Bonner's Way

by Carlysle, Regina

  Callie licked her lips, nodded slowly, then focused intently on his mouth. Satisfaction curled through his belly. She was his. She might not realize it yet, but she would soon. Not wasting the moment, he pulled her close then took her mouth with a savage intensity that he could no longer suppress. With a little whimper, she opened to him, and he sent his tongue deep, tasting acceptance as she returned his kiss slowly, and then with a wild and unmistakable abandon.

  Mac wanted more and he wanted it now.

  Fuck waiting.

  He nipped her lips, once, twice, then, ignoring her gasp of surprise, he gripped her waist and lifted until she sat on the counter. In one seamless motion, he spread her thighs and stepped between them to wrap her in his arms. Her breasts settled against his bare chest, soft and lush, but it wasn’t enough so gripping the hem of her top, he pulled it from her and tossed it aside with a low growl of frustration. Mac wasn’t stupid and giving Callie time to analyze things to death didn’t serve much of a purpose for either of them. Yeah, he was taking advantage, but simply couldn’t stop after all the frustrated nights of tossing and turning, all those nights of taking himself in hand to relieve the pressure of wanting her. Now Mac filled his hands with her breasts, loving how her nipples instantly swelled to press his palms. “You have the prettiest breasts I’ve ever looked at, but it’s not enough, not even close.”

  Hungry, ravenous, he settled his mouth around one plump nipple, circling with his tongue, gently scraping with his teeth until a soft sound broke the surface of Callie’s lips. Gently sucking the stiff little pressure point, he drew his hands over her sides, testing the flexibility of her warm flesh, before moving his attention to the other breast. Mac glanced up and lost whatever finesse he might’ve possessed. Callie’s eyes were closed, her head dropped back like the stem of a broken flower. That she loved his touch was evident in the blissful yet aroused expression she wore.

  Releasing the nipple, Mac stroked the puckered flesh with his tongue. “I’m tired of dicking around, Callie. We need to be together. You know it. I know it. Put your legs around my waist.”

  She lifted her head and looked at him through slumberous eyes and followed his command. Mac filled his hands with her sweet ass and lifted her straight into his arms. “Hang on to me.”

  Handy, he thought, when he spotted her neatly turned-down bed. He laid her on the cool, white sheets and leaned close. “You ready for me?”

  “I don’t know if we should do this.”

  “It’s too late to re-think things, Miss Callie. You should’ve stopped me before I managed to get your nipple in my mouth. No backing out now. Besides, I’ve learned a few things since that summer a long time ago.”

  “I give up,” she whispered. “Show me.”

  Mac stood looking down at her, sprawled like a half-naked fantasy on the bed, her pink nipples tightly pearled, still damp from where he’d licked her. Her tongue streaked out to pass over kiss-swollen lips, and her breasts rose and fell rapidly indicating she was a hot as he.

  “I like you this way. Rumpled and sexy. You were cute years ago, but now you’re downright beautiful.”

  Mac drew her shorts, along with her panties, from her body to drink in her nudity before moving his touch over every sweetly exposed curve. His hand found the bends of her knees, and he caught them in his palms lifting until she was spread like a seductive banquet just for him. Moving her legs to curlagainst her belly, Mac leaned over her and pressed her lips with his own. “You make me hungry, Callie.”

  He drew his lips down the center of her chest, teased her ribs with his teeth and tongue, then headed south to taste her belly and the tender flesh between her thighs. His tongue found the damp seam then circled the swollen bundle of nerve-endings. Around and around his tongue swirled, sucking the bit into his mouth as Callie’s back bowed from the bed, and her fingers tugged sharply on his hair. Soft moans, tiny whimpers filled the air above them as he took her higher and higher, pausing only to send two fingers deep into her body. The clasp of vaginal walls gripped against the intrusion, coating his hand with wetness.

  She was his.

  He knew it, felt it.

  There was no going back for either of them as her cries grew frantic with the need to climax.

  Mac showed her no mercy, dragging out the slow pulls of his lips and tongue, sliding his fingers with excruciating slowness through the resistance of her tight muscles.

  “Mac!”

  Mac’s erection threatened to burst the zipper of his jeans, throbbing like a son-of-a-bitch, but still he teased until he finally, finally, pulled against her clit harder, finger-fucking faster until she let go with a sob. Callie shivered, her body drawn tight as a bow until rhythmic spasms shook her.

  Belatedly realizing he’d forgotten one important thing, he rose over her and pressed his mouth to the side of her lips. “Don’t move. Not a muscle.”

  “O-okay,” she gasped breathlessly.

  Calling himself a dumbass a dozen times over, Mac rushed into his room and rummaged through the top drawer of his night table until he found what he needed. By the time he returned, Callie had slid into her place on the mattress and had pulled a sheet over her nakedness.

  Mac pointed a finger. “You moved.”

  She shrugged, grinning at him, and then her eyes went wide as he tossed a handful of tiny packages across the bed. “Ohhhh. Optimistic.”

  “Always.”

  Mac watched the grin slide from her face as he unsnapped his jeans. The look she gave him was hot, a lit match to kindling. “You should feel optimistic,” she said, her voice husky. “I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”

  He’d thought it impossible for his dick to get any harder but he was wrong. The throbbing flesh pulsed against the fly of his jeans, and his balls tightened as he pushed the denim from his hips and shoved them aside. Staring at Callie, intently focused, Mac gripped his erection at the base, dragging his fist high over his length then back down again. He needed to get inside her in the worst way.

  Composure was a tenuous thing considering he’d fantasized about taking her for a hell of a long time, so knowing there wasn’t another moment to waste, he yanked the thin sheet from her lower body and crawled between her spread thighs. Still on his knees, he looked down at her before settling his palms on her belly. It was soft and sweetly curved as it should be. Mac moved his palms over her thighs, his gaze riveted to the damp flesh between them. Reaching down, he drew a finger down her center, teased the sensitive skin, and traced slow circls around her clit. “You’re ready for me.”

  Understatement.

  She was ripe, ready.

  Callie closed her eyes, pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and said nothing as she writhed slightly against the sheets. Her breath broke as he continued to touch and tease. Mac found the opening to her body and slipped one, then two fingers inside her tight channel. In. Out. Slowly, then faster, he pumped them into her body telling himself he wanted her ready for him but knowing the truth. He wanted to extend the pleasure that had evaded him for so long. For him, the reality of her, the needing of her, had been a long time coming so sue him if he wanted to drag out the moment. But then even that wasn’t enough.

  Mac slid a thumb over her clit and pressed lightly, repeatedly, until a cry broke from Callie’s lips. Gauging her reaction and noting her eagerness, he reached for her, pulling her up to sit astride his lap. His erection pressed high between their bodies, and she instantly reached for it, stroking, touching, lightly squeezing his agonized flesh. Grabbing a condom from the bed, Mac ripped the package with his teeth and started to roll the latex into place, but Callie’s hand stopped him.

  “Let me.”

  Mac wasn’t about to argue at the prospect of her hands on his body, so he handed it over, gritting his teeth as she slipped protection over the thick head and down the long stalk.

  Her hand stayed there, resting at the thick base, and he took advantage of the close proximity to kiss the tender joining of h
er shoulder and neck before finding a nipple. Again, Callie’s fingers clutched his hair as her body responded with a crazy abandon that brought him right along with her. Arching, writhing, Callie’s hips moved with ageless momentum. The feel of her slick heat brushing over him sent his memories into overdrive as he remembered the way she’d fit him so perfectly all those years ago.

  But this was now. Callie was still as she’d been then but more. More everything.

  He loved her.

  Maybe he always had.

  Releasing her nipple with a groan, Mac filled his hands with Callie’s ass and lifted, lifted until her moist heat hovered over the broad head of his erection. “Now, Callie, now.”

  Making an almost panicked sound, Callie lowered over him, taking him in, taking him deep and when he was seated to the hilt, they both went still. The stillness couldn’t sustain them, though. The urge to move overcame them as they rose and fell together, Mac pushing high and hard inside her. Again and again, raw pleasure washed over him. Satisfaction curled through his belly, winding tighter, tighter, as chills raced over his flesh. The near-violent pleasure couldn’t hold on forever, though, and as they climbed together, at the exact moment she whispered his name, shuddering in his arms, Mac gave up his closely guarded control. He rose with her, pulsing deep, thrusting high once more before he finally came apart in her arms.

  Chapter Six

  A week later, Callie sat with her lawyer in the Family Law judge’s informal chambers and looked up when Mac stepped into the room. This meeting with the judge over her guardianship of Austin and Isabelle was one of the most important of her life. Last night, she’d tossed and turned, sure she’d bothered Mac until his arms went around her and his whispered assurances that everything would be fine had calmed her enough to sleep for at least a few short hours. No, this sweet boy and girl weren’t her own children, but they were her blood, and over the past years, she’d had a major hand in raising them. They were all she had left of Emma, and she loved them so much that her heart ached at the thought of losing them.

  Thank God she had Mac for reassurances.

  After taking their relationship to a whole new level, it was hard to believe they’d ever been apart and, in a way, they hadn’t. Even through the years of being simply friends, it had always been more. He’d been the one solid thing, aside from Emma, that she’d always been able to depend upon. Now he walked toward her, his boot heels snapping smartly against the hardwood floor and she smiled at him, pretending that butterflies weren’t doing crazy aeronautical dives in her belly. She turned to her lawyer, Alan Bates. “I don’t want to mess anything up. Are you sure it’s okay for Mac to be here?”

  “I don’t know why not. He can testify on several issues. Good to have back up.” He nodded at Mac who took a chair next to them. “Hey, Mac. Good to see you.”

  After the men shook hands, Mac removed his Stetson and placed it on an empty chair before glancing around. “Any sign of Buzz?”

  Callie shook her head and glanced at her watch. “Not yet. I heard rumors that he doesn’t have a lawyer. I only hope he’ll realize what a terrible mistake he’s made and decide not to show.”

  “Don’t hold your breath. Buzz smelled that insurance money from a mile away and came running.” Mac reached out and briefly squeezed her hand. “Judge Gibson will see through him just as everyone in town has.”

  “I hope so.”

  Alan reached into his briefcase to remove a stack of papers. “One-hundred-thousand is a joke and doesn’t come close to providing for two young children. Believe me, I have three of my own. It’s expensive to raise them. Of course, to a guy like Buzz who tends to live by the seat of his pants that money probably seems a like fortune. He is purely motivated by greed here. Relax, Callie. It’s going to be fine. Judge Gibson is a fair man, and he’ll see right through Buzz. He’ll do what’s right for the kids.”

  On cue, the Judge walked through a side door and approached his wide desk. Callie had known the man for years, but had never once had occasion to see him in his black robe. Jay Gibson was a big man, easily over six-four with a girth that matched his stature. His shock of gray hair was thick and slightly disheveled as if he had the habit of dragging his fingers through it. He smiled at them before sinking into a worn, leather chair.

  “Mornin’, Callie.” He nodded at both Mac and her attorney. “Gentlemen. Are we ready to take care of this business?”

  “Buzz Decker isn’t here yet,” Alan stated.

  “Hmm. We’ll wait another five minutes or so.” Judge Gibson reached into a manila file folder to extract a stack of papers then, after adjusting his glasses, peered at them for a second or two before setting them aside. Callie was jumpy as hell and hoped it didn’t show. Trying her best to appear calm, she relaxed back in her chair.

  “It’s good to see you, Callie. I didn’t have a chance to tell you how sorry I was to hear about Emma,” Gibson said. “She was a nice lady.”

  “Thank you.”

  He smiled kindly. “I’ve missed you at the Willow Tree. Seems weird there without you, but then you served me breakfast five days a week for a hell of a long time.”

  She laughed. “Two eggs, sunny side up, bacon and hash browns every single morning until the doctor said you had to switch to oatmeal.”

  “Still can’t abide that crap, but the wife would kill me if I had a heart attack.”

  “And I wouldn’t blame─”

  Her comment remained unspoken as Buzz stepped into the room. It was odd that Patsy wasn’t in attendance, but maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t truly on-board with raising another woman’s kids. Something told her that might be the case. Beyond that, it didn’t look good that a woman who proposed raising them hadn’t bothered to show up. Buzz nodded gruffly and tugged nervously at the waist of his jeans as he moved forward and took a seat across from the judge’s desk.

  “Your Honor.”

  “Hey, Buzz.” Gibson looked at the occupants of the room and nodded. “It looks like everyone is here but Patsy. Is she on her way?”

  “She has work today and can’t get off so it’ll just be me.”

  “I see.”

  Callie’s heartbeat sped. She could feel Buzz side-eying her, and it brought to mind the confrontation she’d had with him that night in front of her place then later at Billy’s Bar. He’d always been a bully, and she had no doubt he wouldn’t think twice about striking a woman, but she was safe here. Still, the man scared her. The entire Decker clan had a reputation for brawling and battering, and she shuddered to think of Izzy and Austin living among them. As if Mac read her fears, he patted her hand once in support, but soon they were listening to Gibson.

  “Buzz, I’d like to know your thoughts and why you decided to challenge Callie’s guardianship of Isabelle and Austin.”

  Buzz cleared his throat. “They’re my brother’s children, Judge. He’s in prison and can’t raise them. I understand that, but I don’t know why me and Patsy shouldn’t take care of them. We’re a married couple and Callie is single. Doesn’t seem right they shouldn’t have two parents.”

  The judge leaned back and steepled his fingers across his chest. “Well, as to that, I’ve seen a lot of very good single parents over the years. It takes all kinds to make a family, and from what I’ve seen, Callie has a strong work ethic and a good heart. I don’t think even you could dispute that. Callie is well-known here in Buffalo Ridge, and I have a stack of notarized testimony from the people here who can attest to her character.” He picked up the papers he’d studied earlier and held them up briefly before placing them back on the desk. “You’re welcome to look through them, Buzz, but you’ll see what I say is true. Her reputation is spotless.”

  Callie’s face burned under the unaccustomed praise, and inside, she began to relax somewhat. Her lawyer reached for several documents and handed them to the judge.

  “Your Honor, I wanted to present documents I obtained from police records. In the past ten years, Buzz has been arrested
twice for public intoxication and one for domestic battery. Charges on the battery were later dropped, but as you can see, there’s a pattern here. Callie is the proper guardian for these children.”

  Gibson frowned over the documents then glanced at Buzz over the top of his glasses. He set the papers aside. “What can you tell me about Austin and Isabelle? Give me some examples of their likes and dislikes.”

  Buzz shifted, obviously uncomfortable. “Um, well, the little girl just started school. Austin, um, he’s just a regular kid. Looks a whole like my brother Darrell.”

  The judge turned his attention to Callie and lifted a brow. “Callie? How long have you been helping care for them?”

  She smiled. “I moved in with Emma after she divorced Darrell. She really had her hands full at that time and was really struggling to get her life together. I like to think I took some of the burden off her shoulders and I love them both. After Em’s diagnosis, I fed them, dressed them, played with them and made sure chores and homework was done.” She shrugged. “Am I perfect? No. Absolutely not! But I’ve been there for them every step of the way. Judge Gibson, I would die for them. They deserve nothing but love and care. I promise to provide that.”

  “Mac, tell me about things since Callie has gone to work for you and how the kids are adjusting.”

  Mac cleared his throat. “Callie does a great job with the kids, and they’ve adapted to country life as if born to it. Callie or I walk them down the ranch road every morning to catch the bus and someone is there to meet them after school is over. They each have their own room and the care of every adult on the place. I realize I’m a little partial to the ranch, but it’s a great place for kids to live.”

  Gibson nodded and stayed quiet for several moments. “Ordinarily, I would take a day or so to make a decision, but in this instance, it seems clear to me that Isabelle and Austin should stay with Callie.”