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“Can’t get cold with you here,” Bridget answered, her voice full of sleep.

“Come on. There will be more time for this later.”

It took some maneuvering and helping Bridget move her leg as carefully as possible until they were under the blankets. Bridget pushed against Jerica’s back, holding on to her tightly as she breathed deeply and steadily into Jerica’s hair. Sighing, Jerica fell asleep, knowing she’d just had the best night of her life.

* * *

Morning came way too early, but Jerica snuck out of Bridget’s room with kisses and touches that she could so easily have let turn heated. After she dressed in yesterday’s clothes, she grabbed a mug of coffee from the kitchen at Eli’s insistence, and then slid into her cold vehicle.

The entire drive back to town, she couldn’t stop smiling. In fact, she smiled through her entire shift. People even commented on it throughout the day, and Jerica was remiss in answering why. But she knew why. She was completely in love with Bridget. She’d thought from the start that they had a strong connection, but the night before had proved it for her.

Bridget was such a caring person, putting Jerica’s wants and needs first when she could, keeping Jerica sated, happy, warm. Jerica shuddered at just the thought. She finished out her shift, feeling so much better than she had for the weeks prior because of her sister’s impending anniversary. It affected the entire family.

Jerica had been working that night when her sister and sister’s fiancé been brought in, and if it hadn’t been for Chaplain Melville, she would have broken completely apart. This time, Bridget had mended her quickly, as had time.

As she drove home, she got a text, but she refused to read it until she pulled into the driveway at her house and parked. It was from Bridget, a sweet testament to what they had done the night before along with hopes for doing it again. Jerica grinned from ear to ear.

She had fallen in love with Bridget already, but the desire and lust she felt to be with her every waking moment was the best possible feeling ever. She’d never been this centered on one person before. She’d loved, yes, but it hadn’t been like this. It hadn’t been so all-consuming. Jerica couldn’t go a day without thinking about Bridget. She wanted to think about her whenever she got a chance. She wanted to take care of her, love her, be with her and be there for her.

Nothing in the weeks since they’d met had swayed that, and while she’d restrained herself at first, she didn’t have to any longer, and it felt so good. Grabbing her bag and phone, Jerica went to her front door and inside. She took the steps upstairs to the upper level and dropped her bag on the kitchen table.

She grabbed a drink before she shucked her jacket and hung it over the back of one of the chairs. She wanted all of her friends to meet Bridget. In some ways the isolation together had been good for them. They were able to get to know each other without the influence of others—other than Eli, of course—but Jerica wanted everyone to know the amazing woman she knew. The one who was strong, and bold, the one who had such a big heart that she would do anything for anyone.

Jerica fell into her couch cushion, exhausted from hardly sleeping and then working a long shift at the hospital. Still, she wanted to talk to Bridget, see her again. The physical distance between them was tough because it meant she couldn’t just randomly show up, but they would figure that out eventually.

Instead of texting Bridget back, Jerica called her. Lifting the phone to her ear, she waited until Bridget answered, grinning again at the smooth deep tones of her voice. “Hey sexy.”

“Hey back,” Bridget stated. “How was work?”

“Long today. We had a lot of cases coming in, which for day shift is kind of unusual.”

“Anything serious?”

“Nothing too bad.” Jerica played with her cup. She didn’t want to talk about work. She wanted to talk about the future, about when she would see Bridget again, but also about what all had happened the night before, the changes that they would feel because of the next step they had taken. Jerica whispered, “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Me either.” Bridget laughed lightly. “In fact, I stayed half the day in bed, naked, thinking about last night.”

Jerica’s cheeks heated. “I wish I could have stayed longer.”

“Next time perhaps.”

“Yeah.” Jerica set the cup on the coffee table and curled up on the couch, dragging the blanket from the corner of it over her legs. “When can I come up again?”

“Whenever you want. I don’t think Eli is going to kick you out of the house. I think she rather likes you.”

“She said as much this morning.” Jerica closed her eyes.

“You saw her this morning?”

“Mmhmm.” Exhaustion floated through Jerica’s brain, and she knew she was going to struggle to stay awake and continue the conversation, as much as she wanted to. It had been such a long week, but the best part had been at the end. “She sent me on my way with coffee.”

Bridget snorted. “Sounds like her. Explains why she invited me to her wedding and told me I could bring anyone I wanted with a wink.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. So…I guess that means I get to ask you. Want to go to my ex-girlfriend’s wedding with me?”

“If you stop calling her that, I will.”