32. Ella
32
ELLA
“H ow long have you been here?” I ask, looking around the space that looks nothing like him. I’d been in such a hurry to get him naked when we walked in here I’d hadn’t seen much of anything.
“About three years.”
“Three years?” The question comes out higher than I intended, and apparently I don’t school my expression fast enough if Bodhi’s arched eyebrow is any indication.
But three years?
“Yes…”
“Where’s your stuff?” I ask, finally finding my words. “I mean, aside from the fridge, there’s nothing here that looks like it could be yours.”
The house is clean and rustic and while it’s hitting the right vibe, I don’t think if he moved out there’d be much of a change to the space.
Except for the fridge.
The stainless steel appliance is covered in pictures of Beck and Holland, the dogs, a couple of him and Mason, and some of the other guys in Blackstone Falls. There’s a couple of drawings, a sports schedule, and a handful of other things that are wildly out of place in the otherwise pristine room.
Bracing his hands on the island, he sighs. “I don’t have a lot and at this point it’s habit over anything else. Rooms are functional and I don’t need paint and knickknacks to make me feel home because up until recently, I didn’t even know what that was.”
“It’s not a criticism,” I tell him, resting my elbows on the granite as I lean forward. “I just have stuff and I’m worried you’ll take one look at my apartment and run for the hills.”
“I don’t care that you have stuff.”
“Are you sure? Maybe you should see the amount of stuff before you commit to that sentiment.”
His grin is slow and sexy as it slides across his lips. It’s the kind of thing that sends a flash of heat coursing through my veins, dampening my panties, and has me wishing we’ll make better use of this counter.
“I moved here with Mason. Montana’s family owns this house and rented it to us when we moved here.”
“And then just you.”
“Yeah.” He looks around before focusing back on me. “I think that I’d like to find us a place when we’re ready for that.”
A swarm of butterflies takes flight in my stomach and it takes everything in me to respond in an even tone when all I want to do is cartwheel across the floor.
“And what’s that place look like?”
“Something big enough for us and the dogs and for the kids. Beck and Holland have rooms here and I’d like to be able to keep that space for them somewhere else.” Winking, he adds, “And plenty of room for your stuff.”
“No preferences about the kitchen? Or a reading nook?”
“Reading nook?”
“Isn’t this yours?” I hold up the paperback by Sloane Daniels, the first book in her newest romantic suspense trilogy that was released the end of last year.
His eyes lock on the book in my hand before slowly moving up to meet my gaze. “Kind of.”
“How is it kind of yours?”
“Sorren loaned it to me.”
“And?” I ask, more interested in what he thinks rather than the fact that it’s my boss’s husband’s copy—especially considering I’ve talked books with Sorren a time or two and always when it’s Sloane Daniels.
“It’s fine. I’m not far as you can tell.”
“Ugh,” I huff, setting it back down on the table and sliding onto the barstool. “I read it the same day it came out and absolutely devoured the second book. Only a few weeks until the last one is live! There’s a release party in Nashville at one of the bookstores I was thinking about going to.”
“Is she going to be there?”
“No, no one knows who she is,” I tell him before leaning forward. “Want to know a secret?”
“Sure.” His lips twitch as he stares at me, and I don’t miss the way his eyes dip to where I’ve pushed my breasts together.
“Ahem,” I tease but he takes his sweet time meeting my gaze, his eyes like a physical caress that I feel absolutely everywhere.
“You were saying?”
“You were staring.”
“Can’t be helped.” He points to my chest. “You distracted me on purpose.”
“Of course not.” I totally did. “Anyway, my cousin Bailey met Sloane on a retreat of some kind. She narrates audiobooks in her spare time and I guess they hit it off. That was a couple of years ago and now she narrates all Sloane’s books.”
“I was going to try listening to it but now I know that your cousin is doing it I might have to switch to something else.”
“Why?” I laugh as he lifts an eyebrow and stares pointedly.
“Because there’s a lot of sex and I’m not interested in sitting across from your cousin at the next family gathering after listening to her read it.”
“Next family gathering, huh?” I ask, hopping onto the floor and rounding the island to stand next to him.
“I already told you,” he murmurs, lifting me onto the cool granite and pushing himself between my legs.
“I think maybe I told you. ” The response is cheeky but I had told him. I licked him and that made him mine.
“Guess I need to catch up then.” Fingers slipping under the hem of my skirt, I gasp as Bodhi grabs the scrap of lace and pulls it down my thighs. “Lie back.”
Heat scorches my body with that single command that I can’t help but obey as he throws my legs over his shoulders and grips my ass cheeks in his hands.
Gasping and moaning as he blows little hot puffs of air on my center, the need for contact makes my hips buck up off the counter.
“You’re so damn beautiful.” The reverence in his voice makes me whimper, the need for him overwhelming because all I want is more.
“Bodhi, please.”
“You don’t see how sexy you look all spread out like this, wet and begging. Even if you don’t say the words, baby, I can tell. Your skin is flushed, your nipples hard little peaks under your shirt while your pussy glistens for me, your thighs trying desperately to squeeze together for some relief.”
“Oh my God, yes, please, baby. I need it.”
“I will never get tired of hearing you beg for me,” he murmurs, seconds before licking up the length of my slit, his tongue lashing at my clit, holding me open so all I can do is just take the onslaught of pleasure.
The contrast of cold against my heated flesh builds my orgasm at an alarming rate while I simultaneously try to hold it off and dive willingly over the edge.
It’s the most beautiful conundrum and one I won’t have to worry about much longer as he sucks my clit into his mouth and I burst into a thousand little pieces.
His name falls from my lips as I ride out every wave of pleasure, soaking up every second of this incredibly beautiful moment.
“That was too quick,” he complains, a breathy laugh escaping me as I try to look up at him.
“That’s what happens when I don’t see my boyfriend for a week.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Yours,” I manage with a straight face, looking back up at the ceiling. “I forgot how magical your tongue is.”
“That it?”
“No, I missed that virgin cock of yours too.”
“Formerly virgin.”
“Don’t ruin my fun.”
“Apologies.”
“You’re forgiven.”
“Is that right?”
“On one condition.”
“Yeah?” he asks, pulling me up and brushing his lips over mine. “What’s that?”
“I think it’s time you bend me over this counter and show me how much you missed me.”
“Right now?” His eyes darken, a flash of heat winding through their depths.
Grabbing the hem of his shirt, I drag it up his body and over his head. “Why wait?”
Why indeed.