Elias
I haven’t heard from Bridget since the night at my brother’s place.
I’ve been tempted to message her to make sure she’s okay, but Isobel told me to give her some space, so I listened. I went back to their place after I dropped her off and offloaded all my thoughts and feelings to them.
Apparently, I’m in a lot deeper than I thought, and I’m pretty sure I’m in way deeper than Bridget is.
I never realized how much I craved someone like Bridget until she was dangled in front of me.
I’ve been physically attracted to her since that night in that damn nightclub, but getting to know her on an emotional level, amplified things and it makes me realize I’m attracted to every fibre of her being.
No woman I’ve ever dated has been as emotionally intellectual as she her.
I’ve never met someone so in touch with their emotions—and I’ve been in plenty of relationships with women who have the emotional maturity of a teenager but it’s not like that with Bridget.
I feel like we connect in so man ways and our emotional connection runs deep, not to mention our physical connection is almost cosmic.
Being intimate with Bridget is the safest I’ve felt in a long time, and I hope she felt the same.
Knowing Bridget has a guard up during sex, makes me want to work as hard as I can to help her overcome those barriers. I want nothing more than for her to trust me completely and open up to me in ways she’s not been able to before.
Today is Monday, and that means back to work.
While I enjoy working for my brother, sometimes I wish I didn’t have to work at all.
Being his accountant has its perks and I love how laid back he is and that he always trusts my decisions and thoughts.
I work in the office most of the week, but Mondays and Fridays are my work from home days—I can’t be surrounded by people for more than three days a week.
My eyes flick down to my cell, and I hate that I’m sitting here waiting for her to message me, when I’m more than capable of messaging her. So, without a second thought, I grab my phone and open our chat.
Me
Can I see you?
Three little dots appear instantly.
Bridget
Well, hello. I’m doing great, thanks for asking. How’re you?
I roll my eyes at her sarcasm.
Me
I’m glad to hear it. I’m also good.
Her reply is instant.
Bridget
Come over later? I’ll make dinner.
Her text tells me she can’t wait to see me, and the smile I’m wearing stays etched on my face until it’s time to call it quits for the day.
I get to Bridget’s house before she does, and I’m sitting on the wall outside her apartment building with a bouquet of snapdragons as she walks down the street.
She looks tired as she roots through her handbag with a frown on her face.
Her blonde hair is twisted up and as she turns her head to the side, I see the brown claw grip holding it up to her head.
She looks devastatingly gorgeous in her shin-length navy dress.
The tight material clings to her like a second skin and the savage in me wants nothing more than to rip it off.
The neckline is high and stretches across the expanse of her chest under her camel trench coat.
The collars lay flat against her shoulders, with the belt dangling down at her sides.
Her feet are adorned in beige heels that compliment her pale skin, and I can’t help but let my eyes wander up and over her.
As my gaze roams to her face, a smile pulls at my lips when her eyes meet mine.
She looks dishevelled and tired. I stand from where I’m seated and walk toward her.
Her shoulders slump slightly, and when I hold my arm open for her, she steps forward and leans into me.
Her head rests against my collarbone and she expels a loud sigh.
My arm instantly curls around her and I rest my head against the top of hers.
“Rough day?” I ask as I rub soothing circles on her back, and she nods. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”
Pulling back, she looks up at me tiredly and lifts her chin.
Her eyes dart to my mouth then back up to my eyes, and I know she wants me to kiss her.
I raise my brow at her silent command, but when she lifts her chin again, it’s apparent she wants me to make the move.
I waste no time in capturing her soft lips between my own and she sags into me as I run my tongue along the seam of her lips.
She parts her mouth instantly, and I moan into her as her hot tongue slides against my own in slow, tantalizing movements.
Bridget presses one last kiss against my lips before pulling back as she grabs her keys from her bag and leads the way to her apartment. I can tell from the way she stiffens that she’s embarrassed by the state of her apartment, but the kiss I place behind her ear relaxes her.
I set the flowers on the table and move behind Bridget.
Placing my hands on her shoulders, I pull the material of her coat over her shoulders and down her arms. She lets me take her coat and hang it on the rack on the wall next to the door and when I crouch down to take her shoes from her feet, she places a hand on my shoulder to steady herself.
“Can you get the zipper?” she asks, turning her back to me.
I stand from my position and reach for the silver zipper that is well hidden in the fabric of her dress.
I pull it down to where it stops at the base of her spine and her skin prickles as I run my thumb down her spine.
I make sure to take my time pushing the fabric down her body, kissing each part of exposed skin.
She stands there as I undress her, humming approvingly when I kiss her neck, shoulders, and collarbones.
I move in front of her, continuing my slow perusal of her body and she watches as I crouch down again, kissing the soft flesh of her belly.
I smile against her skin when I notice she doesn’t suck in.
My lips meet the top of her lacy underwear as I pull the dress over her backside, and when I move my hand to her ass and squeeze her cheeks, it earns me a soft moan.
Flicking my gaze to hers, I feel my blood boil at the heated look she’s giving me. I let the dress fall down past her knees, onto the floor so it pools at her feet. My eyes snag on the red lace lingerie set she’s wearing, and I gulp.
This woman is a fucking masterpiece. All soft and supple.
I stand, fully aware of the erection tenting the front of my pants, and she lets her eyes linger on the sight before she finally drags her attention to my face.
I lift her arms and sling them over my shoulders.
She stands against me, watching as I reach down to scoop her up.
Her legs automatically loop around my waist and she cuddles against me as I carry her toward her room.
I sit her on her bed, she watches as I pull open the draws on her dresser as I look for a pair of pyjamas.
I finally pull open the right one and reach for the matching set of pyjamas with koalas on them.
As I turn, I notice she’s unclasping her bra, and when she lifts her arms, I slip the soft cotton shirt over her head and down her torso.
She lies back on her bed and pushes her panties down her legs onto the floor.
As she stands from the bed, I crouch down, helping her into her pants.
“Why are you so nice?” she whispers as I rise to my feet, snapping the elastic of the waistband against her waist.
I lean down and press a gentle kiss against her lips. “I take good care of people who mean a lot to me, Bridget.” I kiss her again and feel her sigh against my lips. “And in case you haven’t noticed, that includes you.”
I reach down and link our fingers together and tug her toward the door.
She follows as we walk through her living room and into her kitchen, where she opens the fridge and begins pulling things out.
I take the chicken, chorizo, onion, peppers, and spinach and set them on the side as she reaches into a cupboard for a bag of rice.
“What are we having?”
She steps on the tips of her toes to reach a can of tomatoes. “Chicken and chorizo risotto,” she says. “It’s a comfort food of mine.”
I watch her move around the kitchen with ease.
She connects her phone to the speaker and hums along to whatever is playing, but I’m not paying any attention to anything other than her.
She looks relaxed as she preps all the ingredients and it’s not long until everything is in the pan and simmering away.
We stay in the kitchen, talking aimlessly until the food is ready and I help dish it up into two large bowls. We take our dishes into the living room and over to the couch, and I smile as she pulls a blanket over us.
“This is very nice,” I say as I scoop some up with my spoon. “Do you enjoy cooking?”
She nods. “It relaxes me,” Bridget says, taking another bite of her food. “My nan taught me how to cook and we always used to cook together.” She sighs. “I miss her a lot.”
I reach over and give her knee and squeeze. “She sounds like a wonderful woman.”
“She was.” Bridget clears her throat as she finishes up her food. “Anyway, your mom texted me today and asked if we were free this weekend coming up.”
I huff out a laugh. “She texted you? Man, she loves you more than she loves me.” Bridget giggles. “What does she have in mind?”
“She mentioned something about a family house in Nelson and she said she wanted to have a family weekend. Oscar, Isobel, and the girls are going, and she wants us there, too.” She seems hesitant as she tells me, like she’s waiting to see my reaction.
I’m not sure whether she expects me to dismiss the idea and tell her that spending a whole weekend with them is taking this too far, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth.
I want to spend time with her in this capacity.
I want her to come to family weekends, because even though she doesn’t know it yet—she is family. She fits in so effortlessly.
“Do you want to go?” I ask. “Because if you think its too much then you don’t have to. I can go by myself and—”
“I’d love to come,” she interrupts me and then pauses and looks down at her hands in her lap.
I don’t miss the way her cheeks tint pink.
“I also want to apologize for going radio silent the past few days. I wasn’t expecting Olivia’s nickname to hit me so hard, and I’m sorry that I didn’t handle it well. ”
“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “Everything that we’re doing isn’t conventional, and I think it would be weird if you didn’t have some self-preservations about it.”
Bridget doesn’t reply; in fact, she doesn’t say anything for a while, but when she does, her voice is soft, and I almost miss the words that pass through her lips.
“Elias, I’m not entirely sure how much of this is fake anymore.”
Bridget lifts her head and looks at me with so much vulnerability my chest aches. “Tell me what you mean.”
She takes a deep breath—almost nervously—and says, “I’m almost one hundred percent certain that the feelings I have for you are, in fact, very, very real.”
My lips kick up at the sides and I feel a huge sense of relief, knowing we’re on the same page. “Same here, baby,” I say and lean over to brush my lips against her forehead. “We’re in this together, okay?”
Bridget leans into my touch and climbs across the couch onto my lap.
Her thighs cradle my own as she hugs me, her face buried in my neck. And as the two of us sit like this, I feel the anxieties of not being wanted fade away and knowing that she feels the same as me has me feeling like I’m on cloud nine.
If I could take this moment and put it into a jar to savour it I would, but I can’t, so I settle for her body against mine and pray this is the start of something good.