26. Ella
26
ELLA
B odhi and I spent a lazy morning in bed before stumbling into the shower together and running the water till it went cold. His hands had been all over my body, touching and caressing while I stroked his cock until his cum painted my belly.
He’d been mesmerized, and honestly, so had I.
It felt like being marked.
Claimed.
And I liked it.
But nothing compared to the feeling of him washing my hair, his fingers digging into my scalp nothing short of heaven. More than that, the intimacy of the act nearly took my breath away. The man whose scars run so much deeper than the surface was sweet and gentle and completely focused on me.
“You all right over there?” he says, bringing me back to reality as I drop my towel and watch his eyes darken like he didn’t just have me like this in the shower. “I’m having a hard time trying to reconcile the girl from the coffee shop and the one standing in front of me.”
“Is it because I’m naked?” I tease and he snorts, shaking his head.
“That’s just a bonus,” he muses as I grab a pair of panties and slide them up my legs, his gaze following my every move.
“Well, to answer your not question, I did a lot of growing up working at the Poppy Seed, and you, sir, have done your very best to ignore me as much as possible without seeming rude.” His lips press into a hard line, his hand still fisted on the towel slung around his waist with all that lickable skin on display.
“I have not,” he protests, blushing a little when I narrow my eyes. “Fine, a little,” he concedes.
“I’ll let it slide.” I wink before continuing. “I was really shy when I started working at the Poppy Seed. I was wowed by the Thayers, almost starstruck whenever one of the brothers came in. But as I learned the business, I got to know them too. They brought me out of my shell, and when Rhea and Sorren started dating, it all clicked into place for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“They had a lot of things to work through and the tension was high and explosive, and she’s my boss but she’s also my friend so I felt like I had to protect her.”
“From him?”
“And herself. They both ran in circles around the other for years, and I had a front-row seat.”
“I didn’t really know them until he and Tanner were getting ready to open Vetted Paws, and even then it was only on the surface. Mostly kept to myself anytime we went to one of the events at the Thayers’. Didn’t really get to know anyone outside Case, Otto, and Flora.”
“But you work there now, right?”
He snorts, and my head tilts to the side at the sound. “What?”
“Nothing. I don’t mind it so much now.”
“You did before?” I ask, toweling my hair dry as he pulls a shirt over his head.
“It was a punishment. I didn’t go willingly.” I stare at him because while I knew he’d gone over from working at Twinscapes with his brother, I didn’t know the details. “There was a moment last year when everything felt unsettled for me. I gave Case my resignation and thought I’d have to go back to New Hampshire.”
“Why?” I ask as he turns to look out the window.
“That’s where my sister was killed. My foster sister,” he says, his eyes cast down toward the floor. “Our foster father has been granted a new trial, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of him getting out on a technicality.”
“I’m so sorry, Bodhi.”
Audrey.
“Mason lost his shit. Things with Lana were goin’ great and he’d moved in with her and I thought it made sense for me to go.”
“I’m guessing you were wrong about that,” I say carefully and he gives me a sad smile.
“Yeah, Sorren and Hank showed up and took me back to Vetted Paws—with lots of learn from our mistakes talks.” He blows out a breath, and I see him visibly relax, his posture not as tense. “They were right. It’s just hard when you’ve never been able to count on anyone and now you have to change your entire outlook and realize that asking for help is a part of life.”
“It’s still hard, and needing more time to get there doesn’t make it wrong,” I tell him, cupping his face in my hands. “It’s okay to need time—you just need to be able to communicate that.”
“Easier said than done.”
“We’ll keep working on it.”
“Yeah?” he asks, his tone laced with surprise.
“You’ll have to use a crowbar to get rid of me,” I tease, and he chuckles, the tension lessening in the room. “Can I show you around today? We leave tomorrow, and I just want you to see Trappers Ridge from a local’s perspective.”
“A local, huh?”
“Honorary and it still counts.”
“Make it good then, baby, and don’t leave anything out.”