He imagined she’d try to rip his throat out if he overstepped her boundaries.
Her sigh was heavy and full of surrender. “You’re persistent, aren’t you?”
“I prefer tenacious,” he retorted. “When I see something I want, I’ll go to any lengths to get it. When it comes to hiring people, I make sure we’re both satisfied with the arrangement. If you need something, little one, just tell me. I’ll do my best to see you right.”
Tentatively, moving cautiously like an animal wary of a trap, Bodie reached out and plucked the money from his outstretched hand. “I could manage an hour tonight, I guess.”
Braun eased back into his seat and took a long drink of soda. He really wished it was something stronger now, but oh well. “That’s a clever girl. I have the other barns to check before we open tonight so I’ll leave you in William’s capable hands, little one. The doors open at eight, so you’re welcome to stay here until then. If not, I’ll see you this evening.”
The stricken look on her face was adorable. “You’re leaving?”
Obviously, she didn’t know which was the lesser of two evils, Braun thought. Him or Liam. But he was the devil she wasn’t fighting with, the one who hadn’t ripped her heart out with thoughtlessly spoken words. She might prefer to dance with the devil, but she needed to sort out this mess with Liam before it was too late to mend the bridge.
“Running a sex club requires time and a discerning eye, Bodie. Equipment won’t inspect itself and as I said before, the safety of my members is paramount.” He tapped his hand on the gleaming oak and rose, frowning when she stepped further away. “Liam will feed you while you talk. One good thing about this lifestyle is that communication is the foundation of every relationship. Communicate, Boadicea. Let him know how you feel but allow him to do the same.”
Giving her a smile and tipping his head to Liam to hand over the reins, Braun strode toward the back of the barn where the doors leading to the covered walkway and the next section of Avalon were located.
Hopefully there’d be no blood spilled upon his return.
*
Bodie’s system was still jittering as Mr. Mysterious—as she’d come to think of him—walked away with all the grace and control of a tiger sauntering through the jungle. She fervently hoped he hadn’t noticed how she quailed in his presence, particularly when he’d cupped her face and she just...melted into his hands.
Bad, bad Boadicea.
She was exhausted from the internal emotion gauge inside her swinging from fearful to bitchy and back again. One minute she was ready to stand her ground and spit at him, the next she wanted to roll over and expose her throat like the good girl he said she was.
Fuck, when he said good girl in that dark voice, with that hint of Ireland spicing things up...her body reacted in ways she hadn’t thought possible. Her panties were damp, making her feel uncomfortably needy, and her breasts were heavy, aching. She was pretty sure her face had lit up with a stop sign blush more than once.
Her fingers tightened around the money in her hand and she thanked all the gods watching over her. She hadn’t lost as much pride as she’d thought by taking the job. Somehow it seemed easier saying yes to the stranger—no, to Braun Fitzpatrick, even though he hadn’t bothered to introduce himself to her properly, nor she him—than it had to Liam.
Liam.
Her best friend was an arm’s length away and yet so much further than that. The chasm between them seemed endless, a yawning pit of pain waiting to swallow her whole if she ventured near.
Oh, she was still angry with him. So very angry with him for what he’d said. But the loss of him ate at her heart, buried into her soul. The strangest of grief, mourning the demise of someone who still lived and breathed. Every day that passed without speaking to him, sharing a joke or her daily adventures, stretched into eternity.
She missed him, goddamn it, but she didn’t know how to get back to how they’d been. Didn’t know if they’d ever be the people they were before he said the words that tore her into pieces.
“Bodie. Why the hell didn’t you tell me things had gotten so bad?”
Wasn’t that just like him? Jumping into the fray like a white knight? Bodie slipped her mask on before she turned to