Chapter 14
Ellis
After finally getting back to Brody’s house, the two of us immediately fell into bed. The short nap we’d taken in the middle of the tunnel was the only sleep we’d had for nearly a day and a half, so we were exhausted. We didn’t even have the energy to wash off the dirt from the tunnels.
So, when we finally woke up and felt like functioning people again, our first order of business was a bath.
Together, of course. When building his house, Brody had installed a particularly large tub in his bathroom that was big enough for both of us, and I was eager to take advantage of it.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a bath with another person. Maybe when I was a young child, when my mother bathed my brother and me at the same time.
It was a bittersweet memory, but I was finally able to think about my brother without immediately wanting to break out crying —or punch something—so I figured that meant I was making progress.
Plus, bathing with Brody was much more enjoyable.
The bathtub was completely circular, so there was no right way or wrong way to sit in it.
We were positioned facing each other, legs tangled together as we lounged among the hot water and bubbles floating on the surface.
Steam welled up around us to the point that the rest of the bathroom was barely visible.
“So, I’m still not entirely sure what happened,” I said as I idly stirred my fingers across the surface of the water.
“So, the Milford sisters were born into The Tamed Souls cult. Escaped that cult. Stole something from the cult leader on their way out. Came to Emberwood, where they were adopted by the Milford family, and a new cult was formed around them when they predicted a fire, found resources to mine, and other ‘miraculous’ things. Then the previous cult leader comes looking for whatever they stole, ends up dead, and his body turns up buried in the foundation of your property. Do I have that right?”
Brody nodded while keeping his head leaning back against the edge of the tub. “That’s about right.”
His red hair was wet and looked darker than normal, making it contrast more starkly against his pale skin. I was distracted for a moment, watching water droplets slowly slide down his neck and chest.
My arousal twitched in the hot water, and I shook myself back to my senses.
“But we still don’t know what the sisters stole, why they tried so hard to hide it, and why the cult leader—what was his name? Angus Grieve—wanted it back so bad. Nor do we understand the meaning behind the coffee beans in Rose’s locket, or the wooden dowel in Poppy’s vault.”
Once again, Brody confirmed that I’d gotten everything right.
Somehow, despite having all the right information, I still felt like I didn’t know anything.
It was like finally putting together all the edges pieces of a puzzle, but still having no idea what the final product was supposed to be.
Even if I didn’t have all the pieces in place, I should at least be able to tell what image I was trying to create.
Brody rubbed his leg against mine under the water, distracting me from my thoughts. “Don’t worry about it so much. We’ll figure things out. For now, just take time to relax.”
That sounded like a good idea, but then, as Brody’s leg brushed against me again, an even better thought came to me.
I climbed across the tub, moving slowly to avoid disturbing the water too much, until I straddled his lap. “Or we could do the opposite of relaxing.”
Apparently, it was an easy decision because Brody didn’t think very long before he grabbed me.
Water splashed over the edge of the tub as he pulled me into a kiss.
My knees slid against the bottom of the tub under water, and I braced my hands against his chest for support to keep from falling right on top of him.
Pretending to support me, Brody grabbed my ass hard enough to bruise.
He then slid one hand down to my thighs to squeeze the generous flesh there, while he pressed his other hand between my ass cheeks to slip one finger inside me.
Warm water followed his finger, making me gasp from the strange feeling, as if my muscles were liquefying.
Brody swallowed every sound I made, continuing to move his fingers inside me until I was writhing with his touch and kneading against his chest like an overgrown cat.
“I was thinking,” he said when he finally pulled away from the kiss. “If you want me to go get protection, I can. Though, I’ll have to get out of the tub. However, if you’re comfortable, we could go without it.”
I was still panting after the intense kiss, sucking in deep gulps of steamy air. It took me a moment to realize what he was saying, but Brody was content to simply sit there and continue toying with me as he waited for my brain to start working again.
Eventually, I managed to nod.
“Does that mean you want me to go fetch some stuff, or that you trust me to go without it?”
“I… I trust you.”
I’d already trusted this man with my life numerous times. Trusting him with my health was no concern after that.
All of a sudden, Brody pulled his fingers from my body, and I was left empty and wanting. My cock was already dripping pre-come into the bath water, desperate for attention.
“Turn around,” Brody said, with one more firm squeeze to my ass.
The tub was circular, so there was no ‘front’ or ‘back’ to face.
I wasn’t sure what direction he wanted me to turn, but luckily, he was willing to guide me.
Large, gentle hands repositioned me until I was bent over the edge of the tub.
My legs were still in the water, and my hands were braced on the tiled bathroom floor, which left my ass on full display in the air.
The whole bathroom was filled with steam, but the air was still colder than the heated water. I shivered as goosebumps erupted all over my body, but I didn’t move from where I’d been placed.
Brody nipped at my shoulder with his teeth. It wasn’t hard enough to break skin, not even enough to leave a mark, and was more like a reminder of pain than an actual sensation.
“If I can’t leave the tub, then that means we don’t have any lube, either,” he said directly into my ear, before placing a kiss over the spot that he just nipped. “I hope you can handle a rough ride.”
I might have nodded or made some sort of sound in agreement.
I couldn’t tell. My brain already felt like it had been invaded by the steam filling the room and turned all my thoughts to mush.
His fingers found their way back inside me, carefully opening me up.
The bathwater provided some lubricant, but not much, and the burn of the extra friction made my hips jerk as I tried to pull away and press closer at the same time.
My cock rubbed against the smooth edge of the tub, and I sunk my teeth into my own forearm to silence my moans, which were echoing off the walls of the bathroom.
A hand tangled into my hair and pulled my head back, freeing my mouth from my arm.
“Oh, no. Don’t silence yourself. I want to hear every sound you make.”
Without proper lube, it was slow going. Brody took his time, carefully stretching me open until he was certain I was ready for him. Meanwhile, my voice bounced off the wall as I begged him to hurry up.
I would have been embarrassed by my own voice if I was able to feel anything other than desperation and burning arousal.
When he finally pressed inside of me, he moved slowly.
Inch by inch, his cock carved a path through me, drawing out the sensation until the pleasure was on the edge of turning into pain.
I tried pushing back against him, eager for him to hurry and fill me, but my hands slid over the white tiles of the floor.
It was almost worse than being bound. My limbs were completely free to move but couldn’t do anything useful.
Most of my weight rested on my stomach, and the edge of the tub bit into my hips as Brody finally slid into me all the way.
He gripped onto the edge of the tub for stability, his hands pinning me even more in place, before pulling out and slamming back inside all at once.
He set a punishing pace. More water sloshed over the side of the tub onto the floor with each thrust of his hips. Wet flesh smacked against wet flesh, filling the bathroom with the echoes of our coupling.
I dug my fingers into the groves of the floor tile, desperate for some form of traction to help me withstand the force as he thrust inside me. My insides felt scraped raw, and oversensitive nerves sent pleasure tingling up my spine every time Brody moved.
It was too perfect for words. The ecstasy that burned through my veins felt like a cleansing fire, eradicating every doubt, every negative thought that had ever existed before this moment.
This was where I belonged.
With a sudden, piercing jolt of electric pleasure, I came with a shout. My climax spilled over the edge of the tub and onto the bathroom tile, white staining white.
A moment later, Brody followed as well. Without the extra layer of protection that had always separated us before, I felt his heat more than usual. It flooded me, filling me up right down to my core so not an inch of me remained that wasn’t claimed by him.
Something in my brain stopped working. I didn’t pass out, but I completely froze. Even my thoughts went dark. Brody eventually had to guide me back into the tub, settling me against his chest as he let the warm water soothe my abused muscles.
The steam around us slowly disappeared, allowing me to see parts of the bathroom walls again. It was like waking up from a dream. One by one, the synapses in my brain reconnected until I was eventually able to complete a thought.
Looking up at Brody, who had never once let me go, I smiled.
“Again?”
It was hours before we finished. After the water in the bath grew cold, we moved to the bedroom and continued there.
By the time we collapsed onto the mattress, spent and exhausted, it was late into the night.
We didn’t say anything as we lay shoulder to shoulder and Brody intertwined his fingers with mine.
In that moment, it felt like we were the only two people in the world, and I was content to stay in that very spot forever.
The moment was broken by the sound of a fist banging on the bedroom door.
“Are you two done, yet?” Creed’s voice shouted through the door. “I can hear you from the guest room, and some of us want to sleep tonight.”
I froze, mortification pouring through me as I realized that Creed had heard everything we’d done. I’d gotten so used to the idea of Brody’s house being our own sanctuary that I’d completely forgotten that Creed was now staying in the guest bedroom, which wasn’t far away.
Beside me, Brody groaned and threw an arm over his eyes like he was trying to block out the rest of the world.
“This is my house,” he shouted back at Creed.
“You’re just a guest here. We can do whatever we want, for as long as we want.
If you’ve got a problem with it, then Magnus has a guest bedroom as well. ”
Even through the door I could hear the sound of Creed’s scoff. “Magnus? Please. He’s even louder than you.”
Grabbing one of the pillows off the bed, Brody threw it at the door where it made a surprisingly loud thump against the wood. “Then count your blessings and keep your complaints to yourself.”
“All right, all right,” Creed grumbled. “And here I thought you were the more sensible one.”
“You’re just jealous you’re the only one not getting laid.”
The comment was harsh, but there was an undertone of affection in it.
On the other side of the door, Creed started laughing.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night. Although, it seems like you won’t be doing much of that.”
Brody threw another pillow at the door, which just made Creed laugh harder before we heard his footsteps as he walked away.
Flopping back onto the bed, Brody buried his face into the last remaining pillow.
“Fuuuuuck.”
I tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not that bad. I mean, he was laughing, so I don’t think he was upset.”
Not lifting his face from the pillow, Brody shook his head. “No. It’s not that. This is hardly the first time one of us has overheard the other. Hell, there has been a few times where we’ve walked in on each other with a partner. At least this time the door was locked.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Finally, Brody lifted his face from the pillow, and I could see that his blue-green eyes were sparkling with his own laughter.
“I’m going to have to start building Creed’s house right away. He’s not staying here any longer than necessary.”
Then Brody started laughing for real.
I joined him in his laughter, promising to help however I could with the construction.
We continued to lie there for a while longer, keeping our voices down to a whisper as we made more plans for the future.
The best part of the whole night was the assumption that I’d be moving in with Brody.
There wasn’t even a discussion. I was already so established in Brody’s home that living anywhere else was unthinkable.
It felt good, finally having a home. I couldn’t remember the last time I was so accepted somewhere. Even before my brother got sick, it always felt like I was just floating from place to place, waiting for the next gust of wind to send me on my way like a dandelion seed drifting through the air.
Now, finally, I’d landed somewhere comfortable, and for the first time in my life, I could start putting down my own roots.
Click now to read Creed , the next book in the Rock Hard Mountain Men series.