Or even where I’d left my boots.
So his serpentine path from my toilet to bed was accompanied by a lot of stops and starts.
As well as few expletives as he tripped and stubbed his way to my side. A feat only felt as his weight hit the end of my bed. “Frickin’ hell, princess. What’d you do, set up an obstacle course?”
Of course I hadn’t. But realizing he couldn’t see, found me reaching for the nearest bedside lamp. “Is that better?”
It was for me. Because I could finally view all that was Rio, deciding then and there he was the stuff of every girl’s dreams whether she was sixteen or sixty. No matter he was holding a foot in one hand and a face full of frown; he was still a thoroughly prime specimen of masculine flesh.
And at my admiring look, his own shifted from the squinched position into something more open, something that held more than a measure of heated desire. Putting knee on the bed, he warned me in advance of his intent. “Once wasn’t enough, Vons. Gonna take you again, make your body sing sweet for me, at least one more time.”
For the record? I couldn’t sing a note.
But I knew what he meant, more than knew he intended to play my body much like Beta had with her violin at the concert. To touch me, stroke me with his firm fingers, to make me gasp and moan with all he was gonna do.
And it must be said…Rio was pretty damn good at all the ‘doing’ stuff.
So I released my elbows and eased myself down onto the pillow, looking at him down my body, hoping my eyes showed I was totally on board with his suggestion.
“Only this time we’re gonna mix things up,” he advised as he slowly pulled the remaining covers off me, his expression letting me know whatever we were gonna get up to in this next round was gonna be over the freaking top. “How ‘bout you take the reins this time?”
And his suggestion caused a renewed spasm in a lot of sensitive girl-type areas as he stretched out beside me and reached for my waist. He was probably gonna man-handle me into position.
But at that point in the program, I was more than okay with it.
As long as he didn’t make a habit of it.
Chapter Thirteen
Rio found two things to be true after their second very successful go-round. First, his girl had the skills and the stamina to ride him to completion, working her curvy hips and knees until he’d almost lost his damned mind before he found his version of heaven.
And the second was that, like him, she didn’t immediately need to sleep afterward, but seemed to want to cuddle and talk as their bodies stayed in contact. Although her choice of subject matter was different than the others he’d been with before.
“So tell me about the earlier years of Desidario Ironcloud,” she’d murmured when he’d come back to bed after taking care of the last of the condoms he’d stowed in his wallet.
Turning to his side so they were face-to-face, he couldn’t resist brushing the longer portions of her hair out of her eyes. “What do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. It’s just sometimes you have a bit of a twang in your voice and say ‘y’all’.” Her pretty eyes danced before coming back to him. “Where’d you grow up?”
“Stillwater, Oklahoma. Although when my parents were alive we lived up on the Oswego Reservation, up by the Kansas border.” Her eyes got bigger as she listened and he wondered what she was thinking.
“The reservation?”
“Yeah, my grandfather was a part of the Tribal Council there.”
Her plump, pretty mouth went into the ‘O’ position. “That’s a big deal, isn’t it?”
He adjusted the sheets and blankets around them, trying to share his heat with her. Or to get another view of her body since she hadn’t put on her pajamas after their round two. He wasn’t disappointed at the flash of skin he was able to glimpse. She might’ve been short, but the woman had a body that wouldn’t quit. “Yeah. The council of any sovereign nation is kind of like the big-wigs in Washington D.C. although there’s more than just one decision-maker.”
“And your grandpop was one of them?”
“Sure was.” Rio thought he could look at her, talk with her, all night.
The covers didn’t even move as she slid her feet closer to him, tucking them underneath his leg. “What about your dad, was he on the council too?”
Aw shit.
He should’ve anticipated her question but had hoped she’d avoid it, given he’d only confessed things about his still remembered and much revered grandfather. “My dad was a drunk, princess,” he whispered, hoping his tone of voice would prevent her from trying to explore that subject further. “A functioning one who tried to hide his disease but all his damn secrets came out after the autopsy.”
“Autopsy?”
Rolling onto his back, Rio took his eyes off her and stared at the ceiling instead, figuring he might as well confess the full of it if he was gonna talk about it at all. Though it must be said, he’d made his peace with his old man a long time ago. “He was the one driving the car that night, in the rain with my grandfather and mom. He was also the one with a blood alcohol level so high he could’ve died in his sleep and definitely shouldn’t have been behind the wheel.”
Running a hand over his eyes, he tried to stop the images of the man, the memories of what it had been like at his house when it was just the three of them and his dad had spent the day sneaking shot after shot. “So drunk my mom and grandfather’s deaths are shown as ‘vehicular manslaughter’ on their death certificates.”
After only hesitating a moment, he felt her move to his side, close enough he lifted an arm allowing her to rest her weight on his bicep and chest. “How old were you, honey, when all this went down?”
“Thirteen,” he replied softly. “That’s when I moved to Stillwater and in with my Aunt Alma.”
The little spitfire went quiet as if to allow his confession to drift away and for that, he was grateful. It’d been a long time since he’d spoken about that shit and prayed it’d be his last.
“Got to attend a white school which is a hell of a lot different than the one I’d attended before the accident. Don’t know if I was just acting out or if the other kids were just plain ol’ pains in my ass, but got in a helluva lot of fights at first. That was until I carved out a place for myself. The kind with an unwritten sign warning people not to mess with me.”
Her giggle was soft but he still heard it, making him grin as well.
“Enlisted in the Army the day after graduation but becoming a Ranger was my number one goal.” He turned his head and looked down at her, taking a moment to gauge her mood and note any reaction to what he’d talked about. “But enough about me. Tell me about you, princess.”
*.*.*.*.*
Eek! He wanted to know about me?
But why?
My life wasn’t even half as interesting as his. But the real of it was I didn’t talk about my early years. Like at all. And especially not to whatever guy I’d done the nasty with—probably because those men were shuffled off as soon as I’d caught my breath and before they got too cozy.
But Rio was different, in a way I hadn’t yet defined—didn’t want to; in case I found out he was just as big of an asshole as all the others. He’s getting to you, isn’t he?
Yet he’d given me his, so it was only fair I needed to do the same. “I don’t know where to start.”
He twisted back towards me, only letting go to rearrange the comforter and keep me warm. “At the beginning works for me.”
I swallowed and blinked, staring into his dark chocolate eyes. “I don’t really remember anything before I was six.”
He stilled and his gaze appeared sharper as he held our stare. “Nothing?”
I shook my head. “In fact, I don’t even know where I was born or my real birthday. This played hell with me getting a social security card and my driver’s license. But the state helped me get one set up after they confirmed my circumstances with my social worker, Carmen.”
I shook my head before I remembered something from when I was either nine or ten. “Although Diane once let it slip I have a brother. Or did have, but I don’t know where he is or even if he’s still alive.”
“Do you know his name?”
“Nope. And when she never brought it up again I wondered if maybe I’d just heard her wrong or something.” I covered my mouth to prevent a yawn from escaping. “I guess I just wasn’t that curious about him, because by that time I had all the family I needed between her and my foster-sisters. I mean, if I really had a brother, wouldn’t he have found me by then or tried to get in touch with me somehow?”
I felt his shoulder move and wondered if he was shrugging—something I found he did quite a bit, using his big, stalwart body to communicate instead of just his mouth.
Another yawn threatened and upon its completion I watched as Rio’s face softened. “You tired, spitfire?”
“A little,” I admitted, rolling to my other side and punching my pillow. “It’s been a helluva day. Are you sure the door is secure?”
Turning out the light, Rio curled around my back, his knees tucked behind mine, his arm twining around my waist. “Of course. I moved that heavy as shit little dresser-thing to hold it closed until I get the tools and hardware to fix it.”
“Good.”
That’s all I remember before I closed my eyes and they stayed in the down position as Rio held me close.
*.*.*.*.*
Officer Reggie Gianetta entered his house as silently as possible, careful not to wake the others who he hoped were safe and secure in their beds at that hour of the morning. Emptying out his pockets into the basket his wife, Olive, had eventually provided on a table by the door in order to contain all the shit he tended to unknowingly collect during his shifts, he finally let down his shields. Allowing his mind to fully face all the ‘should I or shouldn’t I’ questions to be exposed before he worked out an answer.
Toeing off his steel-reinforced oxfords, he released his gun belt, carefully stowing it in the small safe in the cabinet above the refrigerator. While his kids knew better than to touch his weapon or ammo, at five and seven, they were still curious and he wasn’t a man who took any chances.
Unbuttoning the shirt of his uniform, Reggie moved to the laundry room undressing down to his skivvies before stepping to the coffee maker. His Livie would be getting up soon and with their different shifts (him on graveyard for GPD and her doing the breakfast/lunch combo at Matt’s Diner) it was one of the few ways he demonstrate how much he valued having her in his life.
But all his moves were done out of habit since his brain was still working to make a decision about what to do. A promise is a promise, he reminded himself, scooping out a couple of measures of grounds into the filter of the machine.
“Reg?” Her soft voice, only a whisper in the predawn of their kitchen still made him jump and twist to spy her in the doorway. “You okay?”
“Yeah, darlin’,” he breathed, trying to play off his reaction to what was, for them, a normal every morning kind of thing. But the fact was he hadn’t heard her as if she’d made a point of avoiding that third tread from the top he’d been promising to fix for the last six months. “I wake you?”
She yawned and shook her head as she came fully in, making her way to where he leaned a hip against one of the counters. “The alarm was about to go off anyway.”
Cuddling her robed form closer, he tried to shut down his churning thoughts and just enjoy the feel of his wife in his arms. Usually it did the trick in helping him to put all the police shit away and get him back into husband and dad mode.
But not that morning.
Not after being the leading officer on scene after the break-in at Veronica James’s place.
After staying in the grips of his hug through more than a couple of heartbeats, his Liv pulled back to stare into his face. “Something’s wrong.”
She didn’t offer it as a question, but just a statement of fact. And because she did, and because she knew him so well (since fourth grade), Reg realized there was no help for it. He was just gonna have to tell her—only hoping she might help with his decision.
“Remember me telling you about my friend Zee?”
She nodded and he watched as her eyes went a little unfocused. “The one whose parents were murdered when we were kids? The guy that was in the Seals but now works as a bounty hunter?”
“Yeah.” He sighed and used a hand to stealthily bring her back into position. The feel of her tits on his t-shirted chest was too nice to ignore. “That’s the one. His sister’s place was tossed tonight.”
Unwinding herself from him and shifting to the coffee pot, she put two and two together (as she usually did) pretty damn quick. “And you’re responsible for letting him know his sister might be in danger.”
He took the mug she handed his way, grateful for the warmth of it against his cold fingers. “Uh-huh. I promised I’d keep an eye on her when he went into the Navy and let him know if I got wind of any kind of stuff that might mean trouble.”
Shooting him a startled glance, Livie filled her own cup. “And is she? In trouble, I mean.”
“Dunno, but I’ve got that tingle on the back of my neck.” Woo-boy, did he ever. There was just something about the way her condo had been trashed, some rooms receiving a work-over while others went untouched which didn’t add up to a simple robbery.
Adjusting her position until her side was against his, she raised her face towards him after taking a hesitant sip, but then, she’d never been able to resist a taste until her coffee cooled a bit. “So what has your boxers in a bunch is regarding whether or not to call him about it, right? Whether you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill.”
Damn, she got it in one! But that was the woman he’d married, the mother of his children and the only girl Reggie’d ever wanted to be with. “Yeah, babe.”
Shifting again until they were standing belly-to-belly, so close their mugs almost clinked, his beautiful wife stared directly into his eyes. “Then call him, sweetie. Better to yell ‘wolf’ than not yell at all.”
He blinked, taking in her words and realizing the truth in them. “You’re right.”
“Of course I am.”
Taking in an inhale and feeling all the tension he’d been holding release with his exhale, Reggie reached behind to place his cup on the counter behind him. “So how’d you get to be so smart anyway?”
Leaning forward until her lips touched his, Olive didn’t even pause with her reply although she was whispering when she did. “Because I’ve been successfully riding a policeman ever since he graduated the academy.”
“And are you still giving that guy the nasty side of your sweet pussy?” His fingers felt for and found the tie of her thick robe.
She smiled and because her lips were on her husband’s, Reggie felt it more than saw it. “As often as possible.”
But she offered one last instruction before all the heat of what they were doing got out of hand. “Call Zee, babe. Let him know what went down and give him the opportunity to decide if he wants to get involved or not. You’ll sleep better knowing you gave him an update.”
Exchanging a wet, deep and promising kiss, it was Reg’s turn to disengage. “So let me make that call before the kids wake up. Because afterward?” His hand swept down his amazing wife’s side, skimming the curves he’d memorized over the many years. “You’re mine, darlin’. And I’m thinking of some nasty doings I know you’ll like.”
“Bring it, sweetie.” Her voice was only a breathy sigh as she thrust against herself onto his questing fingers. “I haven’t yet discovered anything about you or your brand of claiming, I don’t like or can’t take.”
God, he loved his woman.
And had done from since forever.
Chapter Fourteen
Rio stayed awake as long as
he could, unwilling and unable to find his sleep as he held the slumbering beauty against him.
True, they’d gone through a lot in the little bit of time he’d spent with her, but damn. He felt close to her, as if he kinda, sorta understood what made her the way she was and the reasons for how she reacted.
For her unspoken demands to remain independent, never letting herself lean on anyone, much less a stranger, a former Army man who was still learning his way in the civilian world.
Then there were her arguments, offered in not so much to be heard, but to get her own way.
Yeah. That sort of shit was only for her to exert a bit on control in the doings of her life. She was so tiny; she’d probably been discounted more than a time or two. But her presence, her smarts and that goddamn, amazing, larger-than-life spirit shining brightly within her should’ve spoken to others—talked louder…much, much louder than their impression of her diminutive size.
In all his life he’d never met anyone like her.
And of everything Rio had seen, encountered, or been with made him want to delve into all that was ‘Vonnie’. But he restrained himself, only allowing his body to press against her, to tuck his face into her neck in order to enjoy the essence of her body and that peachy scent she wore.
Yet it felt like only moments later, he found himself disconnecting as she shoved him away, her body twitching, doing some sort of spasm as she tried to get away from him. “No, don’t leave me,” she pleaded to whoever was with her—forcing him awake on a jump.
“Please don’t leave.” God, if he needed a sound byte to exemplify a human’s abject fear at being left behind, he sure as shit could’ve done it with what filled his ears in Vonnie’s bedroom.
But the really weird part was how his dog reacted.
Sure, the tiny canine kept him on an even keel whether he was awake or asleep, especially during his night-terrors. But Rio’d never considered his pooch to have the same ability with others.
And most especially not his Vonnie.
Vonnie: Book Two of Broken Girls Series Page 12