Once Upon a Time in Bliss

  Seth’s eyes seemed to find something in the snow. “Yeah, well, sometimes we have to accept who we are deep inside.”

  At least the kid was reasonable. “Yes. And Nell wouldn’t like that me very much, but I do care about her. It’s why I want to make sure she’s safe. I can handle this problem for her and then I’ll disappear. I’ll just be a nice memory for her. Of course, if you tell her, she’ll feel used when I’m really not trying to use her. I genuinely care about the lady. Can you leave things be at least long enough for me to figure out who’s trying to hurt her?”

  Seth nodded. “Okay.”

  “Get back inside. Your lips are starting to turn blue.”

  “I only said sometimes, you know.”

  Bishop sighed. “What are you talking about now?”

  “Sometimes we have to accept who we are and sometimes we just have to change who we are so we can get what we want. I play a lot of D&D.”

  Bishop snorted. “I bet.”

  Seth shook his head. “Don’t be a snob. You can get really attached to a character in D&D, and then you miss one saving throw and bam, your character’s dead and you have to start all over again. But you don’t stop playing. You keep going, and a lot of times you find out that the character you end up with is way better than the one that came before. Sometimes you just gotta keep going until it’s right, until the skin fits finally. That’s all I’m saying. Let me know if you need any more help.” The kid turned and ran back inside.

  Bishop stared at the cabin, wondering if he’d ever felt right in his own skin.

  Chapter Seven

  Nell sighed as she eased into the hot tub. This was exactly what she needed. She’d lied a little to Henry. She was sore, but not so much that she wanted to miss a minute of his lovemaking.

  She closed her eyes, letting the soothing sound of the tub lull her. Her body felt well used, as though she’d finally figured out what it had really been made to do. Henry had been voracious this morning, using his mouth on her and then working his cock deep inside.

  If only she didn’t have that ignorant man trying to hurt her, she would probably still be in bed with Henry.

  “Hey, are you up for some company?” A soft voice brought Nell out of her reverie.

  Nell opened her eyes and smiled. Callie walked in followed by a tall, handsome man with dark hair and slate gray eyes.

  “Hello, Stefan,” Nell said, sitting up more properly. “When did you get back from New York?”

  Stefan Talbot was the richest man in Bliss, but he also had an undeniably soft heart when it came to the women of the town. Nell had made a study of the artist. He was a rather fascinating character. Tall and lean with icy eyes, he could look every inch the ruthless king of all he surveyed, but the minute someone was in trouble, Stef was on hand with an open heart and an even more open checkbook. On several occasions, Nell had managed to squeeze a huge check out of Stef for a good cause.

  “I got in late last night. I enjoy the city, but I have to admit, it’s good to be home for a while. The light here is different than anywhere in the world. It’s softer. I paint better here.” Stef dropped his robe, and Nell couldn’t help but admire the painter. He was an extremely attractive man, but her eyes turned down almost of their own accord. Somehow it didn’t seem right to look at someone else now that she’d been in Henry’s bed.

  Stef slid into the water with a long sigh. “Apparently I came back into town at just the right time. Callie called me last night to tell me about all the new people we have hanging around.”

  Callie winced as she, too, dropped her robe and got into the hot tub. The resort was clothing optional with the singular exception of the pool and the hot tub. No bathing suits allowed for the tenants of the Mountain and Valley Naturist Community. “Sorry, I have a problem with the gossip bug. I don’t really think of it as gossip. It’s more like sharing fun stories about the people I love.”

  “Yes, I love it when you share stories about me,” Stef said with only the mildest hint of rebuke. Callie made up for her lamentable gossip addiction by being one of the nicest people alive. And if Callie was a sweet-hearted gossip, then Stef could be a very nice, overprotective older brother. “So, tell me about this Henry person.”

  The last thing she wanted was for Stef Talbot to decide that she needed someone to watch out for her. “He’s a very nice man. He’s a history professor, and I like him.”

  Stef’s eyes narrowed. “You like him?”

  She’d heard stories about Stef, mostly from Callie. Stef liked to practice BDSM. From what Nell had learned, he’d started at a fairly young age and now had relationships with women that were purely based on Dominance and submission. Stef had gotten her started reading BDSM romances. Oh, he would never ever admit that he even knew they existed should someone ask. He’d told her if she ratted him out, he would stop helping her favorite charities, but Stef was the one who bought her a set of books when she’d admitted she was curious.

  Henry was interested in that lifestyle, at least when it came to sex. It was right there on the tip of her tongue to ask Stef some questions, but she held back the impulse. Henry wasn’t staying around. He would be gone, and sooner than Nell would like. She didn’t want to be seen as the poor little virgin who got left behind.

  “I like him. It’s not a big deal, Stef. He’s a tourist. He’s only here until the semester starts up again.”

  Stef let a moment pass, his eye pinning her. “Nell, are you sleeping with him?”

  “Stefan!” Callie admonished, frowning at her best friend.

  But Nell had known the question would come up the minute he’d walked in the door. “There was some sleep involved.”

  Callie’s jaw dropped open. “Are you kidding me? I…I didn’t think you would actually sleep with him. Nell, are you sure? I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

  She hadn’t expected Callie to react that way. She’d kind of thought she could talk to Callie. Callie was really the only one close to her age. Most of the other women were closer to her mother’s age, and she just couldn’t talk about sex with her mother. Oh, her mother loved to talk about sex. Her mother was a deeply open woman who thought she should talk to her daughter about everything. When Nell had first gotten her period, her mother had thrown her a party celebrating her womanhood.

  Yeah, Nell didn’t want her mother throwing a Punching Out Her V-Card Party.

  She’d thought she might be able to talk to Callie. She’d gotten close to her, but Nell hated the look in Callie’s eyes now. Callie looked slightly horrified at the idea of her sleeping with Henry. “Well, I will admit there wasn’t much thought behind it. I guess I just thought it was a fun fling, you know?”

  “I’m sure it seems fun now.” Callie stood up, reaching for her robe. “I bet it won’t be so great later. Uhm, I just remembered I promised my mom I would help her out with something. I’ll catch you later.”

  She hurried out, knotting her robe around her.

  Humiliation washed over Nell. She had no idea what had just happened, but she hated the way she felt now. Vulnerable. Alone. “I guess I should go, too.”

  Stef put a hand out, his eyes warming with sympathy. “Please stay, Nell. Callie wasn’t judging you. She was feeling the weight of her own decisions, and I’m pretty sure she needs a good cry. Look, I shouldn’t tell you this, but the last thing either of you needs is a rift in your friendship. Callie lost her virginity last year to a couple of friends of mine.”

  Nell felt her eyes widen as his words sank in. “A couple? Like Max and Rye?”

  Stef shook his head. “Not Max and Rye, though I’m sure the desire for a ménage came from her childhood crush on those two. It was hard on Callie being the only girl around here. We didn’t make it any easier, but that’s neither here nor there. I think Callie’s worried about you. She doesn’t want you to be in the same position she’s in. She thought she could handle one wild weekend, and she fell for them. Now they’re gone and her heart still hurts
all these months later.”

  Callie hadn’t said a word. “They were stupid to leave her.”

  A frown crossed his handsome face. “Yes, and if I could find the little fuckers, I would very likely get my ass kicked because they’re not so little and I’m pretty sure Zane was found in some Paleolithic cave and unfrozen for scientific purposes.” He leaned forward, his eyes softening. “I’ll find them one day. I know one of them quite well, and if he didn’t fall for Callie, I’ll eat Max’s hat. I know where it’s been, so that’s a bet I don’t want to lose. I just want you to know she’s not judging you. I think she’s judging herself.”

  Her heart ached for Callie. Callie seemed so very alone even though everyone in town adored her. She knew the feeling. Bliss was a wonderful place, but she still felt alone. Meeting Henry had pointed out just how lonely she’d been for so long. “I’m so sorry to hear that. She has nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not wrong to love someone, even if they can’t love you back.”

  “You keep believing, Mary Sunshine. I mean that. I know you’ve only been around for a couple of months, but I already can’t imagine Bliss without you here.”

  “Well, I’ll certainly stay as long as Mom…” She couldn’t say it.

  Stef leaned forward. “Nell, after your mother passes, you have to stay. This is your home now.”

  She loved this place, but there were problems she hadn’t been able to solve, and they weren’t going to go away. “I’m afraid Mom pays all the bills. I have to find a job, Stefan, and even then I likely won’t be able to find one where I can make a livable wage out here. There’s not much call for a woman with a degree in social work in a town of a couple of hundred people.”

  It was what she’d been avoiding for months—the thought of having to leave after her mom was gone. Losing her mother would be hard enough, but losing this place, too, would be terrible. She couldn’t imagine herself in a city now that she’d lived out here, but that was where she would have to go.

  “What about your writing?” Stef asked quietly.

  Nell snorted. That was just a pipe dream. She’d been writing since she was a kid. She’d started out writing little stories, fairy tales really, about the other world her mother loved to talk about. Then she’d grown up and realized she needed to write adult books, books that could change hearts and minds. Well, they might be able to change them if anyone ever actually read them. “Uhm, apparently no one wants to read thrillers about social justice. I thought it was a really good idea at the time. It’s sort of a Steve Berry–meets–Les Misérables story all set around the man-made disaster that was the Dust Bowl. An intrepid farm girl finds the clues to saving mankind buried deep in Oklahoma, but she has to fight dust storms and misogyny and rabid politicians to save everyone. I really thought it would sell.”

  For the first time since she’d met him, Stef seemed at a loss. Yeah, that was pretty much the way every agent and editor she’d submitted it to had reacted. “I, well, I could make a call.”

  She sighed and let her head rest against the back of the hot tub. “Don’t bother, Stef. I think I’m pretty much doomed to failure on the writing front. Unless someone starts picking up my Doctor Who fan fiction, I’m pretty much out of luck.”

  “You write Doctor Who fan fiction?” The question came out of Stef’s mouth on a laugh.

  She let a smile curl her lips up. “It’s erotic fan fiction, Stef. I think multicolored scarves are intensely sexy. I also find British accents soothing.”

  His jaw dropped for a minute, and then a long laugh boomed through the space. Stef laughed for a good long while, the sound filling her with joy. Stefan Talbot didn’t laugh often. It was a good thing to give the young artist a bit of respite from what seemed like a too-serious life. She often thought that was why he’d stayed in Bliss, though he likely belonged in New York or Paris. He stayed in Bliss because he could laugh here. He took a long breath. “I’m going to have to look that up online, Nell.”

  “You’ll have to find me. Good luck. I don’t write under Nell Finn.”

  “All I have to do is look for the story that has some message about recycling.”

  Damn him. He knew her too well. “I’m sure I’m not the only activist who writes fan fic.”

  His smile dimmed slightly. “What do you know about this guy, Nell?”

  She stared at him.

  “I’m not going to be protested, Nell. You don’t have a man. We have to look out for you.”

  The men of Bliss seemed united on that front. “There is so very much wrong with that statement, Stef.”

  He held his hands up. “Would it help if I told you I would do the same for Logan? Hell, I’m trying to convince Noah that he’s in trouble. I don’t like the woman he’s dating. She tried to hit on me two days ago, but Jamie doesn’t think Noah is willing to listen.”

  So it wasn’t a completely sexist “protect the women” play. She couldn’t exactly protest if Stef was treating her the same way he treated Noah. And Noah was in for some trouble. She’d met Ally, an actress working with the Bliss Repertory Theater, and Nell hadn’t been impressed. Ally had seemed very interested in moving up the social ladder, and she needed money for that. Noah had recently come into a trust fund and Ally had moved her attentions from his brother, James, to Noah.

  But she didn’t have Noah’s problems.

  “Henry isn’t after my money, Stef,” she assured him. “He knows I don’t have any.”

  “I’m not worried about him being after money. You have plenty of other attributes a man could want.”

  Oh, yes, now she was curious. “Like?”

  Gray eyes rolled. “I don’t need to go into that.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Nell, come on. Don’t make me say it.”

  She was pretty sure she knew what he was talking about. “Is this the submissive thing?”

  “Yes, Nell. It’s the ‘submissive thing.’” He used very sarcastic air quotes. “It’s not a thing. It’s reality. You would most likely be very happy if your sexual relationship was controlled by a strong partner.”

  Stef was a true believer. Unfortunately, in this case, he was also right. “I know.”

  A long sigh came from his chest. “Nell, a lot of men would love to take advantage of your nature. I think you would be happier with a Dom. Not a full-time D/s relationship. I think that would be too confining for you, but you need a partner who can be patient because he loves you and adores you for the unique woman you are. He needs to be able to understand you.”

  “Jeez, Stef, you’ve just described like one person in the whole world. Where on earth do I find this saint?” She felt like crying. Henry couldn’t understand her. He’d said it last night. They were so far apart when it came to their ideals. Henry was smart, but he didn’t seem to care about the same things she did. He would put up with it during their affair, but he would be gone in a week or so and he would find someone who wasn’t as difficult as she was, someone who could get along with people and who didn’t protest businesses on a regular basis.

  Someone who wasn’t so weird.

  “I can introduce you to some people,” Stef said. “Give me a couple of weeks and we’ll go to Dallas. I have a friend there who’s quite good at matching submissives with well-meaning Doms.”

  She shuddered in horror. The thought of getting set up was awful. She was just about to tell Stef all the problems with that scenario when a low voice cut through the quiet bubbling sound of the spa.

  “She has no desire to go to Dallas.”

  “Henry.” She looked up and realized he’d stepped into the spa room, and she hadn’t noticed. She’d been so involved in conversation with Stef that she hadn’t realized they weren’t alone.

  “Mr. Flanders.” Stef didn’t look put out. He actually stood up and held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Is it?” Henry asked. “Tell me, what sort of protocol do you follow that you feel perfectly comfortable being alone and naked with
another man’s sub?”

  “Henry!” That wasn’t very polite. Henry looked positively territorial as he stalked forward.

  And Stef squared his shoulders, too. “I follow the protocol where a Dom puts a collar on a sub and then she’s off-limits. Until then, she needs the men who give a damn about her to watch her back and make sure she’s taken care of.”

  The testosterone was flying around. She needed to calm the situation down. “I can make my own decisions.”

  They completely ignored her. Henry had a small bag in his hand and looked completely delicious. He’d shed his coat and wore only jeans and a T-shirt that showed off his leanly muscular arms. “You can’t expect a man to put a collar on a woman the day after he meets her. These things take time and honestly, I think putting a collar on this one will be tricky.”

  “I wasn’t aware you had that kind of time here.” Stef stepped out of the hot tub. If he was uncomfortable being naked around a clothed man, he didn’t show it. He simply reached for a towel and took his time drying off.

  And Henry stepped between them, obviously trying to eliminate her line of sight. “And I was unaware I needed to ask you if it was all right to have a relationship with Nell.”

  Stef slipped into his robe and turned back to Henry. “She’s special.”

  Nell sat back, well aware that those two really didn’t want to hear from her. “Special.” Yuck. Everyone said that. She kind of worried they meant it in a “she’s not all together there” way. The other men of the town could talk about her specialness all they liked, but none of them had ever made her feel the way Henry did. Even if he was leaving, she wanted her time with him, and she resented Stef’s interference just the tiniest bit. Not enough to actually protest him because his heart was in the right place, but certainly enough to sulk just a little.

  But then she also resented the fact that Henry had walked in acting all caveman like. He really was leaving so she wasn’t sure what was up with all the possessiveness.