Sophie Oak: Once Upon a Time in Bliss

And it was easy to see what she valued. Books. They were torn and damaged, but she’d lined her walls with books and not just nonfiction. He caught sight of some racy covers in the midst of the chaos. Romances. So she wasn’t just interested in intellectual pursuits. She had a romantic side. He could use that.

Underneath a pile of shredded clothes, he saw a hint of pink fur. He reached down and pulled out a teddy bear. Worn and old, it was a sad-looking little thing. Its middle had been torn open.

“Mr. Snugglebunny. I know. It’s a bear, but I was into bunnies back then.” A sad smile lit her face as she took the pathetic-looking stuffed animal from his hands. “As far as I know it’s the only thing I have left of my father.”

He looked at the toy. It was an odd thing. It wasn’t fashioned from mass-marketed materials. Someone had sewn the thing by hand. The bear had buttons for eyes and a black yarn nose. It was a piece of her childhood, and it meant something to her.

He couldn’t miss the tears that pooled in her eyes. “I think you can find someone to fix it.”

Her eyes were bright as she looked up. “Yes. Yes, I can. And I can fix the cabin back up. So I was thinking I can probably get a new door in town, and I have a book on home repairs. I think it’s best if my mom stays with Pam for a while until I get the cabin back into shape. Is there any way you could drop me off in town?”

He felt his eyes narrow because she had plans. That was obvious. He was fairly sure that he wouldn’t like her plans. “Why?”

“Because I need to start scheduling the repairs.”

That wasn’t all she was planning on doing. She was hiding something. It was right there in the way she wouldn’t look him in the eyes. And why had she talked about her mom staying with Pam Sheppard and not herself? It was time to start herding Nell in the proper direction. He crowded her. It wasn’t hard in the small bedroom.

The minute she realized how close he was, she backed up, ceding the space until her back hit the door. “Henry?”

“How do you intend to pay for those repairs?” This cabin would require extensive repairs. Everything would have to be replaced. The door alone would cost hundreds of dollars, not to mention fixing the windows. He would bet a lot that Nell didn’t have that money.

Her face flushed the closer he got. Yes, she was aware of him, finally. That was what he wanted. “I don’t know that’s your business.”

“So it’s my business to take care of this for you, but not to know how you’ll take care of yourself? Is that how you work when you help someone out? You just do one piece of the job and send them on their way?” He was playing on her sympathetic soul. And her body. He leaned in. She smelled sweet, like milk and honey. Damn, but he could eat her up. And there was no way to miss the way her nipples peaked under her sweater because she wasn’t wearing a bra.

Her voice was slightly breathless. “I think it’s nice that you want to help, but I don’t need it. I can fix everything.”

He loomed over her, well aware that he was using his height to intimidate her. “How, Nell? Do you have a job you haven’t told me about?”

“I have a computer I can pawn,” she said quietly.

He’d wondered what she’d intended to do, and still his freaking cold-as-fuck heart softened a fraction. All she’d talked about on the way over here was her writing. “I thought you wrote books.”

Her back was against the wall. She had nowhere to go, and that was just what he wanted. Her eyes had dilated. They roamed from his face to his neck to his chest, taking him in even as she spoke. “I do, but I have to admit, I don’t think I’m very good at it. I just keep getting rejected, so I might as well get rid of the computer. Do you have to stand so close?”

There wasn’t a lick of irritation in that question. It had been asked with a delicious breathiness that let Bishop know she was interested.

“If you didn’t want me to stand so close, you should have gotten a bigger bedroom,” he said, well aware his voice had gone low. He stared down at her, unwilling to let her off the hook for a second. Now that he was so close to her, he was damn sure he couldn’t let her go. Oh, eventually he would. He would go back to his life and she would move on with hers, but for a week or so, he was going to be in her bed. He was going to be in her body. And he was going to solve a few of her problems. “You can’t pawn your computer. How will you keep up with your protests? How will you know what to protest in the first place?”

It didn’t make a lick of sense, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her walking into some crummy shop and giving up her computer for half of what it was worth.

“I’ll figure it out,” she replied, her eyes round.

And it wouldn’t do a lick of good. It would be a drop in the bucket of what she would need. “It won’t work, Nell.” He backed her against the wall. “Let someone help you. I can loan you the money.”

It wouldn’t be a loan, but she didn’t have to know that until he was long gone and she couldn’t find him.

“That’s not a good idea.” Her head tilted up. “None of this is a good idea.”

But her lips, those fuck-me, take-me lips were trembling. Her hands were moving to his waist like she couldn’t help herself, and he didn’t even want to try to help himself. Everything about his life was plotted and planned and decided on for the best of whatever fucking mission he happened to be on.

He didn’t want to think. He wanted her. That was all that mattered.

“It’s the best idea I’ve had in a long time, honey.” He moved his head just a bit because despite her words, she’d already gone up on her tiptoes to bring her mouth closer to his. It was the simplest thing in the world to lean over just a bit and touch his lips to hers.

So simple and so shattering. The minute he touched her, he lost control. She sighed against him, and the need to dominate her roared through his system. He pushed her against the wall, pulling her up so the only thing supporting her was his strength. She held on to him, clinging like she needed him to breathe.

He rubbed his body against hers, wishing they weren’t someplace cold. Too many clothes. There was way too much between them. He wanted to be skin to skin, his chest nestling against her breasts. He wanted to feel the hard press of her nipples poking at him. But for now, he simply inhaled her.

He’d been right. She tasted sweet, so fucking sweet. He wound his arms around her waist and felt her breasts crush against his chest as he licked her lower lip. “Open your mouth. Let me in, baby.”

He felt the hot rush of her breath along his lips. “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 single 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.”