Sophie Oak: Back in Bliss

He’d been helpless, as helpless as he’d been when the fucking, goddamned, scum-sucking Russian mob had tied him down and beaten him until he’d begged for death. And thinking that Georgia was in the same position had been worse. And he couldn’t fucking talk about it.

“I’ve had sessions with Ben about that day,” Leo offered.

Logan shrugged. Ben was a talky, touchy-feely kind of guy. Ben had never been tied to a fucking desk and shown the truth of the world. Ben had never prayed that the next second was the last, the end to his pain. “Good for Ben. I hope he feels better.”

“I’ve had sessions with Chase.”

Yeah, that news made Logan feel like the freak of all time. Fuck . Chase Dawson was one of the world’s premier curmudgeons and he was talking about his feelings? Curmudgeon. He only knew the damn word because he’d had to help Seth with his SATs.

How long had it been since he’d talked to his best friend? How long was he going to avoid Seth’s calls because he didn’t want Seth to know just how low he’d sunk?

He’d told Seth everything. Every moment of his life since he was seven years old hadn’t been real until he’d talked to Seth about it. But that day in the sheriff’s office in Bliss, Colorado, had been hyperreal, and he couldn’t talk to Seth.

He’d sent Georgia away because he didn’t want her to know how fucked up he was. Was he going to drive Seth away, too? Would he end up with two tats on his body one day and absolutely no friends?

“Do you wonder where she is?” Leo asked.

Only every minute of every day and all night long, even when he managed to sleep. “She’s got a job somewhere. Dude, it doesn’t matter. She’s a Dawson. She’s rich and has a whole bunch of brothers and shit. She’ll be fine.”

“Really? What gave you that impression?”

A little bite of uncertainty flashed through him. Georgia was fine. She had to be. “Uhm, she’s a Dawson. They all have cash. She’s back in LA becoming some sort of star.”

She was beautiful enough to do it. One day he would be sitting in a movie theater and she would come on the screen, and he would tear up knowing that she had been the one and he’d been too screwed up to take her, to hold her, to make her his. The truth of the matter was she deserved way better than him. He’d found out just what a pathetic piece of shit he was that day.

A deeply sympathetic look crossed Leo’s face. “I don’t think you understand the Dawson clan. Georgia came here because she’d been cut off. She doesn’t have a dime to her name. She left here because she’d found a job in New York, but she wouldn’t let Ben pay for her way. She went there on a bus. Ben and Chase didn’t know about that. They were very upset. Do you know how expensive New York is?”

He couldn’t quite catch his breath. Georgia was in New York, and she didn’t have a metric shit ton of family money behind her? She was alone in a massive city? Where the fuck was she working? Panic threatened. He knew some people in New York. Seth was in New York. He could get Seth to find her.

“Where is she? Where is she working? I need her address.”

How fast could he be in New York? There was usually a red-eye out of DFW. He could likely be there by morning. Two hours to get to whatever hellhole she was in and ten fucking seconds to pull her out of there. They could be back in Dallas by tomorrow night.

And then what?

Leo’s eyes widened. “Do you understand just how creepy stalkery you sound right this second?”

Probably really creepy because the way he felt about Georgia wasn’t exactly normal. He didn’t just kind of worry and hope she was okay. It was a gnawing guilt in his gut. He tried to force himself to stay calm. He’d gotten really good at hiding what he felt. He was pretty sure no one knew he was screaming on the inside most of the time. “I’m just a little worried. She’s the sister of my friends. It’s not a big deal.”

“Oh, I think it’s a huge deal. She’s the sister of your friends? Who do you think you’re fooling? Look man, you can’t consider yourself really crazy about a girl until you’ve walked that very slender line between ‘checking in’ and ‘stalking.’ Helpful tip—don’t carry a camera with you when you’re ‘checking in.’ It makes the cops crazy.”

Logan stood, running his hands through his hair. Half the time he couldn’t tell when Leo was joking and when he was serious. He was the most sarcastic bastard Logan had ever met, and Logan had met Zane Hollister. It was often best to just ignore Leo’s advice when it sounded like sitcom dialogue. “Dude, do you know if she’s all right? Have Ben and Chase not been checking in on her?”

He would be shocked if they hadn’t at least made sure she wasn’t on the street.

“Chill out. She’s fine. She landed a good job, and she’s living with her boss who just happens to be a billionaire.”

He felt his face flush, his heart drop. She’d been gone for six fucking months and she’d already found a billionaire and made her move? He could still see the tears in those crystal blue eyes as he’d pushed her away. Had they all been for show? And who moved in with their boss? A couple of nasty names flashed through his head, but he shoved them aside. She wasn’t like that. Not deep down. She was bratty and used that rich-girl persona like a shield, but she’d been sweet and supportive with Nat and Kitten. He’d watched her when she thought he hadn’t been looking.

Yeah, he’d done that a whole lot because the minute he’d gotten a look at that girl, he’d been hooked. It was a good thing he didn’t own a camera because he really could have turned into creepy-stalker guy.

Who the hell was this billionaire motherfucker? He had to be using her. “Is she engaged to him?”

He might be able to handle it if the asshole was actually marrying her.

“Not as far as I know. According to Chase, she moved in with this guy about a month after taking the job. Maybe she’s just being really hands on. She might not be sleeping with him. It does seem a little farfetched, though. She’s a lovely girl.”

She was the sexiest woman on the fucking planet. It had been the hardest thing in the world to keep his hands off her, but he’d done it because he knew he couldn’t give her what she needed. He’d done it because he cared about her. This rich bastard obviously had no such qualms. “And Chase just let this happen?”

What the hell was wrong with him? Logan could see Ben screwing up like that. Ben would be all “she’s an adult and needs to make her own decisions and we should support her.” Chase was more reasonable. Chase should have put a hit out on the guy like any good brother would.

“I believe Ben and Chase are visiting her this weekend along with the rest of their brothers,” Leo explained.

Thank god . He settled back into his chair. He’d only met Win Dawson once and he’d never met Mark and Drew at all, but Win would haul her ass out of there and he wouldn’t give a damn that it was the twenty-first century and women had rights. He would do what it took to protect his sister.

And who would save her the next time she got duped into a bad relationship? There it was. There was that nasty kernel of guilt. She needed a Dom. She needed a Master who would make sure she was all right. Her brothers couldn’t do that for her forever. She needed a lover, a keeper, a friend.

It was the last part that he wasn’t sure he could handle at this point. He could fuck her. God, he could very likely fuck her forever. He could top her in a heartbeat. He would love it.

But he wasn’t anyone’s friend now. It was precisely why he couldn’t go home, why he likely never would go back to his job.