Saving Bonnie: A Dark Mafia Romance (Blood Ties Book 2)

by Sahara Roberts

  I let myself into the apartment then go straight to the breakfast bar to leave the bacon-and-egg monster taco I brought Tino. Not only has he been awake all night, he hasn’t eaten. Should I wake him? Is he even asleep yet? I slip down the hall, trying to be as quiet as possible, and peek around the doorway. The bed is empty, and the door to the bathroom is open. My shoulders slump. All the worrying for nothing.

  After setting some underwear on the dresser, I drag my top over my head and slip into the bathroom. Twisting the handle, I leave the water to heat then finish stripping. He said he’d be back but didn’t mention when, so I have to make the best of my time alone. I’m rinsing conditioner from my hair when a faint noise catches my attention. Pausing, I strain to hear over the running water. Did it come from my apartment or downstairs? I can’t tell, and the memories of last night are still too close for comfort.

  With my heart racing, I pull the edge of the shower curtain open just enough to peek through. Even though the door didn’t open, I glance around the small bathroom. Nobody. Great. I slip out of the shower, dry off then wrap the towel around my hair before pulling on the robe I keep behind the door. I need to hurry. By now, we probably have customers showing up and so far only Manny manning the kitchen.

  As soon as I open the door, I know he’s here. Stepping into the bedroom, I find him leaning casually against the dresser. His presence is all it takes to send a flutter through me. I take a breath and compose myself.

  “I thought you’d left.”

  “I came to drop off your cell.” With a hint of a smile on his lips, he leans forward, pulling the phone out of his back pocket. He sets it next to the clothes I left in a neat stack then lets his fingers drift over to the edge of the panties I chose.

  “What’s this?” he asks, hooking a finger through the material.

  I stare at the gray spandex hanging off his index finger. Flying across the room, I snatch it away. “What are you doing with my underwear?” I crush the panties in my hand.

  “Underwear?” His eyebrow quirks, and my grip on the robe tightens as annoyance starts to edge out embarrassment.

  “They’re boy shorts.” I press my lips together as I try to gather some dignity. Yes, fine, they may not be sexy, but they’re comfortable, affordable, and they cover everything they should.

  “I imagined you wearing something high cut, covered in lace.” His gaze travels down my robe to the V of my legs.

  “I run a kitchen. I can’t use something that’ll ride up while I’m running around.”

  “How about a thong? They have nothing to ride up.”

  “Thongs aren’t exactly made for someone—” Like me? I bite off the last part. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Deadly doesn’t know I’m boring, unassuming, and predictable. If anything, he might know the boisterous side of me I show the public. So I can easily change the end of my sentence. “Who works sixteen hours a day and is constantly on the go.”

  “Then maybe just for after work.”

  Those words cause a flutter in my tummy. Is he trying to recreate the scene from last night? With my ass bare and his hand coming to land between my legs. What does he expect? Honestly, that’s not me at all. If I hadn’t had a ball of resentment growing in my chest, I wouldn’t have followed through with my thoughtless remark.

  “I don’t have any.” I’m a little flustered. I’ve sworn off dating for a while so sexy undies haven’t been on the radar.

  “Hmm,” is his only comment.

  I clutch at the towel slipping off my head, using it as a perfect excuse to not look him in the eye. Whenever I do, it always feels like he can see everything going through my head. That’s not a part of me I want to share with him despite everything else he has access to.

  Needing to get dressed, and back to the kitchen, I clear my throat. “I’d like to get into my drawers.”

  “So would I,” he replies in a lazy drawl.

  It’s a full second before I piece together what he means. My gaze leaps to his, and I dig my teeth into the corner of my lower lip. Heat blasts through me as my body remembers last night with vivid detail.

  His gaze follows the slope of my cheek to my neck then my chest. My senses awaken, preparing for anything he might want. Because he’d have to want, after the arrangement we came to yesterday.

  “Last night, we were coming upstairs, and you were going to show me everything I didn’t get in the kitchen.”

  “You went down,” I remind him, in my own defense.

  “You won’t have a problem with me going down today.” I catch my breath. Regardless of how he meant it, he has my pulse beating at a frantic pace, at my neck, at my chest, and between my legs.

  Leaning in, he brings his arms around me to slip under the robe and cup my bare ass. I’d like to say I pushed, trying to get him to let me go, but it didn’t happen that way. Somehow, I lost the towel and the panties, and I’m holding on to him as he lifts me to wrap my legs around his waist. The robe sags, drawing his attention, but he barely gets to my shoulder. His breath fans over me at the collar, creating a spray of goose bumps.

  The heady sensation goes all the way through my body, dropping my lids and making my toes curl. Things like this don’t happen to me, or at least they never have before. I’m not exactly a lightweight, and the men I’ve been with aren’t the gym type.

  In the next second, my back’s against something solid yet soft. I open my eyes to find myself facing the ceiling. We’re on the bed, at the foot of the mattress. He’s working his way across my chest, peeling open the silky material along the way.

  The warmth of a large palm cups the underside of my breast, his lips grazing my nipple. Every caress, every brush of his lips sends my blood rushing throughout my body. What is he doing to me? How can he make me feel all this? He sits back, licking my tummy while his hand strokes the inside of my thigh. Then he brings his thumb up my pussy, making my body clench instinctively.

  He stops to watch, and there’s a feeling of him restraining himself. It’s so strong, I’m at the point of squirming. “Is this where you hold the little flower?”

  The flower? In an instant, all the wonderful sexiness going through me disappears. He. Went. Through. My drawers. Embarrassment spreads through me. Yes, I have trouble finishing sometimes, so I bought the small, inconspicuous toy. Something I could hide easily.

  I bring my hands over my breasts. “This isn’t part of our deal.” It’s a little too personal for me, a little too fast.

  The curtain goes down behind his eyes. He’s back to being the man who walked into the kitchen last night. “You’re right,” he replies in that detached manner of his.

  In the next instant, he burrows a hand under my hip and grips my calf. Two seconds later I’m flipped and laid on my stomach, one hand under my chest, staring at the pillows. The satin robe glides up, leaving my bottom bare.

  I swallow hard. Now, facedown, propped on my knees, I’m in a position where I really can’t say much.

  “This is so much hotter,” he drawls from behind me.

  My heartbeat increases, heightening my senses. If we hadn’t gone through everything last night, if he hadn’t installed a complete security system to keep me safe, I might have found the ability to walk away. As things are now, this is exactly what I agreed to in exchange for his protection. The impersonal business transaction.

  His thumb slides over my pussy, and my muscles clench. His touch is still foreign, despite the fact this isn’t our first time together. He pulls his hand away, and I bite my lip, trying to hold in a protest. A second later, his palm lands against the curve of my butt with a loud smack.

  My gasp fills the room. I can’t believe he just did this to me again. The response earns me another smack. His fingers land closer to my center. Does he think I’m trying to suppress what I’m feeling again? Is that what got him going last night?

  His hand connects a third time. I suck in a breath, releasing it through open lips. I may not be sure why he’s doing it, but deep insid
e, I like it…and he knows it.

  His fingers glide over my slick folds, and I fight to keep still. As it is, the caress is amplified by the blood rushing to the sensitive skin he targeted. I grasp the bedspread, dragging it closer. How can he expect me to avoid responding when my pulse is pounding against him?

  Another finger joins in and his caresses grow bolder. He sweeps down between my folds, rolling over my clit. I shift my lower back, half expecting to be smacked. At this point, I don’t care. I’m thrusting my hips to plead for more, and the man doesn’t disappoint. My moans are muffled against the bed. My breasts flattened against the mattress as he continues the sweet torture.

  “Spread your legs,” he commands in a rough voice.

  Yes. All modesty is gone. He can have whatever he wants. Whenever he wants. Because no man has ever made me feel like everything inside me is ready to explode.

  My nipples ache. The only relief I have is rolling my shoulders to allow myself some pressure against my breasts. What I need is his hard cock inside me for another pulse-pounding ride to the edge of the cliff.

  His hot breath fans over my pussy, my brain barely registers what he’s about to do. My lips part, and my toes curl for an eternity. Then his lips touch me. My hips buck, hypersensitive to his touch.

  His tongue sweeps across me in a bold move, dragging the air out of my lungs. That doesn’t stop him, it encourages him. He’s relentless, using his fingers, as his mouth runs over me in the most delicious ways.

  He focuses somewhere behind the little bundle of nerves, his tongue making my body move on its own now, pushing me to the edge. I clutch at the bedcovers, my wrists twisting as he catapults me over the edge with one final stroke. I lose the last of my breath on a scream muffled by the quilted bedspread.

  Seconds tick by, and I slowly gather my wits. Tino… I glance over my shoulder, not knowing what to expect. Yet, I’m still surprised to find myself alone.

  *****

  Tino

  “Maybe we should leave this for another time,” Kassy suggests.

  “What?” The note of concern in her voice snaps me to attention. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “We were talking about Bonnie’s apron.” She snaps her fingers “Then poof, you were gone.”

  Oh yeah, Bunny and her cups. “I’m good.”

  “You’ve been sleeping on a wooden bench for a couple of days, and you spent last night working on security for the café.” She glances over from where she’s watching the video feed on another monitor. “You’ve been awake more than twenty-four hours now.”

  I scoff, dismissing her concerns. “Not like this is the first time we’ve had a long stakeout.” Tracking a mark has no timeline. Finding someone can take hours or days. The ones with a digital footprint eventually surface, needing their technology fix. Ones like Conrado are another matter. They can disappear into Mexico, living under someone else’s roof for an undetermined amount of time.

  “You may not realize, but you’ve zoned out more than once already.”

  Kassy isn’t wrong. My lack of attention does have something to do with being in bed. Only it isn’t sleep calling to me, it’s Bunny and her uninhibited responses to the smallest touch. The taste of her is still fresh in my mind. If I’d had another condom, I’d probably still be tangled in her sheets.

  “I’m good,” I assure her. “Just need Olga Villa to show up so we can track down the motherfucker.”

  She exhales heavily. “Sorry, no Olga so far. Bonnie’s had a bunch of Border Patrol agents come in.” She breaks into a huge grin. “Apparently they really like having her at the counter now.”

  Assholes.

  “And a couple of busybodies who gave her grief.”

  My back stiffens as I give the screen a hard glare. “What do you mean?”

  “I couldn’t tell what they were saying.” She shrugs, tightening the corner of her lips. “But they sent her enough side glances, I could tell they were being catty.”

  “Oh.” I settle into the couch. “So, nothing to do with Olga?”

  “No, haters gonna hate.”

  I may not like the women, or the border patrol guys, but Bonnie is a sight to see. And the damn apron only calls attention to her chest. “Watch for Olga or anybody looking suspicious.”

  She rolls her eyes, lowering her lids with exaggerated patience. “The facial recognition software is programmed to find her.”

  Bonnie’s Terminator comment echoes in my mind. “Don’t put all your money on having a machine do the work. Nothing’s better than a sharp eye.”

  At the corner of my screen, Kassy’s head bobs to one side, her eyes scrunch as she peers at me. “You’re not into the machine uprising theory, are you?”

  “Nah.”

  “It’s just the weirdest thing,” she says, perplexed. “I swear I saw you smile.”

  I hadn’t thought much on the comment, but I suppose Bonnie does have a way of amusing me. Still, I hitch a brow. “Are you sure you’re not the one needing to get some rest.”

  She looks at me with a skeptical twist of her lips. “I don’t know, man. What if they already got to you and you don’t even realize it.” She stiffens, staring ahead with blank eyes as the sparkly cat ears on her beanie catch the light. “I am good,” she mimics in a robotic voice. Her lips twitch, and her attention cuts back to me.

  “Hilarious,” I reply without an ounce of amusement. Another agent, Immigration this time, gives her a smile as his eyes dance around, trying not to stare at her rack. At least until she turns toward the credit card machine. With her head down, he has the freedom to check her out while she’s distracted.

  Who the fuck does this guy think he is? Pressing an F key, I switch the view to full screen. While he hasn’t done more than the typical douche, I still make a quick assessment to decide how I’d choose to kill him, if I had to.

  “This guy’s a hottie, and he knows it,” Kassy points out. “He’ll chat her up, but I bet you she’ll blow him off.”

  Intrigued, I watch the scene unfold.

  “Can you tell what he’s saying?”

  “He’s asking if she’s okay…she’s been acting odd.” Amateur lipreading. Not hard when you have an idea of what’s going on. But deciphering if they’re using English or Spanish is another thing.

  “Look at the cosplay smile she’s giving him.”

  Yes, Bunny’s playing close to the vest. “She’s telling him she needs to get someone else to help in the kitchen.”

  “Yeah, her body language is practically saying ‘go away.’”

  If this is her regular level of attention, why isn’t she hooking up with someone? Or maybe we haven’t seen who she’s with. With Kassy adding her own flair to the search, she’s sure to mention anyone catching Bunny’s eye. I’ll have to keep the camera in mind when I’m on-site.

  That still leaves the part that bothers me the most. Why is she letting her life go to shit if she has options? The bank should be able to do something about the money pulled from her account. Half her problem would be gone.

  “See what you can find on her.”

  Kassy jerks around, staring at me. “Bonnie?” Her eyes widen. “You think she’s dirty?”

  “I’m not sure,” I admit. Usually I can break people down with a quick inspection, but Bunny doesn’t fit. “Something isn’t right.”

  “In what way?” Her cat jumps into her lap, and Kassy runs her fingers into the fur below its left ear.

  An extra set of eyes might help pull the right pieces together. “What would you do if you got taken for every dime?”

  “Me?” She pauses, only to have the cat meow in protest. “I don’t know, Tino, I’m not a muggle.”

  “A what?”

  Another exasperated sigh. “In this case, a typical person.” The cat jumps off, the disgruntled meow showing her annoyance at distracting Kassy. “Jeez, what kind of childhood did you have?”

  The kind where the cartel takes a kid as collateral until his father’s de
bt is paid. They stuff him in a barrel then take turns shoving a knife in the top to make air slits. Bonus points if they draw blood. But that’s not a conversation I’m going to have with Kassy. Few can handle that kind of reality.

  “For me, it would probably be someone hacking my system.” Her gaze covers the monitors in front of her. “I’d find their ass,” she says with conviction. “And make their digital life a living hell.” She brings her fingertips together, steepling them in what may be an attempt at acting like a movie villain. “Secrets revealed, nude pics go public, accounts get emptied, credit cards get maxed out.”

  “Okay, I get the picture.” For today’s generation, that likely wouldn’t do much. For the older generation, it would make them feel like they’re ruined.

  “And the memes. Lord, I can have fun with those.” Now she’s the one distracted, like she’s remembering something she’s done.

  “I’ll have to hear that story at some point.”

  She blinks, returning to the present. “But I guess she’d call the cops.”

  So would I. “She’s been left practically destitute and didn’t file a report.”

  “Hmmm.” Kassy frowns. “Well that doesn’t sound right.”

  “Exactly. And the prick of doubt is bothering me.” It’s bothering me a lot. “Bonnie had two different people steal from her over the past week.”

  “Two.” Kassy’s eyebrows disappear under the edge of the beanie.

  “Yeah. And she didn’t do a damn thing, either time.”

  “Oh, something’s not right.”

  “Which leads me to believe she has something to hide. I just don’t know what it is.” Which bothers me more than everything else combined. I was sure I’d find something when I searched her place, but I came up empty.

  “I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

  “What?”