by Krista Lakes
He rocked into her, groaning with the pleasure of it. Dylan placed his hands onto the bed, just above Bonnie’s shoulders. The soft light caressed the flexed muscles of his shoulders and biceps, accenting his strength around her.
She reached around to his back, gently digging her fingernails into his skin. She kissed him, needing as many connections as their body could make. The passion in the room was intoxication. It wasn’t just lust, though. There was more to it than that. Bonnie could sense that this was different than just simple sex. It was more potent, more real.
The pleasure that she experienced wasn’t just in her body. It was in her emotions, too. All of her senses filled with bliss. Her walls were down, and she thought that was making her able to connect on other levels with Dylan besides just the physical.
He wrapped his arms around her and rolled. She slid away from him, keenly feeling the loss. He now lay on his back before her, so she scrambled to resume her place with him, straddling her legs around his hips.
They both let out a groan of pleasure as Bonnie dropped her weight, allowing him inside once again. She felt complete this way.
Another bolt of lightning hit nearby. It sounded like it was just outside of the trailer again. However, this one didn’t make Bonnie jump at all. In fact, she was so deep in her lust that she hardly even heard it. It sounded distant, the way people sounded when she’d hold her breath and go underwater at a swimming pool. It seemed like the storm outside was far away.
Now that she was on top, she controlled the pace. She rode him slowly at first, rocking her body back and forth. The ache inside of her grew, and she quickened her pace. His hands went to her breasts, cupping and fondling them as they bounced. She loved the roughness of his fingertips against the sensitive skin of her delicate flesh. She loved the way he panted, his chest rising and falling, not with exertion, but sheer desire.
She was losing control, and he was coming along with her. Her legs tightened, and she called out his name.
They came together. Or at least, she thought they did. She wasn’t totally sure because everything was lost to pleasure and the sensation of him losing himself within her. Together they were both lost and found at the same time.
After a few moments, Dylan finally took a ragged breath and opened his eyes. He shook his head in awe as he gazed at Bonnie. Then he took her hands, gently pulling her into his embrace.
They kissed again. This time, it was slow and sensual. They had expelled much of their energy, and all that was left was sweet, sexy little pecks on the lips.
She didn’t want to be apart from him. Not ever. She wanted to stay there for eternity with him, just kissing and making love, pretending that the rest of the world didn’t exist. Pretending that everything was fine. Making believe that the mob wasn’t after her and that there wasn’t an ever-present danger everywhere else in the world besides the ranch and in that trailer with Dylan.
The rain outside had slowed down. The only thing left was the sound of a drizzle as it hit the ground. Bonnie gently parted her kiss and laid her head on Dylan’s chest. While she listened to his heartbeat, she gazed out the nearby window. The sun looked like it was about to peek from behind the clouds. She almost wished that it wouldn’t, though. She wanted to remain safe inside the storm with him.
Dylan wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her close. Her breathing slowed, the effects of the rain and sex finally catching up to her. With his arms protecting her, she finally could relax. For the first time in weeks, she slept without fear of nightmares.
Chapter 22
Bonnie
“This time, we’re going to go underwater,” Bonnie told Tyson. “You can totally do this.”
Tyson looked unconvinced. “Can we wait for Dylan?”
“Sure,” she replied with a shrug. “Or you can show him a new trick when he gets here.”
Tyson thought about it, and Bonnie let him have his time to think. She loved these lessons with Tyson. The kid was turning into a regular fish. He still didn’t like the sensation of water on his ears, but he was getting used to it. The more they worked together, the more progress Tyson made. She was so proud of him. She knew it wasn’t easy for the kid.
Dylan usually joined them for lessons, but today he was running late. She was looking forward to having him join them more than Tyson was.
“Okay,” Tyson announced. He took a deep breath and dunked his head underwater for approximately half a second. It wasn’t much, but he came up looking both terrified and incredibly pleased with himself.
“That was amazing!” Bonnie praised. The terrified look slowly faded from Tyson’s eyes. “Dylan is going to be super impressed. I know I am.”
“There he is,” Tyson said, waving to a figure across the pool.
Bonnie turned to look, and her heart skipped a beat. She loved that it did that. Dylan waved back to the two of them as he set his things on the edge of the pool and stripped down to his swim trunks. She had a feeling it would never get old to watch him take his clothes off.
“Hi, Dylan,” she called. A smile filled her face, and her heart did happy somersaults when she saw him. He waved and continued to set his things down on the edge of the pool.
“Are you two gonna get married?” Tyson asked.
“What?” Bonnie sputtered and did a double take as she turned to the boy.
“Are you gonna marry Dylan?” Tyson repeated.
“Why would you ask that?” Bonnie could feel the blush heating her face.
“Because you have a funny smile on your face when you look at him. He gets the same one when he looks at you,” Tyson explained. “I noticed since you had me practice looking at faces.”
Bonnie chuckled. She’d been helping Tyson practice emotions by looking at faces and tell her what they were feeling. It was something she did with her autism students, and it seemed to help Tyson figure out his own emotions as well.
“You are doing a good job of looking at faces and recognizing emotions,” she told him, patting his shoulder. She was having a hard time trying to come up with the appropriate way to explain this.
“So you are?” Tyson asked. His young face was so innocent. “I would like that.”
“Well, he does make me happy,” she told him. “But, marriage is a big step. I like him a lot, but I don’t think we’re ready yet. It’s important not to rush into a marriage.”
“Oh. Okay.” Tyson shrugged and then went back to blowing bubbles in the pool as he waited for Dylan to get in the water.
Bonnie shook her head. If only she had the innocence of a five-year-old. Life was so much simpler in his world. Love led to marriage and happily ever afters. The bad guys always lost. She wished the world was as black and white as Tyson viewed it. As safe.
From the corner of her eye, she saw a security guard make a round. Dylan and Carter had both increased the patrols. Since telling Dylan her situation, she had also told Mia.
She’d been afraid that Mia would fire her. Instead, Mia had shrugged and said she figured as much. Something about her background check had tipped her off that there was police interference in Bonnie’s life. Mia had already had security increased the day she offered her the position. Bonnie had to wonder just what else Mia had been able to figure out about her.
“How’s my swimmer?” Dylan asked, walking through the waist-high water to where Tyson happily blew bubbles.
“Watch this!” Tyson took a deep breath, and once again dunked himself in the water. He didn’t go deep enough to completely submerge his hair, but it was definitely progress.
“Wow, buddy!” Dylan praised as Tyson came back up. “That was so great. You must have worked really hard on that.”
Tyson beamed at him. “I did. Bonnie helped me.”
“Well, since you can do that, I think I have a new game for us to play,” Dylan told him. He looked up at Bonnie, and she nodded.
“What kind of game?” Tyson asked, excited.
Dylan grinned. “It’s called,
‘Shark Attack.’” He snapped his teeth. “So, you better swim little fishies, because this shark is hungry!”
Tyson shrieked with delight and scrambled to get away as Dylan started to sing the traditional “Jaws” music as he moved through the water. Bonnie laughed, watching the two of them.
“You’re not safe either, little fish,” he told her. She raised her eyebrows at him, wondering just what he was going to do.
“Watch out, Bonnie! He’s gonna eat you!” Tyson shouted from the shallow end.
“Damn straight,” Dylan murmured, quiet enough that Tyson couldn’t hear the curse word. He grinned and lunged for her.
Bonnie shrieked and dove to the side, but he was faster than she expected. His hand grazed her leg and wrapped around her ankle. She tried to kick free, but he had her. He proceeded to pull her under the water and dunk her.
She came up sputtering. She pushed her hair out of her eyes. “You are so shark fin soup, buddy.”
Dylan chuckled as she lunged for him. He was fast and moved out of the way, but she was ready. She ducked under the water and pushed off the bottom of the pool to get speed. She caught him as he ran from her, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to his back like a monkey.
He laughed and tried to shake her off, but she held on. He dove under the water, trying to knock her off with speed, but she was ready and held on.
“Wee! Dolphin ride,” she announced as he surfaced and stood. “Dunk!”
She threw her weight back into the pool, knocking him off balance. Together, they toppled backward into the water. She let go and swam away.
He came up sputtering this time, his dark hair falling in his face. He shook his head and grinned at her. She loved the way his dark eyes sparkled and danced as he looked at her. He motioned his head toward the shallow end, where Tyson was watching the two of them and laughing.
She nodded. It was time to get the little one.
“SHARK ATTACK!” Dylan yelled as they both rushed the shallow end. Tyson’s eyes went big, and he scrambled to get away, but the two adults had him cornered.
Bonnie got him first. “Om nom nom,” she growled, coming up and tickling his ribs with her fingers. Tyson shrieked with laughter, trying to wiggle away as Bonnie pretended to eat him up. He splashed and kicked until he freed himself, but Dylan was ready for him.
He picked up the boy and waded out into deeper water. Dylan put his hands under Tyson’s arms and threw him into the air. Tyson flew up, and Dylan caught him with a splash just as the boy was to hit the water. Dylan didn’t let the boy’s head go under, but let enough of his body enter the water to make a great big splash.
“Again! Again!” Tyson shouted, his face so full of smile it looked like he was going to split apart at the seams with joy.
Dylan tossed him into the air again, his strong arms flexing with the weight. Tyson screamed with delight as Bonnie moved out to join them in the deeper water.
“Catch Bonnie!” Dylan told her, throwing the boy over the water into her ready hands. She was ready to catch the small boy as he flew over the water to her.
Tyson laughed as a splash of water covered the two of them. “Tyson ball!” Bonnie yelled, using all her strength to toss him the two feet back to Dylan.
Dylan caught him with ease, and the three of them doubled over with laughter. Water, laughter, and smiles filled the air.
This is perfect, Bonnie thought, watching as Dylan made Tyson shriek with delight by throwing him up in the air and catching him as he hit the water. Her heart hurt she was so happy in this moment. She decided she could stay here forever. This was home now. They were home.
Chapter 23
Dylan
“Can I go eat with my friends tonight?” Tyson asked as they neared the cafeteria.
Dylan squeezed the boy’s shoulder. Tyson was helping him with a surprise for Bonnie. “I think that would be fine.”
“Um, sure,” Bonnie agreed. She frowned slightly but shrugged. “Whatever makes you happy.”
“Thanks.” Tyson grinned at the two of them and then attempted a wink to Dylan.
“Get out of here,” Dylan told him with a chuckle. He smiled as the boy ran to catch up with his two bunk-mates. He waved before disappearing inside the building.
“So are we doing something special then?” Bonnie asked, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows at him.
“What makes you think that?” he replied, feigning innocence.
“Because that was just way too obvious,” she told him. “Tyson can’t keep a secret to save his life. He already told me you have something planned.”
“That little traitor.” Dylan shook his head, but couldn’t help but smile. Tyson was such a good kid. Dylan hadn’t bonded with any of the kids here quite like he had with Tyson. He adored the little orphan, even if the kid couldn’t keep a secret.
“So? What are we doing?” Bonnie asked, nudging his arm with her hand. “I’m hungry.”
He turned and looked at her.
“You sure are beautiful, you know that?” he said.
She raised an eyebrow. “Dylan, my hair is a mess, and I’m not wearing any makeup at all. All of that, on top of the fact that I’m in a wet swimsuit and sweatpants. I hardly think I look beautiful right now.”
She obviously doesn’t know how I see her, he thought.
To Dylan, she looked incredible, despite the fact that she didn’t have makeup on and her hair was a little out of place. He thought she looked just as good without makeup and it wasn’t her hair that he was falling in love with. It was her. She could have been wearing ripped overalls and covered in tractor grease, and he would have felt the same way about her. It was something in her energy, something in her smile. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but whatever it was had him head over heels for her. It was unlike anything he’d experienced in his life.
“Well, I still think you look really pretty anyway,” Dylan said.
Bonnie’s cheeks turned a light shade of red as she blushed. It made Dylan smile seeing her flush at the complement. Without saying another word, he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. When he pulled away, Bonnie’s eyes were lit up in her face was beaming with happiness.
“You’re really sweet. You know that?” She said.
Dylan shrugged. “I’m just being honest.”
“I like that.” Bonnie innocently shuffled her feet in the dirt.
“How do you feel about dinner at my place?” Dylan asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bonnie brought her gaze up to meet his. “Is that the surprise?”
“You don’t sound too excited,” Dylan said.
“It’s not that,” Bonnie said. “I just didn’t know you cooked.”
Dylan laughed. “I don’t cook. I have tried, but I am extremely unsuccessful at it. Chef’s making chicken cacciatore tonight, and she is delivering it to me so we can have a romantic evening alone.”
She chuckled. “She must really want you to date me.”
“So, you’ll come?” His heart sped up, even though he knew she would say yes. Just knowing he would have a whole evening with her made the future look bright. Dylan smiled. “You don’t need to change.”
She took a step back and held her arms out do while glancing down at her body. “Dylan, look at me right now. I know you said that you thought I looked beautiful but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m wearing a wet swimsuit and sweatpants. I’m not exactly dressed for a nice dinner.”
He glanced at the sky as if you were thinking deeply. Then he brought his gaze back down to Bonnie.
“Well, I think I have a solution. Maybe you should just take off the wet swimsuit when we get back to my place. Problem solved.” He flashed a wink and a playful grin. “Naked eating is always good.”
Bonnie laughed. “Tell you what. If you let me take a quick shower at your place and also let me borrow some more clothes of yours to wear, then we can head to your trailer now. I just want to get the pool off of me.�
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“Sounds like a deal.” Dylan held his hand out to take Bonnie’s and the two of them made their way back toward his place.
Dylan loved walking alongside Bonnie. He loved having her hand and her fingers interlocked with his. He noticed that his stride was a little longer and he held his chin a little higher when she was next to him. There was something about being in her presence that put him at ease. He had dated many women in his life, but none of them were like Bonnie. None of them had given him those butterflies of excitement in his belly that she did. There was something very special about her, and even though he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was, he knew that she was worth cherishing and worth holding onto.
Maybe part of it is because she doesn’t want me for my money, he thought. It seems like Bonnie just enjoys spending time with me because she wants to spend time with me. There’s a real connection here. I can feel it. I know for a fact it’s not just in my imagination either.
It was only a short walk back to his trailer, but in a way, he wished that it was a little bit further. He really enjoyed the simple things, and just strolling next to her put a smile on his face. He could see a future here.
“I think I can smell our dinner from here,” he said, as they neared the trailer.
Bonnie drew in a long breath or her nostrils and nodded. “Me too. Smells amazing.”
“Chef must have just dropped it off,” he said. “Perfect timing.”
They made their way down the dusty path that led to his home. As they stepped up onto the front porch, Dylan noticed a large brown paper bag that was stapled up at the top. On the front was a little smiley face drawn in black ink. Underneath it, the chef it scribbled the word “Enjoy.”
“You really did have this all planned out, didn’t you?” Bonnie said, squeezing Dylan’s hand.
He glanced over at her and grinned. “I just wanted to do something special for you.”