Happily Ever After in Bliss (Nights in Bliss, Colorado #11) - Lexi Blake Page 0,1
not this tiny piece of paradise where he’d discovered the world wasn’t as cruel as he’d believed.
He’d thought briefly about taking her out of here. It would be easier to get her to focus exclusively on him if she wasn’t surrounded by the familiar. He could do it. She was in love with him, and if he asked her to leave this place, she would.
But that had been John Bishop thinking, and he was Henry Flanders now. Henry Flanders loved Nell so much he would fit himself into her life. He would give her the best he had and share her with her friends because it would make her happy. Henry Flanders had started volunteering around town because he loved how Nell’s eyes softened when he helped.
John Bishop was starting to recede, and Henry Flanders was taking his place. It was a good thing. He liked Henry Flanders quite a bit.
He also liked that Henry Flanders could be the nice guy around town and a dirty Dom when they were alone. Nell’s Dom.
“Show me your breasts.”
She stopped and faced him, her eyes lighting with anticipation. “I’ve missed you.”
He felt his lips curl up. He smiled so much around her that at first his face had ached because he almost never used those muscles. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you this week.”
He’d stayed at the naturist resort high on the mountain where he’d first met the lovely Nell Finn. His former Army CO Bill Hartman ran the Mountain and Valley Naturist Community. Six months before, John Bishop had needed a place to think and Bill had provided it. He hadn’t imagined it would come with a whole lot of naked people and the one woman who could change his whole world.
Nell started to slowly bring the straps of her gown down, fully exposing her soft shoulders and the graceful line of her neck. “I never would have imagined you would be so old fashioned.”
She didn’t imagine many things about him, and he intended to keep it that way. “I wanted tonight to be special. I wanted to spend the week thinking about our marriage and how much I want to commit my life to you.”
It wasn’t a lie. He’d wanted the week away from her to give her one last chance to think about what she was doing without sex blinding her. The sex between them was the absolute best of his life, and as she’d been a damn virgin when he’d taken her, it was the best of hers, too. He wanted her to go into this marriage knowing it was truly what she wanted. He hadn’t needed the week, but he had spent the whole time thinking of her.
He’d thought of the people he’d left behind. It hadn’t been fair since he’d had balls up in the air, but someone would take over and the United States would go on like it always had. The country didn’t truly need John Bishop, but Nell needed Henry Flanders.
And god he needed her.
She’d stopped and her eyes shone in the soft light from the lamps. “I love you, Henry.”
He liked hearing his new name. He didn’t have some great dream to hear the name John from her lips. He was Henry now. Nell’s Henry.
“I love you, too.” He’d never thought he would say those words. Never. “Now show me your breasts. I loved our wedding, but I’ve been looking forward to this since the day I met you. Tonight you’re truly mine. I’ll share you with the rest of the world during the day, but when we’re alone you belong to me.”
She let the gown fall to the floor. “There’s something I should tell you. Something I probably should have told you before we got married.”
He smiled. If anyone else in the world had said those words he would have gone on edge, ready for a blow. But this was Nell and any confession from her would likely be about some ridiculously minor infraction she perceived she’d committed. “What is it?”
She hadn’t worn underwear to her wedding. When that dress had hit the floor she’d been gloriously naked, and she was such a sight for sore eyes. And sorer cock. His dick had gotten hard the second her skin had come into sight. His organic cotton slacks were getting far too tight.
“Remember when I was writing that thriller about the Dust Bowl?” Her eyes had gone wide and she bit her bottom lip.