What did that make him?

“It’s just guilt you know,” Laura said softly. “Some bad stuff happened to me, and you feel guilty about it. I’m okay now. You can stop worrying about me. I’m safe here.” It seemed to Rafe that she was gently giving him permission to go.

She had no idea what he was feeling. He pulled her into his body, thrusting his pelvis towards hers. “Does this feel like guilt, bella?”

He let his hands drift to her hips, pressing them together. His cock responded immediately. It grew long and hard. Rafe could feel it jump in his pants like it was a heat-seeking missile that had finally found a target.

Her gasp filled him with hope. It was the same breathy little sound she made when he touched her clit or sucked on her nipples. His cock hardened painfully. It had been on full alert since the moment they had found her, and being close, being able to touch her and breathe in her scent, wasn’t helping.

“I still want you. I never stopped wanting you.”

“I’ve changed,” she said, but she didn’t pull away.

“You couldn’t possibly change enough for me to stop wanting you.”

She bit into her bottom lip as her eyes turned down. “I’m a different person now. And I gained twenty pounds.” He chuckled. She was worried about that? “I can see that. It looks good on you. You were always too thin before. I had fully intended to fatten you up a bit. Why do you think I always ordered dessert for you?”

She laughed and leaned into him, her chest brushing his, making his cock twitch. “Jerk. I had to work twice as hard at the gym every time you did that.”

“I tried to tempt you away from that, too. You might not believe me, but I prefer you like this. You’re beautiful. Every inch of you calls to me. I didn’t come here out of guilt. I came out of desperation.

I’ve missed you so much.”

She turned her head up, and his lips were so close to hers. He could feel the breath coming from her body. Everything inside him stopped, as though frozen and waiting. He leaned over to press his mouth to hers.

“Hey, Laura, heard about the wedding.” A smiling couple danced around them. They were middle-aged and looked like the oddest couple. The man was expensively dressed, but the woman looked like she’d been cast as Annie Oakley. She wore all-white Western wear, with the exception of her shiny red boots and cowboy hat. The woman was the one who had spoken. Rafe kind of wanted to punch them both.

“I’ve reserved the diner for your reception. I don’t think you should hold it in a barn, dear. And Pastor Dennis said he would perform the ceremony, but you have to give him a couple of days’

notice because he gets feed deliveries every Thursday.”

“I am not getting married in The Feed Store Church, Stella,” Laura said flatly.

The woman named Stella simply gave her a bright smile. “I don’t see why not. Stef and Jen are. It’s lovely once you get rid of the smell.

Jen selected a very nice potpourri to mask that horsey smell. Why does feed smell like horses?”

“She could use the estate,” the older man interjected. “Stefan wouldn’t mind. He didn’t use the estate because it wasn’t Bliss-oriented enough. Oh, it would be lovely. Especially in the spring.” The minute that couple danced away, another took their place. A man in a cowboy hat danced with a tall, lovely brunette. She was dressed more chicly than the rest of the group.

“I’ve already got plans for your wedding dress! And I already have your measurements, so I can start working as soon as possible.

I’m seeing something fitted and very elegant. How do you feel about a satin sheath?” the brunette asked.

“I don’t feel any way about it, Brooke,” Laura said on an obviously frustrated sigh.

“Now Brooke, I had plans for you after this wedding business is over,” the cowboy replied, seemingly just as frustrated.

The brunette rolled her eyes. “That’s not happening, James. I told you once before, I am not going to be your one-night stand, and I have no intention of staying in Bliss. And you should be happy about it because both of my brothers would kick your ass if I played around with you.”

“They could try.” The man named James nodded Laura’s way.

“Congrats, Laura. You’re getting an amazing man in Wolf. I heard the town is going to throw you an engagement party next week.” Laura stopped in the middle of the dance floor. She fairly vibrated with frustration. “I am so done with this.” Rafe wanted to protest the loss of her closeness, but she was already leaving.

She turned and stomped toward the raised stage where there was a microphone and a DJ. The DJ, who appeared to be a teenage boy, and his twin brother stopped the music right in the middle of the song as though they had been planning for this particular eventuality. All heads turned Laura’s way.

“What the hell did you do?” Cam asked as he forced his way through the crowd.

“I don’t know. She said she was done with this.” Rafe was at a loss. “I was actually getting through to her.” Cam’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I saw how you were getting through to her. You practically humped her leg.”

“I did not.”

“You were rubbing your penis all over her,” Cam complained.

“I was dancing with her.” And if dancing had happened to bring his penis in close contact with her body, then so be it.

“Well, you didn’t do it right. Now I don’t have a chance to rub my penis on her. How is that fair?”

Rafe was about to reply when Laura began to speak.

“Good evening, all you lovable busybodies,” Laura announced, looking perfectly comfortable taking the stage. She adjusted the microphone like a pro.

“Hey!” one of the cowboys, Rafe couldn’t remember if it was Max or Rye, called out. “Shouldn’t Wolf be up there with you if you have a big, formal announcement to make?”

“No, asshole,” Laura said and flushed suddenly. She looked back at the boys standing by the stereo. “I am so sorry to have cursed like that.”

One of the boys waved his hand. “We’ve heard them all.” The other nodded. “Yeah, we actually thought asshole was Max Harper’s name for a couple of years.”

“Bobby!” a woman’s shocked voice rang out.

“Sorry, mom.”

The crowd hooted, even Max.

“Well, I’m sorry, anyway. I do have an announcement to make. I would like to tell you all that you suck. I’m not engaged. I was trying to keep my pathetic single status under wraps, but I know you all believe that the truth will set us free.” Another loud cheer went up, and Rafe heard Cam breathe out. “There. Now Nell can start talking again. My little lie was the only thing that kept Nell and Henry from vocally protesting, so please enjoy.”

“Animals are people, too!” Nell yelled.

A collective groan went through the crowd. Laura gave them a jaunty salute, a wide smile on her face.

“She’s happy here,” Cam said, his lips spread in a wide grin.

Yes. She was happy. And he had to figure out how to get her to come home with him. Rafe realized he had his work cut out for him.

* * *

Laura winked at the Farley brothers and started down the steps. A hand came out to help her down the last step, and she looked into the eyes of Stefan Talbot.

“Congratulations on coming clean,” he said in that deep voice of his.

“Well, I didn’t have much of a choice,” Laura replied. “If I hadn’t, this town would have planned the whole wedding and sent me a bill.”

His lips quirked up in an affectionate smile. “You might be right about that. I’m afraid this whole town takes an active interest in you.

Nate has already called all of his old contacts at the DEA. He managed to get the details on those two feds sniffing around you.” She felt her stomach turn. This was exactly what she hadn’t wanted to happen. She didn’t want her two worlds to meet. She wanted her old world to go away and her new world to not ask any questions.

Stef put a steadying hand on her elbow. “Stop. I can see by the look in your eyes that you’re worried about Nate finding out about what happened in DC. Well, you should know that almost all of the men know.”

“They do?” Wolf had told her, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it.

Stef shook his head. “No one comes into my town to stay without a background check.”

There was a reason his fiancé called him the King of Bliss. Stef took his town seriously. “Well, I’m glad to know I passed the test.” His face lost its previous bright smile, but he continued to look at her with a softness in his eyes. “What happened to you wasn’t your fault. Not even the part where you got fired from the FBI. You didn’t realize that reporter was taping you, did you?” Shame filled her. She didn’t like to think about Jana. “No. Jana had been my friend for a long time. I was a bit surprised she sold me out the way she did. But it was my fault. I shouldn’t have talked about it.”

Stef patted her shoulder. “Well, I understand how hard it is to forgive yourself. I really do. Anyway, it was obvious to me that you needed a place to stay and maybe a second chance. Why do you think the cabin you’re in was so cheap?”

Laura stared at him for a moment, surprised he would even make the statement. “It was part of the deal I made with Bart Vickers. He needed someone to work the day shift at the gas station, and he just happened to own…damn, I’m stupid. You own it all, don’t you?”

His head tilted slightly in acknowledgement. “I have my fingers in just about every pie in this town. I’m Bart’s silent partner in the gas station, and I owned most of the cabins in the valley at the time. I’ve sold them off as needed. I like to take care of my family.” She knew she should be upset about the deception, but there was genuine love and compassion behind most of the things Stef Talbot did. “Well, I thank you. And I would like to buy my cabin. Now that everything’s out in the open, there are a couple of old bank accounts I can get into. I should be able to come pretty close to market value.” He nodded. “I’ll have my lawyer draw up the paperwork immediately. I am very glad to know you won’t be leaving us.” She was startled at the thought. “Why would I leave?” His shoulders moved up and down negligently. “It’s obvious to anyone who sees you with those two men that you have a past.”