Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 114211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
It feels like he belongs right here.
Next to me at the end of a long day.
Bridger gazing into my eyes, adorable, patient, devoted.
Me, staring right back, nervous for some reason.
Neither of us say anything.
I think we both realized that for the first time since breakfast this morning, we’re alone again.
“Want to take a shower?” he asks me.
I snap out of it. “Yeah, sure, I’ll go in first.”
“I meant together.”
My eyes meet his again.
I don’t need to think about it long. “Yeah. Let’s … do that.”
Bridger comes up to me. He is gentle when he pulls my shirt up over my head. Then he undoes my pants and helps me step out of them. I return the favor, undressing him piece by piece, like a birthday present. It isn’t the most romantic shower, nor is it the prettiest bathroom. But it just goes to show that no matter where you are in the world, it’s never about the place or the suspicious stains in the sheets or the weird cracks in the walls.
It’s about who you’re with.
The guy who treats you like a piece of glass.
And a piece of treasured ass.
Who washes your back under the stream of warm water. And washes your hair, too, his fingers gently combing through, making you fucking crazy with tingles of pleasure.
The guy who kisses you unexpectedly.
Holds your slick, soapy body against his with all the strength in his powerful body.
Who looks into your eyes so deep, he can touch your soul.
Every kiss is a fucking surprise, making me believe I will never get used to how amazing they feel. Every touch of his fingertips on my sensitive skin, brushing over my nipples, grazing under my arms, sliding down my hips, caressing my ass cheeks and causing me to shiver with pleasure.
“You wanted a repeat of last night?” he whispers in my ear.
“Yes,” I beg him, nearly a whimper.
The wall of the shower gets used to my weight as I press up against it, Bridger behind me, and I feel him teasing me with his fingers, sliding in and out, as he discovers new ways to torture me that leave me gasping with pleasure. The shower can’t contain my moans as Bridger shows me all the ways a man can please another man without even sticking his dick inside. I’m flipped around over and over, my back against the shower wall, and then my stomach, Bridger’s face in front of me, then the wall. His lips are on me, and then his fingertips.
It’s like a dream, each moment more vivid and crazy than the one before, all of them blending together, like a slideshow of every secret desire I’ve always been curious about, but never let myself believe could be mine someday.
It honestly blows my mind.
How much I’ve denied myself my whole life.
Telling myself what I don’t deserve.
What I can’t possibly have.
What’s possible or not possible.
Then Bridger breaks into my life with a splash of gasoline all over me. I should’ve known something was up. The very first thing he ever did was try to get me out of my clothes by soaking them.
When we’re back on the bed, Bridger fucks me just as hard as he did the night before. But this time, we’re facing each other, and he’s close enough to kiss me.
Something has changed in him from last night. The way he looks at me. The dedication he’s given to me all day, making sure I’m tended to and taken care of. Even in the shower when we both lost control, I felt so fucking safe.
Safer than I’d felt in my whole life.
And who the hell would think, after all our wild sex in and out of the shower, that the sweetest reward would come after, when he cuddles me naked in bed, holding me tightly against his body, kisses the top of my head, and whispers, “Goodnight, babe.”
Babe. He called me … babe.
21
BRIDGER
The car ride back to Spruce is spent with ABBA at full-blast, all the windows down, and Pete and Juniper singing shamelessly into the noise. Anthony and I are in the backseat, my arm slung over his back, every now and then sneaking a kiss. Twice, he looks like he might’ve fallen asleep on my shoulder, but the smile that teases on his face every time I kiss him tells me he’s awake and just enjoying the ride home.
While the intention was, in fact, to make it back in time for Anthony to honor his self-appointed obligation of attending Trey’s service every Sunday, we’re a handful of minutes too late. After the car is parked, we find Trey among the crowd gathered outside the church, and he is thrilled to spot us approaching. “You four have a great weekend? Cody’s back at the house setting up brunch with our parents. You four are just in time if you want to join us!”