CHAPTER SIX
BRIDGETTE’S THOUGHTS RACED every second of the short drive home. She tried to think rationally and slow herself down. But her body was acting like it was the Fourth of July, and every rational thought was shot down by how badly she wanted Bodhi. The fact that he was her neighbor should at least give her pause, for Louie’s sake if nothing else. But as she watched him stalk around the truck, impossibly handsome and powerful, his taste lingering in her mouth, neighbor didn’t hold the significance it probably should. Her body clearly thought she was not only ready to get back in the game, but it was anxious to play.
He opened her door and with one swift move turned her toward him, planting his hands on either side of the doorframe, his face a mask of serious restraint. “I meant what I said,” he warned. “If you’re looking for more than tonight, we end here.”
Why was his bluntness such a turn-on? “I’m not looking for anything. This—you—are unexpected.”
He glanced at her house, then his, and found her eyes again with genuine tenderness that would have knocked her legs out from under her had she not been sitting down.
“Bridge . . .”
She reached up and touched his cheeks, riveted by his compassion. “Unexpected doesn’t mean bad idea.”
“I need to know we’re both going into this with our eyes open. No dreams of finding a happily ever after. You need to be sure, because I don’t want to hurt you or Louie.”
She was soaking up every dose of compassion he unknowingly doled out. Louie was her world, and Bodhi inherently knew that in ways other guys who had asked her out hadn’t. They’d seen Louie as a roadblock, someone to work around. He saw Louie as the person who mattered most. Although Bodhi wasn’t asking her out. He was asking about something far more important, something of more value than just her time. Do I want to give myself over to you for only one night?
Her answer didn’t take any thought. “I’m nervous, but I’m as sure as I have ever been.”
His arm circled around her waist, tugging her forward, and he captured her mouth with the force of a tsunami. She couldn’t even say she’d forgotten how great kissing could be, because kissing Bodhi was nothing like kissing any other man. It was a full-body experience, and she felt it from her spinning mind to the very tips of her toes. He drew back, their lips parting for only a second before he returned for more, time and time again.
“Can’t do this here,” he said fervently, and lifted her out of the truck. His arm locked around her waist and then fell away. “Neighbors.”
What a thrill it was to be with a man who thought of her before himself. She might not have dated since losing Jerry, but she kept up on the dating scene with her sisters, and she knew there were a lot of jerks out there. But she missed his touch, so she reminded him, “Did you not notice that the closest neighbor is about two acres down the road from your house? They can’t see us.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have reminded me. It opens way too many doors,” he said with more than a hint of wickedness. He unlocked the front door, and Dahlia practically leapt into his arms.
“Hi, baby.” He loved her up, then motioned with his hand, and Dahlia sank to all fours, panting at Bridgette.
Bridgette petted her. “You’re a sweet girl, aren’t you? Except when you’re busy knocking people’s groceries out of their hands.”
Dahlia barked, and Bodhi groaned.
“I was only teasing,” she assured him. “I love dogs, but I’m not home enough to take care of one.”
“I know what that’s like.” He patted his thigh and headed through the living room. Dahlia trotted beside him and happily went out the back door.
Bridgette took in the mass of tarps, paint cans, brushes, ladders, and other tools on the floor. A comfortable-looking couch sat between two end tables, a few paperbacks were stacked on one, and a hammer lay on the other. Across the room were a dog bed, a stepladder, and more paint cans.
“Excuse the mess,” Bodhi said, closing the distance between them.
“Toys in my living room, tarps in yours. We all have our messes.”
“I’m freshening the place up for my mother, and wasn’t expecting company.”
He settled his hands on her hips, and her pulse quickened. “Your mother?”
“Yes. I bought the house for her to retire in. She sold her flower shop and is closing on her condo and moving here in November. Until then it’ll be a place for her to get away from the rat race of New York City. I’m only here for two weeks, fixing it up for her. Then I’ll go back to the city.”
Trying to process what he’d said while standing a kiss away from him was like trying to do algebra in her head. Or at all. “That’s why you knew about peace lilies.”
“I think I was born with two green thumbs. I spent more hours working at her shop than I spent at home all through high school.” He cradled her face in his hands with a dark look in his eyes. “Would you like to talk about my mother?”
She shook her head and went up on her toes as he captured her mouth in a smoldering kiss. How would she ever get enough of these kisses? She wanted to disappear into them, to be devoured until morning. He fisted his hand in her hair, sending a shock of heat between her legs. She clung to his shoulders, wanting—needing—to be closer, to feel his weight on her.
“God, your mouth,” he said against her lips.
God, your voice! His roughness rumbled through her chest. He lifted her into his arms, guiding her legs around his thick waist, never breaking their kiss. Dahlia barked at the back door. Bridgette smiled. Bodhi sighed.
“It’s okay.” She kissed one corner of his mouth. “Let her in.” She kissed the other side. “She’s your baby. She depends on you.”
He carried her to the back door. “You’re some kind of saint.”
“You can put me down.”
His eyes narrowed with an authoritative air that left no room for negotiation. Good. She was totally into this Neanderthal, grunting hunk of a man.
Bodhi pulled the door open and gestured to Dahlia. The pup whimpered and sank down to her butt, looking up at him with sad eyes.
“She’s not used to sharing me.”
The pit of Bridgette’s stomach knotted as she remembered the girl in the Jeep. What was she doing? She didn’t really know anything about Bodhi. How could she put herself on the line like this? She knew better, but she wanted him. Desperately.
“Except with the blonde in the Jeep,” she said softly, trying to wiggle free.
He tightened his hold on her. “Shira runs the charity I founded, Hearts for Heroes.”
“You founded a charity?”
He nodded and said, “Shira is my closest friend, and I would never, ever sleep with her.”
“Oh.” She winced, feeling bad for assuming. She wanted to ask about the charity, but at the moment it seemed the less pressing of the two things he’d mentioned. “I assumed . . .”
“As I did with your brother.” He cracked a smile. “I think we need to talk.”
They needed to talk, but now that she knew she’d wrongly assumed he’d slept with Shira . . .
“I really wish you’d said kiss.”
He chuckled and carried her over to the couch with Dahlia on his heels.
“You could change your mind,” she suggested. “Try it. We need to kiss. It’s easy—you just swap your four letters for mine.”
He set her on the couch and sank down beside her. Dahlia nosed between his legs, pushing her big head toward his chest. He took the pup’s face in his hands as he’d done to Bridgette. “I love you, but you need to lie down.”
Melt. Melt. Melt. She tried to remember what the saying was about how a man treats his dog. Or maybe it was his mother. She looked around at the tarps and paint, and realized she was safe. Bodhi obviously treated both just fine.
He kissed the top of Dahlia’s head. “Bed.”
Dahlia seemed to frown as she lumbered off to the cushion across the room.
Bodhi stretched his arm across the back of the couch, settling his hand on Bridgette’s shoulder, and turned so his whole body faced her. He laced their fingers together in another unexpected moment of tenderness. “Hi, beautiful.”
She felt herself smiling, but her insides were whirling. “Hi.”
“Let’s get a few things out of the way. I am not the kind of guy who sleeps with random women.”
“Aren’t I a random woman?”
He shook his head. “Am I a random guy?”
She thought about that for a minute. She’d spent weeks secretly lusting after him, and in the week since he’d moved in, she’d learned a few things about him. Mainly that he looked amazing without his shirt on and had the power to weaken her knees with a single glance. But other important things, too, like knowing he was there to help his mother and that he took extra care thinking about Louie.
“Not random, no,” she answered. “You’re more than that.”
He cocked a brow.
“Point taken,” she admitted. “I don’t sleep around, either. Honestly, I haven’t been with a guy in years.”
“Years? You don’t have to make yourself out to be innocent. You’re a sexy, smart woman. I imagine you’ve had plenty of boyfriends.”
“Not for a very long time.” She focused on his thumb, rubbing slow circles on her hand as she mustered the courage to tell him the truth. When she met his gaze, genuine interest looked back at her. “I was married.”
“I assumed so,” he said.
“I . . . we lost Jerry, my husband, to a car accident when Louie was four months old.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sorry. That must have been awful.”
She nodded, not wanting to get lost in a dark conversation. “It was. Jerry was the drummer for the band Sunderbolt.”
“That’s why he looked familiar when I saw the picture in your hallway.”
“That’s my Jerry.” She smiled, and then her expression turned sorrowful.
“Were you married long?”
“Not that long. I was a rebellious nineteen-year-old when we met backstage at a concert, and he was as wild as they came. Like with you and me, sparks flew from the very first moment I saw him. I quit college, against my family’s wishes, and we got married. We spent most of the next two years on the road, touring. He was leaving an after-party when it happened. He ran a red light, and a truck hit him.” She swallowed past her thickening throat. “The media was all over me and Louie, so I laid low for a few months, changed our names back to Dalton, and started a new life here, near my family.”
He lifted her chin with their joined hands, sorrow brimming in his eyes. “There are no words . . .”
“I don’t need them. We’re okay. We weren’t for a while, but my family made sure we found our way.”
“You’re lucky to be close to your family, and you’re clearly an excellent mother. Louie seems happy and well adjusted.”
“Thank you. He’s my heart and soul.”
“That’s evident in everything you do. I admire the strength it takes to be a single mother, and I don’t want whatever this is between us to interfere with that.”
What happened to Mr. Silent Brooder? She liked this sensitive side of him, and understood now why he kept it so well hidden. She’d seen lots of women gawking over him at the bar, and they’d fawn over him even more if they had any idea how thoughtful he was.
“Thank you. I don’t want to turn tonight into a total downer, but you should know where I’m coming from. I haven’t been with a man since I lost Jerry. I haven’t even wanted to, and then you showed up in the bakery, and suddenly I’m like a groupie. I can’t get enough of you.”
He smiled. “That makes two of us. I haven’t had a relationship since I was in college. My work is too dangerous to leave anyone at home waiting for me.”
“What is it that you do?”
“I was Special Forces. Now I work for a civilian operation and handle covert rescue missions, and when I’m not away on an assignment, I help train others.”
“Wow. That’s impressive, and it explains your rough and rugged demeanor.”
“You’ve got to be hard and be able to keep from getting emotionally involved to do what I do. I’ve seen too many worst-case scenarios play out not to be vigilant.”
“I can see that. And by the looks of things, you’re also a mama’s boy, seeing as you bought her a house in our sweet little town. What about your father? Are you close to him, too?”
His expression hardened. “We lost him when I was eight.”
“I’m sorry.” She ached for him. “You must miss him very much.”
“Not a day goes by that I don’t. What about you and Jerry? You must miss him, too. Real love never leaves you.”
She wasn’t expecting such a bold question, or such an insightful comment. Usually people danced around the topic of her husband. But Bodhi obviously wasn’t an insecure guy who needed to feel like he was the only man she’d ever set her eyes on. He seemed as grounded in reality, and as deeply rooted in family, as she was.
“You have no idea how nice it is to hear you say that,” she admitted. “Most guys don’t understand that just because a person is gone doesn’t mean your love dies with them. We had a wild, crazy love, and I don’t know if I’ll ever love anyone in the same way I loved Jerry, but I hope one day I’ll fall in love as deeply, even if it’s different.”
“I’m sure you will. Honestly, I’m surprised some guy hasn’t already swept you off your feet.”
“I wasn’t exactly sweepable. Like I said, before you I never gave any guy a second thought. But time does heal all wounds. At first I thought about Jerry every minute. I saw him in Louie’s facial expressions. I would have sworn I heard him playing the drums in the wind. The heart’s a funny thing. It doesn’t like to let go. But over time Louie became his own person, and now I see only glimpses of Jerry in him. And I don’t know when or how, but at some point I went from being Jerry’s widow to being Bridgette Dalton, mother, florist, sister, friend . . .”
She gazed into his eyes, feeling lighter with her confession, and foolish, because she’d just lost her chance at making out with the only man who had sparked her body to life in years. “Not exactly the hookup you thought you were getting, huh? You must want to run in the opposite direction now.”
MAYBE HER CONFESSION would make a typical guy do exactly what she worried about, but Bodhi had never been typical. “I’m a rescuer, remember? My instinct is to take you in my arms and never let you go. To make yours and Louie’s lives as full, and safe, and happy as they can possibly be. But I can’t offer you that, and I won’t even try.”
She straightened her spine, and a forced smile appeared on her beautiful face. “I’m not looking for that, but I understand it’s too much. I have a lot of baggage.”
“First, please don’t refer to what you’ve gone through as baggage. I know you didn’t mean it negatively, but your past and Louie are a part of you, and anyone who would see Louie, your husband, or your past as baggage isn’t worth a second look.” That earned a genuine smile. “But you don’t need rescuing, Bridgette. I was raised by a single mother. I know the strength and devotion it takes. Your parenting abilities make you all that much more attractive.”
He pulled her closer. “With my career, I can’t make any commitments, or even promise you tomorrow. They can call me in at any time and I’ll have to drop everything and leave. And as I said, I’m going back to the city in two weeks. But I’m here now, and no part of me wants to run away.”
“Bodhi,” she whispered wantingly.
“I love hearing you say my name. But you need to make it clear if you want this, because once I get my mouth on you, I’m not going to stop. And I’ll never forgive myself if I misread you.”
She gripped his thigh, her fingers curling around his muscles. “You make me feel more than I have in years. Even if tonight is all we have, I don’t want to miss it. Kiss me, Bodhi. Kiss me, and don’t stop until you have no kisses left to give.”
He wasted no time drawing her closer and urgently claiming her mouth. He deepened the kiss, passion and greed driving him to take more as she groped his arms and neck, back and head. He caressed her thigh, following her curves over her hip and beneath her shirt, feeling the heat of her skin and craving so much more. His thumb grazed her bare breast, whipping his insides into a flurry of heat and desire. He palmed her breast, and she moaned. He pressed a series of feathery kisses along her lips as he brushed his thumb over her taut nipple. She shuddered against him, and the sexiest sighing, needful sound fell from her lips.
“I need more of you, beautiful.” He lifted the hem of her shirt, and she bit her lower lip, giving him the sweetest, most vulnerable look.
“Hurry,” she whispered.
Thank fucking God. He tore her blouse over her head and tossed it onto the other side of the couch. “Christ, you’re gorgeous.”
She tugged at his shirt, and he tore it off and dropped it to the floor, kissing her as she groped him. He kissed her neck, working his way down and teasing over her breast with kisses and slow licks. She dug her fingers into his hair, arching and moaning as he sealed his mouth over her breast and sucked hard.
“Ah,” she cried. “So good. Geez—”
He teased and taunted, and gave her other breast the same sensual attention. She rocked her hips, and he pushed his hand beneath her skirt, seeking silk or lace—and finding the sexiest bare hip he could have ever imagined. His fingertips grazed the thin strap of a thong, ripping a greedy sound from his lungs.
“Expecting mom panties?” she said heatedly.
“I don’t know what mom panties are, but I’m sure you’d look amazing in them.”
She laughed, and he kissed her again, deep and possessively.
“We need more room.” He rose to his feet with her in his arms and her legs circling his waist. He carried her downstairs with Dahlia on their heels and headed toward the bedroom.
“I’m getting a little addicted to the feel of your legs around me.”
“Good.”
“Bed,” he said to Dahlia. The pup obediently lay down on her cushion.
“I thought that command was meant for me,” Bridgette said.
“Disappointed?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She touched her lips to his. “Why are we downstairs? Isn’t the master bedroom upstairs?”
“There’s no way I’m going to do all the dirty things I want to do to you in the bed my mother is going to be sleeping in.”
“I like you, Bodhi Booker,” she said breathily. “You’re thoughtful even when you’re hot and bothered.”
“You haven’t seen hot and bothered.” He toed off his shoes and set her on her feet in the dark bedroom. “You have no idea how many fantasies I’ve had about you in my bedroom.”
“Maybe as many as I’ve had about you?” She dragged her finger down the center of his chest all the way to the button on his jeans.
He’d fought his desires for weeks, and now she was here, his for the night. He wanted to savor her, to cherish this night and make it one she would never forget. He took her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. “You’re messing with my head, beautiful.”
He gathered her hair over one shoulder and kissed the skin he’d exposed, following the sleek ridge of her shoulder, down her arm, memorizing the feel of her trembling against his lips. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the center of her palm. Her breath rushed from her lungs.
“Mm. My beautiful girl likes that.” With a hand on her hip, he moved behind her, kissing the back of her shoulder, along the nape of her neck, and grazed his teeth over the shell of her ear. She reached behind her, gripping his thighs, and he began to sway. There was no music, no sounds in the room beside her seductive moans as their bodies moved to a secret beat.
He reached around her, filling his hands with her breasts, teasing the taut peaks between his finger and thumb.
“Bodhi,” she panted out.
He sank his teeth into the curve of her neck and sucked.
“Oh. My. Lord.”
He unzipped her skirt, bathing her neck and shoulders in kisses. Her skirt fell to her feet, and she leaned her head back against his chest with another needful sound. He quickly stepped out of his jeans and tugged off his socks, leaving on only his briefs. He brushed his cock sensually against her ass, and she met each slow grind with one of her own. He loved hearing her ragged breathing turn shallow as his hand moved down her belly and beneath her thong.
“Yes,” she said.
His fingers moved over her damp curls, to the slick heat between her legs. She rocked against his hand. He dragged his tongue along her neck and whispered heatedly in her ear, “You feel so good, baby. I’m going to make you come so many times, you won’t remember what the word need means.”
He kissed a path down her spine and used his teeth and hand to remove her thong, leaving her in only her high heels. Dragging his hand over her hips, he moved in front of her. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted. He lowered his mouth to hers and traced her lips with his tongue. She panted harder, and he did it again, loving the flush of her skin, the taste of her desire. He cradled her face with one hand, kissing her deeply as his other hand sought the tight heat between her legs. It didn’t take long to learn her pleasure points. Her shallow breathing and sultry noises gave them away with each stroke of his fingers.
“Come for me.” He claimed her mouth again as he took her up, up, up and over the edge.
“Bodhi—”
Her body pulsed hot and tight. She was beyond sexy, standing next to the bed in her high heels, her thighs slick with her arousal, breathing heavily. And he was nowhere near done.
He continued his pursuit of driving her out of her mind, kissing the swell of her breasts, circling the tight peaks with his tongue. She clung to his shoulders, her body trembling.
“Still with me, beautiful girl?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Cold?” He kissed his way down the center of her belly.
“Hot. So hot.”
When he reached the juncture of her thighs, he held her hips and pressed a kiss to her curls, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her arousal. When he took his first taste of her, she made a breathy sound that slithered beneath his skin, all the way down to his eager cock.
“So sweet, beautiful girl.”
He licked and tasted, teasing until she was so wet and needy he couldn’t resist devouring her sex. She rocked against his mouth, and when he teased his fingers over her most sensitive area, she held her breath. Her thighs flexed, and she tugged his hair to the point of pain, but he didn’t relent. He thrust his tongue in deep, wanting to feel her lose control.
“Oh God. Yes. Don’t stop. Bodhi—”
Her pleas and indiscernible noises filled the room as she shattered against his mouth. He stayed with her through the very last shudder of her climax, and when her body went slack, he carried her to the bed and took off her heels.
He held her as her breathing calmed. She blinked up at him with the hazy eyes of a sated lover, and he lowered his mouth to hers, testing her boundaries. He still tasted of her arousal, but she kissed him hungrily, bowing off the mattress. She palmed him through his briefs, squeezing tight enough to make him lose his mind.
“One night will never be enough, Bridgette,” he said between kisses.
“I know.”
They kissed again, a slow, exploratory kiss that went on and on. Her hand moved tight and hot along his shaft, and when she slipped her hand inside his briefs, he groaned again, breaking the kiss.
“Christ. Eight months, Bridge. That’s how long it’s been for me. I’m not going to last if you do that.”
Her eyes flamed, and she scooted lower on the bed, tugging at his briefs. “You realize that makes you all the more appealing.”
“Because if you put your sexy mouth on me I’ll come?”
She laughed and touched her lips to his stomach. “No, because it’ll be a challenge to get you aroused again after you come.”
“Oh, like that’s going to be a problem with you lying naked beneath me?” He lifted her up beside him, and she squealed with delight. Her golden hair swept across the pillow. “Your smile kills me.”
“What does this do?” She wiggled her hips beneath him.
“Definitely doesn’t kill me.” He pinned her hands to the mattress as he lowered his face near hers. “I can’t remember the last time I smiled this much.”
“Eight months ago. Duh!” Laughter burst from her lungs, and he kissed her hard, turning those giggles into hot, hungry moans.
A phone rang, and they stilled, eyes wide open.
“Louie,” she said at the same time he said, “Louie?”