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He pulled her up to him and kissed her hungrily all the while pressing her body back onto the bed and covering her with his own. She held his head to her and writhed urgently while he moved his lips down to her breasts and he took the hard nipple in his mouth. Hart switched from one to the other hungrily tasting and suckling her. Crystal cried out as ecstasy shot to her core.

“I want to feel you inside me,” she whimpered.

Hart took his time in pleasing her. He moved to the side to give his hand access to travel down her smooth stomach to the apex of her thighs. She bucked when she felt his fingers slip between the moist folds of her pussy. Crystal’s hips lifted and fell to the rhythm of his finger circling her clit.

“I want to hear you come for me, see it as it happens,” he said against her ear.

Unable to resist, Crystal closed her eyes and let the sensations take her away. He slipped his fingers deep inside her, his thumb pressed against her bud rubbing gently. He never took his eyes off her as he increased the pressure and the rhythm until she came under his ministrations. Hart covered her body with his and slipped inside her as her pussy clenched in the midst of her release. His groan filled the air and Crystal felt a shudder run through him.

“Hart,” she said on a breathless whisper.

Crystal wished she could explain to him how good it felt to have him buried to the hilt inside her. They fit together like two puzzle pieces and they knew instinctively how to move. His pupils had dilated and his nose flared as he moved inside her. Crystal wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her hips high to take more of him. He slipped his hand under her bottom and pulled her into his every thrust. Crystal reached up to the headboard and held on, using it to anchor herself in the firestorm of passion they were creating. His breath was harsh as he whispered naughty things in her ear.

“Hart, I’m going to come…please don’t stop,” she pleaded. “I need you.”

“No, baby, I couldn’t stop even if it wanted to. God, you feel so good.” His voice was guttural as he spoke. “I can’t hold back.”

“Yes, baby, now. I want to feel you with me,” Crystal cried out.

She felt his body tense and he shuddered as he pumped inside her. The sound of their slippery wet bodies meeting filled the room.

Hart grabbed her hair. “Damn, yes, Crystal!”

She spiraled into her orgasm and watched Hart’s face as ecstasy passed over it and his body tensed. He threw his head back and a harsh groan escaped his lips as he spilled his seed inside her. With his head resting beside hers, they waited for their bodies to stop trembling. Crystal caressed his body, luxuriating in the feel of him, while she enjoyed him pressing soft kisses against her lips. They had a few more hours before it was back to the real world. Until then, Crystal wanted to enjoy the feeling of being cocooned in his arms.

It was one week later and Hart didn’t know if it was the bliss he was feeling that made him antsy or if it was because he was still waiting for the part for his bike and it was taking longer than he expected. Or maybe it was just that the biker gang was still running rampant in the town and they were still in hiding.

If it were up to him, this is not how things would be handled, but with Kaydee and Crystal and her friends in jeopardy, he had to change his way of thinking. If he was honest with himself, his restlessness was a combination of everything. Watching Lyn, Jim, Crystal and Kaydee around a table having a meal was something he was accustomed to seeing in his life. For the past ten days he’d been eating dinner with them, and he didn’t know what to make of it. It felt too damn good and that was falling into the trap.

He always said he was never going to be tied down. He’d seen men lose themselves in love or what they thought was love. Only to find the girl of their dream turned into a nightmare, not looking for forever but for medical paid for by Uncle Sam. He even overheard one wife say, “He can do what he wants because I have ten years in and I get a portion of his pay. Cheaper to keep me.” God who wanted that kind of stress in their lives worrying about if you had a good woman or were you just the paycheck? Young men who trained under his command with dreamer’s eyes became jaded, harsh and scarred. Not only from war but the women who were supposed to be waiting back home, many of them did not.

Jim said they were very close to being able to start making arrests. He was working with two agents from Atlanta who were in town undercover. He was a good guy and Hart found himself liking the man. It was the middle of the night and all these thoughts were swirling through his head.

Crystal would come to him later in the night when Kaydee was asleep. Just the thought gave him a semi-erection. She was good for him. Hell, even he had to admit that. But finding happiness made a man open doors in himself that Hart didn’t want to be left ajar. He’d seen men and women in the military torn to pieces after dealing with hurt and pain in relationships.
Who would set themselves up for that?
Finally, frustrated, he got up to go looking for a snack—preferably something cold and sweet. Earlier, as he grabbed a beer from the fridge for Jim and himself while they were looking over his bike, he had noticed a tub of Rocky Road in the freezer.

He was going to make a beeline for that and hang out in the kitchen until Crystal was finished putting Kaydee down for bed. He was thinking about the little girl and her sweet, precocious personality. Earlier that day, she had kindly informed him that he should buy a car since he could survive an accident in one better than on his bike. Her reasoning was that she liked him a lot and didn’t want to see him go to heaven with the angels. And damn if he didn’t consider it just to give her peace of mind. Hart chuckled as he stuck his head in the freezer to find the ice cream and banged his brow on the door when he felt a tug at his pant leg. He looked down to see Kaydee with tears on her cheeks.

Finding a snack was all but forgotten and he crouched down with her to eye level. “Hey, Sparkles, what’s wrong?”

“I had a bad dream.” Her little voice was husky with tears and sleep.

“Where’s your mom?” Hart asked, instantly alert to why she was alone.

“She fell asleep and didn’t carry me to my bed. She’s tired a lot so I didn’t want to wake her,” Kaydee explained. “I was going to get a drink of water and go back to Mommy, and I heard noises in the kitchen.”

“You thought it was Auntie Lyn, huh?” he surmised.

She threw her arms around his neck. “I’m glad it was you. You can protect us.”

His heart broke for the little waif and he scooped her up in his arms. “Wanna share some ice cream with me?”

“It’s after snack time…”

He bumped her gently with his forehead. “I won’t tell if you won’t, and if Mom finds out, I’ll take the time out.”

Kaydee smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

He sat her on the sofa in the living room and saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

He went back to the kitchen and got a bowl from one of the overhead cabinets and soon had a bowl of ice cream scooped out for him and Kaydee. He’d make sure she didn’t eat too much so she wouldn’t have a tummy ache or any adverse night effects. He let her take a spoonful or two before he asked her about her dream.

“So what was your dream about?” Her bottom lip began to tremble but Hart persisted, “Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”

Kaydee sighed. “The bad men came in and shot us up in the apartment like last time. Mommy gets dead and you do too and I’m alone in the dark.”

“Sparkles, that’s a very bad dream.” Hart wasn’t going to undercut it and pretend she didn’t have a reason to be scared. She was an intelligent child and just patting her on the head wouldn’t work, she needed reassurance. “I can tell you for a fact that they will not be able to hurt any of us. Want to know why?”

“Why?” She took another bite and looked up at him with big brown eyes.

“Because your Uncle Jim, me and some very important people will take care of this soon and even Sheriff Layton won’t be around anymore,” Hart said. “They’ll be in jail for what they did, and you and your mommy will be able to go back to the motel.”

“I don’t want to go back. Mommy said she’d buy a house close by to Auntie Lyn’s and I could have a backyard and a pool and friends,” Kaydee told him.

“A house, huh? Well, that’s pretty cool.” Hart wondered why Crystal didn’t tell him her plan. “So, see, you don’t have to worry.”

She put the spoon down. “No, I still do.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re going to leave and then I won’t have you as a friend anymore,” Kaydee said. “I wish you would stay. I hope your bike will never get fixed and you can never leave.”

“I’ll be your friend no matter where I am, I promise,” Hart said. “I’ll even give you my number. But right now how about we watch cartoons until you get sleepy again?”

“Okay, but Mommy says we need to sit up for a half an hour to digest so our tummies won’t get sick,” Kaydee informed him.

“Roger that. I’ll wash this bowl and we can sit up and watch cartoons,” Hart answered.

She didn’t even last the entire half an hour. They started out sitting side by side and then she leaned her head against his arm. Hart wrapped the afghan that was over the sofa around her and tucked her close to his side. While Tom chased Jerry in the old Hanna-Barbera series, he watched while her head drooped and she was soon asleep.

He looked down at the little girl and contentment washed over him. He’d made her feel safe and that’s what fathers did. They protected their children and made the monsters go away regardless of whether or not they were real. In Kaydee’s case, the monsters were very real and he felt a surge of anger. He wanted to take the law on himself and go beat the shit out of a few people. He pushed that aside and focused on the little girl who didn’t want him to leave and who wanted him to be safe. Right now he was the guardian of her dreams and like his military career, Hart took the job seriously.

That was where Crystal found them when she rushed into the living room. A look of fear was on her face and Hart knew it was because she woke up and couldn’t find her daughter. Hart held up his hand and pointed to where Kaydee slept.

Her face softened and she came closer and whispered, “Oh, my God, I woke up and she was gone. I almost had a heart attack.”

“She had a nightmare and didn’t want to wake you,” Hart said in a low voice. “I was getting ice cream and we shared a bowl—”

“Hart, it’s past snack time!” Crystal whispered.

“Hush, woman, I only let her have a little. She told me about her dream and we watched cartoons until she fell asleep.”

“I’m glad she wasn’t alone.” Crystal sat on the arm of the sofa next to him. “I usually hear her, but I was so darn tired. No money coming in from the motel and I’m trying to get a house—”

“Why aren’t you using her father’s benefits to help? You’re the widow. You can do all that with his housing certificate and his death benefits,” Hart said.

“That is for her and her future. I don’t want anything from him,” Crystal said stubbornly.

Hart slipped his hand under her shirt and rubbed her back in smooth, circular motions. He was pleased when her shoulders relaxed and he felt the tension ease.

“Listen, I understand you didn’t have a great marriage, but you stuck by him and while you may not want to use it, it’s not just for you, it’s for Kaydee and her peace of mind, safety and stability as well,” Hart explained. “It wasn’t all bad. Look past his family and their bullshit and do what’s best for you and your daughter.”

Crystal sighed and Hart recognized that it was the exact same thing Kaydee did earlier.
Like mother like daughter,
he thought with an inner chuckle.

“I’ll think about it,” Crystal finally said. “Right now, I should get her in bed.”

“Yeah, I’ll help you and then go back to the room over the garage,” Hart said.

Crystal shook her head. “No, you’ll stay with me tonight. I want you in my bed.”

That pleased him more than he actually realized it would. Hart turned away quickly, hoping she couldn’t read his face. He wasn’t that open, not yet, in any case. Instead, he picked Kaydee up and followed Crystal to where the little girl slept. It was his first time tucking anyone into bed except himself and that was with a bottle of Jack more often than not. But as he watched the little girl snuggle deeper into the blankets and heard the sigh that came from her, it made him wonder if this was what he was missing all his life by avoiding commitment.

“Come on, she’ll sleep okay for the rest of the night,” Crystal whispered.

“What about mom, is she sleepy?” Hart nipped her earlobe as he wrapped his hands around her waist as she led him to the room next door.

“I had a nap,” she purred. “You think you can handle me?”

“Oh, honey, game on.” He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Are your parents home, Ms. Cantrell? So very naughty of you.”

She smothered her laughter against his shoulder before playing along. “Shh, let’s not wake them. They are asleep upstairs.”

He pressed a hard kiss against her mouth. “Oh, no, I’m going to make you moan, call my name and more.”

“I guess I will have to press my face in a pillow,” she said in the little breathless voice that drove him wild.

“It will be easy. I plan to take you from behind tonight.”

“Oh, Hart.”

The door was barely closed before he pressed her up against the door and started the wild roller coaster ride with a kiss. If she were the devil, she’d cause a man to sin. If she were an angel, he’d be thrown out of the pearly gates for lusting after her. Crystal had an air about her and a whole lot of sex appeal in a sweet southern package. He wanted her from the first thought and the first touch and the first kiss.

Hart knew he could never give her up, could never leave Honeywell with his duffle strapped to the back of his bike without looking back. He was invested now. She and Kaydee had twined their way around his heart and now there was only one way to go. He fell for the entire package without even knowing it.
Love
. The word caused his heart to do summersaults in his chest and gallop like a horse. He loved his bike and drove to forget his demons, hoping to outrun them. He’d run from them for years and now it seems he landed straight in her arms.