Vonnie: Book Two of Broken Girls Series

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  “Anytime, honey.” Another thought occurred to her. “Hey, if you and Rio don’t have any plans, why don’t you come with us to Maggie’s for dinner? She does this big thing every Sunday and there’s always plenty of food.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Aw c’mon. You’ve met her and she’s a hoot. Besides she’s gonna be my mother-in-law and how can you turn down a dinner with my future family members, huh?”

  Vonnie nodded and Phoebe felt like she’d won a brief skirmish with very little effort.

  But she knew she’d won the war when Vonnie stood and said, “Let me talk to Rio first.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  I didn’t know if it was because of all the emotions of the day or the two glasses of Maggie’s amazing Sangria, but I was feeling pretty mellow on the ride back home. So relaxed in fact, I allowed my eyes to go where they wanted.

  And their desire was to stare at the man sitting in the driver’s seat.

  One who I’d learned a lot more about in the couple of hours we’d been at the Adams-Santiago house, only instead of hearing about his early years I got a glimpse of the military side of Rio. “Are you really a war-hero, soldier boy?”

  He gave me a glance as he flicked on his indicator. “Have the medal and everything, princess. That and a couple of bucks will get you a cup of coffee.”

  “No, really. I mean, Max’s mom couldn’t stop raving about how you saved his life. Thanking you every other sentence.” I looked out at the dark and empty street, only illuminated by the headlights of his jeep. “What does IED mean?”

  “It’s like a homemade bomb. An improvised explosive device.” He made his turn and looked my way again. “The insurgents liked to tuck those things around, hide them on roads or in sacks of grain, underneath a pile of rubble just to catch us unaware.”

  “And one of the guys in your unit stepped on one?”

  “Yeah.” His answer was short, but his tone gave that one word a lot of meaning. “Donaldson, though we all called him Tuck.”

  “It knocked Max off his feet too, you said.”

  “This is the worst part of those scenarios because after the initial explosion, there’d usually be a sniper or two waiting to pick us off one by one.” I could tell Rio really didn’t want to talk about it anymore. In fact hadn’t even wanted to talk about it when Maggie asked for the story. One Max claimed not to remember. “They got Max in the shoulder when he was down and me in the side when I was carrying him out.”

  Hmm, I hadn’t seen any scars on Rio’s amazing body during our playtime of the night before or that morning. Guess I needed to check it out when we got home.

  “What made you decide to go in the Army anyway?”

  He shrugged after making another turn. “Was tired of school and wanted to see the world. Plus there was the added benefit of being a part of a family again.”

  “Family? Did you have an uncle or a cousin with you when you enlisted?”

  “No. I told you true, princess. I don’t have any remaining family that I know of,” he replied. “I was talking about brothers-in-arms. You spend so much time with the others in your unit, they become your family in just about every way.”

  “And you missed being a part of one. A family, I mean.”

  “Yeah, something along those lines.”

  I liked that. Liked that Rio knew what he needed to fulfill himself and had found his place in a band of men he could call his ‘brothers’ even though they weren’t related. It was kind of like me and my girls. Where the bonds of the group were forged through common purpose and adversity.

  “Speaking about family,” he started, his eyes trained on the dark road. “Have you talked to Diane about you having a brother out there somewhere since she first mentioned it?”

  Even though I was feeling so mellow and relaxed, at Rio’s question, my heartbeat took on a new rhythm—which didn’t make a bit of sense. To my knowledge, I didn’t have one and had told him the truth from before. I didn’t have any living family either. “Nuh-uh.”

  Turning to the window, I continued. “What would be the point? If he was alive, wouldn’t he have contacted me by now? I don’t want to get my hopes up or put Diane on the spot if she’d just confused me with one of the other girls. There were a lot of us to keep track of, you know.”

  Rio performed another couple of turns in silence, neither responding nor offering judgment on my lack of follow through.

  “Want to talk to you about tomorrow, spitfire,” he started, pulling into the complex’s driveway. “I’ve got to go to the office for a few hours and need to make sure you’re gonna be okay.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He pulled into one of the visitor spots and switched off the engine. Turning to me while wearing his ‘serious’ face, I allowed my eyes to enjoy the view. “I’d prefer you stay inside until I get home—”

  I started doing an imitation of a fish, opening and closing my mouth as I immediately began to form my arguments about his restriction, but he stopped talking and narrowed his eyes.

  “I said I’d prefer it, Vonnie, not that I think you’d actually do it.” Good on him for offering a correction before I’d even mounted my protest. “But Max has a guy by the name of Lance who is willing to keep watch over you when you leave the house.”

  Wait a flipping second!

  He thought I needed a babysitter?

  “Nope. That’s not going to happen.”

  Rio sighed and looked away. I knew he wasn’t giving up but only marshalling his next salvo. “Babe, you won’t even see him. Won’t even know he’s there. But it’ll make me feel better to know someone is looking after you when I’m not around.”

  “I can take care of myself.” Hadn’t we already had this argument? I seemed to remember telling him that before. “I’m not totally defenseless, you know.”

  “So you’ve said,” he deadpanned. “It’ll only be for a little while, until the cops get a bead on who broke into your place and what they were looking for.”

  Ice began to flow in my veins as I remembered the mess of my home when we’d returned from the concert. I’d sensed it wasn’t just a random snatch and grab kind of deal. That he thought the same thing was shocking and way cool. “And I won’t see him? He won’t cramp my style?”

  From my vantage point, it appeared he was fighting a smile. “No, princess. He won’t cramp your style. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “Will he be packing heat?”

  Rio couldn’t contain it and the sound of his laughter bounced within the confines of the car. “Christ, Vonnie. What kind of TV shows do you watch anyway? Anything from this century?”

  “Didn’t I say that right?” I didn’t know whether to kick-start the pissy hovering on the edge of my mood or laugh with him. His twinkling eyes came back to me, helping me choose. “I was just asking if he’d have a gun.”

  “I knew what you meant.” His voice went tender as his expression softened. “Anybody ever tell you you’re adorable as hell?”

  It was my turn to look away. “Not recently.”

  It was an out and out lie. Because no one, not one damn soul had ever called me adorable before.

  Not ever.

  And is probably why I carried his compliment close to my heart as we made our way inside.

  *.*.*.*.*

  Rio reached for the weapon in his boot before unlocking the repaired front door. “Need you and PK to wait here while I do a quick walk-through.” And his spitfire shocked the shit outta him by only nodding while cuddling his pooch closer to her chest.

  Lucky dog.

  After giving her the all clear, Rio relocked the door and pulled out his cellphone only from the inside her place that time. “Don’t get too comfortable, princess. I need to show you how to work your new security system.” The reality was the arrangement he and Ryker installed was the most sophisticated, yet easiest Rio’d ever seen. “See? All we gotta do is install this app on your phone and if there’s ever an
unauthorized entry here in the house, it’ll notify you, me and GPD.”

  “How does it know who’s authorized or not?”

  “You engage the system by using the app and turn it off the same way. Easy, yeah?” He glanced at her, watching as she installed the tiny application that could do so much.

  “It’s asking for the code. Did you already give it one?”

  Rio waited until she looked up until he answered. “Yeah. It’s VO4413.”

  Her forehead wrinkled and a tiny line appeared between her eyebrows. “Is that supposed to mean something, ‘because I don’t get it.”

  Sliding an arm around her shoulders, he couldn’t help his smile. “It’s your name, Vons. Something we can both remember.” He could tell he’d done good, real good in substituting numbers for letters, by her soft gasp and the way she ducked her head to hide her reddening cheeks as she stared at the lighted rectangle cradled in her fingers.

  After entering the code, her phone gave off a small beep. “Go ahead and hit the button at the bottom. That will turn the system back on,” he instructed.

  They both started at the sound of the locks as they engaged.

  “You’re right, it is easy,” she said on a laugh. It was the first time he’d heard any nuance of mirth from her and the sound hit and then sank into a deep, deep place inside him. But she wasn’t finished. “Thank you. Thanks for fixing the door and installing the alarm thing.”

  She slipped her closest arm around his waist and momentarily leaned her head on his chest. But as she tried to pull away, Rio turned them until they faced each other—or would have if there wasn’t such a difference in their heights. “It was my pleasure.”

  He leaned down until they were forehead to forehead, watching her expression, careful to note any change, any physical signal he was moving too fast. “Did you have fun tonight, spitfire?”

  “I did.” He wondered at her tone which sounded both warm and happy.

  “Wanna have some more?” That got her attention, but he liked that she didn’t play coy or pretend to misunderstand what he meant.

  She pulled away, taking herself out of his arms and Rio felt his stomach drop. Too much too soon, his mind yelled.

  But she was smiling as she reached for his hand and gave it a tug. “I do.”

  Once they were in the bedroom, she made a bit of a production in removing all the different throw pillows decorating the bed and turning back the sheets before she came to stand before him.

  And with slow deliberation, Rio watched as his little spitfire began to peel off her clothes, piece by piece, dropping them to the floor beside her.

  Not to be outdone Rio followed her, taking off his boots when she did, removing his thermal just seconds after she pulled her sweater over her head. Popping the button on his jeans only a breath after she reached for the one on hers. Following her lead, he stopped when she did which meant they stood in front of one another wearing nothing but their underwear. Although his black boxer briefs and socks had nothing on the lacy, light green matching bra and thong she rocked.

  And when combined with her dark knee socks?

  It might not have been what other dipsticks would call sexy, but it sure as hell worked for him—as evidenced by the very noticeable and ever hardening snake in his shorts.

  She took a half-step closer, close enough he could feel the heat of her body. Placing a hand on his chest, she gazed up at him with a sexy little smile. “Is that a weapon in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

  He blinked, reeling from the fact she’d voluntarily touched him twice, before her words sunk in.

  Had she just tried to make a joke?

  A bad one—even an old one, but still and all, she’d tried to be funny. And in the little bit of time they’d spent together, Rio noted Vonnie’s sense of humor was well within the corral of slim to none. So he let a chuckle out, one that had more to do with the fact she wanted to lighten the mood between them than her tired, over-used line. “What do you think, precious?”

  Her eyes twinkled as she quickly turned on a heel and sauntered away from him to the other side of her bed. “I think…if you can catch me, you can have me.”

  Ooh, a chase!

  With a prize, the best kind of reward at the end.

  His heart speeded up, his dick flexed on a hard note as his mind tried to intercede.

  But all he could hear was his body’s, ‘Oh hell to the yeah’.

  He took a step forward, watching her every move to see which way she’d go as well as her commitment to evading him. The biggest question on his mind though, was whether he should make his play early so they could get down to it, or let her work herself up a bit beforehand. “You better run then, princess.”

  She darted to the door and he let her, mesmerized by the giggle she’d left behind.

  Christ, he felt like the big, bad wolf as he slowly stomped his way down the darkened hall. Just like the one in the story, he was prepared to eat, to feast on her sweetness when he finally allowed himself to catch her and shift their play to something more erotic.

  Flipping on the bathroom light, he caught a glimpse of her pearlescent skin as she moved in the shrouded darkness of the living room, juxtaposing herself between the couch and the table.

  “Come out, come out wherever you are,” he growled, allowing himself the luxury of zeroing all of his senses on her.

  On nothing more than her.

  On the peach-like smell of her skin lingering in the hallway. The particular one which sent his senses scattering southward every time he breathed it.

  Spying the flash of her beautiful skin, offered up in alabaster bits and pieces only dissected by the lacy, totally-a-turn-on scraps of her underwear, Rio moved forward slowly.

  Was she really standing on the coffee table?

  His eyes focused on his target even as his cock thrummed in admiration at the view. For a shorter sort of girl, Vonnie’s perfectly curved legs appeared to go on for-frickin’-ever.

  And her rack?

  Fuck me, his mind urged as he allowed one heavy foot to follow another. Those fulsome mounds tempted him into the very depths of hell.

  She was still giggling as he made his way down the partially lit hall as Rio took note of the hand she raised.

  As if a lowly palm could prevent his moves.

  “Gonna get you, girl.” Shit, was that a threat or a promise? Glued to the vision encapsulating his dick’s idea of beauty before him, Rio couldn’t have answered his heart’s own question. All he knew was he wanted her.

  Just her.

  And was determined to catch her in order to perform a number of things to the succulent body now on display.

  “Stay back,” she warned her mirth at war against her words. Causing Rio to still as his eyes devoured all the curves on display.

  Fuck, she was gorgeous.

  So sexy, he needed to shut the game down (that he himself had initiated) so they could do what his body was screaming to do. “Need you, princess,” he said on a growl that more than spoke of his increasing desire.

  “Gotta capture me in order to claim me, soldier boy,” she shot back, as ever dishing out as good as she got.

  Christ, she was a treasure.

  Rio assessed the situation in the low lighting trickling down the hall. “You have no way out. No way to make yourself safe except by going outside.”

  She stilled from her perch on the large piece of furniture.

  “And I’m figuring you’re not much for displays of public almost-nudity,” he continued, taking slow measured steps her way. “For running outside in your underwear.”

  Her eyes glanced towards the front door and then the sliders before they frantically came back to him. That she was no longer giggling was a major concern to Rio’s way of thinking.

  “So I’m gonna give you a head start,” he hedged, more than willing to give her an out. “I’ll stand against the front door and not move for five seconds. This, if you’re smart, should give
you enough time to figure out a different way of dealing with the inevitable.”

  She blinked and chewed her lower lip, making the erect beast between his legs flex.

  “Okay,” she began, eyeing the length of the hallway before dragging her look to his. “I can’t go outside, but you’re gonna remain standing against the door for five seconds, right?”

  “Did I stutter?” Rio stepped to the door he’d repaired earlier and pressed his shoulders against it. “You initiated this, princess. Or don’t you like toying with the big, bad wolf?”

  She swallowed and both he and his cock delighted at the view of how her throat moved when she was nervous. There was no denying his spitfire was jumpy as she realized the position she’d put herself in with her challenge.

  Oh yeah, he’d be kissing her soon.

  And on whatever body part presented itself to his lips.

  “One Mississippi,” he ground out, crossing his arms on his chest as his eyes remained glued to the vision before him.

  “Rio…” she quasi-wailed, but he saw her eyes darting around as if looking for an escape to the game she started. While she let out another much shakier, chortle.

  He paused, wondering how to react when he more than knew that within the confines of her condo, he’d always find her. Always be able to claim her and had known that shit from the moment she’d offered her challenge. “Two Mississippi.”

  She eyed him warily, snapping the elastic of her panties on her ass as she stepped down from the coffee table. “Five seconds?”

  He didn’t answer except to plant his feet in a better, more stalwart stance before he muttered, “three Mississippi.”

  Yelping, his girl jumped off the table and ran back down the hall, the cheeks of her ass almost glowing as they jiggled with every step. And again, her breathy giggles filled the air, steeling him with a steadiness, a resolve that spoke of his caveman predecessors. Because the sight and sound of her running almost naked and a bit afraid of what she feared he’d do, enflamed him as he pressed out and away from the door. Done just to better view that rockin’ body as she ran back to the bedroom.