Guarded Passion

by Bonnie Dee

  “I forgot the water. And the flowers again,” I muttered to myself as I settled beside her.

  “What?”

  “For afterward. I meant to bring bottled water and maybe some snacks.”

  She smiled. “You really did plan ahead for this.”

  “I had flowers too, just like I had for our date that time, but I left them in the back of the SUV, so they’re probably dead by now. I don’t seem to have very good luck with flowers. Sorry.”

  Rianna’s smile turned into a chuckle. “I don’t need flowers. Tonight was perfect.” She turned her head on the pillow and reached out to touch my face. “I really hate to cut it short. I wish we could stay here all night, but…”

  “You have to get home to Travis. I understand.”

  “You could spend the night at my place. There’s not even a bed in yours now,” she pointed out. “My bed’s narrow, so you probably won’t be very comfortable, but—”

  “It will be perfect,” I assured her. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Rianna

  If there’s anything sweeter, more beautiful, more heartwarming than the sight of a man holding a child and singing softly to him, I don’t know what it is. Months after I’d moved to Lexington, I came home to my apartment one evening and heard the singing before I saw the aww-inducing pair cuddled together on the couch. I stopped in the doorway before they spotted me and just watched my adorable son and handsome boyfriend.

  Jonah was singing “Do You Know the Muffin Man?” and clapping Travis’s hands together along with the tune. Travis lay against the man’s broad chest and sang along, breaking into giggles when Jonah interrupted the clapping to bop Travis lightly in the nose.

  “Yes, I know the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man, who lives on Drury La-ane.” Jonah ended with an operatic bellow and lifted Travis’s hands in a Rocky victory pump.

  Travis shrieked with laughter and wriggled like a landed fish. Then he finally noticed me and shouted, “Mama!” He squirreled off Jonah’s lap and ran over to throw his arms around my knees.

  “Hi, Big Boy. How was your afternoon?” I picked him up and cuddled him close. He allowed about one squeeze before trying to get down again.

  “We made muffins. Mister Wire and me.” Travis grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the kitchenette.

  “I knew I smelled something delicious, but I thought it was Mr. Wire.” I winked at Jonah, who unfolded his long length from the couch and followed us to the counter where the muffins cooled. Not muffins. Cupcakes, actually, frosted in various bright colors.

  “You did this?”

  “With the help of the bakery. We only frosted them. For Jonah’s class tomorrow.”

  “Thank you so much.” I gave Jonah a big hug. “I would’ve taken in a box of cookies or something.”

  “No problem. It was fun.”

  “See, Mama? Faces.” Travis pointed out the googly eyes and smiles adorning each cupcake top. “Now we can eat one.”

  “I said after your mom got home and after we have dinner,” Jonah reminded him. He leaned to kiss my neck and murmured, “And after dinner and bedtime, we’ll see what other things we can do with the frosting.”

  “That sounds very innovative and…sticky.” I shivered in anticipation. So many hours in the day and not near enough of them alone with Jonah.

  “How was your day?” Jonah asked as he whipped around the kitchen, serving up the lasagna from the oven—the other good smell wafting through the apartment.

  “Fantastic.” I stretched and felt the pleasant burn of sore muscles. “The afternoon class gave me a real workout.”

  “You like it?” he teased.

  “You know I love it. If you’re angling for another you were right, you’ve got it. I love my studio, and the next set of classes is already filling up. But I still hate borrowing that much money from you.”

  “Just another investment.” He tossed it off lightly as he cut squares of lasagna and served them onto three plates. “I knew you’d make the dance studio successful, so I’m getting my percentage. It’s a fair deal.”

  When I’d first moved to Lexington, I worked as a hostess at Jonah’s distillery. It was a dependable job, and I was happy to help him launch his business, but the duties weren’t particularly challenging. I happened to mention my idea of teaching dance classes, possibly through community ed, and the next thing I knew, Jonah insisted on helping me launch a studio of my own despite my protests it would be too expensive.

  It would’ve been years before I could afford to invest in such an idea without his help. But I’d come to realize Jonah wasn’t offering charity. He was my partner. I helped him and he helped me, and together we made everything work.

  Ironically, one of my most popular classes at Dance and Fitness for All was pole dancing. Middle-class mommies liked the eroticism of slinking around a pole. They’d never know the desperation of needing a job like that, but that was okay. The drowning sensation of barely getting by was already fading from my consciousness too. I had everything I needed or wanted now, a safe home for my son, and a man who loved both of us enough to decorate cupcakes for eighteen preschoolers.

  It didn’t take long after dinner for Travis to hit a wall and drop like a stone, his seemingly endless supply of energy tapped out at last. I carried him to bed, and Jonah pulled back the covers. After we’d tucked him in and closed the door, we were finally able to lunge toward each other and spend some time alone.

  I straddled his body like he was a stripper pole, legs clamped around his hips, hands tangled in his hair. The soft brush of his lips grew harder, and I melted under the onslaught of kisses. Maybe it was so hot and passionate because we had to steal moments like this. With both of us working so much, plus devoting plenty of attention to Travis, we could only snatch a few private hours each day. There was no time for the honeymoon luxury of languid mornings in bed together, but we made every moment we did have count. Most evenings we spent at my apartment to keep Travis in his own bed at night. On weekends, Travis and I would have overnights at Jonah’s beautiful new house. I could feel the day coming when we’d move in with him. Part of me was eager for it. But I wasn’t quite ready to take that next big step.

  Now, I gripped Jonah’s rock-hard shoulders as he carried me to the bedroom. I’d never seen the man work out, yet his body was as muscled as if he went to a gym daily. I drew away from kissing him with a smack. “How do you keep so toned?”

  “Hm?” His mouth reached for mine, not appreciating the interruption.

  “Buff. Muscles. What’s your secret?”

  “I dunno. Genetics.” He stopped any further questions with more kisses before depositing me on the bed. “How did you get such a nice ass and those gorgeous long legs?”

  “Working out, stretching, sweating, and not eating frosted cupcakes. You know, the things normal people have to do to keep in shape. You’re a freak.”

  He chuckled, that rich sound that made my whole body tingle, as he stripped off his shirt, jeans, and underwear, revealing exactly what a freak he was with those ridiculously sculpted abs, chest, arms, and legs.

  “And I appreciate every workout you do, because your body is smoking.” His gaze raked over me like hot coals, and I felt smoking. I felt like the most gorgeous woman on earth. And I wasn’t even naked yet.

  He helped me out of my top and bra and fell to feasting on my breasts. Every suck of my nipples sent another wave of pure heat through me. I recalled his promise to slather frosting in strategic places, but it wasn’t worth going all the way to the kitchen for it. I was content to have Jonah devouring my body. He stripped off my sweatpants and showed me exactly how well he could please me with his tongue.

  I’d been anticipating this all day. As I showed the ladies in my classes how to bump and grind and work every muscle, I couldn’t help but daydream about Jonah, which made the dancing even sexier. My body was primed for this, so I wasn’t surprised that I c
ame fast and hard.

  Jonah pulled back with a laugh. “Damn, you’re wet. You needed that.”

  I gasped for breath. “I did. Thank you.”

  He pressed butterfly kisses to my stomach and murmured, “My pleasure.”

  “Now what can I do for you in return?” I kneaded his ass with my toes and trailed one foot as far as I could up his spine.

  “Anything you want. I’m yours to command.”

  I patted the pillow. “Come up here and lie down.”

  Jonah lay beside me, enfolding me in his strong arms, his breath gusting against my cheek. I’d never felt more sheltered, cared for, admired, and loved. Good sex was merely icing on the cupcake. It was the rich gooey chocolaty heart that made the delicacy so satisfying and filling. Together, we were the cupcake.

  “How’s everything going at the distillery?” I asked.

  “More or less on schedule.” He tapped his fingers on my back and stared at the ceiling. “My job’s more about setting up distribution than actually having a hand in crafting the bourbon. I’d like to be more involved in that part, but I guess it’s why I hired a master distiller. I stand back and listen and learn.”

  “And the first batch will be ready to ship in spring?”

  I already knew the answer. While waiting for the high-end bourbon to age ten years, the distillery would produce a lower-grade whiskey in which the process was hastened. But I let Jonah explain everything to me again. After all, he patiently listened to me chatter on about the dance studio and my classes every day. That was what couples did. Listened to each other talk about their days and supported each other in everything they did.

  That sounded so simple, yet it seemed nearly impossible for many people. I thought of Clay, who’d never once asked me about things I was interested in or what I wanted to do with my life, but who’d always expected me to listen to him ramble on about the slights and disappointments he gathered around himself in a gloomy cloud.

  Jonah and I talked more about the distillery and about Travis’s new preschool class. He’d scratched a kid, and I worried about that, but Jonah told me we’d work through it. “It’s normal for kids to do stuff like that. We just keep letting him know it’s unacceptable, and he’ll stop the behavior after a while.”

  “I hope so.” I changed the subject to the other misbehaving dependent in our lives. “Shall we go visit your dad this weekend?”

  Jonah groaned.

  “You’ll feel good about yourself after we get it out of the way. Like taking medicine. We just have to do it.”

  He grunted. “Fine. But I don’t want to think about him now. We have little enough time together. I won’t waste it on him.” He traced a finger over the curve of my shoulder, down my chest, and over my breasts, drawing circles around each nipple until they peaked.

  I smiled and wriggled under his tickling touch. Rolling toward him, I found his mouth, ripe for kissing and tasting of me. We kissed until kissing wasn’t enough, touched until we needed more, then came together at last, our two bodies clicking neatly into one another like Travis’s big Lego blocks. After trying about every position we could think of over the past weeks, we’d learned we fit together perfectly in all of them.

  When lovemaking came to its natural conclusion, I slumped against Jonah’s chest and breathed until my thundering heart calmed down.

  “I think we should plant one of the gardens with herbs,” I said when I could speak again. “The one nearest the kitchen.”

  “That sounds good. Fresh herbs for cooking,” Jonah agreed. “Maybe I’ll hide one cannabis among the sage just to remind me where I come from. Besides, it’s not bad to have a plant on hand for medicinal smoking.”

  I slapped his chest. “We have a child! You’re not planting pot in the herb garden.”

  He laughed. “Kidding. What else do you want to plant? Do you have favorite flowers you want to grow?”

  “I always liked those snowball bushes. Could we plant one of those?”

  “Viburnum.” He told me the proper name. “Sure. I can see it filling in that spot right on the west side of the house. And of course, we’ll have to put in a vegetable garden in back. Dig a patch close to the herb garden.”

  “Vegetables take a lot of tending. Someone would have to stay on top of the weeding and watering and then the harvesting and canning.” I stroked my finger over the small brown disc of his areola and the tiny button of his nipple. “You’re busy at the distillery. You could hardly handle all that gardening alone. I’d have to come over often to help, not just on the weekends. It would be nice for Travis to learn a little bit about gardening and to have that big yard to play in. Maybe a blow-up wading pool.”

  “I’ll fix the tree swing so it’s safer for him. Probably put a sandbox in under the same tree,” Jonah said.

  “It seems kind of silly to bounce back and forth between two places.”

  His arm tightened around me. “There’s plenty of room for all of us at the house.”

  “By springtime. Planting season,” I suggested.

  “That sounds like just the right time for a new beginning,” Jonah agreed.

  The End

  A Note from Bonnie: If you want to stay informed about new releases, please SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER by clicking on the link. You can learn more about my backlist at my newly redesigned, gorgeous website http://bonniedee.com. Find me on FB and Twitter @Bonnie_Dee. And if you want to help spread the word about my books, I’d love to welcome you to my street team at FB.

  If you missed either of the other Wyatt brothers stories, find them at Blind Passion and Dangerous Passion.

  Guarded Passion will be followed in about a month by a Wyatt wedding story to wrap up all the lovers’ stories.

  In the meant time, you might check out my Promise series, beginning with The Seduction Vow.

  The Seduction Vow, book 1

  After an abruptly ended engagement, Graciela Ramirez is dying of a broken heart AND has to attend her friend’s wedding as the only member of her old group who’s still a virgin. On a quest to reinvent herself as bolder, braver and sexier, she tries crazy new things and intends to have a one night stand. Catapulted into the dating game once more, Graci never expects that Neal, the hot musician she literally runs into at a bar, might be her second chance at love. He’s supposed to be her transition guy, but love doesn’t arrive on a schedule and that annoying virginity may not be as easy to lose as she’d hoped.

  The Promise Series

  Five best friends scattered by time and distance will soon come together to witness the wedding vows of one. But in the meantime, each woman make pledges of her own and finds unexpected new love waiting just around the corner. Promises will be made and sometimes broken but sisterhood endures in this series about five forever-friends and the men who love them.

  Book 1 – The Seduction Vow

  Book 2 – The Temporary Promise

  Book 3 – The Matchmaking Pact

  Book 4 – The New Leaf Pledge

  Book 5 – The Wedding Affirmation

  Excerpt from The Seduction Vow

  The blue-eyed man’s frown smoothed, and he smiled. “Sure you’re okay? You don’t look so good.”

  She sniffed and wiped her damp cheeks. “I’m fine. I just…haven’t drunk in a while and I… Oh.” Suddenly, the pleasant swirly feeling inside her turned into churning. Her stomach somersaulted and her ears rang. She was going to puke right there in the middle of a crowded club. She clapped a hand over her mouth.

  The man didn’t ask again if she felt all right. He took a firmer hold of her arm and dragged her through the throng toward the restroom.

  Graci barely made it inside and dropped to her knees beside a toilet before her guts let loose. Everything came boiling up, the booze, the pain and betrayal, the loss and loneliness rushing out of her in a cathartic gush. Thoughts of Joey mingled with the pain in her stomach as she purged him from her system. Damn if he would occupy even a tiny part of her mind or heart for on
e more moment.

  After she was through, she rested her forehead against one arm and simply breathed.

  “Are you gonna be okay? Can I get you anything?” some girl asked.

  “Thanks. No.” Graci dragged herself upright.

  The girl offered breath mints. Her small kindness seemed saintly, overwhelming, and Graci almost started crying again.

  After she’d splashed her face, rinsed her mouth, and sucked on one of the mints, her drunken weepiness seemed to have abated. Still a little weak and shaky, she walked out of the restroom.

  The blue-eyed man waited outside. “You gonna make it?”

  Crap! Of all the people to witness her humiliation, it had to be the hottest guy she’d seen in ages. “Yeah. Thanks for helping me. That was so embarrassing.”

  “No big deal. We’ve all been there.” He smiled sympathetically.

  “Yeah, but maybe not so publicly.”

  Her savior’s vivid blue eyes were only part of a really hot package. Faded T-shirt and jeans hugged a lean body. Blue tats coiled around his biceps and down his forearms. A Celtic design enhanced the muscles on one side, and what may have been Chinese figures marked the other. She couldn’t make out the pattern on the side of his neck without staring, which she did not want to be caught doing, so she barely glanced at the tattoo or the piercing in his eyebrow. Shaggy brown hair, longer than hers, fell in waves over his forehead and neck, and the scruff of a beard and moustache framed really nicely shaped lips. Good God, was she actually standing here, swaying on her feet, thinking how kissable his mouth looked?

  The sexy man nodded toward the area where Mike and his friends still sat. “Was that guy your ride home? You need help getting a cab?”

  “No. He’s not… I came here alone. I can drive home. It’s not far.”

  He grimaced. “Mm. Sorry, but I don’t think you should. You got a friend or somebody I could call?”

  Tara would come in a heartbeat if Graci called, but her teasing later would be relentless. She shook her head. “I guess maybe I do need a cab.”