descended the stairs together, one painful step at a time. He heard her sharp intakes of breath when she set her cast down too hard, too fast, but she was getting used to the bulkiness of it. “You okay, darlin’?”
She grimaced. “Mmm-hmmm.”
They both breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the bottom. His biggest fear was that she tripped and fell despite her death grip on the banister and his unrelenting hold on her waist. It didn’t bear thinking about.
By the time his hand was on the front door, Bodie was sweating profusely. Concerned, Braun cupped her face in his hands. “You’re sure you want to do this tonight? You’re exhausted already and we haven’t even left the house.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted and shook a crutch at him. “Don’t argue with the wisdom of the magic stick, Braun. I can make it to the club.”
“I fear the magic stick,” he said dryly, opening the door for her, then locking it behind them. “Its power leaves me quaking in my boots.”
“So it should. You know, we’d get there a lot faster if someone were to give me a piggyback ride over.” She smiled winningly at his arch look. “What? We would.” She gestured to the cars already parked up beyond the garden fence. “And I wouldn’t arrive all sweaty and disheveled. Win-win, right?”
“Topping from the bottom, brat.”
“Buuuuut...”
“But I love you for it,” he told her, shaking his head. He took her crutches and placed them beside the door. Turning his back to her, he crouched low enough for her arms to wrap around his neck, her chest plastered against his back. Her left leg hooked around his waist, and when he rose with her like a monkey on his back, her cast stuck out in front of them. “Grab your magic sticks, little one. Can’t leave them behind.”
Almost strangling him with an arm, Bodie leaned back and scooped them up, curling her arm around them tightly. “Giddy up?”
“Nope. No way in hell.” His hands held onto her thighs, fingers digging into the muscles. If he dropped her now, there would be hell to pay. “Hold on tight and no funny business.”
As he walked across the parking lot, he heard her whisper, “Wheeeee!”
The night sky was dark with the odd spot of cloud blocking out an otherwise perfect blanket of scattered stars. The air was so still he could hear the low bass of whatever Liam had playing in the bar.
She weighed nothing, but when he let her slide down to the ground outside Avalon’s main doors, Braun discovered he missed her already. No matter how he touched her, the connection was quick and intense. Lasting. Her skin on his was a brand, searing deep and leaving marks.
“You tell me when you’ve had enough,” he ordered, infusing the words with dominance. Her eyes widened, silently acknowledging the command without backchat or sass. “I don’t care if everyone begs us to stay just ten minutes more, you will let me know when you’re ready to go home. And I’ll know, Boadicea.”
Her face carried serious lines when she peeked up at him, her eyes somber but not cowed. Good, she was learning she could behave as he expected and still be herself. “Yes, Sir. I will.”
“Good girl.” Braun walked ahead of her, checking for anything she could tangle herself up in. They’d realized quickly that things they hardly noticed in day-to-day living became killer obstacles when crutches got involved.
When he held his hand out to her, she propelled herself after him, beaming at Loki manning the sign-in desk. The joker grinned back, shoving out of his chair to round the desk for a better look.
“Well, now, ain’t that a pretty sight? Finally got your feet back under you and the knack of those dangerous things. Permission to hug the long-lost subbie?” Loki asked Braun, wiggling his eyebrows.
Braun rolled his eyes. “Hands above her waist, boy. And don’t take the piss—any longer than five seconds and we’ll be having words outside.”
“Damn, you’re strict.” Loki stepped forward and hugged Bodie quickly, fiercely. “Missed your smiling face, Boadicea.” He chucked her under the chin, giving her a wink, before he hastily stepped back and took cover behind his desk. “Summer crowd’s coming in fast tonight, Braun. Starting early.”
“People want to get naked when it’s hot and sunny.”
“I’d like to get naked,” Bodie muttered, then mimed zipping her lips shut as Loki laughed. “Sorry, Master Braun. Wouldn’t want to add any more spankings to my tally.”
Christ, he