Chasing Bliss

Chapter Two

Gemma opened the door to her small cabin with a sigh. This was home for now. She was back to her childhood, moving from place to place. In the last six months, she’d lived in New York, Chicago, and now Bliss, Colorado. She’d come to Colorado with a suitcase full of completely impractical shoes and bags, her laptop, and her phone—neither of which were doing her a bit of good. Everything else she owned was in a storage container in Brooklyn and she wouldn’t see it again for another couple of days when the movers finally shipped it. She didn’t have anything to work on, and so far no one had called about her resume. Big surprise there.

And now she had another job. The sheriff had worked to get her, but how long would he keep her?

And why couldn’t she stop thinking about Bare-Chested Ape Man and the Sweet One? The very last thing she needed was for her hormones to go on all-out, full-on, call-in-the-troops alert.

She tossed her purse inside and turned back, looking at the slightly larger cabin next door to hers that her mother had rented. The front porch was empty, which could mean only one thing. She closed the door and walked around to the back. Twilight was encroaching, but that meant something different in Colorado.

Blues and pinks and oranges painted the sky. In New York, evening had just meant the world got darker, but it was a nightly show here.

How long had it been since she just sat and watched the day fade? The last ten years of her life had been one long press against the borders of time. Time was the enemy. Time had to be used. Every second of it. Gemma Wells, hard-nosed lawyer, fought against the whole idea of sitting and watching the sunset.

But she wasn’t a lawyer anymore. She was a daughter, and she’d almost lost her mom.

“Hey, baby girl.” Her mom turned her head, a serene smile on her face. How she managed her constant peaceful mood, Gemma had no idea. Her mom had spent years battling cancer, but there was no bitterness in her body. Even when she’d lost both breasts, Lynn Wells had simply told Gemma she was grateful for the time she’d had with them. She’d held a damn party to say good-bye to her breasts and invited all her hippie friends to read eulogies to her mammaries. Nope. She didn’t understand her mom, but, god, she loved her.

Patrick had told her the party was ridiculous. He’d been embarrassed when she’d mentioned it to her coworkers.

“Hey, Momma.” Gemma took the Adirondack chair next to her mom and let her head rest back, closing her eyes.

She bet Jesse McCann wouldn’t have laughed. He’d probably have escorted her to the party and said good-bye to her mom’s breasts, too. She could size up people pretty well. She’d had to learn to in her job. Jesse was the sweet one. Jesse was the one who could be easily led by his penis and would smile and thank the woman who led him.

Not the Neanderthal shirtless dude, though. No. He was trouble.

“How was work?”

“Assaulted a man. Got fired.” She was done prevaricating. Her mom would know the truth soon enough.

“Now, Gemma, that is not the way I heard it.”

Or she’d already heard the story. Gemma sighed and opened her eyes. Her mom’s brilliant blue eyes were staring right at her.

“Oh, thank the lord, the nightly entertainment is here!” Naomi Turner rounded the corner, a tray in her hand. It contained all the new nightly rituals that had been implemented since they’d gotten to Bliss. A bottle of rich red wine, a tray of cheese and crackers and prosciutto. There were three glasses, and Naomi passed Gemma one.

“Thanks.” Gemma took a long sip. Naomi Turner was a godsend. She’d been her mother’s nurse in Chicago during her surgery and the subsequent radiation treatments. She wasn’t sure how or why, but Naomi had agreed to come with them when they retreated to Colorado. She rather thought Naomi was running from something, but she’d been far too grateful to ask.

Her mom took her glass and shook her blonde hair. “I heard that the nosy sheriff had a hand in everything.”

Naomi winced, her dark eyes turning slightly toward the front of the house. “Keep your voice down, sweetie, we have company.”

A pretty woman with brown hair and sparkling eyes rounded the corner, another tray in her hand. “Oh, it’s all right. I know my husband is a manipulative bastard. He told me what he’d done earlier today. That’s why I made my spinach dip.”

An ethereal brunette in a long cotton skirt, tunic, and Birkenstocks followed Mrs. Wright. “And I brought cruelty-free pita bread to go with the spinach dip, although you might simply want to eat the bread. The dip has sour cream.”

“Hi, I’m your neighbor, Callie Hollister-Wright. This is Nell. She thinks sour cream is evil.”

The woman named Nell shook her head. “No, I simply think it’s ignorant of the harm it does. But Gemma here is very good. Did you know she’s a lawyer?”

Thank god. Someone in the world didn’t think she was the second coming of Satan. “Thanks.”

Nell had a serene smile on her face. “You’re welcome. I’m very involved in all the environmental cases going on in the area. I heard you worked on the Calvin Township case. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

Gemma reached for a piece of bread. “Yeah, though I’m surprised you’ve heard of it. We tried really hard to keep Tremon Industries out of the press. Guess my old firm is laying down on the job.”

Nell gasped and grabbed the bread from her hand. “You weren’t representing the town?”

“No.” Yeah, her reputation in this town was going to hell.

Nell sat down, crossing her legs, a stubborn expression on her face.

Callie Hollister-Wright grimaced. “Sorry. She’s protesting you now.”

“Oh, dear.” Her mom stared at the now-protesting woman with a worried look on her face. “Should we do something?”

Callie shook her head. “Not unless she starts singing. Now, I would like to apologize for Nate’s evil plan to get you to work for him. All I can say is, apparently he’s been plotting ever since Lynn called Stella and said she was coming home and you were coming with her. He’s really shorthanded right now with Logan in Dallas. Hope, his last office manager, just got married and she’s working out at her new husbands’ ranch. I’m way too busy with the twins. Laura and Rafe are trying to set up a new business. Holly says she has PTSD every time she walks into the station house since she almost got killed by Russian mobsters there. And Jen doesn’t need the money. Oh, and Zane, my other husband, told Nate he would cut his balls off if he poached Lucy, so you were really important to Nate.”

“Your other husband?” Gemma needed that wine.

Callie smiled. “Oh, yes. They usually get along great, but it’s hard to find good help in this town. It’s why I wish Nate would have left well enough alone. Stella is going to give him hell, but he refuses to back down. He says he won you through sheer ruthless determination.”

The sound of a car rolling up the gravel road distracted her for a moment. The valley was usually very quiet, but it sounded like everyone was getting home from work at the same time today.

Her mom sat back. “Thank the lord. I thought something terrible had happened. It’s just Bliss antics.”

The woman in front of her seemed to be meditating, a low hum beginning in the back of her throat.

“Bliss antics? I was manipulated into assaulting a man, Mom.”

Nell’s eyes opened, a look of shock going across her face.

“It was just Max,” Callie explained.

Nell’s humming resumed.

Her mother shook her head. “Oh, this is delicious, Callie. Simply wonderful.”

Naomi dug in to the spinach dip as well. “It’s excellent.”

“Lynn! Lynn, hon, are you back here?” A feminine voice floated over the yard.

Callie winced. “Stella. Darn it. I don’t have the babies with me to distract her.”

Stella marched into the backyard, a frown on her face. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Callie. “You.”

“Married very poorly, obviously.”

Wow, Callie just lay right down and let the truck roll over her. Well, Nate Wright seemed like a man who could handle himself.

Stella growled a little. “Don’t you give me that. You love that man. So you should know that I intend to take him down.” She looked at Gemma. “You don’t have to work for him.”

“I do if I don’t want to go to jail.” It had been a good play on the sheriff’s part.

Stella huffed. “Oh, that man is all bark and no bite.”

Naomi shook her head. “I don’t know about that. He’s already written me two tickets.”

“That’s just his way of saying hello.” Stella sat down on the porch next to Lynn. “I’m going to fix this, hon. I won’t have your poor, sweet girl working for that horrible old Nate. And it’s dangerous there.”

Callie frowned. “Because nothing ever goes wrong at Stella’s.”

“We have the occasional baby birthing, but other than that we’ve been murder-free for twenty-one years. I’m putting that on a T-shirt and shoving it up Zane’s overly muscled butt cheeks. Callie, you know I love you and your family, but I am taking Nate down for this. He’s corrupting poor, innocent city girls.”

“I did Tase the guy.” Gemma took a long sip of wine.

“She got him good.” Cameron Briggs walked up. She’d thought she’d seen him coming out of a cabin a couple of houses down from hers. “Nate and I were there…eating a completely innocent lunch. We weren’t waiting for Max to blow or anything. Nice. Spinach dip.” He turned to shout back at someone walking up the yard. “Hey, come on, Laura. Stella won’t hurt you. Just me and Nate, and Nate’s smart enough to stay away. By the way, you are looking gorgeous today, Ms. Stella. I mean beautiful. Why the hell is Sebastian letting you work anyway? If I was your new husband, I would just keep you in bed all day.”

Stella stared at him for a long moment. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Cam.” She sighed and patted her helmet of blonde hair. “As it so happens, I like to work. The dining industry is in my blood. And if I left it in Hal’s hands, he would turn the whole place into something called the Gastronomy Café. That’s his dream. I don’t think that sounds very nice.”

A gorgeous blonde walked up and took Briggs’ hand. “Hey everyone. Hey, Miss Lynn. How are you this evening? It looks like we’re having a little party.”

Callie sat down next to Stella who sighed and put her arm around her. “That sounds like fun. Why don’t we grill up some steaks?”

Nell cleared her throat.

“And some cruelty-free tofu burgers and have a nice little evening. It’s going to be too cold soon.”

Her mom clapped her hands together. “That sounds lovely. We used to have get-togethers all the time when I was growing up. Stella, do you remember that year the circus came to town and Mel was certain the trapeze artist was an alien?”

They were off, laughing and reminiscing. Gemma looked around. The gorgeous blonde with Cam was calling Holly on her phone, inviting her over. She also called someone named Rafe and told him to get beer. Naomi was talking to Cam. It was a little party with her mother in the center, laughing and talking and belonging.

She was surrounded by people, and she was aware of how alone she was.

Callie moved over, crossing to Gemma and sitting beside her. “Hey, I just wanted to thank you for not killing my husband. He really thinks this will be a better job for you. He studied you for a couple of days, and he thinks you’re really smart. And he also wanted to see Max get taken down by another waitress. Rachel has become awfully nonviolent since Paige was born. I’m going to go and grab Zane. We’ll pull our grill over. Zane will have Stella purring in no time at all. You want to join me?”

Gemma shook her head. She would have absolutely nothing to say to the really sweet mom of twins. Callie Hollister-Wright was one of those serene women Gemma just didn’t understand. Rather like her mom. “Thanks, but no. I’m going to head back to my cabin. I’m not really a joiner.”

She wasn’t a joiner or the type of person who had fun. Of any kind. At all. How long had it been since she’d just gone out for an evening without some plan on how it would go? She used to go to happy hours and dinners with coworkers, but she’d always had an agenda.

“You managed to join with evil,” Nell said.

“Yes.” Gemma turned to Callie. “Is this party evil? Because I only join with evil.”

Callie nodded, a grin on her face. “Lots of evil. You should stay. And we have booze.”

Booze was good. But no. She was tired. She was out of place. “Thanks, but I think I’ll get some rest. I had a long day. And a long walk. Apologize to Nate for me, but the shop called and they won’t have his Bronco back until tomorrow.”

The hot mechanics hadn’t called. She’d answered the phone and listened to a couple of tourists complain about the sheriff’s ticketing practices and reorganized what had to be the world’s oddest armory. It was really more like a locked closet where the sheriff kept the rifles, handguns, and Kevlar vests. And his fishing poles, a truly random selection of game console controllers, and a complete selection of X-Men comics. And all the while she’d waited to see if Bare-Chested Ape Man and the Sweet One would call.

She’d been disappointed. The owner of the shop had called. Had she really expected them to? She had a lousy reputation. Ape Man had been warning his sweet friend off when she’d walked in. She’d taken one look at his gorgeously cut chest and his emerald-green eyes and then realized he was talking about what a bitch she was.

It was better they hadn’t called. She wasn’t good at relationships. Hell, she wasn’t good at sex.

“Oh, I hope you reconsider,” Callie said.

She didn’t fit in here. That was fine. She wasn’t going to stay forever. She nodded and Callie stood up, walking off toward her cabin.

Naomi gave her mother a shoulder squeeze and winked Gemma’s way before heading back into the house. “I’m going to throw together a salad.”

Lynn smiled her way. The rest of her friends were beginning to set up what looked to be a fun, impromptu get-together. “Do you want to put together something for the party, sweetie?”

Gemma put the wine down. “This isn’t a good idea, Mom. It really is best I just keep to myself. I don’t think these people are going to like me.”

Her mom sighed and closed her eyes. “It’s very difficult for people to like you when you don’t like yourself, dear.”

“I like myself.” She was smart. She was ambitious. Sure, she’d trusted the wrong man, but even that would blow over eventually. Not everyone would remember that she’d had a complete breakdown after years of pressure. Everyone did, right? She would serve her time and find another firm. Where she could work seventy-hour weeks and ignore everything and everyone except her career and put all her money and effort and soul into building that career that just sucked more life out of her.

Yeah, she didn’t like herself very much, either.

Her mother simply waited.

“Fine. I’ll go. But don’t expect much. The mechanics at the shop already think I’m a head case.” Had she meant to sound so glum?

Those blue eyes opened now, calculation plain in the orbs. Her mother, the matchmaker, was in the house. “Mechanics?”

“Mom, they hate me.”

“I doubt that, dear. Did they seem like nice young men? I have to admit, unattached males are very rare in this town. I think it has something to do with most of the women having two husbands.”

“Yeah. What’s up with that? Deputy Briggs was talking about his partner, and I got sad because that man is too hot to be gay, but then his girlfriend walks in and there’s the partner Cam is talking about, and they both kissed her. And someone was talking about Hope, the last office manager, and how she just got back from Vegas with her two husbands. Has Vegas changed? I think all this is completely illegal.”

Illegal, but she could make a case, maybe. The argument started to run through her head. She could just see the judge’s face when she tried to argue that nature really created a woman perfectly to have two husbands. After all, a woman had a couple of places for a penis to go. Darwin. Yes, she would argue pure Darwinism.

“It’s always been this way in Bliss. Back when I was a girl, it was only Fred and Brian and their wife. They ran the Circle G and raised James and Noah, who are now married to Hope. And I can see you already have a whole Supreme Court case planned in your head.”

Her mom knew her well. “It would be a fun argument.”

And really, did it hurt anyone?

What would it be like to be pressed between Jesse and Bare-Chested Ape Man? Damn it. She needed to find out his name.

“I always wondered why you went into corporate law. When you were younger, you always helped people.”

Gemma sighed. Her mom wouldn’t understand. Her mom loved her vagabond lifestyle. Her mom hadn’t been forced to make new friends every time they moved and deal with being the girl in school with mismatched clothes and hand-me-down shoes. Her mom and dad didn’t have an ambitious bone between them. They had chased ephemeral things like love and joy and the perfect song.

Gemma had been forced to live in the real world. The real world kind of sucked. Now she was in a whole town that lived the way her mom did. She was right back where she’d been as a kid. The girl who didn’t fit. “Corporations can help people, too.”

Not often. Next to never. But sometimes. The biggest case she’d managed to work on had been the Tremon Industries case, and the EPA had practically cleared them of all wrongdoing. Gemma felt bad for the people of Calvin who had suffered, but Tremon hadn’t caused it.

She was reminded that she wasn’t alone by the low hum of Nell’s protest. Was she going to start the singing thing now?

Gemma got to her feet. It didn’t matter. She had nothing to do with the case. Christina Big Tits had likely grown back her hair and taken over Gemma’s place as secondary counsel. But hey, Gemma had a new job, too.

“I should go.”

“I’m sorry, Gemma.” Her mom looked up. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it, sweetheart. You had to follow your heart. I really do understand that. I’m so grateful for this time we have now, baby. I love you. This will all work out.”

She nodded, but still didn’t want to stay. “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“If that’s what will make you happy, dear. Just know that everyone is here if you want to join us.”

Gemma got up. Not everyone was here. Would she stay if those two men had been here? Probably not.

Callie came back, a baby in her arms. Nate was with her, holding his other son on his chest like a really cute suit of armor.

“Now, Stella, I have a baby,” Nate said.

Stella growled, but then cooed at the kicking baby, anyway. Nate winked her way.

And Nell stood. She walked straight up to Gemma and reached for her hand. “I have decided to be your friend.”

Callie leaned in. “You asked when you should worry. It’s time. Worry. Like a lot.”

Gemma turned and started to walk off. She just needed to make it to her cabin and she could hide all night long. She could sit and stare at the TV or read some dumbass magazine because the last thing she was going to do was anything productive. And she wasn’t going to make friends. Even if she really wanted to. She wasn’t the type of person who sat around and talked and grilled food. “Why the fuck am I here? Crazy dumbass town.”

She plowed right past Zane Hollister and his little grill, turning to start an apology, but she smacked straight into a wall of masculine flesh. Jesse McCann looked down at her, a grin on his ridiculously perfect face.

Jesse had to stop himself from putting his hands on her. After a nice long discussion with Cade about getting involved with a potentially violent woman, he’d decided to give his brain a chance to catch up with his libido.

Her breasts brushed against his chest, the hard nub of her nipples apparent because she wasn’t wearing a damn bra. His dick immediately began composing a letter to his brain.

Dear Brain—Hurry the fuck up. I’m dying here. Sincerely, your Dick. P.S. The balls are pissed off, too.

“Sorry about that, Gemma.” At least he didn’t sound as completely idiotic as he had before. The pretty blonde in front of him kind of made his brain take a nosedive. He didn’t know a damn thing about her except that she had a really craptastic attitude, but then so did Cade. It was Jesse’s lot in life to be surrounded by difficult people.

“It’s okay.” The words came out in a breathless puff. She shook her head a little and backed up.

She was still wearing those jeans with the stain on them. Just a little trail of grease, but it had transferred from his hand to hers and then to her clothes. A little piece of him marking her.

He could think of other ways to mark her.

“Is she giving you trouble, Jesse?” Cade stood there, holding the package they’d brought, Jesse’s whole reason for forcing them to come out here.

Jesse made sure a smile stayed on his face. Gemma wasn’t the trouble right now. Cade’s past, however, was giving Jesse fits. If Gemma were a normal, everyday, sweet-faced tourist with the same heart-shaped ass and boobs that would fit perfectly into his hands, Cade would have been all over her. Even if she’d been a little cantankerous, Cade would have just seen it as a challenge. He would have plotted and planned with Jesse as to how fast they could take her from mean girl to purring kitten. But Gemma was different. Gemma had struck a chord in Cade, and now Cade was a big old pussy who didn’t want to get his fingers burned.

“Not at all,” he replied shortly. He hadn’t wanted Cade to come with him on this particular mission, but his brother had insisted. “It looks like you’re having a party.”

Gemma shook her head. “No. Uhm, my mom is in the cabin next to me. This is all about her.” She was charmingly graceless, her hands fluttering a little as she gestured back toward the larger of the two cabins. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, a sight that went straight to Jesse’s cock. “They just showed up to talk to my mom and Naomi.”

He was just about to ask who Naomi was when Cade stepped up. “Well, did you really expect them to come for you when you call their town dumbass and crazy?”

And just like that she went from slightly off kilter to ice queen. Her whole body stiffened and a hard look came into her eyes. “I didn’t expect anything. Well, I expected you to be half naked. Look, the Ape Man found a shirt. Nice.”

“Well, I need protection from you, sweetheart.”

Jesse sighed. “You both need flak jackets. I get it. You’re both all wounded and shit. Fine. Cade, why don’t you go and see if Zane needs help with that grill?”

Cade just stared at Gemma like she was a bomb that was about to explode. “I think he’s doing fine.”

“Please.” Jesse bit the word in a way that wasn’t at all polite. This situation was more serious than he thought, but Jesse felt Gemma’s pull, and he wasn’t sure if he was willing to turn away. He needed some time alone with her.

Cade’s mouth turned down. “You’re sure?”

“I am.”

An almost sad look came over Cade’s face, and he passed him the package. “All right then.”

“Cade?” Gemma asked as Cade stalked off. Her blue eyes trailed back toward him.

So she wasn’t entirely uninterested. “Cade Sinclair, though Bare-Chested Ape Man suits him just fine. He’s often wearing much less than what you saw in the shop. Roger makes him keep his pants on.”

Gemma’s mouth dropped open. “He’s a nude guy, nude person, nudist?”

God, he loved it when she got flustered. The veneer stripped away momentarily and he got a glimpse of the woman under that perfect surface. “They like to call themselves naturists. He’s always worn as little as possible, but a couple of years back we were seeing a woman who liked the lifestyle and Cade took to it very quickly.”

Her cheeks were flushed the prettiest red. Her skin was fair. He would bet her ass would take a spanking beautifully. “I don’t really understand everything about this place. Like you two. You were both seeing the same woman?”

There wasn’t distaste in the question, just a simple curiosity. Somehow, the minute Cade walked away, the tension in her deflated like a balloon slowly releasing its air. Jesse smiled at her and nodded toward her front porch. “I’d love to explain it to you, sweetheart. Will you sit with me for a minute?”

She huffed a little. “If you stop calling me sweetheart, maybe I will.”

He turned and let his face go cold. “That was rude and unbecoming of you. It’s a term of endearment meant to be affectionate, nothing more. I’d like us to be friends, Gemma. If you’re utterly uninterested in being friends with me, tell me now and I’ll walk away.”

The roundness of her eyes told him she wasn’t used to being talked to in such a frank manner. “I’m sorry. I would prefer it if you didn’t call me sweetheart. My ex-fiancé called me that and he didn’t mean it. It bothers me.”

“Excellent. Then I won’t call you sweetheart. You could have simply told me and I would have understood. Is it all terms of endearment you’re against? Or just that one?” He started to lead her toward the porch, making sure she didn’t stumble over the uneven ground. He sat down beside her, giving her plenty of space, setting the package beside him.

She seemed to think about it for a moment. “I don’t see why you can’t just call me Gemma.”

That was easy. “Because everyone calls you Gemma, and I want to be special. I want to call you something that only I call you because I think it could help to bond you to me. I’m interested in seeing you. I’m interested in taking you out and talking to you, and eventually I would very much like to get you in bed.”

There it was again, that ridiculously sexy flush. “Wow. You just put it right out there for all to see.”

He shrugged. “I don’t lie to myself. Why should I bother to lie to anyone else? I learned a long time ago that lying about what I want will just get me in trouble.”

A little flash of challenge came into her eyes. “You don’t lie?”

“I don’t.”

There was a little laugh, but it held no humor. “Fine. Tell me something bad about yourself.”

Honesty. He was actually glad she’d given him the opening. It was best to put his cards on the table. “I spent some time in jail. You should know that right off.”

“Jail? I thought you would tell me something dumb like ‘I care too much.’ You know like on a job interview where they ask you about your flaws and you turn it into a strength? Jail? Why?”

“I did eighteen months in a youth center for stealing a car. I was trying to fit in with a group of boys who had formed a tight-knit little group.”

“A gang?”

“Yes. My mom had died and my father left without a word. I was living on the streets and I thought being in a gang sounded better than being on my own. So I stole a car as part of my initiation. Turns out I am a horrible criminal, and I got caught not a mile from where I’d stolen it.” He shook his head. “It was a horrible experience. It was a minivan. It smelled like old milk, but it had been LoJacked so dumbass me went to juvie.”

“Eighteen months? That’s a long time. How old were you?”

“I was thirteen.”

“Thirteen? They sent you to juvie for a year and a half and you were only thirteen? That’s ridiculous. Who the hell was your lawyer?”

Damn, but he wished Cade had seen that side of Gemma. It might make it harder for him to turn away. “I was a really big kid. At thirteen I was just a little under six feet, and I always built muscle fast. I also already had this.” He scraped his hands over the scruff of his beard. He shaved every day, but by afternoon he always had some stubble back. “And I was a street kid, darlin’. I couldn’t afford a lawyer past the one they appointed to me.”

“You shouldn’t have spent time at all for a nonviolent offense.”

“I think they wanted to make a point, and I didn’t have anyone who would fight for me at the time. I was damn lucky they found a foster parent for me when I got out or I would have spent the rest of my teen years in a halfway house.”

“Is that where you met Cade? In juvie?”

He laughed at the thought. “No, honey. Cade was as straight as an arrow. I met him in the foster home. He lost his parents and his sister when he was nine, but he needs to tell you that story. We were raised by a woman named Nancy, and she saved me. She and Cade. They became the family I never had.”

She stared out at the party starting to take shape across the yard. Why wouldn’t she go over there? What kept her apart from everyone else? He wanted her to be honest with him, but he knew patience was going to be the key with Gemma Wells.

“Is that why you share? How does it work?” She shook her head, her eyes widening. “I meant that in a nonmechanical way. Emotionally. How does it work? I mean, is it all just casual?”

Oh, how he wanted to explain the mechanics to her. He was damn fine with mechanics. “Sometimes it’s just sex. We’ve had a couple of relationships, too. Nothing that lasted more than a year or so. We lived with a woman once. She moved on because she said it didn’t look good for her career to live with two men. She was a doctor.”

“Ah. So he’s opposed to evil career women.” She looked over to where Cade stood laughing with Zane and Cam.

“That’s not really his problem, but again, it’s his story to tell. His past was rough. I might have gone to prison, but at least I got out. Cade gave himself a life sentence a long time ago. You just need to give him a little time.”

An almost serene look came over her face. “Nope. He doesn’t like me. I should know. I get it all the time. Look, I appreciate this. I really do, but you two share and I just came out of a relationship so it wouldn’t work.”

“You just came out of a relationship?”

“Well, I did. Like six months ago.”

“That’s not just coming out of a relationship. That’s moving-on time, baby. As for Cade, well, we’ve also had relationships separately. And honestly, if he sat down and talked to you like this, I think he would see you for what you really are.”

“And what’s that?”

“He would see that under all that hardness, you’re soft inside. You’re trying to protect that part of you that you’re afraid will get you in trouble. You’re afraid of everything. You’re scared of anyone getting close because you’ve been hurt. I don’t know if it was one spectacular ache or a series of little ones, but they affected you. And they affected him, too. If he sat his ass down for ten seconds, he might see how much alike you are.” He frowned. Everything he said was true. He just wasn’t sure it would help Cade. It might make him run even faster.

She stood up. “Look, I don’t know if you think you’re some sort of amateur shrink, but think again. I am who I am. I’m not hiding away or anything. If you think you can come in and change me, you’re wrong.”

It was time to really figure out if this could potentially work. No relationship with him could work without a little softness. “Sit down, Gemma.”

She stared at him for a moment and then made the decision. She sat back down, her mouth set in a mulish line. Rather like Cade. Why the hell was he here? He must just like stubbornness.

“Look, Gemma, I’m willing to put up with a lot of shit. It’s expected in a relationship and quite frankly, I know I’ll be the easy one to deal with. But I expect honesty, respect, and some politeness. I get that you won’t always be polite. I won’t either. I want passion and that doesn’t always leave room for courtesy, but I expect you to start being more polite to the people around you. This isn’t New York. This is small-town Colorado, and you’re going to put people off with the gruffness. You had to be that way in New York. You don’t here. I’ve just told you I’ll be honest so let me state this flat out. Any relationship with me is going to involve a little discipline. I tend to keep it to the bedroom, but if you’re mine and I catch you being blatantly rude to the people around you, I will likely spank you.”

It wasn’t just her face that flushed this time. Her whole body went bright pink. And her pupils dilated. Her breath hitched. “That would be assault.”

No, she wasn’t scared at all. “Only if I did it against your will, Gemma. If you were mine, we would have all sorts of rules. They would be set up so we both know how to make each other happy. We would talk about it. You could stop me, but you wouldn’t want to. I would make sure of it.”

She went quiet, and Jesse decided she’d had enough honesty for the day. It was time to back off and let her think about it. And it was time to go and work on Cade. He stood up and handed her the small package. It was addressed simply to Gemma Wells in Bliss, Colorado. The elderly mail carrier had asked Roger if he knew who she was. Jesse had jumped on that chance. And now it was time to let the whole thing go and allow Gemma to make the next move. It would be frustrating, but he wasn’t going to push her.

“Think about it, Gemma. That’s for you. I told the mail carrier where to send anything else you get. If you want to talk some more, you come and see me.” He started to walk away. He could smell the delicious aroma of sizzling steaks.

“I like baby and darlin’. I wouldn’t have said I like darling, but I like the way you say it. It’s the accent, I think. And for some reason, baby sounds sweeter than babe. But not honey. My mom calls me hon. So does Stella. Honey makes me think of maternal women trying to feed me.” She stood up, clutching her package.

He didn’t even try to stop himself now. He hugged her, wrapping his arms around her and letting himself breathe in her scent.

“Are you smelling my hair?” Gemma asked.

“Yep.” Honesty.

“You’re kind of kinky, aren’t you?” She said it with a little laugh. “And I shouldn’t have called you the Sweet One.”

He pulled back, but not before giving her a little kiss. Not on her lips. They weren’t even close to being there yet. On her forehead. “You have no idea, baby. And I can be very sweet. You just have to get me in the right mood. Good night.”

He turned and walked away, more hopeful than he’d been just moments before.