When We Burn (The Blackwells of Montana #1)

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

DANI

I don’t think I’ve ever had a better time on a date in my whole life. Granted, between the trauma from Angela’s bullying and my dad’s abuse, studying, and working to support myself through college—trying to heal with a therapist—I didn’t date much. I’m no virgin, but no one has ever made me feel like everything I say is important, or that they’re happy just to be with me. The conversation has never flowed so easily. I’ve never felt so valued. Valuable.

No one has ever made me feel so… good.

I loved teasing Bridger at dinner, and when I made the joke about calling him daddy , well, I’ll be laughing about that for a long time. The shock on his face was just hilarious. But then he made it sexy by coming around the table to whisper in my ear, and every nerve ending in my body sat up and took notice.

Holy crap, the things that Bridger does to me.

And he stayed there. He didn’t go back across the table. He pulled his plate over and sat by my side for the rest of the meal. He’d steal a touch or a quick kiss to my cheek, and I ignored the other people there, whether I knew them or not, and simply enjoyed him.

I don’t know why I suddenly felt unsure and self-conscious again earlier today, especially after we had such a nice dinner on Monday, but Bridger put any lingering doubts out of my mind.

And it feels amazing, if not surreal, given I never thought we’d get here.

Bridger pulls into his driveway and turns to me. “Wait for me.”

Happily, I nod and stay in my seat as he walks around the truck and opens my door, leans across me to unbuckle my belt, pressing a kiss to my cheek in the process, and then he takes my hand and guides me out of the vehicle.

I move to walk toward my own house, but he gives my hand a little tug, and I glance up at him.

“Come inside with me, sweetheart.” His gaze is intense, his hand firm around mine, and I absolutely, without a doubt, am not ready to go home.

“Sure.”

He unlocks the front door and then leads me inside his house, and once the door is closed, he crowds me against it. One hand moves up to my cheek and the other leans on the door, and his face is so close to mine, I can feel the heat of his skin.

Finally , this man is going to kiss me.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he whispers before those lips are on mine, and I can’t help the moan that escapes my throat as my hands cling to his back and his tongue urges my mouth open. He tastes like tea and the ice cream we shared after dinner, and I just want to climb him .

I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for this moment. To be here with this man.

His five o’clock shadow feels delicious against my skin, and I just can’t get enough of him.

But he pulls back, his dark eyes bright with lust, and he’s as out of breath as I am. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah.” I lick my lower lip, still tasting him there, and my eyes fall to his lips. “Wow.”

“Sweetheart, if you don’t?—”

“I do.” I grin up at him as his hands glide down my back and grip my rear, lifting me so I can wrap my legs around his waist. My fingers plunge into his thick, dark hair, and there’s really nothing I’ve ever wanted more in this life than Bridger. “I really do.”

“Thank Christ.”

I’m vaguely aware of him carrying me through the house, but I’m too busy kissing him. My arms are locked around his neck, and his fingertips are digging into my butt, so close to that extra sensitive place between my legs.

Bridger lowers me to my feet, and one of his hands fists in my hair at the nape, holding me where he wants me as his mouth continues to plunder mine, as if I’m the feast that he can’t get enough of.

We may have been interrupted all week when it came to getting our lips on each other, but he’s making up for it now, and it’s so much more than what I could have imagined.

My hands are under his shirt, on his smooth, warm skin. His stomach is hard, his abs defined, and I can’t wait to see them, so I nudge his shirt up, and I feel him smile against my lips.

“In a hurry?” He’s kissing down my jawline, making me shiver.

“No hurry.” I swallow thickly, his tongue making me lightheaded. “Just needy.”

“What do you need, kitten?”

I need things that I do not feel comfortable articulating out loud. I love that Bridger seems to be a dirty talker, but I am not good with words. I learned at an early age that speaking up led to pain. This is not that, but old habits die hard. Still, I give him the words he needs to hear.

“You.”

He smiles against my skin, and his hands have moved to the buttons of my dress, slowly pulling them free.

“And?”

I don’t reply. I just tug on his shirt, and finally, he reaches over his head and pulls it off, tossing it aside.

“Better?”

“Yeah.” Holy mother of God. I feel my eyes go wide as they travel down the length of his long torso. He’s got muscles for days. My fingers reach out to brush lightly over the hills and valleys of those muscles, and my entire body tightens with need. “Did you sell your soul to the devil to look like this?”

His chuckle is low and full of satisfaction as he kisses my forehead. “You’re good for my ego, kitten.”

Shaking my head, I let my fingertips drift over his chest, over the light dusting of hair there and down to each nipple, circling them softly.

“Fuuuck,” he mutters as his head falls back. My fingertips move up his neck, over his Adam’s apple.

My eyes flick up to his when he lowers his chin, and he’s watching me. His jaw is tense, the sexy muscle there twitching.

And when my hand drifts to the button of his jeans, he circles my wrist and brings it to his lips, kissing the tender flesh over my pulse point.

“Not yet,” he murmurs. “Take off your dress.”

I’ve never done the striptease thing. Typically, if I was getting it on with someone, it was dark, and we just got naked and did the deed.

Quick and efficient.

There was no teasing, no flirting—no revealing my larger body—just get to the point. I wouldn’t know how to be…I don’t know… alluring , if a million dollars was on the line.

Bridger’s eyebrows raise, and his hands return to my buttons. “Do you want me to help?”

“Yes, please.” I lick my lips, and he goes back to work, slowly releasing each of the plastic disks, until my dress is open like a robe.

His big hands push it apart and over my shoulders, and then it’s pooled at my feet, and I’m standing before him in my pretty, matching sage green bra and panties.

“Jesus. Christ,” he whispers. His fingers aren’t quite steady as he reaches out and brushes a fingertip over my skin, just above the cup of my bra. “I’m about to lose control, Dani.”

“It’s about time.”

His eyes flare before he lifts me as if I’m weightless. “Wrap those legs around me, baby.”

I do as I’m told, and then he’s crawling onto the bed, and my back is pressed into the mattress. He lowers to his elbows and cradles my head in his hands as he continues to devour my mouth. Bridger is an excellent kisser.

Like, if it were an Olympic sport, Bridger would not only be a gold medal winner, he’d hold all the world records for all time.

His back is hard and broad and is just begging for my hands, and when they move down to his butt, I’m frustrated when I find denim.

“Not fair,” I whisper in his ear.

“What isn’t?” He brushes his nose over mine.

“Your pants.”

“You want them off?”

I nod, and he smiles.

“Tell me you want me to take my pants off, kitten.”

I bite my lip, and his thumb tugs it free.

“Tell me,” he says again.

“I want your pants off. Please.”

“I love it when you ask nicely.”

With a smug smile, he shimmies out of the jeans, leaving him in black boxer briefs that do nothing to hide his erection.

I can’t help it, I gasp.

“Don’t worry,” he murmurs, returning to me, kissing me softly as he brushes his fingers through my hair. “I’m going to get you good and ready for me.”

I’m not worried at all.

I’m freaking excited.

His hand has drifted to one of my breasts, and he teases my already hard nipple through the lace. Finally, he urges me to arch up so he can unclasp my bra and then tosses it aside, and his mouth closes around one nipple, tugging so hard my pussy clenches.

He growls as his hands roam farther down, gripping my hips and my thighs.

“I could worship your breasts all night.”

I moan at his sexy words, and then he’s kissing down my stomach, and I immediately clam up.

“No.”

His head shoots up, his eyes narrow, and then he’s over me once again, cradling my face in his hands, gently brushing his thumbs over my cheeks.

“Why?”

I bite my lip, suddenly nervous, and he lowers his lips to mine and kisses me long and slow, calming me once more.

“You just don’t have to do that,” I whisper against his lips.

“Why not, baby?” I love that he’s whispering back to me .

I narrow my eyes at him, but he just gives me a half smile, and it’s so sexy, I can’t help but rock my hips up just a bit, making him groan.

“I want to bury my face in you, sweetheart. It’s a fucking honor and a privilege to taste you, and I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. So, if you don’t like that, I just want to know why.”

“Because it’s gross and a chore, and not… fun ?” The last word is said on a whisper and a question because his eyes have widened, and he looks horrified.

“Who the fuck…you know what? Don’t answer that. Because I’ll want to kill any bastard that made you feel that way. Are you telling me that no one has had their mouth on you?”

I lick my lips and shake my head.

“Oh, baby, that’s about to change.” He nips at my lips. “I’m going to make you come the fuck apart. I want you to come all over my mouth. I want you to soak me as you’re screaming out my name.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

I can’t believe I said that out loud. I turn my head to the side and hide my face in his bulging biceps. This is so embarrassing. Looking like he does, Bridger has probably had so many partners over the years. More than I want to know about. He might say he wants me, but surely, he’ll hate how insecure I am. How inexperienced.

And then I feel his lips next to my ear.

“Do you trust me?”

I nod.

“Use your words. ”

“Yes.” It’s muffled against his skin.

“Then why are you hiding, kitten?”

“Because I’m mortified. Should I just go home?”

I feel him smile against me, and then his fingers are under my chin, and he turns my face up again, but my eyes are closed.

“Open those gorgeous blue eyes for me.”

I open one eye and see that he’s smiling so widely, he could light up the room.

“Both of them.”

When I’ve complied, he brushes his nose against mine again, and that makes me sigh with happiness.

“Tell me you’re not a virgin, Dani.”

I snort at that, and he seems to visibly relax in relief. “No. Not for a long time.”

It’s true, I’m not a virgin, but I’ve only had two forgettable partners. I know with absolute certainty that tonight is not going to be forgettable.

Now his eyes narrow like he’s jealous.

“You asked, you know.”

“I’d like to kiss your pussy. I want to lick you and fuck you with my tongue and make you crazy.”

My eyes have grown with each word. “You do?”

“Hell yes. Tell me I can. I promise, you’ll fucking love it. I’m going to make you addicted to it, sweetheart. You’ll be begging me to eat you out at every opportunity, and I’ll happily do it. I’ll spend the rest of my life on my knees for you, if that’s what you want.”

Wow, I might let him do anything right now. “Okay.”

“If you don’t like it, just tell me to stop.” He kisses my chin and then smiles up at me as he starts his descent down my torso, dragging his lips over my skin, his eyes full of sexy promises. “But I guarantee that you’re going to like it.”

I smile back, and then his shoulders nudge my legs wider, and I have to close my eyes because no one has been that up close and personal to that part of my anatomy.

I’m still wearing my panties, but he doesn’t seem to care. He kisses me, right over the fabric, and my hips move of their own volition, wanting more friction right there.

“You’re already so fucking wet,” he says, dragging a fingertip up and down my slit, over the cotton of my panties. “You’re so damn ready for me, Dani. Open your pretty eyes, baby.”

I take a steadying breath and then comply, and holy cow, if he isn’t a sight, his face so close to my core, his eyes bright with lust, and his tan finger moving over my underwear.

Can a girl come like this? Because I might be able to.

“You smell like sex,” he says, and I feel my cheeks flame, and my knees want to close, but he holds me open. “Oh, I like that. I like it when you blush, and now I know that you blush everywhere.”

One hand returns to my breast, and he rolls the nipple between his fingers as he lowers his face and presses a kiss over my slit.

“I’m going to pull your panties off.” He hooks his hands into the sides of my underwear, and I lift my hips so he can pull them down my legs. Instead of just flicking them aside, he buries his nose in them and smells them —oh, my God!—and sets them carefully aside. “I’m keeping those.”

“What?” It’s a squeak, and it makes him chuckle. “Why?”

“I’ll replace them.” It’s not an answer, but I don’t ask again because he’s lowered his face and has started licking me, and I’ve never felt anything like this in my life. I can’t help but reach out and bury my fingers in his hair, holding on for dear life as he glides that tongue through my folds, and every nerve ending in my body is on fire. It’s a good thing I have a firefighter at my disposal. “Fuck, you’re wet, sweetheart. You taste so damn good. So fucking sweet.”

His words are just so sexy . So rough and hot, and I know without a doubt that he’s about to ruin me for all other men.

He pushes a finger over my lips, through the tender and sensitive folds of my most intimate skin, before it slips inside of me, and I swear I’m about to come apart.

“Oh, God. Bridger, I’m going to come.”

“That’s it, let go.” His lips brush over my clit, and then he sucks on it, and that’s it. I couldn’t stop the tsunami of pure sensation that moves through me if I tried. “Fuck yes, baby.”

My hips buck, my head thrashes, and I have no idea what the words are that are coming out of my mouth as I come so hard and so long that I don’t even remember my own name .

I’m vaguely aware of Bridger kissing my inner thighs, my hip, my stomach, and up the center of my chest, before he kisses my lips, and holy Moses, I can taste myself on him.

It’s not at all unpleasant.

And that one guy from my past who told me that eating out a woman was a chore or gross should be beheaded, right here and now.

At the very least, I hope he runs out of gas a lot.

Bridger leans over and fishes a condom out of his bedside table. I like that it’s a new box that he has to break into. But before he can roll it on, I cup his face in my hands.

“I have an implant,” I tell him softly. “And I haven’t had sex in…a long time. I’m clean.”

He tosses the condom away, making me chuckle.

“Are you telling me that I can take you bare?” He brushes a piece of my hair off my cheek. “Are you sure?”

“Trust, remember?”

And then he’s kissing me again, and he pulls one leg up higher against his side, and his crown is right there, nudging its way inside of me .

“Ah, baby.” His teeth are gritted, as if he’s in pain as he touches his forehead to mine. “Fuck, you’re so tight.”

I take a deep breath and relax my muscles, and his free hand cups my cheek as he pushes the rest of the way inside of me, and oh, my God .

“Breathe,” he says, and I do, making him smile. “Jesus, you’re so incredible. So fucking amazing, sweetheart. ”

And then this man starts to move.

He groans as he lowers his forehead to mine again, twines his fingers with my fingers, and holds my hands above my head, moving in and out of me in long, intense movements that are pushing me right back up that glorious hill to a climax that I already know will be unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced in my life.

He looks down at where we’re joined, and I follow his gaze and feel my breath catch.

He’s so big , and he’s glistening with my wetness as he moves in and out, and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

“Holy fuck,” he growls and starts to move faster, and I know he’s almost ready to let go, and I’m right there with him. “Go over, baby.”

“Go with me.”

He groans, and then he pushes hard, buried balls deep, and we’re shuddering together as wave after wave of the tsunami pulls us farther out to sea.

After we’ve had a minute to catch our breath, I’m the first to roll away. “Bathroom?”

Bridger can’t breathe yet, so he points to the door, making me grin, and I snag up my dress before I wobble my way into the en suite and close the door behind me.

Wow.

First, I look at myself in the mirror, and my hair is a tangled mess. My lips are swollen, and the skin around them is a little pink from his scruff. My eyes are glassy.

I look … sexed.

I grin at myself and then do my business and clean up the best that I can before I wrap my dress around me and button it up. I can’t walk home naked.

When I walk out of the bathroom, Bridger’s returning from the hallway, where I assume he was using the other bathroom, and his eyes narrow when he sees that I’m dressed.

“You have a tub big enough to swim in. Anyway, this was fun.” I smile and retrieve my bra, but leave the panties because he said he wants to keep them. “Thanks for dinner.”

He’s standing there, impressively naked, and crosses his arms over his chest, frowning at me. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I frown back. “Home?”

“Why?”

Now I cross my own arms over my chest, mirroring him. “Because I live there? And I have a cat.”

He abruptly turns away, steps into a pair of gray sweatpants, and then turns back to me. “Can I have your keys?”

“Why?”

“Because I asked for them.”

I blink at him. “It’s a keypad. The code is one-one-four-six.”

He nods, and then he’s gone. The front door opens and closes, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing, so I walk out to the living room and watch through the window as he slips into my house. Five minutes later, he walks out of my house with my cat in one arm and her bed in another .

I open the door for him, and he passes me Pickles, drops the bed on the floor, then kisses me hard and backs away.

“I’ll be right back.”

I cover my lips with my fingers as he takes off again, still barefoot and only in those sweats, and disappears inside my house, but just a few minutes later, he comes back out again. He locks my door behind him, and then he crosses the street and walks into his own house with a litter pan and her food dish, full of food.

“There. She’s here. If you need to go home because of your cat, I just solved that problem. Birdie’s gone until Sunday afternoon, and I’m not wasting a minute of this weekend without you.”

Well then.

What can I really say to that? It’s not as if I wanted to leave Bridger. Tonight has been the best night of my life. I’ve felt valued, listened to, and he freaking worshipped every inch of my body. I’ve never stayed for round two—never believed I was wanted that badly, and honestly, no one has ever invited me to stay. And yet, he still wants more. Not going to lie, that makes me feel incredible. This stunning, kind, sexy god in front of me, who I’ve crushed on for years, wants me.

I set Pickles on the couch and turn to see him watching me, as if he’s waiting for me to make the next move.

The ball is in my court.

“I could use a shower.”

His lips tip up in a relieved smile. “We can make that happen.”