Page 180 of Whistle

It didn’t matter. None of it did. All that mattered was—“Bodhi,” I said, the object of my thoughts appearing in the doorway of the bathroom.

He hovered there, the ugly gown nearly swallowing him whole. He wasn’t a large man, but without all that hair, he seemed even smaller. Fragile somehow. The buzz cut emphasized his already sharp cheekbones, turning them hollow. I realized it didn’t help that he was still pale as a ghost from everything that had happened, the color in his lips and skin having yet to return. Beneath his eyes looked bruised, and the scratch across his cheek was raw.

I knew he was cold by the way he curled his bare toes against the floor as if he were trying to touch as little of the tile as possible. His eyes flickered to the bed on the other side of mine and then at me.

“Come here.” I beckoned, lifting the thin blanket covering my legs. He came instantly, crawling onto the mattress and practically on top of me. My body was sore, but I ignored it and scooped him closer, pulling up the blanket and wrapping both arms around him.

Bodhi’s sigh was heavy, and he rubbed his cheek against my chest, snuggling even more into me. “You’re warm.”

I frowned against the crown of his head, noticing that I had warmed up faster than him. “You don’t eat enough,” I muttered, rubbing my palm up and down his arm to generate heat. “We’re gonna work on your conditioning.” And now that I wasn’t trying to hide our relationship, I could be all up in his business without worrying who would see.

In response, he pushed his foot, filled with five icicle toes, between my calves.

I jolted and let out a curse, and Bodhi laughed.

“Keep it up, brat,” I warned.

“I can move,” he offered, lifting himself off my side.

I pushed him back down. “This is where you belong.”

He settled, and I dropped my head back against the pillow. “What the hell were you thinking tonight?”

“I wasn’t thinking. I was jealous. And hurt. And seeing that woman win the auction was the last straw.”

I made a rude noise. “That woman doesn’t matter.”

“She’s Landry’s pick for you.”

I stiffened at the mention of my daughter and lifted my head to peer down at him. “What?”

“I sat with them at the auction. Elite set this whole thing up to get you laid.”

My shoulders lifted off the mattress this time. “What?”

Bodhi elevated his head, his blue eyes slightly amused. “You’ve been a real hard-ass at practice, Coach. They thought a little vitamin V would calm you down.”

“Vitamin V,” I repeated, wondering what in the new age lingo that was supposed to mean.

Smirking, he said, “Little do they know you prefer vitamin D.”

Jesus. “You’re telling me Elite—my daughter—set up that whole thing to get me a date?” How hard up did they think I was?

“The woman who bid was her nurse here in the ER, right?”

Fuck. “Yeah.”

“Landry invited her, hoping you two would hit it off. She was really excited when she won the bid,” Bodhi said, voice subdued.

I moved to grab his hair to yank his head back, but there was no hair to grab.

Let us all have a moment of silence for those beautiful golden locks.

Changing direction, I grasped his chin and pushed his face up. “I am not interested in that woman.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“She’s not you,” I deadpanned. “And Landry didn’t know any better because I never told her. That’s on me, not her.”

---