Sophie Oak: Chasing Bliss

Jesse shrugged, picking up his drink. “Everyone. You know how it is. New people come to town and everyone talks.”

Cade took a long breath. “Damn it, Jess, you saw her, didn’t you?”

He smiled, a smug little grin. “It was a brief glance, but she made an impression. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Great tits. She could stand to eat a burger. She’s not painfully thin, but she diets. I could take care of that problem.”

He’d seen her and decided she needed a man who could take care of her? Jesse was getting more and more desperate. “Why did she have to leave New York?”

“Laura and Holly were talking about some incident there where she tried to kill someone.”

Cade groaned. “Damn it. We just finished with the dangerous portion of our lives. I’m not hopping back in, and I’m not going to allow you to turn into some cautionary tale. Here’s what we know about this chick. We know she’s mean, and she tries to kill people. Stay away. The ski bunnies will be here soon. Once we get some powder on the mountain, you’ll have your choice of women.”

Ty could help out on that front. They’d become good friends with one of the EMTs who worked at the resort. Ty had assured Cade that once the Elk Creek Lodge was in full swing for the winter, the party would begin. Cade liked tourists. Well, he liked the nice ones. They came. They had fun. They left town.

Jesse stared at him. He tended to let Cade lead for the most part except with a couple of the women they’d shared, but there were times when he was as stubborn as the day was long. His mouth twisted into that grimace that let Cade know he’d pissed Jesse off. Still, Jesse took a long drink of his soda and sighed. “I’m sure that will be fun, brother.”

Cade put the burger aside, his appetite gone. Jesse was the only family he had left. Everyone else was dead, and Cade didn’t make friends the way Jesse did. “We’ll find someone, Jess. It’s just not going to be a ball-busting, big-city girl.”

“You forgot to mention that I’m a soul-sucking lawyer,” a throaty voice said from the front door.

Cade stopped, his attention focused on the woman at the front of the garage. Gemma Wells, he presumed. Gemma Wells was petite with honey-blonde hair, and she wore a Stella’s Diner T-shirt and jeans that clung to her every curve. Fuck . Jesse was right. Her tits were really nice. They weren’t incredibly large, but they would make a good handful, and he would bet her nipples were a decent size. He liked nipples. He liked to twist them and pinch them and suck them into his mouth. He could spend an hour just playing with a woman’s breasts.

“Oh, and coldhearted bitch, vampire bitch, cast-iron bitch, really everything goes with bitch.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And I didn’t bust Max Harper’s balls. Those are still on his body. Now, Bare-Chested Ape Man, if you could be bothered to look past my boobs, maybe we could have a conversation.”

“Bare-Chested Ape Man?” Cade crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking her squared-off stance. Every damn word out of her mouth upped his blood pressure just a little. And it, unfortunately, had his dick jumping, too.

“Well, I don’t know your name and you seem to have zero problem with calling me names, so yes, you will be forever known as Bare-Chested Ape Man.” She turned to Jesse, her eyes narrowing.

“Gemma Wells.” Jesse grinned like the cat who’d swallowed the canary. “You’re Gemma Wells. And I like your face, too.”

A hint of smile crossed those ridiculously hot lips. “Fine. You get a name.”

Jesse stared at her.

Gemma looked back at Cade. “He has a name, right?”

“Why don’t you ask me politely, and I’ll give you the courtesy of an introduction.” Jesse’s words came out in that low rumble that meant he was damn serious.

Cade felt a deep sense of satisfaction. There was no way the city girl would let a mechanic talk to her like that. She would unleash some serious vitriol Jesse’s way, and Jesse couldn’t stand an impolite woman.

Except she didn’t hurl sarcasm his way. “Hello, my name is Gemma. What’s yours?”

“Jesse, ma’am. Jesse McCann.”

“You’ll have to forgive me. It sounds like you practically know my life story.” Her eyes were a little warmer as she looked at Jesse. What color were those damn eyes? At first he’d thought they were blue, but now there was a hint of green in there.

Jesse walked forward, holding his hand out. It was a good thing since Cade was pretty sure Jesse would need it to wipe away the drool. “It’s a small town, Miss Wells. You’re new. Pretty much everyone knows everything.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Cade kept steady eyes on her. “We have a few secrets here in Bliss.”

She shook Jesse’s hand. “I’m sure you do. Now, can someone tell me where I can find someone called Long-Haired Roger?”

Jesse flushed as he took his hand away. He obviously hadn’t been thinking. He had motor oil on his hand and a little grease. Gemma looked down at her now-filthy hand.

Well, at least Jesse would figure out she wasn’t for him. She would show that bitchy mouth off and prove she was the type of woman who wouldn’t fool around with a couple of blue-collar guys.

“I’m sorry, Miss Wells. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sure I have something you can clean off on.”

Gemma looked at her hand and then very slowly drew it across the thigh of her jeans. Somehow the action of that small hand wiping filth off was deeply erotic. “It’s Gemma, Jesse. And don’t worry about it. I used to be a lawyer. I don’t mind getting my hands a little dirty.” She held out a set of keys. “Now, I’ve just been blackmailed into becoming the office manager for the sheriff. He’s a son-of-a-bitch, manipulative, rat-fink bastard. And his brakes squeak. So can you handle that for me, Jesse?”

“Yes, Gemma. I can handle your problem for you.”

Cade just watched the invisible tether catch Jesse. Damn it, but he didn’t like being left out. “And what would you have called him if he hadn’t been able to come up with your name? If I’m Bare-Chested Ape Man, what would he have been?”

There it was again, that little devil in her smile. “The Sweet One. Miss Stella tells me there’s always one. Call the station when the car’s ready, boys.”

She turned and started to walk out.

“Hey, do you need a ride?” Jesse asked. Jesse looked like he might just offer to carry her all the way back to Main Street.

She didn’t turn, but just let those hips sway as she walked to the door. “Nope. Both my legs work and the longer I stay away the less I have to hear about something called Reticulan Grays and their plans to take over the world. Apparently I should have skipped the law degree and gone straight to psychology.”

The door closed behind her.

There was a dippy grin on Jesse’s face. “I was right about her.”

“The jury’s out on that.” She hadn’t exactly been sweet as pie, but he could handle that. “We do know she’s a little crazy.”

Jesse’s smile went wide. “Damn straight. I love a psycho chick.”

Cade did, too, though this one seemed dangerous. He watched through the bay windows as she started walking back toward the sheriff’s department. She walked in a straight line. She didn’t look around. She simply tackled the walk as though it was a task to get through before she took on the next one.

Jesse stared at her, too. “Do you think we should go after her? Maybe walk her back?”

Somehow he didn’t think Gemma Wells would love having an Ape Man trailing after her. She might call the cops and have him arrested for stalking. “No. I don’t think she would take too kindly to that. Be careful with that one. She’s just as likely to bite you as she is to give you a kiss.”