~ Home Fires Burning ~

by

Rebecca Grace

“Right. You have to do the whole job, doc, or you’re not going to get paid.”

“Paid, huh?” he asked with wink.

Her insides lurched. Why did he have this effect on her? Bonita shrugged, as though that could toss aside his hold on her.

A long finger stroked her cheek. “Your cheeks still turn very pink when you get embarrassed.”

His touch ignited tiny flames. Bonita lamented how awful she must look in her dusty tank top and mud-stained shorts. At the same time, she had never felt more feminine.

His finger was joined by the backs of his other fingers, then the rest of his hand. The movement evolved into a caress. He slid his palm under her chin and lifted it. Bonita thought back to the kiss Max had given her on their wedding day. It had been so soft, but it had nearly liquefied her insides. Her pulse throbbed as her senses heightened. She could barely breathe. Max was going to kiss her again.

The touch of his lips was gentle, tentative. A soft sigh escaped her throat as Max fully claimed her lips.

Mouth pressed to hers, Max deepened the kiss. His tongue traced her lips, parting them, and Bonita opened her mouth in surrender. What had been flickers of fire whipped into a raging inferno that raced over her skin and flowed red hot into her veins. Her knees grew so weak Bonita might not have been able to stand if his arms hadn’t held her against him. Her hands roamed over his shirt, gauze-covered fingers moving gingerly until her hands wound around his neck.

His fingers entwined in her hair, pulling it free. The kiss grew stronger, and Bonita thrust her tongue forward to meet his. Her blood turned to molten lava. A need formed deep inside her, a strange aching desire she had not felt in so long she had given up believing that it existed.

His lips and tongue were magical, bringing soft moans from her throat. Max broke the kiss, but only momentarily. His lips began to place soft little touches on her nose, her cheeks and then her neck. Trembles of desire shook her body, and Max pulled her closer to him.

His body pressed to hers, hard and unyielding. Max wanted her! Bonita could feel the desire in him; and she couldn’t remember wanting anyone as badly as she wanted Max right now.

His lips found hers again, and she responded, thrusting her tongue into his mouth, exploring its soft moistness. Hot longing stroked her insides until she felt she might explode.

Unexpectedly, he pulled away. She nearly fell as he withdrew his arms and put both hands on her shoulders.

“Wait,” he said in a rasping voice. “Just a second.”

“Max...” she moaned.

He leaned back until he was against the wall. “We can’t.”

She started to ask why. They were married. She’d always wanted him, and obviously that feeling had not changed.

“We should talk.” His words came in a husky whisper.

“Talk?” Words were the last thing on her mind at the moment. Her brain was fuzzy, and strange sensations buzzed through her nerve endings. Her chest heaved, and ragged breath expelled quick gasps from her raw throat. All she could think of was touching Max. She put her fingers on his shirt, starting to unbutton it, but he caught her fingers.

“Nita! Wait.”

“Don’t you want me?” she asked in a voice filled with longing.

He squeezed her fingers, but Bonita barely felt the pain. “It’s not that I don’t want you. That’s not the issue.”

“Then what is?”

“We made this mistake once.”

“Mistake?” The word nearly choked Bonita. Max had now used that word twice.

Max grimaced and dropped his head. “You’re a very desirable woman, Bonita. It would be easy to--”

“You think I’m easy?” she asked in a high voice. Humiliation and disappointment overwhelmed her.

“I didn’t mean that you’re easy! I mean, it would be easy for me to do this... but I can’t.”

“Because it’s a mistake,” she said bitterly.

He inhaled sharply. “It would be now. What do you want?”

“What do I want?” She shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand...”

“If we step over the line, do what seems to come naturally to both of us, it’ll only be harder later. Who knows? Hell, we could end up in the same sort of predicament.”

She hadn’t thought of that. Bonita had nothing with her to prevent pregnancy. She couldn’t ask if he kept a ready supply of birth control on hand.

“I promised this would be in name only,” he continued. “I’m honor-bound to abide by that.”

Honor-bound? The words came out of another time, but they made sense for Max. She licked her lips slowly, and took a deep breath, fighting to get her composure back.

“You said the same thing that night,” she said slowly.

“And then I forgot it,” he said shortly. “We’re not kids anymore, Nita. In a couple of months you’ll go home. I told you that night you deserve a man who loves you. You still do.”

Tears stung her eyes, much as they had the night they were together. But unlike that night, when Bonita plunged forward anyway, tossing off his protests with playful kisses until they both sank into a passionate abyss, this time she drew a deep breath and nodded.

“Thanks,” she said bitterly. Holding her head up high, Bonita walked out of the bathroom. Foolish as she felt over her behavior, maybe their moments together were for the best. Bonita realized something now--something she would never have known if she hadn’t come back. She’d never gotten over Max Cameron. That was why he could set her senses spinning so easily. Maybe that was why she had never found the right man. Subconsciously she compared them all to Max.

Perhaps now that she recognized her feelings, Bonita could deal with them. When she left this time, she needed to be free of her feelings for Max. But another question popped into her head just as quickly. Was that what she wanted?