was tempted to shock her. Turn her face down on the desk and make her look Loki in the eyes as he yanked the sweatpants down her thighs and lit her ass up with his palm. It wasn’t hard to bring the sting of flesh on firm flesh to mind, and his hand tingled with anticipation. “Come on, troublemaker, before you end up sitting with your nose pressed in the corner all night.”
He didn’t miss the sassy little wave she gave Loki as Braun escorted her into the social area. Nor did he miss her jolt of shock as everyone present cheered as she hopped into the room, hollering and cheering with exuberant fervor. Several long whistles split the air.
Speechless, she swallowed hard, blinking quickly. “You did this for me?”
His arm curled around her back, his mouth pressing against the shell of her ear. Feeling her shake, he whispered, “No, little one. They did this for you. Everyone’s missed you. Avalon just hasn’t been the same without you.”
Her breath shuddered out. “Am I supposed to say something?”
“Only if you want to. I have a feeling you’ll be kept busy talking most of the night.” He led her forward, letting her bump along on her magic sticks, ready to catch her if she nosedived. A distinct possibility considering how she gaped at all the people around her.
They were keeping their distance—not crowding her, which pleased him. Reading her body language, he felt her trying to cope with the overwhelming sensations bombarding her as they crossed the room to the seating pit.
The Masters, save Loki, were waiting for them.
Atticus leaned back, arms spread across the edge. “Little miss, nice to see you almost back to normal. Has your Dom been mean and kept you locked up?”
Bodie recovered, her lips twitching. “Oh, you don’t know the half of it, Master Atticus. The meanie refuses to spank me!”
“The horror! Someone should take him to task for neglecting a perfectly willing little subbie like yourself.” Atticus stared at Braun. “What have you got to say for yourself, Fitzpatrick?”
Enjoying the banter, Braun pressed his hand to his chest. “There is no defense strong enough to refute the allegations, my friend. I have indeed neglected this poor, guileless woman. Feeding her, bathing her, kissing her boo-boos,” he said dramatically, his lips curving as Bodie’s mouth dropped open. “You have no idea what torment I’ve put this innocent creature through.”
Jasper coughed behind his hand. “Barbaric practices. I say take him outside and kick his ass. I can take care of the poppet if she’s desperate for her bottom warming up.”
“Best sit down before you can’t,” Braun told her when she gulped. He didn’t need to repeat himself; he’d never seen her move so quickly with her crutches in play. He settled beside her, tucking her into his side. “Don’t mess with the Masters, Bodie. It’s rare we don’t follow through with a threat.”
“Yeah, I might have forgotten that,” she mumbled, laying the crutches on the floor. Then she perked up, glancing around. “Is Connie here?”
Braun caught the eyes of his friends, subtly shook his head.
“Not tonight, I’m afraid, poppet. She had to work late, and I think Alicia’s been having nightmares again. She’ll be sorry she missed you; I know she feels guilty about not being able to catch up with you as much as she’d like at the moment.”
Bodie deflated. “No, it’s fine. It’s a relief to know someone’s been taking care of Alicia while I’ve been...” She shrugged, shifted her healing leg. “Well, you know. I hope Alicia understands why I haven’t let her come to visit.”
Braun rubbed her arm firmly.
More than one argument had focused around Alicia, and Bodie’s point-blank refusal to see her sister. His subbie got incredibly defensive when pushed to talk about it, and in this instance, Braun had dug his heels in and damn near dragged the truth out of her before she could squirrel it away into the unknown vault where she kept her emotional baggage stashed.
Doubts and insecurities were the main reason.
Bodie hadn’t seen her baby sister since she was sixteen, and Alicia just twelve. Believing Alicia blamed her for the accident which left her paralyzed from the waist down, hated her as fiercely as their parents, Bodie hadn’t made contact with her after she left home.
Finding out eleven years later that Alicia didn’t hate her had almost drowned Bodie in guilt. Especially in the weeks when lying in bed was all she could do, and her brain hashed