38. Bridget

THIRTY-EIGHT

Bridget

Bridget

Sirens blare in the distance, closing in on our location, and everything tastes like chlorine. Mason's solid chest is right under my forehead, and I try to breathe in his scent around the stench of pool that lingers in my nostrils.

"I…I thought I lost you."

Mason's arms shake as they're wrapped around me. I pull back just enough to look up into his eyes, still not quite believing that he's here.

"How…how did you know to get here?"

He smiles softly. "The alarm. Security called me. I just…I knew it wasn't a fluke, so I told them to call the police. I was already on my way home, so…"

Hugging him tight again, I close my eyes. My entire body is trembling.

"Thank you, Mason. I…oh, God."

There's a groan from the side as Jai stirs, but then the authorities are busting into the backyard. We freeze as instructed, and Mason hollers out that he was the one who called them.

Things move too quickly for me to comprehend at that point, and I'm scooped up by paramedics as the police haul off Jai. Towels and blankets are wrapped around me, and Mason is pulled away to speak to the officer on the scene.

When I can finally breathe without it stinging horribly, I look up to see Mason heading toward me with Mia in his arms.

"Mia!"

The sweet girl reaches out for me, and I hold out my arms for her. Mason settles her in my lap as I sit in the back of an ambulance, and I squeeze Mia to my chest.

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry about that. It was probably so scary."

Mason is right there with us, and he puts a hand on my shoulder. "She was okay, but she didn't like that she couldn't leave her room."

"I'm so sorry." I hug her to me, the tears flowing all over again.

Guilt swarms me as I hold Mason's daughter. I love Mia so damn much, and the fact that I led Jai right to her will never be okay with me.

"Hey, it's okay." Mason pulls my chin up to look at him. "You didn't do this. Jai did. You protected her. Got him away from the house."

Mason's throat betrays his emotions, and his eyes are glossy with unshed tears.

"I…I never should have let it get this far, but…thank you, Mason. I…" I look at Mia in my arms. "I'm still here because of you."

He joins me at the back of the ambulance, sitting down and ruffling a hand through Mia's curls.

"I'm just glad that I got here in time. The fact that I was almost…I don't know what I would have done if something worse…well, you saw what I was about to do."

The tension is so damn thick, and I remember the look in Mason's eyes. He was ready to kill Jai back there, and I should feel some type of way about that, but I'm just grateful.

Mason wanted revenge for me, and I get that. Jai wanted to control me, to kill me in the end, and there's no question which of those is worse.

"I don't think I'll ever stop being angry that I wasn't here for you, Bridget."

I reach out for Mason's hand where I can reach it pass Mia.

"Try. The only reason I'm okay is because you did get here. You're the one who's always protected me."

"Always? That seems like a stretch." Mason smiles, the relief and exhaustion intense in his eyes.

"You've helped me so much these past couple of months. I'd like to think that I've been here for you with the trauma of the fire, with that hurt you felt because of losing your dad.

"But you've done so much more than I could have ever asked for, Mason. Coming home doesn't feel like a mistake because of you. You've allowed me to be strong enough to face my demons, to finally say something about Jai. I will be forever grateful for that."

"The thought of losing you, Bridget…I don't know what I would do."

I don't bother to hold back the tears, and when I angle toward Mason so that we're holding Mia between us, Mason smiles.

It's when the tears stream from his own eyes that I appreciate how serious he is. My heart hammers and my chest pinches as I grip his hand.

"Don't ever leave me, Songbird. I don't think I'd survive watching you leave a second time."

I shake my head. "I told you. I'm not going anywhere. This…this is where I want to be. I wish that I'd made the right decision all those years ago. It was always you, Mason. Always."

He leans forward, touching his forehead to mine. Mia squirms, not understanding, and I sit back, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"I made the wrong decision back then, and it took work to get back on the right path. The universe made me jump through so many hoops to find my way back to you. But I'm so grateful that I did. For as long as you'll have me, Mason, I'll be here."

Mason's hand comes up and cups my cheek. He grins at Mia and then meets my eyes again.

"I love you, Bridget. I want you forever."

My breath hitches in my throat, and I gasp softly. The tears pour harder, and I drop my head against his chest despite Mia's protests.

"I love you, too. Always."

Lifting my head, Mason kisses me, and Mia's little hands find my face before she plasters her own version of a kiss on my cheek.

It's slobbery and silly and the best damn thing in the universe.

With a gentle laugh, I look up into Mason's gray eyes. "Is it really over?"

He nods, stroking my cheek. "They're arresting Jai for breaking and entering, assault, and attempted murder. We've got some testimonies ahead of us, but yeah. It's over."

As we sit there, the chaos around the little family I've found fades into the background. That is until my phone rings, and Mason rolls his eyes before pulling it out of his pocket.

When he looks down at the screen, Mason's eyes go wide, and he nods. "It's Hudson. You'll probably want to?—"

"Oh, shit. Yes, here."

I hand Mia over to him before taking the phone.

"I'm okay."

There's a loud scoff on the other end, and then I hear Hudson's classic annoyed chuckle.

"You fucking better be. Imagine my surprise when I see Easton here at Mom's, and he explains to me what's going on. Then, I'm about to call you anyway when Easton's scanner picks up the chatter that the police are swarming Mason's house because of an alarm."

He has every right to be upset, and over the next few minutes, I do my best to explain the situation to him. Hudson takes it surprisingly well, and once it's all been laid out, he asks me to hand the phone to Mason.

I do, and I have to just sit and wait until Mason finally hangs up.

"Of course. I'll make sure she calls you later. I think…" He looks over at me. "I think we just need a quiet night in for now."

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head as Mason says goodbye to Hudson and then slides my phone back into his pocket.

"What did he say?" I furrow my brow as I eye Mason.

He grins. "Thank you."

"Thank you?"

"For keeping his baby sister safe and beating the shit out of the guy who tried to hurt her."

My emotions swirl all over the place, and then Mia is looking over at me from Mason's arm with wide eyes.

"Shit!"

Mason and I falter, shaking our heads at her.

"No, no, honey. We don't say that word."

I fight back a grin as Mason tries to reign in Mia's vocabulary. She doesn't seem to care, though, just babbling on and adding a "shit" every so often to make her dad squirm.

"All right, potty mouth. Let's go inside."

Mason stands up, offering me a hand. I take it happily, following him into the house now that we've been allowed back inside.

"Movie and Chinese food?" Mason cocks a brow at me as he pulls me under his arm, Mia in the other.

I nod at him. "Sounds perfect."

"Bridget stay?" Mia looks over at me. "Bridget stay always?"

Choking up all over again, I rise up onto my tiptoes to kiss her sweet little cheek and nod.

"Bridget's staying, Mia. Always."

The room is dark and quiet. But the moment is far from a calm one. Mason's hands glide over my body, gripping when he gets to my hips and yanking me down the bed.

He's poised on his knees at the foot, and I whimper happily as he shoves my naked legs apart.

Our clothes lie in a heap on the floor right at the entrance to the master bedroom. We immediately tangled with each other the moment we were alone, Mia sleeping soundly down the hall.

It's been two weeks since that fateful day, and every moment I'm granted with Mason is a blessing.

I've officially moved in, too, and that makes the morning just so much better.

"Goddamn, Bridget. You were so incredible today."

Mason's voice is low and husky, the lust we're both feeling bubbling higher and higher.

"I didn't do much. The evidence spoke for itself."

"It was everything. You were brave," he kisses up the inside of my thigh, "and strong and brilliant."

Every word is punctuated with another kiss as Mason moves closer and closer to my core. I'm already going wild from the teasing touches, and the compliments are just making it worse.

I'm blushing. I know it, and even now, it's so hard to hear Mason's kind words and accept them.

"I'm just glad—" he nibbles playfully on the inner corner of my hip, and I hiss. "Ugh, dammit. You're making it very hard to concentrate on my words."

I giggle, and Mason looks up at me with a devilish grin.

"Should I stop?"

Craning my head up off the mattress, I glare at him. "Don't you dare."

Mason smirks all the more and then descends back down between my thighs. My head falls back as he swipes up my seam in one long lick, and I whine when he pulls back and blows across my skin.

My nerves go haywire, the sensation too much and not enough simultaneously. I want so much more from Mason, and it is so difficult to keep myself quiet right now.

With serious pressure, Mason keeps my legs spread wide as he teases me, licking just to blow or hovering his mouth over me and letting his breath wash over my skin.

I fight against his hold, trying to pull my legs closed to ease the frustration that burns through my veins.

It's no use, of course, and I don't really want him to stop.

"Mason," I moan breathlessly, and he actually kisses my seam, the delicate touch making my nerves cry out.

"Ugh!"

"Ah-ah," Mason drawls, "you need to keep that pretty voice down, Songbird."

Mason reaches up my body, his arm smoothing between my breasts, and presses his fingers to my lips.

I'm already so close that when Mason finally slides his tongue between my folds, circling my clit with it, I buck against his mouth, biting down on his fingers to keep myself from screaming out.

He doesn't seem to mind in the slightest, but then again, he never does. Mason is always teasing me to the point that I cannot stop myself from clawing and biting and squeezing him in one way or the other.

Wetness glides over my thighs as my arousal builds, and Mason is quickly using his other hand to open me up for him.

"Uhh, Mason," I groan around the bite I have on his fingers.

He pulls back, blowing again before saying, "That's it, precious. I want you to ride my tongue with that pretty pussy."

Mason never leaves me disappointed when it comes to dirty talk, and when he's plunging his tongue back inside me, I am happy to honor his wish.

Rocking my hips back and forth, I hunt for more sensations, more of his tongue and lips cloying pleasure from me so easily. It works perfectly, and the sensations tingle in my clit as my climax draws closer.

The slippery goodness makes my brain go fuzzy, and then Mason's fingers hook inside me, immediately finding my G-spot.

I clamp down around him as he thrusts me right over that edge. The orgasm claims me from head to toe, scrambling my brain and making me moan unabashedly around his other hand.

Mason continues until I'm a trembling mess, and the release has backed off. But I know he's nowhere near done with me.

As he crawls up my body, his cock goes straight to my dripping entrance, sliding in effortlessly. Mason circles his hips, taking my body to the edge of pleasure again.

"That's my sweet Songbird. Ugh," he grinds into me, his erection bottoming out, "that's so damn good. You're so damn good."

"Fill me up, Mason. I want to feel you come."

He lowers his mouth to mine, kissing me fiercely. As he does, my taste lingering on his tongue, his hips start up a punishing rhythm, and I wrap my legs around him.

It's only moments before I'm seconds from coming again, his long shaft reaching impressive depths as he plows into me.

"Fuck," I groan, whimpering as he presses all the way inside me and then keeps himself there.

"Yeah, baby? Is that what you need?"

He pulls back just to snap his hips forward, surging into my pussy until he's nudging my cervix.

All I can do is nod as I whine and rock against him, hungry for more. In a flash, though, Mason grabs my legs and hoists them over one of his shoulders.

The angle lets him sink deeply with each thrust, and I reach for his hips, pulling him into me. I need it harder, so much harder.

Mason is happy to oblige.

Everything builds, the pleasure swirling into fucking outer space, and then I feel Mason's thick cock swell all the more.

He twitches inside me as the orgasm takes him, and the warmth that floods me is enough to send me flying off into my own release.

That and the wonderful way his erection fills me so completely.

The moment stretches on, Mason's release igniting my spirit for what feels like years. I can hardly believe how much he comes, and the thought is so deliciously sinful.

Eventually, the moment stills, and Mason helps me get my legs down to the bed. Still locked inside me, he lowers down and lays behind me.

We catch our breath, and I can feel his heartbeat against my back. The comforting rhythm soothes every inch of me, and feeling him still inside me as we come down has become my favorite way to end things.

I know it's his, too, and that just makes it all the better.

After a moment, I let out a long sigh, and typical thoughts about tomorrow start filtering back into my consciousness.

"I have to help Mom with getting her prescription tomorrow. I was thinking of taking her and Mia out to lunch afterward."

Mason hums quietly behind me. "Mia will like that. She's always happy to see Nani."

Nani has become Mia's name for my mother, which evolved from Nana, and it's still so damn cute.

"She's doing so much better. I'm…I'm just so thrilled the medications are working. Even if they are so fucking expensive."

There's a pause, one that stretches for long enough that I wonder if Mason has fallen asleep. It wouldn't be the first time.

"I don't think you can work as my nanny anymore."

My stomach clenches as my heart rate kicks back up, and I look over my shoulder at Mason.

"I'm sorry? What's that supposed to mean?"

Mason and I haven't really fought since we've been living together. Sure, we've had a few mild disagreements, but my brain sparks as I wonder if this is going to be our first actual fight.

Weird timing to fire me, bro.

"You can't be working for me if you're really my girlfriend. I should be helping to support you in any way I can, not making you work for it. So, you know, don't worry about your mother's medication. I'll take care of it."

My pulse is all over the damn place, and suddenly, I'm tearing up.

"Mason," I turn further to look at him, but he holds me close, "you can't be serious. That's too much. It's not like we're married or something."

He smiles at me with a shrug. "Not yet. But it's not just that. Your mom and mine were so close. She was practically a second mother to me, and I needed that with my dad gone. I want to repay the favor. I want to say thank you."

Choosing to let the "not yet" go, for now, I smile back at Mason, shaking my head.

"You're incredible. And I know that my mom cares about you deeply. She'll…she'll be grateful. As am I."

Mason just grins. "Anytime, love."

I'm shaking my head again but turning around and getting comfy. Mason wraps his arms around me tighter, a deep breath leaving him slowly as he settles me against his chest.

"I love you, Mason. So damn much. I truly do not know what I'd do without you."

"And you'll never need to. I'm not going anywhere." He kisses the top of my head. "I love you, Bridget. Forever."

"Forever," I whisper, and then exhaustion begins to claim me as I lie comfortably with the love of my life.