Chapter Nine #2
“Cool, have you met male werewolves? You’re all terrible. I need someone to do a full background check and for him to be completely ready to settle down. The guys who are signed up for matchmaking are looking for a mate.”
“And you’re looking for an escape from the McIver Pack.”
She shrugged. “Look at it however you want to. You don’t understand me wanting to settle down, and that’s okay. Don’t judge me though, yeah? You barely know me or anything about what I’ve been through with trying to find a mate the old-fashioned way.”
He chewed the corner of his lip and scanned the parking lot. “You could stick around here for a little while. Give yourself some time before you go back to Seth and whatever drama is waiting for you when you get back to your Pack.”
“Can’t run forever,” she muttered. “Besides, you are here.”
“So?”
“So, I’ll lose my self-respect and ask for you to fuck me when I’m lonely, and you will, and then you will ghost me to teach me to never lean on you, repeat forever until all my good days have passed, and I end up alone anyways.”
“Is that what you think I was doing?”
Kit shrugged. “Yeah.”
“You think I was trying to go cold so you would only want sex from me?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling cold all of a sudden. She didn’t like the way he made her question things. “You’re just like everyone else.”
A puff of air whooshed out of his lungs, and he arched his dark eyebrows as he cast his golden gaze to the ground. “I guess I deserve that.”
“Right. Well, goodbye, Real Bridger.”
She turned to open the door of her car, but he appeared next to her and placed the flat of his hand on the door, keeping her from opening it. “I went to visit Amelia’s parents yesterday.”
Kit froze. Slowly, she eased her eyes up to him. “That must’ve been very heavy. Are you close with them?”
“Yes. They want to meet you.”
Now, out of the millions and millions of word combinations she could’ve expected him to put together in this moment, ‘they want to meet you’ was really not one of them.
“Come again?” she said, confused.
“They want to meet you and still be a part of my life. And then we went to Amelia’s gravesite together and we spent the day there.
I got some closure I hadn’t realized I needed.
I’m sorry I didn’t text you back last night, I was…
” He shook his head. “I was a mess and I didn’t want to put that burden on you. ”
“You don’t have to like me, Bridger.”
“You think I haven’t been fighting it?” he asked. “Woman, I’ve been trying to let you go since the moment you knocked on my door and ruined my beard.”
“I ruined your beard?” she asked, baffled. “But it looks perfect.”
“I like it thicker. I was trimming it and you kept banging on the door and I met you pissed off. And I tried to stay pissed off. But then I tracked you down on social media, and I saw that Chase guy comment on a picture of you and I tried to stay home that night, but my damn wolf drove me to go to The Mark so I could beat the shit out of that guy if he messed with you. And then you did your little sic him head nod, and my wolf was like…bounding toward any task you wanted me to do. And then I tried to leave again, and you fuckin’ kissed me and now I want more and more. ”
“More and more sex with me.”
“Yeah. That. I crave you. But you should also know I can’t stop fuckin’ thinking about you, and trust me, I’ve tried. I don’t know what is wrong with me, or what this is, but you feel pretty important.”
“As you drag a notary here to sign separation papers.”
“Because that’s not how I want to do this.
If I like you the way I think I’m liking you, I want the option of asking you myself.
Someday. If you don’t haul off and find another mate on that dumb website tomorrow, which, by the way, you should know my intention is to sign up and talk to Lauren and block literally every potential mate from pairing with you, because I’m insane right now.
In my head, this entire time, my wolf has been chanting for me to take you back up to your room and fuck you before checkout, so you’ll stop thinking about other mates. ”
“But…” Her eyes were so wide, they were getting dried out in the hot summer air. “But you don’t want to like me.”
“Truth, but I’m also pretty sure I’m not going to be a disaster about all of this forever. I hear you. You want to be number one. You want to be the one and only, and I can’t give you that. I’m sorry. I had someone else, and there will be times I think about her. It’s not to hurt you though.”
“What do you want from me?” she whispered.
Bridger straightened his spine. “A chance.”
“W-what? A chance for what?”
“Go on a date with me. See if we are compatible outside of the bedroom. For hell’s sake, tell me no for an entire day so I can just focus on getting to know you and not on how good it feels to be buried balls deep in you.”
“Well, I don’t have that kind of power, apparently, Bridger!
You look at me with your little golden smolder and suddenly my body is like, yep!
We’re doing this! It’s your fault I don’t say no.
I’ve been able to say no to literally everyone I’ve ever wanted to.
And now here I am, knowing damn-well you are no good for me, and I can’t stop with the ‘yeses’! ”
He was fighting a smile now.
“It’s not funny!” she yelled. “You’re ruining my head. I have to go.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“Yeah, well, here is what will happen if I don’t.
You sweet talk me into staying one more day.
You seduce me. You leave me on read for a day and I wake up tomorrow morning feeling even worse about myself than I do today, repeat for as long as it takes for me to give a shit about myself and leave.
This is a waste of both of our time. I’m not wasting my good baby-making years on some hot and cold non-relationship that always compares me and all my imperfections to a saint.
And I get it! If I had lost the love of my life, I would be comparing you to him too.
Probably. I don’t know. I can’t even imagine that kind of pain. ”
“You see, it’s when you say understanding stuff like that, and I can’t stop wanting to be around you. That’s part of the reason why.”
“Well…” Kit wanted to hold onto her anger, but this was actually a very illuminating conversation right now, even if her voice was raised to an uncomfortable volume. “I don’t know what to do with you.”
“That makes two of us.”
“So…what do we do?”
“I think you meet Amelia’s parents.”
“You really want me to meet your dead mate’s parents.”
“Yeah. And my Pack too. I think you need to let me take you out on that dinner you talked about last night.”
“The one you ghosted me over.”
“Woman, I’m sorry.”
“And then you’ll…wait, what?”
“I’m sorry.”
Kit frowned and waited for the punchline. Men didn’t apologize. Not ever.
“What’s your angle?”
“I really feel bad, and you’re right with all of your callouts. You aren’t being unfair. I am hot and cold. I have my reasons, but it’s still messed up on the other side of it. It’s not fair to you.”
“You…” She frowned even deeper. “Are you trying to get into my pants again?”
“Not currently but give me a few minutes and I’m sure I’ll be back to trying.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “If I go out with you, will you ghost me?”
Bridger inhaled deeply and gripped her shoulders, leveled her with a look.
His eyes were darkening to a rich chocolate brown.
“I don’t want to be paired with you based on some messed-up game Vic and Lyric played.
But I do want to get to know you better.
I for sure want to fuck you more and I know this doesn’t sound like a compliment, but when I’ve slept with other women, it’s a one-time thing and I don’t even care about their name.
Listen to the truth in my voice. If you called me and said someone was messing with you, whether it’s that Chase dude at the bar, or Seth back in Alabama, I would bring absolute hell to their lives. ”
“But…you barely know me.”
“I don’t think my wolf cares even one percent about that fact.”
“Are you…” She swallowed hard and straightened her spine. “Are you saying your wolf sees me?”
“Yep.” Truth.
“Oh. And you’re saying you aren’t just attracted to my pheromones or whatever is making you horny around me?”
He slumped his shoulders and chuckled. “I don’t think it’s your pheromones that are dragging my attention.”
“And you mentioned me yesterday?”
“To Matt and Gina? Yes. I went there with the sole purpose of seeing if they were okay with me moving on.”
“And they are?”
“Yes. They’re happy for me.”
She crossed her arms tighter around her middle and tipped her head this way and that, then rested her cheek for exactly two seconds onto his right hand that was still gripping her shoulder.
“Well, I would say you do owe me a dinner for being so mean and ghosting me. I lost two nights of sleep over you.”
“I definitely owe you. Probably a steak dinner.”
“With two baked potatoes.”
“Maybe three,” he agreed.
“Maybe three. And creamed spinach.”
“Please don’t make me gag when I’m trying to have a moment with you.”
“Broccoli—”
“Okay this conversation is done, you can go now,” he teased.
“Maybe a side of split pea soup.”
“Oh my God, Kit. If you ever need me to lose a boner, just keep listing disgusting vegetables.”
“Six to ten medium sized brussels sprouts—”
He cupped his hand over her mouth, and his face was so close to hers now. “Shhh.”
Now, as an independent woman, she had never liked men telling her what to do, but as a little ho for this specific man, she really liked it. “Yes, sir,” she whispered behind his hand.
Bridger slipped his hand to her throat and squeezed gently as he leaned in. His lips pressed to hers, and he squared up his entire body to her. He kissed her gently then eased back. Eyes searching hers, he said, “I’m really sorry about last night.”