Alexei stared down at the beer in front of him. It was almost empty. Pretty much like his job prospects. Who the hell would want to hire a man who’d spent the majority of his adult life in the mob? He had exactly twenty thousand dollars in an American account. It wouldn’t last long. Caleb hated him. He didn’t have a job. Had he made a terrible mistake in coming back to Bliss? The last thing he wanted was to end up on Holly’s couch with her supporting his lazy ass.
He looked around the small tavern. People were starting to drift in. His marshals were sitting in a booth across from his seat at the bar. They hadn’t tried to talk to him, merely nodded his way, though Jessie’s eyes strayed to him every now and then. He almost felt uncomfortable under her stare. He hoped they would give up soon and leave.
The door to the tavern opened and a large figure stood there, blocking out the late-evening sun. He wore a khaki uniform and had a Stetson on his head.
“You doing all right, Zane?” Deputy Logan Green asked, his eyes going straight to Alexei.
Logan had changed. Alexei felt his gut turn at the metamorphosis the deputy had undergone. Gone was the lanky, funny kid, and in his place was a big, dangerous man. Logan had filled out, his boyish body gone in favor of broad muscles and a chiseled look. But what disturbed him far more than the change in the deputy’s physique was the look in his eyes. Logan had reached out to Alexei even though he was in jail at the time. Logan had been funny and kind. There was no kindness in his eyes now.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not even the dinner rush yet.” Zane rubbed down glasses, making sure they were perfectly clean. “Lucy and I have everything covered.”
Lucy was a sweet-looking brunette with big, sad eyes and a petite frame. Her whole face changed when she smiled. From what Alexei had managed to hear, she was fairly new, brought in to replace Callie. Lucy walked by, giving Logan a wave, which he ignored in favor of giving Alexei an intimidating stare.
“Well, we have some unsavory elements in town right now.” Logan stalked close to the bar leaving no mistake who he was talking about.
“Deputy Green, I am not here to cause troubles.” Of all the people he’d hurt, Logan was the one he’d worried about the most. Caleb had been damaged long before Alexei had come into town, but Logan was his responsibility. “I am so sorry about what happened to you.”
The deputy’s eyes flared briefly, revealing the pain that hadn’t gone away, but he shut it down, his face going blank. “I’m not here to ask for apologies, Markov. I’m here to make sure you didn’t happen to bring any friends along with you. Your friends like to tear up my town.”
Zane set down the glass he’d been cleaning. “Stand down, Logan. You didn’t come in here to give Alexei a talk. I happen to know that Nate told you to stay away from him. You came in here for a drink, and I won’t serve you while you’re wearing that uniform. Do I need to call your boss?”
Logan’s lips curled up in a grin that didn’t even begin to hold an ounce of humor. “No need. I’m off the clock. Having Briggs around has freed me up. And I won’t bother to drink here anymore. I’m afraid I don’t like your clientele, Hollister.”
The deputy turned and walked out the door.
Alexei’s heart sank. One more crappy thing in a crappy day. Was he doing more harm than good?
“Something troubling you?”
He looked up at Zane Hollister, who put another mug of beer in front of him. “Many things be troubling me.”
Zane Hollister was a big man with a face full of scars. Alexei felt comfortable with him. Probably more comfortable than he did with anyone else. Zane had seen the dark side of life, and he’d still found a way to build a happy marriage. His wife, Callie, was due to have their first child any day now.
“Don’t let Logan get to you too much. He’s pretty much like that with everyone these days. He won’t listen to anyone, and trust me, we’ve all tried to talk to him. He prefers to listen to Jack Daniel’s now. If he can’t find it here, he’ll go down the mountain to a bar there. I hate the fact that he’s going to go to Hell on Wheels, but I can’t have him causing trouble in here. We’re a family tavern.”
Alexei glanced around the space. Trio was a cozy bar and restaurant. There were big windows that looked out over Main Street. Alexei could see people walking by. He wondered if he would ever be a part of this place or if he should pack it in. Caleb didn’t want him here. Logan Green definitely wanted him gone. Holly was working at Stella’s next door. In thirty minutes she would be off, and he would have to find a way to tell her he didn’t have a job and there weren’t a lot of prospects for one.
“Jobs are hard to come by here.” Alexei had to come to grips with that truth.
“Yes,” Zane agreed. “It’s a small community. Where did you try?”
“Long-Haired Roger.”
Zane snorted and wiped down the bar. “The bald guy? You don’t want to work there. Once a year, he and Polly of Cut and Curl fame get into a knock-down drag-out over the neon lips she flashes twenty-four-seven. It can get ugly. Liz Two sides with her husband, but Liz One is a beautician and the things she can do with hairspray will curdle your blood. No. It’s best you stay out of that. You could probably get on at the ski resort, but that’s seasonal. And you would more than likely have to live up there. I don’t suppose you want to live on the mountain on the other side of town for five months out of the year?”
That would defeat the purpose of being in Bliss. He’d come here to be in Holly’s bed every night, to form his handpicked family. “No. But I need job.”
“Well, I’ll ask around. You never know what might come up.”
His cock. His cock was coming up because the door opened again, and Holly walked inside. She was stunning. She’d changed out of her uniform and wore a form-fitting black dress with a V-neck that should have been outlawed. Her breasts swelled, the tops round and tempting. She’d curled her hair and put on makeup. She was gorgeous—his wet dream.
“It looks like someone in town is happy to see you,” Zane said with a chuckle. “Hey, Holly, you look mighty nice tonight.”
She flushed, a smile blooming across her lips. “Thanks, Zane. I have a date.”
She did have a date. With a man who couldn’t seem to breathe much less speak. “You don’t look nice. You are so beautiful, dushka. You are sexy and gorgeous, and I do not deserve. I meant to pick you up.”
“I got off early. I got dressed in the bathroom at Stella’s. I hope I don’t still smell like the deep fryer.”
He leaned in and took a whiff. She smelled like a woman, just a hint of perfume and her own sweet smell. “You smell good enough to eat. Like a muffin. Sweet.”
All thoughts of leaving fled as he got close to her. Anticipation thrummed through his veins. Caleb had called the motel earlier, leaving a message with Gene. All those tests he’d been put through had come back negative, and he was healthy as a horse. He would have her tonight. He would try to take it slow, but he would be in her bed. Perhaps if he had been a better man, he would have backed off, but he couldn’t. He needed her. She was his reward for turning his life around. All during the long trials and the attempts on his life, he’d thought about one thing. Holly.
“Let me buy you drink, dushka.”
“I would like that. I would also like to know what dushka means.”
He led her to a small booth. He preferred its privacy to the open bar. “It means ‘sweetheart.’”
“I like that.” She glanced up at Zane. “I’ll take a white wine.”
Alexei stared at her, unable to take his eyes off her for a moment. Zane left to get the wine. He gave in to his urge to touch her, grasping her hand. “How was your day, dushka?”
She smiled brightly. “Good. No trouble at all.”
He wasn’t sure he believed that. “I would want you to tell me your troubles.”
“Nothing at all. It was a completely unremarkable day. How about yours?”
The door opened again, the bell chiming to let everyone know someone else had entered, but Alexei didn’t look up. He was too busy staring at Holly.
“Mine was not so good, but night is looking up.” Guilt threatened to swamp him. “Some peoples are not happy to see me here.”
She squeezed his hand. “I wouldn’t worry about it. They’ll get used to you.”
He wasn’t so sure about that. Caleb had seemed confident of his position. “I do not want to harm your place in community.”
She laughed. “I think my place in the community is secure. If people don’t like it, they can find another waitress.”
“Why? Are you quitting? No one told me you were quitting.” Caleb’s voice let Alexei know they weren’t alone.
Alexei looked up, and Caleb was standing right there, his shoulders drawn back, a confused expression on his face.
Holly turned to look at Caleb, obviously surprised to see him standing there. “I didn’t quit. I left early. Oh, god. Tell me you didn’t do that thing where you walk into the diner like you’re going to blow it up.”
Caleb’s face went blank. “I wish I could.”
Holly shook her head.
Caleb turned to Alexei. “I need to talk to you.”
Holly scooted out of the booth. “I’ll go freshen up a bit. You two behave. Please.”
Caleb stood there for a moment as Holly walked toward the restroom.
“If you are to tell me to stay away from Holly, I cannot. Even for you. I know I owe life to you, but I cannot hurt her like that. I don’t want to.” How could he make the man understand?
“What? I wasn’t going to tell you to stay away. Fuck. How do I ask this?” He paced a bit, his boots scuffing along the floor.
“Ask what?” Alexei felt tense. What the hell was going on? After the debacle of this morning’s examination, he’d expected Caleb to utterly ignore him.
Caleb put both hands down on the tabletop. “What did you mean when you said Holly was too much woman for one man?”
Alexei stilled. He’d said that this morning, right before Caleb’s torture. “I meant she deserve to have the men she want.”
“So I’m not crazy,” Caleb said, straightening up. “You said that. And if she wants two men?”
“She is enough women for two men.”
“See, when you say it like that, it sounds like an orgy.”
“No orgies. Just a beautiful woman and two men who could be friends because they care for same woman. Before this place, I would have say two men would fight over woman, but here we don’t have to fight. We can care for her together. It is good, no?”
“I don’t know, but it does open up some possibilities.” Caleb scrubbed a hand through his hair and looked around the bar. It was starting to fill up as the sun set.
“Hey, Doc? You need a beer?” Zane yelled from across the bar.
“Nah, I’m on call. Tell your wife to hurry up and spit that baby out so I can drink again.” Caleb went right back to pacing. Alexei watched him, wondering if he should get up and join him. “If I did this with you, it wouldn’t make us friends.”
Alexei checked his smile. He was pretty sure it would. He’d studied up on Dr. Caleb Sommerville. Since the unfortunate incident that signaled the end of his brilliant career, he hadn’t been in an intimate situation with anyone as far as Alexei could tell. He was betting on the fact that Caleb’s heart was soft, merely packed under layers of protective ice. He simply needed to be thawed out.
Alexei knew the feeling. He shrugged. “We do not have to be friends. Merely partners in her pleasure.”
“All right. I want to make sure I have this perfectly straight—you were inviting me to join you in having sex with Holly?”
Sometimes Caleb could be a bit obtuse. “Not only the sex. Also the relationship. You only want to have the sex with Holly?”
Caleb’s face held a hint of a smile. “See, that sounds weird. I don’t know what I want. I know I want to give her what she needs. I know I want to make her feel as special as she is. I don’t know if I’m capable of being a normal boyfriend.”
He’d rather thought that was the problem. “She does not need normal. I think she needs something different. So you can relax. You can be as involved as you like. As long as you treat her well, you will be welcome.”
“Why would you offer this? You have to know you could have her to yourself. You could waltz right out of here, and she would probably follow you.”
He doubted that. Holly had a home here and many friends. She was entrenched in the community. “I do not wish to leave Bliss. I want to make home here for myself and any family I become blessed with.”
Caleb went a little pale. He was obviously scared by the idea of a family. “Still, you don’t have to share her. She’ll go with you.”
“Because you do not fight for her. If you choose to fight, she would hesitate.”
“And she would be miserable.” Caleb stared at the floor, his hands on his hips.
“Yes, I think she would be. My solution is best. Happy woman. Happy men.”
His eyes came up, staring at Alexei. “I don’t know if I’ll be happy, but it’s more than I expected. I was freaked out by her accident today.”
“Accident?” The word fell out of his mouth. “She tell me nothing happened to her today. She say she went to work and then come here for date.”
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “She lied. She nearly died on the mountainside when the brakes went out on my truck. And before you get pissed off at me, I had that truck serviced last month. There was nothing wrong with the brakes.”
“Did they go out all at once or slowly?” He didn’t like the sound of this. It was rare for brakes to go out on a modern vehicle with no warning. Suspicion began to creep along his spine.
“I didn’t think to ask her. I think she would have noticed if they were giving her trouble. She was on the mountain. If the truck escape ramp hadn’t been there, if there had been another car on the mountain…” Caleb let the sentence trail off, but the implication was clear.
She would have died. She would have been killed before he’d had a chance to truly hold her, to love her.
He could hazard a guess at what had happened. “The brake fluid slowly drains out. You would not notice it at first. Brakes would work normally. I suspect we will find that computer system was tampered with as well.”
“Brakes don’t go out on their own. Not in that fashion. Do you know of any reason someone would attempt to harm you? It was your vehicle.” Of course, Alexei had stood at the truck. He’d stood there for nearly half an hour before he’d walked into the office. He’d leaned against it, thinking about how to break through to its owner. Surely no one thought the truck was his.
“No. And don’t jump to conclusions. Brakes do go out. We’ll know more once Long-Haired Roger takes a look at it.”
Long-Haired Roger, who was still down a man because he couldn’t deal with Alexei’s past. “We will see. And then we will talk.” The truth of the situation hit him. “She did not tell me, but she tell you.”
Caleb’s head shook sharply. “No. She didn’t call me or anything. It was chance that I know anything at all. I found her walking back up the fucking mountain. She’d passed the Harper Ranch, but she didn’t want to bother them. She apparently was going to walk right by Mel’s place, too. She was walking all the way back to Stella’s.”
“This is no acceptable behavior in woman with two mens.” It wouldn’t be acceptable if Holly only had one man, but it seemed especially wrong that she’d cut two men out of her trouble. She hadn’t even tried to call for help. What good were they if she didn’t lean on them?
“No, it is not,” Caleb agreed. His arms crossed over his chest.
At least they were in agreement on one thing. “What are we to do about this situation, Caleb? I do not believe she will listen to a stern lecture.”
“You think I didn’t already try that? After she stopped crying, I yelled for a good thirty minutes. I gave it my all. I can really yell, man. She didn’t seem bothered by it at all. She apologized and told me she needed to get to work.”
“We need to work on the controlling scenes with Holly,” Alexei explained. This was what he’d wanted. A partner. Someone to discuss strategy with. Someone who knew what it was like to care about Holly.
“Scene control, buddy. We need scene control.”
And it helped that Caleb could translate for him. “I think she deserves spanking.”
Caleb stared at him for a moment. “Have you been hanging out with Wolf?”
“I do not know any wolves. Though I would be all right with a dog.” Why was Caleb talking about pets?
Green eyes rolled slightly. “Dude, Wolf is a friend of mine. He drove me out to the hospital after we picked up Holly. Do you want to know what he said I should do to Holly?”
“If he is smart man, he tell you to spank her.”
“Well, you would think he’s incredibly smart. He also thought I should tie her up and then spank her and then…well, he’s a creative guy.”
Alexei would like to meet this man. “So, we are in agreement?”
“I’m not saying no to it. I just want to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”
Alexei smiled. “She will not be hurt, but she will learn the lesson.”
“To talk to her men.”
“To rely on her men.”
Caleb finally scooted into the booth across from him. “Maybe we should make out a schedule. You know, one of us takes her to work and one of us picks her up. This town can be very dangerous. Serial killers. Biker gangs. Your friends.”
Was he ever going to get over that? “No more friends. All dead or in jail. And they were not friends.”
“You get my point. Bliss can be a dangerous place. And Holly runs around all on her own. She’s out there running around like a huge cupcake, and all the criminals are hungry. They’re starving. Do you know what I mean?”
Alexei had no idea, but he nodded anyway. Perhaps Caleb wouldn’t prove to be the best translator.
Caleb continued. “And did you say anything to her about that dress?”
“I tell her dress is beautiful.” He knew how to tell a woman she was beautiful in any language. “Dress is sexy.”
Caleb pinned him with a stern stare. “No. Dress is naked. Dress needs more material. Dress needs a turtleneck. Look, man, if I give on the spanking thing, I want you to stand by me when I tell her to not walk around with my boobs hanging out for every man in the county to salivate over.”
“Our boobs.” Caleb needed to get it right if he was going to ask for solidarity.
“Fine. Our boobs,” Caleb conceded. “The point is those boobs are supposed to be ours. We have to protect them.”
He tried to imagine that talk. It seemed to him that it would likely end in nonerotic violence. “I worry she take spanking better than a lecture on her clothing.”
“Maybe. But if we’re going to do this, we have to present a united front.”
Great. They would both get slapped. But Alexei smiled anyway. “Yes, we do.”
“Or she will eat us alive.”
He planned on her doing just that, but he didn’t point out the fallacies in Caleb’s plan. He wasn’t about to stop the man now. When Caleb had started talking, he’d talked about merely hanging around for the sex. Now they were making rules together.
Yes, Caleb only wanted sex. Sure he did.
Caleb leaned forward. “I don’t know how good I’m going to be at this. I haven’t dated a lot. I haven’t been celibate since my wife died, but I haven’t cared about anyone either. I certainly haven’t been in anything that vaguely resembled a relationship. What if I fuck this up? This is why it’s better if I’m only here for sex. I won’t fuck up sex.”
Alexei leaned forward, too. Finally the man was softening. He was talking about the problem instead of simply saying no. “It will be okay. No one knows how a relationship will go. Not a single person in the world know how a relationship will end when they begin.”
“I certainly know that.” A haunted look passed over his face, and Alexei knew he was thinking about his wife. When would Caleb trust him enough to talk about her? And to talk about why he was hiding his identity?
“We can only care about her. We can only try to protect her. That is all we can ask of ourselves.” He knew all too well how the world sometimes had its say. “So, you are in, my friend?”
“This still doesn’t make us friends,” Caleb shot back, but the words sounded stubborn, as if only forced from his mouth from long-standing habit. Caleb was silent for a moment. “You honestly believe this is her fantasy?”
“Yes, it is.”
The answer had come from Holly. Alexei stiffened, praying she wasn’t going to be upset. Her voice had been quiet, so she must have been close. How much had she heard? “Holly, we were only talking.”
“You were negotiating, Alexei.” She stared at both of them and made no move to take a seat. She clutched her purse.
Caleb’s eyes went straight to her chest. The man might not like the dress, but he certainly seemed to appreciate it. “Maybe we don’t want to be like everyone else in Bliss.”
A single eyebrow arched over Holly’s lovely, wide eyes. “Really?”
Caleb sputtered for a moment as though trying to navigate in uncharted seas. “No, it’s not like everyone else here. They go into it willy-nilly. Do you think Max and Rye talked it out before they went after Rachel or did they all simply fall into bed together? Alexei and I don’t have some weird psychic twin thing. We have to talk.”
“Holly, your wine. It sounds like you’re going to need it.” Zane handed her a glass of white wine. He did it with one hand. His other hand held the receiver of a phone, its corded length stretching halfway across the bar. “And could y’all talk louder? Callie’s having trouble hearing.” Zane put the phone back to his ear. “I asked them, babe. Yes. Alexei and Caleb. And Caleb’s already acting like a bossy asshole. He thinks he can do this better than the rest of us.”
Alexei could actually hear a peal of feminine laughter escape from the phone.
Holly took a long swig of her wine. “Great. Now everyone knows.”
“I don’t think I’ll do it better than everyone. I’ll just do it a bit more cautiously,” Caleb said with a frown. “I don’t jump into things.”
Zane shook his head. “Dude, six years. It took me and Nate six whole years. It took Rafe and Cam five. Sure it took Max and Rye like fifteen minutes, but they’re the only ones you beat, so get to the back of the line on the ‘thinking things through’ show.”
“Zane Derek Hollister, that is not a thing to be proud of!” the voice from the phone yelled.
Alexei felt the whole thing spinning out of control. Caleb started to argue with Zane, who was trying to hold two conversations. Holly went bright pink and looked like she might ask for the whole bottle of wine. The door opened, and Laura walked in with her two men. Her eyes lit up, and she started toward Holly.
Holly took off like a shot. Laura was right there, opening her arms to her friend. Cool blue eyes looked across the bar like lasers attempting to acquire a target. Him. Laura Niles gave him a look that could have frozen off his cock.
His blissful night was slipping away, and no one was going to save it.
No one except him.
He stood. “Caleb, I am taking conversation back to Holly’s place. There are too many cooks in kitchen.”
“No, there’s only me since Callie got too big to work. That’s something I thought I could talk to you about, Alexei,” Zane said. He put the phone back to his ear. “No, babe. You’re not that big. Oh, baby, you’re so beautiful. You know I still think you’re sexy.” He pulled the phone away, cradling it against his chest. “She’s crying again, Doc. Maybe you should go take a look at her.”
“No.” Alexei stood up. He was done. If he didn’t set boundaries, then everyone in Bliss would walk all over him, and he would end up sleeping alone at the motel listening to two US marshals going at it again all night long. No was Caleb’s favorite word. Alexei would adopt it as his own.
“No?” Caleb asked, a hint of a smile on his face.
“No. Callie is fine. Does water break?”
Zane shook his head. “No. She’s not in labor.”
Excellent. Then they shouldn’t have any problems. “Good. Then have your partner go home and rub her feet. Make her feel sexy and beautiful. We will do same for our woman.”
Caleb seemed to take it as his cue. “Zane, Callie’s fine. She needs affection more than she needs a doctor. And gossip. She lives on gossip. If she goes into labor, I’ll be at Holly’s house. But, man, she better be in labor, if you know what I mean.”
Zane nodded and got back on the phone with his wife.
“I am going to get our woman and make a few things very clear to her.” A bit of outrage thrummed through his system. She thought she could run to her friend instead of talking it out with him? She was angry at him for attempting to provide her with exactly what she wanted? “Women. I do not understand them.”
“Don’t look at me, man. I would have thought she would be happy we were talking about it.” Caleb stared at her, too.
If she was already angry, then Alexei had nothing to lose. “Let me show you how it is done in Russia.”
He turned and stared across the room. Holly’s eyes widened as though she finally understood he wouldn’t be put off. A deep sense of satisfaction flooded his system. She was aware of him. She was the tiniest bit scared of him. He watched as Laura’s arm went around her friend’s shoulder, a protective wing for Holly to hide under. They slid into a booth and began talking.
That was unacceptable.
And Alexei finally noticed that every man in the bar seemed to be staring at the gorgeous redhead and her beautiful breasts. “You are right. Dress needs more material.”
Yes. They would discuss that, too.
“Maybe we should talk about this. She looks pissed,” Caleb said.
Alexei ignored him as he started across the room. Caleb would follow or he wouldn’t. He’d done everything he could to make Caleb welcome. It was up to him now. He wasn’t waiting another night to get inside the woman who had turned his world around.