Sophie Oak: Once Upon a Time in Bliss

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 to turn and fall onto the bed with her. He kept her mouth 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 and perfectly natural.

“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 his 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 girl 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 raping 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, he’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. He 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 was back, and he could take him 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.

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 random guys throwing her down. 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 dumb-ass 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 didn’t move a muscle. “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.”

And Stark had a thing for her. He could understand that. “I’m trying to help her.”

And 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 laws. 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.”