Chapter 8: Nothing Left to Lose

How could you make me hate you
You shoulda told the truth
How could you make me want to
Throw it all away and hurt you
Now I'm hopeless, broken down and bruised
I'm tired of being takin' I'm past the point of breakin'
Now I've got nothing left to lose

I shoulda known, by the way you whispered when you were on the phone
But I let it go
'Cause you swore that my love was all you've ever known
But you lied and told me everything would be alright
I might of walked away, but now I want to fight

- Hinder

Bonnie

Sitting in the car with Enzo had my heart pounding. Alaric was driving us to the Lockwood ranch and to say I was nervous was an understatement. I was terrified, because I would soon be meeting Enzo's parents. As I watched the world go by through the window, I could see Enzo's reflection. So far he hadn't taken his eyes from me, which had me all hot and bothered.

All I could think about when I'd arrived home from the club with Matt, was Enzo. While Matt went on and on about his boss's daughter being a pain in his ass, it was Enzo who'd held my full attention. I just sat lost in my own thoughts for over an hour and Matt didn't have a clue that he'd lost me seconds after opening his mouth.

I turned to look at Enzo and brushed against the hand resting against the back of my seat. I couldn't take my eyes from him. He was sprawled out in the seat beside me, wearing faded jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. He looked good enough to eat. My heart pounded and I licked my lips. His eyes darkened as he followed the movement of my tongue.

I took a steadying breath and met his eyes again. "Enzo," I said, which came out huskily.

"Bonnie," he replied, just as huskily with a smile.

"Will you tell me about your family? Who will I be meeting today?" I turned in my seat so that I faced him.

He reached down and took hold of my hand, then slid his fingers through mine. I held on tight. "You'll meet my mother Lillian and my step-father, Richard who's Mason and Tyler's father, maybe Tyler might be there. Of course you've already met Stefan. Damon is with our other brother, Mason in Chicago, so you won't meet them until the picnic."

We still held hands and Enzo started to caress my thumb. "So your father, Mr. St. John, what happened to him?" I turned to sit more comfortably in the seat and moved closer to Enzo, placing our joined hands in my lap.

"He died in combat before I was even born. Mother met an up-and-coming businessman, Giuseppe. They fell in love and got married shortly after, and then mother had two boys for him while helping him build his empire with our Uncle Zach."

"How did Richard come in the picture?"

"Well, Giuseppe died in a car accident, drunk driving. Mother's marriage with him was falling apart, he was having an affair and got the housekeeper pregnant then tried to get rid of the child, mother found out of course." He laughed bitterly. "Richard's wife was murdered leaving him a single father, mother was a single parent as well. They met at a PTA meeting, they had Tyler then got married. Been together ever since." Enzo lifted my hand and placed a kiss on my knuckles, moving our joined hands onto his lap. "Tell me about Bonnie Bennett."

I smiled. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

I rested my head against the back of the seat, as I became sleepy. I turned my head to look at Enzo and I was sure my heart stuttered. He was looking at me with so much yearning.

I offered him a wry smile. "I'm twenty four years old, and spent most of my life living in Virginia until I left for college. I met Matt in my last year of high school, and we've been together ever since. My parents died during my second year of college, and Matt was right there to hold me together." I looked at our joined hands. "Before I lost my job, I was looking for another one, but I hadn't told Matt because a part of me was nervous to tell him. Losing my job gave me the courage I needed to find myself that new job." I turned to look back at Enzo. "It brought me to you," I whispered.

He sucked in a breath and released my hand, only to put his arm around me and pull me to his chest. My arm slipped to his side and his hand rested on my hip. "We only have about forty minutes before we reach the ranch, let me pretend you're mine."

I couldn't stop the shudder that went through me at his words and closeness. What I wanted to do was climb astride him and feel his hardness between my legs, but instead I bent my head and kissed his chest, causing him to shiver. I snuggled closer to him and placed my other hand on his chest. He reached up and covered my hand with his. I wanted to stay like that forever.

Enzo

Bonnie was asleep. Sitting back in the car, I held her real close. She belonged in my arms and in my life. She was mine. All I wanted was for her to realize that. Ric in the front seat kept passing quick glances at us through the mirror. He was curious and I couldn't blame him. It was the first time in six years that he'd seen me with a woman.

I was falling into something with Bonnie, I just wasn't sure what. I felt too damn protective of her, which was why I was dreading Stefan and Tyler being at the ranch today. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on with Tyler, for some reason I knew I wouldn't have to worry about him flirting with her. He would be friendly, but he didn't flirt or actually date, from what I'd seen and been told by my brothers. Something was odd, and when I had more time, I was going to find out just what.

Alaric pulled through the entrance to the ranch, which gave me five more minutes to hold Bonnie in my arms. I wasn't ready to let her go just yet.

I looked down and noticed she had her long curls tied up in a ponytail, making her look younger. She was also dressed as casual as I was with faded low-cut jeans with a lilac t-shirt underneath her tan leather jacket that was soft to the touch. I lifted my hand from on top of hers and moved it up to cup the back of Bonnie's head and just held her, not wanting to wake her up yet.

We came to a stop to the right of the house where my father made us park, so that our mother could see the wildlife that wandered onto the front lawn from the forest beyond.

"Give us a few minutes, Alaric," I whispered.

I couldn't take my eyes from the woman in my arms. I heard Alaric exit and close the door behind him. He walked over to way-lay my mother, to give me more time with Bonnie.

For a few minutes I just sat back and caressed her face, then ran my fingers through her ponytail, which felt so soft. "Bonnie, we're here. You need to wake up." I continued to caress her face with one hand and rubbed against her hip with my other. "Bonnie, love. Wake up."

She started to move out of my arms as she gradually woke and I let her go, somewhat, reluctantly.

"I can't believe I fell asleep." She looked at me and started to blush. I moved closer and took her face into my hands. "You make me feel safe," she admitted.

"You can sleep in my arms anytime. I enjoyed having you there. If my mother wasn't hovering on the porch, I would have let you sleep all afternoon, if it meant I got to hold you."

"Enzo," she said. Tears had started to slip down her cheeks, so I quickly wiped them away with my thumbs.

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry." I had to hold her. I removed my hands from her face and took hold of her waist, lifting her onto my lap. She turned to me and wrapped her arms around my neck while mine went around her waist. She buried her face into my neck, causing me to tighten my hold on her.

She felt damn good wrapped around me. "You didn't make me cry." She pulled slightly away and wiped her eyes with the tissue I passed to her. "I can't hide my attraction to you. It kills me knowing you want me too, but that we can't be together – yet."

I grinned at her. "I guess it's kind of obvious that I want you. I can't hide my arousal as well as you can," I told her, and watched her blush even more.

She smiled and moved from my lap with a quick dab at her eyes. She collected her purse from the floor. "Do you feel ready to move? Because I think we would be safer out there than in here." She quickly glanced into my lap and then looked back up to my face, and I actually felt myself blush. Shit – that was a first.

I cleared my throat and climbed out of the car, then held my hand out to Bonnie. She took my hand and I wrapped it around hers, pulling her out just in time to see my mother rush towards us. Bonnie leaned briefly into me. "You can't see my arousal, but my panties are soaked," she whispered and left me standing speechless beside the car as she walked forward to greet my mother.

What the hell was that? Where the hell had sexy-tease-Bonnie come from? Never in a million years would I have thought she would come out with something like that. The erection I was trying to get to deflate had shot back up and was pressed against my zipper. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up with zipper marks imprinted along my cock.

I took a deep breath and walked towards my mom and Bonnie.

Bonnie

I stood talking to Enzo's mother, and all I could think about was the condition he was probably in after the comment about my panties. I had no idea how that popped out of my mouth. I was shy, or at least I thought I was.

Had I been waiting for him to come along all this time to bring out the wickedness in me?

I watched Enzo walk towards us and felt a blush rise up from my neck to my cheeks when I met the sizzling look he threw at me. Hell, my nipples were standing at attention.

"He's a handsome man, my Lorenzo. He's been alone a long time and is in need of looking after, someone to make him happy," his mother told me when she noticed the direction of my gaze.

I turned to look at her and found her grinning at me. I laughed. "Yes, he is."

Enzo walked up and after giving his mother a hug, stood beside me with his hand on my back. I wanted to lean in and hold him. His mother glanced quickly between the two of us.

"Lorenzo, bring Bonnie inside the house to the kitchen for a cold drink before you show her around the ranch. Your brothers want to meet her." I heard Enzo groan when his mother walked off, expecting us to follow.

"What's wrong?" I glanced up at him and saw the frown he had on his face.

"My brothers." He sighed. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"They can't be that bad. Besides, I've already met Stefan."

"He's the problem."

With our fingers entwined, he gave me a slight tug to get me to follow him. "Enzo, no matter how much your brother flirts with me, it's you who holds my interest. You don't have anything to worry about."

He stopped and gazed at me for the longest time. "You're not mine yet, are you? I want you Bonnie, make no mistake about that, and it drives me totally insane to think of you naked with that, that bastard."

I was stunned. I knew he wanted me, but not as strongly as his speech would suggest. Not holding back, I told him how it really was. "I don't have sex with him, he has it with me. It was more of a one-man-show, it has been for a while now." I sighed and felt close to tears, but I needed to be honest because I could see the anguish on his face when he imagined me with Matt. I needed to breathe. "We better go inside." I tried to change the subject and walked off towards the same entrance that his mother had used. Enzo hadn't moved, so I turned back to him. Hell.

I walked back and stood in front of him, then met his gaze. "Enzo, I want you too, so much it hurts, but we can't. You're my boss and I'm still with Matt. I probably won't be for much longer, but I can't be with you while I'm supposed to be with him. I don't work like that."

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. You know I want you. Christ, since we met in the elevator, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. No matter what I'm doing, you're there." He sighed and turned around, running his fingers through his hair. "My mother keeps looking outside. We better go in. I won't wait forever and, sooner rather than later, you're going to be with me regardless of the fact that I'm your boss." He walked closer to me and took my hand, kissing my palm, then he wrapped it around his before he pulled me onto the porch to enter the ranch house.

I knew what I wanted, but how did I get it? If I left Matt, I'd have nowhere to live, and if I stayed with him, I'd lose Enzo. I'd known Matt for seven years and Enzo nearly three days, yet I felt more at home and able to be my true self with Enzo.

"Bonnie, how nice to see you again," Stefan said, with a smirk in Enzo's direction. He took hold of my hand and kissed my knuckles. As he released me, he winked. He really was a flirt and obviously loved winding his brother up.

"Nice to see you again, Stefan," I said. I noticed another young man standing near the opposite door. He noticed me watching him and walked over, offering me his hand to shake.

"Bonnie, this is our youngest brother, Tyler," Enzo introduced.

"Tyler, it's a pleasure to meet you." They were all really handsome men.

He winked as well. "The pleasure is all mine. Where have you been hiding her, Enzo?"

Enzo looked thunderous, while Lillian cleared her throat and stood to the side of Tyler. "Why don't you take Bonnie to see the puppies in the barn while we get lunch started?"

I really didn't know what to do, other than to get Enzo out of the kitchen. I walked over to him while I held his gaze and slid my hand into his. He gripped my hand tightly.

"I think that's a good idea. I love animals." I gave Enzo a tug, which seemed to bring him back to himself and led him out from the kitchen, without saying anything more.

Until then, I had no idea he felt the way he did about me. There was no way I could mistake the jealousy and possessiveness he'd just shown in front of his mother and two brothers. I needed him to calm down to start with, and then, hopefully we could talk.

Forty-eight hours was all it had taken for me to realize I wanted a future with Enzo. I'd never thought about the future like I was now. Not once had the thought even slipped into my head while I was with Matt. But shit, I was still with him. I needed to end my relationship with him first, before I started anything with Enzo, although I thought the latter had already started.

Enzo

I was totally screwed. When Tyler flirted with her in the kitchen, I very nearly lost it. I saw the concerned look on everyone's face and I couldn't do anything about it. All I saw was Bonnie with someone else and I wanted to cause harm.

Bonnie was pulling me towards the barn with her hand locked tight around mine. What the hell was I supposed to say to her after the way I just behaved? I had no idea. I also owed Tyler an apology, although I'd rather leave that one alone.

I had to say something. "Bonnie, wait." I pulled her to a stop and she turned to look at me.

Shit. She had tears in her eyes. "God, I'm so sorry for being an idiot. A very jealous one at that. I don't know why the hell I'm acting like this. I've never felt possessive about a woman before, or anything, for that matter." I ran my fingers through my hair with my other hand and hoped she would respond.

"Tonight I have to go home to Matt. I can't handle you going all possessive on me. Part of me loves the fact that you do feel possessive, but another part….well it frightens me. I'm not free yet, you know that." She looked back to the house, before meeting my gaze. "Do you think we can try and get through the rest of the day without you actually causing any bodily harm?" She grinned.

"I think that can be arranged. On one condition," I said returning her grin.

She looked wary.

"You give me a hug."

"How the hell am I supposed to resist you?" She walked straight into me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

My arms went around her waist and we just held each other. She fit against me just right. With a slight movement, our lips would meet. I desperately wanted to taste her. I slipped my hands down to her ass and squeezed gently as I brought her up against me. We both groaned. Christ, I could come from just holding her.

She moved her hips slightly against me at the same time as she moved her head to the side and nibbled my neck, then licked the same spot. I couldn't stop the shudder that rippled through me. My hands tightened on her.

"Lorenzo."

"Shit, that's my dad." I tried to bring my body back under control and hoped my t-shirt covered my lower body.

Bonnie released her hold on me and took a couple of steps back. I looked down at her and met her eyes. The look in them nearly brought me to my knees.

"Lorenzo, have you finished playing with your little friend?"

Bonnie giggled.

I turned and faced my father, who looked more amused than angry. "For now. Bonnie, I would like to introduce you to my father, Richard. Dad, this is Bonnie."

Bonnie held her hand out. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Lockwood," she said, looking rather flushed.

"Likewise Bonnie, and please call me Richard. Are you going to have a look at the puppies?"

"Yeah." We watched my dad walk off on hearing my response. I took hold of Bonnie's hand again. "Come on, let's go see them. Lunch will probably be ready soon."

I led Bonnie into the barn with my cock urging me to finish what we'd started outside, but my brain was telling me I had to behave. I was still hard as a rock, and too damn old for a roll in the hay.

We pushed the door open to the back of the barn and could hear the yapping of the pups. They were pure bred golden retrievers and there were five in the litter, which were four weeks old. Three of them had a home to go to eventually and I was tempted to take the other two, which my mother was aware of, and until I told her otherwise, I knew she wouldn't let them go to anyone else.

"Oh my god, they're adorable." Bonnie took one look at them, gasped and rushed over to them. She sat right down and had them playing on her lap.

I crouched down to the side of her and stroked them. All the while Bonnie was laughing and cuddling them all. She really was enchanted with them. She kept picking the smallest one up and she would kiss it on the nose – that was one of the dogs I was thinking of keeping. While she was kissing another one, I picked it up in my arms and looked it over. Bonnie glanced at me and grinned when she saw me cuddling the pup – decision made.

"Lunch is ready and don't attack the messenger." Tyler quickly said as he walked towards us.

I stood back up and looked at him. This was hell and I was never going to hear the end of it. "Tyler, about before…." Shit, by the grin he had on his face, he wasn't going to make it easy. I was sure Bonnie was laughing, but I couldn't really tell properly because her head was down. "Damn it. I'm sorry, just don't flirt with her again," I growled.

Bonnie burst out laughing. "I take it you don't apologize that often?"

"Bonnie, this is the first time I've ever heard 'I'm sorry' come out of his mouth," Tyler told her with a smirk.

"Shit. That stays between us." I glared at Tyler.

"Like hell it does, bro." Before I could say more, he left.

I looked at Bonnie, who was watching me with eyes full of laughter. "You enjoyed that, huh?"

I held my hand out to her and she slid hers into it. "Oh, yeah!" I pulled her up and straight into my arms for a brief hug. I needed to try and keep my distance from now until she was free of Matt. It wouldn't bother me to take her away from him, especially with what he was doing behind her back, but it would bother Bonnie. A lot.

With our fingers entwined, I walked her back to the house for lunch.

Author's Note:

Thank you all for the reviews guys, here's a longer chapter this week. Next week TVD returns, anyone excited? And did anyone see the extended trailer that the cw posted today, Bonnie looks so heartbroken and Enzo doesn't look like he's having much fun as the big bad's minion like Damon is, I think he's definitely fighting the mind control that's been put on him.

And Bonenzo fans on tumblr, this Saturday is the first day of Bonenzo week, go on tumblr and follow emmaqueenfrost for info.