Page 23

22

NAVY

“Navy, Briggs is here.”

Perfect.

I give myself a quick once-over and smile delightfully.

I look hot as fuck.

Even more so than before—before Bodhi decided he had the authority to tell me how to dress.

Bodhi doesn’t own me. Nor does he have the jurisdiction to demand I listen to him.

It brings me a great thrill to think about how my outfit change will surely enrage him now.

But he has to keep his composure, or Callaway will question him. If I know anything about Bodhi, it’s that his friendship with Callaway means everything to him. That leads me to believe that he won’t risk Callaway catching onto anything past friendship between me and him.

Do I think my small outfit change is a little overdone for dinner and a movie? Yes. But the satisfaction I know I’ll feel as soon as Bodhi sees me will make being uncomfortable and hiding a visible food belly all night worth it in the end.

I gather my handbag, slip my lime green heels back on my feet, and descend the stairs.

Let the fun begin.

* * *

As soon as I come into view from where the guys are seated on the couch, hypnotized by the game, I feel the weight of eyes settle on me.

From their angle, my outfit looks perfectly modest. I kept the same skinny jeans and heels but threw on an oversized black blazer over the top I swapped out.

I’m all business in the back and party in the front.

It’s my style.

A sharp amusement ripples through me, knowing the reaction I’ll get when I turn around. Bodhi is comfortably lounging on the chaise side of the couch, putting his massive body directly in my line of sight.

Briggs is already at the door, so this change will not be up for discussion or debate. Bodhi told me to change—so I did.

Next time he should be more specific.

Here goes nothing.

“Okay, boys. I’m off,” I call out as I turn around to face them.

My grin stretches uncomfortably wide.

Wide enough to show just how confident and sexy I feel right now.

The moment my eyes connect with Bodhi’s bright greens, fire shoots through his pupils, dilating them to an unhealthy size.

“Oh, fuck no!” he shouts as his body propels off the couch, rampaging toward me.

But I’m already on the move, devious smile planted across my face, and I almost reach the front door before strong arms wrap around my waist, pushing my body against the coat closet beside me.

I hear Callaway shout, “Dude, leave her alone.” Kingston laughs hysterically at the irony of it all, but none of the other guys make a move to intervene.

Yep, it’s me and King Kong, the primate, about to battle down.

I try to hold my corrupted smile while meeting Bodhi’s furious eyes, calm and confident.

A giggle escapes me. “If you don’t mind…my date is here,” I tell him, tapping his shoulder and signaling him to move.

It’s useless to assume Bodhi would let me go that easily. I can feel the heat radiating from his body. His left arm is caged over my head while the other stabilizes him against the wall.

He’s shaking and seething.

He’s tameless.

Playing it off like his frustration doesn’t bother me, I reach to collect my lip gloss from my purse since my hands are fortunately free. Opening the creamy pink gloss, I begin applying it to my lips, smirking at Bodhi as he remains silent. His fiery eyes follow the movement before drawing his plump lip into his mouth with a groan.

He looks turned on, but I know that’s not it.

He’s fuming and doing everything he can not to open the front door and snap Briggs’ neck.

Poor guy, it’s not his fault Bodhi is this possessive.

I secure the cap and get more frustrated by the second. I plop it back into my purse and decide to end this now.

“Okay, well, good talk. If you’ll excuse me…”

My plan to leave is stopped short at the feel of Bodhi’s thick and calloused finger feathering the curve of my breasts. A grin full of sin meets me head-on. “You wear this for him, terremoto?”

His hand slips inside my blazer, making himself comfortable.

I nod. “Sure did. Now, let me go.” His caress doesn’t stop. For being this angry, Bodhi’s touch is gentle.

It feels like he’s soaking me in and memorizing every freckle across my body.

“A bra was not quite what I had in mind.” His dark eyes penetrate mine.

“It’s a good thing I wasn’t worried about what you wanted me to wear,” I snap back at him.

Bodhi lets out a menacing chuckle. “Mhm, is that right?” His index finger slips under the bottom of my push-up bralette as his large fingers caress the bottom fullness of my breasts.

Goosebumps flood my body and my core aches for his touch.

This can’t happen. He needs to stop touching me.

“Bodhi, I need to go.” Briggs has been waiting for far too long and I’m hoping he hasn’t already dipped out.

My hand finds Bodhi’s arm still caged over my head, and I use all my strength to shift and slide under his muscular frame.

Where in the hell is Cal? He should have saved me by now.

Bodhi lets me wiggle free before pulling me toward him again. “If he lays a single finger on you…”

I shoot him an incredulous look. “Seriously? Briggs is your friend. He would never hurt me.”

“That’s not what I meant, Navy,” Bodhi bites through his teeth.

Ah. He means I shouldn’t let him touch me—intimately.

Well, too bad that’s one more thing Bodhi doesn’t get to decide for me.

I hold tight to the front doorknob and pivot my body to face him. “If he’s man enough to admit he wants me, I’ll let him touch me however I very well please.”

I send Bodhi one last spiteful smile before opening the door to find Briggs with a large bouquet of yellow roses. I smile to myself as he leads me to his car.

They aren’t marigolds, but yellow roses will do. How thoughtful.

Briggs opens the door for me like the perfect gentleman, and before he can settle in the driver’s seat beside me, my phone alerts me to a text.

Bodhi: Strike two.

My stomach drops.

As much as I want to say screw him, I can’t. I feel myself come alive at the sound of his threats. Except they don’t feel like threats; they feel like promises.

A promise of something much more exciting.

I need to figure out a plan for next time before he can call strike three.