“Scared me there, Shadow.”
I’ve never exactly wanted or thought I needed a protective man, but in this moment I see the appeal. I crane my neck to look up at him, my body still pressed to his, not sure I ever want to move from the security of him. When I look up, I don’t see a silly grin or smirk like he’s been sporting all night. Instead I just find him tense and concerned—from his tight square jaw to his dilated pupils fixed on me in the dim light—inspecting me for any sign that I might be hurt. I can literally feel just how worried he is with the tension dripping off him.
“You OK?” I feel his deep voice rumble against me.
I want to tell him I’m fine, more than fine, with the way he’s treated me all night. I want to tell him that all I want is to stay curled into his arms right here and never leave. I want to tell him thank you for actually looking at me all night and making me laugh. Maybe it’s the adrenaline coursing through me, but for once I completely ignore the reasonable voice in my head and give into what I want.
Fuck it.
I reach up and cup his stubbled jaw in my hands, pulling him toward me while I stand up on my toes. I bring my mouth to his soft, full lips. Shit. For a second he does nothing, going completely still while I hold my lips to his. I entirely misread this. I never do things just for me and this?—
His hand tightens on my lower back, pulling me against his front, the warmth of his body is overwhelming. A low, hungry groan rumbles up his throat before he kisses me back. That sound strikes all of my senses, sending a jolt of need right between my thighs.
This kiss is frenzied and heated. Our teeth scrape and my tongue clashes with his, exploring before he does the same. I thought I dressed minimally tonight with jeans and at-shirt, but now it feels like there’s far too much fabric between us. I lean into him, dropping one hand to his belt, pulling him closer. I feel his hard length through his jeans pressing into my stomach and whimper into his mouth knowing that he definitely wants me as much as I want him right now.
He breaks the kiss and presses his forehead to mine, leaving me aching for more.
“I take it you’re OK?” He calls back to his earlier question, panting the words between heavy breaths.
“Oh, yeah,” I say nodding and swallowing, trying to catch my breath. “More than good.”
He swallows and lets out a puff of laughter. “Great. So, like?—”
“So do you want to come in?” I ask, pointing at my apartment over my shoulder again. “Like that’s what we’re doing now, right? That’s what we want?”
He presses his lips to my forehead with a soft kiss and the only thought that runs through my mind is please say yes. I don’t know what it is, but I just want him to say yes. He pulls me tighter into his arms and kisses me again, this time on top of my head.
“I want whatever you want, whatever you’ll give me. Even if it’s just the time of day, I’ll take it.”
I hop up and wrap my legs around his waist and this man does not miss a beat, catching me in his big freaking burly hands. My heart races because I don’t do things like this. I’m not impulsive. Stubborn, opinionated, maybe even irrational—yes—but not impulsive. It just feels so right though, like he stumbled into Bridger’s tonight just for me. “Take me inside.”
He starts walking and I notice that this man, bless his heart, looks both ways before walking out into the street. I snort a laugh into his neck and he chuckles. “Safety first,Shadow.”
He could call me whatever he wants right now and I would be OK with it.
Once we’re upstairs at my apartment door, he sets me down. I pull my carabiner keychain from my belt loop as fast as I can because I just want to get inside with him before he changes his mind and realizes that I’m not actually… whatever it is he sees in me.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I get the door open. That’s until I hear the sound of a collar jingling and paws and nails clacking along the hardwood floors at full speed.
Oh shit. I forgot that he wasn’t crated tonight because we weren’t expecting company.
“Felix! No!” I yell out, turning to Sutton, terror in my eyes compared to his look of utter confusion. “He might look scary, but I promise he doesn’t bite!”
Sutton leansagainst the side door of Cowgirl Coffee that leads up to my apartment. With the sun rising over the mountains behind him, he looks even sexier than he did last night.
“You sure you have to go?” I ask, trying to toe the fine line of wanting him to stay here but not wanting to sound too desperate for someone I’ve known less than twelve hours. “You could hang out with me while I open the coffee shop?”
He reaches toward me, tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. When his fingertips graze my skin, I feel that same jolt of electricity that I did last night and again this morning.
“I’d stay, but your kitchen is woefully understocked on cereal.”
I roll my eyes, but also make a note that I will always keep a box around if it means keeping that man in my presence.
The sound of a car door slamming shut draws my eyesaway from him and I see Monica coming up the walkway to the door from what I assume is her rideshare.
She’s wearing a knowing grin, probably happy seeing that she wasn’t the only one that had an exciting night. Is that what I would even call it? I don’t know the last time I felt this excited, this filled with joy. Excited doesn’t even do it justice.
She reaches us and eyes Sutton up and down. “Morning.”