Summer/Time (The Sunny Sunshine Duet #2)

Chapter Twenty-One

Summer

Each time a car drives through the street, I feel my eyes watching the shadows move across the walls with bated breath. I feel the anxiety nestled in the pit of my stomach first, then quickly followed by the short sharp bursts of adrenaline. I hold my breath and gently close my eyes, counting to ten before the lights disappear into the night and I’m left with nothing but my thoughts. Pulling the blanket a little tighter around my body, I lay on my side, watching the subtle glow from the wood burner as the embers begin to die off. I pull myself a little closer, chasing the little warmth left in the room.

I can feel my body begin to twitch with exhaustion. Each time I try to relax, I feel the shakes and the involuntary spasms of my tired body and my eyes are growing heavier and heavier with each passing minute. Eva has barely spoken, she’s been asleep on the sofa for quite some time. I occasionally glance over to check if she’s OK, but as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out like a light. I feel jealous, my mind’s been on a constant spinning hamster wheel for weeks, unable to shut down or offer a few moments of peace, because as soon as it does then the next tragedy comes barrelling over the hill, heading straight for us.

I feel my mind wander back to memories of Eric and for a moment, I do feel sad he’s no longer here. The brief encounter we shared in the church showed me that he was trying his best in a tough situation, and I couldn’t be angry. If anything, I felt sorry for him and now I know what a piece of shit my mom is, I feel even worse. Whilst he was brash and overbearing at times, he was never cruel to me, never denied me having a relationship with my dad, probably the only thing I could be angry about was having shit taste in business partners and allowing Harry to treat me the way he did, but looking back, there’s always a chance he didn’t know, and my mom hid it from him.

Soon the few memories I have of Eric pass and I’m left with Harry’s drug-and-drink-fuelled sadistic grin in my head. As though ants have taken on my body, I viciously scratch at my head, hoping the sight will disappear from my mind, but it doesn’t. It stays there, burned into my memory as the hot rage begins to slowly slither over my skin and an unbearable hate causes my mind to spiral. I knew after he raped me that I should have gotten help, but when it had happened and the days passed by like normal, then the days turned into weeks, I thought I was, OK? Once the nightmares began though, I knew I’d made a mistake. The cruel taunts would plague me, I could feel his skin against mine, his sneers would flood my ears and my hot tears blur my vision. I took a chance and opened myself up to something I didn’t think possible, true love. Love from a man that would kill to protect me, do anything and everything in his power to keep me safe. He doesn’t know it yet, but Bhodi and Two/Face both saved me in their own ways.

Bhodi saved me by showing me the love and dominance I craved, but Two/Face pushed me and my boundaries, showing me, I didn’t have to be weak or small and I can be whatever I choose to be. I gently reach across my back, my fingers ghosting across the dried blood and the question that’s been on my mind since we fled the hotel. Rolling onto my back, I look ahead at the ceiling, my eyes beginning to play tricks on me, the plaster pattern beginning to writhe and pulse under my watchful gaze. Each time I replay those brief few seconds in my mind, I see that vulnerability in Bhodi’s eyes, the nerves and the concern. But I want that, every single day, I want to see his face, hold him close, share our memories, make new ones and make each other whole again.

But as that thought crosses my mind, so does the burning issue that’s been staring me in the face since I found out about Two/Face and his identity.

Can he or would he ever give that up?

With my mind now riddled with more fears and pushing the blanket off my body, I find my legs walking myself back towards the kitchen. Bracing my palms against the sink, I stare out towards the backyard, as the moon shines overhead. Reaching for the tap, I allow the water to pool into my hands for a moment before splashing my face a couple times, waking me up instantly.

“I’ve listened to you toss and turn since I got back, what’s on your mind?”

His familiar voice floods my ears and I barely hold in a scream.

I go to turn around, but his strong hands hold my hips in place, pulling the hoodie from my body immediately. I feel the goosebumps prickle my skin, as his warm breath coats my shoulder followed by a gentle kiss.

“Where were you?”

I ask, trying to not react to his soft lips against my skin.

“I had a couple things to sort out.”

He speaks calmly, but I can’t hide my annoyance.

His crotch presses firmly into my ass and I can’t help but allow my ass to move over the denim. I can feel his smile break out across my skin. Reaching for a fistful of hair, he pulls it right and his nose presses into my neck.

“You smell like home,”

he murmurs.

When he feels my entire body tense and try to move away, his fingers tighten on my hips, his thumbs pushing into my lower back as his eyes roam the words on my skin. Bhodi holds me in place and I can’t help how much my mind and body wants him, I’m pissed off but it’s as though my heart won’t allow me to show it, but I know if I don’t then any issue I have will grow arms and legs and begin to eat me from the inside out.

His hand slides around my stomach, my breath catches in my throat, the anticipation already building and the heat breaking out across my skin. The sound of his zipper sliding down fills my ears and my hand skates up his thigh whilst his fingers move up and begin pinching my tender nipples.

“Oh,”

I whisper,

When his lips find my neck again, this time it’s more aggressive. His teeth mark my skin, sending a bolt of electricity all the way to my toes. Throwing my arm back, I hold onto his neck, holding his hair tightly whilst his teeth continue to bite into my skin. My pussy throbs and my ass continues grinding against his pulsing cock. He kneads and massages my tits, my nipples hardening to a point before he spins me around. When his hands come around the back of my thighs, he lifts me from the ground and places me onto the kitchen bench. Separating my thighs wide, Bhodi steps in between whilst his palms glide over my skin. Placing my feet onto the surface, he slides two fingers deep into my pussy, sliding in and out, watching as my mouth makes an O shape and I lean back onto my palms. Swirling my slick arousal onto his fingers, he plunges them back inside me, my nails gripping onto the edge of the kitchen side.

Lifting my head back up to meet his gaze, Bhodi fists his cock in his hand, sliding the head against my dripping pussy. The sensation causes my entire body to moan, before I slap my hand over my mouth. In one thrust he’s inside me and I hold my hand tighter over my mouth, my eyes wide with need and he forces my body closer to his.

“Fuuuckkkkk….Sunny Sunshine, you take my cock so well,”

he purrs into my ear. “Make sure you don’t make a noise, wouldn’t want you to wake the street up.”

He smirks, before withdrawing and quickly burying himself deep inside me.

Biting back a cry, he reaches for a fistful of hair, exposing my neck. His lips begin to cascade over my skin and make their way to my heavy tits. Once his tongue begins to swirl over my right nipple, my back arches and I gasp. Releasing my hair, I fall back onto my elbows as Bhodi moves over me, his mouth sucking hard on my right nipple as his fingers begin to pluck and tweak the left. My pussy pulses around his thick cock and my mind begins to descend into pleasure.

“Are you gonna come sweetheart?”

A strangled whisper presses to my lips.

“Y-yes.”

I manage to speak.

“Strangle my fucking cock.”

His hand moves over my mouth and the other sits under my ass cheek, kneading and squeezing tightly.

I frantically nod, meeting his powerful, intense thrusts as the stars begin to blur my vision and the tears begin to fill my eyes, the intensity becoming too much. I slap my hands over his. My eyes go wide as my orgasm rips through me hard, every muscle in my body tightening.

“Fuck,”

he bites out through gritted teeth.

Bhodi thrusts one more time before his body falls onto mine. Wrapping my legs around him tightly, I feel him come deep inside me and his heavy breaths coat my shoulder, as his head rests in the crook of my neck. Our bodies begin to relax. His hand moves to the back of my head as our lips press together. The kitchen is dark and silent, the trees gently sway in the winter wind but there’s nothing to break our connection.

“I guess we forgot to get you some panties before we left.”

Licking his lips slightly, the amused look lights up his eyes.

I rock my jaw from side to side, trying to fight off the smile that’s trying to break out across my face. Even when I’m trying to be annoyed, he’ll avoid the subject but I know we can’t go on like this and when I let out a deep sigh, I see the concern in his eyes.

“Bhodi I..”

Before I can finish, I feel his palms on my hips, tugging me closer.

“Please don’t, Summer.”

He begins, as his palms slide up my body, eventually cupping my cheeks and holding me in place as his eyes plead with mine. “Don’t give me the answer if it isn’t yes.”

His eyes continue to dart across my face, my palms covering his. “I meant what I said, I’m not ready to let you go just yet and I don’t think I ever will be, Sunshine, I love you. I love you so much it fucking terrifies me, how easy it is to love someone as kind and as gentle as you.”

He presses his forehead to mine, my palms clutching onto him even tighter than before.

“I love you, Bhodi,”

I whisper. “But I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of?” he asks.

“Losing you.”

I manage to get those words out, the words that have bothered me for a long time.

When he opens his eyes, I feel his body slightly pull away from mine. His thumbs begin to gently graze across my cheeks, catching a few stray tears. Taking my hand in his, he quietly moves through the house and heads upstairs. The floorboards creak under each step, and I feel my body tense up as the older house begins to wake up. Glancing around the walls, there’s a faint pattern as we head upstairs, where photos used to hang and I begin to wonder where they’ve all gone. As I go to ask, he pushes a door open and switches on a light, revealing a fairly new looking bathroom, a stark contrast to what I’ve seen of the house so far.

White tiles with a subtle grey pattern and black accents, a large freestanding bathtub in the centre of the room and frosted glass obscuring the view outside. Bhodi leans over, the water beginning to fill the tub, whilst he drops in some bubble bath. I watch as the tub begins to fill and the bubbles foam, followed by a gentle smell of orange and vanilla. Lifting his T-shirt above his head, I can’t help but stare and feel my heart sink, spotting the dried blood still smeared across his chest and when I catch sight of myself in the mirror, the same coats my own body. The water continues to thunder against the tub and the steam begins to fill the room. Taking a deep breath, I slowly kick my shoes off and shunt them away, rocking slowly from side to side. Bhodi peels away his jeans and boxers and holds out his hand to me.

Stepping into the tub, he doesn’t let go, helping me inside the warm water instantly relaxing my sore feet. As we both settle down, my back rests into his chest and his arms wrap around my waist tightly, placing a kiss to the top of my head. Straightening my legs, I relax into his embrace, the water surrounding us beginning to turn pink. Dipping my fingers into the water, I watch as I pull them back out and the water falls away. There’s a strange peace about it and I could sit and do that for hours, with nothing on my mind, nowhere to be and no questions filling my head. When his hand closes over mine, I feel Bhodi pull me back to the present and my head rests onto his chest.

“Who’s house is this?”

I ask curiously, my eyes running along the ceiling before landing back on the bubbles bobbing on the water.

“Mine.”

“Oh, I thought you would have lived closer to work.”

I say, my head slowly turning in his direction.

When I finally see his profile, he blinks a couple times. As though his mind is trying to process his next sentence, but before I can ask what’s wrong he speaks.

“I do have a place in the city. This house was left to me by Mr and Mrs Wayne.”

His grip on me tightens and I can feel his body tense. “After mom was murdered, they took me in and treated me like the son they never had.”

I immediately turn to face him, the water sloshing against the tub as I take his face in my hands. “What?”

I swallow hard.

Bhodi takes a deep breath, his eyes holding my gaze as the tears threaten to slide down his cheeks and I throw my arms around him, holding him as his body shakes. Straddling his lap, I pull myself as close as physically possible. I can feel both our hearts beating in unison. Unable to speak, I gently stroke the back of his head, wishing the pain would go away.

Bhodi’s hand gently snakes up my back and he pulls me away slightly. Sitting on his lap, my palms rest against his chest as my mind flashes back to the scars that pepper his body. A true sadness falls over us but I refuse to allow it to push us apart. There are no words I can say that’ll make it better, nothing can take a pain like that away and we both know it, we’re bound by our trauma but Bhodi has managed to keep his contained for a long time. I watch as the mask begins to descend over his face, ready to push me out, but I can’t let it. Shuffling on his lap slightly, my knees press into the hard surface and I can feel him begin to slip away.

Reaching for the sponge as it floats on the water, I reach out and squeeze the residual water and gently press it into his skin, trying to avoid the small scars on his chest, but my eyes can’t stop staring. His chest rises and falls with each breath. I feel my hands begin to shake, scared I could do him some damage by even touching them.

“He’d cut me with broken glass.”

He looks down to the small scars and my hand freezes instantly. “Mom’s boyfriend.”

When he looks to me, I feel my heart shatter.

He takes my hand in his, dipping the sponge into the water before placing it over the scars. Squeezing his eyes shut, I see the tension in his face and body, as though I’m running acid over him. I try to pull away but his grip is too tight and eventually he opens his eyes, whilst they flood with tears. When one slides down his cheek, I gently wipe it away and he holds my hand to his face, his eyes staring longingly into mine, swallowing the thick knot in his throat.

“The night you told me you loved me, I lay awake most of the night. I had no idea what to say, how to react, I just wanted to watch you sleep. To protect you and love you for as long as I could.”

He smiles, gently pushing the hair from my face. “But I know that what I do comes with risks.”

I nod, my stomach beginning to drop and I can feel my body trying to pull away.

“I can’t ask you to choose, Bhodi,” I mumble.

“You can. But the answer won’t be one either of us likes, baby”

He rests his palm onto my cheek. “I want you to feel safe and I want our life together to be one filled with love and joy. With Harry and Luca still alive, I can’t guarantee you won’t be looking over your shoulder all the time and I can’t have you living in fear. Your smile is far too beautiful to be hidden, Sunny Sunshine.”

With my bottom lip between my teeth, I take in his words and process it all. A sad smile stretches across my face as I try to remain positive.

“What do we do?”

I ask quietly.

“The only thing we can do, we end this.”