He’d barely changed at all. There was no connection back then when I was a bundle of nerves and excitement…in fact, that night left me with only dread of spending the rest of my life with him. And now—even worse. The blatant disregard for his future wife was sickening. Not a kind word, no consolation for my hurt. Only plopped his smug ass down next to my father.
When we were high enough to see the ocean—the ocean that Bodhi and I swam in, walked along…the hotel on the cliff where he took my virginity, tears burned my dry eyes. The swelling in my nose made it nearly impossible to breathe. A part of me had died…the rest of me wanted to die.
In all my time with Bodhi, never once had I suspected that he’d used illegal drugs. But when the people at the jail explained my charges to me, they used the word cocaine instead of coke. The world of drugs was foreign to me, but I expected people to be so much more strung out and high. Bodhi never seemed that way. And it didn’t make sense that he would refuse alcohol because it was bad for his body but he would use cocaine? None of it made sense.
I’d read about heartbreak. Seen movies. Yet the gut-wrenching, all encompassing pain that seared my heart left me feeling more hollow and alone than I’d ever felt. The last two months had been the best of my life, and truth be told…when I was 90, I think my opinion would remain the same. I’d fallen in love with Bain Ellingston. Bodhi… My lips trembled as tears once again stung. My Bodhi… As the jet turned north and then east, I wondered if I would ever see the man I had fallen so madly in love with again…
Most girls went home over summer break, and typically I was allowed home for a short time…but Dad dropped me off at the school as soon as we got back. And trust me, it was pretty far out of his way to do so. A simple, ‘bye Tessa’ is all I got from the senator’s son. But admittedly, when I finally got to my room after the meeting my father demanded with the headmaster, I found comfort and refuge in the familiarity of my things.
As I looked around at all my luxuries—things that were once important to me, I couldn’t help but be disappointed in myself for buying into that. This summer I had done without all of those things…and it was the best time of my life. My roommate, Sabine, was gone to Europe for the summer, but maybe she’d appreciate some new purses and jewelry when she returned. I wanted no part of it.
When I curled up on my bed and nestled down in my covers burying myself, it was Bodhi I ached for…his arms…his chest. With my eyes closed, I tried to picture his face and there it was staring back at me behind my lids. The scruff on his chin. His gorgeous smile. His ball cap turned backward. I pulled the pillow into my chest, praying it would alleviate any of the pain. It didn’t.
My mind raced at ways to communicate with him. To contact him at all. My Internet privileges at the library had been restricted thanks to my father. My phone had been taken—I actually think destroyed. I couldn’t even reach Elle at this point.
School wouldn’t be back in session for three full weeks, and I had nothing but time on my hands. Time alone. Time to think, which was the absolute worst thing I could have right now and the one thing I didn’t want.
Twelve hours ago…I was in his arms and now…he was gone.
“Tessa Ashby?” a little voice said to me. I’d heard it a couple of times, but having little to no social interaction for the past three weeks had left me in a zombie-like state.
I only stared at her—I had nothing more to offer.
“You’re Tessa Ashby, right?” she asked, hesitatingly stepping closer. I glanced over my shoulder at the guy who followed me around on campus. I tolerated it, but I swear to God, I could out run him if given the opportunity. A lot of girls here had bodyguards; my father just hadn’t made me aware of mine.
I think I nodded at the girl, and she handed me a folded up piece of paper. “Yes. I’m Tessa.”
The books in my backpack were heavy…I’d just gotten done picking up my new ones for the year and I shifted it around on my back as I opened the paper.
Tessa- Please meet me outside the cafeteria tonight at 9. B
My backpack fell to the ground behind me and I gasped for air. My eyes searched for the girl who’d just handed me the paper.
“Wait!” I shouted toward her, her ponytail bobbing back and forth behind her head. She flipped back around.
“Where’d you get this?” Desperation reeked in my plea.
“There was a guy across the street at the gate today when I came back. He flagged me down and asked that I get that to you.”
Without thinking I grabbed her shirt in a frantic attempt to get any more words from her. She back stepped away from me.
“Please. Please. Did he say anything else? What did he look like?”
She smiled. “Well, he was hot. If I were you, I’d meet him. He said if you had any worries about going, he told me to tell you and I quote, ‘no worries slick, just come.’” She shrugged. “Whatever that means.”
I yanked her into me and embraced her. “Thank you,” I whispered as I released a breath and then turned and ran as fast as I could back to my room.
At 8:45, I sat sipping a Dr. Pepper in the desolate cafeteria. I swear to God, the clock was moving backward. My assigned watchman sat out front of the cafeteria, and I knew if I did this, he was probably going to be in trouble. I didn’t care.
Finally, with my heart beating in my throat and the anticipation of seeing Bodhi making me nauseous…I decided it was time. It was as if I were walking the plank as I made my way through the kitchen to the back exit door. I’d never been in the kitchen before, but no one questioned my presence.
As I eyeballed the door, making sure a siren wouldn’t go off when I opened it, I pushed the handle and slowly shoved the heavy door back. The warm, summer air hit me along with the darkness of the night. My legs shook with eagerness as my eyes adjusted to the dark. Then suddenly, I saw a figure step out from behind some trees and I heard his deep exhalation.
My heart found a disjointed rhythm as the figure moved closer and then a flicker of moonlight splashed over his face. BODHI! I don’t know how but I ran to him and hurled myself through the air, crashing against his body. Naturally, I burst into tears when I felt his familiar hands wrap around my body…his smell enveloped me until I was suffocating from his presence.
With my legs wrapped around his waist and my face buried in the nook of his collarbone, he maneuvered around trees and brush. There was zero concern as to where he was taking me…I’d go anywhere.
Suddenly, he stopped and sat down on the ground, gently pushing me away though I refused to unhook my ankles behind him. His eyes anxiously studied my face as one of his hands slowly dragged the length from my forehead to my chin. His ballcap was backward and a hint of a smile touched my lips. Then…both hands raked into my hair and forced my mouth to his.
As if time had never passed, our lips moved effortlessly in sync yet desperate for each other in a way that only this type of reunion could find. His warm tongue sifted through my mouth in search for its matching counterpart. The kiss I would never forget lasted for what seemed like an hour. For the past three weeks each minute had moved at the pace of a slug and now…time flew.
Gradually he brought the kiss to an end and stood with me still wrapped around him. There was no way I was letting go. From behind me, I heard the beep of a car unlocking and then my body pressed up against the door as he fumbled with the latch.
When he sat inside, I unhooked my ankles and bent my knees still refusing to let go or get off of him.
“I got a hotel room for the night. I don’t care if we just talk…it’s a place to go. Is that OK?” he whispered into my ear.
“Go,” I moaned.
Thank God the hotel wasn’t far because driving with me on his lap was not only illegal and unsafe but also difficult for him. Yet, he got out of the car and carried me inside the room without so much as shifting my weight. A small light flickered on when he hit the switch and for the first time, I gazed at the face I had fallen so deeply in
love with.
As bleak as the past three weeks had been on me, it was obvious he was emotionally spent as well. Dark rings circled his eyes, and his face—albeit still flawless…was now a bit sunken in through his cheeks. Seeing how damaged he looked, I caressed his haggard face—my own tears on the brink of spilling over.
“Don’t cry,” he sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed with me still straddling him. He lowered his chin to his chest and then rested his forehead against my chest.
“Bodhi. I’m so sorry.” My words spewed out and I couldn’t hold back as tears broke free. I was so tired of crying.
The hurt in his eyes nearly broke me as his gaze met mine. “Why didn’t you tell me you were only 17?” he whispered.
I shook my head in frustration. “I’d lied to Ty on the plane wanting to seem older than I was. I was kinda scared and I said it. Then once I got there…and he was who he was….I…I…I mean I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. But then I did…and you, Bodhi. Then I just thought I was going to leave so what difference did it make? But it was wrong and I’m so sorry.”
After a quick flip around, he crushed me into the mattress. His face only mere inches from mine. “The last two weeks with you. I kept thinking of things to do to get you to stay. Knowing you were Ivy League…I thought possibly Stanford? I needed you there. To stay with me, Slick. But now.” His angry tone scared me especially when he crawled off me and walked over to the small backpack he had carried in. He unzipped it and pulled out a T-shirt. His T-shirt. MY T-shirt that I slept in.
He swaggered back over toward the bed…desire building in his eyes. I yanked my blouse off, not caring if it ripped, and tossed it to the floor. Standing between my legs, he stared at me for the longest time and then grabbed my ankles and pulled me toward him. My body slid the length of the bed, crumpling up the bed coverings. He knelt on the floor and reached behind me to unfasten my bra. My breath hitched in my throat as my breasts fell free.
The cold air immediately made my nipples harden; I so wanted him to touch them. He moistened his lips before leaning toward me. His fingertips trailed down the arch of my back when my head fell back. His warm mouth, so familiar yet absent for too long, covered my breast. The swirl of his tongue and soft suction of his lips… “Oh God,” I yelped out.
Within a short second he tore at my jeans pulling them down in a flash…anger seeming to replace the lust. Just as quickly, he snatched my panties down my legs, desperate to get to me.
“Tell me you don’t want him,” he demanded, and confusion filled my head.
“What? Who?” I softly said as I ached for him to touch me.
“The fucking piece of shit you’re supposed to marry,” he growled.
“I don’t want him, Bodhi. I will never want him!”
Suddenly, he snaked his arms around my thighs and yanked me closer, my ass hanging off the bed. His breaths came at uneven pants and then he buried his face between my legs.
“Ahhh…,” I moaned so loud as his tongue swirled and flicked and dove all at the same time. An emerging heat slowly spread through my abdomen as he aggressively continued. God, I missed him so much.
After he released one of my thighs, first one finger then a second dove deep within me. “Bodhi!” I cried as both fingers didn’t move just in and out but curved up to touch me in a whole new way.
“Oh God, Bodhi. I’m gonna come,” I panted.
Never once did he slow. In fact, as I felt myself begin to detonate, he sucked on my clit, only intensifying the sensation. Yet the minute I exploded, his fingers stilled and my insides clenched around him. He groaned, lapping over me in the most skilled way.
Without warning he rose to his feet and I started to bring my legs together watching as he unfastened his leather belt.
“Leave them spread apart,” he demanded, his eyes skating over every inch of my body. He lowered his jeans and then his boxer briefs. My stomach rolled when I saw his erection. “I forgot a condom, Tessa. But I want you. I promise, I will pull out…OK?”
I nodded. I didn’t care if he had a condom or not…I just wanted him inside me now.
After draping my legs over his arms, I felt his tip at my entrance.
“You are so beautiful,” I said softly.
I felt him slowly fill me to the brink and watched as he kept his eyes between my legs.
“Why are you watching?” I asked, a little self-conscious.
“Because it is the most beautiful thing in the world. Seeing my cock slide inside of you…” His eyes closed and his head fell back as he slowly moved in and out, setting the most perfect pace.
Then, he leaned over me. “Wrap your arms around my neck?”
I did.
“Hold tight,” he grinned, as he trudged us both up the bed, never coming out of me. When we landed, he rammed in deeper, forcing me to cry out.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered before his mouth took full possession of mine—the kiss so passionate…so intense…that we breathed for each other. “Jesus, Slick. You feel incredible.”
His rotating fluid movements put just the right amount of pressure on my clit and I was going to come again.
“Tell me who you belong to…” he sighed into my mouth with a hint of a smirk tugging on his lips.
I gazed directly in his beautiful blue eyes. “You, Bodhi. Only you. Never will there be another,” I groaned as I felt the climax rip through me, and he smiled…
“Finally!” he groaned.
BAAM!
The hotel door slammed against the wall, and Bodhi flew off with fists clenched and ready to fight. Instinctively, I grabbed a pillow, covering myself from the four men standing in the room.
“Miss Ashby. Get dressed, please. Your father has asked that we return you to campus.”
I didn’t recognize any of the men.
“Get the fuck out of here!” Bodhi threatened. At the same time one of the men’s fists came down, punching Bodhi and sending him to the floor.
“BODHI!”
He tossed me his shirt that was on the ground right before the guy gave him a swift kick to his ribs. The guttural groan that belted out of him made me sick. Two of the men grabbed my arms and gently lifted me off the bed.
“Mr. Ellingston, this is a restraining order. You can no longer have any contact with Ms. Ashby. Consider yourself served.”
The man threw the papers at Bodhi as the other man gathered my clothes and shoes and wrapped a sheet around me.
“Ms. Ashby, please don’t be afraid, we will not hurt you.”
Kicking and thrashing about, I tried hard to break free of their grasp. Bodhi gasped and was pushing up from all fours.
“Please don’t hurt her,” he groaned as they snatched me from the room.
“BODHI!” I screamed, surrendering to my captors. “I love you,” I yelled as the car door shut and the car took off.
Chapter 27—Bodhi~ Another private car
“BAIN!” Tyler yelled, and I sprang out of bed because he never yelled, especially my real name.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my body still aching—I think I had the flu. No fever. No chills…but my entire body was drained. Fatigued. I simply wanted to be alone and stay in bed. The guys badgered me to snap out of ‘the depression’ they called it but depression was a state of mind…this was somehow affecting my entire body.
“A limo just pulled up out front.” Tyler swallowed as he measured my response.
I moved past him to the window, spreading the blinds so I could see. That’s when I saw the limo, just like the one she had stepped out of nearly four months ago. What is that they call it when you’re in the desert and dehydrated and your mind plays tricks on you? A mirage!
Three days had passed since I’d gotten back from Massachusetts. Paralyzed, I waited to see her step out of the back door. Both Tyler and I stood watching as the driver moved around and opened it.
“I’ll be damned,” I said, observing Ethan Ashby stroll in his expensive, sweet ass
suit up to my front door.
“That’s her father?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
Before he had a chance to knock, I opened the door.
“Mr. Ellingston,” he greeted me with a slimy tone. “Do you have a few moments?”
“Is Tessa OK?” I asked immediately. It would take something big for him to come here in person.
He smirked, not answering, and sat on one of the steps leading up to the porch. “I assume you got the paperwork regarding the restraining order.”
“I love your daughter, sir.”
“Tessa is young and has clearly made some poor decisions. She has a security guard with her now and what happened a few days ago will never happen again. I feel confident we won’t have to go through this in the future. I did, however, want to let you know that I’m aware that the cocaine was Elle’s. My sister has her in an inpatient facility for a few months.”
“Six to be exact. Elle checked herself in when she realized she had hurt Tessa.” Egotistical fuckhead.
“Back to the business at hand.”
The asshole didn’t look at me. He stared at the limo or the grass or the road…whatever. I considered kicking him in the back of the head.
“I have investigated you,” he said without emotion.
I massaged my temples with my thumb and middle finger. That was just fucking great.
“I think you would agree Tessa doesn’t need the sort of baggage in her life that a man like you brings to the table.” He pulled an envelope from the inside of his suit jacket and held it out to me. “Here’s a check for two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Bain. It should set you up pretty nicely. I’ve spoken with Tessa and she knows about this. She wants you to take the money. She’s asked me to tell you to please move on.”
I didn’t believe a single word the dickhead said. There was no part of him that deserved her in his life. If he thought for a second I’d take his money, he was a bigger fool than I ever imagined.
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