Sophie Oak - Lost in Bliss

“They say that you’re brave and you don’t hesitate to speak your mind. They admire you for that.”

“I didn’t speak my mind before I came here. The one time I really stood up for myself got me into serious trouble. It isn’t like the movies, you know. The FBI is like any other business. In the end, they want good soldiers who follow orders. It’s hard to do one thing all day and then come home and be a different person. After a while, the act seems like reality. Trying to fit in changes a person.” The only time she’d really been herself was with her friends. With Rafe and Cam, Laura hadn’t needed that armor she put on during the day. She didn’t even think of Jana Evans. Jana had never really been her friend.

She’d just been a reporter waiting for a story.

“Well, I don’t think you’re the same person you are now that you were back then.”

It was true. Bliss had changed her. The first couple of years had been rough. She hadn’t wanted to let anyone in, but they had wormed their way into her heart. Slowly, she’d become more open and willing to talk about her past, to mesh the woman she’d been with the woman she was becoming. She’d stopped hiding in her cabin and talked to people.

The truth of the matter was she was a bit surprised that Cam hadn’t found her. She’d kept off the radar as much as possible, using a fake social security number to work, but she’d talked openly about her life. She guessed Bliss was more isolated than she’d believed.

“I don’t suppose anyone would be the same after what I went through.” Maybe it was time to be really honest about it. Laura wasn’t sure she was ready to tell everyone what had happened, but she didn’t have much of a choice.

“No, sweetheart, being betrayed by a friend and then captured by a serial killer would change the best of us.” He sighed at her gasp. “I can use a computer. I knew you lived in DC five years ago and you worked for the FBI. A quick Google search of Laura plus blonde plus FBI brought up a shocking number of prostitutes and your story."

Laura tried to recover from the shock. “Well, I’m glad the rest of my friends aren’t as tech savvy as you are.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t count on it. I’m pretty sure the sheriff has figured it out, and if the sheriff knows, then Zane knows. I would bet that every man in this town knows to watch out for you. It’s the way they work.”

The fact that the sheriff knew brought with it an odd mix of anxiety and security. She didn’t like the fact that her secret was out there, but the way the sheriff seemed to have handled it made her feel respected and protected. It was the way Bliss worked.

“Hello, happy couple!”

Holly walked up, a broad grin on her face. Nell and Henry followed. They wore their typical Big Game Dinner protest-wear of black pants and T-shirts with the words “Animals Have Voices, Too.” Their mouths had been duct-taped closed to show that these poor animals had been silenced forever. Despite their dark and brooding wardrobe choices, Nell’s eyes were lit with mirth, and Henry carried a bright yellow legal pad that he flashed quickly.

Congrats on your fake engagement. I will give you a fake present!

Here is a toaster.

Henry mimed giving them a gift.

“They intend to have a whole fake ceremony for you two,” Holly explained.

Wolf laughed. “Well, hell, Henry, you couldn’t do better than a fake toaster?”

Holly and Nell both shook their heads. “Oh, no,” Holly said.

“Henry is very frugal, even when it’s fake.” Laura watched as Holly’s whole body seemed to go on full alert.

“Doc.” Wolf nodded a greeting as Caleb Burke walked up.

The town doctor was wearing his usual uniform of dark-washed jeans and a western shirt. When he was working, he sometimes put a white coat on, but mostly it was the jeans and shirt and worn boots, even when delivering a baby.

“Wolf, Laura, Holly.” His throat seemed to close over the last name, though he managed to get it out. Laura couldn’t help but smile as he scrubbed a hand through his hair. Caleb Burke was a glorious hunk of man, but he had issues. He also had a small bowl in his hand, and he passed it to Nell. “It’s peanut stir-fry with quinoa and tofu.

Perfectly vegan.”

Nell quickly pulled the duct tape off her mouth. “That is so sweet, Caleb.”

The doctor suddenly found his feet endlessly fascinating. “Well, I figured you wouldn’t have a lot to eat here, so I made something for you.”

Nell thanked him. Henry gave the group a thumbs-up and they walked off to find some silverware.

“That was so thoughtful,” Holly said.

Caleb flushed, his face redder than his gold and red hair. “Well, you can have some if you want it.”

Holly bit her lip. “Um, I’m not really into tofu, but I would love to try it.”

“Oh, I’m sure it tastes like shit,” Caleb said. “I mean, why eat that when you could try bear?”

A bright smile lit Holly’s face. “Come on, then. It’s actually really good, and the bison burgers are amazing.” Laura was about to say something when she caught sight of Rafe and Cam walking onto the fairgrounds. Holly and Caleb left in search of exotic meats, but it wasn’t the smell of barbecue that had Laura’s mouth watering.

Why did those two men have to be so damn delicious? They were almost perfect opposites. Rafe was smooth where Cam was rough on the outside, but then they changed roles when they got to the bedroom. Rafe had taken her with the ruthlessness of an invader, and Cam had made her feel utterly worshipped.

“You should see the look on your face, Laura.” There was a wistful quality to Wolf’s words. “Damn, I hope a woman looks at me like that someday.”

“I don’t love them.” She forced herself to say the words. Maybe if she said it enough, she would believe it.

“Life is way too short to lie to yourself, sweetheart. And it’s too short to sit on your ass because you’re scared. Could they hurt you again? Oh, yeah. What’s going to hurt worse? Your heart breaking or waking up one day and realizing you didn’t try?”

“Were you this mouthy in the SEALs?”

He shrugged. “Can’t help it. I’m brilliant when it comes to dealing with other people’s problems. It’s my alien DNA. It helps me see to the heart of the matter and makes me very intuitive. Damn, there’s my mom. And she has beets. I fucking hate beets.” He pushed away from the picnic table and smoothed out his shirt. “I don’t think you need me to handle this one, but if you choose to go with the fake fiancé thing, know that I am going to require an enormous amount of filthy, disgusting fake sex.”

She couldn’t help but smile. He really was adorable. “Got it.” He backed away with a little wave of his hand. “And I’m the best fake sex you’ve ever had.”

“Damn straight,” Laura returned.

And then all she could see was them. They had lasered in on her and walked side by side with purpose, ignoring everything else around them.

They were the best real sex she’d ever had, and they were headed her way.

Rafe didn’t miss the way Laura’s body went still, her muscles stiffening where just a moment before she’d been laughing with her friends. She changed the moment she became aware of them. It wasn’t the greeting he would prefer. Back when they were friends, when she would see him coming, her whole body would go soft and a welcoming smile would transform her face from something professional to an intimate visage, one only meant for someone close to her. He’d taken great pride in the fact that he’d only ever seen that look on her face for one other person.

“Hello, bella.”

She frowned at him. Even frowning, she was stunning. She looked only slightly out of place in her yellow heels. The rest of her outfit was charmingly Western. She had on a full cotton skirt, a yellow tank top, and a light denim jacket. It wasn’t far off from what many of the other women were wearing, yet Laura made it seem elegant.

Everything she did had an air of grace to it, even when she was bitching at him.

“I thought I asked you to stop calling me that.” He wasn’t going to let her push him. He gave her what he hoped was an easy smile. “And I asked you to stop calling me asshole. I doubt you’ve done that. Dance with me.” Her eyes widened, a look of horror crossing her face. “No.”

“Come on, baby. Don’t say no.” Cam crowded her, but she held her ground. Those heels were planted firmly in the grass beneath her.

“I can’t dance with you until you dance with him. I lost the coin flip.”

“Oh, that’s romantic.” She didn’t look impressed. Her hands found her hips, and those gorgeously full lips pursed. “Every woman in the world wants to be won by the flip of a coin.”

“We didn’t have time to play cards,” Rafe admitted. He was well aware that people were listening in. Oh, they were pretending to be doing other things, but they leaned over and then talked behind their hands. The citizens of Bliss seemed to be enjoying the show. Damn, he couldn’t get used to it. In DC, no one paid a bit of attention to what was going on around them. He tried to ignore it. “We weren’t sure how else to handle it, bella. You have to teach us.” Laura’s lips rose in a sarcastic grin. “See, that’s easy. Let me teach you how to handle a situation like this. You both turn around and walk out the way you came in. You get in your car and drive to Alamosa and get on a plane back to DC.” Cam sighed. “That’s not going to happen.” Cam ran a hand up her arm, and Rafe was satisfied with the way she shivered. She still responded to Cam. Would she respond to him?