Page 28 of More For Me

But this isBodhi. So why is my body reacting like he’s somebody else?

I feel his fingers brush my neck while he works on the clasp and try desperately to tamp down a shiver. I’m holding my breath, I realize, but I can’t seem to stop, even as my lungs begin to burn.

He finishes with the clasp and presses the silver chain against the back of my neck. “There,” he says, voice even lower. Then his fingers trail up my neck, so gentle I could almost imagine it was merely the air, if only his touch didn’t make my skin catch fire. I let out the breath I was holding but it comes out all shaky. Goosebumps are popping up on my skin and that shiver is coming whether I want it to or not. And still Bodhi stands in place behind me, so close I can practically feel his chest move when he breathes.

A shrill ring makes us both jump, Bodhi cursing softly under his breath. He takes a step back, and then another, and I finally feel like I can take a full breath. I also feel like it might just be worth forgoing air if he would just come back and touch me like that again.

Bodhi clears his throat. “I think it’s your phone.”

“Oh. Right. Of course.” Jesus, could I sound any more like a breathless pre-teen? I give myself a mental shake and search my over-crowded vanity for my phone. Alex’s name is on the screen and I nearly drop it in my hurry to bring it to my ear, anything to ease the strange tension in this room.

“Hey.”

“You sound out of breath,” she says in lieu of hello.

“I, uh, couldn’t find the phone,” I mutter, because I can’t exactly say that I just experienced one of the most sensual moments of my life all because Bodhi touched my neck. “What’s up?”

“Wyatt and I have to cancel.” She doesn’t sound very upset about it. In fact, there’s a robotic tone in her voice I’m very used to after all these years. Alex is about to tell a big fat lie.

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“Uh, George,” she says. George is their dog and I might feel uneasy that something could be wrong with him, if I wasn’t so sure she’s full of shit. “He has this like, weird cough thing?”

I catch Bodhi’s gaze in my vanity mirror. He has his hands shoved in his pockets—I have to force myself not to look at his forearms—and his gaze keeps flicking from my eyes in the mirror to any random spot in the room he can find. Does he feel as awkward as I do right now? Or was that whole thing in my head?

“A weird cough thing.” I don’t bother to hide my skepticism. I’ve known Alexandria Fraser since we were in diapers. But even a stranger could tell she’s lying—she’s that bad at it.

“Yeah. It’s kind of this like, wheeze. I guess. Anyhow, we don’t really want to leave him.”

“You can’t ask Wyatt’s parents or one of the kids to watch him?”

“Uh…” she’s quiet for a long moment before I hear the distinct muffled sound of voices. She clearly covered up the phone and is now talking to Wyatt. “His parents are out tonight,” she says after a moment, sounding relieved. “So are mine. And the kids have band rehearsal, so we’re just going to stay home.”

I roll my eyes. “You could just say you want to stay home and bang your sexy fiancé,” I say, and Bodhi starts coughing in surprise. “You don’t have to make up a story. You’re like, the worst liar.”

“Oh. Um. Yeah. That’s it. We totally want to bang. Like, all night. So we’re just going to do that.”

I frown. Why the hell does she sound even more dishonest now?

“Alex—”

“I really have to go now. Wyatt, um, took off his shirt. So we’re gonna get to that. Have fun with everyone. Okay, bye!” Then she hangs up before I can do more than open my mouth to demand she tell me what the hell is really going on.

I look up at Bodhi. “I guess Alex and Wyatt are out.”

His jaw tightens, eyes flashing with something that looks a lot like annoyance. Or maybe anger. “Shocking,” he mutters.

I give a strangled laugh. “Uh, yeah. I guess they want some alone time.”

He sighs, closing his eyes for a minute. Is he mad at me? Was I too obvious in my reaction to him? Did it make him uncomfortable?

But when he opens his eyes, they’re back to normal. Warm and soft, matching the smile on his face. He holds out his arm for me. “Come on, Lele. Let’s go to dinner.”