Page 46 of When We Burn

DANI

As Bridger saunters away into his ridiculously amazing bathroom, I lie back on the bed and take a deep breath. I love the way his bedroom smells. It’s him. A little woodsy, a little spicy. Maybe there’s a hint of cinnamon? I don’t even know for sure. All I know is that it’s heaven, and I love it. I could just bury my nose in it and smell it forever.

Also,how is this my life?Because only a few weeks ago, I’d resigned myself to staying in the friend zone with Bridger and being Birdie’s teacher, never the lines to blur. Yet, here I am, having experienced one of the best twenty-four hours of my life.

I hear the tap on the tub turn on and then Bridger moving about in the bathroom. In the past, taking a bath would not have been my first choice. Obviously, I have issues with water, but as I’ve gotten older, even I understand the virtues of soaking sore, tired muscles in hotwater. I also might have been downplaying the wholeI’m sorething.I’m in agony.Everything from the waist down is screaming, so a salt bath sounds amazing. And, I admit, having a sexy Bridger take care of me is exactly what the doctor ordered.

“Did you fall asleep?” I hear from the doorway. His voice is low and rumbly and sexy, and despite the soreness in my body, it makes my core tremble.

“No.” I don’t move or even open my eyes. “I’m just relaxed.”

“Well, come on, you can relax in the bath. The salts will help.”

The mattress dips, and I crack an eye open to find Bridger, one knee planted at my hip, grinning down at me.

“You did this to me,” I remind him.

“Not sorry,” he agrees, and when I smile, he takes my hand, kisses it, and helps me up to standing. “I have to take your clothes off, kitten.”

“Isn’t this how we got here in the first place?”

His lips tip up into a smirk. A lock of his dark hair has fallen over his forehead, so I reach up to brush it back.

His eyes heat as I drag my fingertips down his cheek. “Come on, baby. I want to get you more comfortable.”

I untie the knot at my waist of the T-shirt I stole from him, and he slips it over my head. He helps me out of my jeans and underwear, and then we walk into the bathroom.

I’m not just sorethere, but my butt, my inner thighs, and even my lower back are all screaming. I won’t complain because today has been one of the best days of my life. But I’m glad that I said something to him, because this pampering stuff is the best.

“Here, take this.” Bridger passes me two tablets, along with a glass of water to wash them down. When I pass the glass back to him, he sets it aside and then helps me step into his tub.

“I’m pretty sure you could fit about six people in here.”

He smiles softly as I sit in the water, and I sigh when the heat wraps around my lower body.

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“Lie back.” He has a small pillow in his hands, and he rests it behind my head against the end of the tub. “Relax. I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Trust me, I’m not moving. I may never leave. You’ll have to have me evicted.”

He turns out the light, and aside from the light coming in from the window, I notice that Bridger lit a candle, which is flickering on the vanity.

He thinks of everything.

Several minutes later, he’s back with two glasses of wine, and he sets them on a table at the end of the free-standing tub, then he begins to strip.

I bite my lip, watching with anticipation. He whips his shirt off, and there’s that broad chest and those sculpted abs and the inked arms I can’t get enough of.

And then his pants are undone, and he pushes them down and off, along with his boxer briefs.

“Lean forward, sweetheart,” he says, taking the pillow away.

I do as he asks, and he slips into the tub and sits behind me, his legs on either side of my hips, and loops his arms around me, pulling me back to lie on his chest.

“Okay, if I thought that was good, this isfarbetter.”

I feel him nuzzle the top of my head, and then he reaches over to grab our wineglasses, passing me one.

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