29. Chase
29
CHASE
“ O h no,” Bridget waved my mother off as she dabbed her lips with her napkin. “I’m so full. Chase will have to roll me out the door if I eat anymore.”
Mom laughed and tut-tutted Bee. “Well, then. I’ll send some leftovers home with y’all. How about that?”
Bridget and I were curled up on the couch, finishing cake and coffee. My dad was in his recliner as he recovered from the chicken and pastry-induced exhaustion. Mom waltzed back into the kitchen and started packing up a week’s worth of leftovers for Bridget and me.
Bee looked up at me with tired eyes. “Is a carb coma a thing? Because if it is, I’m definitely in one.”
I chuckled as I leaned back on the couch and draped my arm behind her shoulders. I’d need to unbutton my pants for the drive back.
She sat back against me and closed her eyes. I kissed the top of her head and savored the smell of her shampoo .
“That’s the thing about coming over here. You won’t leave hungry, and you might not be able to leave at all. It’s the biscuits that slow you down.”
“But they’re so good,” she groaned. “I just kept eating them.”
“It’s how she tricks you into staying longer. She stuffs you full of biscuits, chicken and pastry, mashed potatoes, and macaroni. Then you’re too tired to leave.”
“Are you telling lies about me, Chase?” Mom clipped as she dropped a grocery bag of leftovers on the coffee table.
“No, ma’am. Just telling Bridget what a good cook you are.”
She preened like a peacock and turned her attention to Bridget. “You’ll have to come back when Chase’s father pulls out the smoker and we do a pig pickin’.” She rolled her eyes. “Having the smoker on the lawn is against the HOA rules, but I can usually pay those fascists off with a few pounds of barbecue.”
Bridget stifled a laugh. “I’d like that.”
“But you’re welcome over any time, dear. No need for an occasion. Just pop on over and let yourself in.”
We said our goodbyes and lumbered out to the truck. Even Luna was rather sluggish as she loped into the back seat.
“Did you have a good time?” I asked as we held hands on the drive back.
Bridget’s eyes were closed, a faint smile painting her lips. “Yeah.”
“Mom didn’t pester you too much before dinner, did she?”
She waited a beat before answering. “We had a good conversation.”
“Tell me about it.”
Her head rolled against the back of the seat as she turned her gaze to me. “She, um… She told me a story about your dad. About how they met. ”
My grip on her hand tightened, skin prickling with nerves. “Oh yeah?”
She looked up at me with watery eyes. “You were the one who brought me tulips at the hospital, weren’t you?”
I arched an eyebrow, letting her hand drop so I could scratch my jaw. “She ratted on me, didn’t she?”
Bridget shook her head. “No, I just put some pieces together.”
I sighed. “I was at their house when Steve texted about a BOLO going out for Kyle. I knew something was wrong, so I grabbed my keys and ran out the door without an explanation. A few minutes later, Jason texted everybody from the ambulance. When I saw them unload you outside the emergency department, I knew I wasn’t gonna leave your side.” I paused and wrapped my hand around hers. “I didn’t know what was going on apart from a few things Jason told me while we were waiting for you to get out of surgery. So, I texted my dad and said, “I need some tulips.” He told me to stay at the hospital and showed up an hour later with a bouquet. He knew what was going on when I didn’t really know how to put the words together to tell him.”
She craned over the console and pressed a kiss to my bicep. I leaned down and kissed her head, then turned my eyes back to the road.
“You never told me about your parents,” she said quietly.
I shrugged.
What was I supposed to say? I have a cool-ass dad who didn’t care that I wasn’t his kid. He loved me anyway. Sorry your parents are shitty, though .
“It wasn’t my story to tell.”
Bridget was quiet as we made our way home. I assumed she was thinking about whatever my mom had told her.
My parents never hid the fact that my dad wasn’t actually my biological dad. But even from the early years, when I didn’t really understand what they had been through, I didn’t feel the need to talk about it. Not once had I ever called him my stepdad . He was just my dad, even before he legally adopted me.
Blood doesn’t matter. Showing up for people does.
“I love you, you know,” she said after a long stretch of silence.
I pulled into my driveway and cut the engine. “I love you, darlin’. Don’t ever doubt it.”
Her eyes twinkled like stars over a grassy meadow. “I think tulips are my favorite flower.”
I leaned over the console and cradled the back of her head, tangling my fingers in her hair. “All the flowers in the world pale in comparison to you.”
Luna bolted out of the truck and into the yard as soon as I opened the door. I rounded the hood of the truck and opened Bridget’s door. I clasped her hand as she hopped down into the grass.
“I just need to grab some clean pajamas out of the cottage, and then I’ll be over.”
Rather than arguing, I followed her to the cottage. “You should grab some more coat hangers when you and the girls are at Target tomorrow.”
“Why’s that?” she asked, then yelped as she tripped over a box just inside the door.
I caught her elbow and steadied her before she hit the ground. “I think you just proved my point.”
“Chase…” Bridget sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Tell me why you don’t wanna move into the house,” I said. “You basically live over there anyway. At this point, the cottage is just your closet.”
“I don’t want to repeat the cycle. ”
“What cycle?”
She huffed and blew a strand of hair away from her face. “I fall in love, rely on a man, and?—”
“And what.”
I wanted her to say it. And get used? Get trapped? Be dependent? Get taken advantage of? Be abused? Was that what she thought I would be like? If it was, Bridget and I had a problem. One I wasn’t sure I could fix.
Kneeling down in front of her, I shook my head. “Tell me what you think will happen with me. Not with the shit stains you’ve been with before. Tell me what you think will happen with the man who will treat you like the goddamn love of his life. Not like a possession. Tell me, Bridget.”
Her lower lip quivered.
Ah fuck. Anything but that. Seeing that tremor at the corner of her mouth gutted me.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” she whispered. “And that’s what scares me.”
I took her hands in mine. “I don’t have a crystal ball. If I did, you and I would’ve gotten together a long time ago and skipped the hard parts. But the hard parts are what led us here. I can’t tell you what’s gonna happen in the future. All I know is that I don’t want to walk through it with anyone but you.”
Bridget leaned forward and rested her forehead on my shoulder. I kissed her ear, then her hair, brushing it away from her face.
“I’m not him, Bridget.”
“I know.”
“I’m gonna push you on this one, darlin’. Move into the house with me, or I’ll move into the cottage with you.”
I heard the shower cut off as I carried the last of Bridget’s things into my bedroom.
It was official. Bridget and I lived together and I was going to marry the fuck out of her.
We were going to get our happily ever after, dammit.
I set the last box on the floor beside Bridget’s half of the bed as her phone lit up on the nightstand with a text. “Darlin’, your phone’s going off,” I hollered.
“Can you see who it is?” she called, pushing the shower curtain back with a schink .
I swiped across the screen. It was probably just the girls’ group text.
Unknown
That blue dress will be what I use to tie you up when I finally teach you a lesson, you ungrateful whore.
Unfettered rage and adrenaline raced through my body. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that as soon as the text from Kyle’s burner had hit Bridget’s phone, Will had been notified and was working his technology magic to track him down.
I didn’t care about that, though. I wanted Kyle Kingsley to know what fear felt like. He mentioned the blue dress. That fucker had seen her tonight. Seen her while I was with her. Seen her while my parents were in close proximity.
And he was fucking enjoying it.
I grabbed my badge off the top of my dresser and held it up as I took a selfie and added it to the text.
Bridget
I’m gonna enjoy making you someone’s prison bitch. -Brannan.
Unknown
Good to see you’re alive and well. Enjoy it while it lasts.
“Who was it?” Bridget asked, stepping out of the bathroom as she squeezed the water out of her hair with a towel.
I was on my phone, checking in with Will to see if he got anything from the exchange.
Will
I got a last known location. Steve’s en route.
Thank fuck.
I didn’t want to lie to Bridget. She deserved to know what was going on. “Kyle texted, and Will was able to get his location. Units are out trying to make an arrest.”
What I didn’t add was that if Steve was already on his way, it meant Kyle was close.
She let out a blustering breath. “Wow.”
“You okay, darlin’?”
Bridget nodded. “Yeah, it’s just… It could all be over soon. This nightmare…” Disbelief, surprise, and hope flashed across her face in a wave.
I crossed the room and put my hands on her damp shoulders. Her towel was tucked between her breasts, but I tamped down the urge to push it to the floor. “I don’t wanna get your hopes up about tonight. It might be a dead end. But I promise you, he won’t ever touch you again. Not if I have anything to do with it.”
A sly smile curled up at the corner of her mouth. I was about to kiss that smile away when I felt her hands fiddling with my belt buckle. “Bee?—”
Her towel fell away as she dropped to her knees.
“What are you…” I couldn’t finish my thought .
She had my zipper down and worked my cock out of my boxers.
“Darlin’, you don’t have to?—”
“I want to.” Bridget looked up at me with doe eyes as she licked her lips. I could feel her hot breath swirling around the head of my cock. “Please?”
She was a fucking sight to see. On her knees in front of me, her plump little ass pushed out as she arched her back.
I stepped out of my shorts and boxers as she kissed the head of my cock. I was hard as fucking granite, and that first touch of her mouth made me throb.
I braced my hands against the wall behind her and widened my stance. I felt guilty over how much I liked her on her knees. I shouldn’t want her there. She should be up on a pedestal. She should be?—
Bridget wrapped her hand around my shaft and swirled her tongue around the head of my cock.
My mind went blank. Vision tunneled.
She wrapped those pouty lips around my shaft and took me straight to the back of her throat.
“Fuck—” I sputtered. “Bee.”
She sucked hard, nearly swallowing my cock with the powerful pulls from her throat. Her cheeks hollowed as she held me there and teased the slit at the head of my cock with the tip of her tongue.
Her hands slid up my thighs, cupping my balls.
A deep groan rumbled in my chest as I thrust my hips forward.
She rolled my balls in her hand with a tender grasp.
She was a goddamn witch.
Erotic pressure built fast and hard, but I tried to stave off my release. She was doing magical things with her tongue. If I had to sell my soul to this woman to get more, I’d do it without a second thought.
Her other hand came up as she bobbed back and forth, taking me deeper and deeper each time. Her mouth was soft, warm, and so fucking tight. The little flicks of her tongue with each pull nearly sent me careening over the edge.
But I never did.
I realized all too late that I wasn’t the one in control. She was.
Bridget knew just what to do to keep me on edge, drawing me to the brink of orgasm and then backing off.
Each time she’d bring me near the peak of coming. I would get closer and closer. The pressure would be more intense. The need to spill my load down her throat would be unbearable.
And then she would back off and do it all again.
And she fucking got off on it.
“I’m close,” I rasped as she pushed me close to a climax again.
She sucked my dick off and released it with a pop. Smirking like the devil she was, Bridget said, “I know, baby.” Without another word, she tilted her head and sucked my balls into her mouth.
I pounded my fist against the wall, groaning as she worked my length with her hand. “Fuck, darlin’.”
I caught the flick of her eyes opening as she peered up at me through her lashes. Bridget licked her way back up my cock like a damn lollipop before sliding it into her mouth.
“Tease,” I grunted.
She hummed happily in satisfaction. The vibration sent an extra shot of pleasure ricocheting through my body.
I’d get her back later. Make her so utterly delirious with need that she’d be begging me to make her come.
Bridget cupped my balls with one hand and massaged the sensitive skin behind them with her other hand. She took my full length with hard, powerful pulls. The head of my cock pounded the back of her throat with each thrust of my hips.
Every inch of my body was charged like a live wire. My spine tingled as my climax came rushing in. “Darlin’, if you don’t stop, I’m gonna come in your mouth.”
My girl took the warning as a challenge. Instead of pulling away, she massaged my cock with her tongue. Bridget reached around and grabbed my ass, pushing me as far into her mouth as I could go. She swallowed, her throat constricting around my cock, and I detonated.
Thick pulses of my release jetted down her throat. Slowly, she pulled her lips down my shaft, cleaning me off.
Bridget slumped against the wall and looked up at me with a dazed smile. I watched as her little pink tongue darted out and licked her lips like she just hadn’t gotten enough of my taste.
The sight alone made my cock hard again. I bent down and hauled her up against the wall. “Put those legs around me right fucking now,” I growled. “You better hold on tight.”
I lined up my cock with her pussy and shoved in. Bridget squeaked, choking at the invasion.
She was primed and ready for me. Her tits bounced in my face. I tilted my head and sucked one of her tits into my mouth. I dragged my teeth down her pert nipple, pulling it until the rosy bud sprang free from my mouth on a bounce.
I watched as her eyes rolled back while I fucked her up against the bedroom wall. I snapped my hips, driving into her with a powerful thrust. “You keep your eyes on me while I’m inside you.”
“Yes,” she breathed. “Always you. Only you.”
I slowed my thrusts and levered up, hitting her G-spot until she was shattering in my arms. With my dick still buried inside her, I carried Bridget to the bed and laid her down.
I started at her ankles, placing gentle kisses on them. Then up to her calves and her thighs. I paid extra attention to her pussy, kissing my way up her slit. I moved to her hip, peppering the curve of her body with gentle kisses.
Bridget tangled her fingers in my hair, drawing me further up. When I had tested her with the ice cubes, she was adamant about not wanting me to touch her abdomen. But now, she had me hovering over the plane of her stomach.
“Here?” I asked.
“Yes.” Her hands released from my hair.
I lavished her supple skin with sloppy, wet kisses. Every inch of her was mine. “Mine,” I whispered between kisses. “Mine to love.”
She gave me her wrists. Her arms. I kissed them all. If I could replace her painful memories with pleasure, I would spend every breath I had left doing it.
Bridget tipped her chin up, exposing her throat. I thought back to the deep purple marks that had marred her beautiful skin. Never again.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
I straddled her, hovering over her body as I tucked my head in the crook of her neck and kissed my way up the graceful column of her throat.
“I love you,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around me. “So much, Chase.”
I rolled to my side, pulling her into my chest. Tears leaked from her eyes, and I kissed them away.
This girl. She had a hold on my heart for longer than I could remember. It had always been her.
“Marry me.”
“Every day.”
“Remember what I said about treating every day like someday? ”
Bridget nodded.
I fought off a smile as I took her in. Her cheeks were flushed. Half-damp hair splayed. Her thigh was draped over my hip. I was rocking it Winnie-the-Pooh style with my shirt still on and no pants or boxers.
Bee and I were a fucking mess, but God, I loved her.
“Someday’s coming real soon, darlin’.”
Her eyes closed as she drifted off in a post-sex stupor. “Can’t wait.”