Page 85 of Their Domme

She was going to be the death of me, but what a way to go.

Bodhi

Friday

We had found nothing on Gabriel. No trace of the man or any information in his home or shop, Olive & Grove. Everything was clean, neat, and so organized I felt instantly at ease in both places, though they didn’t stay in that state for long.

We tore the places apart, exploring every nook and cranny to see if we could find anything useful. I sighed heavily and jumped up on the counter beside the register at the shop. Besides the expensive clothing that Nicholette would love, there was nothing here. No money in the register or traces of what Gabriel had done outside of running this business.

“Are we sure that hand was Gabriel’s? Couldn’t he have just run off?”

“That’s a possibility,” Vas answered after a frustrated curse from further in the store. “We just guessed whose hand it was.”

“If it wasn’t his, then whose could it be?” Sacha speculated from behind me, making me jerk in surprise. I turned to glare at him, but he was uncowed, humor dancing in his brown eyes.

“Who knows?” Vas shrugged nonchalantly as he ambled toward us. “Right now, we have nothing though, and Nic sent me an update. Ansel found Joe, but she’s waiting until tomorrow to confront him. She wants us there.”

“Did she actually say that?” I asked.Nic doesn’t like to say sheneedsanyone.

“No, but I think her saying she’s waiting until we are back means the same thing.” Vas grinned, and Sacha laughed, the husky sound giving me a little chill. “Any updates on your end?”

My mind immediately went to the personal message Nic had sent me earlier. She had reached out to say that Oli was leaving instead of the group chat. There wasn’t anything in what she said that was weird but there was just something about it that was off, an edge to her words that wasn’t usually present. For me, at least. I hadn’t really talked to her since even though I knew I should have. Every day that passed just made the distance between us seem wider and wider. Hopefully I’d get my shit together before it was too late.

I shook my head as Sacha did the same beside me.

“We should get going. We don't want her to get pissed off about something and miss out on the consequences,” Vas muttered, glancing at the car outside.

“I’m going to grab some clothes for her.” Sacha looked around with a critical eye. “Knowing her, she’s probably complaining that she doesn’t have any of her stuff.”

“You do that,” Vas said over his shoulder as he headed for the door. “I’m going to go grab some stuff. I’ll meet you at the car in thirty.”

Sacha and I agreed, but instead of heading for the racks like I expected, Sacha crowded me and brushed his lips against mine. “What’s going on, Bodhi? I can feel the gears turning in that head of yours. What’s wrong?”

“Why would something be wrong?” I asked breathlessly, loving his nearness. His beard brushed against my neck as he pressed kisses up my jaw.

“Oli being gone for a while without much of a goodbye?” he asked. “The fact that you’re avoiding Nic like the plague after steadfastly refusing to think she wouldn’t come back to us?” My body tensed, not expecting him to call me out. He noticed my reaction and braced his hands on either side of me, refusing to let me escape this confrontation. “Is it the babies?”

“What if I end up like my mom?” I managed, my voice cracking even though it was barely above a whisper. I had brought up this concern to Oli, but his reassurance didn’t make my worry go away. “I wanted Nic back, but a baby?Multiplebabies? I don’t know how to wrap my head around that.”

“She’s still our Nic. In fact, I think we could argue that being pregnant has made her even more ruthless,” Sacha gently replied, pulling back so he could cup my face and meet my gaze. “No one was expecting her to get pregnant, much less Nic, but she’s ours. The babies are ours. We just need to hope we don’t have a little Vas because he was a fucking handful. Plus, my brother won’t ever let us live it down if he’s the one who got past Nic’s birth control.”

I laughed despite myself, the image of Vas’ boasting amusing me. His ego was already crazy; there was no way we could handle it getting any bigger. “I know it’s dumb—”

“It’s not dumb,” he cut me off harshly. “You went through hell because of someone you should have been able to depend on without question. You aren’t her, Bodhi, and none of us would let you end up that way.”

“I just… Nic noticed. That I’ve been avoiding her, I mean.” I swallowed hard. “She didn’t come right out and say it, but I could tell.”

“Talk to her, Bodhi. Before we deal with Joe tomorrow.”

“Not tonight?” I asked gruffly, rubbing my face.

“No,” Sacha replied softly, sounding uncharacteristically unsure. “Tonight, I need you. I’m tired of waiting and getting in my head. I just want it to be us, finally. Sleep with me tonight?”

My breath caught in my throat, my eyes shooting up to search his face, but he ignored the weight of my stare. He ran his hands up and down my thighs almost as if he were nervous. “Just sleeping?” I needed him to be very fucking clear about what was going to happen tonight. It felt like I’d waited forever for him to be ready.

He shook his head just a little bit. “I need you, Bodhi. I’m tired of imagining what you’ll feel like against me and the sounds you’ll make when I fuck you until you’re crying for me to stop. I want to feel you milk my cock for every fucking drop of cum so I can finally mark you as mine. The taste of you, the smell of your skin when I wake up in the morning, I want that. Stay with me tonight?”

I didn’t answer with words, hungry for everything he’d said. I slanted my mouth over his, diving into the kiss, and I began to whimper when he took over, tilting my head just right so he could plunder my mouth. He was sending a message loud and clear: I would not be hiding any part of myself from him.The damn miracle will be making it to the house tonight.His beard was soft against my face, and he tasted like the rich, bitter coffee he loved. I closed my eyes, moaning, as I instinctively pushed my body closer to his. God, I couldn’t believe we were doing this.

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