Sophie Oak - Pure Bliss

She needed a distraction. Her time was running out. She needed to get him mad. If she could get him to hit her, perhaps in the chaos she could get her knife. It was too small to be threatening. She would have one shot. One shot at saving Lucy, herself, her men.

“Well, Christian, if you’re referring to the side of you that doesn’t steal, lie, and murder people, then yes, I’m your better half.”

His face hardened. “You know I don’t like sarcasm, love. I’m being indulgent. I’m offering you a chance to come back to our marriage. I’m willing to forgive you for running. I shouldn’t have killed Elaine in our home. I shouldn’t have risked it. I should have kept it far away from you. I don’t expect you to understand, love. You’re far too innocent.”

And that was what he valued. And that was where she could attack. “I’m not so innocent anymore.”

“Hope, I don’t believe that. I heard the rumor about you. It’s just gossip. Even your little friend there admitted that you don’t date. You’re a good girl. You go to work and you go home. Can’t you see why you haven’t taken a lover? Because we’re married, and it’s not in your character to break the vows we made.”

Oh, the bile was starting to build. “We aren’t married. That marriage certificate means nothing. It wasn’t legal because you knew damn well I wasn’t of age. As for the innocent part, oh, I could tell you stories, but let’s just stick to the most recent indiscretion. The gossip is true. I’m sleeping with James and Noah. Well, not sleeping with them. I’m fucking them. As often as possible and together when I can convince them.”

“Hope, I will not listen to this,” Christian barked.

This was why he’d always been so gentle. He’d never even tried to bring her a moment’s pleasure because he didn’t want her tainted by it. He was terrified of real women. He was a pitiful man who couldn’t handle a woman, so he went after little girls and tried to keep them innocent and ignorant. He was the pathetic one. She put one hand on her hips and let her right hand slip under her shirt. If she had any luck, he would think she was hooking her thumb in her jeans in a show of brattiness. “Yes, you will. You’ll listen to everything because you should know what your sweet, innocent little wife has been doing. I took it up the ass last night, Christian, and it was so good.”

“You’re lying.” His face had turned a mottled red. His fists clenched at his sides. “You’re lying, Hope. You’re trying to punish me.”

She shook her head. The freedom of finally telling him the truth was almost overwhelming, but she concentrated on the knife’s hilt. The plastic edge was just at her fingertips. “I’m not trying to punish you, Christian. I thought you were dead. And I have gone through more men than I can count trying to wipe away the stain of being your wife. And I absolutely love my men. Men, as in more than one. It’s a way of life here in Bliss. I’m not ashamed, Christian. I love James and I love Noah, and you can’t touch them.”

“I’ll kill them.”

“No.” She was sure of it now. She felt it in her soul. James was resourceful, and Noah was smart as a whip. They wouldn’t wait blindly for some call to have them killed. They would fight, and they would win.

“I will,” Christian promised. “I’ll kill any man who touches my property.”

“Then I’ll have to make you a list. Be prepared. It might be long. I found a whole new world, Christian, and I will never be your girl again.”

His face turned ugly, and he started across the room. “Then you’ve made my decision easy. I won’t have a whore in my life.”

Hope started to back up. The knife was stuck in her jeans. Christian came close, and she had a moment’s breath before his hand came out to slap her viciously. The sound cracked, and the pain bloomed.

“You like that, Hope? You’re such a slut. You probably like a little pain. I’m going to kill you and your friend.” He bore down on her, his hand pulling at her hair. She felt the ache in her scalp as he forced her head back. His crystal eyes looked down at her, but she now saw that they were empty of humanity. He was nothing but a sociopath out for his own strange needs. “But I like a slut as well as the next man. Maybe you can show me what you’ve learned.”

His mouth started to come down on hers. Hope gagged. She tried to push him away with her left hand while her right desperately attempted to pull the knife free. Panic threatened to overtake her. His lips slammed against hers. Her scalp ached as he forced her into position.

And then a loud thwack filled the room. Christian screamed and let her go. Lucy stood behind him, the remnants of a chair in her hand. It had cracked across Christian’s skull, but he wasn’t out. He let Hope go, the sudden loss of balance causing her to fall back.

Christian roared and turned on Lucy. Petite, sweet little Lucy still had her hands tied and one eye had swollen shut, but she screamed as she wielded what was left of the chair. She brought it down on his head just before he drove a fist in her gut.

And it gave Hope just enough time to pull the knife free. Lucy fell back with a groan, and Christian fell on her, his fist rearing back. He would kill Lucy and then turn on Hope. Without a second’s hesitation, she got to her feet and prayed her aim was true. Christian’s neck was exposed. She could see his jugular. It stood out against the muscles of his neck, throbbing with exertion. She gripped the knife and plunged it in, forcing it through flesh. She pulled it out as Christian flailed and struck again. Christian tried to swat her away, but the blood was flowing now. He stood and tried to come at her even as his neck gushed. She kicked him away. He fell back, and she stood over the man who had been her first lover, her husband, the man who had almost ruined her life.

“That was for Elaine.”

He coughed, blood sputtering. “She was a whore.”

No. She’d been a woman who fell for the wrong man. “No. She was innocent.”

Innocence had nothing to do with the state of her virginity but with the state of her heart. A woman could screw a thousand men, and if she still was able to love, she could hold her innocence in her soul.

Christian’s eyes glazed over, and he was gone.

Hope turned to Lucy who was struggling to get up. Hope dropped the knife and held Lucy, balancing her. “Oh, sweetie. I am so sorry.”

Lucy shook her head. “No, Hope. I’m good. He couldn’t kill me. He couldn’t break me. He thought he could, but he couldn’t break me.”

Lucy’s words came out on a sob, and Hope held her close.

Lucy sniffled and turned her battered face up. “I want in on that club, though. It was a tag team, but it counts.”

“Club?” Hope asked.

“Rachel’s club. ‘I killed a son of a bitch.’ She was talking about making T-shirts. I want my T-shirt, Hope.”

Hope nodded. “I’ll make sure, sweetie.”

She hugged Lucy to her. They were alive. They were alive.

There was a ruckus outside. Hope could hear a vehicle pulling up. Her heart froze. Had Jay come back?

“Hope!”

“Goddamn it, Noah. Don’t you fucking let him know we’re here.”

She laughed though her tears. Her men were here, and they were fighting again.

All was right with the world.

“I am never working Woo Woo Fest again,” Cameron Briggs vowed. He put his head in his hands and breathed a deep sigh. “I swear to god, I am going to make sure no one impregnates Callie for the next year.”

“I will have to admit,” Rafe began, “the FBI might have been a quieter job.”

Cam frowned Hope’s way. “Goddamn it, Hope. You are not to do that again.”