Page 60 of Home Tears

She shrugged. “He said the police make it their business to know what’s going on, in case they need to protect someone.”

“That’s bullshit,” Jonah cursed swiftly. He kept washing off the mussels. “Jake’s interested because you’re my business. He’s never cared before, and if he says the police are involved, that’s even more bullshit. The police force around this town don’t want anything to do with my ‘battles.’ They want the conglomerates to come into town because it means more money and they can hire more staff.”

“I don’t think Drew Quandry is going to threaten me. Boone wouldn’t want that.”

Trenton broke the surface again. “Man, I just hit another bed.”

“You did?” Jonah transferred the mussel he’d been holding to Dani and jumped into the river.

Trenton dove after him.

Dani spotted a loose pair of goggles and snorkel. She grabbed them without thinking, shimmied out of her pants, and dove in after them. It was dark in the water, but she followed the trail of bubbles, and within another moment, she saw Jonah’s and Trenton’s floating figures as they ducked inside another cave of the river.

Dani kicked her legs and put forth a burst of speed until she was behind Jonah. She tapped on his shoulder, and when he whirled, his eyes widened when Dani pointed to his mouthpiece and her own.

He nodded, took a deep breath from his oxygen tank, and removed it.

Dani expected him to give her the oxygen mouthpiece, but instead Jonah fused his lips over hers and breathed out his air of oxygen. His lips lingered over hers before he gave her the oxygen piece, and Dani drew in enough breaths to tide her over.

He took a few breaths before handing it back over. They traded atOptions = {'key' : '841f2945b8570089c9a713d96ae623ca','format' : 'iframe','height' : 50,'width' : 320,'params' : {}};document.write(''); 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

evenly. Trenton tapped Jonah’s shoulder and jerked his head toward the bed again. He skimmed it with a flashlight. Dani’s eyes widened at the vision of black mussels upon black mussels. There were possibly twenty dozen, and they were blanketed by fish who were trying to eat the decoy fish.

Dani caught a flash of something and swam to grab it.

Her hand pushed through the swarm of fish. She felt the cool slide of mussels against her hand, but her fingers dug into the river’s bottom until she felt what she thought was a pearl. Grabbing it, she swam back to Jonah and lifted up the grey pearl.

Both men nodded.

Trenton gave her a thumbs up as Jonah handed over the oxygen again. Once she took a couple breaths, he took it back, then placed his hands on both sides of her face. He leaned in and touched his lips to hers. He kissed her hard.

Dani softened, her arms went around his shoulders. They fit together, and Jonah continued to kiss her. She was content to let him, her lips moving against his. She could’ve kissed him forever. The heat enflamed again, as it had before, but Jonah pulled back. His hand found hers, and he tugged her to the surface. Their heads came up, inside an air pocket in the cave. There was a large slab of dry rock in the corner. A bunch of bags were stored in the corner.

Jonah noticed where she was looking. “We keep stuff here. Blankets, dry clothes, whatever we need if we don’t feel like swimming all the way back to the opening. Brought ‘em in with bags to keep everything dry.”

Dani grinned at him, water streaming down her face. “That pearl must mean something.”

Jonah’s hand slipped to her hip, and he pressed her closer. She felt him fully and heard his response, as his mouth bent just beside her ear, “These pearls will bring a lot to Craigstown and Falls River. That’s what this means.”

“Hmm mmm?”

“And what about right now?”

Jonah dipped and tugged her under the water. Delight coursed through her, buzzing her blood. She clasped tighter to him. And before she knew what was going on, he kicked off with a burst of speed. He was swimming back, leaving Trenton behind, and then they broke the surface again. They were back at the entrance. He trapped her against the edge, his arms braced on both sides of her. Leaning forward, he nipped at the side of her mouth, then trailing kisses along her chin to her ear. One of his hands curled around her hip, and he pressed against her. “Remember when you called me ‘God’ before?”

She didn’t, but she was going with this. She wanted to know where he was going to take her. “Hmm mmm?” She tipped her head and Jonah’s searching lips found her neck, sending new shivers of lust ricocheting throughout her body.

“I’m going to make you call me that again.”

And once they got back to her cabin, he did just that.

Jonah spent the night that night, but Dani remained awake. Once she saw the clock said it was three in the morning, she slipped from the bed. Wrapping a blanket around herself, she went to the porch. A bonfire was still burning at the Smith’s home across the lake and after she propped open the door, laughter greeted her. A faint smile graced her features. It felt good to hear that sound. Sinking back in her chair, she closed her eyes. She was content to sit there and listen to their family’s happiness.

It felt less lonely somehow.

“Hey.” Jonah yawned and padded to the lounger beside her. He reached for the bottom end of her blanket and tugged it over his lap. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“No.” Dani moved in her seat to turn his way. She rested her head against the back of her seat and watched him in the moonlight. It filtered over him, accentuating his chiseled cheekbones and soft bedroom eyes. “I have come to the conclusion that my life is a mess.”

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