a kid. He believes anyone who isn’t interested in him is likely a lesbian. Well, he hopes that. I happen to notice the way you look at a man when he takes his shirt off. You’re not disinterested, you’re picky, and that’s a good thing to be.”

  She wasn’t so sure about that. Her pickiness meant she was a twenty-five-year-old virgin. It wasn’t that she placed a special value on her hymen. She didn’t. She simply hadn’t been moved to get rid of it. Maybe she did place a special value on sex, though. She’d heard one too many faery tales. She wanted to be in love.

  It was stupid, but she thought she might be able to love Henry Flanders. There was no intellectual reason to believe in the idea of love, but her heart had softened the minute she’d looked at him. She couldn’t take her eyes off him when they were in the same room.

  Why wouldn’t he come back? She didn’t like not being able to see him.

  Would he find her obnoxious? Lots of people did.

  “I like him.” Why did it take such courage to admit that?

  Rye gave her a brilliant smile. That was what she loved about Bliss. She could talk to almost anyone and they were open and happy to be engaged. This was a family. She’d spent years with only her mother for company, but everywhere she turned in Bliss she found a brother or a sister. Sure, it meant she had no private life, but privacy was overrated. “I’m glad. You deserve a great guy. And I stand perfectly ready to beat the shit out of him if he isn’t worthy of you.”

  “Ryan!” She was a nonviolent person.

  He shook his head, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Nope. I’m not going to feel bad. Every woman needs a couple of men who are willing to kick some ass for her
. You don’t have any men. So me and Max will step up. Stef, too. You’re a nice girl. You need brothers. Unless you’re willing to give up your stance on nonviolence and let me teach you how to use a shotgun.”

  Tears filled her eyes. She should completely disavow the whole violence angle, but she had to admit the idea of having a few men who cared enough to look out for her made her want to cry. “I think I’ll keep my deeply held beliefs, but thanks, Rye. I do like him. I’m a little scared though.”

  Rye reached up, smoothing her hair back in a perfectly nice brotherly gesture. “You have to try. Nothing in this life worth anything comes without some risk. One day some sweet thing is going to come through this town and she’s going to be perfect. She’s going to love me and she’s going to love Max and I believe that. I have to. I can’t stand the thought of not having a family. I worry deep down that it won’t happen. I think maybe I’m too weird. Not many women want to put up with two men, you know.”

  She hugged him without reservation, throwing her whole body into it because Rye Harper was a wonderful man and he should know it every second of the day. “You’re not weird. You’re wonderful and Max is wonderful.” Max was a crabby man, but one day some amazing woman would fix that. “You’re going to get married and be so happy. It can happen, Rye. I believe it.”

  Because the universe was what a person made it. Positive thoughts brought about a positive outcome.

  “I hope so, sweetheart. I sincerely do.” Rye returned the hug and then pulled away. “Now, I’m going to look into this, but I think it would be best if you stayed up at the commune.”

  “I need to clean this place up.” She couldn’t leave. The cabin wasn’t secure. Without a door, any number of threats would have access to her house, and she wasn’t merely thinking about the human ones. There were any number of animals who would view the open entry as an invitation. While she welcomed all of the planet’s creatures, she maybe didn’t want them in her house. She needed to be here. “I have to watch our cabin. Mom and I sank everything we had into this place, and our insurance isn’t the best. I doubt it will cover any of the repairs we need to make.”