Page 62 of Saving Bonnie

“You—” It’s all I can say before she stumbles into my arms. She screams, clutching at my biceps to keep from tumbling down the stairs. My anger rages. How could she think I’d let her fall? But when her eyes widen, a stream runs down her cheeks.

I’m not moved by tears. I’ve seen them when the monsters that hide in the shadows realize their time of reckoning has come. But seeing those fat droplets onherface stops me in my tracks. I’m at the edge of the crater she’s left in my chest, using all my strength to smother the fire blazing inside me.

Bunny turns, trying to avoid looking at me. She sniffs, blinking rapidly as she yanks her arm away.

My hold is steady. Whether she knows it or not, she’s not going anywhere.

“You’re the one who’s afraid to be around me,” I remind her in a much more moderated voice than I started with.

Brow furrowing, she studies me. “What?”

I’d considered my leaving to be a selfless act, yet she doesn’t get it. “You said being around me scares you, remember?”

Her eyebrows steeple, as if she’s searching a memory.

“So I left,” I conclude. Silence grows between us.

Her gaze runs from one of my eyes to the other, as if she’s putting the pieces together. Then she screws up her face. “You’re an idiot,” she spits out, snatching her arm from my grasp.

Every word in my vocabulary, both English and Spanish, leaves my brain at the same time. Of anything she could say, this is the last thing I expected.

She sniffs again, this time running her knuckles under her eyes. “Being around you does scare me, Tino.”

Dull pain claws at me from the inside, tearing into my chest. I’d almost convinced myself it wasn’t real, but here it is again.

“Because I don’t recognize myself,” she blurts, as if I should understand. “You-you-you, make me...crazy, sometimes.” The tears have stopped now, but her voice is trembling. “I second-guess myself. I lose track of my day and my goals.” She shakes her head, while color rises in her face. “I’ve never yelled at someone like that.” She scoffs. “And I’ve certainly never thrown food at anyone before. Canned or otherwise.”

For the first time in days, my shoulders and neck lose the stiffness cutting through my muscles. Yet, my heartbeat speeds up. Racing so fast I couldn’t get off an accurate shot if my life depended on it.

From the sound of it, Bunny has been going through the same shit I have. I cup her face and drag her mouth to mine. Every curve of her body melts into me, as if she’s felt the same sweet relief I did a few minutes before.

Her lips part, her chest rising and falling as she drags in breath. I know she needs it, but I’m not willing to give her more than a handful of seconds. I run my hand from shoulder to waist, along those beautiful curves I’ve been dying to explore again. Who will get the upper hand? Her? Me? Both? It doesn’t matter as the air around us catches fire.

Her hands go up my shoulders, circling my neck, bringing me closer. I nip at her earlobe, running my lips along her jaw, down the slope of her neck to the base, the flames burning hotter with every second, every touch, every breath.

Her legs shift, and I slide a hand down, lifting her thigh around my hip. With her a step higher, she’s at nearly the perfect height to have her pressing against my hardening cock. I slip my fingers under the edge of her shorts, sliding over firm, rounded skin until she fills my palm. Warm, bare skin… Not the seam of those damn boy shorts she likes to wear.

Bunny takes a breath, her lips brushing against mine, filling my senses with everything so inherently Bunny.

She rolls her hips, taking her time to move the fraction of an inch. The hum in her throat tells me she’s enjoying the way I’m tightening my hold on her ass.

“Yes, I’m wearing one of them,” she whispers. “I...I missed you.”

I finally understand the termwalking on air. I pull back, not letting her hide from me. “I missed you,” I reply, with gravel rolling across every word.

“I’m sor—”

I take her mouth, cutting off the apology. Breaking away, I let her catch her breath again.

“I’m—” She tries again.

“No.” I kiss her hard, leaving no mistake about not wanting the words. “Things will go from here. Fuck what happened.”

She nods. “Sounds good…” Her gaze lowers, inch by inch, until she reaches my mouth. “Fucking…”

Bunny, my beautiful little innocent, is saying things that would make her blush any other day. But things are different. Today, in this moment, my blood is rushing through my veins, pulsing in my head. Now, I’m the one rubbing against the juncture of her legs, wanting to claim her senses. A whimper escapes as her body writhes, tensing for a second. Her breasts are thrust out, her head angled back, her eyes pressed tight with the intensity of her rush. We’re locked together in a perfect moment in time. Greedy in my need, I scour her features, memorizing dark lashes fanned against her cheek, the curl at her temple, the bow of her lips, and every delicate contour.

Her fingers span the center of my chest, curling around the top button of my shirt then pulling hard as she comes up. Those eyes sparkle in a deep, rich shade of green as she focuses on me. Another button opens as I put her leg down, letting our bodies touch.

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