Hungry for More (2012) (16 page)

“Okay
D
addy, good
night!”

“Your turn,” Paul said, grinning at Bridget, who had been trying to look like she wasn’t eavesdropping while hanging off his every word.  She took the cell phone from him, just as eager to talk to Tad as the little boy had been to talk to her.

Paul half listened to the side of the conversation that he could hear, and half fantasized about what he would do to Bridget when she hung up and he had her all to himself again.

She was just now going through the elaborate bedtime routine that she and Tad had, orally at least
;
any minute now she would be done… Paul’s blood heated with anticipation.

“All right, sweetheart, good
night, sweet dreams!  Can you put your Auntie Dixie on for just second?”

Paul groaned audibly. He didn’t want Bridget to start chatting away
with
Dixie!  Dixie could talk for hours, although his interest
was
piqued when Bridget suddenly turned as red as a ripe strawberry.

“Why didn’t I take myself away somewhere for a break?” she echoed the question that Dixie had apparently just put to her.  “I- well I- NO!  Of course not!  I just- he- I-”

Paul plucked the phone out of Bridget’s fingers.  “Are you giving my nanny the third degree?”

“Aww, honey, I was only asking a few itty bitty questions,” Dixie cooed innocently.  “I think I understand a little better why your phone’s been disconnected all day now though.”

“Is that so?” Paul grinned, happy in the knowledge that this would all be getting back to his brother.  “Then you’ll understand completely when I do this-” and he hung up.

“Paul!  I’m so sorry,” Bridget whispered.  Her flushed cheeks had paled to a ghostly white. “I couldn’t think what to say- I didn’t mean- I just-” she couldn’t finish any of those sentences, not with Paul’s mouth claiming her own.

Paul didn’t give a damn that Dixie knew that he was hooking up with his nanny
.
I
t hadn’t been explicitly stated but
,
even without his signoff, his sister-in-law was fiendishly clever at figuring that sort of information out. He was frankly smug that his brother likely knew (precisely .002 seconds after Dixie hung up) that he was about to get laid, and beyond that…well, he had better things to occupy his mind then the consequences of his phone
call.

“Bridge?” he murmured into her hair.

“Mmmmm…?”

“I think it’s time for bed.”

Chapter 12

Paul loved that she didn’t fight it. She didn’t play coy or hard to get. She didn’t make him guess about whether she wanted him or not. She simply took his hand and followed eagerly down the hall.

He shut the door behind them, while Bridget walked to the window. She pressed her face against the glass, staring down at the cars below, the park across the street, and the city beyond. “Such a beautiful view…”

“Amen!” Paul answered, unable to resist the temptation of gathering her plump little ass in his hands as he walked up behind her.

Bridget squealed and tried to turn away, but it all played perfectly into his hands. In no time, they were tangled together, limbs entwined so thoroughly that he couldn’t tell him from her.

Tonight, he intended to do this properly, and so he didn’t rush. Paul took his time peeling away their clothes, and then coaxing Bridget onto the mattress so that he could worship her body in all the ways he’d been imagining during his lonely nights.

She was so exquisite, so responsive, so
grateful
for his tender touch. Paul couldn’t stop running his hands and lips over her body- not until he was too spent to move at all. Even then, he couldn’t go to sleep. It was still too novel lying next to her, staring into her lovely face. He couldn’t bear to shut his eyes.

“Is this real?” Bridget murmured, snuggling closer. The steady rain that had fallen all day had finally built into another storm. The temperature was dropping, and Paul needed to turn the thermostat up…but he had a better method of keeping warm for the time being. He tightened his arms around Bridget.

“I hope so,” he answered back. “Otherwise, I don’t want to wake up.”

It was a cliché line- but effective. Bridget smiled and closed her eyes. He kissed the top of her head, and watched as she fell asleep, marveling at how
right
she felt! He couldn’t explain it…It was only the second night that she’d spent in his arms, but it seemed like she had belonged there all of her life.

Paul wondered how his life would have been different if he’d had Bridget all along.

He hadn’t thought much about Phoebe in the weeks since she had died. It seemed disrespectful of the dead to ponder his ex-wife when his memories were so unflattering, but he couldn’t continue to avoid the comparison.

Paul recalled, with vivid clarity, the night before his wedding. His older brother Jack had taken him aside.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Wog,” he had said, in his best ‘big brother’ tone, “But…well…
why
are you marrying that girl?”

He hesitated for a telling moment.

“Because I love her,” Paul finally said. The answer seemed to satisfy his brother’s concerns. Paul never told him that wasn’t the first response that had sprung to his mind.

Because she told me to…

He wondered, years later, if it was possible that both were the truth, or if he’d told his brother a lie. Could what he felt for Phoebe really have been love? It certainly didn’t feel like this.

Chapter 13

“You’re coming with me to D.C.?” Bridget asked, excited but disbelieving. She had spent an entire, magical week with Paul, spending the days exploring the city, and the nights curled up in his bed, but she knew that the clock had to strike midnight at some point. She didn’t trust that this was a permanent change. “You have to go to work, don’t you?” she asked, knowing that she was touching on a sore spot- Paul had shied away from any mention of the restaurant all week- but unable to keep her questions inside.

Once again, Paul’s features twisted into an ugly frown. “I’ll worry about that when I get back,” he answered. “Don’t you want me to come along?”

“Of course I do!” Bridget said quickly. “It will be great- Tad will love it to
o
! It
’
s such a great surprise!”

“Well, I missed him,” Paul grunted, “and I think he missed me too
,
” he added
,
surprised to discover that it was actually true. From the nightly phone calls, he knew that his little boy had an
amazing
time at Disney
W
orld with his cousins, uncle and aunt- but he also knew that the boy was ready to come back home.

Bridget was thrilled to be going to pick Tad up from D.C.  She couldn’t wait to see the little boy again.  She was also excited and relieved that Paul was so keen to have his son home too, and yet… she was also nervous.  Was this the end of her intimate relationship with Paul?  Would they fall back into their positions of boss and employee once Tad was home again?

Bridget was hoping to glea
n
some sort of insight from the way that Paul treated her around his family.  Were they a couple, just friends, or was she back to being the hired help?  She knew that she could, probably
should
, simply ask Paul where she stood.  That way there would be no misunderstandings.  She was just terrified that she knew what his answer would be
…
and she wanted to hold onto her illusions for just as long as she possibly could.

They arrived at Dixie’s place and Bridget was still lost as to knowing where she stood with Paul.  He had seemed distracted by something during the journey, and now any opportunity that she had had to ask him what was going on was lost.

“Let me go in first,” she said, smiling at Paul.  She wanted to heighten the surprise for Tad.

Having come to realize how important these moments were to Tad, and to Bridget, and maybe even increasingly to himself, Paul nodded his consent.  He paid the cabdriver, who had brought them from the airport, while Bridget disappeared inside, leaving the door open for him to follow quietly behind.

Paul half wished that she hadn’t wanted to surprise Tad with his presence, that they could have walked inside together, as a couple, instead of separately.  He wanted to be able to show Bridget off, to stamp a very possessive ‘mine’ label on her, which… surprised him actually. 

He had never been possessive and jealous with Phoebe, but Bridget b
r
ought out a whole new set of emotions in him.

Oh God, was he actually thinking about his emotions?

Paul shrugged it off and strolled inside.   He reached his sister-in-law’s kitchen just in time to overhear Bridget saying, “-and I’ve brought a surprise for you with me.”

“DADDY!” Tad shouted gleefully. 

The little boy’s excitement was clear for everyone to see (and hear!).  He had been sharing a hug with Bridget, but on seeing Paul enter, she popped Tad down on the floor so that he could run over to his dad.

Paul surprised himself, and he was sure everyone that was watching, with the natural ease with which he bent down and scooped Tad into his arms.

“Hey there, champ.  How have you been?  I hope you’ve been good for your Aunt Dixie?”

“He’s been an angel,” Dixie assured Paul, smiling at him warmly.  “With any luck he’ll have rubbed off on mine!”

“No chance,” laughed Drew.  Paul hadn’t noticed his older brother walk into the kitchen behind him.  “I didn’t know you were coming to pick Tad up, Wog,” he said, eyes alighting the way they only did when he was about to torment his youngest sibling.  “Did they have to surgically remove you from your kitchen?”

Paul shifted his weight uneasily.

“I can take a break every once in a while.”

There was a beat of tense silence. It was broken again by Dixie.

“Well, I’m glad you did, sugar!” she told him. “You have
n’t
been down here in ages. Do you have time to go and see your mama? I’m sure that she’d just-!”

“Dixie,” Drew interrupted, sensing his brother’s discomfort and (for once) looking to alleviate it rather than make it worse. “Don’t smother.”

“Smother? I’m not smothering!” Dixie announced indignantly. She put her hands on her hips and shot her husband a defiant gaze. Dixie was
so
tiny compared to Drew that it put Bridget in mind of a yapping little dog staring down a Labrador
R
etriever.

“Get your things, Tad,” Bridget said, seeking to alleviate the tension. “We have a plane to catch.”

“Oh? Don’t you have time to have a bite to eat?” Dixie said, letting Drew off the hook as she turned to face her guests again. “I know my cooking’s not quite up to standard, but it’s bound to be better than what they serve on airplanes these days!”

“Actually, we don’t,” Bridget said, apologetically. “Our plane leaves in-!”

“A day and a half,” Paul interrupted.

Bridget spun around, astonished, “But I-!”

“-changed the tickets,” Paul said with a shrug. “I didn’t want to rush…besides, Dixie’s right. I should s
wing by and see Mom and D
ad. Mom will never let me hear the end of it if I don’t.”

“Well, now that sounds sensible!” Dixie said, clearly delighted. “That being the case…who feels like having some fried chicken?”

Bridget was glad that Paul begged off from dinner- even if he had hurt Dixie’s feelings a little bit in the process. She was finally used to eating in front of Paul- but she didn’t want to try it with his whole family just yet!

“Where are we going?” Bridget asked when they all climbed into the cab again. Tad had been yammering excitedly, telling them about his trip, but the rocking of the car soon had him yawning into his hand. They didn’t leave the Beltway before he had fallen fast asleep.

Bridget stroked his hair and looked up when she heard Paul’s answer.

“Downtown…” he answered vaguely, and Bridget nodded her head. She was still confused by his behavior, although not necessarily displeased
,
especially when they pulled up at a very fancy hotel almost across the street from the White House.

“Paul?” she asked, impressed.

He flashed a smile. “I thought you deserved a treat.”

“Why, exactly?”

“Do I need a reason?” he asked, helping her out of the cab. Her heart skipped a beat when, after paying the driver, he took her hand and led her inside.

“Your name, sir?” the clerk at registration asked when they approached the desk.

“Devoe,” he responded.

“Ah, yes…the St. John’s suite,” the concierge said, handing over the key.

“Only
one
key?” Bridget couldn’t keep from asking as they walked to the elevator.

“Yeah- Tad’s sleeping on the couch.” Bridget turned to face him, a question that she couldn’t bear to ask hovering on her lips. “Until tomorrow night…” Paul continued in a husky whisper as the doors to the elevator slid close
d
, sealing them inside the
tiny space. “I thought Mom and Dad might want to keep him…and D
addy could have some time alone
with Nanny
?” He peppered the declaration with a sultry kiss. Bridget forgot where she was- until Tad’s disgusted voice filled the air.