Chapter 18

It wasdifficult to hear Bodhi’s story.

He’d been through so much more than he’d told me. I’d known that was likely, but to hear it in so much detail was hard. I couldn’t fathom how someone could hurt a person they claimed to love—especially someone like Bodhi. He was kind, caring, compassionate, and clearly longing for love and connection. He would never hurt anyone. It seemed extra cruel.

It had helped to be able to hold Bodhi close while he spoke. I could protect him, if just in that moment. All I wanted was to keep him safe. No one would hurt him ever again. He was so much stronger than he gave himself credit for. He was a survivor.

Once he’d finished, his voice was hoarse, and he appeared completely drained. We would be able to get a restraining order, and hopefully, Max could track Derek down before any more incidents occurred. We didn’t have cameras at the garage, but someone around town must have seen something. I hoped they’d check all the stores on Main Street, and knowing how fastidious Max was when it came to his work, he would leave no stone unturned.

Glancing at Seb, I could tell he’d been rocked by what Bodhi had been through. His face was ashen, and his usual happy demeanor was nowhere in sight. I loved my brother. He was such a genuine guy. I was glad Bodhi trusted him, and I could tell how much those words had meant to Seb.

“I might head out, too.” Seb stood and gave me a knowing look as he glanced at Bodhi. He knelt down to talk to Bodhi. “I’m sorry for all you’ve been through, Bodhi. You’re a part of our family now.” He flashed me a grin. “We’ll do everything we can to protect you and help you get through this.” He gently patted Bodhi’s knee and stood to leave.

“Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow at Mama’s, but if you don’t feel up for it, don’t worry. Mama will understand.” Glancing back at me, he said, “We’ll talk later.” With one last nod, he left.

Turning to Bodhi, I ran my hand over the top of his head. “What do you need? What can I get you?”

Smiling up at me, he pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “Thanks,” he said, then snuggled against my chest.

“For what?” I asked, perplexed.

“For caring. For helping me through all that,” he mumbled into my shirt.

Smiling to myself, I stroked his back and hugged him close. I would keep him safe. Kissing the top of his head, I shifted us so he could look at me. “How about something to eat?”

He jumped at my words, trying to get up quickly but failing. Once he was on his feet, he limped stiffly into the kitchen. “Oh shit! My cookies!”

He came up short at the partially cooked tray on the counter and the cold oven. I followed him into the kitchen, chuckling at his antics.

“Seb turned it all off before they left to get coffee.” Looking at the tray of half-finished cookies, I winced. “Do you think they can be saved?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.” He carefully inspected the cookies. “We could try, and if that doesn’t work, I have another batch of dough in the fridge ready to go.”

Following Bodhi’s lead, we went about making the cookies and spent the rest of the morning in the kitchen. I wanted to give Bodhi the space he needed to decompress, and baking seemed to be helping.

“I didn’t know you could bake. How did you discover baking?”

“Home Economics at school. It was one of my favorite subjects. I would’ve liked to do a minor in food science at college, but it wasn’t an option.”

“You mentioned college before. Did you say you got a scholarship? What did you study?” I enjoyed discovering more about Bodhi and the easy conversations we seemed to fall into as we finished setting the cookies in the oven and started to clean up.

“Yeah, I managed to get a full scholarship to complete a four-year degree in social work.” He paused as sadness clouded his face. “I fought so hard for that spot, and I just let Derek ruin it.”

“Hey now, it’s not your fault. You were experiencing a relationship for the first time while finding your independence and facing adulthood. It was bound to distract you.” Smiling, I tried to reassure him.

From what he’d spoken about with Max, Derek had manipulated him, plain and simple. He’d preyed on Bodhi’s naivety and twisted him to his will. I hated to think of him with Derek. Bodhi was so full of love, and he desperately wanted to find a home and family. I understood him falling for Derek and what he might have represented at the time. I hoped he would want to find what he was really looking for with me. I’d grown to care for him so much over the short time we’d gotten to know each other. I hoped he knew I would never hurt him. I was nothing like Derek. I growled at the thought of what that asshole had done to Bodhi.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by Bodhi’s giggle. “What was that? Did you just growl!? Are those dishes causing you problems?”

Still chuckling, I flicked some of the dishwater at him. “Hey, you don’t know what these dishes have done.”

Bodhi jumped back with an indignant shriek when he got splashed. “Did you just splash me? Oh, it’s on!”

Moving quickly, he reached for the flour, grabbing a handful. Before I could react, he dropped the handful on my head. I spluttered as flour cascaded over my face. He was already backing away from me as I reached for the sink’s spray attachment and turned the water on him. Spraying his chest with water, I laughed. He grabbed more flour and threw it at me as I sprayed him. We battled against each other with water and flour until the kitchen was an absolute mess. We’d created a slimy dough all over the floor between us.

Bodhi turned to reach for the leftover chocolate chips next, but instead, he started to slip in the flour mixture, windmilling his arms desperately to try and regain his balance, which sent chocolate chips everywhere. His legs slid out from underneath him, and he landed with a splat in the slime between us. The crack of his cast hitting the floor tiles made me cringe. I turned off the faucet and quickly jumped into action to see if he was okay.

As I turned him over, I realized he was laughing so hard tears were leaking from his eyes. He looked up at me, joy still dancing in his eyes. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his adorable flour-smeared face. “I was worried you hurt yourself, but I’m guessing you’re okay.”

“That was the most fun I’ve had in ages!” He reached for me with both his slime-covered arms, trying to pull me down, too. I went willingly, kissing him upside down as he smeared the flour mixture up my biceps to my neck. I’d never kissed anyone upside down before, and honestly, it was kind of awkward. Pulling back, I maneuvered myself around the other way so I could lean over him and kiss him properly. Settling my weight on top of him, I took control of the kiss, thrusting my tongue into his mouth while drinking down his moans as the kiss turned heated. We were both wet and covered in flour, almost glued together, but I didn’t want to stop.

Leaning up, I peeled his soaked shirt off his chest and over his head, then quickly removed my own. Bodhi was on the same page and was pushing his sweatpants and underwear down, freeing his cock before trying to undo my jeans. I quickly took over undoing my jeans and pulling out my own cock before I dove back down for another kiss.

I had no idea how he managed it, but Bodhi suddenly flipped our positions.

I let out an indignant squeak as my bare back hit the cold tiles. I quickly forgot all about my momentary discomfort as Bodhi shuffled up to straddle my hips, thrusting our cocks together.

Leaning on his casted forearm, he wrapped his good hand around my length and began to stroke. I reached out and grabbed his perfectly round ass cheeks in my palms, caressing the globes as I thrust up into his palm.

I couldn’t help the moan that escaped as he twisted his palm over the head of my cock. His hand wrapped around my girth, the pressure exquisite. He leaned down and kissed me as he flicked his thumb under the crown, causing me to jump.

“Fuck, that feels good,” I whispered into his mouth. My orgasm was creeping up on me. I reached out to grab his cock, too, but he pushed my hand away as he started to kiss down my chest. Loving where this was going, I caressed his cheek and gazed into his beautiful blue eyes. “Are you sure?”

He smiled at me, his gaze setting my skin on fire. “Oh, I’m sure. I’ve wanted to get my mouth on you for a while.” Sending me a saucy wink, the little minx didn’t waste any time, kissing down my body to my shaft. He licked me like a lollipop, circling the crown before dipping his tongue into the slit—all while holding eye contact.

Fuck, that’s hot!

I groaned as he sucked on the head before taking me deeper. Shock at his lack of a gag reflex stole my breath. He swallowed me down, causing me to buck up at the sheer pleasure of his mouth.

“Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Bodhi!”

His lips were stretched wide around me as my hands went to the back of his head, digging into his long hair as he began to bob up and down. I was entranced by the sensation, overwhelmed by pleasure as my cock hit the back of his throat and he swallowed around me. It was no easy feat, since I was above average and thick. Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes and saliva dripped down his chin. He looked thoroughly debauched and it was such a beautiful sight. He dipped his good hand lower and began to roll my balls in his palm, occasionally giving them a little tug that sent lightning shooting down my spine.

I was on edge, my balls ached, and my shaft throbbed.

“I’m close,” I whispered huskily and lightly pulled Bodhi’s hair. He just moaned around my length. His hand ventured lower, and he pressed a finger between my ass cheeks, tapping lightly on my hole. I was done for. “Fuuuck! Bodhi!” I exclaimed, caught off guard by the dual sensations of his finger on my hole while he swallowed me completely, drinking down all I had to give. He sucked me through my release as stars danced behind my eyes and a sense of euphoria swarmed my entire body.

Pulling off, Bodhi quickly sat up. He spat into his hand and used my cum to lubricate his shaft as he jacked himself, hard and fast, clearly on edge.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck.” With just a few strokes, he flung his head back and erupted, spraying cum all over my spent cock and his fist. My cock gave a valiant twitch at the glorious sight of Bodhi coming undone. He stroked himself through his release. With a last twitch, he flopped down over my chest, breathing heavily. I caressed his hair and down his spine as our bodies cooled together on the slimy flour-covered floor.

Once our breathing returned to normal, I leaned up to kiss him, tasting myself on his tongue and groaning into his mouth. “You’re incredible,” I said, then breathed in his scent.

Bodhi’s eyes sparkled while he smiled up at me. “I think we need a shower.” He picked some drying flour mix off my shoulder.

Barking out a laugh, I took in the mess around us, and Bodhi’s flour-smeared face. There was even a chocolate chip stuck in his hair. “I’d say so.”

Carefully sitting up, Bodhi moved with me. He frowned down at his cast. “Oops.” He showed me the cracked edge of his cast near his thumb and the soggy patch over his palm.

Oops indeed, but so worth it! “We probably shouldn’t have played with water and flour with your cast. How’s your foot?”

Righting his pants, he shifted around to check. While his foot was safe in the walking boot, the boot and fabric sock were splattered with floury gunk. The sole was more white than black, and parts of the Velcro straps were caked in dough.

“It’ll clean up okay, it’s just dough,” he said, still chuckling. “Not sure what we should do about this, though.” He held out his cast as a few bits flaked off. I didn’t know if it was flour or plaster.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll give Doc a call. We might have to pop by and have him recast your wrist. Lyric always needed a replacement cast, so I know Doc is well prepared.” I kissed him on the cheek and helped him stand. “Let’s shower.”

We hobbled down the hall to my bedroom and en suite, trying not to drop flour flakes as we went. I led Bodhi in to sit on the edge of the tub with his legs in it so I could remove the walking boot. We left the boot in the tub for now and added the rest of our clothes.

“Think you’ll be okay to stand on one leg in the shower?” I gestured to my two-person dual shower. “I could bring a chair in just in case.” That was probably a better idea anyway. I couldn’t risk him being hurt again.

“I’ll be fine. It barely even hurts. What about my wrist?”

“I’m sure Doc will be able to replace the cast. We’ll try and keep it out of the spray, but I don’t think we need to stress about it too much,” I said, smiling down at him. I went over and turned on the shower, letting it heat up.

Bodhi shifted unsteadily on one leg.

“Let me help you.” I quickly placed my arm around his slim waist to brace him as he hopped over to the shower. Checking the temperature, we stepped inside, and I guided him under the spray.

Once we were clean, we got dressed, and I made sure Bodhi had his crutches handy since we decided not to put his walking boot back on. Thankfully it had been easy to clean but would take a while to dry. I was glad I’d gotten my boot dryer out of storage in preparation for a snowy winter and was able to use it to dry the walking boot. I left it there to complete its drying cycle and went to call Doc. He didn’t usually work on the weekend but was available by phone in case of town emergencies. I knew a broken cast wasn’t an emergency, but Doc would understand.

He answered on the second ring. “Hello, Atticus. You haven’t managed to injure another town visitor, have you?” Doc chuckled at his joke.

“Ha! No Doc, but thanks for the reminder.” Yeah, this would be a running gag for the next seventy-five years. “I just wanted to check in because we.... Ah.... We managed to get Bodhi’s cast wet and now it’s a bit damaged. Do you think you’d be able to recast it for him?”

“What in the world have you been up to?” Doc asked, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. “Sure, you may as well come by the office, let’s say, around two o’clock. I’ll check him over and see what can be done.”

“Thanks, Doc. We’ll see you then.”

Ending the call, I turned to Bodhi. “We have about an hour before we can go see Doc. How about lunch?”

“Sounds good.”