Chapter 31 #2
I felt his lips there on my hip, all soft and ticklish as a giggle fell from my mouth.
He was kissing at me there, my eyes still closed and the sensation so gentle and tender.
For who he was and what he did, Bridger had always been like that.
Deep down, there was a softness in him he didn’t let everyone else see.
I was so thankful to be one of the lucky few who did.
“Left one’s cute too.” He pulled down my panties on the other side, pressing a kiss to that hip as well. “Wait, I change my mind. I love both. Don’t move.”
Laughing, I let him press the sweetest of kisses there to my hips. Left, then right, then left, then right again. He was peppering those kisses all over me, my hand in his hair as my fingers threaded through his thick, long locks.
“Alright, I gotta stop worshiping you,” he said. “We’ll get back to that later. Right now… I gotta mark you up. This will be a little cold, baby.” Bridger brushed something wet against me, the feeling making me gasp as he wiped in slow, soft motions.
Something sticky was on me next. I could feel what I assumed was Bridger’s hands pressing up against me, holding that tacky sheet flush against my skin. He stayed like that for a little while before swiping against it, his other hand there on my left hip to hold me in place.
“Almost done,” he murmured. “Give it a minute.”
“It hurts so much,” I said teasingly.
“Suck it up, princess,” he muttered. “Looks like you’re rebelling today, hm? Who’d have ever thought that sweet little Juliette Ashford would end up with a tattoo?”
“Speaking of… What’d you give me?”
“You’ll see in a minute.”
“Did I just make a huge mistake letting you semi permanently mark my skin?”
He chuckled lowly. “I hope not. You ready to see it? Come look in the mirror. Keep your eyes closed. I’m gonna peel it off and I’ll help you over.”
“Such a tease,” I muttered, feeling him grip my hand as he helped me off the bench and guided me away from it.
“Alright, take a look,” he said.
My eyes snapped open, and there was my reflection looking back at me as Bridger stood behind me. Gaze lowering, I turned just a little so I could get a proper look at the tattoo, and I could have sworn I felt my heart flutter wildly in my chest.
A tiny sailboat looked back at me. Subtle, small, so beautiful. The sails were standing tall and underneath it were a few ripples of water, and I was pretty sure it was the best thing anyone had given me ever.
“You like it?” Bridger asked.
My eyes were definitely getting wet as I shut them tight.
I could feel Bridger’s lips on my neck and I quickly spun around, my face buried in his chest. His hand cupped the back of my head, the other at the small of my back as he pulled me to him swiftly, and I would never get over how well we fit together.
“It looks that bad, huh?” he asked with a laugh. “Told you, princess: no refunds.”
“It looks perfect. It looks beautiful. I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I want a real one when I can get it,” I said into his chest, my words muffled and my heart racing. “I want you to do it. I want you to be the one who gives it to me. Who puts it on me.”
“Mm, baby, I love you too,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I’ll mark you. You already marked me. You’ve had your name on my heart since I was eighteen. Fuckin’ carved it right in. It’s never going away.”
Brightness and warmth and pure love rushed through me, from top to bottom, inside and out. I was pretty sure if you cracked me open and looked inside, you’d find his name there on my heart too.
* * *
The sympathy flowers were still rolling in. They smelled like heaven.
The living room was stocked with roses and lilies and daffodils. They were all addressed to me, but Gordon’s mother had showed up in the morning to tell me that I wasn’t allowed to keep them. Everywhere I looked, I saw those damn flowers.
My favorite were the ones Bridger had sent. He had made sure to include a straight to the point note.
Sorry to hear about your husband. You’re single now though, right?
Two glasses of water in hand, I sat them down on the little cardboard box stocked with some vintage ornaments.
Gordon had bought the glasses from an estate auction a month or two after he made me move in with him.
They came from an antique French liquor set that had originally come with a crystal decanter and four glasses.
There were only two glasses left now.
I could vividly remember the day he brought the items back home.
He had dropped two of the glasses against the floor.
Said I was to blame even though I was on the other side of the room.
Then the next thing I knew, I was on the cold marble, one hand squeezing at my throat, the other yanking at my hair, my brain warning me that I only had a few seconds of oxygen left. He had an awful habit of doing that.
Tasmin was sitting across from me on a crate while I sat on another, her eyes big and filled with sympathy. “This place feels so weird like this,” she said. “With everything gone.”
Besides the flowers, the house was close to empty. That was how Gordon wanted it. Everything was almost gone. After today, I’d be gone too.
There was something oddly comforting about seeing all that beige, boring furniture being taken away.
It felt final in the best way possible, because that meant that I’d be gone too.
His younger brother was getting the house, and that was fine with me.
They could do whatever they wanted with the place.
“I know,” I said, giving her a little nod. “Feels so weird, right?”
“I don’t understand why Gordon didn’t include you in his will. It doesn’t make sense. What did he think would happen when he passed? Where are you going to stay now?” she asked, voice filled with concern. “Will you be okay?”
“You’re sweet for caring. I’ll be fine. I just want to get far, far away from here. Some place distant. Some place where I can forget any of this ever happened.”
“I don’t blame you for wanting that. I’ll miss you so much.” She laughed, the sound all sad and dull. “Wasn’t it fun talking about all those silly TV shows we watched?”
“I loved that. Sometimes it felt like you were my only friend around here…” I reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m gonna miss you so much.”
“I’ll miss you too. I know we’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but Gordon didn’t have his head on straight when he let his family get this house. I mean, where was the concern for you? I suppose he left you some money, right?”
I just shrugged at her. “Who knows what was going through his head?”
“Those glasses belong to Mr. Cavendish, right?” one of the moving men asked, approaching us with an awkward smile. “Sorry, we just have to get everything. Company policy.”
Tasmin scoffed and took her time drinking, taking in the water at a sloth like pace. I was going to miss her.
When we were both done and handed over the glasses, we stood up and left the living room behind. So spacious, so clinical, so luxurious. The home of a murder scene. People paid good money for that, though. I wondered how much money Gordon’s brother would make if he ever sold the place.
“I guess this is it,” Tasmin said as we stepped outside and stood by the fountain.
“Yup, this is it,” I said. “Thanks for being my only friend in this town.”
Tasmin sighed, her hands grasping my bare arms and giving them a rub with her thumbs. “I’ll miss you so much, Juliette. We never got to have any of those spa days together.”
I circled my arms around her slender form. “Have one for me, okay? You go get pampered in my name.”
“Is that how I honor you now that you’re leaving?” She giggled, but that sound slowly faded as she sighed and squeezed at me. “I guess this time tomorrow you’ll be far, far away from here.”
“I suppose so.”
“Where will you be going?”
“I’m just gonna wander around until I find home,” I said as I pulled away from her. “I guess I’ll know it’s home when I get there.”
“Stay safe, Juliette. I’ll miss you.” Leaning in close, she pressed her lips to my cheek. “I hope wherever you go, you stay happy.”
“You too, Tasmin.”
She squeaked as she turned her head a little, wiping at her eyes. “I have to go. I’ll keep crying if we keep talking.”
“Stop.” I laughed. “It’s okay. Don’t be sad.”
We stood there in front of the fountain, arms brushing together as the removal man who took those glasses from me earlier carried the last remaining boxes out the door.
I watched him put them into the back of the truck before yanking the door down, and then he sent me a wave.
Tasmin squeezed my hand, her giant diamond ring cool against my skin.
In a little bit, I’d be back with Bridger.
I’d be meeting him at a motel, and then tomorrow, we’d be on our way to the life we were always meant to have.
That was tomorrow. But tonight? Tonight, there was still one more thing to take care of.